Some one billion people globally under the age of 25 live in regions where they depend on the land and natural resources for jobs and livelihoods, but their future is increasingly under threat due to desertification and land degradation.
The 2025 UN Ocean Conference concluded with more than 170 countries adopting a sweeping political declaration promising urgent action to protect the ocean. The declaration calls for concrete steps to expand marine protected areas, decarbonize maritime transport, combat marine pollution, and mobilize finance for vulnerable coastal and island nations.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have recognized three new restoration initiatives in East Africa, Mexico, and Spain. These initiatives are restoring almost five million hectares of marine ecosystems.
Plankton – the ocean’s lifeblood – regulate the climate, feed the seas, and shape life on Earth. Scientists along the French Riviera are in a race against time to unlock the mysteries of these tiny organisms before their decline reverberates across the planet.