World Wildlife Fund Nature Breaking

Each year, millions of migratory eastern monarch butterflies embark on a breathtaking 3,000-mile migration from North America to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, where they hibernate in the towering Oyamel fir forests. But this iconic species is in trouble. WWF’s research conducted with conservation partners since the early 2000s shows that the eastern monarch population has been trending downward for years.

In this special World Wildlife Day episode of Nature Breaking’s “Headlines & Trendlines” series, hosts Seth Larson and Hayley Lawton share uplifting conservation success stories that prove we can make a difference for endangered species.

Last fall, the United Nations convened a major bi-annual conference focused on protecting the world’s biodiversity – that’s the vast array of animals, plants, waters, and other natural systems that sustain our planet and our very existence. The conference, known formally as the 16^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP16 for short, succeeded on some fronts. But it fell short in other areas, and left some critical work unfinished.

Last month a series of wildfires spread across communities in Los Angeles and left a trail of destruction in their wake. Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate their neighborhoods. Over 15,000 homes and other structures were burned. And at least two dozen people were killed. It’s well documented that climate change contributes to making fires like these worse. And it also exacerbates other hazards like droughts, floods, and storms. So what can local leaders in LA and in other communities in the US and around the world do in the wake of these extreme events to address systemic risks and proactively reduce catastrophic disasters?

We’re kicking off the new year with another edition of Nature Breaking’s “Headlines & Trendlines.” Seth is joined once again by Hayley Lawton as they count down four of their favorite conservation wins from 2024: major progress for bison restoration, a commitment to raise $1 billion to save wild tigers, innovations in “environmental DNA” that could change the way we approach conservation, and the first-ever photograph of a rare bird species.

A major UN conference to negotiate a global treaty on plastic pollution just ended without an agreement. But efforts may resume in 2025 to get a treaty over the finish line. In this two-part episode, you’ll hear first from Erin Simon, WWF’s vice president for plastic waste and business, about what happened at that conference in Korea (known as INC-5) and what comes next for the global fight against plastic pollution. 

This week marks the start of the annual UN climate conference, known as COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. COP29 is being dubbed the “finance COP” because one of the main focuses of this year’s conference will be to set a new goal for global climate finance and to lay out a plan for achieving it. The last time countries set a climate finance goal was 2009, at COP15 in Copenhagen, where wealthy nations committed to provide $100 billion annually to help developing nations deal with climate change.

Today, rather than interviewing a WWF expert in-dept on a specific topic, we’re trying something new. Seth will be joined by Hayley Lawton from WWF’s social media team for something we’re calling: Headlines & Trendlines. You’ll hear Seth and Hayley briefly summarize some recent news articles and talk about what they mean for climate and nature.

Next week global leaders will convene in Cali, Colombia for an important meeting: the 16^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16). You’re probably more familiar with the climate COP that happens every year, but the biodiversity COP is a critical forum for addressing the loss of nature.

In today’s special bonus episode of Nature Breaking you’ll hear all about WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report. This bi-annual report functions as a check-up on the health of the Earth. Underpinning the report is the Living Planet Index, which monitors populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish around the world. This year the report found that monitored wildlife populations declined by an average of 73% since 1970.