UNESCO’s biosphere reserves reverse the traditional conservation model by treating local communities as partners rather than obstacles. With more than 700 reserves in 142 countries, covering 7.5 million square kilometers, these “living laboratories” integrate biodiversity protection, scientific research, and sustainable livelihoods. Last week, 250 experts from 34 countries gathered in Paraguay for the Man and the Biosphere Programme’s International Coordinating Council. The host, Paraguay’s Itaipu Biosphere Reserve, protects the country’s largest remaining Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest corridor while supporting 250,000 residents. Through restoration efforts, nearly 4 million trees have been planted. The meeting also welcomed 14 new reserves, including the first in Montenegro and Timor-Leste.
Natural Resources and the Environment
The Earth is sending clear warnings: record-breaking heat, wildfires, extreme storms, and melting glaciers. Scientists warn we are dangerously close to exceeding 1.5°C of global warming, a threshold beyond which climate impacts become far more severe. But there is still hope. Communities are restoring ecosystems, young people are driving change, and clean energy is building a more sustainable future. This World Environment Day (5 June), remember there is still time to act. The Earth is sending us a signal—what message will we send back? Join UNEP’s global campaign and act #ForClimateNow.
Inclusion means fostering respect, dignity, and safe spaces where diverse identities, backgrounds, and lived experiences are valued so that everyone can fully participate in shaping a more sustainable future.
In the Solomon Islands, the Kira tribe has secured a landmark victory for Indigenous-led conservation after years of resisting destructive logging and fighting to protect their ancestral rainforest. Led by community leader Andrew Taraha, the tribe combined traditional knowledge, grassroots organizing, and scientific biodiversity research to establish the Kira Forest Biodiversity Conservation Area in 2023 — the first protected tribal land in Malaita province. Supported by the UNDP-backed Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, the initiative safeguards nearly 700 hectares of rainforest, endangered species, freshwater sources, and sacred cultural sites while inspiring neighboring communities to pursue their own conservation efforts
Across the high Andes, Indigenous communities protect vicuñas and fragile grasslands through chaku, preserving culture, biodiversity, and balance.
The International Day of Plant Health highlights the importance of protecting plants to improve food security, biodiversity and global economic growth. Healthy plants provide most of the world’s food and oxygen, making plant biosecurity essential for human survival.
Plant pests and diseases destroy up to 40 percent of global crops each year, causing billions of dollars in agricultural losses. Climate change and increasing trade are spreading pests faster, making stronger international plant health measures more important than ever.
One million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction. Nearly 75% of Earth’s land ecosystems and 66% of marine environments have already been profoundly altered by human activity. But biodiversity loss is not inevitable. To restore nature globally, action must begin locally, with communities, organizations, and governments working together to protect and regenerate the ecosystems we all depend on. This International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May) is a call for bold local action with global impact. The time to act is not someday. It is now.
In Andhra Pradesh, millions of farmers are restoring degraded land and improving livelihoods, which promotes natural farming practices that rebuild soil health, protect biodiversity, and reduce reliance on chemical inputs.
As global forest challenges take center stage, the 21st session of the United Nations Forum on Forests convenes from 11 to 15 May at UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting focuses on strengthening policies and speeding action to meet global forest commitments, including key goals related to protecting them and promoting their sustainable management. The session marks the launch of the Global Forest Goals Report 2026 to understand where the world stands on forest commitments, and a series of side events on primary forests, forest finance, and sustainable wood production. Follow the forum on UN WebTV.
Across more than 2,260 UNESCO-designated sites worldwide, communities and ecosystems remain deeply interconnected, offering powerful lessons for protecting biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods, and confronting climate change.
“What’s the weather going to be?” is one of the most frequently asked questions each day. We expect the answer instantly—just a tap on a phone or a swipe on a screen. Yet behind every forecast lies a powerful global network working quietly in the background. This World Meteorological Day (23 March), discover how the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) brings together data from land, sea, and sky to keep you informed, safe, and ready for whatever comes next. The day also marks the release of WMO’s State of the Global Climate report, outlining key climate indicators and impacts on people.
Forests sustain livelihoods, drive economies, and provide vital ecosystem services, celebrated annually on March 21 with the 2026 theme as: “Forests and Economies”
Although they cover only about six percent of the Earth’s land surface, 40 percent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. In the Bahamas, Mexico, and Zambia, local communities are working to protect this life-sustaining ecosystem. United in action with UNDP.
Although wetlands cover only about 6% of Earth’s land, they support 40% of all plant and animal species. Essential for people, ecosystems, and climate, they regulate water, reduce floods, and help purify water. Yet they are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. This World Wetlands Day (2 February) highlights their cultural importance for communities and marks the 50th anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, a treaty that works to halt their loss worldwide.
The forests around Mount Kanchenjunga in Nepal boast rich biodiversity, including endangered species like the snow leopard and red panda. Indigenous communities have traditionally used their knowledge for conservation, but challenges such as climate change, poaching, and hydropower projects are threatening this balance. Local resident Purna Kumar Limbu notes that frequent explosives from these projects are driving wildlife away. In response, the UNESCO initiative, Strengthening Community Engagement for Biodiversity Conservation, launched in 2025, aims to enhance global recognition of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area and reinforce its importance to the local community.