environment

In the Palau Bontosua area, in the southwestern portion of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, all the degraded coral reefs have been restored in just four years.Due to global warming and human activities, the coral reefs in the area had been virtually destroyed.But now, thanks to a specific restoration program, they are growing at the same rate as healthy ones.To allow the corals to reform, barriers have been installed hexagonal steel structures covered with sand, which stabilizes debris and provides a habitat for reef fauna.However, although this is an excellent result, the researchers warn that the technique used represents a last resort which should not be used systematically.The barriers thus restored present in fact a lower species diversity compared to healthy ones. A team of Indonesian and British scientists worked on the project as part of the Mars Coral Restoration Program, a large-scale effort to restore the coral reefs destroyed by fishermen who used explosives to kill and c...

On Friday 1 March, a group of scientists led by the New England Aquarium spotted a gray whale off the coast of Massachusetts, a species believed to be extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for over 200 years.The sighting was greeted with great amazement by the team of researchers, who immediately after the discovery, skeptical of what they had seen, continued to monitor the area to make sure they had not made a mistake.There gray whale it is in fact a typical species of the Pacific Ocean, which has stopped inhabiting the waters of the Atlantic in the 18th century.The discovery, however, far from being good news, made the team of scientists initially enthusiastic about the discovery think that there may be a change in migratory routes due to the climate change. The whale was spotted about 30 miles (the equivalent of 48 kilometers) south of the Nantucket coast, while a team of scientists from the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, a New England aquarium research center, was leading an aerial...

In fact, the European Union has introduced the crime of ecocide into community law.The new directive, agreed in November by the EU bodies, was approved with 499 votes in favour, 100 against and 23 abstentions.Now, those who commit some crimes against nature are at risk up to 10 years in prison.Ecocide, according to one of the existing definitions, means an offense at the expense of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, their flora and fauna and the resulting impact.In this case, crimes such as illegal timber trade, depletion of water resources and serious violations of legislation on chemical substances will be included.And again:the illicit management of hazardous waste and radioactive materials, the illegal trade in wildlife and water contamination.Anyone who is guilty of these and other types of environmental crimes - Brussels has announced - will be punishable with imprisonment, depending the duration, severity and reversibility of the damage.Following publication in the Official Jour...

Eight thousand kilometers long and fifteen kilometers wide.These are the impressive measures of the Great Green Wall, a tree belt that the African Union is building in order to counter the advance of the desert.The ambitious project aims to cross the African continent horizontally.From Senegal to Djibouti, the tree-lined line will pass through 11 nations with the noble aim of combat environmental degradation and poverty in the region.The costs have been estimated at approximately 33 billion dollars, of which 14 have already been invested.More than ten years after the official launch of the project, approximately 20% of the route has been completed.According to several sources, however, the initiative is already changing things for the better.Because, to be honest, the Great Green Wall is not just a work aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change.More than a line, it is in fact a “restoration mosaic” which protects agriculture, offers jobs, promotes social cohesion an...

The Civil Court of Rome has stopped the first lawsuit initiated against the Italian State for failure to comply with the climate crisis.In fact, at first instance, the judges pronounced a sentence according to which the case, the result of the "Last Judgment" campaign - carried out by 203 appellants including associations and private citizens -, was inadmissible due to lack of jurisdiction.In our country, unlike what happens in other European states, there are no courts capable of expressing a verdict on this issue.The procedural process started after a complaint presented against the Italian State by 24 associations, 17 minors and 162 adults, who in the summer of 2021 joined forces to ask concrete actions to combat global warming.Now, following the Court's verdict, the campaign coordinators are promising battle, anticipating that they will challenge the decision. The appellants, in particular, they asked that the State could be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by...