The Indigenous resistance protecting Ecuador’s rivers
Three stories told by Indigenous people standing up for Ecuador’s rivers about their fight to protect the nature they depend on.
The freshwater opportunity: preserving the waters which connect us
What do rivers mean to you? For Hugo Costa, deep in the Amazon, the seasons of the Juruá River can define the food you eat, the journeys you travel, and the people you meet. For Yolarnie Amepou, looking over a vast river delta in Papua New Guinea, ten different cultures have been shaped by [...]
Inland waters: it is time to prioritise the waters of life
In the United Nations biodiversity agreement, freshwater ecosystems were finally included as ‘inland waters’ in the commitment to safeguard and restore at least 30 per cent of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans by 2030. So, what is the freshwater biodiversity crisis, and why should we be concerned for people and [...]
Five success stories from 2022
With the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s new agreement dominating conservation headlines, it can be easy to lose sight of the people working every day to protect our planet’s biodiversity on the ground. However, throughout 2022, our partners restored ecosystems, protected endangered species, and collaborated with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to build a [...]
Rivers – overlooked and undervalued allies in the age of the climate crisis
What role do rivers play in your life? For billions of people around the world, they are – literally – their source of life and survival. Although rivers cover less than one percent of the Earth’s surface, they are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. In this post, Félix Feider looks [...]
Four conservation stories from 2021 to make you smile
2021 has presented many challenges for conservation, with COVID-19 continuing to prevent safe engagement with communities, causing delays or cancellations to in-person events, and affecting marginalised communities the hardest. However, our team at Synchronicity Earth continue to be inspired by the resilience and resourcefulness of our partners, who continue to do extraordinary work to [...]
In search of secret wildlife Part I: Lost fishes
As our partner Shoal announce an exciting quest to find the world’s ten ‘most wanted’ lost species of freshwater fish, Nina Seale explores the importance of finding lost species and advancing conservation knowledge to address the biodiversity crisis. Humongous ‘fossil fish’ resurfaced after at least a century in West Indian [...]
Recognising the rights of rivers
Rivers are the planet’s arteries of life and are intrinsically linked to human well-being, history, culture, spirituality and politics. Yet, our legal system has largely proven to be ill-equipped to protect the world’s rivers and their inhabitants. A growing global movement sets out to change this by legally recognising and implementing the inherent rights [...]
The state of freshwater: reasons for hope
The state of biodiversity has been in the news again these past few weeks, with high-profile reports like the Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity) and Living Planet Report 2020 (by the Zoological Society of London and World Wildlife Fund) generating depressing headlines. Among Earth’s fragile natural systems, [...]
The forests of freshwater
Freshwater habitats are not just rivers, and conserving freshwater species can be done hand-in-hand with local fisheries, says Merlin Veron, Research Analyst at Synchronicity Earth and its Freshwater partner Shoal. As you carefully step across the forest floor, it erupts with life, thousands of insects crashing between the dry leaves [...]