7 stories of optimism this week (18.03.25-24.03.25)

Wondering what went right this week in the conservation world? We’ve got you covered with our Conservation Optimism Round-Up! We are collating stories of optimism from around the globe so that you never miss your dose of weekly motivation. (Featured image credit: Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute / Flickr)

1. ‘The Ark’ in Panama gives rare frogs and amphibians a fighting chance against deadly fungus

An amphibian-killing fungus called ‘chytrid’ has put countless species at greater risk of extinction, but the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is aiming to turn the tide. Using advanced technology, innovative solutions, and tireless dedication, scientists are working to give these species a chance to bounce back.

To learn more about their crucial work and the crisis faced by these rare and wonderful amphibian species, check out the full feature ‘The Frog Ark’ here. Plus, learn how you can help amphibians where you live by setting up a frog pond and toad house, here, including tips you can follow with limited space!

2. Celebrating World Serval Day, learn how these clever wildcats have adapted to an unlikely home

“A new study finds that servals have surprisingly high densities in the Sasol Secunda petrochemical industrial complex in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The study authors concluded that this wildcat, native to sub-Saharan African wetlands and savannas, can adapt to anywhere it can find abundant prey, no matter how disturbed by human presence.

“Highlighting the benefits of industrial sites for wildlife must, however, be contextualized to ensure that preserving natural habitats remains the priority, according to another cat expert.”

3. How the Omushkego Cree are safeguarding marine ecosystems in James Bay and Hudson Bay

A hotspot for polar bears and a haven for millions of shorebirds and waterfowl, the area around James Bay and Hudson Bay in Ontario, Canada, has long been understood as important by the indigenous peoples that have lived there for millennia, and continue to call it home today. With support from various non-profit organizations, “The Omushkego Cree are leading an effort to establish an Indigenous-led National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) that would protect 91,000 km2 of [this region] from oil and gas exploration, mining, ocean dumping, and industrial fishing.”

Since then, the First Nations and the Canadian government have made great progress towards officially establishing the area, while also providing interim protections. You can keep track of the project’s status and find more information here. And learn more about the beauty and importance of this ecosystem in the Audubon Society’s post here.

4. South African High Court rules in favor of new no-fishing zones to protect critically endangered African Penguin

From a statement by BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds), they have secured a “historic victory” after a prolonged legal battle to establish no-fishing zones around key African Penguin breeding colonies, preventing commercial sardine and anchovy fisheries from operating in their foraging area.

BirdLife South Africa’s Seabird Conservation Programme Manager, Dr Alistair McInnes, added that the outcome of these new zones “will also benefit other marine predator species, […] and other socio-economically important fish that also eat sardine and anchovy, as well as the livelihoods of many who derive benefits from marine ecosystems that are equitable and judiciously managed.”

5. A look at community-led, gender-equal conservation in Baan Thung Yao, Thailand

In this case study from the Stockholm Environmental Institute, learn how a small community in Northern Thailand is paving its own path in conservation and forest management. By bringing together the whole community’s expertise and ensuring meaningful participation of women, they have been able to resist top-down, ‘fortress conservation’ initatives that would ban the community from their ancestral forest, while also protecting and managing their natural resources with local wisdom and community voting.

6. Zoologist rediscovers grasshopper species once thought extinct

The last documented sighting of the Appalachian Grasshopper was back in 1946, but thanks to data from citizen science platform iNaturalist, Virginia zoologist Andrew Rapp decided to investigate what he thought might have been new sightings. “It’s very restricted in its range, but I think that there were just not enough surveys in the right particular habitat, the right time of year,” Rapp told the News & Observer.

7. American Oystercatchers make a comeback in hard-earned conservation victory

“Fifteen years of coordinated conservation efforts have produced a significant recovery in the U.S. population of the American oystercatcher, a bird with a distinctive bright red bill that breeds and roosts on beaches and coastal marshes, at a time when most shorebirds are declining.

The American Oystercatcher Recovery Campaign, a coalition of about 40 conservation private nonprofits and government agencies across the United States, reported a 45 percent increase in the number of oystercatchers from 2008 to 2023, bringing the total population to an estimated 14,735 birds.”

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