7 stories of optimism this week (25.11.25-1.12.25)

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: Oceanic whitetip shark by Alexander Vasenin via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

1. Historic Victory for Sharks as Oceanic Whitetips Upgraded to Appendix I at CITES Banning International Trade

For the first time, a shark species has received full protection against international trade under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Oceanic whitetip sharks are critically endangered due to fishing pressure and illegal fin trade, but conservationists hope that this protection will give the species a chance to recover.

“Today’s decision is a watershed moment for all sharks and rays,” said Luke Warwick, Director of Shark & Ray Conservation at WCS. “Countries have sent a clear message at this 50th CITES CoP: ocean species deserve the same urgency and protection as wildlife on land, and the world will not stand by and watch as iconic sharks slip toward extinction.”

2. International Jaguar Day: persistence and coexistence in the Amazon

Last Saturday was International Jaguar Day, when we celebrate jaguars and the conservationists protecting them. Jaguars are Near Threatened and now only occupy half of their historic range, but conservation work shows some promising signs for their persistence and for the possibility of coexistence with local communities.

In the Jaguar Protection Corridor in Colombia, WWF supports local promoters in setting up camera traps, allowing analysis of their habitat use. Jaguars have been recorded in every monitoring season, and in 2024 appeared in 22% of active cameras:  “a powerful sign of their persistence in a landscape threatened by deforestation beyond the corridor.”

Camera trap findings are being used to promote coexistence of jaguars and people, and public perceptions have shifted since the project began. “People now call us to install cameras on their farms. Even ranchers who previously viewed the jaguar as a threat now want to record and protect it.” Read more about jaguars and their conservation at WWF’s page on International Jaguar Day.

3. How community custody empowered Ecuador’s crab catchers and revived its mangroves

98,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Ecuador are protected under concessions, where communities living in and around the forests act as guardians of the mangroves while making an income from crab catching. Fishers catch crabs to sell, while maintaining closed seasons for the crabs’ breeding seasons, and keeping a regular watch to deter logging and unsanctioned fishing that could threaten the forest.

Mangrove forests in Ecuador declined by 27.6% over the 1970s-90s due to deforestation for the shrimp industry and urban expansion, but stabilised between 1990-2000 when logging stopped. Under the concession agreements, mangroves have begun to recover. “Having this community empowered — with the rights they are given through the concessions to manage the area — is good, because they are the most interested in conserving everything,” says Pablo Guerrero, director of marine conservation at WWF Ecuador, in a story by Mongabay.

“It has served to protect the mangroves [and] understand their importance, as well as that of our crustacean: the crab. We want this to be long term, reaching all of us,” says César Rodríguez, the president of Puerto Buenavista. “It feels like it is ours, our mangrove. For that reason, we take care of it like this, so that no one cuts it down and nobody comes to invade it.”

4. Search is on for the German hairy snail in London

A search for the German hairy snail has begun in London, aiming to find one of Britain’s most endangered snail species. The snail is found mostly in a few fragmented patches of habitat along the River Thames, but the surveys hope to identify ways to boost a species’ numbers through habitat restoration, pollution management, and translocation of individuals between sites.

“These surveys will help us understand how the snail is faring and how we can protect it – not only securing their future for years to come, but also helping safeguard green spaces throughout London for people and wildlife for future generations.”

5. How trading wild turkeys for other animals became a conservation success story

Populations of wild Turkeys in North America had fallen to just a few thousand birds in the 1800s, but wildlife trades in the 1970s helped their populations — and other threatened species across the continent — to bounce back. Wildlife trades between regions helped to reestablish wild populations — such as swapping mountain goats in Colorado for turkeys from Idaho — and today there are 7 million wild turkeys in the USA alone.

“They were like our currency for all our wildlife that we restored,” said Holly Morris, furbearer and small game project leader at the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources in an article by the Associated Press. “It’s just a way to help out other agencies. We’re all in the same mission.”

“A lot of good work gets done on the back of the wild turkey.”

6. How ambitious ‘forest city’ plan for England could become a reality

Proposals have been revealed for a “forest city” in England, aiming to house a million people in the middle of a large new nature reserve connecting ancient and planted forests. Planners are in talks with the UK government, with the hopes that construction could begin in a few years. The current proposal would build on industrial farmland, creating affordable housing while restoring chalk streams and reservoirs and producing new habitat for wildlife. While there are expected issues around water availability, tension with farmers, and maintaining a focus on nature, campaigners are optimistic about the project.

Paul Powlesland, a nature campaigner who joined the board overseeing the proposal, said: “I think the question is, can we build what is necessary for humans to have a healthy, happy society while either not degrading nature or ideally restoring nature? That is the question of the 21st century, and it feels like nobody is answering that question.”

“I believe there is a way to build a city that enriches nature. And it’s going to be difficult. It will take imagination and courage and some difficulty I imagine, but it is possible, and if they don’t do it, then I will speak out against it.”

7. Why are Amazonian trees getting ‘fatter’?

Mature trees in the Amazon rainforest appear to be responding better than expected to the rise in CO2 emissions, absorbing excess carbon to grow “fatter” over time. Trunk sizes are increasing by 3.3% every decade, a surprising new finding that suggests they are more resilient than we thought.

The average size of trees in an old-growth forest would be expected to remain stable, as growth and death rates balance each other out. But it appears that trees are growing faster than they are dying as they absorb the excess CO2 for photosynthesis, while also growing in number — helping to increase the amount of carbon stored in the Amazon. While we also know that more trees are dying in Amazonia, and the rainforest is threatened by other climate impacts such as drought, researchers suggest this is good news for the forest’s robustness in the face of climate change.

“This balance could flip at some point, like when the droughts become more severe. But for now, the rainforest is staying resilient and managing to respond to the higher CO2 levels by increasing in size.”