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.

1. Conservation Program Returns Crested Ibis to Skies over Sado

“The last wild crested ibis in Japan died in 2003, but a breeding and conservation program has reestablished the species on Sado in Niigata Prefecture using birds brought over from China. Agriculture, once the bane of the crested ibis, has been central to the so-called Sado model promoting a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.”

2. Huge recovery for butterfly once extinct in the UK

“An endangered butterfly that was once extinct in the UK has had its best summer in 150 years. The large blue butterfly is one of Europe’s most endangered insects but thousands have been recorded this summer in south-west England.”

3. Some good news for giraffe in the Republic of Congo

“ Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo, is home to the last remaining population of critically endangered Kordofan giraffe in the DRC. Under the management of African Parks, things are going well and the giraffe monitoring team has recently confirmed that there are now over 70 giraffe in the park. That is a fantastic recovery from the low of 22 giraffe in 2012.”

4. Pacific Bluefin Tuna stock to rebound sooner than expected due to global conservation efforts

“Concerted effort by countries like the United States, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Mexico for decades to check overfishing has reaped results. The biomass of the Pacific Bluefin Tuna has increased and is second-highest in recorded history, showed a new stock assessment.”

5. Large grassland region conserved in Saskatchewan

“A large piece of grassland within southwest Saskatchewan is now protected. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC’s) Rangeview conservation project is located south of Robsart and is six kilometres west of the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, NCC’s flagship property in the province.”

6. Urban gardens are transforming lives after prison

“It’s a huge coping skill to be working with the soil, planting stuff and seeing it grow,” she said. Mercado – who was released a year and a half ago – now works for Planting Justice, a food justice organization based in Oakland, California, that tackles inequalities in the industrialized food system, from the underpayment of food workers to the lack of fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods.”

7. New species of frog discovered in Costa Rica

“The Tapir Valley Tree Frog was singing its heart out in a 20-acre wetland inside @tapirvalleycr, a former cattle ranch rewilded into a nature reserve by the local community that is home to 400 species of birds, primates, Endangered plants and Endangered tapirs. Donald Varela Soto, a naturalist and co-owner of the reserve, was working nearby and the frog’s calls stopped him in his tracks.”

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