Ways to solve a crisis in our national parks | Biodiversity

It is of deep concern to see the core funding for national parks fall, and it is widely known that the UK has a considerable challenge to tackle nature depletion and the biodiversity crisis (National parks in England and Wales failing on biodiversity, say campaigners, 9 April).

There should be an overhaul of how parks are funded to emphasise these issues, and how actions by all interest groups, from landowners to tenant farmers, can be supported towards positive outcomes and maintaining livelihoods.

There is excellent work being carried out by some organisations within our national parks. Wild Ennerdale and Wild Haweswater represent excellent coordinated efforts among wider stakeholders to tackle historic biodiversity depletion and work towards sustainable agroecology.

Cairngorms Connect is working with many stakeholders towards a holistic ecological restoration in the Cairngorms national park, including large-scale peatland restoration. The North York Moors national park, via its woodland grant schemes, is embarking on woodland establishment on a large scale, bringing potential for many ecosystem benefits, including biodiversity gains.

As a researcher in this area, I am proud to work with some of these organisations to learn how to best implement these approaches for biodiversity gain and sustainable rural livelihoods, and we should be using these, and the many other projects as inspiration for much wider work across our national parks and beyond.
Dr Robert Mills
University of York

Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

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‘We found 700 different species’: astonishing array of wildlife discovered in Cambodia mangroves | Endangered habitats

One of the most comprehensive biodiversity surveys ever carried out in a mangrove forest has revealed that an astonishing array of wildlife makes its home in these key, threatened habitats.

Hundreds of species – from bats to birds and fish to insects – were identified during the study of the Peam Krasop sanctuary and the adjacent Koh Kapik Ramsar reserve in Cambodia. Hairy-nosed otters, smooth-coated otters, large-spotted civets, long-tailed macaques and fishing cats, as well a wide range of bat species, were among the residents recorded by the survey, which was funded by the conservation group Fauna & Flora International. The variety of wildlife has staggered biologists.

Smooth-coated otters in the mangroves. Photograph: Fauna & Flora/FCEE

“We found 700 different species in these mangrove forests but we suspect we have not even scratched the surface,” said Stefanie Rog, the leader the survey team, whose report is published on Sunday. “If we could look at the area in even greater depth we would find 10 times more, I am sure.”

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Mangrove forests form narrow strips of tangled, wooded land on coasts in tropical and subtropical latitudes. They are important because they are made up of trees that have adapted to grow in salt or brackish water, which most other plants cannot tolerate. However, over the past few decades, the planet has lost about 40% of its mangroves, which have often been chopped down to make way for beach resorts or agriculture.

Yet mangroves play critically important roles in protecting the land and its inhabitants. Their waters provide nurseries for commercially important fish, for example. “We found young barracudas, snappers and groupers in the waters here,” said Rog. “They are clearly important breeding places for fish and provide local communities with food as well as providing stock for commercial fisheries.”

Mangroves also protect inland areas from tsunamis and storms, trap carbon far more efficiently than other types of woodland, and act as refuges for a stunning array of animals, as the new study revealed through its extensive use of camera traps, nets, fish and insect estimates, and “transect” surveys – studies conducted along a straight line drawn through the landscape.

A macaque monkey in Tanjung Puting national park. Photograph: Juan Pablo Moreiras/Juan Pablo Moreiras/Fauna & Flora

A key example of the strange species found in the Cambodian mangroves is the fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus. Slightly larger than a domestic breed, it is powerfully built, with short limbs and a stocky body, and – unlike most other cats – is happy to swim. Its front toes are partially webbed and its claws protrude, aiding its ability to catch prey, mainly fish and rats, which it stalks while hidden in mangrove roots.

“It’s very rare to see a fishing cat and we have only found out that they are in the forest from the photo­graphs taken by our camera traps,” said Rog.

“Mangroves are places of roots and mud and they are difficult for humans to get into, which is why they provide precious sanctuaries for these vulnerable animals.”

An even rarer animal, the hairy-nosed otter, was also photographed by camera traps in some of the older parts of the mangrove forest. Lutra sumatrana uses hairs around its nose to detect its prey, which is made up of crustaceans, molluscs and other creatures.

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The Peam Krasop mangrove forest: the survey team found 700 species including 74 species of fish in the coastal waters. Photograph: FFI R5/Steph Baker/Fauna & Flora

It is the rarest otter in Asia and on the verge of extinction – and that is an issue of real concern, said Rog. “A mangrove forest relies on all the interconnected relationships between species and if you start taking away some of those species, then slowly you will lose the functioning of the forest.”

The survey – which was also supported by the Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise, a conservation group –discovered 74 species of fish living in the forests’ waters, as well as 150 species of birds, of which 15 are listed as near-threatened or en­dangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

Scientists say that mangroves play a key role in preserving ecosystems because they act as two-way barriers between the land and the sea. They slow soil erosion into the ocean and protect coastal communities from flooding and storms.

“But it goes further than that,” added Rog. “Mangrove forests are beautiful, rich, mysterious, and harvest so much life.

“They are so much more than just an ecosystem that provides a carbon-saving service or coastal protection. They are actually beautiful in their own right. For me, there is no better feeling than to be in this unique, mythical forest, knowing there is still so much more to explore – that there is another world waiting for further discovery.”

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‘Grownup’ leaders are pushing us towards catastrophe, says former US climate chief | Climate crisis

Political leaders who present themselves as “grownups” while slowing the pace of climate action are pushing the world towards deeper catastrophe, a former US environment chief has warned.

“We are slowed down by those who think of themselves as grownups and believe decarbonisation at the speed the climate community calls for is unrealistic,” said Todd Stern, who served as a special envoy for climate change under Barack Obama, and helped negotiate the 2015 Paris agreement.

“They say that we need to slow down, that what is being proposed [in cuts to greenhouse gas emissions] is unrealistic,” he told the Observer. “You see it a lot in the business world too. It’s really hard [to push for more urgency] because those ‘grownups’ have a lot of influence.”

But Stern said the speed of take-up of renewable energy, its falling cost, and the wealth of low-carbon technology now available were evidence that the world could cut emissions to net zero by 2050. “Obviously it’s difficult – we’re talking about enormous change to the world economy – but we can do it,” he said.

Todd Stern: ‘We’re talking about enormous change, but we can do it.’ Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Getty Images

Stern would not name any world leaders, but he said the UK was in “retrenchment” over climate issues. Rishi Sunak and Claire Coutinho, the energy secretary, made several U-turns on climate policy last year, and have repeatedly said climate policies imposed “unacceptable costs on hard-pressed British families” and that by slowing such action they were “being pragmatic and protecting family finances”.

Stern said that, in fact, delaying action to cut greenhouse gas emissions was leading to disaster, given the rapid acceleration of the climate crisis, which he said was happening faster than predicted when the Paris agreement was signed. “Look out your window – look at what’s happening,look at the preposterous heat. It’s ridiculous.”

Leaders who claimed to be grownups by saying the pace of action had to be slowed had to be honest about the alternatives, he said. Just as political leaders took swift action to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in 2020, so must they confront the consequences of slowing climate action now.

“All hard questions of this magnitude should be considered by way of a ‘compared to what’ analysis. The monumental dangers [the climate crisis] poses warrant the same kind of ‘compared to what’ argument when leaders in the political and corporate worlds balk at what needs to be done.”

He warned of the backlash against climate action by “rightwing populism” in Europe. “Hopefully, it doesn’t go very far,” he said. “If that kind of attitude gets some purchase among parts of the population, that’s not helpful.”

Stern praised Joe Biden for “an extraordinarily good first term”, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which he called “far and away the most significant climate legislation ever in the US, and it’s quite powerful”.

But he warned that if Donald Trump were to be elected this November, the US would exit the Paris agreement and frustrate climate action globally.

“He will try to reverse whatever he can in terms of domestic policy [on climate action],” he warned. “I don’t think anybody else is going to pull out of Paris because of Trump, but it’s highly disruptive to what can happen internationally, because the US is a very big, very important player. So [without the US] you don’t move as fast.”

Stern called for stronger demonstration from civil society of support for climate action. “What we need, broadly, is normative change, a shift in hearts and minds that demonstrates to political leaders that their political future depends on taking strong, unequivocal action to protect our world,” he said.

“Normative change may seem at first blush like a weak reed to carry into battle against the defenders of the status quo, but norms can move mountains. They are about a sense of what is right, what is acceptable, what is important, what we expect and what we demand.”

Stern first gave his warning in a lecture at the London School of Economics on Friday night, in honour of the British civil servant Pete Betts, who served as the EU’s chief climate negotiator for the Paris agreement. He died last year.

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Liverpool 0-3 Atalanta: Europa League quarter-final, first leg – live reaction | Europa League

Key events

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Right, that’s it from me. Congratulations to Atalanta. I was so impressed with them tonight, especially as they were missing the injured Giorgio Scalvini, who is one of the best young Italian centre backs. But Hien was brilliant at the back, and I thought Zappacosta and obviously Scamacca had great games, too.

Good night!

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Jürgen Klopp speaks!

Nothing really positive to say. I didn’t like our tactical position in possession. We were everywhere which means we were nowhere. No counter press. It was a bad game. Atalanta deserved to win.

Can we win in Bergamo? Yes, if we play well. Can we win 3-0? I don’t know. We feel really bad. We should feel bad when we don’t play well.

We have to show a reaction on Sunday [against Crystal Palace]. I won’t watch this game back until Monday.

That’s a fairly honest assessment.

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Jacob Steinberg was also at Bayer Leverkusen to watch West Ham. Here’s his report.

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Andy Hunter’s match report from Anfield

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An email from Vee.

I can see now why Klopp held on to Henderson and Milner as long as he did, so many current Liverpool players lack that rock-steady mentality now and it showed tonight. Some of them believe their own hype and they got taught a lesson tonight. But of this new bunch that have come in, only Mac Allister has the same. They’re trading off the reputation of the previous team and its only Klopp’s genius that has helped them over-perform because most of them are actually mediocre which is why they keep buckling at the business end of the bigger serious competitions.

I think we need to slightly temper the reaction to this game. It’s a really bad defeat, but Liverpool were not at completely full strength. Also, let’s remember that this is Liverpool’s first home defeat in 33 games. They are only off the top of the Premier League on goal difference.

That said, Liverpool were outwitted tactically here. Klopp needs to take some responsibility.

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Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s captain, speaks:

Three-nil down is not great. Too many individual mistakes and we were punished for them. Their man marking system, they won their 50-50 duels. From tomorrow we have to switch it back on. We were wide open [defensively]. It’s a collective thing in the end. We have to do much better. It hurts. We have to react. We’ve made it hard for ourselves, but if you don’t believe, there’s no point going to Italy.

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Only three foreign teams have beaten Liverpool at Anfield more than once. Real Madrid, Barcelona and now Atalanta. The Italian side also won in the Champions League back in 2020, although that was a fan-free Covid match.

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“Re the Liverpool fans saying they don’t mind focusing on the league – that’s not how it works,” emails Alex Beeton. “Losing embarrassingly at home in a competition we were favourites for (I’d have loved for us to win it) doesn’t magically translate to confident performances domestically. I think there will be a real hangover from this. Also, as much as I love Gomez’s work rate, he’s really limited in passing and attacking and I felt we really missed Bradley or Trent tonight.”

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Full-time scores in the Europa League

Quarter-final, first leg scores:

Liverpool 0-3 Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 West Ham
Benfica 2-1 Marseille
Milan 0-1 Roma

And in the Conference League: Aston Villa 2-1 Lille, although that hasn’t quite finished yet.

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Atalanta’s players run in a line towards their rampant fans in the away end. Gasperini smiles like a little boy with a big black and blue balloon.

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Liverpool’s 33-match unbeaten home run comes to an end. Klopp looks resigned to defeat as he trudges off. He applauds the fans, but there is no post-match ire that sometimes follows Liverpool’s defeats.

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Full-time: Liverpool 0-3 Atalanta

One of the biggest results in Atalanta’s history. Liverpool well beaten and on the losing side at Anfield for the first time in 13 months.

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90+2 min: Szoboszlai gets on the end of a flowing Liverpool move, overlapping Gomez down the right but firing straight at Musso.

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90 min: Three added minutes. It does seem that from some emails in my inbox that a few of you are not devastated by the prospect of going out of the Europa League, in order to concentrate on the league.

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88 min: Atalanta make their first change, at 88 minutes. De Ketelaere off for Miranchuk. The visitors are sticking to the game plan.

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85 min: This isn’t a weak Liverpool XI. This isn’t a smash-and-grab. Atalanta have been the better side. Diaz shoots at goal, saved by Musso. That’s just the fourth shot on target Liverpool have had all night. Just as at Old Trafford, some really poor finishing and defending has let them down.

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GOAL! Liverpool 0-3 Atalanta (Palisic 83)

Oh. My. Days. It’s three! Liverpool lose the ball in their own half, Scamacca slips a brilliant ball through to Ederson. The Brazilian has his shot saved by Kelleher but Palisic is there to tuck home the rebound! Where was Liverpool’s defence? Completely static.

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81 min: Chance for Scamacca! The striker could have had a hat-trick. From a free-kick, Koopmeiners crosses to the back post, it is flicked across goal but Scamacca heads over from under the crossbar!

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GOAL DISALLOWED FOR LIVERPOOL!

79 min: Salah puts the ball in the net, but he grimaces as the flag goes off for offside! It is checked by VAR, and confirmed as offside. It was close though and Ruggeri actually gave Salah a little push back towards his own goal, which meant Salah was half-a-yard offside. It was a brilliant move, with Robertson breaking forward from left back and crossing low for Salah at the back post. But it remains 0-2 to the visitors.

Mohamed Salah scores but the goal is ruled out for offside. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
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Updated at 

76 min: Jota comes on for Endo. A change in shape for Liverpool. Jota has an immediate impact, skinning Ruggeri as he drove into the Atalanta box. Foul! But it’s just outside the area. Szoboszlai stands over the free-kick, but again it’s a poor delivery and Gomez needlessly blasts a long range shot over the bar, when he had better options.

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74 min: I wonder if Alexander-Arnold will also come on in place of Gomez, as Liverpool chase the game.

“Am I the only Liverpool fan whose not too excited – maybe even a little worried – about TAA coming back?” asks Paul O’Reilly. “We’ve been grand without him. Where we’ve been lacking is the inability of the front 3 to score goals! (28 shots against MUFC – barely drew 2-2!) With TAA comes an extra chink in our armour! (HE’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR OUR DEFENSE!) He comes back into our defence, we leak even more goals than we already are and we don’t win anything else this season.”

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72 min: Nothing is happening for Liverpool. No urgency. Diaz has gone to the right wing in an attempt to ‘mix things up’. Hmmm. Diogo Jota is getting ready on the sidelines.

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68 min: Some more emails on Nunez/the art of finishing.

“Yes. High-risk finishes and that,” emails Matt Dony. “I’ve often banged this particular drum when players have gone for ridiculous outside-of-the-boot stuff. Now, don’t get me wrong, a ball played off the outside of the boot can be one of the most aesthetically pleasing actions in football, whether it’s a dinky chip or a swerving drive. But it’s incredibly hard to do. And often, it would make more sense for the players to simply use their weak foot. These guys spend their life practicing football. There is no excuse not to be reasonable consistent with their weaker foot. I know it makes me a killjoy of the highest order, but hey, we play the hand we’re dealt!”

And I have no way of verifying this anecdote from Kev McCready, but it’s a decent tale.

“I am reminding of the LFC player who missed a sitter, Bob Paisley asked him ‘What happened to you, you useless bastard?’
‘Didn’t know what my options were’ The player replied.
‘Well, the next time you’re in that situation, put it in the back of the fuckin’ net and afterwards we’ll discuss them’”.

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66 min: Atalanta are coasting. At present they look the more likely to score, and seem able to contain Liverpool’s attacks with their low-ish block. Liverpool are resorting to aimlessly crossing the ball, and Gakpo – who has done almost nothing since moving to striker – is struggling to get on the end of anything. This is a Gasperini masterclass.

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64 min: It should be 3-0! De Roon cleverly disguises a reverse pass to Koopmeiners, who is all alone in Liverpool’s box, but the in-form Dutchman screws his shot wide of the post! He should have scored!

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63 min: Scamacca shows Nunez how it’s done. It was a brilliant, relaxed, simple finish. A reminder that the striker didn’t get into the latest Italy squad because of a lack of focus and a video game addiction. He’s by no means the finished article. But my word, the boy has got talent.

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GOAL! Liverpool 0-2 Atalanta (Scamacca 61)

Atalanta double their lead! I was just going to praise Robertson for having a big impact since coming on but De Ketelaere gets in behind the Scotland left-back, floats a inch-perfect pass to Scamacca in the box. The Italian is completely unmarked, and could take a touch, but nonchalantly sidefoots a half-volley into the corner. Kelleher had no chance!

Gianluca Scamacca scores the team’s second goal. Photograph: Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images
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Updated at 

59 min: Liverpool make their fourth change: Nunez off for Diaz, who has been bang in form of late.

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56 min: Two great chances for Liverpool! They are motoring in their attempts to find an equaliser. Firstly, Nunez does brilliantly to retrieve a lost cause, wins the ball back on the byline and cuts it back to Salah. The Egyptian’s first shot is blocked but he forces Musso into a brilliant save at the near post with his second effort. Next, Nunez is the man to find some space in the area, but he scoops/spoons a shot over. Completely off balance. He’s had a bad evening thus far.

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55 min: Endo handballs right on the edge of Liverpool’s box, and Atalanta have a great dead-ball chance wide right. Koopmeiners smacks one low and hard, possibly hoping to get a deflection, but Kelleher collects it cleanly under pressure.

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54 min: Nice little stat: Liverpool substitutes have contributed 49 goal contributions this season, by far and away the best return of any team in Europe’s top five leagues. So expect those three subs to have some sort of impact.

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52 min: Another corner for Liverpool, who have definitely started this second half reinvigorated. The cross from Robertson is a good one, but Van Dijk heads over! He saw it late and was crowded but is disappointed. It was a decent chance.

Close but no cigar: Virgil van Dijk . Photograph: Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images
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Updated at 

50 min: “Re Nunez and his little dinky finishes, I wish someone would sit him down with some tapes of Rush, Fowler, Owen,” emails Alex Welby. “There’s no need to be clever about it. Just score.”

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49 min: Szoboszlai takes aim from range – he can hit them – but Hien gets out to block. Corner to Liverpool, but it’s a wayward one from Szoboszlai, too deep.

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47 min: Klopp was out early, before his team emerged from the second half. He obviously said his piece and left.

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Peeeeeeeep! We’re underway again. Liverpool have made three subs: Salah on for Elliott, Szoboszlai on for Jones and Robertson on for Tsimikas.

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Half-time scores in the Europa League quarter-finals

Liverpool 0-1 Atalanta
Leverkusen 0-0 West Ham
Milan 0-1 Roma
Benfica 1-0 Marseille

Also, in the Conference League, it’s Aston Villa 1-0 Lille.

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Half-time reading:

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Half-time: Liverpool 0-1 Atalanta

If Kelleher made a mistake for the goal, he made up for it with that save. Klopp jogs down the tunnel, he has work/words to do/have in the Liverpool dressing room.

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‘A glittering new world of intrigue’: the rich stories Britain’s insects have to tell | Insects

I never expected a later-life love affair. But a few years ago, I was commissioned to write a book on garden insects and the earth moved. All of a sudden, I realised that my garden wasn’t just full of six-legged aliens, but characters, all with stories to tell, some of which were often bizarre and others hilarious. A few metres from my backdoor a glittering new world of intrigue opened up.

Now that it is spring, this world is awakening and the stories are piling up and moving on fast. As I have become familiar with more insects, the joy of the encroaching season becomes richer still, and more entrancing. Already we have hummingbird tribute acts flying around the spring flowers, bee flies with their hovering flight and long beaks, as fluffy as a child’s toy. Soon their larvae will hatch and grow into child-killers, brutalising the nests of solitary bees.

We have spring butterflies, orange-tips that might have survived by cannibalising their peers, and brimstones, veterans of months of hibernation, now in a state of age-defying breeziness and friskiness.

The bees are out – not just the corporate honeybees, but the mid-sized bumblebee colonies and the sole-trading solitary bees. The latter are bastions of feminine power, powerhouses of pollination, founded and largely run by females. It being spring, the cuckoos are here, too. These are cuckoo bees, which like the birds mimic their hosts and lay eggs in their nests. And they make an unusually loud buzz.

The months ahead will become a blur, the insect news desk will pile up with drama. The race to survive takes strange and wonderful turns. The lacewing’s larvae tear into aphids and decorate their bodies with corpses sucked dry, as a form of camouflage. Moths get itchy feet and migrate, using the stars for navigation. Dung flies use the freshest, runniest dung as no less a romantic dancefloor than a human village hall.

Those big, glamorous dragonflies, especially the emperor, hatch out to become the world’s most dangerous apex predator, their success rate for snatching prey in midair topping 95%, the highest of any animal.

Aphids take reproduction to scarcely believable levels. By parthenogenesis, a female aphid can give birth to a youngster that is itself already pregnant; unchecked by predation, aphids would fill the earth in a few weeks.

At the same time, earwigs take time to look after their young, nurturing them in a burrow for many weeks and attending to their needs, keeping them warm and clean.

One of the great themes of insect life is parasitism. It is thought that 40% of all insect species are parasitic, many of which are parasitoids, eventually killing their hosts or their young. Some are impossibly glamorous. See a cuckoo wasp, with its lustrous iridescence, dazzling green and pink, and it will make you gasp. The glittering exoskeleton is specially thickened in case its attempt to lay eggs in a wasp’s breeding chamber is intercepted.

Another parasite, a fly, lays eggs inside snails and the larvae eat their way out while it is still alive. Another wasp turns ladybirds into the living dead. Some parasites are themselves plagued by parasites.

This is, of course, drama in miniature, but insects are also the indicators of immense problems. Many are declining, putting pollination in jeopardy and sending warning of dangers not yet known. A host of new species are making their way north and colonising Britain because of climate change, a danger only too well known. The insects’ world is our world, however peculiar these neighbours of ours can be.

In the end, the insects need be heard, and their stories need to be told. Loving them is optional.

Cast your vote for the UK invertebrate of the year here

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Rope-entangled right whale spotted off coast of New England | Whales

A North Atlantic right whale has been spotted entangled in rope off New England, worsening an already devastating year for the vanishing animals, federal authorities said.

Right whales number less than 360 and are vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships. The entangled whale was seen on Wednesday about 50 miles (80km) south of Rhode Island’s Block Island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

The mammal has rope coming out of both sides of its mouth but its distant location is making it difficult for rescuers to help, the NOAA said.

“Given the long distance from shore, experts were unable to safely travel to the last known location during daylight to attempt a rescue,” a statement said. “NOAA Fisheries and our partners will monitor this whale and attempt to respond … if possible, as weather and safety conditions allow.”

Several right whales have died this year off Georgia and Massachusetts, and environmental groups fear the species could be headed for extinction.

A whale found dead off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in January showed evidence of injury from entanglement in fishing gear. Environmental groups have called for stricter rules; however, a federal budget package passed in late 2022 included a six-year pause on new federal whale regulations.

“This is another example that entanglements are happening in US waters,” said Gib Brogan, campaign director with environmental group Oceana. “We need stronger protection[s].”

The whales were once numerous off the east coast, but they were decimated during the commercial whaling era and have been slow to recover, despite federal protection for decades.

They migrate every year from calving grounds off Florida and Georgia to feeding grounds off New England and Canada. The journey has become more perilous in recent years because their food sources appear to be moving as waters warm amid the climate crisis.

That change causes the whales to stray from protected areas of ocean and become vulnerable to entanglements and collisions, scientists have said.

A study published last year said that climate change-induced warming in the Gulf of Maine was acutely endangering the right whale.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Harry and Meghan to produce two Netflix series about lifestyle and polo | Netflix

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to be the executive producers of two new nonfiction Netflix series focusing on lifestyle and polo.

One show will explore “the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining and friendship”, while the other will give “unprecedented access to the world of professional polo” and the US Open Polo Championship in Florida, Netflix said.

The shows will be made by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Productions company, with the duchess to produce both series and the duke to work on the polo series. Both are in the early stages of production with titles and release dates to be announced in the coming months.

“Known primarily for its aesthetic and social scene, the series will pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and all it takes to compete at the highest level,” Netflix said of the polo series.

The Sussexes have previously released three documentaries with Netflix as part of a multimillion-pound deal with the streaming giant.

Heart of Invictus, which aired last August, followed a group of service members on their road to the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style sporting competition set up by Harry in 2014 for injured and sick military personnel and veterans.

Netflix also released the documentary series Live to Lead and the controversial six-part Harry & Meghan documentary in December 2022.

In the latter, the duke and duchess shed light on their troubled life within the royal family, accusing Kensington Palace of lying to protect William, and Charles, now king, of lying at the Megxit summit.

Archewell Productions, formed by the couple in 2020, is “dedicated to illuminating thought-provoking and diverse narratives that underscore our common humanity and celebrate community”, according to the company’s website.

Harry and Meghan moved to the US in 2020 after stepping down from royal duties.

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Biden pledges to defend Philippines from any attack in South China Sea | Philippines

Joe Biden has pledged to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, as he hosted the first joint summit with Manila and Tokyo amid growing tensions with Beijing.

“The United States’ defence commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad,” the US president said on Thursday as he met the Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.

The summit at the White House comes after repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waterway that have raised fears of a wider conflict.

Biden’s pledge follows a bilateral meeting between Biden and Kishida and the upgrading of their alliance, which also drew strong condemnation from the Chinese government.

“Any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty,” said Biden.

The US president made a similar commitment when he hosted the Philippine president at the White House last year.

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several south-east Asian nations including the Philippines.

The so-called “gray-zone” harassment by China has included shining military-grade lasers at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), firing water cannon at vessels and ramming into Philippine ships running resupply missions near the Second Thomas Shoal, which both Manila and Beijing claim.

In 1999, Manila intentionally ran a second world war-era ship aground on the shoal, establishing a permanent military presence there.

Beijing accused the Philippines of violating Chinese sovereignty in the South China Sea on Thursday.

The foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said China was “committed to managing the situation at Ren’ai Jiao with the Philippines through dialogue and consultation” but that the Philippines had refused to tow away the vessel. She said Beijing would “allow” the resupply missions if it was given prior notice and the ability to inspect and monitor the process.

Mao also accused Manila of ignoring a “gentleman’s agreement” made with the previous president, Rodrigo Duterte, who on Friday told the Chinese state media outlet, the Global Times, that he believed the US was directing the new Philippines government.

“When I was president of the Philippines, there was no quarrel in the South China Sea, we were able to return to normal (relations),” he told the nationalistic tabloid.

“I’m pretty sure that it’s the US that is giving instructions to the Philippines, telling the current Philippine government not to be afraid (to go for a fight) because the US will support Manila.”

Chinese coast guard ships also regularly approach disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands near Taiwan, and the increasing tensions have prompted Biden to boost alliances in the region.

As they met around a horseshoe-shaped wooden table in the grand East Room of the US presidential residence, the US, Japanese and Philippine leaders hailed the meeting as “historic.”

Without mentioning China by name, they painted their alliance as a bedrock of peace and democracy in the Asia-Pacific region in contrast to authoritarian Beijing.

Marcos, seen as closer to Washington than his more China-leaning predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, said they shared an “unwavering commitment to the rules-based international order.”

Kishida said that “multi-layered cooperation is essential” and that “today’s meeting will make history.”

Biden, 81, also held separate talks with Marcos, 66, the son and namesake of the country’s former dictator.

The joint summit came a day after Biden hosted a lavish state visit for Japan’s Kishida during which he unveiled a historic upgrade in defense ties aimed at countering a resurgent China.

Directly warning of risks from the rise of China, Kishida said that Japan – stripped of its right to a military after the second world war – was determined to do more to share responsibility with its ally the United States.

China responded, saying the United States and Japan had “smeared” its reputation during Kishida’s state visit.

Beijing foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Washington and Tokyo had “attacked China on Taiwan and maritime issues, grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, and seriously violated the basic norms governing international relations.”

Japan and the Philippines are the latest Asia-Pacific allies to be hosted by Biden, who was joined by Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August.

But Biden has also moved to manage tensions with China, holding a two-hour phone call with President Xi Jinping last week after a face-to-face meeting in San Francisco in November.

On Wednesday Biden said the major upgrade in defense ties with Japan was “purely defensive” and “not aimed at any one nation or a threat to the region.”

With Agence France-Presse and Associated Press

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Country diary: Standing up for the lesser celandine, a truly sensitive flower | Environment

William Wordsworth’s best‑known poem may be addressed to daffodils, but his favourite flower in the year’s bright early succession was the lesser celandine. It’s a preference I share. On the whole, gardeners and botanists do not. Those I’ve canvassed for their opinion regard its cold-months, late-February-to-early-May profusion along verges and across lawns with something approaching disdain. I view it as our native miniature tournesol, or sunflower, following the brief sallies of sunlight, clamming up and drooping under the grey skies of a Welsh spring.

Here along the sodden vernal lanes of Radnorshire, its mounded growths of heart-shaped leaves and its vivid golden flowers on frail stems are ubiquitous, bringing a stellar texture to roadside banks and meadows. They impart and enrich the winter-grey grasses with sun‑tones before primroses and daffodils are fully in flower, then age before our eyes to a blanched drabness that still retains the charm of heart-shaped petals to complement its fleshy leaves.

There is something about the lesser celandine that resonates with our own blossoming and fading. From its gold-spangled profusion across every field, along the banks of each sunken lane at the earliest hint of spring, here’s a flower that is responsive to every climatic vagary the season can offer. Small wonder that Wordsworth thrilled to its responsiveness. He took it as correlative to his own sensitivity to nature and, in espousing its cause, defended it against an apparent disregard in English verse that paralleled the one he had suffered in that sphere.

It’s an odd flower – so delicate to be flowering in the harshest of seasons, so slight, and yet so vivid. Wordsworth actually wrote three poems to it, all of them fine and complex verses. He doesn’t mention the wealth of names bestowed on it (my favourite is “spring’s messenger”), nor does he refer to its exposed pale tubers, cabbage-scented, from which another name tells us of folk‑medicine usage: “pilewort”.

Such a wealth of cultural texture attached to this glowing early visitant! Enjoy it this year while you can, for its heliophilic brilliance is already fading, and you will have to wait till late February of 2025 to rejoice in it again.

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Network of ‘ghost roads’ paves the way for levelling Asia-Pacific rainforests | Deforestation

A vast network of undocumented “ghost roads” is pushing into the world’s untouched rainforests and driving their destruction in the Asia-Pacific region, a new study has found.

By using Google Earth to map tropical forests on Borneo, Sumatra and New Guinea islands, researchers from James Cook University in Australia documented 1.37 m kilometres (850,000 miles) of roads across 1.4m sq kilometres of rainforest on the islands – between three and seven times what is officially recorded on road databases.

These ghost roads, which include bulldozed tracks through natural rainforest and informal roads on palm-oil plantations, were “almost always” an indicator of future destruction of nearby rainforests, according to the study published in the journal Nature. They are “among the gravest of all direct threats to tropical forests”, the researchers concluded.

“They’re being constructed by a range of people, including legal or illegal agriculturalists, miners, loggers, land grabbers, land speculators and drug traffickers,” said Prof Bill Laurance, a co-author of the study. “By sharply increasing access to formerly remote natural areas, unregulated road development is triggering dramatic increases in environmental disruption due to activities such as logging, mining and land-clearing.”

A team of more than 200 trained volunteers and study authors performed the analysis over a combined 7,000 hours. They estimate 640,000 hours would be required to map all of the roads on Earth.

“There are some 25m kilometres of new paved roads expected by mid-century and 90% of all road construction is happening in developing nations, including many tropical and subtropical regions with exceptional biodiversity,” Laurance said.

“Worryingly, our new findings show that the extent and length of roads in the tropical Asia-Pacific is severely underestimated, with many roads being out of government control. In these findings, nature is the big loser.”

Ghost roads are ‘among the gravest of all direct threats to tropical forests’, say the researchers. Photograph: Bram Ebus/The Guardian

The researchers said their findings tally with earlier studies in Cameroon, Solomon Islands and Brazil, with road building almost always preceding local forest loss.

“Informally or illicitly constructed ghost roads can be bulldozed tracks in logged forests, roads in palm-oil plantations and other roads missing from existing road datasets for various reasons,” said Laurance.

Last year, the destruction of the world’s most pristine rainforests continued at a relentless rate despite efforts to slow the loss. While there were falls in Colombia and Brazil, the world lost an area nearly the size of Switzerland from previously undisturbed forests.

The survival of rainforests is essential to meeting the goals of the Paris agreement to limit global heating to 1.5C and the Kunming-Montreal framework on biodiversity.

Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X for all the latest news and features

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