Search results (34)
« Back to NewsResearchers issue urgent call to save the world’s largest flower - Rafflesia - from extinction
21 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
An international group of scientists, including botanists at the University of Oxford’s Botanic Garden, has issued an urgent call for coordinated action to save the iconic genus Rafflesia, which contains the world’s largest flowers. This follows a new study which found that most of the 42 species are severely threatened.
Lions on the brink – New analysis reveals the differing threats to African lion populations
12 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity
New research co-led by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU, Department of Biology) has revealed alarming data about dwindling lion populations in Africa, but gives new insight into conservation strategies.
From The Conversation: China makes developers pay compensation for their ecological impacts – here’s how this unique scheme works
10 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Professor EJ Milner-Gulland and other researchers from the Department of Biology/Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science explore how the ecological compensation system in China works.
The race to save the world’s most trafficked wild species
1 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity
A feature article on the work of Dr Tin (Henry) Hung (Department of Biology) to save Dalbergia, the rosewood tree, which is severely threatened across all countries in its distribution range.
More than 900 at-risk animal and plant species not covered by global trade protections, new research shows
12 July 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
A new study from the Department of Biology has revealed that two-fifths of species likely threatened by the international wildlife trade are not covered by the global agreement that regulates it.
Oxford biologists comment on new Genetic Technology Act
24 March 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Sustainability & the environment
Oxford biologists comment on new legislation that will unlock key technologies to improve UK food security, reduce pesticide use, and enhance climate-resilience in our crops.
From The Conversation: UN biodiversity conference: what does living in harmony with nature look like?
20 December 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Senior Research Fellow Dr Alexandra Zimmermann from the Department of Biology writes about the complexities of resolving human-wildlife conflict and achieving coexistence.
Oxford University delegation to champion nature at UN biodiversity conference
7 December 2022
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity
Launching today, the United Nations Conference of the Parties for Biodiversity (COP15) will convene governments from nearly 200 countries to agree to a new set of goals to tackle the biodiversity crisis over the next decade.
Big egos, lack of staff training and policy enforcement are major barriers to island conservation
6 December 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
A new study led by the University of Oxford is the first to quantify the day-to-day barriers that conservation workers face as they try to conserve and manage island ecosystems around the world.
Most Asian countries are unlikely to meet future biodiversity targets for protected areas
5 December 2022
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity Sustainability & the environment
Ahead of COP15, researchers make key recommendations for policymakers to support Asian countries to meet 2030 biodiversity targets.
Twelve new UK sites created or restored for globally endangered Large blue butterfly
25 August 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity
The sites are being restored to flower-rich meadows suitable for Large blue butterflies. Professor Jeremy Thomas of the Department of Biology, and Chair of the Joint Committee for the Re-establishment of the Large Blue Butterfly, spearheaded the successful reintroduction in the UK.
Oxford University to support deep-sea expedition to the Maldives
25 August 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
Oxford University researchers are playing a key role in the first systematic survey of ocean life in the Maldives, from the surface to 1000 metres deep. This will enable the Maldivian Government to develop conservation and sustainable development policies, so that the oceans continue to protect and provide for the Maldivian people.
How to finance marine conservation without harming local communities
15 August 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Hollie Booth from the Department of Biology discusses whether international marine tourists might be prepared to pay towards community-based shark conservation, in an article first published on the Conversation.
Nathalie Seddon: Expose ‘greenwashing’ but do not ignore nature-based solutions to climate change
24 June 2022
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity
Nature-based solutions must not be forgotten in the drive to stabilise the climate. But care must be taken to ensure they are not hijacked or misused to ‘greenwash’ emissions, insists Oxford biodiversity expert Professor Nathalie Seddon in a landmark article for the journal Science.
Sale of donkey skins linked to trade in illegal wildlife products
9 May 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research Zoology
Newly published research from WildCRU in the Department of Zoology, in collaboration with the Saïd Business School, raises important concerns about whether the trade in donkey skins is being used as a cover for smuggling elephant tusks, pangolin scales and other illegal wildlife products.
From the Conversation: Biodiversity: why new rules to ensure nature benefits from building projects could fail
24 March 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation Zoology
EJ Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, and colleagues from the University of Kent write about “biodiversity net gain” – a measure applying to most new developments in England which is intended to ensure nature is left better off overall than before the project began.
From The Conversation: How we discovered that sea turtles in Seychelles have recovered from the brink
17 March 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Plant sciences Research
April Burt from the Department of Plant Sciences, together with colleagues from the Universities of Exeter and Pisa, writes about a success story on the isolated Aldabra Atoll.
The hidden footprint of low-carbon indoor farming
3 March 2022
Climate Engineering Food security & biodiversity
A new study challenges the universal land-saving claims of vertical farming, finding that there is no one size fits all approach for land use, food security and sustainable agriculture.
Mystery of sweet potato origin uncovered, as missing link plant found by Oxford research
25 January 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Plant sciences Research
New scientific research from Oxford University's Plant Sciences department transforms our understanding of the origins of the sweet potato - identifying a key piece in the puzzle of the evolutionary history of one of the world’s most important staple crops.
Oxford researchers discover unexpected deep diving in albatross
20 January 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research Zoology
Data collected by the team revealed that 50% of the birds studied were capable of diving over twice the depth previously thought, with implications for conservation efforts of this endangered species.