In all its 8.5 million km² [1], Brazil contains six continental biomes: the Amazônia, the Pantanal, the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Pampas, and the Mata Atlântica (Figure below). Each of these biomes have their own peculiarities, located in different climatic zones and hosting a wide variety of animal and plant species. Since the arrival of […]
If you think of somewhere pristine, what comes to your mind? Perhaps you think of the Galapagos Islands, remote areas of the Amazon, or some protected national park somewhere in the world. Wherever you think, you are probably wrong. Humans have been impacting the environment of our planet for thousands of years. Much has changed: […]
An important element of the Global Change Ecology programme lies in the completion of science schools. Students have a lot of freedom in choosing particular schools to participate in. This allows for plenty of flexibility and gives GCEs the opportunity to delve deeper into subjects that they already have an established interest in, or perhaps […]
Each year, we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity, or Biodiversity Day, on May 22. The United Nations sponsors this event as a way to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues across the world [1, 2, 3, 15]. The Convention on Biological Diversity and Biodiversity Day In the late 1980’s, the United Nations […]
Dear Reader, Some of you may know that I am from Brazil and I have a Bachelor of Science in Sanitation and Environmental Engineering. Among the subjects I studied was waste management. Considering we are constantly generating waste on this planet, it struck me that only in 2010 a law that concerns waste management was […]
Since the beginning of August, one of the largest fire events ever recorded has been spreading in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso and it has been devastating its territory and biodiversity Get to know the Pantanal of Mato Grosso With an area of 160,000 km², Pantanal is considered the largest wetland on the planet. It […]
The Landesnaturschutzverband Baden-Württemberg e.V. (LNV) In Baden-Württemberg, one of the 16 German states, there are 3 large nature conservation organizations: the BUND, the NABU and the LNV. LNV is an umbrella organization with 33 member organizations including nature conservation organizations, fishing, hunting and hiking organizations. “Sometimes there are conflicts between freetime activities like mountain biking, […]
We live on the soil she gives us, We breath the air she provides, We eat the fruits from the fields and trees around us. And yet, we take her for granted. She satisfies our thirst for water, She eases us with a light rustling of green leaves when we are out of balance, […]
It requires a little luck and steadiness to reach Benjamin Von Wong. And it also requires a lot of organizational talent regarding the time difference between Germany and the US west coast. But when we finally “meet” via Skype, the 31-year-old photographer is a very interesting and dedicated interview partner and not really what one […]
In my last article, I wrote about palm oil and the problems with this substance found almost everywhere. Instead of only writing about the problems I decided to take action and have a closer look at how palm oil is influencing my daily life. So, let’s begin with the facts. To find out when I […]
