The Conversation

Forget eyecatching headlines about planting millions of new trees – natural mature forests are far better at storing carbon. Kate Dooley, Research Fellow, Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne Brendan Mackey, Director of the Griffith Climate Change Response Program, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The reported number of deaths of people campaigning to protect the environment has tripled over a 15 year period. Nathalie Butt, Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Queensland Mary Menton, Research Fellow in Environmental Justice, University of Sussex Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

There's precious little business case for nuclear power in Australia, but we could start with the end product: storing radioactive waste. Heiko Timmers, Associate Professor of Physics, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Environmental protections in Australia are built on assumptions about where animals live – and it's harming our wildlife. Romane H. Cristescu, Posdoc in Ecology, University of the Sunshine Coast Anthony Schultz, PhD Candidate, University of the Sunshine Coast Celine Frere, Senior lecturer, University of the Sunshine Coast David Schoeman, Professor of Global-Change Ecology, University of the Sunshine Coast Kylie Scales, Senior lecturer, University of the Sunshine Coast Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Hitting the Paris targets will go a long way to securing Melbourne's water supply against future pressure. Ben Henley, Research Fellow in Climate and Water Resources, University of Melbourne Andrew King, ARC DECRA fellow, University of Melbourne Anna Ukkola, Research Associate, Climate Change Research Centre, Australian National University Murray Peel, Senior lecturer, University of Melbourne Rory Nathan, Associate Professor Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia's recycling woes belong to everyone, from households to government to business. It's time to stop pointing fingers and get to work on a solution. Trevor Thornton, Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New Zealand has proposed new fuel standards, along with a consumer rebates for cleaner cars – paid for by higher costs for high-polluting cars – to cut its rising transport emissions. Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Monaro grasslands are a tiny surviving fraction of the native grasslands that once grew across the Southern Tablelands. Mike Letnic, Professor, Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

An exhaustive search involving 44,000 field staff, 318,000 habitat surveys and nearly 35 million photos has revealed India's tiger population is on the rise. Matt Hayward, Associate professor, University of Newcastle Joseph K. Bump, Associate Professor, Gordon W. Gullion Endowed Chair in Forest Wildlife Research and Education, University of Minnesota Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Irrigators get too much water from the Barwon-Darling even when river levels are critically low, according to a NSW government review. Barry Hart, Emeritus Professor Water Science, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Albany pitcher plants are more closely related to cabbages and roses than any other carnivorous plant. Adam Cross, Research Fellow, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Corals, mangroves and seagrass habitats have been affected by extreme weather events, and some may never recover. Russ Babcock, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Anthony Richardson, Professor, The University of Queensland Beth Fulton, CSIRO Research Group Leader Ecosystem Modelling and Risk Assessment, CSIRO Eva Plaganyi, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Rodrigo Bustamante, Research Group Leader , CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The clearest picture yet of the past 2,000 years of global temperatures has shown warming in the last 50-odd years is unprecedented in the last two millennia. Ben Henley, Research Fellow in Climate and Water Resources, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Proposed rules for managing energy demand could potentially lower prices and reduce blackout risk, but there are reasons to be skeptical. Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Many rural town water supplies cannot weather even a single year of drought. This is a failure of planning and funding on a grand scale. Michael Roderick, Professor, Research School of Earth Sciences and Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Scientists introduced credible climate change to the world in 1979, but it's taken decades for their message to sink in. Neville Nicholls, Professor emeritus, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Lions don't generally have armies of hyenas, but not every aspect of The Lion King is inaccurate. Alexander Richard Braczkowski, PhD Candidate - Wildlife Cameraman, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Waterwheel plants use snap up mosquito larvae, tiny fish and even tadpoles in freshwater wetlands around the world – including remote parts of north Australia. Adam Cross, Research Fellow, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

An update of the IUCN Red List attempts to map the real extent of global biodiversity loss. Peter Kyne, Senior Research Fellow in conservation biology, Charles Darwin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A small surcharge on dog food could massively improve conservation for Australia's native dingos and wild dogs. Neil R Jordan, Lecturer, UNSW Rob Appleby, PhD student at the Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.