Australia & Oceania

"Australian firefighters battled more than 100 bushfires across two eastern states on Sunday as authorities warned that parts of the country could expected a severe bushfire season this summer."

"The New Zealand government has banned tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in an attempt to save the struggling species."

"Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is in very poor condition because of climate change, over fishing and land clearing, a state agency said on Friday, as it downgraded the reef’s status to the lowest level, which could jeopardize its World Heritage status."

"The vast, untapped coal reserve in northeastern Australia had for years been the object of desire for the Indian industrial giant Adani. In June, when the Australian authorities granted the company approval to extract coal from the reserve, they weren’t just rewarding its lobbying and politicking, they were also opening the door for Adani to realize its grand plan for a coal supply chain that stretches across three countries."

"Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods and drought damaged 45% of the marine ecosystems along Australia’s coast in a seven-year period, CSIRO research shows."

"Indonesia plans to close its eastern island of Komodo to the public next year in a bid to conserve rare Komodo dragons, the largest living species of lizard, a provincial official said on Tuesday."

"Researchers have found high levels of radiation in giant clams near the Central Pacific site where the United States entombed waste from nuclear testing almost four decades ago, raising concerns the contamination is spreading from the dump site’s tainted groundwater into the ocean and the food chain."