Natural Resources

"NEW YORK - The U.N. has adopted the world's first treaty to protect the high seas and preserve marine biodiversity in international waters, marking a milestone after nearly 20 years of effort, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Monday.

The adoption followed an agreement reached in March by more than 100 countries on the of text of the High Seas Treaty, also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, after more than 15 years of discussions and five rounds of U.N.-led negotiations.

"An annual spring count instilled hope among biologists that the threatened shorebird may be recovering from recent declines. Crab harvesting bans were partly credited for the rise."

"A U.S.-based rare earth supply chain could boost clean energy and electric vehicles — and military weapons."

"The World Bank Group enabled the devastation of villages and helped a mining company justify the deaths of endangered chimps with a dubious offset."

"The Environmental Protection Agency has announced more stringent rules governing offshore oil spill response, amid continuing concerns about the effects on public health and wildlife from chemical disasters, including BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010."

"As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation."

"Grazing livestock to mimic how wildlife forages can prevent the erosion of topsoil, protect water quality and keep carbon out of the atmosphere, but it requires big changes in how the beef industry operates."

"Adding oats to a farm’s rotation can improve soil health and reduce fossil fuels, but the crop has all but disappeared in the U.S. Now, a nascent movement fueled by oat milk’s popularity may help reverse the trend."

"It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, after her agency spent many months hosting public meetings and talking with Native American leaders about curbing the pace of oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin and protecting culturally significant sites."