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Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarran) are critically endangered and would benefit from conservation efforts.Credit: Alex Mustard/Nature Picture Library
Funding imperils biodiversity breakthrough
Disputes over how to finance conservation are threatening countries’ ability to meet the goals of a landmark biodiversity plan signed at the COP15 summit. The signatories agreed to establish a trust fund by the end of this year and that wealthy nations should collectively pay US$30 billion annually by 2030. A proposal is now under discussion to establish the fund with at least $200 million by December, but donor countries seem to be reluctant to agree on an initial budget. Low- and middle-income nations say that the initial amount proposed is not enough. Researchers have suggested that $700 billion is needed to fully safeguard and restore nature.
Open-source AI chatbots are booming
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, are grabbing headlines, but there is a quiet revolution going on when it comes to open-source chatbots. A volunteer-developed system called BLOOM is a large language model designed for researchers. And LLaMA — a model originally developed by Facebook’s parent company, Meta — has been shrunk to the point where it can run on a laptop instead of needing a huge computing facility. Making neural networks open source will make for more accessible, more transparent AI and reduce the systems’ biases, say proponents. Critics worry that making these powerful tools broadly accessible increases the chances that they will end up in the wrong hands.
Net-zero pledges stall at starting line
Some 75% of nations that have net-zero targets have enshrined them in law or policy documents. But the plans needed to implement those pledges are lacking in almost all cases, says a report compiled by climate researchers who track net-zero commitments. Although the number of countries, regions, cities and companies that haves set net-zero targets has increased significantly over the past two years, most have not even crossed the starting line criteria — as defined by the United Nations in its Race to Zero campaign — to actually reach their pledges. In almost every case, there was “no movement whatsoever” towards a viable strategy, says John Lang, who leads the Net Zero Tracker collaboration.
Reference: Net Zero Stocktake 2023 report
Features & opinion
A satellite image of Palmyra atoll.Credit: NOAA
Fungi come to rescue of lost island paradise
This lushly photographed feature travels to the North Pacific atoll of Palmyra — home to some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world. Its land has been ravaged by invasive coconut-palm trees and scarred by US military activity. Now a nature preserve, Palmyra is a natural laboratory for studying whether networks of fungi below ground can help to revive damaged habitats. “If we can get restoration right on islands, we have this great capacity to have an outsized impact on reversing the world’s biodiversity crisis,” says ecologist Holly Jones.
How to treat the epidemic of noise
Chronic noise is not just annoying, it’s a health threat that goes largely unrecognized. The relentless din of cars, trains and planes increases the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks. Even people who live in generally quiet areas are affected: jarring, sudden sounds are particularly detrimental. This interactive feature looks at how cities and countries are taking action. Paris has installed noise cameras to monitor vehicles’ sound levels, and Switzerland has introduced national quiet hours.
The New York Times | 12 min read
Image of the week
Credit: Gaurav Gardi
When made to rotate by a magnetic field, these ‘microbots’ sorted themselves into a pattern with most of the larger ones in the centre and the smaller ones on the outside. The phenomenon might one day be used to assemble microscopic structures, and to understand the process of self-organization, in which local interactions — between molecules, cells or animals, for example — lead to order in a system. (Nature | 2 min read)
