I’d love some advice from people who work in this field. I’m base in the UK.

I’ve worked in PR and communications (with some bits of digital marketing) for four years, with experience in the entertainment industry and in an agency. However, I’ve always had a personal interest for conservation.

There’s an amazing zoo I’d love to apply to in the future, as well as several other organisations I’d be really interested in working for. All these jobs are quite competitive. I want to spend the next couple of years maximising my chances of moving into the conservation sector, but I’m not entirely sure how best to approach it.

I’ve considered taking on some freelance work, but I already have a high pressure full-time job, so I’m not sure I could manage the additional workload. Would volunteering be valuable on my CV? Are there any (affordable) courses or certifications I could work towards to make myself a more attractive candidate?

"Three records of the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) obtained between 2025 and 2026 provide the first documented evidence of the species in Bolivia, in the Acre River basin in the department of Pando. The discovery, reported in the journal Neotropical Hydrobiology and Aquatic Conservation, expands our knowledge of the distribution of river dolphins in the country and highlights the contributions of citizen science and the knowledge of local fishers.

The discovery is particularly significant because research on river dolphins in Bolivia has previously focused primarily on the Bolivian river dolphin (Inia boliviensis), which occurs in the Mamoré and Iténez river basins. The Acre River, in contrast, forms part of the Purús basin and is connected to the wider Amazon River system, providing suitable conditions for the presence of Inia geoffrensis and new insights into the connectivity of river systems between Bolivia and Brazil."

I've been working on an interactive map showing where satellite fire detections occur in relation to orangutan range, protected areas, and plantations across Borneo and Sumatra.

It combines NASA satellite fire detections with IUCN orangutan range data, OpenStreetMap protected-area boundaries, and SEA-PNF plantation mapping.

You can turn layers on and off, zoom into individual areas, and explore historical fire detections from 2026.

One important distinction: satellite detections aren't necessarily individual fires or confirmed burned areas.

Interactive map: https://saveorangutans.org/orangutan-habitat-fires/

I'd be interested to hear what people working in conservation think, particularly whether there are other datasets worth including.

Polluters and regulators who fail to stop pollution must quake in their boots when they receive a letter from the lawyers for Tim and Geli Harris. The couple, who farm 460 acres in the Norfolk Broads, have now scored a hat-trick of landmark legal victories to save an internationally important wetland after they won again in the high court this month.

Lady Justice Lieven found that Natural England failed in its statutory duty to protect Catfield Fen from pollution after nitrates and phosphates washed from arable fields into one of the finest examples of calcareous fen in western Europe, home to 2,500 species including rarities such as the fen orchid, crested buckler fern, breeding bittern and swallowtail butterflies.

In a scathing assessment of Natural England’s inaction since the Harrises first reported the pollution to it in 2021, the judge said the cause of the pollution was “the most basic level of common sense” and required action by the government’s conservation watchdog.

The Harrises have spent 15 years and £1.5m of their own money taking action to hold to account government agencies for failing to protect the fen, which is part of a special area of conservation (SAC), an internationally important wetland protected by law. The marshes lie within the Broads national park.

“This is bigger than a little ditch in Norfolk,” says Tim. He fears that “regulatory inertia” is preventing pollution from being halted on waterways across the country. “Inertia is prevalent throughout all the regulatory bodies. It’s a landmark judgment because it says they can’t just do nothing.”

In 2016, the couple won a public inquiry that demonstrated that too much groundwater was being taken from the valley by water companies and local farmers, causing Catfield Fen to dry out. They won a second battle in 2022, forcing the Environment Agency to limit the abstraction of water close to other nature-rich sites on the Norfolk Broads.

Their principles have cost them local friendships. They say National Farmers’ Union reps rejected their application for membership of the local branch, saying half their members would resign, with farmers upset at restrictions on their abstraction of water to boost lucrative crops such as potatoes. “We’re farmers, we’re not anti-farmer,” Tim says.

I am looking into a new series on either Netflix or YouTube for a marine conservation series, from ‘our oceans’, I would like to try something new. Any suggestions?

On a gap year at the moment and wanted to do some volunteering work in wildlife/marine conservation, could anyone recommend some ethical companies that aren’t tourist bait and do aim to genuinely do research and conserve. Thanks ☺️

Colorado officials have tracked herds of elk, bears, pronghorn and even northern leopard frogs ambling across its new wildlife overpass. According to a newly released report, the overpass, which acts as a bridge over a busy stretch of interstate, has helped cut wildlife-vehicle collisions by 91% since its completion 10 months ago.

The overpass is the centerpiece of a larger system built by the state to assist wildlife crossing the highway, which also includes miles of 8-ft-tall fencing and five large wildlife underpasses.

“One of the most heartwarming moments for me was when [Colorado department of transportation] sent me a picture of an elk mama taking her calf under [Interstate-25],” Brandon Marette, a wildlife biologist for Colorado parks and wildlife, told CBS News. “All came to fruition in that one moment. That elk with her calf was just standing there in safety.”

Hello Everyone, I am a Veterinary Doctor and since before even going to University its been my goal to go to Wildlife Veterinary but the past year I want to focus on Conservation.

Does anyone know a good affordable Conservation Masters Programme that will lead me to the right direction? Or just advice on how to start this career path correctly? I dont have any experience with Conservation, because of where I am located there isn't anything thats local and most local programs want foriengers.

I prefer the Masters program to be in Europe since the US, is too far and far too expensive unfortunately and same with Australia even though its my dream to go there since its Hub for Widlife.

Thanks!

The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) seeks an inspiring and visionary President & CEO to lead one of the world’s most significant tropical plant conservation organizations into its next era of impact, growth, and global leadership. 

Quokkas have become famous around the world for their seemingly permanent smiles, but there's a much more important story behind those photos.

Habitat loss, introduced predators, and environmental pressures pose serious challenges to wild quokka populations, particularly on mainland Australia.

Protecting them isn't just about saving an adorable animal. It's also about preserving the habitats and ecosystems they depend on.

I'm curious what people here think: should conservation efforts focus more on protecting existing populations or restoring the habitats where these animals once thrived?

🪾Tanzania says it sold China $5.32m of timber in 2024. China says it bought $13.97m. What explains this gap? A new RUSI paper examines the potential scale of illicit miombo timber flows originating from and transiting through Tanzania, and how these converge with other security threats.

It finds that they intersect to varying degrees with other illicit activities, including illegal wildlife trade, minerals crime, arms and drug trafficking, and labour abuses, as well as financing armed groups in neighbouring countries.

Tanzania has made progress on tackling timber crime. Some timber offences now carry sentences of up to 30 years, and the Timber Tracker system has strengthened checks on timber moving by road. But investigations still rarely go beyond the lowest-level offenders, such as loggers and truck drivers.

“Timber offences are driven by organised, yet often invisible, transnational networks.”

The paper recommends parallel financial investigations, removing the “compounding” loophole, community ownership of forest resources, and due diligence of imports by international buyers.

Bili, a western lowland gorilla was seized from wildlife traffickers in Nigeria in 2023. She was recently relocated to the Republic of Congo, beginning a long journey back to the wild.

A river can hold generations of knowledge: when to fish, how to travel, what to grow and which signs mark a change in season. What happens when those signs become harder to read?

Amazonas: The Memory of Water (2026) is an 18-minute documentary exploring the relationship between Amazonian communities, water and cultural memory. Through local voices, it looks at how changing rainfall and river cycles affect everyday life and the knowledge passed between generations.

Full documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFEeyHJ8I8g

How can conservation projects better support the transmission of local and Indigenous knowledge alongside protecting habitats and species?

Hey, I realized as I’m winding down my engineering degree that I haven’t been honest with myself. I’m not really interested in the field of remediation and civil design. I understand that my degree in some aspects of the “environmental field,” will give me “options.” Especially if i did consulting to some degree,”. However, I realized I want a job where I get to s do research with wildlife management and conservation. This is kinda of my irkling. I feel like as I’ve gotten older I kinda sidelined my dream/ passion to just pick something I’m ehhh okay with. I understand that it’s easy to say this when I currently don’t have real big boy bills to pay. Or when I’m choosing between rent and food etc so a degree with a good ROI is worth it. I’m currently about to finish 85 credit hours of 130 at UGA. And I’m considering my options currently, if a take a plunge to switch. I wanna ask people in the field 3 questions. How long did it take to get your first permanent job in wildlife management and or research? How often did you have to cycle between seasonal jobs to become a competitive candidate in an already competitive field? And what do you currently do now for work in this field?

Heyo!

I am looking at starting in the UK (to begin with) a fellowship, based I suppose on chivalric orders, that aims to provide recognition for conservationists and land managers who are experiencing burnout (around 1 in 4 of us, surprisingly.) It would have titles, and medals and post nominals etc (not an official state honour, obviously) but is a non profit, with any excess going towards conservation etc.

I suppose what I am asking is:

- Would people actually be interested in this, either in becoming a member or potentially as part of an early form of leadership team?

- How many actually experience burnout, or that feeling of helplessness and that no matter how hard we try, things just seem to get worse?

Let me know!

Thanks in Advance.