Conservation and Science

What if the world's most powerful climate solution is being logged away while politicians and industry groups feed us misinformation? How can an ecosystem store three times more carbon per acre than the Amazon rainforest? Why has the international science community remained largely silent about the destruction of temperate rainforests? Our conversation with Paul Koberstein, co-author of "Canopy of Titans - The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest" tackles these urgent questions head-on. The Great North American temperate rainforest stretches 2,500 miles from northern California to Alaska, making it the largest intact temperate rainforest on Earth. Yet this carbon-dense ecosystem faces ongoing threats from industrial logging, greenwashing campaigns, and policy decisions that prioritise short-term profits over long-term climate stability.Paul shares his journey from camping beneath old-growth Douglas firs as a child to becoming an investigative environmental journalist covering forest issues for over 40 years. Our conversation examines the troubling parallels between the timber industry's tactics and those employed by fossil fuel and tobacco companies. We discuss how scientists like Dr Beverly Law faced persecution for publishing research on how forests benefit the climate. Paul explains the "global blind spot" that has allowed temperate rainforest logging to continue largely unchallenged, even as the international community rallies to protect tropical rainforests. The book reveals how industry-funded research has shaped policy debates and obscured the true climate impact of logging these ancient forests.Despite the sobering realities, Paul offers hope through examples of successful grassroots activism. When thousands of people raised their voices against Drax's expansion into California, the project was cancelled. Our conversation also touches on the dramatic shift in US climate policy under different administrations and what this means for forest protection efforts globally. Paul's advice is clear: to save a forest, you must work at it every day, but to destroy it, you only need to do it once. This episode is essential listening for anyone who cares about climate action, forest conservation, and cutting through corporate greenwashing.Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science NewsletterSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee.Recommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/booksMerch: tommysoutdoors.com/shopFollow Tommy's Outdoors on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and FacebookTommy’s Outdoors is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk The guest featured in this episode paid a nominal guesting fee. This fee did not directly influence the content of the episode. The guest had no editorial control, did not review the episode before publication, and did not influence the questions asked during the interview.

Can we find a middle ground between those who see the EU's wolf downlisting as a catastrophe and those who celebrate it as good news? The debate around wolf conservation in the EU has become frustratingly polarised, with both sides 'crying wolf' about the consequences of changing protection status. It's time to step back and look at the evidence.When dealing with controversial subjects like this, it is important to be factual and follow the evidence. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to talk about it with Dr Hanna Pettersson, one of the most prominent early career voices in interdisciplinary conservation. Hanna is the lead author of a paper titled 'Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves and Other Species for European Conservation', co-authored with Professor Erica von Essen, who was also a guest on the acclaimed episode 163.During our conversation, we discuss the success conundrum in conservation, the difference between ecological and social carrying capacity, and why we need to think about future pathways rather than looking back. We also talk about the role of legal hunting in reducing poaching and the importance of working with local communities who have lived alongside wolves for generations. Of course, there are larger systemic issues underneath and we don't shy away from discussing those as well, including inequality as a driver of biodiversity loss.Further reading:Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves and Other Species for European ConservationTime to stop crying wolf – on both sides of the debate - Stockholm Resilience CentreSubscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science NewsletterSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee.Recommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/booksMerch: tommysoutdoors.com/shopFollow Tommy's Outdoors on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook

On my podcast, we talk a lot about coexistence with large carnivores and the challenges it poses. Some of those challenges might seem insurmountable to some. To shed some light on overcoming these hurdles, I contacted Helen Arusoo, an Estonian nature journalist and the leader of the National Animal Working Group. In this conversation, we talk about how Estonia overcame these hurdles and created something that I would consider the gold standard of coexistence with large carnivores.Unsurprisingly, the majority of our time was spent discussing wolves as they seem to be the most difficult carnivore species to coexist with, at least in the northern hemisphere. However, we did discuss other large carnivores like bears too. Our conversation focused mostly on social and cultural factors. We also touched on the European Commission's proposal to lower the protection status of wolves, something we’ve discussed extensively in one of the previous episodes.It was a wonderful conversation and I enjoyed speaking with Helen. Her profound understanding of the challenges of coexistence is impressive. She presented a deeply thought-out perspective and I can only wish that more people who care about wolves could learn from her experience and the Estonian model of coexistence with large carnivores.Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science NewsletterSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee.Recommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/booksMerch: tommysoutdoors.com/shopFollow Tommy's Outdoors on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and FacebookMentioned in this episode:This is the Conservation and Science podcast Replay series, a curated collection of best episodes from last year. If you are new to the show, this is an excellent opportunity to catch up with the most popular episodes from the back catalogue. And if you’re a regular listener, maybe you missed one of those or want to listen to one of them again. Don’t worry! The new episodes are being published on the regular fortnightly schedule, so keep tuning in for the new content every other Tuesday.

Why are we failing to make progress on climate change and biodiversity loss despite fifty years of environmental campaigning? What changed in recent years that made it so difficult to rally support for nature? Could social inequality be the root cause undermining all our conservation efforts? These are the questions Tony Juniper addresses in his latest book 'Just Earth: How a Fairer World Will Save the Planet' and in our conversation today.Tony has been campaigning for nature for nearly forty years. He has led major organisations including BirdLife International, Friends of the Earth, and WWF UK. He is a multi-award winning author whose books include 'What Has Nature Ever Done For Us?' and 'Harmony', co-authored with King Charles III. Currently, he chairs Natural England, the British Government's official conservation agency. During our conversation, Tony reflects on the progress made over the past five decades and explains why the last fifteen years have seen a dramatic shift. He describes how political volatility, misinformation, media fragmentation, and rising inequality have created an environment where environmental progress has stalled.We discuss how obscene levels of wealth concentration, declining living standards for ordinary people, and the manipulation of public debate by vested interests have made it nearly impossible to build the broad coalition needed to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. Tony makes a compelling case that we cannot solve environmental problems without addressing social inequality. He offers practical advice on what each of us can do, starting today, to be part of the solution. This conversation challenges us to think differently about conservation and recognise the deeper societal issues we must confront.Buy Tony's Book: https://amzn.to/4ptIfs4Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science NewsletterSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee.Recommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/booksMerch: tommysoutdoors.com/shopFollow Tommy's Outdoors on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and FacebookTommy’s Outdoors is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk

What is sustainable agriculture? Does regenerative farming mean focusing primarily on the soil biome? Is farming a leading cause of biodiversity loss? …and do we really have only 60 harvests left? To get the answers to those and other questions about farming and biodiversity, join me for a conversation with an agricultural management and policy specialist, an economist, a writer and an advisor, Stuart Meikle.In this episode, Stuart shares with us the history of his education in farming and later his work in different farming environments across the world. Then we switch gears and talk about issues specific to Irish agriculture, which also has some relevance in the UK context. And so, we discuss the use of nitrogen fertilisers, soil health and whether the cuts to the size of the national cattle herd are inevitable. I also ask Stuart about his thoughts on the recently passed Nature Restoration Law.After you listen to this episode, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter so as not to miss more farming episodes that are due in the coming weeks. Being a subscriber also gives you an excellent opportunity to send me your feedback and suggestions about past and future episodes. It’s as easy as replying to an email! Finally, newsletter subscribers are first to be informed about live events and can avail themselves of substantial discounts on exclusive content.Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science NewsletterSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee.Recommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/booksMerch: tommysoutdoors.com/shopFollow Tommy's Outdoors on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and FacebookMentioned in this episode:This is the Conservation and Science podcast Replay series, a curated collection of best episodes from last year. If you are new to the show, this is an excellent opportunity to catch up with the most popular episodes from the back catalogue. And if you’re a regular listener, maybe you missed one of those or want to listen to one of them again. Don’t worry! The new episodes are being published on the regular fortnightly schedule, so keep tuning in for the new content every other Tuesday.