🌿 Good News
Green turtles, now listed as least concern (opens in a new tab)
Green turtles have moved to "least concern" in global conservation rankings, a rare bright spot while many other species are declining. In a story dated October 14, the Japan Times reports from Malaysia that decades of egg relocation, marine protection, and trade bans sit behind that change. Nesting on Sabah's Turtle Islands has tripled since the 1970s, to more than 20,000 nests a year. The islands have been protected since 1977, and Sabah banned turtle meat and eggs in 1997. Recovery is uneven: the article says some regional populations are still endangered and declining. It also notes that WWF's Living Planet Report, released the previous Thursday, found a 73 percent average decline in monitored wildlife populations over 53 years, while about half of the tracked vertebrate populations are stable or increasing.
Why it's cozy: A Malaysian turtle scientist even talked her own father out of eating turtle eggs, the kind of patient, close-to-home care behind the green turtle's recovery.
