1. Climate change gets a $18 million boost. Thank you, Prince Charles. (TreeHugger)
2. 6,700 year-old popcorn found in Peru. Yum! (Daily Mail)
3. Wind farm threatens to blow Donald Trump’s golf course dreams. (Guardian)
4. White-nose syndrome affects six times more bats than previously thought. (TIME)
5. Here’s an interesting recycling story: butter sculpture becomes biofuel. (Green)

[Editor's Note: the following post is written by Karla Milani, marketing specialist for The Nature Conservancy in South America. This is the fourth and final in a series chronicling her journey along Colombia's Magdalena, River. Read more here.]

Today is our last day along the Magdalena River – we’ve made several stops in El Banco, well known for its cumbia music and composers, and we spent one day in Mompos, a major port in colonial times and UNESCO World Heritage Site today.

It’s Sunday morning and we are heading to the town of Calamar, where the Dique Canal begins. We will travel along the 70-mile Dique Canal all the way to the Cartagena Bay, one of Colombia’s most important ports, to explore the effects the fast-flowing canal is having on the local economy and environment. View the video above to learn more.

As our trip comes to an end, I can’t help feeling a bit nostalgic. It’s been one of my most wonderful trips in Colombia; a unique experience that most of my generation hasn’t had the opportunity to live firsthand. Thank you for following along and exploring Colombia’s Magdalena River with me.

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Birds can be tricky to photograph, but Flickr user Techuser makes it look easy with this breathtaking photo of a Magpie Tanager (Cissopis leveriana). Thanks for sharing this photo through The Nature Conservancy’s Flickr group!

See all of The Nature Conservancy’s featured daily nature images—submitted to the Conservancy’s Flickr group by people like you—at my.nature.org.

And get inspired to take your own great nature shots—check out our favorite nature photography features, including amazing slideshows and tips from the pros.

Mark Tercek is the president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy.

In the recent past, sugarcane growers and conservationists may have seemed unlikely allies.

Today, however, some of Latin America’s leading agricultural businesses — from sugarcane growers to ranchers to soy producers — understand that improving sustainability has a positive impact on their bottom line, local communities and the lands and waters on which all life depends.

This understanding comes at a key moment. As much of the world battles economic and political crises, Latin America is producing good growth, increasing prosperity and political stability. And the outlook for the decade ahead is positive.

While a number of factors will contribute to the region’s continued success, the health of its rich natural resources will be more critical than ever.

Governments and businesses in Latin America face an important decision: exploit those resources for short-term gain, or invest in and sustainably manage them to ensure that nature can keep providing for people in the long-term.

In Colombia, I recently met with sugarcane producers who are choosing the sustainable path. These no-nonsense sugarcane men aren’t your typical tree-hugging environmentalists. But they understand a simple fact: their business relies on steadily-supplied, clean water. And they recognize the important role of nature in producing and filtering water. As a result, these leaders are keenly interested in working with environmental organizations to find ways to produce more with less and ensure the long-term sustainability of their water supply.

And it’s not just agricultural companies that can benefit from integrating nature into their core business strategies. Other industries are similarly discovering that nature can be a smart and cost effective way to protect business assets, mitigate risk and create opportunities.

Latin America offers another powerful example of this idea in practice. Here, bottling company FEMSA has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Environment Facility to help restore the natural systems that produce and filter water for 50 million people across Latin America.

The new Latin American Water Funds Partnership will significantly expand a successful model we developed in Quito, Ecuador, in 2000, through which utility companies, breweries and other downstream users voluntarily provide funding for the conservation of forests and watersheds upstream.

This simple concept is a triple win for businesses, communities and nature. Companies save money by preempting the need for more costly water treatment activities. Water resources are kept healthy and flowing for local communities. And natural systems are protected to provide habitat for wildlife and deliver clean water.

Moreover, the funds are self-sustaining. After a relatively small kickoff investment, large water users make voluntary contributions into the fund. Revenue from these investments then provide funding for projects ranging from protecting forests to creating incentives for ecologically sustainable cattle ranching. The concept is so elegant and powerful that it can be replicated throughout Latin America and beyond.

Fortunately, these aren’t just isolated examples. Throughout the region, business leaders are recognizing the importance — and urgency — of ensuring that Latin America’s natural systems remain intact. For example, The Nature Conservancy recently launched the Latin America Conservation Council, co-chaired by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former Alcoa CEO Alain Belda. The group brings together more than 30 of the region’s top business and political leaders to focus on three areas that represent the most pressing conservation challenges in the region: water security, food security and smart infrastructure development.

As the Latin American economy and population both continue to expand, the private sector has a tremendous opportunity to take the lead in demonstrating that nature conservation isn’t just an aesthetic luxury — it’s an essential investment in a sustainable future.

(Image: Fernando Pallaro is one of the soy farmers working with the Conservancy in Santarém, in the state of Pará, Brazil. Image credit: © Palani Mohan/Cargill Inc.)

[Editor's Note: the following post is written by Karla Milani, marketing specialist for The Nature Conservancy in South America. This is the third in a series chronicling her journey along Colombia's Magdalena, River. Read more here.]

Yesterday was an exhausting day. We were in mine territory; finding a miner that was willing to be interviewed and share his story of illegal mining in Colombia was not an easy task.

But today is a new start. We will continue traveling down the Magdalena River, setting sail in San Pablo, heading towards the Zapatoza, Colombia’s largest freshwater marsh.

After a seven-hour trip, we arrive in Candelaria, a small village in the Zapatoza marsh, Cesar Province. Thomas Walschburger, The Nature Conservancy’s lead scientist in Colombia, is waiting for us. He took a plane from Bogotá to spend a day with the filming crew, talk to locals and witness first-hand what is being said in the capital city of Colombia: fishing in the Zapatoza is getting more and more difficult.

Thomas explains that in less than 20 years, the fish catch in the Magdalena River basin has fallen from 80,000 tons a year to 8,000 tons. Overfishing and the increasing need for food have caused a dramatic fall in fish stock; it’s down to just 10% of what it used to be.

Today, local fishermen in Candelaria have given up on traditional cast nets and have adopted the use of the trammel – an illegal fishing net 3 kilometers in length that catches small, medium and large fish, no matter their size.

Despite of the trammel being so popular around here and the threat it represents, Candelaria is still well preserved. In fact, Candelaria is one of the most biodiverse places in Zapatoza.

The flooding in 2010, the worst in the past 50 years in Colombia, has recovered some species, like catfish, that were on the brink of extinction. Thanks to high water levels, a local fisherman can catch up to 300 tons of fish in one night using the trammel. But this plenty is temporary; the use of the trammel is not sustainable and rather sooner than later fishing will be difficult again.

[Image: A tree stands alone in the high water of the Zapatosa. Image credit: Paul Smith]

1. Festive infographic calculates Santa’s carbon footprint. (TreeHugger)
2. The proof is in the photos: Chilean glacier shrinks half a mile in 12 months. (Mother Nature Network)
3. Warming temperatures drive polar bears to cannibalism. (BBC)
4. Half of all vehicles will be hybrids by 2040. (Green Tech)
5. Deforestation rates in Africa are accelerating. (Environmental News Service)

[Editor's Note: the following post is written by Karla Milani, marketing specialist for The Nature Conservancy in South America. This is the second in a series chronicling her journey along Colombia's Magdalena, River. Read more here.]

Today the filming crew and I are getting ready for an early start; we are headed to the Caguises, an illegal gold mine in the Bolivar Province, along the Magdalena River in Colombia.

It’s still dark out when we hop on motorbikes and begin our drive to the mine. Beautiful native tropical forests and marshlands line our scenic ride, making me think we’re headed to paradise. After an hour and a half on navigating the bumpy road, capuchin monkeys rise from their hideouts in the trees — it’s breakfast time for them.

Further down the road, the landscape opens up and the impressive San Lucas mountain range pops into view. Unfortunately, San Lucas is a hotspot for illegal gold mining in Colombia.

At 9 a.m., the sun is burning down and the thick air makes it difficult to breathe. At last, we arrive at the Caguises gold mine. The land is nothing but deep craters — it feels as though we’re staring at the surface of the moon. The land is completely barren.

We see tiny houses covered with plastic walls surrounding the mining site; these are the miners’ temporary houses. If the mine shuts down, it’ll be easy to move on.

The mine’s boss, a hearty man with serene eyes and a slow gait, approaches us and asks what are we doing here. Tension fills the air. After a few minutes of silence, he allows us to enter the mine.

The view is devastating: the land has been dug for more than 30 years and a very thin line of forest remains. There is nothing left behind. The diggers work non-stop and the miners spend 10 hours or more washing away huge mountains of soil hoping to find at least some gold left. And there is some left.

Gustavo Montoya, a 42-year-old man, born in Apartadó, in the Province of Antioquia, has spent half of his life traveling throughout Colombia, working as a miner. Today, he’s made some progress and is renting out pieces of land in Caguises for mining. Business is growing.

Nonetheless, Gustavo complains about how unrealistic the government policies are concerning illegal gold mines. “It’s hard for me to take $200,000 out of my pocket to legalize my mining business,” Gustavo tells us. Miners think the government wants to shut them down and allow bigger companies to come.

This region, formerly plagued with illegal coca crops, has become a mining epicenter. This is “the food source available,” Gustavo concludes.

Illegal gold mining is currently one of the major problems facing Colombia and one of the biggest threats for the lower Magdalena River basin. The mine destroys the local landscape and poisons the land and local water supply with sulphur and mercury runoff used in the mining process. Colombia wants to be a top mining country, but is this country really prepared to assume such challenge?

The use of hazardous chemicals is jeopardizing water sources and fish populations in the Magdalena, a region that provides food for at least half of Colombia’s population.

This mine in the Caguises is the only steady job around. The day the mine dries up or the government shuts them down, the Caguises will be a ghost town.

And so the story goes on.

It’s 5 p.m. Gustavo, gently, says good-bye. He must go back to work because here, time is worth gold!

[Image: An illegal gold mine in the Monterrey region, Sur de Bolívar Department. Image source: Paul Smith]

[Editor's Note: the following post is written by Karla Milani, marketing specialist for The Nature Conservancy in South America. This is the first in a series chronicling her journey along Colombia's Magdalena, River. Read more here.]

It’s the second day of our journey through the Magdalena River basin.

We wake up before sunrise to travel to the Llanito Lake, about 45 minutes from the city of Barrancabermeja, Colombia.

It’s still night and in the distance we can see flares of fire from the country’s largest oil refinery.

The sun begins to creep up and “Millo,” our fisherman-host, arrives. After brief introductions, he quickly grabs his fishing nets and machete and we jump in the canoe to start a day of fishing.

As the canoe motors across the lake, a golden sunrise creeps up over the horizon. We join the other fishermen – eight canoes in all – and sail in single file before opening up in to a circle. Nets are thrown out at the same time, forming a corral to catch the fish.

Millo has arrived late, so he can only throw his net in the middle of the circle, after all the others, forming what’s call the “crown.” When the nets are pulled out, it’s obvious that this will be a slow day.

The circle breaks up and the canoes move on to the next fishing spot. As the canoes row across the lake, the fishermen chat between the boats, cracking jokes.

Next attempt brings a little more luck; Millo catches a tilefish and then another.

This collective fishing, once typical in the Magdalena River basin, has been lost. Now, only a few river towns continue the tradition.

Fish stocks have fallen in the Magdalena River basin from 80,000 tons a year to 8,000 tons. Fishermen blame contamination, overfishing and cattle ranching for harming one of the country’s largest sources of protein.

“It’s not like it was before,” says Millo. “There are good days of fishing and other days when nothing gets caught. What can we do? Return home with empty hands?”

For Millo, the Magdalena River and its lake is everything. He finds it hard to imagine a life without fishing, as like many in this region he’s received little formal education. To save these livelihoods, a policy of sustainable fishing must be introduced before it’s too late.

[Image: An artisanal fishermen casts his net on the Llanito swamp. Image credit: Paul Smith]

By Karla Miliani, marketing specialist for The Nature Conservancy in South America

Join a team of Nature Conservancy staff and scientists as they navigate Colombia’s Magdalena River and bring to life its rich communities and culture through this series of blog posts.

At nearly 1,000 miles long, the Magdalena River is born in the Andes mountain range and runs across a large part of Colombia (covering 24% of the national territory), generating life and serving as an economic life-force for the more than 30 million Colombians that live throughout the basin.

The Magdalena River has been a major source of food for the country, but the river faces a series of threats: overfishing, deforestation, agricultural and urban runoff, soil erosion and unprecedented flooding, which affected millions of Colombians in 2010.

Today, this basin generates 85% of the country’s GDP. Around 55% of its 200 species are endemic, only found in the Magdalena. It also provides drinking water to 30 million Colombians.

The Nature Conservancy has embarked on a major project: protecting the Magdalena River Basin. Today, the Conservancy is the only international conservation organization working in the Magdalena River Basin. With the help of the Ministry of Environment and the river’s environmental authority, Cormagdalena, the Conservancy is implementing conservation strategies throughout the basin.

Follow this ongoing blog series as we travel the Magdalena and keep track of the river’s pulse.

Day 1: the Llanito Lake

The team goes fishing with a group of local fishermen at the Magdalena River’s Llanito Lake, where fishermen still practice the “corral” fishing technique, a more sustainable and collective way of fishing.

Read the full post >>

Day 2: Illegal Mining

Colombia wants to be a top mining country, but is this country really prepared to assume such challenge? We travel to an illegal mine to learn more.

Read the full post >>

Day 3: Zapatoza

The Magdalena River team explores Zapatoza, the biggest freshwater marsh in Colombia, and spends a day talking to local fishermen about the loss of fish.

Read the full post >>

Day 4: Dique Canal

For our final stop along the Magdalena River, we sail along the Dique Canal, which connects Colombia’s interior with one of its most important ports: Cartagena. .

Read the full post >>

Recently, our China program hosted about 30 visitors from Conservancy programs all around the world for a weeklong summit. The goal: to discuss the China program’s conservation strategies. The result: an ambitious new initiative we’re calling Conservation Beyond Borders.

The initiative is a response to a trend that’s dominating headlines: over the last two decades, China has emerged from relative isolation to compete with the U.S. and Europe. That emergence has led to competition in fields as diverse as finance, mining, hydropower and art, but also competition for the world’s attention, focus and resources.

It was this last contested subject that occupied our discussions over a weekend at the base of the Great Wall (and one really spectacular hike along an unrestored section of it). That’s because China’s “Going Out” (the name for the country’s policy to spur investment overseas) has come, fairly or not, with criticism of corporate China’s environmental practices in construction, mining and hydropower.

Some of the visiting international staff members shared their experiences with Chinese firms in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. In Kenya, Chinese construction companies working under contract with the government have been accused of allowing their work crews to poach for food and illegal animal products. In Ecuador, Chinese hydropower companies are constructing dams that could damage a protected area. And in southeast Asia, Chinese furniture companies are said to be purchasing and processing illegal timber.

China staff helped our visitors understand the structure and attitudes of Chinese investment abroad. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that the government started encouraging Chinese companies to invest abroad, and so many firms have little experience in their new contexts.

Inside of China, the government take cares of the permits, environmental assessments and community relationships, while the company is responsible only for completing  its project, be that a building, dam or mine. That leaves businesses unprepared for taking on the increased responsibility necessary to do business in a foreign country. Plus, China has a long-held diplomatic principle of non-interference with regard to the internal affairs of foreign countries, leaving companies with little guidance when it comes to operating under new legal and political systems.

China’s state investment banks (lenders to companies going abroad) have adopted the Equator Principles—a set of guidelines that encourages borrowers to abide by local social and environmental regulations—or some equivalent, but are unclear on how to monitor the effectiveness of those principles. Clearly, Chinese companies looking to new foreign opportunities need better guidance on how to keep their work sustainable.

That’s where Conservation Beyond Borders comes in. The initiative, which began to take shape over the course of the retreat, aims to increase connections between China and the other countries where the Conservancy works.

For example, if a Chinese hydropower company has a contract to design dams on the Magdalena River in Colombia, then freshwater experts from China with experience along the Yangtze can aid the Colombia program in their efforts to keep the Magdalena healthy. Or, the China program could work with African programs to identify best practices for road construction and mineral extraction, then help increase sustainability awareness in the Chinese companies and governments that have contracted to complete these projects.

Even more dramatically, a number of Trustees from the Conservancy’s China Board have pledged to financially support a number of important international projects, further throwing China’s weight behind worldwide conservation. It’s an unprecedented up-welling of philanthropy that “Goes Out” just as China’s businesses have been encouraged to do so. Watch board member Jack Ma announce the China Global Conservation Fund here:

Shawn Zhang, director of the China program, articulated the conclusions of the week: “China is quickly becoming a world power with world responsibilities. Our comparative advantage going forward will be to strategically and responsibly invest to ensure both our future as well as the sustainable health and welfare of our trading partners. TNC is uniquely positioned to play a role by virtue of our strong programs in countries like Colombia, Indonesia and Tanzania, coupled with our reputation in China and our connections to the corporate sector.”

This initiative is just getting started. Stay tuned for more details as we continue to push conservation beyond its traditional borders.