Population Matters

Satellite images show how Antarctica’s vanishing sea ice is changing the food chain With the loss of sea ice, tiny filter feeders known as ‘salps’ can thrive, while shrimp-like krill lose out.

With the loss of sea ice, tiny filter feeders known as ‘salps’ can thrive, while shrimp-like krill lose out.

This is heartbreaking and sickening. Up to 1.2 million pigs reared each year in two buildings

TED makes multi-million-dollar investment to boost safe abortion in 10 countries This is the first time TED’s Audacious Project has invested in an organization specifically focused on abortion access and care.

The Audacious Project, an initiative of TED, announced it would be investing $1.03 billion in a new cohort of grantees- including organisations providing safe and legal abortion and contraception to all.

www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/ted...

'There are so many bones everywhere': The whale graveyards that transform the deep sea A photographer captured this extraordinary site where whales' bodies lie in the shallows, with troubling repercussions for the deep oceans.

"These images tell the story of a deep-sea denied of vital sustenance, and entire ecosystems that will never come to be."

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Microsoft is the carbon removal market The company bought 93% of global carbon removals last year, new research shows.

Microsoft bought 93% of all the carbon removal credits globally last year. This is absurd, and no way to determine which method might actually work and scale. Carbon dioxide removal research and development should be government-funded and government-led.

Conservation isn’t just about land or species- it's also about people. The fate of the natural world is inseparable from the wellbeing of the communities and people who live within it.

Our vision is a world in which our human population lives fairly and sustainably with nature and each other.

EU states told to use existing fund for safe abortions after citizens' petition The European Commission stops short of creating a new funding facility to enable women to travel for safe abortions.

Guttmacher celebrates the EU Commission’s decision to allow existing funds for safe abortion access. It’s a step forward, but more action is needed to ensure all women across the EU can fully exercise their reproductive rights. https://gu.tt/3ODjkFm

#ReproRights #GenderEquality #SRHR

Chronic ocean heating fuels ‘staggering’ loss of marine life, study finds Fish levels fall by 7.2% with as little as 0.1C of warming per decade, northern hemisphere research shows

Rising ocean temps blamed for massive die-off of marine life. "Researchers examined the year-to-year change of 33,000 [fish] populations in the northern hemisphere.... They found the drop in biomass from chronic heating to be as high as 19.8% in a single year." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🌍 New evidence from HRP shows that health systems are more resilient in crises when sexual and reproductive health is part of strong primary health care.

Telemedicine, community health workers and flexible policies helped keep essential care available, even under pressure.

#SRHR #HealthForAll

The ocean as system Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and absorbed by water lowers its pH level, making the ocean more acidic and less able to sustain life. In 2009 a group of scientists included this ocean aci...

Recommended reading: The Ocean as System – Overcoming policy fragmentation in the fight against ocean acidification.
An essay from the Back to Blue Initiative on ocean policy and why ocean and planetary stewardship matters:
backtoblueinitiative.com/the-ocean-as...

and this is only increasing as our population increases

We need a global assessment of avoidable climate-change risks To understand the urgency of emissions reductions, policymakers and citizens need a full analysis of what is at stake.

We need a global assessment of avoidable climate change risks

- To understand the urgency of emissions reductions, policymakers and citizens need a full analysis of what is at stake.

By @stottpeter.bsky.social et al
HT @carbonbrief.org
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Waitrose halts mackerel sourcing amid overfishing concerns Waitrose will suspend sourcing of fresh, chilled, and frozen mackerel by 29 April 2026.

Waitrose halts mackerel sourcing amid overfishing concerns.

www.intrafish.com/fisheries/wa...

Women must be at the centre of their own decisions; with the rights, resources, and freedom to make the choices that are best for them.

The harm global pronatalist pushes have on individuals.

Across different political contexts, governments are increasingly treating women's bodies as instruments of demographic and economic strategy.

Reproductive choices are deeply personal.

Giant tortoises return to Galápagos island after nearly 200 years The native species was driven to extinction by sailors in the 1800s. Now, 158 juvenile giant tortoises have been reintroduced to the island.

"This long-anticipated moment gives hope, not just for the future of Floreana, but for the future restoration of islands around the world," it added.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Chronic ocean heating fuels ‘staggering’ loss of marine life, study finds Fish levels fall by 7.2% with as little as 0.1C of warming per decade, northern hemisphere research shows

Chronic ocean heating fuels ‘staggering’ loss of marine life, study finds

- Fish levels fall by 7.2% with as little as 0.1C of warming per decade, northern hemisphere research shows

#climatecrisis
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I’m a Kenyan health volunteer – the impacts of the UK decision to cut aid are growing A year after the government announced a 40 per cent reduction in international development aid, Kristine Yakhama writes about the impact of the decision on the ground in Kenya’s Kakamega County

"I’m a health volunteer in Kenya – the impacts of the UK decision to cut aid are only growing"

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

"Karin brings a strategic mindset that will drive Population Matters into a new era."- CEO Amy Jankiewicz

We're thrilled to welcome Karin Kanewske Turner as our new Chair. She brings 25+ years experience in global health & development from 4 continents, with a career built around impact that lasts.

Brazil’s growing water crisis Scientists warn Brazil is entering a hidden water crisis with global consequences.

The country is entering a hidden water crisis with global consequences.

Football has a real fossil fuel problem – and it’s not sustainable The ever-increasing expansion of football is not a good match for the environment.

"While football’s global reach is often highlighted as a positive thing that brings the world together, the beautiful game risks having a rather ugly impact on the planet."

theconversation.com/football-has...

El Nino redefined to keep up with spike in temperature Scientists have had to update how they label El Nino and La Nina because of rapid weather changes cause by global warming.

Scientists have had to update how they label El Nino and La Nina because of rapid weather changes cause by global warming.

Why sexual and reproductive health and rights belong in climate action - Ipas A conversation with Ipas research expert Sally Dijkerman on why climate action must include sexual and reproductive health and rights, and what it will take to move from evidence to real-world solutio...

Climate justice and sexual and reproductive health and rights work are too often kept separate, even though communities experience them together.

www.ipas.org/news/why-sex...

US sanctions, power cuts, climate crisis: why Cuba is betting on renewables With Trump blocking Venezuelan oil imports and old power plants breaking down, the island – with Chinese help – is turning to solar and wind to bolster its fragile energy system

US sanctions, power cuts, climate crisis: why Cuba is betting on renewables

you're doing great work having these important conversations!

Russia: Attacks on Abortion Undermine Women’s Rights Russian authorities are restricting access to safe abortion care and limiting the ability of women and girls to get accurate information about their reproductive choices.

Shrinking Reproductive Options, Growing Pressure, and Disinformation

www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

An infographic from Our World in Data titled "Global land use for food production" uses a series of stacked horizontal bar charts to visualize the distribution of Earth's surface and the disproportionate land requirements of livestock. The first bar shows Earth's surface is 71% ocean and 29% land (141 million km²); the land surface is then broken down into 76% habitable land, 10% glaciers, and 14% barren land. Of the habitable land, 45% (48 million km²) is used for agriculture, while 38% is forests and 13% is shrubland. The agricultural land bar reveals a major disparity: 80% (38 million km²) is dedicated to livestock (meat, dairy, and textiles) including grazing land and cropland for feed, while only 16% is used for crops for direct human consumption and 4% for non-food crops. Finally, two smaller bars at the bottom contrast this land use with nutritional output, showing that while livestock uses 80% of agricultural land, it only provides 17% of global calories and 38% of global protein, whereas plant-based foods provide 83% of calories and 62% of protein.

80% of agricultural land is used for livestock (and textiles), yet this huge land use provides only 17% of our calories and 38% of our protein.

16% of the land used for crops provides 83% of our calories and 62% of our protein. It's past time we rethink what we eat.

How depleted soils are emptying the nutrients in our food - United Kingdom So why is farm land not a worthy asset anymore? Because of a vicious cycle. Sustaining a family on earnings from a small plot of land is a daunting task. Crop

How depleted soils are emptying the nutrients in our food

https://www.europesays.com/uk/775038/

So why is farm land not a worthy asset anymore? Because of a vicious cycle. Sustaining a family…

Coffee-growing countries becoming too hot to cultivate beans, analysis finds Five countries responsible for 75% of world’s coffee supply record average of 57 extra days of coffee-harming heat a year

Coffee-growing countries becoming too hot to cultivate beans, analysis finds

- Five countries responsible for 75% of world’s coffee supply record average of 57 extra days of coffee-harming heat a year due to the #climatecrisis

Analysis by @climatecentral.org
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Kenya Trip - Population Matters Kenya Partnership Visit: Critical Conversations Alliance | Population Matters Kenya • Critical Conversations Alliance • January 2026 Kenya Partnership Visit: Critical Conversations Alliance Kenya is s...

We recently visited one of our grassroots partners in Kenya, who are doing vital work in the community: using art and theatre to start conversations about the role population growth is playing in environmental changes.

Read our report here: ➡️

populationmatters.org/news/2026/02...