Ecuador’s Antisana páramo, southeast of Quito, was degraded for centuries by cattle ranches. In 2010, the Quito Water Conservation Fund and the Quito’s water utility secured funding to buy one of the most heavily impacted properties. Once non-native livestock were removed and restoration began, native vegetation, wetlands and species like deer, rabbits and foxes returned. by Ana Cristina Alvarado

Conservation news

Restoration brings back fresh water, wildlife to degraded páramos in Ecuador

When the sheep were removed, the páramo — high-altitude ecosystems in the Andes — started to heal. Without their waste, water quality improved...

#news #restoration #conservation #environment #nature

Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients and more via government procurements, Mongabay has found. This influx of shark meat into public buildings is exposing infants and other vulnerable groups to high levels of mercury and arsenic, which accumulate in sharks. by Philip Jacobson, Karla Mendes and Kuang Keng Keuk Ser

Conservation news

That ‘fish’ on the menu? In Brazil’s schools and prisons, it’s often shark

Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients, military staff, public workers and more...

* This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network.