https://media.greenpeace.org/AssetLink/kqg6jx85k4kcd130qkj3n1b8c7711eu0/Snares-penguins-swimming.mp4 An underwater view of a colony of Snares penguins at the sub Antarctic Snares Islands 100 kilometers south of New Zealand. Snares crested penguins, the world’s rarest, are found only on the sub Antarctic Snares group. An estimated 23,000 breeding pairs live here, with more than 100 colonies on the main island alone. Documented by Greenpeace Aotearoa on the Rainbow Warrior in 2013 to highlight the extraordinary wildlife of the Auckland and Snare Islands that would be put at risk by deep sea oil ..read more

Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on giving legal rights to nature. Many Indigenous peoples have long emphasised the intrinsic value of nature. In 1972, the late University of Southern California law professor Christopher Stone proposed what then seemed like a whimsical idea: to vest legal rights in natural objects to allow a shift from an anthropocentric to an intrinsic worldview. Ecuador was the first country to enshrine rights of nature in its ..read more

OTTAWA — As a new day of negotiations begins at the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) in Ottawa, Greenpeace Canada delivered a 20-foot “Global Plastics Factory” to the doorstep of the Shaw Center, where the talks on a Global Plastics Treaty are taking place. By presenting a “trailer” of what happens when the global plastic production machine is on, activists left a clear message for the delegates: “Cut plastic production now.” The smoke-emitting Factory, showing oil turned into plastic pollution, will remain as long as needed for them to understand the urgen ..read more

Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or are we unable, even unwilling, to use that information better? We have a lot to learn still, but as we show in our research, using current ecological knowledge more effectively could deliver substantial environmental gains. Our work focuses on improving links between research and ecosystem management to identify key trigger points for action in a framework that joins land, freshwater and sea ecosystems. Spe ..read more

The penguin may not be so graceful on land, but they are very agile in the water. In their distinctive black and white penguin onesie, they are one of the planet’s most well-dressed and lovable species. Here is a list of nine important, fun and fascinating facts about penguins. Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins fish on an iceberg off Half Moon Island. Greenpeace is back in the Antarctic on the last stage of the Pole to Pole Expedition. We have teamed up with a group of scientists to investigate and document the impacts the climate crisis is already having in this area. *This picture was taken in 2 ..read more

In a letter sent to Te Whatu Ora, Environment Canterbury, district councils, and Minister for Health Dr Shane Reti, Greenpeace has conveyed  “deep concern” over nitrate levels in drinking water after its latest round of drinking water testing. The organisation says that nitrate in drinking water is a serious public health concern, especially given its most recent water testing results, which indicated town supplies in Darfield, Kirwee, and Oxford were above the 5 mg/L threshold which has been linked to an increased risk of preterm and underweight births.  Greenpeace Aotearoa spokespe ..read more

Greenpeace Aotearoa is slamming the Government’s announcement today that it plans to remove intensive winter grazing rules and Te Mana o Te Wai in the next Resource Management Act amendment bill. Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Amanda Larsson says, “The Luxon-led Government has just deprioritised the protection of freshwater and the health of rural communities, in favour of allowing big businesses to pollute water across the country.” Te Mana o Te Wai is a hierarchy of obligations under the RMA that prioritises water usage. Recognising that freshwater health is inextricably linked to human he ..read more

The government’s list of companies invited to apply through the Fast Track process includes the most environmentally destructive industries in New Zealand, says Greenpeace. On Friday afternoon, just hours before the closing deadline for submissions on the Fast Track Approvals Bill, the government released a list of all so-called ‘stakeholders’ sent invitations to apply for the Fast Track – a process which has been slammed for its potential to bypass environmental protections and normal democratic process. This list includes environmental destroyers Fonterra, Talley’s, and wannabe seabed miners ..read more

Almost a quarter of the drinking water samples Greenpeace has tested for nitrate contamination in Canterbury over the last three days were above the 5 mg/L level of contamination associated with reproductive risk in pregnant people. Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson says, “Emerging evidence has found that pregnant people drinking water with nitrate levels above 5 mg/L are at higher risk of  preterm birth, and yet for many rural communities, this is the water coming out of their kitchen tap.” “It is unacceptable that these communities’ drinking water is becoming a growing health risk ..read more

Greenpeace Aotearoa is expressing grave concern over nitrate contamination in Darfield, after water testing on Friday revealed the town supply in both Darfield and Kirwee was around 5 mg/L of nitrate. Studies have found potential increased reproductive risks at this level of contamination, including preterm births and underweight babies. Nitrate contamination water testing in Darfield, Canterbury Studies have also linked nitrate contamination at 1 mg/L – five times lower than the Darfield town supply – to a potential increased risk of colorectal cancer. Greenpeace spokesper ..read more