New Zealand just added five new marine reserves, its biggest expansion in over a decade
After ten years of careful planning, New Zealand has officially added five new marine reserves along the southeastern coast of the Otago Peninsula. The “no-take” zones add up to 308 square kilometers (roughly 76,000 acres), increasing mainland New Zealand’s total marine reserve coverage by nearly 50 percent.
In addition to hosting vulnerable kelp forests, offshore canyons, and deepwater coral communities, the reserves have also proven to be vital breeding grounds for imperiled species.
Local conservationists said that the expansion “can’t come soon enough,” as native animals like the albatross, Aotearoa New Zealand sea lion, and yellow-eyed penguin teeter on the brink of local extinction on the New Zealand mainland.
Even better: When it came to creating the new marine reserves, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation worked hand-in-hand with the local Kāi Tahu tribe every step of the way. Going forward, a dedicated team of nine specialised rangers, from both groups, will jointly handle daily water monitoring, and the marine protections extend Māori guardianship from the mainland into the “moana,” or ocean.
Texas surpassed its annual Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nesting record. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the world’s most endangered sea turtle species, and 692 nests have been found along the Texas Gulf Coast so far this year, surpassing the previous annual record of 449 nests set last year.
Road deaths have fallen by 21% globally since 2011, despite more vehicles on the roads
New data from the World Health Organization shows the global rate of road traffic deaths fell by 21% between 2011 and 2025. That decrease happened even with the addition of more than one billion motor vehicles to roadways globally.
Heartbreakingly, traffic crashes still killed 1.16 million people in 2025 alone, and were the leading cause of death among people between 5 and 29 years old.
Still, the progress seen since 2011 shows “change is possible when countries invest in safe road systems” — even when adding more vehicles and dramatic changes in the ways people move around.
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