Conservation is about protecting that which sustains life on Earth — the rivers that flow with fresh water, the soil rooting crops in place, the forests and marinescapes that release oxygen.

Framed in this way, conservation seems like an undertaking that would be universally supported.

But conservationists face countless challenges, from the industrial forces invested in exploiting natural resources and polluting ecosystems to a general lack of funding and government support. Efforts to conserve an environment have long been framed by opponents as a threat to jobs and community well-being — as if any jobs or well-being would exist without a functioning environment.

As we head into a new year of fighting to save the planet, here are five positive conservation narratives — tempered with reality — from the past year.

  1. Animals Made Comebacks  
  2. Communities Were Given More Control Over Their Land
  3. Major Conservation Commitments Were Made 
  4. Funding for Conservation Increased
  5. Degraded Ecosystems Recovered 

Read the full article about environmental conservation by Joe McCarthy at Global Citizen.