The world is making progress towards conserving biodiversity. According to the latest assessment of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), some progress has been made over the past two years towards the reaching 2020 biodiversity targets.
Atlas de Solos da América Latina e do Caribe The soil experts of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's in-house science service, have just published the first ever comprehensive overview of the soils of Latin America and the Caribbean in the Portuguese language. The atlas was coordinated by the European Commission's JRC and is the result of a fruitful collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and leading soil scientists in Europe, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
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By transporting heat and energy, seas and ocean bodies are powerful regulators of the Earth's climate. A recent JRC article investigates how regional climate warming is heating the Cold Intermediate Layer (CIL) of the Black Sea. This finding could explain why the Black Sea surface waters have apparently bucked global warming trend, and could have major implications for thermohaline circulation.
Scientists estimate that 53Mha of extra land would be required to cope with rising palm oil demand by 2050 
Scientists found unprecedented flood risk unless timely adaptation measures are taken. 
On average, 29% of fresh fruit and vegetables purchased by households in the EU is wasted 
Earth observation data is used to monitor agriculture worldwide From 17 to 19 April 2018 the JRC hosted the GEOGLAM – CEOS Workshop on Data and Systems Requirements for Operational Agricultural Monitoring, co-organised with DG GROW, GEOGLAM1 and EOFSAC2.
The objective of the workshop was to develop a holistic characterisation of requirements for agricultural monitoring, from data needs to infrastructure and information services, in the GEOGLAM context.
Pastures in large parts of northern Europe are under serious pressure from dry and hot weather conditions. The JRC has prepared an update on pasture conditions in Europe, with a particular focus on regions in central and northern EU countries that have experienced exceptionally dry conditions.
The analysis is based on satellite imagery using observations up to 31 July 2018, and compares the results for 2018 with those of the past, since 1999 (the first year of the observations).
