Our Scans · (LF.15) Life on Land · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss,

• [New] Sessions focused on women's access to land tenure, credit, and cooperatives, recognising that closing the gender gap in agriculture could increase African food production by up to 20%. Africa Agricultural Network | The Face of African Agric
• [New] Even the timing and character of spring runoff - the lifeblood of rivers, wetlands, and riparian ecosystems - will be distorted in 2026. BoulderCAST
• [New] Warnings about systemic risks to economies, ecosystems, critical services and security continue to mount following the release of the UK security services' assessment on Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and national security. Resilience
• [New] Upcoming UN water meetings, the end of the Water Action Decade in 2028 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline should be used as turning points to elevate water within climate, food and biodiversity negotiations. Geographical
• [New] Google is helping preserve the genetic information of endangered species with AI More than one million species face the risk of extinction, and without accurately capturing their genetic data, we risk losing them forever - destabilizing entire ecosystems. TechNet
• [New] While all five species of small Asian wild cats face threats due to shrinking ecosystems, the flat-headed cat is one of the world's most elusive felines. Good Good Good
• [New] In parallel, building a high-tech start-up ecosystem, including AI, could help Viet Nam take off. Nhan Dan Online
• [New] Under the MoU, L&T Vyoma will conduct feasibility studies on land suitability, infrastructure, availability zones, and sustainability, while the Gujarat government provides policy and infrastructure support. Adda247
• [New] The Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for the elimination of plastic pollution by 2030. SciTechDaily
• [New] Antarctica is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, which could destroy its ecosystems and put other parts of the planet at risk by driving sea level rise and damaging food chains. Mirage News
• [New] Deforestation targets for 2030 appear increasingly unattainable according to expert assessments, though ending net deforestation by late 2030s remains probable for Brazil & Indonesia, countries representing substantial portions of global forest loss & biodiversity decline. OREACO
• [New] For Quebec, the key challenge will be to capitalize on its strengths - water, energy and a relatively temperate climate - while reducing its vulnerabilities through proactive adaptation of infrastructure, land-use planning and its economic model. Westmount Magazine
• [New] With Nel, you are effectively betting that green hydrogen will move from PowerPoint to pipelines, especially in the US where new subsidies and mega-projects are finally starting to land. Nel Hydrogen: Is This Green Tech Stock Finally Turning
• [New] India has set an ambitious goal of building a $500 billion electronics manufacturing ecosystem by 2030-31. Organiser
• [New] As India expands its drone ecosystem under initiatives like Drone Shakti and defence modernization programmes, domestic component manufacturing will play a critical enabling role. Organiser
• [New] One of the most significant drivers of business travel in the year ahead will be the continued evolution and integration of AI across the travel ecosystem. blueprint-acf.instawp.xyz
• [New] Wildfires sweeping across the vast boreal forests of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia could be causing more climate damage than scientists once believed. SciTechDaily
• [New] Apart from forests, many of the world's vital ecosystems remain largely unmonitored, such as the savannas of Africa and the northern steppe, yet they are threatened by human activities and impacted by climate change. Land & Carbon Lab
• [New] Canada's breathtaking landscapes and diverse ecosystems are integral to its national identity, underscoring the urgency of preserving biodiversity and addressing threats like aquatic invasive species. SeafoodNews
• [New] The UK Government's National Security Assessment has identified biodiversity loss and ecosystem breakdown as a national security risk, with implications for economic stability, supply chains, food security and community resilience. ukgbc
• [New] Organizations such as the Clean Arctic Alliance warn of pollution, black carbon emissions and the severe risks of oil spills in one of the world's most fragile ecosystems. Default
• [New] Global security-leader polling points to escalating concern that risk has migrated into vendor ecosystems: 80% cite EHR, AI, and cloud vendors as the greatest emerging cyber risk, while 69% report a vendor-traceable incident or near miss in the past 24 months. Yahoo Finance
• [New] By 2026, drone surveys are projected to map over 2 million acres of U.S. agricultural land annually. Farmonaut

Last updated: 09 March 2026