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Maldives reefs under threat, Biosphere Expeditions report confirms

Media release – 30 July 2026

A colourful reef
An intact Maldives reef. Stringent coral reef conservation action is needed to protect these.

Innternational wildlife conservation organisation Biosphere Expeditions has published its 13th annual Maldives coral reef conservation report. It details critical marine monitoring conducted in October 2025 across Ari, South Malé and Vaavu atolls by international citizen scientists supervised by professional marine biologists.

While the archipelago escaped a mass coral bleaching event in 2025 following severe thermal stress in 2024, the findings reveal a starkly uneven recovery landscape across the central atolls. 

The coral reef conservation report’s release comes at a crucial moment as escalating ocean temperatures, an approaching El Niño cycle and localised human impacts threaten tropical coral ecosystems worldwide.

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How Joining a Conservation Expedition at 16 Inspired a Lifelong Love of Nature

Most people spend their teenage years discovering who they are. For Savannah Lehnert, sixteen was the year she found herself deep in the Amazon rainforest of Madre de Dios, Peru, working as a volunteer alongside scientists on a conservation expedition that would stay with her long after she returned home.

A father-daughter journey begins

When she joined Biosphere Expeditions with her father back in 2011, she became one of the youngest citizen scientists, but she was far from out of place. 

A father and daughter standing in the jungle, machetes crossed
Citizen scientists in action: Savannah and her father in the Peru Amazon

The beauty of Biosphere Expeditions teams is that they bring together people (or citizen scientists) from all walks of life and every stage of adulthood, united not by age or profession, but by a shared passion to protect wild animals and places.

‘I was very compelled by the adventure  of visiting the Amazon and working with conservation biologists and other volunteers to protect endangered species in an incredible landscape.’

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Tien Shan snow leopard conservation 2026: Good, bad, ugly weather

Update from our snow leopard conservation expedition

Three people on a rock plain in the high mountains
Some of snow leopard conservation group 2 out on a survey

It’s Sunday, midway through group 2. As I write this on our rest day, some of the team are catching up on laundry, some are out with our camp manager in search of petroglyphs, and our scientist is in the zone collating the data we’ve gathered so far. We deserve the break, after some bad weather over the last week.

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Tien Shan snow leopard volunteering Kyrgyzstan 2026: Group 2

Update from our snow leopard volunteering Kyrgyzstan

A group of people in the mountains
Snow leopard volunteering group 2

Our second group of team members has settled into base camp, marking the successful completion of our first full day in the high mountains of the Tien Shan. The morning began with an introductory lecture led by expedition scientist Emil, setting the stage for the conservation work ahead. Following the briefing, team members plunged straight into practical preparation, undergoing comprehensive equipment checks and mastering essential navigation skills required for traversing rugged terrain safely.

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Tien Shan snow leopard research 2026: Group 1 done

Update from our snow leopard research in the Tien Shan mountains

A group of people standing in a mountain valley with a Biosphere Expeditions flag
Snow leopard research group 1

Group 1 is done, with excellent results, thank you! We thought 2025 would be hard to beat, but we have made a good start thanks to the efforts of our first snow leopard research group.

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Tien Shan snow leopard project 2026: Whirlwind

Update from our snow leopard project to the Tien Shan mountains

A mountain valley with snow-capped mountains
Archali valley

It’s been a whirlwind of activities over the last four days on our snow leopard project: Interviews with locals, an overnight survey in neighbouring Archali valley, as well as our usual cell surveys. And, yes, more snow leopard records.

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Wolf volunteering Germany expedition 2026: Conclusion

Update from our wolf volunteering Germany expedition

A group of people with a Biosphere Expeditions flag, waving
2026 wolf volunteering Germany team

It’s hard to believe how quickly an expedition week can pass.

During our final two survey days on Thursday and Friday, we documented and collected 20+ wolf scat samples. This is what survey walks are all about: Walking and observing, noticing small things you would pass by otherwise and taking the time to investigate and identify the unknown. But most of all: Sharing your experience, encounters and pictures in the evening with your fellow expeditioners.

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Type 2 Fun: Why doing hard things makes travel more rewarding

A lonely suitcase amongst mountains
A lonely suitcase in the Tien Shan mountains

Why doesn’t this feel like fun?

It’s early. Not sunrise-in-a-beautiful-way early. Just early.

It’s dark. You’re tired, slightly uncomfortable and quietly questioning your decision-making skills. The alarm went off before your body was ready. The air is colder (or hotter) than expected. There’s a long day ahead.

This isn’t the version of travel we’re usually sold. There are no loungers, no slow breakfasts, no sense of ease. Instead, there’s a bit of effort. Logistics. And, somewhere in the back of your mind, a small question:

Why on earth did I voluntarily sign up to this?

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Tien Shan snow leopard volunteering 2026: More success

Update from our snow leopard volunteering to the Tien Shan mountains

A snow leopard on a mountain ridge
The next snow leopard camera trap shot

We are half-way through group 1 and have more successes to report. One of the camera traps yielded more snow leopard photos (see sample above). From other camera traps, SD cards were removed, presumably by poachers who do not exactly want to be found out.

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Tien Shan snow leopard project 2026: Early success

Update from our snow leopard project to the Tien Shan mountains

Snow leopard caught on camera trap
This season’s first snow leopard caught on camera trap

The ghost of the mountain has been kind to us. 2025 was a great season and this 2026 snow leopard project has just got off to a flying start. Two of the first four high altitude camera traps we checked yesterday have revealed snow leopards!

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