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Dr Hammer’s lecture on 7 December 2026

Dr. Matthias Hammer giving a talk
Dr. Matthias Hammer

Dr. Matthias Hammer, founder and CEO of Biosphere Expeditions, will hold a lecture entitled “Planetary upheavals and the future of tourism – a reality check” on 7 December 2026 in Ingolstadt, Germany.

More information about the lecture is here. A translation of the German text is below.

The lecture will be held in English on 7 Dec 12:15-13:45 German time CET. It will be live-streamed here.

It will also be recorded and will be available online. We will post the link here when it is available.

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As part of the guest lecture of the faculty of Entrepreneurial Management and Tourism, Dr Matthias Hammer founder and CEO of Biosphere Expeditions will speak about the future of tourism in light of global ecological upheavals. Biosphere Expeditions is a conservation organisation that engages volunteers in citizen science projects for wildlife conservation worldwide. Hammer has led expedition teams across several continents since 1999. The lecture will take place in person in Ingolstadt. Interested parties are very welcome.

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South Africa biodiversity conservation 2026: Groove

Update from our South Africa biodiversity conservation expedition

A group of people in an African landscape
Getting ready for surveys

We are in the groove here in South Africa. Several teams out every day, some with very early starts, some back for more at night, others for all-day trips. All to collect as much data as we possibly can – to bear witness and to help protect this beautiful mountain area in the Western Cape.

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Unexpected resilience found on Maldives coral reef expedition as local leadership takes the baton ahead of approaching El Niño

Media release – 3 November 2026

Two divers over a coral reef
Divers studying a coral reef on the Maldives coral reef expedition

Biosphere Expeditions has concluded its 15th annual Maldives coral reef conservation expedition. Operating amidst the complex pressures of marine over-development and shifting climatic baselines, citizen scientists and marine researchers completed rigorous Reef Check surveys, yielding both cautious optimism and stark warnings for the future of tropical reef ecosystems.

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South Africa biodiversity conservation 2026: Refugium

Update from our South Africa biodiversity conservation expedition

A group of people sitting on a verandah and smiling into the camera
Team 1

Team 1 is here. Not without challenge due to duff cars, but it does not matter. What matters is that they are here to help and bear witness, to collect data and support our scientist Dr Alan Lee and the refugium has has built. They are here to put in their time and effort – and their money – to make it all happen. Thank you.

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South Africa biodiversity conservation 2026: People & tasks

Update from our South Africa biodiversity conservation expedition

View over the mountainous karoo landscape of Blue Hill Reserve
View over the karoo landscape of Blue Hill Reserve

The mountains of Blue Hill and beyond are as beautiful as ever. Our prep work for the expedition is continuing and the weather does not look too bad for the next few days – it’s the mountains and karoo after all.

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South Africa biodiversity conservation 2026: Starter

Update from our South Africa biodiversity conservation expedition

Two ostriches in a karoo landscape
Two ostriches in a karoo landscape

I am Malika (see my picture at the bottom), your expedition leader on our South Africa Biodiversity Conservation Expeditions. With me is Anna, our camp manager, who’ll manage all things related to food in the beautiful Hartebeest Rivier mountains.

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Coral reef conservation Maldives 2026: Quiet joy

Update from our Maldives coral reef conservation expedition

Three people diving over a coral reef
Reef and Reef Checkers

The last slates have been scrubbed clean, the transect lines coiled away, and the hum of the compressor has finally fallen silent. Our Reef Check surveys for 2026 have drawn to a close.

As grey clouds race across the horizon and our boat is rocked by waves and wind, our Reef Check findings leave us with a bittersweet feeling: the reefs are holding out better than we had dared to hope. Against the odds, the blue depths still pulse with life, displaying a stubborn resilience in the face of warming seas, overfishing, over-development and just too much human impact. It is a moment of quiet joy of an unexpectedly positive result.

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Coral reef conservation Maldives 2026: Rhythm

Update from our Maldives coral reef conservation expedition

Four people diving over a coral reef
Reef and Reef Checkers

We are now fully into our Reef Check rhythm, swaying side to side on our liveaboard, blue above and below, broken by gleaming sand, the odd palm tree and the relentless pace of resort overdevelopment all around.

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Coral reef conservation Maldives 2026: Corallimorphs

Update from our Maldives coral reef conservation expedition

A diver with a slate above a reef
Checking that reef along the transect line

One day later and almost everyone is now a Reef Check EcoDiver. Well done! So off we went to a site in the north of Kaalo Atoll to check on a reef that we had not looked at for over a decade.

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Coral reef conservation Maldives 2026: Mind dump & stewardship

Update from our Maldives coral reef conservation expedition

Group of people sitting in a liveaboard lobby
Teaching session

It’s day 2 of our coral reef conservation expedition to the Maldives. All bar one (whose flight was re-routed mid-air) are here and learning to distinguish reef substrate (such as hard coral, sponge, sand, silt, rubble, soft coral and more) as I type this. There will be more about fish, invertebrates and coral damage and disease – in and out of the water – as we go through this mind dump day.

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