Flamingos, herons and fish once filled a freshwater lagoon in southern Spain. Today, it's a fetid brown splotch. The whisper of wind in the grass is a sad substitute for the cacophony of migratory birds.
As human encroachment into reserves grows, expanding the planet's protected natural areas to safeguard vanishing forests and other ecosystems, and the species they protect, is unlikely to be effective on its own, scientists warned Tuesday.
A new generation of national nature reserves are being created to help improve people's health and mitigate the effects of climatic extremes, according to the chair of the government's conservation watchdog.
