Aquaculture expansion across ASEAN is full of opportunity, but “where to grow” is the make-or-break question for sustainability, livelihoods, and investment confidence. The World Bank has commissioned EnviroStrat to undertake a study that will support the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Department of Aquaculture Development (DAD) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with planning decisions regarding suitable locations for the sustainable expansion of freshwater aquaculture. The project will produce a set of clear maps showing where freshwater aquaculture is most likely to work well — and where it isn’t using GIS and Multi Criteria Analysis. These maps…
As the final hours close on COP30 in Belem, Brazil, tensions and temperatures (literally) have been rising. The second week of discussions in ‘the gateway to the Amazon’ saw parties stuck in a deadlock over fossil fuels, a fire spread across the blue zone, an Indigenous blockade, and arguments over the future of deforestation. This COP has been filled with symbolism. The conference ended in the early hours of Saturday morning with a contentious final deal that, for many, fell short of expectations. Participants have expressed frustration at COP President André Corrêa do Lago and how the meetings have been…
By Laura Read EnviroStrat Geospatial Analyst EnviroStrat is combining geospatial analysis, Earth Observation (EO) and impact ventures to accelerate restoration of New Zealand’s coastal ecosystems. Since joining EnviroStrat in 2023, I’ve been building our GIS and Earth Observation capability to better understand and support our impact ventures aimed at regenerating our natural environments. The ORA Reefs project has initially been focused on clearing kina barrens, a symptom of the overfishing of their key predators and global warming. This phenomenon is not just seen in Aotearoa but globally. Once healthy, thriving kelp forests are reduced to barren areas by sea urchin…
Natasha Jacobs gives us the Week One COP update It’s been a big week for Belem, host city for COP30. Delegations from 194 countries, activists, and over 4000 members of the media have descended on the ‘capital of the Amazon’ to discuss global action on climate change. The US made a historic no-show for the first time in COP history. New Zealand has a total of 79 registered attendees, Australia 494 and the UK 210. The big-ticket item, and a central point of discussion this week has been the Baku to Belem roadmap, a paper that aims to outline how climate finance could be scaled up…
Photo: Jeremy Bishop/Unsplash By Natasha Jacobs COP30 is less than a week away, and as always, a lot is already at stake. COP stands for Conference of Parties and is a global summit for partis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to assess progress towards action on climate change. Specifically, the COP is also a space to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding treaty for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce global temperatures to ‘well below 2 °C’. This year is the conference’s…
Fresh from the ANZSA Seaweed Summit 2025, Huna Hough talks us through some of the highlights for this year’s themed event: From Niche to Noticed: Building the Value Chain for our Seaweed Economy. Huna: I attended the ANZSA Seaweed Summit with the rest of the Greenwave Aotearoa team, and being new to the seaweed space, it was great to meet the people behind much of the work I’ve followed and researched over the past year. I also met others doing exciting projects I hadn’t yet discovered. There were many highlights from the day, but I particularly enjoyed hearing Dan Crossett…
Parliament has passed the Hauraki Gulf / T?kapa Moana Marine Protection Act — a once-in-a-generation milestone for the Gulf. The new law establishes 19 protected areas: 12 High Protection Areas, 5 Seafloor Protection Areas, and extensions to two marine reserves. Together, these protections lift the safeguarded area of the Gulf from around 6% to 18%. It is a significant shift. By creating areas where damaging activities are curtailed, ecosystems are given the breathing space they need to recover. For the communities who live around the Gulf and the countless people who visit, fish, sail, and swim here, this change signals…
We want to thank and acknowledge the work by EnviroStrat intern Ryan Whitener, 23, who joined us from a small coastal town of El Segundo in California. Ryan completed a degree in Organisational Communication at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). His professors included Dr. Rob Gailey – who met EnviroStrat founder Dr Nigel Bradly and together developed the opportunity for EnviroStrat to host graduates from the University through international internships. Reflecting on his three-month with EnviroStrat in 2025, Ryan says he’s grateful for the knowledge and confidence gained from being an integral part of a small team that’s working across…
"Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the STEMtastic Adventures for Young Pacific Leaders Symposium (9–11 September) hosted at Fiji National University’s Namaka Campus. It was my first time in Fiji, and I left feeling inspired, challenged, and deeply grateful for the connections and conversations I was part of. "The symposium created a space to reimagine STEM through Pacific perspectives. It reminded me of the Pacific tradition of wayfinding where the ocean connects rather than divides us. That spirit of connection was at the heart of every conversation, whether about education, culture, or innovation. "I had the opportunity…
Like most regions, ASEAN countries face more extreme weather patterns, so riverbased systems must cope to ensure people are safe and thriving, alongside productive landscapes.
