Photo: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos / Unsplash (CC0)
From cleaner air in dozens of cities to thousands of saved patients and new models of socialising: here’s our recap of the most important constructive news and stories from the past month.
A previously thought extinct species of fur seal native to Juan Fernández archipelago in Chile will be safeguarded by a new marine protected zone. Once enforced, it would be the third largest marine park in the world.
Source: The Guardian
Referencing a treaty made at the time of statehood, a promise never kept, California has pledged to return at least 7.5 million acres of land and coastal waters to the stewardship of native tribes. The agreement includes a process for tribes to purchase land and allows formerly outlawed activities, such as careful use of fire in forestry.
Source: LA Times
A new analysis of nearly 100 cities around the world shows that interventions such as cycle lanes and restrictions on polluting vehicles have driven improvements in air quality since 2010. Beijing and Warsaw cut levels of fine particulate pollution by more than 45%, while Amsterdam and Rotterdam saw cuts of more than 40% in nitrogen dioxide levels. San Francisco was the only US city that cut levels of both pollutants by more than 20%.
Source: The Guardian
Massive tree-planting projects along the edges of China’s Taklamakan Desert have turned parts of the once-barren landscape into thriving green belts. Researchers say these engineered forests now absorb more carbon dioxide than they release, effectively turning sections of one of the world’s largest deserts into a net carbon sink while also helping to curb sandstorms and stabilise the soil.
Source: Live Science
During the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, roughly 1.5 million landmines were estimated to have been used by all sides of the conflict, with some 5,000 square miles believed to be contaminated by mines. Now, after three decades, the Southeastern European country has destroyed all known minefields using a mix of metal detectors, heavy machinery, and detection dogs.
Source: Good News Network
The unelected House of Lords plays an important role in British democracy, scrutinising legislation passed by the House of Commons – but its critics have long argued that it functions as a “gallery of old boys’ networks”. Now, after seven centuries, Parliament has voted to remove the last hereditary nobles from the governing body.
Source: AP News
Research from RAND shows that incarcerated individuals who take part in educational programmes are 48% less likely to return to prison than those who lack such opportunities. With this in mind, California launched a partnership in 2016 with California State University, Los Angeles to give people in prison the chance to earn a college degree.
Source: Good Good Good
A ground-breaking experiment is underway on the West African island of Príncipe, where villagers who agree to follow an environmental protection code will reap a quarterly dividend. To date nearly 3,000 have joined the Faya Foundation’s project, more than 60% of the adult population. The first payment of €816 (£708) has just been delivered, a large amount of money on the island.
Source: The Guardian
Researchers behind SeaClear2.0 and its predecessor SeaClear have developed a fleet of drones that can independently pinpoint litter lying on the seabed. The robots can spot everyday items such as bottles, tyres and other debris and can distinguish it from rocks, plants and marine life.
Source: Euronews
A landfill in Wiltshire, UK, will be the site of a fruit and vegetable growing operation using electricity the site is already generating from methane gas, with the CO2 by-product from electricity production used to boost plant growth. Sustain Wiltshire has plans in the works for 100 domes, all climate-controlled for growing in any season.
Source: BBC
Strengthening waste management systems in low and middle-income countries could reduce global plastic pollution by up to 98%, according to new data. Nations with effective waste systems release far less plastic into the environment: on average, high-income countries generate 100 times less plastic pollution per person than lower-income ones.
Source: Our World in Data
Wales is set to become the first UK nation to effectively mandate solar panels on new buildings, with updated regulations coming into force on March 4, 2027. The policy puts Wales ahead of England, where comparable solar requirements are still expected to be introduced under future national standards.
Source: Taiyang News
The most dramatic improvement has been in cervical cancer, with deaths down 75% since the 1970s largely due to the HPV vaccine. Stomach, lung, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers also have significantly fewer death rates, from a combination of improved treatments and more screening, allowing earlier detection.
Source: The Conversation
Based on representative survey data, researchers estimated that less than 10% of U.S. adults smoked a cigarette in 2024 – the first time this rate has ever dropped to single digits. In 1964, the same year the US surgeon general issued his report outlining the now-established dangers of smoking, 42% of adults reported smoking.
Source: Gizmodo
A third of American workers now have access to some form of government-issued paid leave: the biggest share ever. 14 laws now extend coverage to an estimated 46 million people. Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have especially benefited: 55% have paid leave through state programmes, as do 41% of Latino workers.
Source: 19th News
Named for a 13-year-old who died of sepsis, the rule allows NHS patients in England to request a review of their care and will extend to the whole UK by 2027. After its introduction, thousands of patients were either moved to intensive care, received drugs they needed or benefited from other changes as a direct result of the reviews requested.
Source: The Guardian
The announcement from the World Health Organization also notes that Chile is the first country in the Americas to receive this verification. Chile has achieved this feat largely thanks to inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care.
Source: World Health Organization
Grace Bell is the second woman in the UK to give birth after receiving a womb transplant, but the first to do so with a uterus donated after death. The medical team say Hugo is also believed to be only the third baby born in Europe following a deceased-donor womb transplant.
Source: Euronews
A study looking at data from almost 40 countries concludes that couples where someone works at least one day from home are having more children and planning larger families.
Source: Kings College London
Nearly 80% of girls in northern Nigeria get married before they turn 18, and most of those who get married are already out of school or stop attending after marriage. A project working with community leaders to encourage girls to stay in school aims to lower this number – and it’s working, with the approach cutting the likelihood of early marriage by 80%.
Source: Nature
Shooting incidents fell to 147 in 2025: a 63% decrease in comparison to 2022 and a 49% drop since 2024. Gang-related crime has been high in Sweden for over two decades, with gun violence statistics rising to some of the highest in Europe.
Source: Reuters
Tucked between social housing blocks and railway lines in south London, a riding school is helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their wellbeing through horse riding. Around 160 young people attend sessions each week at the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton: an area that ranks among the most deprived in England and has struggled with high levels of knife crime.
Source: Reuters
For many of the residents of Lyon’s La Maison de la Diversité, their new home offers safety and security in a way that they do not experience in traditional social housing projects. This is the first co-living project from Les Audacieuses & Les Audacieux, an organisation fighting isolation and promoting social inclusion within the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies.
Source: Positive News
A payphone on the campus of Boston University has been set up to automatically connect to a senior housing community in Reno, Nevada. This is part of an experiment created by Matter Neuroscience to combat loneliness among both generations.
Source: CBS
Cafe Con Arte in Pasco, Washington, started hosting ‘speed-friending’ evenings, something like platonic speed dating, to give locals an opportunity to make new friends. Some experts say the US has a current ‘epidemic’ of loneliness, with 12-20% of people reporting having no friends compared to 3% in 1990.
Source: Northwest Public Broadcasting
Tours where art can speak to all the senses are making Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum accessible to visitors with disabilities. The blind, visually impaired, and others can listen to evocative soundtracks, trace the texture of paintings and even smell sents related to them.
Source: DW
Once on the brink of extinction, Sardinia’s Eurasian griffon vulture population has jumped from around 60 in 2014 to more than 500 today. The birds’ numbers had been devastated by indirect poisoning, including pesticides and chemicals absorbed from the carcasses they fed on. Thanks to targeted conservation efforts, including habitat protection and careful monitoring, Sardinia now plays host to a growing population.
Source: Euronews
