<p>The Philippines declared Cleopatra’s Needle, an area over 100,000 acres on the island of Palawan, as a critical habitat. Critical habitats are lands outside protected areas that have habitats or other features essential for the conservation of threatened or endemic species. The Cleopatra’s Needle Critical Habitat (CNCH) is almost seven times the size of the second largest critical habitat (Carmen Critical Habitat) and hosts about 85% of the mammals and birds endemic only to Palawan.

<p>Last week, the European Union proposed extending an exemption of international flights from emissions limits. The exemption was set to end at the beginning of 2017, but may not be enacted for at least another four years. The EU had tried to include international flights in its emissions trading system (ETS) in 2012, but was met with backlash from non-EU countries who said the deal violated their sovereignty.

<p>Last month, the Brazilian government issued Ordinance 80, which moved the decision-making power for the recognition of indigenous territory boundaries away from the National Indian Foundation to the Ministry of Justice. Ordinance 80 is a redraft of Ordinance 68, which was previously annulled. The Ordinance promotes “careful analysis…of the whole demarcation procedure,” but promotes speedy action (demarcation of lands by the National Indian Foundation has sometimes taken decades).