Ecuador creates 3M-acre reserve in consultation with Indigenous communities

Ecuador this month recognized a new reserve in the Amazon rainforest in hopes of protecting Indigenous land from threats like mining and livestock.

The Tarímiat Pujutaí Nuṉka Reserve covers 1,237,395 hectares (3,057,671 acres) of Andean and Amazonian forests in the Morona Santiago province of eastern Ecuador, where numerous Shuar and Achuar communities have for years been fending off numerous drivers of deforestation.

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/new-reserve-in-ecuador-secures-over-3-million-acres-of-forest/

Georgia top court upholds county referendum rejecting spaceport near Cumberland Island NS

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the March 2022 special election where 72% of Camden County voters approved a referendum rejecting a commercial spaceport.

Camden County officials had argued in its appeal to the state’s highest court that voters did not have the power to veto a county commission’s resolution after the fact.

https://apnews.com/article/politics-georgia-state-government-constitutions-referendums-880fcc37bf74f5970fda6e0dfa123444

Canada | New MPA coming off coast of BC after agreement between First Nations, federal government

Federal officials and First Nations leaders announced they will be closing fisheries and establishing a marine refuge along the Central Coast of B.C. Sunday.

The announcement was part of the IMPAC5 global ocean conservation conference in Vancouver, where representatives from 123 countries are meeting to discuss the state of the world's oceans.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/marine-refuge-first-nation-conservation-1.6737910