The paper “Prioritizing Sustainable Development of Ecologically Sensitive Regions” was published recently in Ecosystem Health and Sustainability – A Science Partner Journal. The innovative research calls for merging AI with indigenous knowledge and targeting “tipping point” ecosystems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ancient people transported a wild relative of the common potato across the southwestern U.S., likely expanding the range of the species, according to a study published January 21, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Lisbeth Louderback from the University of Utah, U.S., and colleagues. This research provides new evidence that Indigenous people may have put the species on a path to domestication, while creating a unique cultural element in the Four Corners region.

The presence of S. jamesii starch on tools, combined with earlier genetic, ecological, and ethnographic research, indicates that Indigenous people intentionally transported, cultivated, and managed the plant across the Four Corners region. These activities define an “anthropogenic range” created through extensive trade networks and long-term use, a key indicator of early domestication.

A detailed review, synthesizing decades of research, published in Nature Conservation warns that the Brazilian Cerrado, known for its vast “inverted forests” and considered one of the richest and most threatened Ecodomains on Earth, is under massive threat. Despite sustaining Brazil’s main watersheds, more than 55% of its native vegetation has already been converted due to agricultural expansion, primarily over the last five decades.