One of our planet’s greatest treasures is its incredible biodiversity: from oceans and jungles to deserts and swamplands, we’re lucky to have such a rich variety of animal and plant species. But environmentalists warn that climate change is rapidly eating away at the world’s biodiversity, especially in coastal regions and rainforests.

One of the answers to that problem has been creating protected habitats. According to a recent report from the Marine Ecology Progress Series, more than 100,000 protected areas – representing about 7 million square miles of land and 1 million square miles of ocean – have been designated in the last five decades.

But despite those conservation efforts, the diversity of species is falling, and fast. That makes one thing clear: creating protected habitats won’t be enough to slow the loss of biodiversity on our planet. Environmentalists say it will take a much bigger effort – and everyone will have to get involved.

Ecovelocity is the biggest eco-motor show in the UK and it showcases a variety of environmentally-friendly makeovers. Basically, it focuses on how to give old cars a fresh, green look to bring them up to date with modern style and the latest clean technology for cars.

So if you want to upgrade to an environmentally-friendly car for the roads, the low-carbon motor show proves that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get what you want. The show runs from Septemer 8th – 11th in a former coal-fired power station called Battersea Power Station in London.

Ikea, which is the biggest home furnishings chain in the world, has announced it’s making a big commitment to clean energy. The company has purchased a big wind farm in Scotland and plans to install almost 40,000 solar panels on its stores in the United Kingdom.

Ikea bought the 12.3 megawatt wind farm in Scotland as a way to promote clean energy use in its stores and facilities and it looks like that plan will work: the energy from that wind farm could generate 30% of the energy used by all of Ikea’s stores in the UK. And the solar panels will produce another 5% of the stores’ energy. Best of all, Ikea will end up saving money in the long-run by cutting down on all those energy bills!

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The efficient use of the rare water resources in Madagascar is a huge problem. A water-management program, set up by the WWF is not only serving to protect forests, but also helps locals use their water resources sustainably, and therefore improve their farming opportunities. 35,000 people are living on the Mahafaly Plateau,  one of the driest corners of Madagascar, and climate change poses a serious threat to people’s livelihoods.

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In the Honduran city of La Esperanza, an old dam has been refitted to produce green energy. Designed with climate protection in mind from the start, the facility was the first project worldwide that was allowed to sell carbon emission certificates after the 1997 Kyoto treaty. The re-build power supply has created 70 new jobs and it provides electricity to surrounding villages. 30,000 tons of CO2 are reduced annuall.