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Une délégation gabonaise conduite par le conseiller juridique et diplomatique, Rahim Jhan Nguimbi a échangé, vendredi 4 juillet 2025 avec le président de la Haute Autorité de l'Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC), Edouard Loko. C'est dans le cadre de la réforme du paysage médiatique au Gabon.

Une mission gabonaise appuyée par le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD) séjourne au Bénin depuis le 3 juillet. Ce vendredi 4 juillet, la délégation a rencontré le président de la HAAC afin de s'imprégner des pratiques béninoises en matière de régulation des médias. Edouard Loko a présenté aux membres de la délégation, l'institution béninoise de régulation des médias. Il n'a pas manqué d'exposer les réformes opérées pour renforcer l'efficacité de l'organe. Les échanges ont porté sur le contrôle des contenus en ligne, l'attribution rigoureuse et équitable des fréquences, le renforcement des capacités des professionnels des médias etc.

La délégation gabonaise s'est dite satisfaite des échanges. « Le président et son équipe ont parlé sans filtre. Nous repartons pleinement satisfaits et enrichis par cette rencontre », a affirmé Rahim Nguimbi.

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Die Axpo musste diese Woche beide Blöcke des Atomkraftwerks Beznau herunterfahren, weil die Aare zu warm ist. Bald will sie das seltener tun – das sorgt für Kritik.

Ein Trip in den Europapark in den Sommerferien ist ein Klassiker. Darum ist der Attraktionspark in den Sommermonaten auch am besten besucht. Blick gibt Tipps und Tricks, wie du deinen Tag am besten gestaltest.

Ein geleakter Anruf mit Kambodschas Ex-Machthaber bringt Thailands Premierministerin Paetongtarn Shinawatra ins Wanken. Der Skandal trifft nicht nur sie persönlich – er erschüttert eine ganze politische Dynastie und das Machtgefüge Südostasiens.

Boris Becker wird erneut Vater. Für ihn und seine Ehefau Lilian ist es das erste gemeinsame Kind. Jetzt behauptet Lilly Becker, dass ihr Ex dem gemeinsamen Sohn Amadeus die Nachricht nicht persönlich überbracht habe. Der Ex-Tennisstar bestreitet das jedoch vehement.

Im Gotthardtunnel war am Freitagabend ein Lastwagen in Vollbrand geraten. Seit 23.15 Uhr ist der Tunnel wieder offen.

BBC Sport Africa runs down everything you need to know about the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

In Frankreich wurde die Rinderseuche Lumpy-Skin-Disease in Savoyen bestätigt. Der Kanton Genf gehört zur Überwachungszone. Frankreich und die Schweiz impfen nun Rinder in der betroffenen Region, um eine Ausbreitung zu verhindern.

Die Schweizer Armee wartet weiter auf ihre neuen Aufklärungsdrohnen. Das 300-Millionen-Franken-Projekt verzögert sich erneut. Verteidigungsminister Martin Pfister prüft nun sogar einen möglichen Projektabbruch.

A besztercebányai Speciális Büntetőbíróság (ŠTS) csütörtökön (7. 3.) elrendelte négy személy előzetes letartóztatásba helyezését, akiket a Funeral-akció során vettek őrizetbe.

TASR: Péntek estére elsőfokú figyelmeztetést adtak ki a szél miatt Kassa megye legtöbb járására, és a Breznóbányai járásra. A Rozsnyói- és a Nagyrőcei járásban a villámárvizek miatt van érvényben figyelmeztetés – közölte a TASR szerint a közösségi hálón a Szlovák Hidrometeorológiai Intézet (SHMÚ). Az átlagosan 45 kilométeres erősségű szél miatt kiadott figyelmeztetés 20 óráig érvényes – tájékoztatott az SHMÚ.

Le fenugrec (ou Trigonella foenum-graecum) est une plante herbacée originaire du Moyen-Orient et de l’Inde, utilisée à la fois comme épice, plante médicinale et complément alimentaire. Mais que disent les médecins et nutritionnistes sur son usage au quotidien ?

Die Formel 1 reibt sich die Hände. In der ersten Woche hat man für den neuen Film «F1» mit Brad Pitt mehr Tickets verkauft als im Vergleich zu Bruckheimers Knaller «Top Gun» mit Tom Cruise. Schnellster am ersten Trainingstag in Silverstone: Norris (McLaren).

Euronews: A balesetet az okozhatta, hogy levált egy tartálykocsi szivattyúja az elosztórendszer tankolása közben. Tűzoltók, az üzemeltető, rendőrök és a környék lakói is a sérültek között vannak. A Róma délkeleti negyedében, Prenestino-Centocellében, a Via dei Gordianin található töltőállomáson két detonáció is bekövetkezett, a második volt a nagyobb. A robaj az egész fővárosban hallható volt. A Rai tudósítója szerint két ember életveszélyes állapotban vittek kórházba.

Unsere Fussballfrauen versetzten die Schweiz ins EM-Fieber, trotz der Niederlage freut sich Zappalot schon auf das nächste Spiel am Sonntag. P.S. Nadine Riesen soll unbedingt viel Ghackets mit Hörnli vor dem nächsten Spiel essen.

Written by Jurgita Lekaviciute with Oona Lagercrantz.

Initiatives to restore European primary forests and thereby reverse centuries of decline are gaining traction. Such restoration could deliver significant ecological, environmental, climate-related and socio-cultural benefits, ranging from biodiversity conservation, water regulation and climate mitigation, to ecotourism and renewed human relationships with nature. However, a number of challenges and trade-offs need to be addressed, including the lack of primary forest mapping, concerns over human exclusion and potential economic losses.

The Białowieża Forest, located on the border between Poland and Belarus, began growing after the last ice age. It is home to 59 mammal species, 250 bird species, 13 amphibian species and over 12 000 invertebrate species. It also hosts Europe’s largest bison population. It is Europe’s single major ‘primary forest’ and embodies the continent’s natural heritage. However, like the vast majority of Europe’s original forests, Białowieża has been significantly altered, despite conservation efforts dating back to the 16th century. Disturbance rates have seen a significant increase over the past 40 years.

European Union (EU) law, aligning with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), defines a primary forest as a ‘naturally regenerated forest of native tree species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed’. Terms describing forests as ‘primeval’, ‘virgin’ and ‘old-growth’ are often used interchangeably with the term ‘primary’, with each having a slightly different meaning. Current data on European primary forests typically cover old-growth forests, defined as ‘late-successional forests, which contain structures and species which distinguishes them from forests of younger age classes’, such as deadwood. Mapped primary forests total just 3.2 million hectares (less than 3 % of the EU’s total forest area), with around 90 % concentrated in Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, and Romania. However, there is a significant mapping gap: approximately 4.4 million hectares – an area larger than the Netherlands – remain unmapped.

Due to the very small amount of primary forests in Europe, merely protecting them may not suffice to meet biodiversity targets. Therefore, initiatives to restore primary forests in Europe have gained traction, connected to rewilding efforts. For instance, French botanist Francis Hallé, known for his work on tropical forests, has proposed developing a new primary forest on a lowland cross-border area of around 70 000 hectares – roughly the size of the island of Menorca. Hallé and others want to connect existing wilderness areas that are large enough to sustain megafauna and leave them undisturbed until they recover their original characteristics. However, restoring primary forests is a slow process: approximately 800 years if starting from an existing forest and 1 000 years from bare soil.

Potential impacts and developments

Restoring primary forests in Europe would generate wide-ranging positive ecological, environmental and socio-economic impacts. Primary forests, even when small in size, support biodiversity by providing a home to a broad range of endangered plant and animal species. At a time when only a quarter (27 %) of species protected under EU law have good conservation status, primary forest restoration can help prevent species loss. Primary forests also deliver a range of ecosystem services to humans: they maintain groundwater levels, reduce flood risk and improve soil quality. In primary forests, fallen leaves and organic matter decompose naturally, enriching soil fertility and preventing soil degradation. Primary forests also help mitigate climate change, as they absorb and store significantly higher levels of carbon than newer forests. Moreover, they are more resilient to environmental change, help reduce wildfire risks and mitigate heat waves through their cooling effect.

Restoring primary forests could also create new opportunities for tourism, recreation, and spiritual and aesthetic experiences, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for Europeans. Such restoration projects represent a paradigm shift in human interaction with nature, moving away from strict management towards a ‘free evolution‘ of ecosystems. The effort to restore primary forests has the potential to provide profound meaning for individuals across generations, akin to the construction of cathedrals in Europe centuries ago, highlighting society’s imperative to look towards the future.

A point of contention is the role of humans in primary forests. A key criticism against primary forest restoration is that it reinforces an artificial separation between humans and nature. The question of how an ‘undisturbed’ forest will be defined and enforced needs to be answered. In proposals such as the one by Francis Hallé, humans are allowed to visit but not alter the forest in any way, including by treading on the forest floor. These restrictions could have negative effects on cultural and recreational activities typically associated with forests, such as berry and mushroom picking and walking.

Economic trade-offs also need to be addressed. Restoring primary forests comes with significant opportunity costs for forest business owners, as managed forest areas would need to be set aside, resulting in lost wood product incomes. Farmers and forest owners near primary forests could experience decreased crop or livestock production, leading to economic losses due to natural disturbances like wildfires or insect infestations. These issues highlight the necessity of establishing buffer zones around primary forests and providing for compensation schemes for affected landowners.

In addition, restoring primary forests would require resources to monitor and strictly protect existing primary forests and areas designated for restoration. To achieve this, technology – including artificial intelligence, drones, satellite imagery and remote sensing technologies, such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), which uses lasers to create 3D models of the Earth’s surface – will be indispensable. Remote sensing technologies can play a crucial role in mapping primary and old-growth forests, especially in inaccessible areas, by providing efficient, large-scale and less labour-intensive biodiversity data.

Anticipatory policymaking

The EU’s network of protected areas, Natura 2000, plays a pivotal role in conserving existing primary and old-growth forests. About 93 % of the mapped primary and old-growth forests are part of the Natura 2000 network, and 87 % are strictly protected. However, these figures should be interpreted cautiously due to mapping gaps. The EU biodiversity strategy to 2030, part of the European Green Deal, aims to protect 30 % of the EU’s land and 30 % of its sea areas, with 10 % under strict protection – including all remaining primary and old-growth forests. The goal is to prevent logging and preserve their ecosystem services. Under the EU forest strategy to 2030, the European Commission released guidelines in March 2023 to enhance the protection of these vital ecosystems. The guidelines assist national authorities in identifying, mapping, monitoring and strictly protecting remaining primary and old-growth forests, providing identification criteria and suggested timelines for conservation efforts.

The proposed forest monitoring law, which is currently being discussed in the European Parliament, seeks to implement an EU-wide integrated forest monitoring framework to improve data-sharing on the state of forests in the EU. If adopted, it would require all Member States to map and share the location of their primary forests by 1 January 2028.

The EU Nature Restoration Law, enacted in August 2024, aims to restore at least 20 % of the EU’s land by 2030, as well as all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. This law provides a legal framework for measures to restore degraded forest ecosystems that go beyond the restoration of forest habitats protected under the EU Habitats Directive.

Finally, the EU Climate Law sets a binding 2050 climate neutrality target and a 55 % emissions cut by 2030, indirectly supporting the protection of primary forests as vital carbon sinks.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘What if Europe restored its primary forests?‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Ein Tag am Wasser ist fast wie eine Woche Ferien. In der Schweiz gibt es Flüsse und Seen in Hülle und Fülle. Für tolle Ausflüge haben wir die Qual der Wahl.

Ein tragischer Unfall erschüttert Portugal: Die Brüder Diogo Jota und André Silva sind tödlich verunglückt. Journalist Paulo Pinto erinnert sich an den bescheidenen Charakter des Liverpool-Stars und die tiefe Trauer in ihrer Heimatstadt Gondomar.

Le cannabis pourrait bientôt être légalisé en Suisse. Un essai pilote à Lausanne sert de modèle pour répondre à la violence croissante liée à la drogue.

Nach einem spektakulären Sprung über das Berggasthaus Aescher hat ein Basejumper Ärger am Hals. Die Regierung des Kantons Appenzell Innerrhoden hat ihn angezeigt.