The water of Antarctica are possibly the world's most harsh yet beautiful environment. In the summer months as light reaches deeper into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean, phytoplankton and shrimp-like krill become phenomenally abundant, forming dense clouds. The foundation of the Antarctic food chain, these tiny crustaceans are feasted upon by squids, penguins, crabeater seals and baleen whales. In turn, the prey of many larger predators such as Antarctic toothfishes, leopard seals, sperm whales and killer whales depend on these small animals. Few places in the world, if any, support greater numbers of large animals.

Mean global temperature could reach 2°C above pre- industrial levels by 2042, leading to significant impacts on Southern Ocean whales. According to state-of-the-art climate models, under 2°C global warming, the area of the Southern Ocean covered by sea ice is projected to shrink by an average of 10-15%. This reduction could be up to 30% in some regions, meaning that species that are heavily dependent on sea ice, such as the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) are projected to lose between 5-30% of ice-associated habitat within 40 years - little more than the life time of an individual whale.

With this report we want to take an economic angle in shedding light on the values we receive from the oceans and the life therein, but which we usually take for granted. The marine environment, its habitats and species have shaped and are still shaping our world, our culture and many people’s daily lives. We want to show what the loss of healthy oceans will mean to our economies and individual people’s incomes and livelihoods. We want to show what we loose if we don’t change.

A new report commissioned by WWF-Australia has found that shark and other marine species populations in Australia's Coral Sea are particularly vulnerable to fishing and other threats. The research finds that sharks that live around reefs in the Coral Sea do not travel far, preferring to "stay at home" on their reefs. This makes these populations especially vulnerable to threats and adds more weight to WWF's calls for protection of the Coral Sea.

In this video podcast Dr David Suzuki, award-winning scientist and environmentalist, talks to WWF-Australia about why humans are the real reason our planet is degrading at such a fast rate and how we can turn this around.

Wetlands in Queensland are under threat from development, water extraction and infrastructure, invasive species, climate change and declining water quality. Yet these kidneys of the ecosystem are vital to water cycles and biodiversity, and Queensland has a special responsibility to protect and manage the 39 types of wetlands we have.

This report summary shows efforts to conserve wetlands across Queensland are failing, with over 70% lost in some reef catchments, and proposesa a wetlands Environment Protection Policy (EPP) to prohibit very damaging activities, such as draining.

Foreign man made items continue to smother northern Australian beaches at a rate of 2,015 items per kilometre, threatening marine turtles and other species with an uncertain future. In 2004, beaches on the northern Australian coastline were again surveyed for marine debris, the results are outlined in this report.

Over the past six months, we have witnessed millions of hectares of biologically diverse areas protected - both on land and at sea. Find out more about these and other important results of WWF's international work.

Using examples from the Southern Ocean, this report outlines how flags of convenience provide cover for pirate fishing operations.

Fisheries managers, environmental agencies and the fishing industry are adopting a range of tools that can contribute to ecosystem-based management (EBM) of fisheries. This report examines three of those tools, and considers how each can contribute to improved fisheries management.