From scientific discoveries to activist wins, here are the latest news stories that showcase the people who are taking on climate change and nature loss, and winning.

🐄 Making cow burps cleaner

Cow’s burps release between 154 and 264 pounds of methane every year per animal, making them the worst culprits of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. But a new study shows that feeding grazing cattle seaweed supplements reduced their methane emissions almost 40%, with no impact on their health or weight. Other studies have shown that seaweed reduces methane emissions by 82% in feedlot cattle (where cows are fattened with grain before slaughter) and 50% in dairy cows, but this is the first time the impact has been demonstrated with grazing cattle.

💰 The world’s first ‘debt-for-climate-resilience’ swap

Barbados is investing millions in turning its sewage plant into a water reclamation facility in order to boost the island’s water supplies. To do so, it’s completed the world’s first debt-for-climate swap – by replacing older, more expensive debt with more affordable financing, it freed up $125m for the plant upgrades. This model has been championed by the country’s prime minister, and the World Economic Forum estimates it could free up $100bn globally for biodiversity restoration and climate adaptation.

🐊 New discoveries in the Congo rainforest

According to a new WWF report, 742 species were discovered in the Congo Basin in the last 10 years – hundreds of plants, mammals, fish, invertebrates, and reptiles that had never been recorded by scientists before, though they may have been known to local communities. These newfound species include a slender-snouted crocodile, a new coffee plant, and an owl. All of these discoveries underline the need to stop the destruction of this precious and irreplaceable biodiversity, and the land that millions of people depend on.