Senegal is the third largest producer of octopus on the African continent, yet octopus stock has fallen by 90 percent since the 1980s. For 20 years, unsustainable fishing practices were ignored in the race to make a profit on the international market. But when fishermen saw the near total decline of their livelihood, they had no choice but to start fishing responsibly.

Canada's famed Royal Canadian Mounted Police force — also known as the Mounties — announced it's in the market for nearly 5,000 muskrat fur hats. The fur of the cold-weather rodents is very insulating and water repellent. But animal rights activists say trapping muskrats is cruel and unnecessary. The Mounties had considering abandoning their muskrat hats, but that stance has since been reversed.

Thousands of university students from around the world battle it out in a solar decathlon - the task is to build a one-of-a kind energy-efficient home. But while the US Department of Energy is praising students and the state of Colorado for their advancement of green infrastructure, under US President Donald Trump, it's also promoting policies that could slow down America's renewable energy boom.

Lake Okeechobee at the heart of Florida's Everglades is home to a vast array of animals and plants. But now, this tropical wilderness is drowning. On the heels of Hurricane Irma, a record-breaking wet season has led to the worst flooding in 70 years. That's making the lake deeper - which is bad news, not only for hundred of species that depend on it, but also for Florida's supply of fresh water.

Two decades ago, the French government started reintroducing bears to the Pyrenees mountains, initially bringing in nine brown bears from Slovenia. Those numbers have now grown, to 39 bears - and sheep farmers say their flocks are being terrorized. There's even an armed, clandestine group threatening to kill bears there.

Much of the CO2 we emit through the burning of fossil fuels ends up in the ocean, making the water more acidic. Because ocean acidification happens particularly fast in cold water, that spells trouble for cold-water corals. How do they cope as their environment becomes warmer and more acidic?

On some of the islands of Fiji in the South Pacific, sea turtle meat was long considered a delicacy, which is endangering the survival of the species. A national moratorium was imposed to stop the killing, but it was only a temporary measure. In the Mamanuca group of islands, a local woman - Elizabeth Sokidi - is working hard to boost the turtle population before the moratorium comes to an end.

No other country boasts as many thermal springs as Japan - the island nation bubbles and steams at more than 28,000 spots because four tectonic plates rub against each other deep beneath the Japan's landscape. This has brought the Japanese a long tradition of bathing, with countless opportunities to warm and cleanse body and soul.

A recent Greenpeace report has revealed that wood in the commercial supply chain can be traced back to murder in the Amazon rainforest. But would people actually buy so-called blood wood if they knew the truth about its violent origins? DW visited a hardware store in Bonn, Germany, to find out.

For centuries, European forests have acted as a life source for the people living in and around them. And they are set to play an important role in the so-called bioeconony — the economy of life. DW spoke with the head of the European Forest Institute, Marc Palahí, to find out more about maintaining Europe's forests for future generations.