What a stunning evening for a solo ski tour in the mountains - fresh snow ❄️, a clear sky 🌌, a full moon 🌕, and the lights of Villars-sur-Ollon below 🇨🇭
Spectacular day in the Alps!!! Last week I was in the Amazon at COP30 🌳 🌴 where it was 38 degrees and very humid 🥵 … and now back home where overnight it was -9 degrees and dumping 40cm of fresh snow ❄️ 🥶
What stands in the way of protecting forests 🌳 at scale?
Ahead of COP30 🇧🇷, when forests will take centre stage, @KeithTuffley outlines 6 systemic challenges that forests face in this new @goalshouse article.
Systemic problems must be tackled with system-level solutions. This is where state‑ and country‑wide forest protection programmes - often called ‘jurisdictional’ approaches - come in.
Discover more via the link in bio.
📷 @openplanetorg
#COP30 #TropicalForests #JREDD
Having just returned from New York Climate Week, I hope others shared the same experience as me … I found it the most energising and inspiring NYCW for many years.
Despite the headwinds, the tide will turn in favour of climate and nature. And imagine our speed of progress once we’re sailing with the tide and the winds are at our back!
This year, there has been a real shift:
🌊 Nature and the Ocean are finally being elevated to where they belong.
🏢 Corporate climate action continues apace, even if more quietly.
🎥 Storytelling on climate and nature is gaining real traction.
💡 More creative solutions are emerging everywhere.
Some highlights of the week for me:
✨ Sharing the stage with Dr. Sylvia Earle as we returned The Explorers Club Flag #73 from our recent Tonga Ocean Science Expedition — representing the humpback whales and our great crew. This followed a fantastic panel discussion, “To Explore is to Lead”.
✨ THE NAT Gala, which celebrated nature in a way few have ever seen — with stirring words from Harrison Ford, Peter Seligmann, Jane Fonda and others, all brilliantly created and led by the inimitable Gail Gallie and her team.
✨ Our Silvania & Race to Belém dinner at Goals House, mobilising private capital to tackle deforestation in Brazil and build new markets to preserve and restore nature.
✨ The Planetary Health Check Report 2025 launch by the Planetary Guardians — a sobering but solutions-driven overview of our systemic challenges.
✨ The launch of Tim Christophersen’s superb book, “Generation Restoration – How to Fix our Relationship Crisis with Mother Nature” which was the perfect finale to my week.
It was also wonderful to reconnect with old friends and meet so many new leaders and change-makers in nature & climate.
From putting nature on the balance sheet 📑 to recognizing Indigenous wisdom - climate and nature leaders are calling for bold action to protect the Amazon and Brazilian forests 🌳 in the run up to COP30.
Here’s what they had to say.
@KeithTuffley , @pseligmann2018 , Silvania, @hindououmar , M Sanjayan, @conservationorg , @anaatoni , @cop30nobrasil , @xiyebeara , @planetarygdns
#Amazon #COP30 #IndigenousPeoples #Forests
A few family photos from the past few days in Sydney 🇦🇺 🦘…
It was such a joy to bring my Mum and two of my boys, Magnus & Ruffle, to NSW Government House for the Australian Honours ceremony, where I was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for “significant services to conservation and environmental sustainability, and to the financial sector.”
I felt humbled listening to the incredible stories of the other recipients, wondering if I deserved to be there!
But I accepted the award with deep gratitude to all the people in my life who have been part of this journey in trying to make the world a better place … especially my wonderful immediate family members, my extended Tuffley family, and my very dear loved-ones and close friends … and also those who have been my work & board colleagues and fellow adventurers over the years.
Thank you for your love, friendship, support, and inspiration.
I’m especially proud of Mum for everything she has done in her life, and one of her many highlights is the classic Economics textbook she wrote nearly 40 years ago. I dragged out some of the old Economics classics - from Marx & Engels to Malthus & Galbraith … and sat them alongside Mum’s book and some modern Nature classics such as David Attenborough’s recent book and a new one by the talented Natalie Kyriacou OAM “Nature’s Last Dance”. This spectrum of thinking from the 1800s to today is representative of what I been trying to do over these decades … to properly integrate Nature & Biodiversity into our Economic & Financial system. Thanks Mum for inspiring me on this journey from when I was an Economics student at high school!
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to those who nominated and supported me for this award. I don’t know who you all are, but I’m deeply grateful.
Over these few days in Sydney, I appreciated many very-Australian sensory experiences - the songs of kookaburras, galahs and currowongs, the smells of the eucalypts and wildflowers, the sounds of the waves, the tastes of the great food and coffee. This “sunburned country” is so beautiful, and I’m very lucky to have grown up here and to call it home! 🦘
Humpback whales 🐋 in Tonga …
Our expedition crew comprised 16 scientists, filmmakers, storytellers, policymakers, and medical & logistical experts, and included none other than Her Deepness Dr Sylvia Earle … all amazing people! We were in total awe of these beautiful, intelligent, ancient whales with whom we felt such a connection and bond. Enjoy these stunning images from the brilliant photographer and great team mate @jonoallenphotography
🙌 That’s a WRAP on our Tonga 2025 Ocean Science Expedition! 🙌
From Dr Sylvia Earle’s ocean insights to Lord Speaker Fakafanua Fatafehi’s local expertise, it’s really been one to remember!
Our crew completed 5 cutting-edge projects studying humpback whales, marine biodiversity, and ocean health.
The results? Hope! 🐋 Tonga’s protected whales are thriving and could be a blueprint for ocean regeneration, but more is needed to combat global threats to these gentle giants.
Next up: presenting our findings at The Villars Summit Ocean & Poles Roundtable 🌏.
Edit by @rebecca_saltysea .
Supported by @mercuriagroup , Silvania and @villarsinstitute .
What happens when a group of people from Tonga, Australia, Belgium, Turkey, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, and the UK come together? 🌍✨ A mixture of stories, cultures, and skills that create something greater than the sum of its parts.
This was perhaps one of the most diverse science team’s I’ve worked with in the field, not just because of the number of countries we each represented, but also because this group of people bridged the tourism industry, government, science, film, medicine and the private sector - different worlds finding common ground for research. Systems-thinking, learning, trial and error, and of course problem-solving in action!
Beyond grateful for this amazing “Team Science” that came out with us to collect data on humpback whales as part of the Tonga 2025 @oceanscienceexpeditions . Thank you for bringing us all together @keithtuffley ! 🐋🔬🌊
Topside Photos of whales by Lord Fakafanua
#humobackwhales #whales #pacific #marinescience #conservation #oceans #wildlife #villarsinstitute
✨ AND THAT’S A WRAP ✨.
From whale encounters 🐋 to data collection, capturing interviews 🎥 and intergenerational learning - the Tonga 2025 Ocean Science Expedition has been a resounding success.
With a total of 67 humpback whales sighted, along with flying fish, shark, jellyfish, and more - the marine life in Tonga has been nothing short of incredible.
Our team is now busy analysing all of the data captured, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Thanks for following along with the expedition 🙏🏼. And stay tuned for more updates.
Supported by @mercuriagroup , Silvania, @villarsinstitute .
🎥 Footage by @xiyebeara & @keithtuffley .
Edit by @rebecca_saltysea .
#OSETonga2025 #OceanScienceExpedition #OceanScience #Tonga #MarineBiology
Swimming with Dr. Sylvia Earle — Her Deepness - among a million of our tiniest friends 🐠🐠🐠 - has been one of the highlights of my life.
Every marine scientist knows Sylvia as the queen of the ocean 👑🌊: world-leading scientist 🧑🔬, tireless advocate, brilliant speaker 🎤, author 📚, explorer 🧭 — and one of the kindest, most inspiring humans you’ll ever meet.
She radiates generosity, optimism, calm determination, and positive energy. She’s received countless honors — including France’s Légion d’Honneur — and is the only person ever celebrated with her very own blue M&Ms! 💙
This whole expedition traces back to a chance meeting at The Explorers Club in New York in 2022. From an idea to “let’s swim with whales together,” four of us grew into sixteen, with science, filmmaking, advocacy, and a local legacy project giving our journey real purpose.
Now, here in Tonga, Sylvia — about to celebrate her 90th birthday 🎂 — continues to inspire us all. Her curiosity is endless, her camera always in hand, capturing life big and small. While I darted underwater like a playful seal, she stayed laser-focused on the tiniest fish, still discovering the ocean with childlike wonder.
Over these past two weeks we’ve shared the water, the whales, the boat, and endless conversations. Her vision and ambition to restore the ocean are infectious — she is never short of a new idea or insight from the world beneath the waves.
Sylvia — we must do this again! 🐋🐬🐟
Photo credits: @rogermunns , @jonoallenphotography , Keith Tuffley
