"NEW YORK - The U.N. has adopted the world's first treaty to protect the high seas and preserve marine biodiversity in international waters, marking a milestone after nearly 20 years of effort, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Monday.

The adoption followed an agreement reached in March by more than 100 countries on the of text of the High Seas Treaty, also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, after more than 15 years of discussions and five rounds of U.N.-led negotiations.

"An annual spring count instilled hope among biologists that the threatened shorebird may be recovering from recent declines. Crab harvesting bans were partly credited for the rise."

"A massive new survey of nearly 400 coral reefs around the world reveals sharks once common in those waters are vanishing, a troubling sign that the fearsome fish are at a much greater risk of going extinct than previously thought."

"The Environmental Protection Agency has announced more stringent rules governing offshore oil spill response, amid continuing concerns about the effects on public health and wildlife from chemical disasters, including BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010."

"As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation."

"A steady and remarkable rise in average global ocean temperatures this year is now outpacing anything seen in four decades of satellite observations, causing many scientists to suddenly blare alarm over the risks and realities of climate change."

"San Francisco is at the forefront of a movement to recycle wastewater from commercial buildings, homes, and neighborhoods and use it for toilets and landscaping. This decentralized approach, proponents say, will drive down demand in an era of increasing water scarcity."

"A disastrous breach in Ukraine's huge Kakhovka dam has further stoked alarm over the safety of the nearby Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has for months been a target of shelling due to its proximity to military front lines."

"A new book from water expert Peter Gleick urges a rethinking of how we use, manage and value one of our most important resources."