[00:00:00] Speaker A: Constructive voices, the podcast for the construction people with news, views and expert interviews. [00:00:08] Speaker B: Hello from another edition of the constructive Voices news flash, bringing you good and bad news from the world of the built environment and the environment in general. I am Killian Swift, and now for some good news. Mossy Earth and their local partners have restored a 40 hectare meadow wetland in cooperation with their local partners, Ros Nature Conservation association, who were also partners on the flooded Forest project, they have flooded another wetland along the Danube. This time, the project focused on a different type of wetland habitat, wet meadows that have become a rare sight in these lowlands. Not long ago, wetlands were such an integral part of life in the Danube lowlands that locals would use over 20 expressions to describe the different types of wetland habitats. Over the course of the 20th century, much of the area got drained to make space for agriculture, and the extent of wetlands shrank to a fraction of their former size. So when an opportunity came up to support the restoration of this rare wetland type, they were all in. The newly restored wetland is fed by the Sillers Brook, a 33.5 kilometer water line that once connected to the Danube river. The brook itself used to lack water on most of its course because a number of drainage channels were built on its course. Thanks to a series of interventions done by BR Oz Nature Conservation association since 2016, which included the reconstruction of several poorly built drainage channels, water has returned to the brook in its full length. Until now, the brook had a dead end in which the water would accumulate and spill over into another drainage channel. They decided to harness the potential of this water and create another ending to the brook, a 400 meters channel. Now the water that would otherwise be lost from the landscape feeds a 40 hectare disused field overridden with invasive plants. Over time, as the new waterlogged conditions push back the invasives, a wet sedge meadow will form here, providing much needed refuge for species such as the endemic pannonian root, vole, newts and amphibians, and migratory bird species. The last dig as they opened the new outflow was a moment of celebration, and the story even made it to the national news. And now it is also featured on the constructive Voices newsflash. That's it from me for now. Have a nature positive day. Over to you, Melissa Meadows thanks, Cillian. [00:03:04] Speaker C: By the way, I love that mossy earth name. And now for the not good news, which for this report is sadly an understatement statement. One of the world's top female sustainability influencers, who was a constructive voices guest. [00:03:16] Speaker D: And roundtable collaborator, shared this on LinkedIn Roberta Boscalo wrote that a shocking 15 national heat records have been shattered in just the first half of 2024. According to climate historian Maximiliano Herrera, this year has been unprecedented in the number of temperature records broken globally. With 130 monthly national temperature records and tens of thousands of local highs from the Arctic to the South Pacific from February to July 2024, extreme heat events have reached levels previously unimaginable. While last year's heat was exacerbated by El Nino, the current wave of records persists even as the phenomenon fades, highlighting. [00:04:00] Speaker C: The relentless impact of man made global heating. The fiercest temperatures have struck the tropics, with Egypt hitting 50.9 degrees celsius, Chad tying its record at 48 degrees celsius, and Ghana setting a new high of 44.6 degrees celsius. The relentless heat is not just breaking records, it's breaking the very resilience of ecosystems and communities, the World Meteorological Organization warns. These trends show no sign of slowing. Without urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, new extremes will continue to emerge, with devastating consequences for life on earth. This is a call to action. The time to act is now. [00:04:44] Speaker A: This is constructive. Voices.