A gold prospector is detained by agents of Brazil’s environmental agency on the Uraricoera River during an operation against illegal gold mining on indigenous land, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in Roraima state, Brazil April 15, 2016. At over 9.5 million hectares, the Yanomami territory is twice the size of Switzerland and home to around 27,000 indians. The land has legally belonged to the Yanomami since 1992, but illegal miners continue to plague the area, sawing down trees and poisoning rivers with mercury in their lust for gold. (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

In this February 1, 2017 photo, environmental activist Maruja Inquilla poses for a photo next to a Municipal waste treatment plant with water that flows into Lake Titicaca, in Juliaca, in the Puno region of Peru. “If the frogs could talk they would say, This is killing me”," said Inquilla, who recently showed up at the Puno governor's house carrying plastic bags filled with hundreds of dead frogs in protest. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Sea lion is seen among people on a beach in San Cristobal island, part of Galapagos archipelago on February 11, 2025. Located in Ecuadorone of South America's most fascinating countriesthe Galapagos National Park spans 13 main islands and numerous islets, captivating biologists, environmental scientists, and tourists with its rich ecology. (Photo by Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Images)

South Korean environmental activists wearing masks symbolizing the coronavirus attend a prevention campaign as South Koreans take measures to protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 30, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea has called for expanded public participation in social distancing, as the country witnesses a wave of community spread and imported infections leading to a resurgence in new cases of COVID-19. According to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, 78 new cases were reported. The total number of infections in the nation tallies at 9,661. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Villagers from the Medio Jurua nature reserve of Brazil's Amazon rainforest arrive with their catch of pirarucus, the largest freshwater fish in South America, after a night of fishing in Manaria Lake, Carauari municipality, September 3, 2012. Catching the pirarucu, a fish that is sought after for its meat and is considered by biologists to be a living fossil, is only allowed once a year by Brazil's environmental protection agency. (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

Max Gold, 20, of NYC, cruises on his skateboard as thousands gather on the National Mall for the March for Science on Saturday, April 22, 2017, in Washington, DC. Activists and scientists descend on the nation's capital to rally for environmental causes and government policies rooted in scientific research as part of the Earth Day and March for Science rallies. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

A butterfly flies into the jaws of a crocodile inhabiting the Tarcoles River, the most polluted basin in Central America and one of the most polluted in Latin America, in the place of Tarcoles, province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, 05 June 2018. Costa Rica, a country recognized worldwide for its environmental policies, seeks to be a leader in the replacement of single-use plastic with renewable and compostable alternatives, despite its lag in terms of recycling and integrated waste management. (Photo by Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA/EFE)

In this Friday, December 4, 2018 photo, a half sunken cruise ship lays on its side, in the Gulf of Elefsina, west of Athens. Dozens of abandoned cargo and passenger ships lie semi-submerged or completely sunken around the Gulf of Elefsina, near Greece’s major port of Piraeus. Now authorities are beginning to remove the dilapidated ships. Some of them have been there for decades, leaking hazards like oil into the environment and creating a danger to modern shipping. One expert calls the abandoned ships “an environmental bomb”. (Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo)