A seal species once thought extinct, now numbering 16,000 individuals, is at the center of one of the most sweeping ocean conservation acts in modern history. Good News host Freddy documented a landmark month of global progress, spanning marine protection in Chile, the complete clearance of landmines from Croatia, and a generational decline in child deaths worldwide.
Chile’s Juan Fernandez Fur Seal Colony Drives Creation of the World’s Third-Largest Marine Protected Area
The Juan Fernandez fur seal was nearly wiped out by commercial hunting for its fur and meat. Scientists rediscovered a colony of just 20 animals on a remote Chilean island in the 1960s, and over the following decades, that population recovered to approximately 16,000 individuals — an 800-fold increase. In 2018, the species was reclassified as facing a low risk of extinction.
The conservation push accelerated when 98% of local islanders voted in favor of expanding environmental protections. Fishermen submitted a formal conservation plan to Chile’s president, who, in one of his final acts in office, signed into law the third-largest marine protected area on Earth. The new protected zone covers an area the size of Finland, centered on the Juan Fernandez Islands and a neighboring marine park. No fishing will be permitted beyond 12 kilometers from the coast, bringing more than 50% of Chile’s total waters under formal protection. The incoming Chilean government confirmed in March that it will honor and pass the agreement.
Marine protected areas of this scale have documented impacts on fish stock recovery and apex predator populations. The Juan Fernandez zone now joins a small group of ocean reserves large enough to allow complete ecosystem cycles to function without human interference.
Croatia Declares Itself Free of Landmines After 30 Years and $1 Billion in Clearance Work
Following the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995, hundreds of thousands of landmines were laid across Croatian territory. Since 1996, more than 600 people were killed or injured by these devices. Croatia began systematic clearance after independence, deploying metal detectors, specialized equipment, and trained detection dogs over three decades of painstaking work. The total cost exceeded one billion dollars. Croatian authorities have now officially declared the country free of landmines, with more than 400,000 explosive devices removed in total.
Also in May’s report: all 133 member states of the Convention on Migratory Species formally recognized six major bird migration highways for the first time at the CMS’s 15th meeting in Brazil. The Arctic tern, which travels approximately 90,000 kilometers annually between Greenland and Antarctica — equivalent to flying around the Earth twice — will benefit from new coordinated safe zones across member nations.
Child Mortality Falls 60% Since 1990 as Philippines Removes 320,000 Children From Labor
Global child mortality for children under five has dropped by 60% since 1990, according to data reviewed by Freddy’s Good News. Newborn deaths alone have fallen by 45% over the same period, driven by improvements in skilled birth delivery, essential newborn care, and expanded vaccination programs that can prevent up to 30 potentially deadly diseases. Even in the Democratic Republic of Congo, child mortality has nearly been cut in half over the last 35 years.
In the Philippines specifically, a government aid program supporting self-employed families delivered financial and material assistance to 47,000 households between 2022 and 2025. A complementary initiative called Project Angel Tree provided food, clothing, hygiene kits, and educational materials to more than 59,000 children since 2022. The combined result: 320,000 children were removed from employment between 2022 and 2024, representing a 38.5% decrease in child labor. The Filipino president has now set a target of completely eliminating child labor by 2028.
The DRC’s health minister also confirmed that no new mpox cases have been recorded for several months, effectively ending a two-year outbreak that killed more than 2,000 people and prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency in 2024. Sixteen African nations received WHO vaccine shipments as part of the coordinated response that brought the outbreak under control — a demonstration that rapid multilateral action on infectious disease can produce decisive results even in under-resourced regions.
