Just published in OCA Magazine, Spring 2026:

"Mountain Crossroads: Why Central Asia's Peaks Demand A New Vision"

News from the heart of Eurasia
www.ocamagazine.com

Plateau Perspectives: 25 Years in High Asia Partnering with mountain communities for conservation and sustainable development in the mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia

open.substack.com/pub/marcfogg...

On the left there are two images with lighting. One is a stone hallway with arches and bright light shining through the windows between pillars. The other is a bunch of pots and pans over a stove on the ground with light reflections. On the right are the processed versions of these images with the lighting all removed, leaving just the base colour of the scene and objects. These are the estimated albedo images of the scenes.

Demo 3: Albedo estimation

Similar to shadow removal, working within lighting latent space, we can estimate the scene albedo with lighting removed. [6/7]

Teaser image for CroCoDiLight paper. Three panels showing the same scene of a street in three different lighting conditions: sunny with shadows, even lighting without shadows, and night time with lights switched on. A badge for ICLR 2026 is in the bottom right, and CroCoDiLight is in big letters across the top.

Very excited to announce my first paper, CroCoDiLight! Co-authored with @willsmithvision.bsky.social and accepted at #ICLR2026.

Image relighting, shadow removal, and albedo estimation, all in our single base model with swappable task components.

See you in Rio @iclr-conf.bsky.social! [1/7]

Our article “Life Beyond the Checklist” introduces a fresh perspective on environmental impact assessments, arguing that moving beyond rigid procedural checklists can unlock deeper value for addressing social and ecological impacts of development.

Read more here: www.marcfoggin.com/life-beyond-...

Are you participating in #IMC2025? We invite papers emerging from recent research collaborations across different disciplines, experiences, and geographic and cultural perspectives that will be presented at the conference. Read more and submit your notice of intent by 15 June! t.ly/0MkKb

Trudeau: Canada will retaliate with 25% tariffs on $155B of U.S. goods YouTube video by CBC News

Very much worth a watch if you have not yet seen the PM’s brief and moving speech to Americans and Canadians.

“From the beaches of Normandy …to the streets of Kandahar, we have fought and died alongside you during your darkest hours. We're always there, standing with you."

Eurasian Lynx... solitary wanderer in the snowy heights of Central Asia, walking away into the last of the evening light, 20 May 2024.

Photograph from one of a dozen trail cameras set up by rangers in Yaghnob National Park. #plateauperspectives #Anahita #CEPF

When talking about Sustainable Development, it’s NOT ‘equality’ that we’re after… but rather fairness and equity.

As we close off 2024... here's our family trio — Marc, Marion, and Alistair— wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!

And for those who weren't in-the-know... 2024 has been the International Year of Camelids 😉

www.fao.org/camelids-202...

Kyrgyz Nomad Trail expands to Kyrgyzstan’s southwest mountains The Kyrgyz Nomad Trail (KNT), already the longest hiking trail in Central Asia, is embarking on an ambitious expansion, adding 1 000 kilometres through the r...

Delighted that the Kyrgyz Nomad Trail (KNT) finally launched this year. Great achievement by Yuval Yellin and others! The long-distance trail has great potential to bring community benefit and support conservation aims. Proud to be a partner with KNT.

FAO news article: www.fao.org/mountain-par...

International Mountain Day 2024 YouTube video by Plateau Perspectives

International Mountain Day 2024!

Five-minute short film showcasing mountain landscapes in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where people and nature thrive together.

#MountainsMatter
#plateauperspectives
#centralasia

Let’s work together to preserve these majestic mountain landscapes!
youtu.be/YGEHoNyyiEs

The climate and biodiversity crises are entwined, but we risk pitting one against the other In our race to cool the planet, we must not compromise the ecosystems on which we depend.

theconversation.com/the-climate-...

21 photo stories from Plateau Perspectives

stories.plateauperspectives.org

Enjoy!! 😉

Concepts in ecology and conservation - YouTube Fundamental concepts that help understand the natural world and how to conserve it.

Here’s the playlist for the 42 ecological and conservation concept videos. Perfect for falling asleep at night. Enjoy!
youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Henry Grub What is a just transition for environmental targets? YouTube video by Oxford Biodiversity Network

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpH...

What is a just transition for environmental targets? This POSTnote considers transitions to meet environmental targets and how their costs and benefits for different members of society can be distributed fairly.

What could possibly go wrong with Net Zero?

Now please don't get me wrong, I am entirely supportive of achieving this goal. We must redress our current trajectories. But this must be through a Just Transition.

What is a just transition for environmental targets?
post.parliament.uk/research-bri...

An article that we published a couple of years back... and about which, in due course, yet more should be published!

"Thinking Like a Mountain: Exploring the Potential of Relational Approaches for Transformative Nature Conservation"

www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13...

Caring for creation is grounded in the reality that we are made in God’s image —

We are created in God’s image, and God is triune and inherently relational. We also depend on countless fellow creatures to sustain us in our daily living, our community of life.

See kentronetwork.ca/blog/caring-...

One of my current projects is in the Mountains of Central Asia biodiversity hotspot and aims to strengthen co-management in Yaghnob National Park.

See stories.plateauperspectives.org/yagnobproject/

The Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF) is supporting this project by Plateau Perspectives.

This is our home base. Northern Scotland. But from here... the world!

I am a conservation biologist with special attention to the human dimensions of sustainable development. Focus on mountain regions, including the Tibetan plateau and Central Asia.

More info at www.geog.ox.ac.uk/staff/jmfogg...