2011 in the environment

Forest of Dean Protest: Woodland selloff

Forest of Dean protesters fight a planned sell-off of woodland that the government eventually abandoned Photograph: Adrian Sherratt

2011 in Environment: floodwaters from the Mississippi river

Farmers work as flood waters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields . Photograph: Dave Martin/AP

2011 in Environment: Friends of the Earth Bottle Recycling - London

The WWF, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace celebrated big anniversaries this year. Here Friends of the Earth activists deposit non-returnable bottles outside the Schweppes headquarters in Connaught Place, London in 1971 Photograph: PA/PA Archive/Press Association Ima

Satellite Eye on Earth: Deforestation along the Rio Xingu (Xingu River) , Matto Grasso, Brazil

Slash-and-burn forest clearing along the Xingu river in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil Photograph: ISS/NASA

Consevation International: northern white-cheeked crested gibbon in Pu Mat National Park Vietnam

White-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) in Vietnam. The only known 'viable' community of the critically endangered species was found there Photograph: Terry Whittaker/Conservation International

2011 in Environment: a devastating tornado hit Joplin

Destroyed vehicles and buildings litter a neighbourhood after a devastating tornado hit Joplin, Missouri on 23 May 2011 Photograph: Ed Zurga/Reuters

2011 in Environment: Anti-carbon tax protesters in Australia

Anti-carbon tax protesters known as the Convoy of No Confidence listen to speeches in front of Parliament House in Canberra, Australia Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images

A Chinese farmer showing a dry reservoir as drought hit Guiyang, in the south-western Guizhou province Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Stranded polar bears: Barter Island, Kaktovik, Alaska

A polar bear returns to a whale carcass to feed at dusk Photograph: Will Rose and Kajsa Sjölander/70° North/Greenpeace

2011 in Environment: WILD FIRES IN THE NORTH OF MEXICO

Residents of rural communities in Mexico remain in their houses as a large forest fire approaches on 27 April 2011 Photograph: Miguel Sierra/EPA

2011 in Environment: People demonstrate to protest against shale gas exploration in Ardeche

People demonstrate against shale gas exploration in Ardeche, central France Photograph: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images

St Paul's Cathedral seen through smog in central London Photograph: CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

2011 in Environment: 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Wangari Maathai

Kenyan environmentalist and human rights campaigner and Nobel peace rpize winner Wangari Maathai, who died in September Photograph: Micheline Pelletier/Corbis

2011 in Environment: Monsoon Floods Hit Pakistan

A man tries to fix his car which broke down amid floodwater in September in Digri, Pakistan Photograph: Warrick Page/UNICEF/Getty Images

2011 in Environment: Keystone Pipeline Protest And State Dept. Hearing

A sign protesting against the Keystone XL pipeline stands next to an inflatable Earth outside a state department public hearing in Washington, US Photograph: Andrew Harrer/Getty Images

2011 in Environment: Heavy rain falls over the city of Bangkok

Heavy rain falls over the city of Bangkok at sunset during the monsoon season in September Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images

2011 in Environment: Black Rhino relocation by helicopter in South Africa

A sedated black rhino - one of the species on the IUCN 'red list' - is carried by military helicopter away from a poaching area in the hills of the Eastern Cape, South Africa Photograph: GREEN RENAISSANCE/www.greenrenaissance.co.za / HANDOUT/EPA

2011 in Environment: China air pollution

The sun rises on another smoggy day in Beijing, China Photograph: Adrian Bradshaw/EPA

2011 in Environment: A Turkana woman fetches water in Lake Turkana

A woman fetches water in Lake Turkana in the drought-hit Kenyan Rift Valley Photograph: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images

Ministers gather in a huddle at the COP17 talks in Durban, where agreement was reached to extend the Kyoto protocol Photograph: Reuters