Keyword "Environmental News" - List of latest news (2 952 results)

14:40 Nepal announces its snow leopard population after first-of-its-kind assessment

KATHMANDU — Following decades of speculation, skepticism and lack of consensus, Nepal’s government has announced the country’s first-ever consolidated national estimate of snow leopards (Panther uncia): 397 individuals. The figure, which translates to 1.56 individuals per 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles), was reported by an expert committee following months of work which involved aggregat

09:23 Loss of great white sharks triggers domino effect down food chain, study shows


CAPE TOWN — South Africa’s False Bay was once known as a global hotspot for great white sharks. But within the span of a few years, between 2015 and 2019, this apex predator vanished from the area, leading to profound ecological changes, according to a new study. The study suggests that the disappearance of the […]

05:26 Data discrepancies suggest Laos monkey smuggling persists, despite trade ban

BANGKOK — A new report published on Feb. 18 detailed widespread discrepancies in data provided from Southeast Asia’s long-tailed macaque breeding farms, highlighting how monkey trafficking is able to slip through the regulatory cracks put in place by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Although the report was published […]

04:43 Church pressure spurs scrutiny of Indonesian geothermal projects

ENDE, Indonesia — The governor of one Indonesia’s poorest provinces said it would pause development of new geothermal energy projects on the island of Flores, following an intervention by the Catholic Church. On April 4, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said his administration would review all ongoing geothermal exploration on Flores Island, […]

20:29 Mexican government looks to correct Tren Maya environmental damages

MEXICO CITY — Officials have acknowledged the environmental damage caused by Tren Maya, and say they’re exploring ways to restore cenotes and rainforests disrupted by the railway’s construction through the Yucatán peninsula. During a press event earlier this month, Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena said the government was looking at correcting some of the damage done […]

22/04 Amazon illegal miners bypass enforcement by smuggling gold into Venezuela

Mongabay followed the steps of Adriano Aguiar de Castro, who, according to authorities, jumped from one gold laundering scheme to another and now is also involved with gold smuggling into Venezuela.

22/04 With deep-sea mining plans in limbo, Norwegian companies fold or dig in

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. BERGEN, Norway — It’s been nearly five months since the Norwegian government paused its controversial plans to launch deep-sea mining in Arctic waters. This proposed industry aims to generate supplies of critical minerals, but critics say the […]

22/04 New EU plastic pellet rules greeted with caution

A coalition of leading European environmental groups has cautiously welcomed a “landmark” agreement by lawmakers in Brussels on new rules aimed at curbing a major source of microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans. The provisional deal, reached last week between the European Council and the European Parliament, introduces binding EU-wide legislation on handling plastic pellets […]

22/04 Sweeping cuts and deregulation imperil U.S. fisheries, experts warn

This is Part 1 of a two-part series on fisheries management and ocean governance under the second Trump administration, which took office Jan. 20. Part 1 looks at the potential impacts that cuts and deregulation at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could have on U.S. fisheries. Part 2 will look at the […]

21/04 The 2025 UN Forum on Indigenous Issues starts today and the environment is on the agenda

This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance. Last Thursday, Hanieh Moghani, a legal scholar from Iran, was scheduled to attend a private meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York City with more than a dozen Indigenous experts from around the world. But Moghani was more than 5,000 miles away in Iran, waiting […]

21/04 15 years after the BP oil spill disaster, how is the Gulf of Mexico faring?

PLAQUEMINES PARISH, U.S. — Down past New Orleans lies Plaquemines parish, a narrow sliver of land at the tip of Louisiana that reaches southward like a finger pointing into the Gulf of Mexico. Past barbecue joints, a naval base, Baptist churches, white egrets, blue herons, and signs advertising items FOR SALE (live shrimp, empty lots […]

21/04 Meet the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners

Seven environmental activists from around the world will be awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on April 21. Known as the “Green Nobel Prize,” the Goldman Prize honors activists from the six inhabited continental regions. This year’s winners include a scientist and educator who fought illegal trafficking of Italian household waste to Tunisia; an electrical engineer […]

21/04 Mangroves mount a fragile green revival in Iraq’s toxic south

BASRA, Iraq — The air in Basra carries a strange weight: part saline mist from the nearby Persian Gulf and part acrid smoke from the towering oil refineries that loom over the southern horizon. Cracked riverbanks crumble into brackish water, where mangrove saplings now sprout in orderly rows. Their pale green leaves flutter under the […]

21/04 Indonesia strengthens forest monitoring with new tool to meet EU deforestation law

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s efforts to ensure its commodity exports are free of deforestation are ramping up as the European Union Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, nears enforcement. One of the biggest challenges in meeting EUDR standards is traceability. To meet the regulation’s strict requirements, Indonesia is stepping up efforts to provide verifiable, real-time data that prove […]

21/04 Agroforestry can reduce deforestation, but supportive policies matter, study finds

Intensifying heat waves, extreme floods and forest fires have devastated parts of Southeast Asia in recent years, spurring experts and authorities to look for holistic solutions. Agroforestry, the practice of growing crops alongside useful trees and shrubs, is increasingly touted as one such solution that simultaneously addresses the biodiversity and climate crises while enhancing farmer […]

21/04 Report alleges criminality in Cambodian, Vietnamese monkey trade

BANGKOK — Many long-tailed macaques imported into the United States from Southeast Asia were likely poached from the wild and then sold as captive-bred to medical research institutions, a recent report alleges. The 137-page report by Sandy River Research details “biologically impossible” birth rates at monkey-breeding facilities across Southeast Asia. It highlights contradictory claims made by […]

18/04 Vital Mekong fish corridors tracked for first time, but funding cuts threaten future research

The first-ever acoustic telemetry network in the Mekong River has tracked key migration corridors critical to the survival of fish in Cambodia and Laos. To conduct the study, researchers caught fish from a dozen species and implanted them with small electric transmitters before releasing them back into the river. A network of receivers allowed the […]

18/04 Armed groups, cattle ranchers drove 35% rise in Colombia’s deforestation in 2024

The prediction came true: deforestation in Colombia increased in 2024 after two years of decline, just as the environment ministry had warned since April last year. The ministry announced that Colombia lost 1,070 square kilometers (413 square miles) of forest in 2024, a 35% increase from 2023, when deforestation hit 793 km2 (306 mi2). Former […]

18/04 Illegal trafficking of siamang gibbons is a concerning and underreported crisis (commentary)

Siamangs are the largest of the 20 gibbon species, and belong to their own genus, Symphalangus. Distributed across Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and the southernmost part of Thailand, their unforgettable and emblematic call defines the soundscape of the hill forests in the region. Despite still having several population strongholds across their range, with their number likely […]

17/04 Mongabay mourns the loss of Ochieng’ Ogodo, our East Africa Editor

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of Ochieng’ Ogodo, Mongabay’s East Africa Editor, who died early Thursday morning in Nairobi, Kenya, at the age of 64. According to his family, Ochieng experienced sudden and severe chest pain around 2:00 a.m. local time and was rushed to Mama Lucy Hospital, where […]

17/04 Ecuador communities resist Canada-backed gold mine in sacred highlands

This is the first of a three-part series on underreported issues involving Canadian mining companies and Indigenous peoples or local communities. Read part one here. Shrouded in the lush vegetation of the páramo, the Andean tundra landscape, the quiet wetlands and moorlands of Quimsacocha in southern Ecuador are at the center of a dispute. Hortensia […]

17/04 ‘Trophies’ shared on social media reveal scale of mass bird slaughter in Lebanon

Every year, during the Northern Hemisphere spring and autumn, the skies over Lebanon are dotted with millions of birds on their epic migrations. From soaring Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) to charismatic white storks (Ciconia ciconia), more than 500 species of birds traverse the African-Eurasian flyway, which funnels over Lebanon, as they migrate between their breeding […]

17/04 Indonesia raises concerns over EU deforestation law’s impact on smallholders

JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has raised serious concerns over the European Union Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, saying it imposes a heavy administrative burden on smallholders while lacking clarity and consistency in its enforcement. When it comes into force at the end of this year, the EUDR will ban imports into the EU market of […]

17/04 How Mexican fishers are protecting an endemic oyster — and its ecosystem

Over the past few decades, the harvesting of the Cortez oyster in western Mexico’s Marismas Nacionales — or the Marshes Biosphere Reserve — in Nayarit state has shifted from suffering from a fishing crisis to seeing a successful effort in its reintroduction and breeding in the ecosystem. This region, known to be one of Mexico’s […]

17/04 Bolivian communities push back against foreign-backed lithium projects

Dionicio Colque, 42, has fond memories of growing up on the edge of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It’s the world’s largest salt flat, spanning about 10,500 square kilometers (4,050 square miles). His family farmed potatoes on the outskirts of Colcha K, a community of around 1,000 residents in Nor Lípez province. But in around […]

17/04 AI uncovers how birds remix their songs over time

If you thought only humans had unique musical tastes that differed drastically across geographies and generations, think again. Researchers have long suspected that migration and population dynamics shape the musical repertoire of songbirds. Now, they have empirical evidence to back up this hypothesis. A new study published in the journal Current Biology provides insights into […]

16/04 Still no trial over Argentina cyanide mine spill, 7 years after officials were charged

This is the first of a three-part series on underreported issues involving Canadian mining companies and Indigenous peoples or local communities. Part two and three are coming soon. Seven years after an environmental administrator and three secretaries of the environment were charged with negligence that resulted in a toxic cyanide spill at Canadian miner Barrick […]

16/04 Plastic-eating seabird chicks show signs of organ failure and cognitive decline

For years, Jack Auty studied how inflammation in the human body drives diseases, ranging from stroke to sepsis to Alzheimer’s, at the Tasmanian School of Medicine. But a visit to a seabird colony five years ago, where he saw many dead sable shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) chicks washed up ashore with their guts full of plastics, […]

16/04 Fake documents, real deforestation drive global trade in illegal Amazon timber

“Everyone does it.” That’s how the representative of a sawmill described the practice of selling fake documents to illegal timber from the Brazilian Amazon as legitimate, a fraud known as timber laundering. The testimony was collected by a team from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a U.K.-based organization that fights environmental crime, during investigations into […]

16/04 In an ancient Javanese sultanate, coastal women battle climate fallout

DEMAK, Indonesia — The Java Sea has pursued Sunarti for years, first submerging her birthplace in Timbulsloko village, before forcing the mother of two to flee inland on the northern coast of Demak district in Indonesia’s Central Java province. “I became unemployed,” the 53-year-old told Mongabay Indonesia. “The crops we planted wouldn’t grow. I asked […]

15/04 Diverse forests and forest rewilding offer resilience against climate change

When it comes to reforestation, planting a diversity of tree species could have a plethora of positive effects on forest health and resilience, climate mitigation and biodiversity. That’s based on research from the world’s largest tree-planting experiment, in China, and the world’s longest-running tropical forest planting experiment, in Panama. Florian Schnabel, lecturer and chair of […]

15/04 Action plan aims to save Asia’s leaf-eating monkeys amid ‘alarming’ declines

Primatologists and conservation organizations have launched a 10-year action plan to improve the outlook for langur monkeys in the Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, a region of Southeast Asia that spans Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. Asian langurs, a group of 20 species in the genus Presbytis, are in steep decline across Southeast Asia due […]

15/04 Sheinbaum’s energy agenda under fire as Mexican activists slam LNG megaproject

On Jan. 29, the sky above Mexico City’s Zócalo plaza was filled with the floating figures of giant balloon whales. Hundreds of people from the “Whales or Gas?” coalition protested in front of the National Palace over the Saguaro energy project, a massive pipeline planned by the government with U.S. energy company Mexico Pacific that […]

15/04 Fishing rights, and wrongs, cast small-scale South African fishers adrift

LANGEBAAN LAGOON, South Africa — Deon Warnick’s three chest freezers stood silently in his living room, lids open. Without any fish to keep frozen, he was using them as cupboard space instead. In his backyard stood a stack of empty fish crates, and his boat, in perfect working condition, rested on its trailer, which in […]

15/04 As big money wavers, Southeast Asia’s green startups fight to stay powered

In early March, Kevin Junker’s renewable energy startup, SmartSolar, which installs and manages rooftop panels for its clients, announced it had secured $1.85 million in its first round of venture capital fundraising, giving the Ho Chi Minh City-based firm a chance to tap into Vietnam’s rapidly growing demand for clean energy. The funds will go […]

15/04 Judges charged in Indonesian bribery scandal after clearing palm oil giants of corruption

JAKARTA — Prosecutors in Indonesia have charged four judges and two lawyers accused of bribery in a recently concluded trial involving palm oil giants Permata Hijau, Wilmar and Musim Mas. The Attorney General’s Office made a late-night announcement on April 13 that it had charged Jakarta-based judges Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, Agam Syarif Baharuddin, Ali Muhtarom […]

14/04 Back to the skies: the unlikely comeback of one of Brazil’s rarest parrots

Parrots numbered 44460 and 44461 don’t know it yet, but they’re about to meet the human species — with all the trauma that entails. It’s late afternoon, yesterday’s rain has left a swamp on the ground and Leco has already dug his boots into the young guanandi tree, whose trunk he will climb to a […]

14/04 Illegal gold mining creeps within a kilometer of Amazon’s second-tallest tree

Illegal gold miners have been moving into Amapá in the wake of federal raids on mining hotspots in other parts of the Brazilian Amazon, including the Yanomami and Munduruku Indigenous territories.

14/04 Even the Gulf of Aqaba’s ‘supercorals’ bleached during 2024 heat wave

EILAT, Israel — Rugged red mountains tower over the aquamarine waters off Eilat in southern Israel. A group of divers plunges beneath the waves on a warm winter morning, bound for a crag encrusted with coral known as Japanese Gardens. The hypnotic reverie of the undersea world shatters with the shock of spotting a bone-white […]

14/04 Where war once raged in Iraq, Yezidi women plant hope

KHANKE, Iraq — In the wind-swept town of Khanke in northern Iraq, a fragile tree stands as a quiet symbol of resilience. Its slender trunk bends slightly in the dry breeze, its roots gripping soil once strewn with plastic waste. Beneath its shade, a group of women gathers: survivors of war, displacement, and unimaginable loss. […]

14/04 Seychelles becomes first country to comply with fisheries transparency standard

In February, Seychelles became the first country to comply with an international standard that aims to make governments’ management of their fisheries more transparent. The goal of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) standard is to improve oversight and public accountability. Seychelles, with an exclusive economic zone of 1.37 million square kilometers (500,000 square miles), has an […]

14/04 ‘Heart of Borneo’ dams raze Indigenous forests for Indonesia green energy drive

MALINAU, Indonesia — Indonesia is pressing ahead with construction of a new network of dams in Borneo to power a major “green” industrial estate that will relocate Indigenous communities and cut into one of Asia’s largest stretches of intact rainforest. “Finding fish and animals has already become difficult,” Yusmarang, a member of North Kalimantan’s Punan […]

11/04 Award-winning film highlights lasting damage from X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO — Beneath Sri Lanka’s serene waters, a pearl oyster cherished her pearl, living in harmony. But disaster struck when a blazing ship sank, poisoning the sea. Entangled in debris, she lost her treasured pearl. Desperate, she started to search despite the waves and found glistening orbs. Believing she had recovered her lost pearl, she […]

11/04 Mongabay investigation spurs Brazil crackdown on illegal cattle in Amazon’s Arariboia territory

A Mongabay investigation that revealed an illegal cattle boom amid a record-high number of killings of Indigenous Guajajara has been cited by Brazilian authorities to remove thousands of head of cattle from the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in the Amazon Rainforest.

11/04 Nature protection is part of fundamental law in Amazon countries

One unusual characteristic of Latin American nations is their proclivity to adopt new constitutions that reflect periodic swings in political philosophies. These documents are notable for their length and the proliferation of sections addressing specific issues. Pan Amazon nations have relatively recent constitutions, and all have at least one article that obligates the state to […]

11/04 The colonial ghosts of Uganda’s ‘Queen Elizabeth’ park

In 1889, the British journalist Henry Morton Stanley stumbled out of the forests of Central Africa into the town of Katwe, a settlement on the shore of a sulfurous volcanic lake. The lake’s vast deposits of salt were famed across the region, drawing traders and making Katwe a desired prize. The Basangora, local pastoralists known […]

11/04 Singapore biobank offers backup plan for pangolins

SINGAPORE — A cloud of condensation rises as Shangari Sekar, the assistant laboratory manager for Mandai Wildlife Group, carefully lifts a ladle filled with vials from the center of a cryo tank. She moves slowly as the cargo is precious: within the vials are the genetic building blocks for pangolins, the most trafficked mammals on […]

10/04 Coexistence with Europe’s carnivores is possible (commentary)

Few people working in wildlife conservation in the 1980s could have imagined a future where breeding wolf packs roam the Netherlands and Denmark — but this is now part of Europe’s new reality. Over the last 30 to 40 years, European wildlife has undergone a dramatic transformation. Conservation laws, like the Bern Convention and the […]

10/04 Indigenous aguaje tree climbers bring down profits in Peru’s Amazon — sustainably

The large leaves of the aguaje, a tropical palm tree that grows in the peatlands and other seasonal wetland areas in tropical South America, form a rounded crown on its head from which its oval-shaped fruits hang heavily in bunches from December to June. When the reddish maroon reptilian-looking fruits are ready for harvest, trained […]

10/04 In Panama, Indigenous Guna prepare for climate exodus from a second island home

UGGUBSENI and ISBERYALA, Guna Yala, Panama — “Our ancestors fought for this land,” says Jair Goporas, 21. He leans forwards into the dim glow of a bare bulb, his eyes shining from a face streaked with red and black paint. “Our ancestors told us: Don’t forget what happened here.” In a square just outside the […]

10/04 How is conservation preparing for a much hotter world? Experts share

About 90 kilometers (56 miles) southeast of Cape Town lies the tranquilly-named town of Betty’s Bay in South Africa, home to less than 2,000 people. But it’s not the people that draw Nik Sekhran’s eye. “I enjoy watching the African oystercatchers,” says Sekhran, chief conservation officer at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Big black birds with […]

10/04 Indonesia bets on ‘reuse’ to curb plastic waste and build a circular economy

JAKARTA — With the Islamic month of Ramadan now over, a familiar sight has returned to the streets of daytime Jakarta: street vendors serving up chicken porridge, and everyone from office workers to delivery drivers perched on plastic stools around the steaming carts, digging into a bowl of the congee-like breakfast staple. As with most […]

10/04 Dugong numbers plummet amid seagrass decline in Thailand’s Andaman Sea

Unprecedented numbers of emaciated dugongs have washed up dead along Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast over the past three years, prompting marine scientists to urgently investigate what’s driving their decline. Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) recorded an average 42 dugong (Dugong dugon) fatalities in 2023 and 2024 — more than double the annual […]

10/04 Snared, skinned, sold: Brutal March for Indonesia’s Sumatran tigers

ROKAN HULU/PADANG/CENTRAL ACEH, Indonesia — In separate incidents in early March, officials across three Indonesian provinces rescued a critically endangered Sumatran tiger with its leg amputated, arrested six people for butchering another of the big cats, and detained five suspects in rural Aceh allegedly selling tiger body parts. The spate of arrests began on March […]

09/04 Photos: The volunteers standing guard at one of Nepal’s human-wildlife frontiers

BARDIYA, Nepal — Ram Raj Dhakal, 22, jolts awake to an alert on his phone. A wild elephant has strayed into a village near Thakurdwara, on the fringes of Bardiya National Park. At 11 p.m. in Nepal’s southern jungles of Bardiya, the air is finally cool after a scorching day, carrying the scent of damp […]

09/04 How communities in sacrifice zones suffer environmental injustices in Mexico, Chile, Nigeria and Indonesia (analysis)

Across continents, “sacrifice zones” resemble wounds carved deep into the fabric of our planet. These are regions where ecosystems and livelihoods have been ravaged by fossil fuel and other industries that promise progress but leave devastation in their wake. These are places where big business and transnational corporations are contaminating the rivers, darkening the skies, […]

09/04 Honduras pays the climate cost as its forests disappear and storms rise

TOCOA, Honduras – On a rainy November day in 2024, Storm Sara, a slow-moving tropical cyclone, struck Honduras, claiming at least six lives and displacing more than 6,000 people. Along the country’s northern coast, trees were bent or broken, roads turned into brown rivers, and houses were torn apart and swept away. Sara was one of […]

09/04 Scientists team up for Snapshot USA nationwide mammal survey

Javier Monzon has been deploying camera traps for close to two decades. He likens retrieving the equipment and the data to opening a present. “You just don’t know what’s inside until you look,” Monzon, associate professor of biology at Pepperdine University in California, told Mongabay in a video interview. In 2023, Monzon had an opportunity […]

09/04 After decade of delays, pressure mounts on Indonesia to pass Indigenous rights bill

JAKARTA — Rights activists have lambasted Indonesia’s parliament for delaying yet again a long-awaited Indigenous rights bill — stuck in limbo for more than a decade — even as communities continue to lose millions of hectares of land and face criminalization for defending their ancestral territories. The bill is widely seen as a crucial step […]

09/04 For scandal-ridden carbon credit industry, Amazon restoration offers redemption

As REDD projects around the world face setbacks, restoration projects in the Amazon are flourishing as a means of reviving market confidence in forest-based carbon credits.

08/04 As Acapulco’s mangroves disappear, Mexico takes strides to protect its coastal forests

In the Mexican port city of Acapulco, in southwestern Guerrero state, human activities have put so much pressure on the most important lagoons that the mangrove areas in this city have been severely damaged by urbanization and made more vulnerable to damage from hurricanes. Some mangroves are even on the path to disappearing, according to […]

08/04 What pushes Indigenous Munduruku people to mine their land in Brazil’s Amazon?

This is part three of a series on the operation to evict illegal gold miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory. Read part one here and part two here. Part four and five are coming soon. Indigenous people recruited by illegal miners in Brazil’s Munduruku Indigenous Territory complicated government efforts to control the spread of illegal […]

08/04 Funding freeze threatens global reforestation and restoration efforts

Global reforestation and forest restoration efforts are facing a serious setback due to the recent U.S. foreign aid freeze. The sudden halt in funding has left projects around the world scrambling for alternative resources, jeopardizing years of progress. Without consistent funding, ongoing projects face the threat of scaling back or shutting down entirely, increasing the […]

08/04 Colombia’s green transition should be inclusive: Interview with Susana Muhamad, former environment minister

BOGOTÁ — In June 2022, Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla member, was elected as Colombia’s first avowedly leftist president, promising to fight inequality, bring “total peace” to the country, and dismantle the fossil fuel industry.  After Petro took office, Colombia became the first major oil-producing country to join the treaty initiative to eliminate fossil fuel […]

08/04 Bangladesh witnesses coastal erosion, salinization as tourism tramples a flowering vine

The once-common beach morning glory vines (Ipomoea pes-caprae) have slowly been disappearing from Cox’s Bazar beach in southeastern Bangladesh, especially at the more popular tourist destinations like Laboni, Kolatoli and Sugandha beach points. Experts and studies indicate excessive footfall on the beach — which is destroying the coastal ecosystem — is leading to the morning […]

07/04 How cultural and religious beliefs combine for snow leopard conservation (commentary)

In November 2023, at 4 a.m., four snow leopards made their way into Mingmar Gurung’s livestock corral in Dhakmar village, Mustang district, Nepal. Hearing the goats’ commotion so early in the morning, Mingmar ran toward the corral. The scene was heartbreaking: out of the 190 goats, snow leopards had killed 77. In the morning, villagers […]

07/04 Conserving vultures in Southern Africa may provide substantial economic gain: Report

Vulture populations in Southern Africa are dwindling, yet the birds could bring large economic benefits to the region, according to a recent report by the NGO BirdLife. Assessing the “value” of vultures in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, researchers found that the ecosystem services they provide are worth around $251 million per year for the three […]

07/04 Indonesia’s peatlands face growing flood risks amid widespread degradation

JAKARTA — Nearly half of Indonesia’s peatlands are vulnerable to flooding due to degradation caused by unchecked exploitation, with 6 million hectares (15 million acres) — an area twice the size of Belgium — classified as highly vulnerable, according to a new report. The report, by peatland watchdog Pantau Gambut, examined three peatland-rich regions of […]

07/04 What do CITES data tell us about the legal wildcat trade?

Ancient Egypt’s feline gods, embroidered tigers on Chinese textiles, lions in Southern Africa’s San cave paintings and jaguars symbolizing military prowess in Mesoamerican cultures — all of them show how wildcats have penetrated human folklore and fascination. “These cats are historically and culturally very important to people across the globe,” says Gareth Whittington-Jones, director of […]

06/04 Brazil is speeding-up forest fire prevention to avoid dangerous tipping points in the Amazon (commentary)

Brazil is facing an alarming surge in forest fires. Last year, the country registered 237,000 fires and over 30.8 million hectares of vegetation were consumed by flames—an area the size of Italy. This represented a 79% increase in areas burned compared to 2023. The Amazon rainforest bore the brunt, accounting for 58% of the total burned area. The threat of more fires during the 2025 fire […]

04/04 Palm oil company uses armed forces, tear gas against protesting villagers in Cameroon

Villagers in Cameroon have denounced the use of tear gas by authorities to break up their protest on March 25 against the replanting of oil palm trees by the plantation company Socapalm on disputed land in the country’s southwest. Residents of the village of Apouh à Ngog say the land should have been returned to […]

04/04 Lithium Triangle mining may strain water sources more than expected, study says

Global demand for lithium is expected to increase by nearly 500% over the next few decades, as countries invest more in batteries and electric vehicles meant to reduce their carbon footprint. But lithium also brings its own environmental concerns, putting stress on freshwater supplies in the desert areas where the mineral is most common. Measuring […]

04/04 Colombian farmers switch from coffee to cacao as temperature and prices soar

RISARALDA, Colombia — “Before, anyone who wanted to grow cacao at 1,200 or 1,500 meters [3,900 to 4,900 feet] altitude was considered crazy,” says Orlando Quintero Gonzales, an agronomist in Colombia’s Eje Cafetero, or the Coffee Axis. “Today, with climate change reshaping agricultural landscapes, these altitudes could become optimal for this crop.” As small-scale farmers […]

04/04 Farmers turn to living ‘yam sticks’ to grow their crop and spare the forest

Yams are considered one of the world’s most important crops. A starchy, nutrient-rich root vegetable of the genus Dioscorea, the yam thrives in a tropical belt across West Africa, with outliers in the Caribbean and some Asian countries such as Japan. In 2023, nearly 90 million metric tons of yam were produced globally, according to […]

03/04 After outcry, Brazil Supreme Court nixes proposal for mining on Indigenous lands

Brazil's Supreme Court backed down and withdrew its proposal to open up Indigenous territories to mining and economic activities from a controversial bill that critics say violates the Constitution.

03/04 Uttarakhand’s extreme weather wreaks havoc on crops, livelihoods & futures

Rita grew up in a small village in Uttarakhand with mountains forming the backbone of her childhood. In a recent call with her sister, she laughed, repeating a little rhyme they used to recite as school-going children: January mein jarjar, February mein farfar aur March mein paper (January is spent shivering, February flies away briskly […]

03/04 Betting on future forest carbon storage endangers Paris Agreement targets

Banking on the capacity of global forests to continue storing huge amounts of carbon could put the Paris Agreement climate targets out of reach and incur huge economic costs. That’s the warning expressed in a new modeling study which finds the ability of forests to absorb and permanently store carbon dioxide is not a given, […]

03/04 Amid fuzzy data, scientists urge monitoring of Hong Kong’s tokay gecko trade

Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), named after their characteristic “to-kay” calls, are among the largest geckos in the world and inhabit rainforests and human-modified landscapes across South and Southeast Asia. As nature’s pest control, they are vital to the ecosystem, and their bright spots are favored in the pet trade. But for many humans, these colorful […]

03/04 Groundwater overuse puts Brazil’s river flow at risk, study finds

In many parts of Brazil, rivers may be losing water to the ground instead of gaining from it. A recent study found that groundwater levels in several regions are lower than those of nearby rivers, pulling river water underground. This shift, potentially driven in part by intensive pumping of groundwater, could reduce streamflow and have […]

02/04 Maltese Falcon Poachers: European hunters endanger Egypt’s birds

Mongabay and TheShift co-published a set of edited versions of this investigation. As the sun hung low over the Nile, casting golden ripples across the water, we navigated Lake Nasser. The air carried whispers of wings overhead, the soft rustle of migratory birds seeking refuge during their epic winter journey from Europe to Africa. In […]

02/04 Photos: Inside the ritual to reconnect Colombia’s Indigenous Nasa people to nature

PANCE, Colombia — Ofelia Opocué’s life has been shaped by loss, she says. Twenty-three years ago, the FARC gave her family an ultimatum: leave their fertile land in Toribío, in Colombia’s southwestern Cauca department, within 72 hours or become part of their armed group. The family chose to flee, leaving behind cornfields, livestock and, what […]

02/04 An oil-rich West African island offers decades of insight into the wild meat trade

The volcanic island of Bioko, about 160 kilometers, or 100 miles, northwest of mainland Equatorial Guinea, is carpeted in lush green tropical rainforest. This forest is home to many endemic animals, including Bioko drill monkeys (Mandrillus leucophaeus poensis), listed as endangered, and black colobus monkeys (Colobus satanas satanas), critically endangered. Interspersed in the landscape are […]

02/04 Ground-level ozone pollution poses growing threat to planetary health

Kilometers above the Earth’s surface, the ozone layer protects humanity and all life from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. But in the troposphere, at ground level, this gas can wreak havoc on planetary health in myriad ways. As temperatures increase due to climate change, the ozone problem is forecast to worsen in many parts of […]

02/04 Peruvian fishers sue for additional compensation after big December oil spill

In the early hours of Dec. 22, 2024, fishermen working in the Talara Sea in northern Peru hauled in their nets. But instead of the day’s catch, they found oil impregnating their gear. Hours later the disaster was confirmed: The tide had moved a huge oil spill northward, and it had now coated 10 kilometers […]

02/04 Longer periods of drought threaten Brazilian amphibians

Brazil is home to the world’s greatest diversity of amphibians: Of the more than 8,000 species known worldwide, some 1,200 are found in the country, mainly in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes. But their future is at risk due to longer dry periods in their habitats. Drought and amphibians are not a viable combination: […]

02/04 Rare polar bear cub footage offers crucial conservation insights

To a layperson, it’s footage of adorable polar bear cubs with their moms against the backdrop of endless Arctic snow. For researchers who study the animals, however, it’s a rare and incredibly important observation that could potentially inform conservation strategies. Scientists have captured rare footage of female polar bears emerging from maternal dens with their […]

02/04 New strategy launched to protect Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot

Conservationists have launched a 20-year-long project to protect what is arguably Tanzania’s most biologically rich landscape: the Udzungwa Mountains. The strategy places notable emphasis on communities living here, with more than half of its budget allocated to social and economic projects and managing human-wildlife conflict. The Udzungwa Mountains’ evergreen forests, woodlands and grasslands ar

01/04 Colombia’s coffee farmers try to balance innovation and tradition to adapt to climate change

CHINCHINA, Colombia — “Before, the seasons seemed etched into the calendar, with well-defined periods of drought and rain. Today, the climate has gone completely mad!” says coffee grower Oscar Gomez from his farm nestled in the mountains of Colombia’s Eje Cafetero, or the Coffee Axis. Climate change is profoundly disrupting coffee production in Colombia, the world’s […]

01/04 As US agroforestry grows, federal funding freeze leaves farmers in the lurch

Agroforestry, the ancient agricultural system of integrating trees and shrubs with crops and livestock, has seen a revival in recent decades in the U.S. Around the country, agroforestry projects have sprung up, bolstered by federal grants like the Department of Agriculture’s Climate-Smart Commodities program. Federal agencies have also partnered with nonprofits to provide training and […]

01/04 Bangladesh continues promotion of biodegradable bags amid battle against polythene

On a busy morning in November 2024, a dramatic scene unfolded in a supermarket in Banani, Dhaka. Government officials, armed with security personnel, launched a joint operation to crack down on the widespread use of plastic bags. As the supermarket employees wrapped goods in the familiar crinkling plastic, officers moved in, ready to seize the […]

01/04 A Kichwa women collective uses ecotourism to safeguard Ecuador’s Amazon

For members of the Sani Warmi collective in Amazonian Ecuador, the day begins before sunrise. They tend to the chacra — their agroforestry garden — and harvest plantain, yuca, palm heart and bijao leaves. They feed the cachama fish in the tanks and catch some of them. Throughout the day, they will receive at least […]

01/04 Colombia’s women clam collectors protect Pacific mangroves and mollusks

In the green-fringed inlet of Bahía Málaga, tucked along Colombia’s Pacific coast in the department of Valle del Cauca, Marlin Valencia’s melodic voice drifts among the tangled roots of the mangrove trees. As she sings, she crouches down and swirls her glove-covered hand in the soft mud, searching for piangüa (Anadara tuberculosa), a small black-shelled […]

01/04 Smuggling networks exploit migrant debt to fuel tiger poaching in Malaysia, study shows

Fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in their home range of Peninsular Malaysia. Poaching to supply an illegal trade in their body parts is a major threat to the survival of this critically endangered subspecies of tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni. A new study details a link between the trafficking of people and Malayan tiger parts: […]

31/03 UK delays to environment law have led to massive deforestation, report says

In 2021, the U.K. appeared to be making serious strides against illegal deforestation when lawmakers introduced “forest risk” regulations on imported commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee and rubber. But critics have said the rules are surprisingly weak, requiring another round of legislation to be effective. Lawmakers have spent the last four years […]

31/03 PNG’s Torricelli Mountains teem with life — and the risk of extinction

Millions of years ago, as the Indo-Australian plate pushed into the Pacific plate, a volcanic arc of islands began to emerge near the modern-day island of New Guinea that would one day form the Torricelli Mountains. And in this ancient, slow-motion reordering of Earth’s crust, life inevitably layered on top of the substrata to form […]

31/03 Brazil plans new Amazon routes linking the Pacific & China’s New Silk Road

Brazil’s plans to build ports and roads to help move grains, beef and iron ore from the rainforest echo a development vision that dates back to the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s.

31/03 ‘Substantial’ transshipment reforms adopted at North Pacific fisheries summit

Fishing vessels can often work long periods at sea without coming to port, thanks to the practice of transshipment, in which catches are transferred at sea to carrier ships called reefers. But the practice can also obscure the origins of catch and is often associated with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Transshipment, though criticized […]

31/03 Madagascar highway pushes on through controversy

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — The Malagasy government is pushing ahead with a controversial highway linking Antananarivo and the port city of Toamasina, 260 kilometers (162 miles) away. Construction has already begun on the first section, which passes through the ecologically sensitive Anjozorobe Angavo forest corridor as well as near a UNESCO-listed monument to the Merina people, […]

31/03 Belize’s natural heritage deserves even stronger conservation strategies (commentary)

Belize is widely regarded as a global leader in conservation, home to vast rainforests, diverse wildlife and the second-largest barrier reef in the world. The country has implemented protected areas, community-led conservation initiatives and sustainable tourism models, yet its national parks remain under increasing pressure from deforestation, expanding agriculture and unregulated development. Th

31/03 How a young beekeeper’s initiative brought hope and profit to Sierra Leone communities

In 2022, little did Aruna Bangura know that observing the changing environment and land use practices around his community would make him start beekeeping. The area just outside Tiwai Island, a protected wildlife sanctuary spread across 1,200 hectares (2,900 acres) in Sierra Leone, had a dearth of bees, he found. “I observed that the bee […]

31/03 Chain-link fencing protects livestock from big cat attacks in Tanzania: Study

NAIROBI ― For the last two decades, Matambire Mgemaa, a pastoralist in southern Tanzania in the environs of Ruaha National Park, nighttime has meant staying vigilant to protect his goats, sheep and cattle from lion and leopard attacks in an area that is home to 10% of the world’s wild lions. “This [is] a hectic […]

31/03 Smallholder agriculture blossoming with the use of renewables in Africa

KIREHE, Rwanda — Victor Ndwaniye, a smallholder farmer from Nasho, a small lakeside village in Kirehe district in eastern Rwanda, used to irrigate his vegetable farm by collecting water in a bucket and pouring it onto the fields. However, since 2020, the father of six has been using a new solar-powered irrigation system on his […]

29/03 Mysterious sloth bear deaths raise alarm at Sri Lanka’s largest national park

Wilpattu, SRI LANKA – After a fruitful safari at Wilpattu National Park, wildlife photographer Rohan Fonseka and his colleagues ventured toward the Maradanmaduwa area, hoping to catch a glimpse of a sloth bear. Their luck held as a full-grown bear emerged from the dry zone forest, offering rare and memorable photo opportunities. But what seemed […]

28/03 The effort to save Syria’s northern bald ibis population failed, but much can be learned (analysis)

The northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) is an extravagant waterbird adapted to forage in dry, open habitats, and is included in the list of the most genetically and evolutionarily unique creatures of the world. Five centuries ago, it was widespread from Southern and Central Europe to Northern Africa and the Middle East. Since then, it has […]

28/03 Siamese crocodile release into the wild marks conservation milestone in Cambodia

In a conservation milestone, 10 Siamese crocodiles were released this month into Cambodia’s Virachey National Park for the first time, as part of a decades-long effort to save the critically endangered species. The Siamese crocodile is one of the world’s rarest crocodilians, with less than 1,000 individuals estimated to be surviving in the wild. The […]

28/03 Deep-sea miner TMC seeks U.S. approval, potentially bypassing global regulator

Canadian deep-sea mining firm The Metals Company (TMC) has announced it “initiated a process” with U.S. regulators to apply for both exploration and exploitation licenses, potentially circumventing the international regulator. TMC’s process with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration falls under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (DSHMRA), which was established […

28/03 In Pakistan, sea level rise & displacement follow fisherfolk wherever they go

On a chilly night in February, Umar Dablo, a resident of Pakistan’s southern coastal city Karachi, spent three nights in his flooded house after seawater gushed out from the ground. “For three days, my kids and I remained standing,” he told Mongabay during a recent visit to his place in the Rehri Goth neighborhood in […]

28/03 Kenya’s cities adopt Miyawaki method to restore lost ecological glory

NAIROBI, Kenya — Many African cities are now characterized by deafening traffic noises and suffocating gas emissions, and are becoming limitless concrete jungles as urbanization takes hold and human settlements squeeze out natural forests. But, in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, a unique restoration technique known as the Miyawaki method is restoring local ecosystems, which […]

28/03 Panama conducts large illegal fishing bust in protected Pacific waters

Panamanian authorities seized six longliner vessels on Jan. 20 for fishing illegally in protected waters. They also opened an investigation into an additional 10 vessels that surveillance data showed had apparently been fishing in the area but left by the time authorities arrived. The seizures took place in the Cordillera de Coiba, a marine protected […]

28/03 Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study

JAKARTA — A thresher shark conservation effort in eastern Indonesia focusing on alternative sources of income has reduced up to 90% of catches of the globally endangered species, a new study shows. For decades, the pelagic thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) has been a primary target for small-scale fishing communities in Alor Archipelago of Indonesia’s East […]

27/03 Polar sea ice continues steep decline; but will a troubled world notice?

Sea ice extent is at record, and near record, lows for this time of year in both polar regions, leaving the planet increasingly vulnerable to the cascading effects of global warming. This March, the Arctic sea ice winter maximum reached its lowest extent in the 47-year satellite record, while the Antarctic sea ice summer minimum […]

27/03 Researchers find new killifish species in Kenya

NAIROBI ― A new killifish species, scientifically known as Nothobranchius sylvaticus, has been documented in seasonal swamps of Kenya’s ancient Gongoni Forest, research shows. In a study published this month in the Zootaxa journal, scientists from Canada, France, Kenya and South Africa say the fish species’ survival is compromised by the severely restricted and declining […]

27/03 Indiscriminate pesticide use threatens Bangladesh honeybees

In February, during the flowering time of black cumin (Nigella sativa), beekeeper Pavel Hossen set up an apiary on leased barren land adjacent to farmer Abdul Hakim’s crop field in Kazirhat of Shariatpur, a district under Dhaka division and an emerging hub of spices, including the black cumin seeds. Pavel deployed Apis mellifera honeybees to […]

27/03 Colombia creates landmark territory to protect uncontacted Indigenous groups

Colombia has created a first-of-its-kind territory meant to protect a group of Indigenous people living away from regular contact with the rest of the world. Located in the southern department of Amazonas, the over 1-million-hectare (2.7-million-acre) territory stretches between the Caquetá and Putumayo Rivers that the uncontacted Indigenous Yuri-Passé people call home. It’s the country’s […]

26/03 Beyond reforestation, let’s try ‘proforestation’

Edward Faison, an ecologist, stood quietly in a patch of forest that stretched for miles in all directions. Above him, the needles from white pine trees swayed — common in the Adirondack Forest Preserve in northern New York state. He stepped past downed wood and big, broken snags, observing how the forest functioned with minimal […]

26/03 Peru’s rare peatland swamps at risk as illegal gold mining expands

Hidden within the Amazon Rainforest are rare, carbon-rich ecosystems known as peatlands, a type of swamp forest that’s key to combatting climate change through its capacity to absorb and store carbon. But in the mining hotspots of Peru, these peatland swamps are rapidly disappearing, one study has found. In Madre de Dios, in southeastern Peru, […]

26/03 Devastating flood forces relocation of 10,000 tortoises at Madagascar sanctuary

ANTANANARIVO — In January, severe flooding caused by two cyclones severely damaged Itampolo’s Lavavolo Tortoise Center, located in Ampanihy on the southwest coast of Madagascar. The center is managed by the Turtle Survival Alliance and is dedicated to caring for rescued tortoises. Radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and spider tortoises (Pyxis arachnoides), both critically endangered species

26/03 Expedition links Antarctic glacial melting to climate catastrophe in Brazil

In a part of the world where throughout history only the pure white of snow and ice could be seen, today green moss and grass are emerging. Fish and penguins have begun to migrate south in search of colder regions. Even rain, an unthinkable phenomenon until recent times, now falls on this part of the […]

26/03 A century later, a rare mushroom with a curious shape emerges in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO — In July 2023, heavy rains continued in southern Sri Lanka for days, soaking the lush greenery of the village of Hapugala in Galle. Amid the downpour, journalist and naturalist Sajeewa Wijeweera received an unexpected call — not from the wild, but from just across his garden. His wife, Sirangika Lokukaravita, had spotted something […]

25/03 Photos: Ethiopian farmers blend tradition, innovation to sustain centuries-old agriculture

KONSO, Ethiopia — As the first light of the morning sun breaks over the hills of Konso, Kawadaya Oldisha, 45, begins his daily routine of inspecting his terraced fields. His family’s small plot, located on the steep slopes of this UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Ethiopia, is where they grow millet, beans and various […]

25/03 Pirates of the Pacific terrorize artisanal fishers on the Peruvian coast

It’s November, springtime in Cancas, a coastal community in northern Peru, and the sea is calm; it only gets rough at the beginning of summer, which in the Southern Hemisphere falls at the end of the year, and in the last days of August. In the afternoons, when the sky is purple, the tide goes […]

25/03 Drowned lands and poisoned waters threaten Peru’s campesinos and their livestock

Ever since the Upamayo Dam on Peru’s Lake Chinchaycocha was built in 1932, floods have become a frequent occurrence in the area for several months a year. From January to May, entire homes and pasturelands are swallowed whole by water, forcing campesino families to migrate with their livestock to higher ground. But there’s something else […]

25/03 Ambitious conservation projects pave the way for Argentina’s jaguar recovery

Conservationists first spotted a young male jaguar in 2022 roaming Argentina’s Formosa Nature Reserve. Camera traps later recorded the same individual in a forest tens of kilometers away, within El Impenetrable National Park, in northern Argentina’s Chaco province. After months of tracking, an expert team located the big cat and, in December 2024, sedated, collared […]

25/03 Climate change spikes wildfire risk in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO – Ella, one of Sri Lanka’s most popular tourist destinations, draws scores of foreign visitors who come to admire its natural beauty and marvel at engineering wonders like the famous nine-arched bridge, also known as the “Bridge in the Sky.” But in February, those visitors witnessed a very different scene — not the lush […]

25/03 African forum on urban forests calls for greater access to green spaces

JOHANNESBURG — Urban forests create employment, provide quality space for recreation and tourism and strengthen city neighbourhoods’ capacity to adapt to extreme heat, flooding, and pollution that are exacerbated by climate change. These were among the affirmations made by researchers, policymakers, and representatives of non-governmental organizations who gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, l

25/03 How Peruvian cockfighters could tip the scales for endangered sawfish

Martín Maceda can still rattle off the exact date of his most memorable fishing encounter. On March 1, 2014, he was 8 kilometers (5 miles) off the north coast of Peru, hauling in the catch like he had every day for decades, when he saw a colossal sharklike creature trapped in the net. He quickly […]

25/03 Indonesians suing pulpwood firms over haze face intimidation, seek human rights protection

JAKARTA — Residents of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra are seeking protection from the country’s National Human Rights Commission after reportedly facing intimidated for filing a lawsuit against three pulpwood companies over recurring haze pollution. One of the 11 plaintiffs, Yeyen, said she was pressured by a company representative to withdraw the lawsuit just […]

24/03 As apes adapt to human disturbance, their new behaviors also put them at risk: Study

Human activities such as mining, agriculture, urbanization, damming and logging threaten the habitats of great apes in Africa and Asia. Apes have shown resilience to these disruptions by adapting their behavior in a variety of ways, including crop raiding and changing nesting sites, a new study finds. But while such adjustments appear to facilitate their […]

24/03 In ‘The Battle for Laikipia,’ the human face of resource conflict in Kenya

KIMANA, Kenya — Lush, fertile and green, the Laikipia highlands of Kenya are renowned for their beauty and abundant grasses that feed its wildlife and livestock. They’re also the theater of some of the longest-running land disputes in the country. Traditionally occupied by the Maasai, along with their Maa-speaking cousins the Samburu and other pastoralists, […]

24/03 Tanzania’s marine reserves offer long-term benefits to communities, study finds

Marine protected areas in Tanzania boosted living standards in nearby communities over a span of nearly 20 years, a recent study in Conservation Letters found. Near MPAs, living standards improved, and there was a shift away from agricultural work, said study author Julia Girard, a Ph.D. student in environmental economics at the University of Montpellier, […]

24/03 New allegations of abuse against oil palm giant Socfin in Cameroon

YAOUNDÉ — In the village of Apouh, in southwestern Cameroon’s Edéa municipality, a group of women has remained steadfast in its fight against palm oil giant Socapalm. For several years, members of the Association of Women Residents of Socapalm-Edéa (AFRISE) have firmly opposed the Socapalm plantation on the village’s outskirts, and say they’re determined to […]

24/03 5 takeaways from the 2022 Repsol oil spill in Peru

On Jan. 15, 2022, more than 11,000 barrels of oil spilled into the ocean off the Peruvian coast. It flowed from a pipeline that had broken while the Mare Doricum, an Italian tanker, unloaded oil at Terminal No. 2 of the La Pampilla refinery in the region of Callao, near Lima. On Jan. 24, a […]

24/03 Regulation loopholes fuel illegal wildlife trade from Latin America to Europe

Latin America, a biodiversity hotspot home to 40% of the world’s species, is witnessing an alarming decline in its wildlife. Illegal wildlife trafficking to wealthier parts of the world, such as North America and Europe, is one of the factors driving the decline. A recent report highlights the scale of wildlife smuggled illegally from Latin […]

24/03 Plastic pollution cuts into fishers’ livelihoods in Ecuador and Peru

Plastic waste is increasingly causing problems for fishers. Fishnets bring up bottles, propellers get tangled in bags, water pumps get clogged with debris, and boats collide with bags of trash. Until recently, research on plastics in the oceans has focused on the impacts on biodiversity, but a group of scientists has now studied the economic […]

24/03 Sumatran culinary heritage at risk as environment changes around Silk Road river

PALEMBANG, Indonesia – The pempek restaurants in the Plaju neighborood were full to the gills in early March. Palembang chefs pulverized mudfish caught from the Musi River into subtle variations of the historic city’s specialty fish cake. “They’re sold all year, but there are more buyers during the fasting month,” Plaju resident Nining told Mongabay […]

21/03 Indonesia’s Indigenous Akit community faces exploitation & land loss (commentary)

For the Akit tribe of Bengkalis and Pelalawan districts in Riau province, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, land is more than just soil beneath their feet: it is their identity, their lifeblood, and their heritage. As one elder has said, “Adat is like a part of the body, an epitome of blood and heart,” […]

21/03 Chinese business in the Amazon generates controversy

In the last decade, the Pan Amazon has seen a substantial increase in the presence of Chinese companies, either as direct investors or as contractors building infrastructure for governments financed by loans from China. The lack of transparency that characterizes their homeland fosters an environment that allows Chinese companies to escape scrutiny. Many analysts assume […]

21/03 Pressure bears down around uncontacted tribes at the edge of Brazil’s arc of deforestation

“They’re curious about us, and we’re curious about them.” That’s how Daniel Cangussu describes the recent interaction with a small Indigenous group that had just contacted non-Indigenous society in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon. “We don’t know their language yet, but we communicate all the time. We share food, we fish for them, and […]

21/03 Uncontacted Ayoreo could face health risks as Gran Chaco shrinks, experts warn

Deforestation in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco, driven largely by agribusiness and infrastructure development, poses an increasing threat to the Indigenous Ayoreo people. The communities, living in isolation, risk losing their ancestral lands and customs, and could be exposed to deadly diseases from the outside world, experts warn. Now a global coalition of Indigenous rights advocates is […]

21/03 Three new gecko species described in Nepal: Interview with herpetologist Santosh Bhattarai

As Nepal’s reptiles are one of the least studied among the country’s diverse flora and fauna, researchers have long been saying that it could be home to numerous species waiting to be discovered by science. Herpetologist Santosh Bhattarai, a PhD student at Federation University Australia, is one of the handful of scientists who have dedicated […]

21/03 The vanishing trail of Sri Lanka’s iconic tuskers calls for urgent action

Minneriya, SRI LANKA — With a single tusk that made him stand out, the majestic bull elephant Unicorn was a true king among the wild herds of Minneriya, a biodiversity hotspot in the island’s north-central region, globally known as the home of the world’s largest gathering of elephants. At dusk, Unicorn would often be seen […]

21/03 With climate change, cryosphere melt scales up as a threat to planetary health

Earth’s frozen places — ice sheets, glaciers and permafrost — are melting: a clear sign of climate change and a planet quickly exiting the stable state that gave rise to human civilization. This great thaw is having far-reaching consequences for communities and individuals across the globe — from polar and mountainous regions to coastal areas. […]

21/03 ‘Sustainable’ palm oil firms continue illegal peatland clearing despite permit revocation

JAKARTA — Palm oil companies in Indonesia continue to operate on protected peatlands and clear forests, despite having their forestry permits revoked and being certified as sustainable, a new report alleges. Local environmental NGOs Pantau Gambut and Kaoem Telapak investigated three companies operating in Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo: PT Agrindo Green […]

20/03 With Europe’s forests, we can’t manage what we can’t measure (commentary)

Basic logic dictates that the more accurate and detailed knowledge one has about a problem, the better one can solve it. Take Europe’s forests. The bigger picture is clear: over the past half century, logging and climate change have eroded our forests’ resilience, leading to collapsing carbon sinks, a dramatic loss of biodiversity, and the […]

20/03 ‘Fatal Watch’: Interview with documentary makers on fisheries observer deaths

Fisheries observers hold a job little known by the general public but essential to the health of the oceans: monitoring the work on industrial fishing vessels. The sector has its share of illegal fishing and even other illicit activity, so the job comes with risks. A new documentary shows just how dangerous it is. Fatal […]

20/03 Fish-tracking robot aims to make fishing more sustainable in developing nations

LAKE CHILWA, Malawi — When fishers on Lake Chilwa cast their nets, they don’t know whether there are fish below, or something else entirely. “We don’t go out in the lake to check what we have where. We go to fish,” Anderson Thembwa, a fisher since 1994 and chair of the Lake Chilwa Fisheries Association, […]

20/03 A curious conservationist who walked along India’s coastlines to learn about sea turtles

Satish Bhaskar was a curious man. From a very young age he was fascinated with the sea and the diverse marine creatures, especially turtles. When he learnt that sea turtles were being exploited in India for their eggs, shells and flesh, he understood the importance of documenting and protecting nesting turtle beaches. In the late […]

20/03 Bleak future for Karoo succulents as desert expands in South Africa

Sometimes words fall hopelessly short. This might explain the silences between the two botanists as their vehicle crunches over a gravelly Richtersveld moonscape, a desert that straddles the South African and Namibian border along the Orange River. “We’ve just arrived in the Namaskluft,” says Wendy Foden, recording her observations in a tone that’s oddly neutral, […]

20/03 Ecuador must improve conditions for uncontacted Indigenous communities, human rights court rules

An international court published its ruling this month that the Ecuadorian government was responsible for a long list of human rights violations against uncontacted Indigenous communities in the Amazon Rainforest. It’s the first case of its kind examining protections for people who live outside of regular contact with the rest of the world. The Inter-American […]

20/03 Colombia’s top oil company concealed environmental damages: Investigation

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A green iguana rests above the letters spelling Ecopetrol at the headquarters of Colombia’s largest company, located in the heart of Bogotá, the capital city. In 2021, this petroleum giant became the first in the oil and gas industry in Latin America to pledge a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by […]

20/03 ‘3,000 year-old’ trees in Tanzania are new species

Botanist Andrea Bianchi and local plant experts Aloyce Mwakisoma and his brother Ruben were exploring two tiny village forest reserves in the Udzungwa mountains in 2019, when they stumbled upon some imposing trees. Bianchi turned to the Mwakisoma brothers for advice, but even they had never seen this kind of tree before. “This was already […]

19/03 ‘Unprecedented’ Supreme Court bill threatens Indigenous rights in Brazil

Presented in February by Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, a draft bill violates Indigenous people's constitutional rights by stripping their veto power against impactful activities on their ancestral lands and adding further obstacles to an already long land demarcation process.

19/03 Rep from American Samoa calls for opening protected Pacific waters to tuna fishing

U.S. Congresswoman Amata Radewagen, who represents American Samoa, has urged the Trump administration to reopen most of an enormous marine protected area in the Central Pacific Ocean to industrial fishing while also recommending the reopening of other Pacific MPAs. In a Jan. 23 letter to President Donald Trump, Radewagen called for his administration to open […]

19/03 In Malawi reserve, contraceptives help balance lion and prey populations

BLANTYRE, Malawi ― In 2012, African Parks, a conservation nonprofit, brought three lions to Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve, ending the big cats’ 30-year absence from the protected area. Since then, according to park officials, the number of lions has increased to about 80-100 today, raising the risk of prey depletion and conflict between humans and […]

19/03 Both legal and illegal wildlife trade ‘need better monitoring’: Interview with Alice Hughes

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have traded wildlife and wildlife products, such as ivory, shells, fur and feathers. Over the centuries, the trade has evolved, involving sophisticated networks, tens of thousands of species, and hundreds of billions of dollars in value. While well-managed wildlife trade can sustain livelihoods, the greed for profit has driven […]

19/03 Global outcry as petitioners demand no mining expansion in orangutan habitat

JAKARTA — Nearly 200,000 people have signed a petition calling on U.K. multinational Jardine Matheson to cancel its plan to expand deeper into Indonesia’s Batang Toru Forest, the only known habitat of the world’s most threatened great ape, the Tapanuli orangutan. Jardines is the parent company of Indonesian conglomerate Astra International, which in turn is […]

19/03 Planned port project threatens protected Amazonian mangrove biodiversity and local livelihoods

Along the Amazonian coastline in Brazil’s northeastern state of Maranhão, plans are underway for a port project that will cover part of an important Ramsar wetland that connects to a vast area of mangroves. A Mongabay estimate found that, based on a company map of the port and 2020 data of the ecosystem, it could […]

19/03 Microplastic within humans now a health crisis: Interview with ‘Plastic People’ filmmakers

In a lab in Türkiye, researcher Sedat Gündoğdu zooms in on the image of a small red fiber. For the first time on film, viewers are witnessing microplastics in the human brain. The moment is emblematic of an emerging environmental and health crisis affecting nearly every corner of life on Earth, from the deepest depths […]

19/03 New dams call into question Cambodia’s commitment to REDD+ projects

PURSAT, Cambodia — The Cambodian government has approved at least three new irrigation dams across the Cardamom Mountains, carving even deeper into forests currently being used for the Southern Cardamom REDD+ and Samkos REDD+ carbon credit projects. Construction is yet to begin on the new dams, which are slated to be built in Battambang, Koh Kong […]

18/03 Seal ‘oceanographers’ reveal fish abundance in Pacific Ocean’s twilight zone

Rhythmic clicks, grunts and roars fill the Año Nuevo Island Reserve in California, home to a large breeding colony of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). For nearly 60 years, scientists at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) have studied the seals here. Lately, they have used Fitbit-like biomonitors on the seals to understand where […]

18/03 Officials share strategies to stop spread of illegal miners from Munduruku land

Residents and officials worry illegal miners in the Munduruku Indigenous Territory in Brazil’s Amazon will simply return or migrate to other conservation units once the government’s operation to evict the miners ends. Currently, some plans and many suggestions are in place to prevent this from happening, sources told Mongabay, as the first stage of the […]

18/03 EUDR compliance costs to be minimal, report finds — but industry disagrees

The costs that companies will have to bear in complying with the EU regulation on deforestation-free products, or EUDR, are “negligible,” according to a recent report published Feb. 12 by Profundo, a nonprofit research organization based in the Netherlands. The analysis found they will amount to 0.1% of annual revenues and less than 2% of […]

18/03 Counting whales by eavesdropping on their chatter, with help from machine learning

What better way to track whales than listening in on them? Passive acoustic monitoring, in which microphones are placed underwater to pick up any sounds, has long helped scientists detect the presence, or absence, of whales in oceans. More often than not, however, the method isn’t that great at estimating the population of whales. To […]

18/03 Sri Lanka communities left gasping for climate mitigation support

COLOMBO — As the waves creep closer to his home in Kankesanthurai, in Sri Lanka’s northernmost Jaffna Peninsula, 41- year-old Seelan Kandeepan recalls how the sea continuously consumes what was once a thriving shoreline. His family has lived in this coastal village for generations, but now they struggle daily with an ever-changing coastline. “I’ve seen […]

18/03 Political appointments in Indonesian climate program spark outcry over accountability

JAKARTA — The Norwegian government is monitoring growing concerns over Indonesia’s decision to appoint political figures with little climate expertise to oversee a climate forestry program largely financed by Norway. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has come under scrutiny recently for naming several fellow members from his political party, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), […]

17/03 500,000 barrels of DDT in the sea: Interview with documentary directors on California coast crisis

Half a million barrels of toxic waste lurking beneath the waves just miles from California’s coastline sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller. Yet this environmental catastrophe is real, as documented in the award-winning film Out of Plain Sight, co-directed by journalist Rosanna Xia and filmmaker Daniel Straub. The documentary follows Xia, a Pulitzer […]

17/03 The rough road to sustainable farming in an Amazon deforestation hotspot

Mongabay went to Pará state’s southwest and found examples of people struggling to keep sustainable initiatives in a region dominated by soy, cattle, gold and logging.

17/03 Scientists study plant restoration in Argentina’s deserts

For a plant, life in Argentina’s Monte Desert is hard enough. Daily temperatures can fluctuate dramatically; it rarely rains, and there are few nutrients in the parched soil for a hungry plant. To add to their struggles: Across this desert, a long history of oil drilling and a new boom in fracking have left hundreds […]

17/03 In a land where monkeys are seen as pests, Sri Lanka’s white langurs are winning hearts

COLOMBO — Monkeys were expected to be among the chief culprits identified as Sri Lanka carried out a nationwide survey on March 15 of crop-raiding animals. But in a small village near the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an unusual population of langurs has captured attention, becoming a local tourist attraction. Purple-faced […]

14/03 A Cameroon stadium spurs one community’s fight over ancestral lands

OLEMBÉ, Cameroon — About 10 kilometers (6.3 miles) north of the Cameroon capital of Yaoundé, local members of the Yanda community say the construction of a stadium has resulted in the clearing of their ancestral forest, depriving roughly 600 people — 52 families — of their land and their means of livelihood. Announced as a […]

14/03 Indonesian watchdog demands prosecution for environmental crime ‘cartels’

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s largest environmental group, Walhi, has filed a formal complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, accusing 47 companies of environmental destruction and corruption. The companies, which operate in industries like palm oil, mining and forestry, are accused of being responsible for 437 trillion rupiah ($26.5 billion) in state losses. Based on field investigations […]

14/03 Searching for peace, finding hope

A moving coming-of-age story of two Kenyan teenagers brought together in friendship by a murder, the documentary film Searching for Amani opens a window into complex tensions between conservationists, crop-growing farmers and pastoralists in Kenya as extreme drought throws them into conflict over dwindling resources. “When there is peace, people are not being killed,” says […]

13/03 With biological and cultural diversity at literal crossroads in the tropics, a new approach is needed (commentary)

The tropics are celebrated as hotspots of biological diversity and renowned as supply houses for food, fiber and pharmacies. They also harbor linguistic diversity, a proxy for cultural diversity, critical to people’s health, well-being and identity. Embedded in linguistic variation is a library of human knowledge, cosmologies and institutions. The correlation between biological and linguistic/cult

13/03 Lives worth living: Elephants, Iain Douglas-Hamilton and the fight for coexistence

At this point in history, the hubristic belief that people are above nature has allowed humans to bring immeasurable change to the natural systems that all of life depends upon for survival. The documentary A Life Among Elephants — a collaboration between filmmakers Maramedia, elephant “whisperer” Iain Douglas-Hamilton, his family, and their organization Save the […]

13/03 USAID funding cuts jeopardize creation of Ghana’s first Marine Protected Area

For more than 10 years, researchers, civil society and community members and government officials in Ghana worked to create the West African nation’s first marine protected area (MPA). In January, the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly froze foreign aid, including to Ghana, jeopardizing the MPA’s establishment and dealing a blow to Ghana’s fisheries […]

13/03 Caribbean reef sharks rebound in Belize with shark fishers’ help

Rosie knows the Lighthouse Reef Atoll like the back of her fin. She calls this atoll home and is a matriarch of the thriving population of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) living there. Her signature scar on her dorsal fin makes her easy to identify each year during monitoring surveys conducted by MarAlliance, a U.S.-based […]

13/03 Indonesia’s coal gasification reboot faces backlash over economic, environmental risks

JAKARTA — A renewed plan by the Indonesian government to turn coal into gas or liquid fuel forms has received mounting backlash from climate experts who say it will be ecologically and economically disastrous. The coal gasification proposal was among the orders issued by President Prabowo Subianto at a meeting with his energy economics team […]

13/03 Indigenous peoples demand consultation as controversial road paves through Peru’s Amazon

An ongoing federal highway project that will cross through protected areas and Indigenous lands in Peru’s Amazon is facing mounting concerns by Indigenous leaders and legal experts. Meant to help transport goods and people in the remote region, they say the highway will also help traffickers transport drugs, increase land invasions and put endangered wildlife […]

13/03 Re:wild and Age of Union announce conservation partnership

Two of the conservation world’s most innovative organizations are joining forces to expand their impact — combining funding, grassroots activism and immersive storytelling to raise awareness and create action on the global climate crisis. The nonprofits Re:wild and Age of Union say their conservation partnership will focus on protecting critical ecosystems and endangered species, and […]

13/03 Chauffeur at Indonesia energy nonprofit drives uptake of biogas by Java farmers

SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in many households in Minggir, a Javanese village producing its own gas. “A lot of people just laughed,” Suyono, 50, told Mongabay Indonesia. “‘Um, pak, you […]

12/03 A tale of two cities: What drove 2024’s Valencia and Porto Alegre floods?

Neither Porto Alegre, Brazil, nor Valencia, Spain, are in the news this week. But they have been before, and almost certainly will be again, as bouts of extreme drought, followed by deluge, become more frequent and fierce. The media cameras are gone from 2024’s inundations, but in Valencia 100,000 wrecked cars remain to be disposed […]

12/03 Brazil’s crackdown on illegal mining in Indigenous territory sees success, but fears remain

This is part one of a series on the operation to evict illegal gold miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory. Part two, three, four and five are coming soon. In Brazil’s Amazon, an operation to remove illegal miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory in the state of Pará has, so far, led to a reduction […]

12/03 Brazil’s Lava Jato investigation: the biggest corruption scandal of the last decade

The largest and most infamous corruption scandal of the last decade began with a criminal investigation into the operations of Brazil’s largest corporation: Petrobras. The scandal got its name because the organizers of the bribery, kickback and money laundering scheme used a financial services company in Brasília located next to a gas station and car […]

12/03 Forest management ambitions in Brazilian Amazon aim to make up for lost time

In the early 2000s, deforestation levels in the Brazilian Amazon rose so tremendously that, faced with both national and international pressure, the federal government decided to implement forest timber management as a way to curb the destruction. The 2006 Public Forest Management Law established standards for “the efficient use of the forests and local sustainable […]

12/03 Asian elephants fall victim to poor development policies in Bangladesh

Despite planning and accomplishing some wildlife conservation actions over the years, Bangladesh has yet to achieve success in protecting its elephants (Elephas maximus indicus). Instead, the country has lately witnessed large death tolls of the species every year, mostly due to the conflict with humans. The recent death of an elephant calf while it crossed […]

12/03 Fishing cat home range far bigger than previously thought, Nepal study suggests

The home range of fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus), found in parts of South and Southeast Asia, could be more expansive than previously thought, a recent GPS-collaring study focusing in and around Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in southeastern Nepal suggests. The study also found that some of these small cats live in human-dominated landscapes round the […]

12/03 Tragedy haunts community on shore of Sumatra’s largest solar farm

LAKE SINGKARAK, Indonesia — Mardianis recalls reading the Quran with his parents and two children here on the western shore of Lake Singkarak before the desperate cries of galodoh. A dark wall of rock barreled down the hillside as the family rushed to higher ground. Mardianis remembers the flood careening into the family’s small food […]

12/03 Will Brazil’s President Lula wake up to the climate crisis? (commentary)

The situation is worse than previously thought In February 2025, three scientific papers were published showing that the climate situation is much worse than the scientific community thought, much less what is thought by the people to whom President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known simply as “Lula”) really listens – his Minister of Mines […]

12/03 When a chimp community lost its males, it also lost part of its love language

Male chimpanzees in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park use distinct “auditory gestures” to attract females. However, researchers have found that when the males die, these behaviors can disappear with them. The solicitation gestures used by these male western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) include tapping their heels or knuckles against fallen branches or tree trunks, shaking […]

11/03 How one woman’s wolf ‘moon shot’ changed Yellowstone forever: Interview with director Tom Winston

In March 1995, a few wolves cautiously exited their pens into the melting snow of Yellowstone National Park, returning there 70 years after guns, traps and poison had wiped them out. The dramatic return of these top carnivores was watched around the world, the culmination of twists and turns rivaling any Hollywood blockbuster. Now, a […]

11/03 Sri Lanka calls for five-minute surveys to identify crop-raiding animals

COLOMBO — In December 2024,  Sri Lanka’s newly appointed minister of agriculture K. D. Lalkantha told the Parliament that farmers should have the right to take action against crop-raiding wild animals. His comments drew backlash, particularly from environmentalists who termed the minister’s remarks harmful and an invitation to kill wildlife at will. While opinions remain […]

11/03 Chitwan city using Indo-Nepal wildlife corridor for waste dump

CHITWAN, Nepal — One of Nepal’s biggest cities on the northwestern fringes of Chitwan National Park has been dumping its municipal waste in a forest that serves as an international wildlife corridor, by relying on falsified environmental safeguard documents submitted 15 years ago, a Mongabay investigation has found. Bharatpur Metropolitan City claims it has legal […]

11/03 Nickel miners dig up Indonesia’s Gebe Island despite Indigenous and legal opposition

GEBE ISLAND, Indonesia — Abdul Manan Magtiblo watched the excavator dump a piece of Gebe Island into the back of a truck. Barely a thicket remained on the buzz-cut upland above Umera village as the vehicle drove off to the nearby port. “That’s the PT Bartra Putra Mulia [BPM] nickel mine,” Manan, the village chief, […]

11/03 Iranian scientist names new praying mantis species for freedom

A new-to-science species of praying mantis found in Iran has been named as a symbol of universal freedom. Sinaiella azadi was found in the mountainous region of central Iran in 2022 by Mahmood Kolnegari, a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Córdoba in Spain. The species name “azadi” means freedom in Persian, a language spoken […]

10/03 Breast milk contamination exposes Africa’s ‘forever chemicals’ problem

Synthetic chemicals found in a wide range of products, from textiles to food packaging, and now even breast milk, are endangering infants’ lives in Africa, researchers say. Scientists are still investigating exactly how these “forever chemicals” affect babies, but there’s reason to worry, according to David Koli Essumang, co-author of a study conducted in Ghana. […]

10/03 10 unique community-led conservation solutions in the face of environmental despair

Numerous events and policy decisions across the world in the last several months are causing despair among many environmentalists. The abrupt freeze, and potential termination, of international funds for conservation have hit global conservation and environmental projects, resulting in the halt of activities that have so far aided forest and wildlife conservation and supported Indigenous […]

10/03 Indigenous community calls out Cambodian REDD+ project as tensions simmer in the Cardamoms

KOH KONG, Cambodia — “[Officially], the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project was suspended for more than a year and then restarted/reinstated recently.  But what I actually see here on the ground is that, throughout that period, Wildlife Alliance have continued to restrict us and violate our rights,” said Pon Chhang, a young representative for the Indigenous Chorng […]

08/03 Women in Ghana plant ‘diversion’ trees to protect shea trees and their livelihoods

As the growing demand for charcoal and firewood hastens the decline of shea trees in Ghana, communities living on the fringes of the country’s Mole National Park are planting fast-growing trees of other species as a buffer. The logic of the effort is for communities to instead cut down the fast-growing tree species for their […]

07/03 Brazil communities accuse companies of ‘green grabbing’ for wind energy

Jeane Da Gama Costa, 42, grew up in Umburanas, a small municipality of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Her family raised cattle for meat and grew crops like beans, corn and watermelon. It was a quiet and modest life. “It was isolated, very isolated,” she says. Decades later, Jeane’s house is surrounded by some 80 wind […]

07/03 Farmers in Nepal and India see red as blue bulls raid their crops

LUMBINI, Nepal — Three years ago, Ram Chandra Kurmi, a farmer from the village of Gaidahawa in south-western Nepal, abandoned his small vegetable plot . The 39-year-old, who once supported his family of five through farming, now struggles to make a stable income. The culprit, he says, is the uncontrolled proliferation of nilgais, or blue […]

07/03 Collaboration, data and tracking move Africa’s Great Green Wall toward its goal

The Great Green Wall in the Sahel, a mosaic of forests, farmlands and grasslands dotting the arid fringes of Sahara, was launched by the African Union in 2007 to fight desertification and land degradation. Stretching from Dakar in the west to Djibouti in the east, the 8,000-kilometer (5,000-mile) “wall” aims to restore 100 million hectares […]

07/03 DRC conflict so far ‘devastating’ to Indigenous lands & people: Interview with Samuel Ade Ndasi

The resumption of hostilities since the M23 (March 23 Movement) rebel group resurged and captured territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2021 has had a devastating toll on the environment and Indigenous livelihoods, sources say. And after the M23 gained ground and captured key cities in early 2025, U.N. agencies warn […]

07/03 The environmental toll of the M23 conflict in eastern DRC (Analysis)

The resurgence of the M23 (March 23 movement) rebel group has once again drawn global attention to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The humanitarian crisis—millions displaced, thousands killed, a ‘public health nightmare’ unfolding—rightly dominates headlines. Yet the conflict is having another significant and often overlooked impact: on the environment. The Kivu provinces, […]

07/03 As Sri Lanka’s rail tracks continue to claim elephant lives, experts suggest solutions

COLOMBO — More than a decade ago, Thushari, a young female elephant, born wild and free, would roam the landscapes of Galgamuwa in northwestern Sri Lanka every day with her family in search of water and food, crossing the railway tracks that bisected their territory. On the night of June 17, 2011, the full moon […]

07/03 Indonesia seeks alternative funding as USAID freeze delays marine conservation efforts

JAKARTA — A freeze on foreign aid funding from U.S. government agencies, including USAID, has delayed several marine conservation programs in Indonesia, according to senior officials in the world’s largest archipelagic country. The freeze, imposed by President Donald Trump through an executive order signed on his first day in office, put an immediate 90-day suspension […]

07/03 Indonesia families evicted for Jakarta PIK2 project flooded at relocation site

JAKARTA — The relocation site for families forced to make way for an upscale Jakarta property development was hit by a major flood this year, as extreme rain triggered fatal floods and landslides across Indonesia’s main central island of Java. “This flooding is terrible,” said Ina, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. […]

07/03 What have we learned from 15 years of REDD+ policy research? (analysis)

For decades, efforts to halt deforestation in the Global South have gained much attention within the policy arena, most recently as a powerful and effective measure to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One well-known initiative is the framework on “Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, plus the sustainable […]

06/03 Mangroves at risk as El Salvador begins work on new airport

Construction has begun on a new international airport in El Salvador despite ongoing concerns that the project will lead to rapid development near vulnerable wetlands and other coastal ecosystems. Officials broke ground February 25 on the Airport of the Pacific near the coastal town of La Unión, in eastern El Salvador, an area rich in […]

06/03 Forest biomass growth to soar through 2030, impacting tropical forests

The harvesting and burning of forest biomass to produce energy continues to surge, according to a new report on near-term global production and demand for wood pellets. This growth comes despite scientists’ warnings of the industry’s harm to the climate and its contribution to deforestation — increasingly in the tropics. It comes even as forest […]

06/03 Saplings planted 19 years ago became trees

The seedlings planted 19 years ago became a tree in the Datça district of Muğlan, 19 years ago, the saplings planted in the damaged area was treated. Datça Emecikte in September 2006 forest fire came out. Emecik coast was effective in the fire of about 400 hectares of the fire was damaged. After the fire, afforestation works were started immediately. Your burning area ...

06/03 Ugandan researcher wins ‘Emerging Conservationist’ award for work on golden cats

The Indianapolis Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes leaders in wildlife conservation, has awarded its second Emerging Conservationist Award to Mwezi Badru Mugerwa. A Ugandan researcher and conservationist who combines community work with technology, Mugerwa has been working to stop the poaching of the little-known African golden cat (Caracal aurata) and bolster efforts to ramp […]

06/03 New setbacks for Peruvian Amazon reserve put uncontacted tribes at risk

In 2003, Indigenous organizations petitioned the Peruvian government to create Yavarí Mirim, an Indigenous reserve on the Amazon border with Brazil and Colombia, spanning 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), according to sources interviewed by Mongabay. Their goal was to protect hundreds of Indigenous peoples in the region who had little to no contact with […]

06/03 In the drylands of northern Kenya, a ‘summer school’ for young researchers

ISIOLO, Kenya — A hot wind sweeps across the rocky brush of Camp Simpirre in northern Kenya’s Isiolo county. Baboons cross the pathway to the dinner hall; vervet monkeys patter across the tin roof that shades an assembled group of 47 researchers and academics from the beating midday sun. The night before, some were jolted […]

06/03 Indonesian court blocks palm oil expansion, but leaves Indigenous land rights in limbo

JAKARTA — The Indonesian Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to curb the expansion of a multibillion-dollar oil palm plantation project in the country’s easternmost region of Papua. In its Dec. 2, 2024, ruling, the court rejected lawsuits filed by two plantation companies that are part of the Tanah Merah mega plantation project, PT […]

06/03 ‘Without us, no scrutiny’: Indonesia’s independent media count cost of US funding cuts

Last November, Jakarta-based Muhamad Heychael, program director at nonprofit media organization Remotivi, began offering small grants to local journalists to report on the nickel mines and smelters proliferating in remote corners of Indonesia’s far east. Heychael and his colleagues chose 10 journalists hailing from places like Morowali on the island of Sulawesi and Obi Island […]

05/03 Liberia to start industrial shrimp fishing, worrying artisanal fishers

ROBERTSPORT, Liberia — The sun was scorching hot in the town of Robertsport as James Dayougar shook debris from his nets, which he’d just returned from fishing with moments earlier. His eyes looked bloated, the nets disheveled. With just a few fish in his canoe, James’s day at sea had been a rough one. He […]

05/03 Clash of worlds for the Amazon’s Cinta Larga: Interview with author Alex Cuadros

Journalist Alex Cuadros’s latest book, “When We Sold God’s Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon” tells the story of how an Indigenous group in Brazil was forced to reckon with Western culture.

05/03 Indigenous leaders optimistic after resumed U.N. biodiversity conference in Rome

Indigenous peoples and local communities scored perhaps the most tangible progress as the 16th United Nations, or COP16 concluded after three days of final negotiations in Rome on Feb. 28, 2025. This completes the two-week session that began in Cali, Colombia, in mid-October, 2024. “COP16 has been a great success and is historic for us,” […]

05/03 COP16 biodiversity summit in Rome OKs finance pathway; big obstacles loom

Delegates and observers applauded, with caveats, the delayed conclusion of the 16th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP16, in Rome on Feb. 28. The big takeaway was an agreement by the world’s nations to a multiprong pathway to raising $200 billion annually by 2030 to help reverse the rate of global species extinctions […]

04/03 Agroforestry stores less carbon than reforestation, but has many other benefits, study finds

A recent study in Ecological Solutions and Evidence shows just how complicated and challenging it is to achieve carbon sequestration goals through forest management — but not impossible. The research evaluates 10 years of a 14-year-long carbon project in Panama run by an Indigenous Emberá community, which collectively owns the land and tried different methods […]

04/03 In a seasonally flooded Amazon forest, jaguars take to the trees

“It’s amazing, it’s amazing! I have no other word to describe it.” That’s how biologist Marcos Roberto de Brito defines the thrill of seeing a jaguar up close for the first time. Brito is the lead author of a recently published study that discovered a unique trait in the jaguars of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development […]

04/03 Gaza and West Bank farmers salvage olive harvest amid displacement, destruction and Israeli settler violence

After Israel and the de facto government of the Gaza Strip, Hamas, agreed to a ceasefire beginning Jan. 19, Gaza’s olive farmers headed back to what’s left of their Khan Yunis and Rafah olive groves for an unprecedented January 2025 harvest. Bombing by the Israeli government over the last year reduced the Gaza Strip’s 37 […]

03/03 Study finds signs of tuna abundance outside marine protected areas

There’s solid evidence that well-enforced marine protected areas (MPAs) that prohibit fishing benefit a wide variety of species within their borders. However, the impact outside their borders is a matter of debate, especially when it comes to highly sought tuna species. Experts differ about how much tuna can “spill over” from an area closed to […]

03/03 Pastoralists know every landscape has a history: Interview with Gufu Oba

From the Tibetan plateau to the African Sahel, pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions, pastoralist cultures rely on freedom of movement and shared arrangements over how to use the commons. It’s a lifestyle practiced by between 200 million and […]

03/03 Illegal sea fence displaces fishers and sparks land scandal near Jakarta

JAKARTA/TANGERANG, Indonesia — Joy was mending his nets when a reporter from Mongabay Indonesia visited him last October in the fishing village of Ketapang in Tangerang district, on the northwestern outskirts of Jakarta. He said he planned to go out to sea later that afternoon. But to do so, he’d have to run a gauntlet […]

03/03 Financing conservation of Central Asia’s endangered mammals on World Wildlife Day and every day (commentary)

Central Asia hosts some of the world’s largest and still relatively interconnected yet fragile grassland and mountain ecosystems. These landscapes provide essential habitats for migratory and threatened species, including the snow leopard, saiga antelope, argali sheep, Mongolian gazelle and wild ass. While these species are essential for maintaining ecological balance, they face growing threats fr

03/03 UN accuses Indonesia’s No. 2 palm oil firm of rights & environmental abuses

JAKARTA — The United Nations has called out Indonesia’s No. 2 palm oil company for alleged human rights and environmental abuses, the first time it has singled out a company rather than the industry. Various U.N. agencies and officials have long highlighted issues within the palm oil industry in Indonesia, the world’s top producer of […]

03/03 World Wildlife Day 2025: What I learned speaking spider monkey

I’ve learned to speak some spider monkey over the years. As a conservationist working out of the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, I’ve spent years of my life in the jungle. I sleep outdoors more nights than I do inside, so I see spider monkeys nearly every day. They come and shake branches at me when I […]

28/02 Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems

The communities around Lake Chad have always lived by its water rhythms. Now, as climate change impacts intensify, they must find new ways to adapt. The Lake Chad Basin lies in the Sahel, on the southern edge of the Sahara. The basin is enormous, covering 2.5 million square kilometers (965,255 square miles), or 8% of […]

28/02 Land distribution in the Pan Amazon is tainted by corruption

The distribution of public land has, at one time or another, been official government policy in almost every Amazonian jurisdiction. Some epochs and jurisdictions favoured small holdings over large estates and vice versa, but the entire process, and the system it spawned, is characterized by inefficiency, political patronage, class privilege and corruption. Across the region, […]

28/02 In Australia’s little-known rainforests, tradition and science collaborate for good

The Kimberley, the northernmost region of Australia’s largest jurisdiction, Western Australia, is remote and difficult to access due to its rugged terrain. With a permanent population of just 40,000 in an area roughly the size as California, it has become internationally renowned for its dramatic landscapes: researchers say the Kimberley houses the largest, most intact […]

28/02 New Zealand blocks tighter trawling rules at South Pacific fisheries meeting

Aotearoa New Zealand spent years spearheading the introduction of a new set of rules governing bottom trawling in the South Pacific Ocean, which more than a dozen countries adopted by consensus in 2023. But under a new government, the country has now blocked an effort to fully implement those rules. Australia and the United States […]

28/02 Land rights bill in Suriname sparks outrage in Indigenous communities

Officials in Suriname are considering legislation that would finally establish territorial rights for Indigenous and Tribal communities. But not everyone is happy with the language of the bill, and some are even hoping it will fail to pass. Recent changes to a collective rights bill in Suriname are supposed to reinforce the legal status of […]

28/02 Funerary practices in Fiji protect marine areas while honoring the deceased

On the fifth day after the burial of their chief, Seru Moce, 66, and other clan members gathered for a meeting to decide what portion of the sea to protect in memory of their deceased leader. For generations, Indigenous iTaukei people in Fiji have not only protected a loved one’s burial grounds, but also freshwater […]

28/02 Adjusting to temperature and providing water can help save Kenya farmers’ bees, study says

NAIROBI ― Temperature can increase bee colony loss in dry, hot and wet seasons, but a study has found that beekeepers practicing water provision to the bees experience up to 10% less decrease. The yearlong research conducted among bee farmers in Kenya revealed that between October 2021 and September 2022, the farmers lost an average […]

28/02 Yanomami youth turn to drones to watch their Amazon territory

In the Yanomami Indigenous Land, the largest in Brazil, leaders believe in their youths’ skills to maintain their ancestors’ legacy and safeguard the future of a sprawling territory covering almost the size of Portugal.

28/02 Reforesting Malawi’s ‘Island in the Sky’ to save its vanishing woodlands

In March 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi, unleashing six months of rain in six days. Freddy was the largest and longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded, and the impacts were catastrophic. In Malawi, more than 600 people died, and more than 650,000 were displaced. Communities around Mount Mulanje, in the country’s south, were some of […]

28/02 In remote Philippine villages, micro-hydro alternatives power Indigenous homes

The first time 52-year-old Juliana Balweg-Baawa switched on the light in her home, she jumped for joy. “My children can study at night!” Balweg-Baawa, a native of Mataragan village in the rugged Cordillera mountains in the northern Philippines, relied on the short-lived flickers of a gas lamp for light until her village was electrified in […]

27/02 Study unearths sophisticated year-round corn-growing system in ancient Bolivian Amazon

Between 600 and 1,500 years ago, Indigenous people of the seasonally flooded savannas in the Bolivian Amazon created an advanced farming system that allowed them to grow corn throughout the year, according to a study published in Nature. These findings challenge what researchers know about early farming in South America. A team of researchers led […]

27/02 To benefit biodiversity & climate, restoring lost forests works best: Study

Tree-planting has become a go-to tool for taking carbon out of the atmosphere and repairing deforested habitats. And indeed, reforestation — planting trees or fostering tree regrowth in historically forested areas — is the most beneficial option, according to a new study in Science, providing habitat for wildlife while sequestering and removing carbon from the […]

27/02 EU parliament calls for end to Rwanda mineral pact over DRC conflict links

On Feb. 13, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to suspend a cooperation agreement with Rwanda on a trio of minerals critical to the clean energy transition, citing their links to the ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The so-called 3T minerals — tin, tungsten, tantalum — are mined in large volumes in the […]

27/02 It raised pollution and excessive hunting

Pollution and excessive hunting brought to the agenda in Istanbul Sarıyer, Besiktas, Fatih, Zeytinburnu, Uskudar, such as the coast of the districts of the coast of the districts were covered with jellyfish. Fishing and coastal fishing, jellyfish and pollution drew attention. Experts evaluated this situation in the seas. Istanbul University (IU) Faculty of Water Sciences Ba ...

27/02 Concerns of illegal sea turtle trade persist in Bali as police foil smugglers

DENPASAR, Indonesia — Conservation foundations on the Indonesian island of Bali raised concerns in February over the volume of live sea turtles seized from traffickers so far this year. “The number of turtles smuggled shows that the main purpose isn’t just for ceremonies, it’s to meet greater consumption in the market,” Ranny R. Yuneni, endangered […]

27/02 ‘Some people will die’: Conversations with Nigeria’s gorilla hunters

On a night in 1997, Benjamin Dauda killed a gorilla for the first time. Shrouding his lanky frame in dark fog, he stalked a foraging troop, finally dispatching his bullet on his mark. It was a giant male, he says, struck in the chest. “When I came close to the dead body, it was exactly […]

27/02 An Australian state promised to turn native forest into a national koala park. It’s still being logged

The koala was officially declared endangered in the Australian state of New South Wales in February 2022. A year later, the Labor Party promised to create a 315,000-hectare (778,000-acre) Great Koala National Park to protect the iconic species in the state from extinction. Labor went on to win the state election that year over the […]

26/02 The U.S. terminated its 30×30 conservation plan but this also presents an opportunity (commentary)

In his first week in office back in 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a historic commitment to conserve 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. Two years later, the world agreed to a similar commitment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The initiative, commonly known as 30×30, has since become a rallying cry […]

26/02 In Kenya, grassland restoration can help reduce conflict, study says

NAIROBI ― Grassland restoration, which uses nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, can help farmers adapt to climate change by improving human security through reducing conflicts, which may lessen retaliatory actions against wildlife, according to a study. Tree planting activities to restore degraded areas and rotational grazing to halt overgrazing and soil erosion are examples of […]

26/02 Elusive wildlife shows up for photographer’s camera traps in Congo

In 2023, Will Burrard-Lucas, a U.K.-based photographer who specializes in high-definition camera-trapping, set up cameras at four sites in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, a 4,000-square-kilometer (1,545-square-mile) expanse of lowland rainforest in the Republic of Congo managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Camera traps are routinely used for scientific research in parks like Nouab

26/02 Indigenous Dayak community makes strides on Borneo toward forest autonomy

MEKAR RAYA, Indonesia — Yulius Yogi kneels under the forest canopy here on the island of Borneo, surveying land he plans to reclaim for his Dayak Simpan Indigenous community. “Our ancestors safeguarded [the forest], now it’s our responsibility to look after it,” Yulius, 35, told Mongabay Indonesia on the outskirts of Mekar Raya village, in […]

26/02 Decline of Cambodia’s native bees spells trouble for country’s farming future

As natural pollinators, Cambodia’s native honey bees are key to the survival of the country’s forests and farms. But these species are at a conservation crossroads, warns a recent study that foreshadows the risks of leaving growing threats unaddressed. Based on field research across Cambodia, as well as dozens of interviews with honey hunters, farmers […]