topic: Montane Forests

topic: Montane Forests

Social media activity version | Lean version

Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Curichi Las Garzas is a natural refuge where thousands of wood storks (Mycteria americana) arrive each year to reproduce before continuing their journey.
- Land grabbers have destroyed 300 of the protected area’s 1,247 hectares in the municipality of San Carlos, planting rice and soybean crops.
- The encroachers claim to have endorsement from the INRA (Bolivia’s National Institute of Agrarian Reform), but the INRA has denied this and has asked the mayor to intervene. In the last three months, more than 4,500 deforestation alerts have been recorded along with a peak of 42 fire alerts, the highest number for the last 10 years.

Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Amboró National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area is located in the Santa Cruz department of central Bolivia, at the confluence of three different ecosystems: the Amazon, the northern Bolivian Chaco and the Andes.
- Amboró has been losing forest cover to illicit activities such as the cultivation of coca crops for the production of cocaine.
- National and departmental officials say Amboró authorities aren’t doing enough to keep encroachers out of the park.
- But rangers in Amboró say they don’t have enough resources to effectively enforce regulation.

Forest diversity is key to Southeast Asia’s climate adaptability, study shows
- A new fossil study indicates that Southeast Asia’s forests were more resilient to past climate change than previously thought.
- In contrast to the theory that a vast savanna corridor expanded across Southeast Asia during the peak of the last glaciation, the researchers found evidence that a mosaic of forests in fact persisted across much of the region.
- The findings emphasize the importance of protecting connected networks of a wide range of forest types to afford the region its best chances of adapting to projected climate change.
- In addition to ecological implications, the findings provide insight to theories of how humans historically migrated across and shaped the region’s ecosystems.

In Laos, forest loss and carbon emissions escalate as agriculture intensifies
- Shifting cultivation is expanding into intact forest frontiers in Laos, triggering a spike in associated carbon emissions, according to a new study based on satellite data.
- As the dominant land use type in Laos, shifting cultivation has affected roughly one-third of the country’s total land area over the past three decades, the study says.
- The study also highlights how fallow land, a vital carbon store in Laos, is increasingly undermined by farming practices characterized by shorter fallow periods.
- The authors say their data can be used by policymakers to design programs that support more sustainable forms of shifting cultivation. Experts urge that such interventions sensitively consider why remote communities might be forced to transition away from traditional, subsistence-based farming toward intensified systems.

Smallholders and loggers push deeper into Sumatra’s largest park
- Kerinci Seblat National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has lost more than 4% of its primary forest cover over the past 20 years, satellite data from Global Forest Watch show.
- Much of the deforestation is driven by nearby communities logging and farming, in particular potatoes, and possibly also illegal gold mining.
- The park hosts a diversity of wildlife like nowhere else — tigers, elephants, helmeted hornbills and barking deer, among others — but these are now threatened by loss of habitat and poaching.
- Kerinci Seblat was at one point a stronghold of the Sumatran rhino, but this critically endangered species has since gone extinct from the park.

Community forest association helps hold the line to protect Mount Kenya forest
- The volunteer members of the Chehe Community Forest Association are playing an active role in protecting forests on the southwestern slopes of Mount Kenya.
- Despite this, 20% of the Afromontane forests in this region have been lost to fire, illegal logging and invasive species over the past 20 years.
- The forest association’s chair says some local residents continue to encroach on forest reserves in the area — and that enforcement could be stronger.

Nepal’s clouded leopard research needs more attention: Q&A with Yadav Ghimirey
- Yadav Ghimirey, one of the pioneering clouded leopard researchers in Nepal, shares his challenges and achievements of conducting camera trap surveys, scat analysis and pelt identification of the elusive clouded leopards in different regions of Nepal, where they are very rare and poorly understood.
- He argues that clouded leopards are important for Nepal’s biodiversity and ecosystem balance and that they deserve more attention and funding from local and global conservation agencies.
- He outlines his need to assess the distribution, diet, behavior and habitat connectivity of clouded leopards in Nepal and to work on their conservation.

Drug trafficking imperils national park and Indigenous reserves in the Peruvian Amazon
- Deforestation for illegal drug production is on the rise in and around Otishi National Park, Asháninka Communal Reserve and Machiguenga Communal Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon.
- During aerial reconnaissance, Mongabay Latam reporters observed clearings, trails and unauthorized airstrips in the park and Indigenous reserves.
- The NGO Global Conservation is beginning work to train members of Indigenous communities to monitor and enforce forest protection regulations.

As tourism booms in India’s Western Ghats, habitat loss pushes endangered frogs to the edge
- India’s Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, is home to many endemic and endangered species of amphibians, some of which are new to science and others suspected of lying in wait of discovery.
- Deforestation due to infrastructure and plantation expansion in the southern Western Ghats threaten the region’s amphibian species, many of which have highly restricted habitats.
- Adding to their woes is an increased risk of landslides in parts of Kerala due to erratic, heavy monsoon rains and erosion due to loss of forest.
- To save them, experts are calling for a systematic taxonomic survey of amphibians in the region and for legal protection of endangered species.

Fires threaten Afromontane forests’ ‘whole new world’: Q&A with Martim Melo
- A group of international and local scientists has warned of the threat to a key piece of one of Africa’s most threatened habitats: the Afromontane forests that occur in the highlands of western Angola.
- The scientists recently discovered up to 10 new species living in the patches of evergreen forest in the Namba Mountains.
- But pressure from growing human settlements nearby, mainly uncontrolled fires in the grasslands that surround the forests, threatens to overwhelm this unique ecosystem.
- Scientists are calling for the government and international agencies to establish a protected area to preserve this biodiverse hotspot.

Crafting Nepal’s conservation success: Q&A with Sharad Chandra Adhikary
- Sharad Chandra Adhikary, a PR veteran who has also worked with Nepal’s anti-corruption commission, now serves as member secretary of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, an organization that works with the government of Nepal.
- The NTNC manages some of the most important conservation areas across Nepal to protect biodiversity, focusing on activities inside protected areas, research by wildlife expert scientists, and helping the government formulate conservation policies.
- The organization works with local communities trying to bring a balance between the local Nepali people’s aspiration for development and keeping the ecological integrity of the areas, encouraging local entrepreneurs in tourism.

New standard brings best practices to bear in Nepal’s red panda conservation
- The Red Panda Governance Standard has been introduced into Nepal to strengthen efforts to conserve the endangered species.
- Developed by the Red Panda Network in collaboration with one Nepali and two Australian universities, it aims to allow communities to adopt best practices for red panda conservation.
- Proponents say they hope that successful conservation initiatives being carried out in the country’s east can be translated to the more fragmented habitats in the central and western regions of Nepal.

Amazon cloud forests need protection (commentary)
- Where the Andes meet the Amazon, you will find one of the earth’s richest and most important biomes but its role has been largely overlooked in our efforts to mitigate climate change impacts, argues Enrique G. Ortiz of the Andes Amazon Fund.
- After 40 years working in tropical forests, Ortiz says the Amazon cloud forest is his favorite type of forest. In this commentary, he makes the case for why their protection should be a priority for conservation efforts.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Road projects threaten integrity of Uganda’s mountain gorilla stronghold
- Ugandan authorities are considering two road projects through Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to half of the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas.
- The proposed new road will impact connectivity between Bwindi and Sarambwe Nature Reserve in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, says the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.
- Most conservationists don’t dispute the need for improved road infrastructure for nearby communities, but say they’re concerned the government is overlooking less harmful alternatives.

Africa’s montane forests are more carbon-dense than even the Amazon
- Mountain forests store nearly 150 metric tons of carbon dioxide per hectare, a new study estimates, which is more than the Amazon Rainforest per unit area.
- The U.N.’s leading scientific body on climate change, the IPCC, pegs the default value for these forests at 90 metric tons per hectare, underestimating their role in regulating the planet’s climate.
- High-altitude forests cover 16 million hectares (40 million acres) of land in Africa, primarily concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but about 5% has already disappeared since the turn of the century.
- The study authors say they hope the new estimates will make these forests more attractive for carbon finance initiatives.

Forest loss in mountains of Southeast Asia accelerates at ‘shocking’ pace
- Southeast Asia is home to roughly half of the world’s tropical mountain forests, which support massive carbon stores and tremendous biodiversity, including a host of species that occur nowhere else on the planet.
- A new study reveals that mountain forest loss in Southeast Asia is accelerating at an unprecedented rate throughout the region: approximately 189,000 square kilometers (73,000 square miles) of highland forest was converted to cropland during the first two decades of this century.
- Mountain forest loss has far-reaching implications for people who depend directly on forest resources and downstream communities.
- Since higher-elevation forests also store comparatively more carbon than lowland forests, their loss will make it much harder to meet international climate objectives.

An owl not seen in over a century makes a brief return — then vanishes again
- Researchers have confirmed the first sighting of a rare owl last seen in Borneo nearly 130 years ago.
- The rediscovery of the Bornean Rajah scops-owl (Otus brookii brookii) came during a chance encounter on May 4, 2016, seven years into a long-term research project on Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia.
- The researchers say the history of speciation in the region could justify naming the Bornean Rajah scops-owl as its own species, distinct from the Sumatran subspecies, O. b. solokensis.
- The Bornean bird is under pressure from deforestation and climate change, which threaten to shrink its habitat and drive it further upslope.

DRC’s Virunga to welcome visitors again after 8-month closure
- Escalating violence in mid-2018, resulting in the deaths of seven park rangers, forced the closure of Virunga National Park to visitors.
- The park is known for its diverse wildlife, especially its mountain gorillas, as well as its active volcano, but its location in eastern DRC is one of the most volatile regions on earth.
- After assessing the security of the park, officials will reopen stable areas for visitors on Feb. 15 interested in trekking to see the gorillas and to visit the rim of the volcano.

Rapid population drop weakened the Grauer’s gorilla gene pool
- The loss of 80 percent of all Grauer’s, or eastern lowland, gorillas in the past two decades has led to a severe reduction in the subspecies’ genetic diversity, new research has found.
- That slide could make it more difficult for the fewer than 4,000 remaining Grauer’s gorillas to adapt to changes in their environment.
- Scientists look for signs of hope in the animal’s sister subspecies, the mountain gorilla, which, studies suggest, has adapted to its own low levels of genetic diversity.

Land restoration makes progress in Ethiopia
- In Meket – a district in Ethiopia’s Amhara National Regional State (ANRS) – efforts are underway to restore what experts say is one of the more severely deforested and degraded regions in the country.
- Of the land in ANRS, less than 2 percent forested land remains, and efforts are underway to restore degraded and deforested areas.
- In 2016, Ethiopia turned to forestry sector development projects in the form of short rotation planting and rehabilitation of degraded lands in ANRS and other districts.

Absent for decades, zebras reintroduced to park in southern Tanzania
- Staff from the Wildlife Conservation Society and its partners in Tanzania released 24 zebras into Kitulo National Park on Oct. 12 and 13.
- The Kitulo Plateau in Tanzania’s southern highlands includes high-elevation grasslands, a unique habitat that requires fire and grazing animals to maintain its plant diversity.
- The reintroduction, with plains zebras from Mikumi National Park, is part of a broader effort to “rewild” the southern highlands after decades of wildlife hunting and livestock grazing.

Secrets revealed: Researchers explore unique, isolated forest in Mozambique
- Researcher Julian Bayliss discovered a forest on Mount Lico by using satellite imagery from Google Earth. In May, Bayliss and a team of more than two-dozen scientists and other experts set out on an expedition to see what kinds of animals and plants lived in the forest.
- According to Bayliss, they found several new species, including a new butterfly.
- Protected by 410-meter cliffs, Mount Lico’s forest is undisturbed by human activity. But the surrounding lowlands – as well as other nearby mountains – are heavily cleared for agriculture.
- These mountains serve as important habitat for unique species, as well as critical water sources for local communities. However, their soil is very fertile and often targeted for cropland. Bayliss says these mountain forests need more conservation attention, and urges the development of programs aimed at balancing local livelihoods with forest preservation.

Earth has more trees now than 35 years ago
- Tree cover increased globally over the past 35 years, finds a paper published in the journal Nature.
- The study, led by Xiao-Peng Song and Matthew Hansen of the University of Maryland, is based on analysis of satellite data from 1982 to 2016.
- The research found that tree cover loss on the tropics was outweighed by tree cover gain in subtropical, temperate, boreal, and polar regions.
- However all the tree cover data comes with an important caveat: tree cover is not necessarily forest cover.

Scientists find Europe’s last primary forests
- A study finds 3.4 million acres (13,760 square kilometers or 5,313 square miles) in Europe fit the definition of primary forest set by the FAO.
- These forests are scattered around Europe and provide important habitat for wildlife.
- But the researchers warn that less than half are strictly protected, meaning that logging is legal in the majority.
- They urge the EU to increase the official level of protection granted to these forests.

46% of Albertine Rift species may be threatened by 2080, study finds
- East Africa’s Albertine Rift region hosts many animal and plant species that evolved in isolation and are endemic – meaning they’re found nowhere else in the world.
- But a recent study estimates nearly half of the Albertine Rift’s endemic species may become threatened with extinction by 2080 as climate change shrinks their habitat.
- The study also finds certain species have already lost as much as 90 percent of their habitat to agriculture.
- The researchers say that their findings could be used to predict how the ranges of wildlife populations will shift in response to a changing climate so that conservation workers can focus their efforts on the areas most likely to retain important habitat.

Sarawak makes 80% forest preservation commitment, but some have doubts
- The Malaysian state of Sarawak is committing to the preservation of 80 percent of its land area as primary and secondary forest, according to an announcement by Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
- According to data, concession boundaries for oil palm and other kinds of tree plantations covered 32.7 percent of Sarawak’s land area as of 2010/11, suggesting that if Sarawak is to fulfill its commitment to preserve 80 percent of its land as primary and secondary forest, then it may need to cancel some of these concessions.
- The director of environmental and human rights watchdog organization Earthsight expressed doubts that Sarawak will follow through on the commitment, and recommends the state increase transparency and crack down on illegal logging.

East Africa’s Albertine Rift needs protection now, scientists say
- The Albertine Rift in East Africa is home to more than 500 species of plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet.
- Created by the stretching apart of tectonic plates, the unique ecosystems of the Albertine Rift are also under threat from encroaching human population and climate change.
- A new report details a plan to protect the landscapes that make up the Rift at a cost of around $21 million per year — a bargain rate, scientists argue, given the number of threatened species that could be saved.

Scientists predict tree death from drought in California’s Sierra Nevadas
- A study in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California shows that remotely-measured changes in the canopy water content (CWC) of conifers can be used to forecast tree mortality.
- Water content in tree canopies can be remotely monitored using laser-based images from aerial surveys.
- Changes in the CWC in conifer forests during droughts correlate well with tree mortality.
- After estimating canopy water content from past years using a deep learning model, researchers were able to accurately predict tree death during a recent drought.

Conserving habitat not enough to help species cope with climate change
- New research finds that habitat-based conservation strategies don’t adequately compensate for the range that species in three groups stand to lose due to climate change.
- The team of scientists based in Austria looked at the effects of climate change on 51 species of grasshoppers, butterflies and vascular plants living in central Europe.
- Habitat-based conservation can provide a lifeline, but their model predicts that it won’t be enough to prevent some species from regional extinction.

Stalking snow leopards: Q&A with the director of “Ghost of the Mountains”
- In spring 2014 a crew of filmmakers ventured to the remote mountains of Sanjiangyuan in China’s western province of Qinghai to film the notoriously elusive snow leopard in the wild.
- A new film, “Ghost of the Mountains,” documents that expedition.
- The film is a finalist for Best People and Nature Film in the 2017 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival taking place next week in Jackson, Wyoming.

Indigenous farmers fight eucalyptus damage to water source in Ecuador
- In Ecuador’s central Cotopaxi province, massive industrial eucalyptus production is presenting problems for Cotopaxi’s rural economy, which traditionally thrived on flower and broccoli production.
- Throughout the Nagsiche River water basin, exotic species like eucalyptus and pine have wreaked havoc on the soil by sucking out tremendous amounts of water.
- Frustrated with a lack of assistance from the local government to curb the eucalyptus, 400 community members pooled together funds to purchase these 99 acres and turn them into an unofficial nature reserve.
- Over the past 15 years, some stretches of the Nagsiche River have seen their water flow decrease by 40 percent.

A spotty revival amid decline for China’s endemic leopards
- The North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) is one of nine leopard subspecies and an endemic to China.
- The cats’ population has shown signs of revival in certain parts of the country in recent years, according to conservation groups
- However, industrial development and infrastructure construction remain major threats to the integrity of the leopards’ habitat and conflicts with people over livestock in their mountainous territories are intense.

China’s first national park, an experiment in living with snow leopards
- Sanjiangyuan National Park is expected to open in 2020 as China’s first park in its new national park system.
- As many as 1,500 endangered snow leopards (Panthera uncia) live in the area. The cats are subject to poaching and persecution in retaliation for their predation on livestock, which are edging out their natural prey.
- The new park seeks to capitalize on the reverence many local Tibetan Buddhists have for wildlife, employing a conservation model that engages the public and attempts to ease tensions between people and predators.
- The new national park system is intended to create a more effective kind of protected area than currently exists in China.

New leaf-nosed bat uncovered amidst burning habitat in Venezuela
- Using genetic and morphologic comparisons, scientists uncovered a new leaf-nosed bat species they named Sturnia adrianae. The species inhabits montane forest in northern Venezuela and Colombia.
- The species is comprised of two subspecies, one of which is restricted to an isolated mountain range in northeastern Venezuela where human-caused fires are common.
- The study’s lead author recommends increasing conservation and scientific attention for the area to preserve bat habitat, safeguard water supplies, and help prevent landslides like those that recently killed at least 250 people in Mocoa, Colombia.

Despite population growth and management challenges, hope for forests in Ethiopia
- The country’s capital city of Addis Ababa, already home to about 3.4 million people, is expanding outward and impacting forestland in its periphery.
- A legacy of poor forest management has long plagued Ethiopia’s efforts to protect and manage indigenous tree species and the habitat in which they grow.
- Poverty is driving the exploitation of woodland resources such as eucalyptus, as the need for charcoal and firewood increases along with population growth.

Communities in Mexico step up to protect a disappearing forest
- Comprising around 1.9 million hectares in Mexico and Guatemala, the Lacandon is regarded as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. But Mexico’s Lacandon rainforest is experiencing significant deforestation activity, and the Guatemalan side of the ecosystem is even more affected.
- In Mexico, communities in and around the Lacandon are developing initiatives to help protect the forest through ecotourism.
- Movement leaders say they have seen success from their work in parts of the ecosystem, but they urge the need for institutionalization of their model and more collaboration with Guatemala to protect the Lacandon as a whole.

Environmental costs, benefits and possibilities: Q&A with anthropologist Eben Kirksey
- The environmental humanities pull together the tools of the anthropologist and the biologist.
- Anthropologist Eben Kirksey has studied the impact of mining, logging and infrastructure development on the Mee people of West Papua, Indonesia, revealing the inequalities that often underpins who benefits and who suffers as a result of natural resource extraction.
- Kirksey reports that West Papuans are nurturing a new form of nationalism that might help bring some equality to environmental change.

Saving fairy possums could imperil other Australian wildlife
- Fairy possums are dependent on montane ash forests in Victoria’s central highlands. But these forests are threatened by fire and logging.
- A severe fire season in 2009 led to a more than 40 percent decline in fairy possums.
- Protected area expansion is seen as one way to help fairy possums survive. But a recent study finds if reserves are expanded with solely the fairy possum in mind, other species could lose out because their habitats may not overlap.
- The researchers say their analysis technique could be used generally to more effectively plan protected areas.

Expedition sets out to explore isolated, mysterious forest in DRC
- Kabobo Massif is a 100-kilometer mountain range in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The area has been little-explored due to conflict.
- The expedition consists of researchers and filmmakers who will spend one month surveying wildlife in Kabobo Massif.
- Using new technology, they will analyze DNA in the field to determine species.
- They hope their survey will bring more protection to the area.

As forests in East Africa disappear, so does an industry of artisans
- At a Kenya-Tanzania border encampment of woodcarvers, there are just over three dozen carvers compared to 2,000 fifteen years ago.
- Woodcarvers say problems have been exacerbated by a crackdown on illegal logging and increased enforcement of taxes for wood imports at the border.
- Many carvers plan to leave the industry altogether, rather than try to survive on current low income.

Indigenous communities take the lead on conservation in Colombia
- Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountain range and the land around it has experienced heavy deforestation, and many of its endemic species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss.
- The Wiwa use traditional conservation and cultural practices to manage forests, and believe it is their purpose to act as environmental stewards.
- For around 20 years, local communities like the Wiwa have been buying up land around Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Natural National Park, aided by The Nature Conservancy.
- Satellite data indicate this may be helping prevent deforestation, with less tree cover loss within the Indigenous territory than outside of it.

China considers a huge national park for Amur tigers and leopards
- Endangered Amur tigers and Amur leopards are staging a modest recovery in China’s remote northeastern provinces. Over thirty tigers and some 42 leopards now roam the region’s forests.
- The big cats’ habitat remains threatened by human encroachment and experts say the amount of forest currently protected is insufficient to support their growing populations.
- The government of Jilin Province, where most of the big cats live, has proposed a massive new national park focused on the two species that would connect three existing protected areas.
- The park remains under consideration by the central government.

‘All they need is a head start’: reforesting India’s Western Ghats
- The Western Ghats mountain chain lines South India’s west coast and provides important habitat for many unique species. But development pressure has led to the loss of large areas of forest within and around the range.
- One area that has been particularly hard-hit is the Nilgiris District, in the state of Tamil Nadu. Two centuries of land conversion for timber, tea, and other plantations has displaced much of the region’s native forests and grasslands.
- A team of conservationists is hoping to reverse the deforestation by restablishing native vegetation on degraded land.
- However, the effort is not without its critics who say that it may be more effective to simply let forests come back by themselves.

Bolivian expedition discovers 1,000th bird species
- Madidi National Park is situated in northern Bolivia and is considered one of the most biodiverse protected areas in the world.
- Identidad Madidi is a two-year biological expedition currently surveying the flora and fauna of Madidi National Park.
- The 1,000th bird species – a dusky-tailed flatbill (Ramphotrigon fuscicauda) – was discovered through a recording of its call, and came as a surprise to the expedition’s ornithologist.

PHOTOS: On a Chinese mountain, an aging anti-poaching hero ponders the future
- Yu Jiahua, a 65-year old villager living on Jiuding Mountain in Sichuan province, was a skilled hunter when he was in his 20s.
- After an influx of outside poachers severely curtailed local wildlife populations, he and his brother began patrolling the mountain, confronting poachers and confiscating their rifles and snares.
- Eventually Yu convinced other villagers to help, establishing an organization that won outside acclaim and financial support.
- Wildlife on the mountain has rebounded, but finances remain thin and patrollers few. As Yu Jiahua ages, it is unclear who will take on his mission.

Making a living inside a reserve: an interview with village head Zou Huagang
- Longxi-Hongkou National Nature Reserve in China’s Sichuan province is part of an important habitat corridor for endangered giant pandas and home to numerous wildlife species, including leopards, golden snub-nosed monkeys, and takin.
- Villages in the area have benefitted from a recent boom in tourism, with the exception of the most remote village inside the reserve, Lianhe, where villagers continue to struggle to make a living.
- Lianhe village, with NGO help, set up forest patrols to protect wildlife and is developing an eco-tourism initiative in hopes of generating new income while maintaining its natural surroundings.

Can China’s first private nature reserve become truly sustainable?
- In 2012, when China’s first privately owned nature reserve was established, local villagers lost their forest-dependent livelihoods.
- Laohegou Nature Reserve has taken steps to help them find new ways to earn a living, hiring some and establishing a program to buy organic food from others.
- However, it hasn’t been enough to support them and today the reserve must take bold steps to help them earn a sustainable living and to secure its own long-term financial footing.
- Other private reserves set up since Laohegou may face similar challenges.

Chinese villagers turn from logging to forest patrols, bees, and fish
- Deprived of their main source of income after a logging ban went into effect, timber-dependent residents of Guanba valley turned to illegal hunting, logging, and harvesting, often at the expense of giant panda habitat.
- Since 2009, residents have worked to develop less destructive livelihoods, including beekeeping and fish rearing. They also formed a patrol team to combat illegal poaching and logging.
- Now they are adding new projects in hopes of making a living that is financially — and environmentally — sustainable.

China’s Wanglang panda reserve, once an ecotourism model, faces new threats
- Established in 1965, Wanglang National Nature Reserve is home to about 30 endangered giant pandas, as well as other rare wild animals.
- Timber-dependent communities near Wanglang, hard-pressed since logging restrictions were enacted in 1998, have turned to illegal poaching, logging, and collecting of wild mushrooms and herbs, often disturbing panda habitat and threatening the effective management of Wanglang reserve.
- After scrapping a successful ecotourism program in Wanglang, the local government is working quickly to expand mass tourism in a way that reserve officials say will threaten panda habitat.

Researchers unearth the surprising secret of India’s dancing frogs
- Dancing frogs of the Micrixalidae family (named for their unusual courtship behavior) are endemic to India’s Western Ghats.
- For years, no one could find Micrixalidae tadpoles, making them the only unknown tadpoles of any known frog family.
- Then, finally, researchers discovered them – living underground.

Expedition finds butterfly bonanza in Bolivian national park (PHOTOS)
- Identidad Madidi is currently in the midst surveying Madidi National Park’s diverse ecosystems for plants and animals.
- The expedition has registered many new records for the park, including several species new to science.
- Scientists on a multi-year expedition in Bolivia’s Madidi National Park have recorded nearly a thousand species of butterflies – with many more expected to come.

A new reserve for the world’s smallest deer
- The new reserve is called the Provincial Area for Conservation and Sustainable Use in the Eastern Mountain Range. It’s located in Ecuador’s Carchi Province and will provide official protection to 16,800 hectares of mountain forest.
- The region is home to a number of endangered species, as well as the headwaters to a major river that supplies water to downstream communities.
- The reserve garnered much support from conservation organizations, local residents, and the provincial government.

‘Bear-moving’ revamped: a better way to reduce conflict in the Himalayas?
- Asiatic black bears are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and are under threat from habitat loss and poaching.
- In northern India, bears come into conflict with people when they enter human communities to look for food. These bears are often relocated — or “translocated” — to nearby Dachigam National Park.
- However, bear scientists say translocated bears frequently try to find their way back, running into trouble on the way. They recommend a more multifaceted approach to bear translocation.

‘A critical gift’: Peru rejoices as a new national park is born
- The new park spans 1.3 million hectares of largely primary forest, and contains unique wildlife habitat and uncontacted indigenous communities.
- The declaration comes after nearly 10 years of struggle by conservation groups, scientists, and local communities for national park status for the region.
- National park status will confer more protection to Sierra del Divisor, stymieing the illegal logging, coca cultivation, and gold mining that has been growing stronger in recent years.

Eaten to extinction? India’s purple frog faces another threat
- Described in 2003, the Indian purple frog is facing heavy threats from habitat loss as its forests are converted to cropland.
- Researchers monitored part of its range for five years, finding that harvesting of tadpoles by local communities may also be taking a big toll on populations.
- But they say community outreach and education programs can help convince people to stop eating them.

New study argues ‘land sparing’ is better for the birds
- Land sharing vs. land sparing: scientists have been debating for decades whether it’s better to set aside huge blocks of wilderness and intensively farm the rest or create a more mosaic ecosystem where farms and forest coexist.
- This new study found forested land housed far more distinct bird families than those in small-scale farming communities, which may still contain a lot of species but not a lot of different groups.
- But critics say the study does not take into consideration future scenarios or migrations.

Climate change causing big shifts in tropical forests
- Over the last decade, tropical forests in northwestern Colombia have been shrinking and shifting directionally likely due to changing climatic conditions.
- The researchers warn this may spell doom for species with isolated ranges and nowhere else to go.
- The study’s findings are probably not isolated to South America, and that tropical forests around the world are shifting in response to climate change.

Rich forest diversity found in new Yunnan, China preserve

Lowland Forest profile characteristic of southern Yunnan Province’s threatened rainforests. Image Credit: Hua Zhu, 2008, Tropical Conservation Science. China’s southern Yunnan Province straddles the Myanmar border where the Mekong River flows, and the lowland tropics meet montane forests. This region is valued not only for its high biodiversity, but also its ability to support multiple […]
Scaling bottom-up conservation in Latin America

NCI’s buriti project helps local communities benefit while protecting areas of this wild palm , working to provide added value sales of palm fruit and extracts. Courtesy of NCI. One of the biggest complaints about nature conservation is the business is often a top-down affair, where decisions are made by officials and NGOs in distant […]
New bird uncovered in South American conflict region, researchers urge protection

On the border of Colombia and Venezuela lies a mountain range called Serranía de Perijá in which a small brown songbird is going about its day entirely unaware of what a stir it has just created in the world of ornithology. For many years, study skins of the bird languished in a dusty drawer in […]
Lost and found, then lost again? Recently rediscovered hummingbird faces extinction

The blue-bearded helmetcrest (Oxypogon cyanolaemus) is a spectacular hummingbird. It is aptly named for the blue streak of feathers on its chin and a pointed crest on its head resembling a knight’s helmet. Equally spectacular to the species’ physical appearance is its physical disappearance and reappearance. No one had seen a single living blue-bearded helmetcrest […]
Critically endangered bird gets new addition to its reserve

A pale-headed brush-finch (Altapetes pallidiceps)., one of the most endangered birds in the world. An unassuming brown bird, tiny both in body and population size, hovers on the edge of extinction as much of its habitat has been cleared for agriculture and its nests are parasitized by cowbirds. In response, conservation organizations created a reserve […]
Videos: new film series highlights bringing Gorongosa back to life

Tracking lions, photographing bats, collecting insects, bringing elephants home: it’s all part of a day’s work in Gorongosa National Park. This vast wilderness in Mozambique—including savannah and montane rainforest—was ravaged by civil war in the 1980s and 90s. However, a unique and ambitious 20-year-effort spearheaded by Greg Carr through the Gorongosa Restoration Project—and partnering with […]
Deforestation taking toll on nesting birds in Cameroon

New study finds habitat fragmentation may lead to increased nest predation The tropical montane forests of the Cameroon mountain ranges boast fertile volcanic soils, high biodiversity of grasses and non-woody plants, as well as many endemic bird species that can be found only in this high-altitude region. Yet, many of these endemic bird species may […]
One-two punch: farming, global warming destroying unique East African forests

A recent study examines the evolution of viper species in East Africa, highlighting the region’s mountaintop forests as among the most biodiverse in the world and calling for their protection. Atheris ceratophora enjoys a snack. Photo by Michele Menegon. East Africa is famous for its dry savannahs, sparse woodlands, and its “Big Five” animals: elephants, […]
Conflict-fueled deforestation, poaching in Assam continue despite truce

This article is the second in a two-part series that examines deforestation trends and drivers in Assam, India. Read the first part here. Northeastern India boasts nearly 44 percent of the country’s dense forests, and contains one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. However, the region lost approximately 548,440 hectares of tree cover—more […]
Disappearing oasis: northeastern India losing forests as people move in

This article is the first in a two-part series that examines deforestation trends and drivers in Assam, India. Read the second part here. Northeastern India is a distinct entity in many ways. The region is connected to the rest of the country by a narrow strip of Indian land, with a width of just 21 […]
Scientists uncover six potentially new species in Peru, including bizarre aquatic mammal (photos)

This potentially new lizard species was discovered on the last day of a survey in a cloud forest in Andean Peru. Photo: Luis Mamani. A group of Peruvian and Mexican scientists say they have uncovered at least six new species near South America’s most famous archaeological site: Machu Picchu. The discoveries include a new mammal, […]
In the shadows of Machu Picchu, scientists find ‘extinct’ cat-sized mammal

Rediscovered mammal had been slaughtered by the Inca hundreds of years ago The Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat come back to life! Photo by: Roberto Quispe. Below one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, scientists have made a remarkable discovery: a living cat-sized mammal that, until now, was only known from bones. […]
Google Earth spurs discovery of a ‘new’ chameleon species

At around 7-8 cm long, the Mount Mabu pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon maspictus) is a relatively large species. Its name comes from the Latin for ‘painted man’, reflecting the striking green, blue and yellow coloration of breeding males. Image credit: William R. Branch, caption courtesy of Fauna & Flora International Google Earth has spurred the discovery […]
Rare bird paradise protected in war-torn Colombian mountain range (photos)

The Perijá brush-finch has only recently been considered a species in its own right. Photo by: Trevor Ellery. A coalition of conservation groups have established a new protected area in one of Latin America’s most neglected ecosystems: the Colombian-side of the Serranía de Perijá mountain range. Following decades of bloody conflict and rampant deforestation, experts […]
Is REDD+ bad for wildlife? New study says lowland forest protection bias unfair, urges change

Deforestation often shunted to highlands Carbon-centric conservation programs, such as REDD+ (Reduce CO2 Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), seek to lower greenhouse gas emissions by preventing forest loss through protection of certain areas of forest that have high carbon content. This is determined by estimating the aboveground woody biomass, which is, basically, how thick the […]
‘Exciting implications’ for conservation: new technology brings the lab to the field

Advancements allow on-the-ground genetic analysis, can be used by scientists and novices alike For decades, genetic analysis has been limited to the laboratory domain. It required heavy, expensive equipment, and careful, sterile techniques that would have been impossible to carry out effectively outdoors. And so, the researchers who collected DNA in the field would have […]
Mountain forests store 40 percent more carbon than expected

It’s not easy to measure carbon in mountain forest ecosystems. For one thing, climbing into these forests can be difficult, exhausting, and even treacherous. For another, many mountain rainforests are almost constantly blanketed by clouds—hence the term “cloud forest”—making it problematic to measure above-ground carbon storage from the air or satellite. But a new review […]
Mountain thermostats: scientists discover surprising climate stabilizer that may be key to the longevity of life on Earth

What do mountains have to do with climate change? More than you’d expect: new research shows that the weathering rates of mountains caused by vegetation growth plays a major role in controlling global temperatures. Scientists from the University of Oxford and the University of Sheffield have shown how tree roots in certain mountains “acted like […]
Photos: Weird aquatic lizard discovered in mountain streams of Peru

Male Potamites erythrocularis stream lizard. Photo by Alessandro Catenazzi. A ‘new’ species of lizard has been described from the cloud forests of Peru’s Manu National Park, reports SERNANP, the Peruvian National Park Service. Potamites erythrocularis, an aquatic lizard that lives in cold streams at an elevation of of 900-2000 meters, was discovered during herpetological studies […]
287 amphibian and reptile species in Peruvian park sets world record (photos)

Ameerega macero poison dart frog in Manu N.P. Photo by Alessandro Catenazzi. It’s official: Manu National Park in Peru has the highest diversity of reptiles and amphibians in the world. Surveys of the park, which extends from high Andean cloud forests down into the tropical rainforest of the Western Amazon, and its buffer zone turned […]
Key highland habitat for rare condor protected in Ecuador

Andean Condor. Photo by Francisco Sornoza. Conservationists have acquired a 2,800-ha (7,000-acre) property that completes the acquisition of some 108,000 ha of key Andean Condor habitat in Ecuador. The lands will serve as a buffer zone for the Antisana Ecological Reserve, an area that protects 140,000 ha of high-altitude forests, canyons, and páramo grasslands around […]
Red toad discovered in the upper reaches of the Amazon

Adult female Rhinella yunga from the Rio Huatziroki area. Photo by Jiří Moravec Scientists have described a previously unknown species of dead-leaf toad in the Peruvian Andes. The species, which is a master of camouflage, is named Rhinella yunga after the Yungas, the montane forest ecoregion it inhabits. It lives in leaf litter, where it […]
New mountain porcupine discovered in Brazil (photos)

In Brazil’s Baturite Mountains, scientists have uncovered a new species of prehensile-tailed porcupine, according to a new paper in Revista Nordestina de Biologia. Dubbed, the Baturite porcupine (Coendou baturitensis), the new species was discovered when scientists noticed significant differences between it and its closest relative, the Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis). The name prehensile-tailed refers to […]
Sky islands: exploring East Africa’s last frontier
- The montane rainforests of East Africa are little-known to the global public.
- The Amazon and Congo loom much larger in our minds, while the savannas of East Africa remain the iconic ecosystems for the region.
- However these ancient, biodiverse forests – sitting on the tops of mountains rising from the African savanna – are home to some remarkable species, many found only in a single forest.
- A team of international scientists – Michele Menegon, Fabio Pupin, and Simon Loader – have made it their mission to document the little-known reptiles and amphibians in these so-called sky islands, many of which are highly imperiled.

Forests increasingly limited to steeper slopes

Forests are increasingly limited to steep slopes as mankind continues to clear lowland areas suitable for agriculture and urban areas, finds a new study published in Nature Communications. The trend has significant implications for global biodiversity. As human societies have expanded, they have been remarkably efficient at transforming Earth’s vegetation, including forests, into expanses of […]
Climate change could kill off Andean cloud forests, home to thousands of species found nowhere else

One of the richest ecosystems on the planet may not survive a hotter climate without human help, according to a sobering new paper in the open source journal PLoS ONE. Although little-studied compared to lowland rainforests, the cloud forests of the Andes are known to harbor explosions of life, including thousands of species found nowhere […]
Giant hot pink slug in Australia becomes conservation symbol (photo)

Hot pink slugs that emerge after rainy nights have become a conservation symbol for alpine forests on Australia’s Mount Kaputar, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. The slugs, which measure up to 20 centimeters (8 inches), are only found on Mount Kaputar, a volcano that last erupted 17 million years ago. They spend most of their […]
Saving Gorongosa: E.O. Wilson on protecting a biodiversity hotspot in Mozambique

If you fly over the Great African Rift Valley from its northernmost point in Ethiopia, over the great national parks of Kenya and Tanzania, and follow it south to the very end, you will arrive at Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique. Plateaus on the eastern and western sides of the park flank the lush […]
Featured video: local communities successfully conserve forests in Ethiopia

A participatory forest management (PFM) program in Ethiopia has made good on forest preservation and expansion, according a recent article and video interview (below) from the Guardian. After 15 years, the program has aided one community in expanding its forest by 9.2 percent in the last decade, while still allowing community access to forest for […]
Peruvian night monkey threatened by vanishing forests, lost corridors

Adult Peruvian night monkey. Photo by: Jean Paul Perret/NPC. The Peruvian night monkey (Aotus miconax) is one of the world’s least known primates, having never been studied in the wild–until now. Found only in the cloud forests of northern Peru, a group of scientists with Neotropical Primate Conservation and the National University of Mayor San […]
Forests in Kenya worth much more intact says government report

Loita hills forest in Kenya. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Kenya’s forests provide greater services and wealth to the nation when they are left standing. A landmark report by The Kenyan Government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) addresses the importance of forests to the well-being of the nation, putting Kenya among a pioneering […]
Wolves, mole rats, and nyala: the struggle to conserve Ethiopia’s highlands

Gaysay Grasslands in Bale Mountains National Park. Photo courtesy of the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS). There is a place in the world where wolves live almost entirely off mountain rodents, lions dwell in forests, and freshwater rolls downstream to 12 million people, but the place—Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains National Park—remains imperiled by a lack of legal […]
Photos: new mammal menagerie uncovered in remote Peruvian cloud forest

Possible new species of night monkey in the Aotus genus. Photo by: Alexander Pari. Every year scientists describe around 18,000 new species, but mammals make up less than half a percent of those. Yet mammal surprises remain: deep in the remote Peruvian Andes, scientists have made an incredible discovery: a rich cloud forest and alpine […]
Featured video: camera traps find rare, mountain animals in Sumatra
In May of this year, Dutch filmmaker Marten Slothouwer and his team trudged up Sumatra’s northern-most mountains with video camera equipment in hand, hoping to capture rare and cryptic species for the world to see. Already the camera trapping initiative, dubbed Eyes on Leuser, has taken incredible footage in the region’s imperiled lowland rainforest, but […]
Scientists name new snake species to criticize mine plans in Panama (photos)

New snail-eating snake from Panama: Sibon noalamina. Non-venomous snail-eating snakes sport bright colors to mimic poisonous snakes as a defense. Photo © Sebastian Lotzkat. While scientists increasingly name new species after celebrities in order to gain much-needed attention for the world’s vanishing biodiversity, researchers describing a new snake species from Panama have taken a different […]
Pictures: Bolivian park may have the world’s highest biodiversity

A female blue crowned manakin (Lepidothrix coronata) is one of over a thousand known bird species in Madidi National Park. Photo by: Mileniusz Spanowicz/WCS. With over 90 species of bat, 50 species of snake, 300 fish, 12,000 plants, and 11 percent of the world’s bird species, Madidi National Park in Bolivia may be the world’s […]
Private reserve safeguards newly discovered frogs in Ecuadorian cloud forest

The Las Gralarias glass frog is the world’s newest glass frog. It was discovered by Carl Hutter on the Reserva las Gralarias, after which the researcher subsequently named the new amphibian. Photo by: Jaime Garcia. Although it covers only 430 hectares (1,063 acres) of the little-known Chocó forest in Ecuador, the private reserve of las […]
Bizarre new rodent discovered in Indonesia has only 2 teeth

A rodent unlike any other: Paucidentomys vermidax. Photo from: Esselstyn et al. The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is a workshop of bizarre evolutionary experiments. Think of the babirusa, pig-like species with tusks that puncture their snouts; or the maleo, a ground-bird that lays its eggs in geothermal heated sand; or the anoa, the world’s smallest […]
King of the jungle: lions discovered in rainforests

Female lion peers through the thick foliage of a montane rainforest in Ethiopia. Photo by: Bruno D’Amicis/NABU. Calling the African lion (Panthera leo) the ‘king of the jungle’ is usually a misnomer, as the species is almost always found in savannah or dry forests, but recent photos by the Germany-based Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union […]
Beautiful new bird discovered in Peruvian cloud forest

Sira barbet (Capito fitzpatricki). Photo by: Michael G. Harvey. Four years ago in a remote cloud forest in Peru’s Cerros del Sira mountain range, three recently graduated students from Cornell University discovered a never-before-recorded species of black, white, and scarlet bird. Now described in the scientific journal, The Auk, the bird has been dubbed the […]
Forest cover falls 9% in East Africa in 9 years

Forest in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Forest cover in East Africa has dropped by 9.3 percent from 2001-2009, according to a new paper published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. Looking at 12 countries in the region, the scientists found that, worryingly, forests were particularly hard hit near protected […]
New mammal discovered in Indonesia

Christine’s Margareta rat. Photo by: Alessio Mortelliti/Sapienza University. Researchers have discovered a new species of rodent in Indonesia’s Mekongga Mountains, reports the Jakarta Globe. The new rodent, Christine’s Margareta rat (Margaretamys christinae), is only the fourth in the genus Margaretamy, all of which are found on the island of Sulawesi. The new mammal’s discoverer, Alessio […]
Google Earth used to discover unknown forest in Angola, scientists find it full of rare birds

The forests of Mount Moco were once considered the largest montane forests left in Angola, until researchers discovered more forsts in the Namba Mountains. Photo courtesy of Google Earth. An expedition, followed up by some computer hunting on Google Earth, has discovered large remnants of old growth forest, including thriving bird communities, in the mountains […]

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia