topic: Population

topic: Population

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What drives and halts tropical deforestation? Analyzing 24 years of data
- Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 320 studies covering a period of 24 years, to identify the key drivers of tropical deforestation.
- Deforestation is driven largely by agriculture and cattle ranching, building roads, expanding cities into forests, and population growth.
- Factors halting deforestation include steeper, less accessible terrain, stronger protections for parks and reserves, Indigenous land management, commodity certification programs, and payments for ecosystem services.
- Researchers say they hope the study can be “a resource to guide policies and management toward actions that help reverse deforestation.”

Can community payments with no strings attached benefit biodiversity?
- A recent study published in the journal Nature Sustainability examines the idea of a “conservation basic income” paid to community members living in or near key areas for biodiversity protection.
- The authors argue that unconditional payments could help reduce families’ reliance on practices that could threaten biodiversity by providing financial stability and helping them weather unexpected expenses.
- But the evidence for the effectiveness of these kinds of cash transfers is scant and reveals that they don’t always result in outcomes that are positive for conservation.

Human migration to Nepal’s tiger capital adds to conservation challenges
- Chitwan district in central Nepal is home to the eponymous national park that’s come to symbolize the country’s success in growing its tiger population.
- But the district’s human population is also growing, at a rate far higher than the national average, driven by migrants seeking better health services and other urban amenities.
- Conservationists have raised concerns that the growing human presence in the area will pose additional challenges to conservation efforts and put a strain on natural resources such as forests, rivers and land.
- Some warn of an increase in human-tiger conflict, especially involving migrants who don’t share the same traditional knowledge that Indigenous residents have of coexisting alongside the big cats.

Changing circumstances turn ‘sustainable communities’ into deforestation drivers: Study
- Subsistence communities can drive forest loss to meet their basic needs when external pressures, poverty and demand for natural resources increase, says a new study unveiling triggers that turn livelihoods from sustainable into deforestation drivers.
- The impact of subsistence communities on forest loss has not been quantified to its true extent, but their impact is still minimal compared to that of industry, researchers say.
- Deforestation tends to occur through shifts in agriculture practices to meet market demands and intensified wood collecting for charcoal to meet increasing energy needs.
- About 90% of people globally living in extreme poverty, often subsistence communities, rely on forests for at least part of their livelihoods—making them the first ones impacted by forest loss.

Fears for academic freedom as Indonesia doubles down on scientists’ ban
- Indonesian academics continue to question the government’s justification for banning five foreign scientists who called out the official narrative that the country’s orangutan populations are increasing.
- The initial ban made nebulous accusations that the scientists had “negative intentions” that could “discredit” the government, but the environment ministry now claims they broke the law — without specifying how.
- Indonesian scientists campaigning for academic freedom say the government’s move is a form of anti-science policy and power control over the production of knowledge.
- The environment ministry has refused to engage with either the foreign scientists or the academic freedom caucus, with researchers saying this is part of a larger trend of independent science being constrained.

Is having fewer kids the answer to the climate question? | Problem Solved
- The human population is expected to reach 8 billion literally any day now, and nearly 10 billion people some time this century.
- With the planet also swiftly approaching 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) of warming above pre-industrial levels, activists and scientists are urging any solution to keep temperatures from shooting higher into the danger zone.
- Research suggests that the single biggest thing anyone can do to reduce their impact on the environment, and the climate, is to choose to have one less child. But that simple solution is complicated by thorny economic, ethical, social and political issues.
- On this episode of Problem Solved, we unpack the research, and examine this sensitive and controversial question: Is choosing collectively to have fewer children really a viable solution to our climate change and/or resource overuse crises?

Cattle boom in Brazil’s Acre spells doom for Amazon rainforest, activists warn
- Government data show the number of cattle in Acre, a state in the Brazilian Amazon, increased by 8.3% in 2020, putting the state’s herd size at more than 3.8 million, or four times its human population.
- The cattle industry is a key driver of Acre’s economy, and aligns with the state’s aims of promoting and expanding agricultural development within the region.
- However, activists say they’re concerned the increase will lead to further environmental damage in the state, which this year recorded its highest deforestation rate in 18 years.
- Experts say Acre’s cattle growth is currently not sustainable and will lead to further deforestation in the Amazon unless sustainable solutions are encouraged and implemented.

When North America locked down, birds filled the gap left by people
- Of the 82 bird species considered in an analysis, the distribution of 66 changed during pandemic-related shutdowns, and most of them grew in abundance in and around human settlements.
- The researchers gathered more than 4 million records from eBird, a community science program that relies on contributions from volunteers, both amateur and specialist birders.
- The study in Science Advances captured how sensitive birds are to human activities and highlighted how small adjustments could make areas used by humans welcoming to other species.

As populations grow, how will thirsty cities survive their drier futures?
- The world’s rapidly expanding cities are on a collision course with climate change, presenting unprecedented challenges to municipal and national governments as they work to continue providing residents with access to safe and sufficient water.
- Increasingly, calls are made to rethink the way we develop urban watersheds and the way we live in them — with water sourcing, transport, use and reuse planning key to the process. One approach, water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) entails a complete reimagining of the role and use of water in urban areas.
- WSUD embraces the water cycle, and considers the entire watershed where cities are located. It uses green infrastructure such as permeable pavements, green roofs and rain gardens, to greatly reduce stormwater runoff. Conscious design allows water to be recycled and reused repeatedly for various purposes. Waste is greatly reduced.
- Some cities are already changing their development pathways to be more resilient to inevitable future climate extremes, with Singapore and Cape Town leading the way. Future water stress can be overcome, but work needs to start now before extreme weather events, including mega droughts and floods, hit.

Building back Miami’s Biscayne Bay: Do natural solutions hold hope?
- A massive fish kill in August 2020 was a red flag that historically troubled Biscayne Bay in Miami had passed a biodiversity health tipping point.
- Years of scattered efforts and mixed results of various conservation actors working toward the bay’s recovery have begun to fade in favor of more collaborative, inclusive efforts.
- Scientists and citizens are now focusing their efforts on creative ways to restore biodiversity in Biscayne Bay.

Deforestation intensifies in northern DRC protected areas
- Satellite data from the University of Maryland are showing recent spikes in deforestation activity in the northern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- Forest loss appears to be affecting protected areas, including Okapi Wildlife Reserve and Bili-Uéré.
- Major drivers of deforestation in the DRC include logging, charcoal production, agriculture and informal mining, which sources say are aided by government inaction.

Corals are struggling, but they’re too abundant to go extinct, study says
- A study has found that most reef-building coral species are not in imminent danger of being wiped off the planet because they are abundant and occupy vast ranges.
- It looked at 318 species across 900 reefs in the Pacific Ocean, from Indonesia to French Polynesia, and found half a trillion coral colonies in the region.
- The study authors are calling for a revision of the IUCN Red List, according to which a third of all reef-building corals face some degree of extinction risk.
- At the same time the new research underlines the fact that local extinctions and the loss of ecological function are real and present threats.

David Attenborough’s ‘witness statement’ for the planet (commentary)
- By the time Sir David Attenborough had reached his 50s, the human population had doubled in size from when he was born, multiplying our species’ impacts on the planet.
- Famed for documentary films that reveal the natural world in startling detail and beauty, he’s also received criticism for these depictions, which some see as hiding the true level of the global environment’s startling decay.
- In a new documentary, A Life on our Planet, Attenborough expresses the dire status of the planet and points to solutions.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

The best news of 2020? Humanity may never hit the 10 billion mark
- A new study in the Lancet finds our global population may never reach 10 billion.
- A population slowdown will pose challenges, but it could also give us a better chance of avoiding ecological collapse.
- Population slowdown is not a reason for concern, but rather for celebration. Thank birth control and women’s education.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Population and consumption: challenges we can win (commentary)
- The coronavirus pandemic has sparked greater awareness of humanity’s role in creating conditions for infectious diseases to flourish by increasing interactions with pathogens through exploitation of wild animals and encroachment on their habitat, crowding into dense cities, and undermining the health of ecosystems that sustain us.
- Enrique G. Ortiz, Senior Program Director at the Andes Amazon Fund, argues that if we want to increase the resilience of the planet to future disasters, whether they be pandemics or damage wrought by climate change, we need to address two critical societal issues: population and consumption.
- Ortiz says that progress is possible in both areas. Population is expected to peak mid-century, but shifting consumption patterns will require profound changes in how we go about our lives.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

An armada of turtles, caught on drone cam, flocks to the Great Barrier Reef
- New drone video shows thousands of endangered green turtles swimming ashore to Raine Island on the outer edges of the Great Barrier Reef.
- Researchers captured this video to help survey the nesting turtle population, and in the process demonstrated that this technique is more effective than manually counting turtles from boats. They recorded 64,000 turtles nesting on Raine Island this season.
- There’s been an increase in the number of nesting green turtles around the world, including Raine Island, likely due to conservation efforts and fishing moratoriums.
- Team members at the Raine Island Recovery Project are working to restore the island’s beaches to ensure that green turtles can continue to safely nest there.

Our growing footprint, wildlife extinctions, and the importance of contraception (commentary)
- We’re not exactly treading lightly on planet Earth. A new study finds more than 20,000 land animal species are experiencing intense pressure from the global human footprint. It’s no wonder that last year the United Nations said that a million species may face extinction in the coming decades.
- Wildlife extinctions have been a fact of life on our planet for eons. But the extinction rates we’re seeing now are about 1,000 times higher than the background rate. Humans have never witnessed these kinds of large-scale die-offs — and it’s our own fault.
- Human population growth is a big part of the equation — we’ve more than doubled our numbers on the planet since 1970. We can start to address that by reducing unplanned pregnancies and promoting reproductive rights and contraception access for all.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

For Indonesia’s Kendari Bay, silting is a death sentence
- Researchers say the Kendari Bay, on the island of Sulawesi, is rapidly disappearing.
- The main culprit is land clearing for development projects around the bay and the rivers the feed it. The land clearing releases sediment into the water that eventually settles on the bottom of the bay.
- The bay may be decades from filling up completely, but studies suggest hope of saving its plant and animal life may already be lost.

Snow leopard population overestimated in Nepal? DNA study suggests it may be
- Researchers conducted a large-scale survey of potential snow leopard habitat in Nepal to re-estimate the species’ population density using the non-invasive technique of collecting environmental DNA from scat samples combined with standard genetic analyses.
- This method enabled the researchers to sample a larger, more representative, area than many previous studies, often conducted in prime leopard habitats; they also found that they could obtain reliable DNA from scat samples.
- Previous studies on which conservation policies have been based may have over-estimated the big cat’s population. The researchers say similar studies are needed to more accurately estimate the population of snow leopards in Nepal and 11 other range countries.

Guatemala: Proposed new park on indigenous land treads fine ethical line
- Community leaders and environmental groups are working to expand protected areas around a mountain cloaked in rare cloud forest in central Guatemala that is home to several indigenous communities.
- There are many pitfalls to avoid: Conservation efforts have often historically overlooked the needs of local communities, excluding them from project planning and imposing disagreeable regulations on land use that threaten traditional ways of life.
- The NGO leading the effort is taking a two-pronged approach: One entails propping up local communities to reduce their dependence on the forest without altering their customs, and committing to getting their input into the protected area proposal.
- But the other entails buying up land in advance of lobbying congress for a new protected area. Because this part of their plan has all the earmarks of traditional “fortress conservation,” some outside experts are expressing concern.

Congo Basin rainforest may be gone by 2100, study finds
- Satellite data indicate the Congo Basin lost an area of forest larger than Bangladesh between 2000 and 2014.
- Researchers found that small-scale farming was the biggest driver, contributing to around 84 percent of deforestation.
- This kind of farming is primarily done for subsistence by families that have no other livelihood options.
- The study finds that at current trends, all primary rainforest in the Congo Basin could be cleared by the end of the century.

Tropical deforestation now emits more CO2 than the EU
- According to a new analysis, tropical forest loss currently accounts for 8 percent of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions. If tropical deforestation were a country, it would be the third-biggest emitter globally – ranking just below the U.S. and significantly higher than the EU.
- Between 2015 and 2017, forest-related emissions were 63 percent higher than the average for the previous 14 years, rising from 3 billion to 4.9 billion metric tons per year.
- Researchers say this increase can be traced to three main factors: A growing global middle class, a population boom in Sub-Saharan Africa, and fires and hurricanes that are becoming more intense and destructive due to climate change.
- The analysis finds tropical forests could potentially provide 23 percent of the climate change mitigation needed to keep warming under 2 degrees by 2030. But researchers say increased government intervention and funding are needed in order to more effectively protect them.

The tropics are in trouble, warn scientists
- Plants and animals in the tropics are threatened by a range of issues, warn researchers writing in the journal Nature.
- The tropics are facing a mélange of well-documented human-driven threats: destruction of forests and marine ecosystems, overexploitation by the likes of industrial fishing fleets and commercial hunters, the spread of diseases and invasive species, and the growing impacts of climate change, which stress both ecosystems and their inhabitants.
- These threats aren’t likely to diminish soon. Human population continues to rise, but growing affluence means that it is increasingly outpaced by resource consumption, which acts a multiplier in terms of humanity’s planetary footprint.
- To stave off this bleak future, the researchers call for “major improvements in local and global governance capacity and a step-change in how environmental objectives are integrated into broader development goals.”

Warmer sea surface temperatures imperil the survival of juvenile albatross: Study
- New research finds that increased sea surface temperatures can affect the survival of juvenile albatross during their first year at sea and lead to reduced population growth rates.
- Ecologists in the US and France examined how climate change and functional traits — attributes like body size and foraging habits that define a species’ role in the broader ecosystem — impact population dynamics of the black‐browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) by studying 200 breeding pairs of the long‐lived, migratory seabirds at Kerguelen Island in the southern Indian Ocean.
- Changes in sea surface temperature during the breeding season were found to have little impact on black-browed albatross population growth rates, but higher sea surface temperatures in late winter did have a significant impact because of their effect on the survival of juveniles, according to the study.

Range countries to lead new estimate of global snow leopard population as downgraded threat status remains controversial
- The newly announced Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards initiative, called PAWS for short, will be overseen by the Steering Committee of the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP), which is comprised of the Environment Ministers of all twelve snow leopard range states.
- The snow leopard had been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1986 until late last year, when its threat status was downgraded to Vulnerable — ostensibly welcome news that ultimately proved quite controversial.
- In a recent commentary for the journal Science, snow leopard researchers questioned the scientific merit of the data the IUCN relied on in downgrading the threat status of snow leopards. GSLEP says it categorically rejects any change in snow leopards’ threat status until PAWS is complete and a scientifically reliable population estimate is available.

‘Adaptation Bangladesh: Sea Level Rise’ film shows how farmers are fighting climate change
- A recent documentary looks at how Bangladeshi farmers are adapting to rising sea levels.
- The film documents how Bangladeshi farmers are keeping their farms from flooding by building floating gardens made of water hyacinth and bamboo.
- The film won the Best Short Film at the New York WILD Film Festival, which begins on Feb. 22.
- Mongabay interviewed cultural anthropologist Alizé Carrère to learn more about why she chose to focus on Bangladesh and why this story is important.

Scientists discover 18 new spider-hunting spiders from Madagascar
- Researchers have added 18 new species to the assassin spider family, upping the total number of known Eriauchenius and Madagascarchaea species to 26.
- Assassin spiders, also known as pelican spiders, have special physical and behavioral adaptations that allow them to hunt other spiders.
- The new species were discovered in Madagascar’s forests and through examination of previously collected museum specimens.
- Madagascar is currently experiencing high levels of deforestation. Researchers say the loss of Madagascar’s forests is putting the new assassin spiders – as well as many other species – at risk of extinction.

IUCN, UN, global NGOs, likely to see major budget cuts under Trump
- President Donald Trump has proposed cutting foreign aid funding to nations and inter-governmental organizations by 32 percent, about $19 billion – cuts the U.S. Congress has yet to vote on. Voting has been delayed since September, and is next scheduled for 19 January, though another delay may occur.
- One inter-governmental organization on Trump’s cutting block is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) best known for its global Red List, the go-to resource for the status of endangered species planet-wide. Over the past four years the U.S. contributed between 5 and 9 percent of the IUCN’s total framework funding, and 4 to 7 percent of its programmatic funding.
- Currently it remains unclear just how much, or even if, the IUCN budget will be slashed by Congress, leaving the organization in limbo. Another organization potentially looking at major cuts under Trump is TRAFFIC, the international wildlife trade monitoring network.
- Also under Trump’s axe are the UN Population Fund ($79 million), the Green Climate Fund ($2 billion, which no nation has stepped up to replace), and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ($1.96 million annually, funding already replaced by other nations for 2018).

To feed a growing population, farms chew away at Madagascar’s forests
- In Madagascar, farmers are cutting down forests and burning them to make way for rice cultivation.
- The practice is traditional but now illegal because of the harm it causes to natural areas. Many species are already threatened with extinction due to forest loss.
- With the country’s population expected to double by 2060, the pressure is likely to intensify.

Trump family planning policy may increase population, hurt women and environment
- In January, U.S. President Donald Trump reinstated the global gag rule, first introduced under Ronald Reagan. It requires foreign NGOs receiving U.S. global family planning assistance to certify that they will not “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning” with non-U.S. funds.
- According to Marie Stopes International (MSI), the gag rule could result in a minimum of 2.2 million abortions from 2017-2020, with 21,700 women dying as a result. And that only accounts for services lost from MSI.
- Research shows that the gag rule is also likely to increase population growth in the developing world by reducing the ability of organizations to provide family planning services. This could endanger the environment in a variety of ways. For example, population growth puts more pressure on forests and wildlife.
- A lack of family planning can lead to large families, with women spending more of their time on childrearing, largely leaving them out of any active role in community sustainability and conservation projects, as well as education programs that train them in sustainable livelihoods.

Pursuing a decent life for all on a sustainable planet (commentary)
- Mounting evidence reminds us how human actions have begun changing the climate and forced an awareness of global warming’s impact on the quality of human life. That awareness will be top of mind for participants in the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly taking place in New York City this week.
- General Debate in the assembly this year considers the theme of “Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet.”
- That topic deliberately invites discussion about the inter-connectedness of all the world’s people and our dependence on a shared planet if we are to thrive and prosper.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors.

Why we can’t lose hope: Dr. David Suzuki speaks out
- Suzuki on hope: “I can certainly see that people in the environmental movement are being disheartened… [but] we’ve all got to do our little bit… Actually doing something invigorates you.”
- On politics: “In many ways, the election of Trump was dismaying, but it has galvanized Americans to oppose him and to get on with reducing carbon emissions.”
- The big problem: “[T]he values and beliefs we cling to are driving our destructive path… You can’t change the rules of Nature. Our chemistry and biology dictate the way we have to live.”
- The solutions: “We need to enshrine environmental protection in our Constitution… [A]s consumers, we’ve got a big role to play, [and] we’ve also got to be… much more active in the political process.”

On poaching in South Africa, education “has saved more wildlife than any guard with a gun”
- Kruger National Park in South Africa is one of the largest and best-known parks for seeing large animals in the world.
- However, as many as three rhinos a day are poached for their horns in and around Kruger despite massive anti-poaching efforts.
- Anti-poaching advocates near Kruger say hope lies in basic education and jobs in tourism, which they aim to provide.

Singapore statement on International Day of the Tropics: infrastructure deficit must be met sustainably (commentary)
- The majority of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities are in the Tropics, and will be most affected by environmental challenges like climate change.
- The landmark report State of the Tropics in 2014 outlined the full range of these challenges.
- As the world celebrates the second UN International Day of the Tropics on June 29, 2017, a new report on one of the great needs, Sustainable Infrastructure in the Tropics, is launched in Singapore.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Scrapping Nigerian superhighway buffer isn’t enough, say conservation groups
- The superhighway project, intended to stimulate the Cross River state economy, will no longer include a 20-kilometer-wide buffer zone along its 260-kilometer length.
- The NGO Wildlife Conservation Society said minimizing the destruction necessary for the buffer zone was an important step, but that it will still disrupt communities and wildlife.
- Representatives of the Cross River governor, Ben Ayade, told the media that they intended to move forward with the superhighway despite the criticism.

Fish for all? The fish-free fishmeal challenge
- The aquaculture industry is growing faster than the human population, at about eight percent each year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- About 20 percent of the world’s fish goes to aquaculture, depleting wild-caught forage fish such as anchovies and krill to provide essential oils and protein for the development and growth of these cultivated foods.
- The first team to sell 100,000 metric tons of fish-free feed or, if that threshold isn’t reached, that sells the most feed by the end of the contest, on September 15, 2017, will be named the winner of the F3 challenge.

Human impact on environment may be slowing down: new study
- While human pressure continues to expand across our planet, the overall rate of its increase is slower than the rates of human population and economic growth, a new study has found.
- However, nearly three-fourths of the earth’s land surface still faces intense, rapidly increasing human pressures.
- Regions that are rich in biodiversity, and have a high proportion of threatened species, are under high human pressure, the study found.

Understanding the ghost of the mountain
- Researchers are learning more about the biology, ethology and conservation status of elusive snow leopards, thanks to advances in satellite telemetry, camera traps, fecal genetics and GIS.
- New, albeit disputed, estimates suggest the snow leopard population is greater than previously thought, but the species is under accelerating threat from poaching, overhunting of prey, retaliatory killing by herders, mining, roads and climate change.
- The protection of the snow leopard, its prey and its highland habitat must remain global priorities to ensure this big cat’s long-term conservation.

A dangerous, illegal necessity: charcoal reform comes to Virunga
- Like elsewhere in Africa, charcoal has become a big problem for Virunga National Park. Illegal production in the park has been high in recent years as producers try to meet the demand from the millions of impoverished people who depend on charcoal as their only source of fuel.
- This demand has led to the destruction of vast swaths of Virunga’s forest – as well as the deaths of gorillas and other wildlife that depend on it.
- Eco-Makala, a project funded through REDD+, is seeking to reduce the impact of charcoal on the park by establishing tree plantations around it and distributing cookstoves that burn charcoal more efficiently. In the process, the project hopes to ease deforestation-driven CO2 emissions.

Conservation and birth control: a controversial mix?
- Some 215 million women in the Global South have an unmet need for modern contraception, with many of them living in remote communities that may lack basic health care services.
- To meet some of this need and reduce pressure on the environment, some conservation groups have started providing health and family-planning services.
- But critics, including some women’s rights advocates, contend that it’s difficult for organizations to ethically mix conservation and family planning.

Live slow, decline fast: ‘speed of life’ may explain tuna population declines

It is well understood that large-bodied species of mammals, fish, and birds are especially susceptible to steep population declines and even extinction due to environmental pressures and overhunting. But new research shows that time-related traits, such as growth rate and longevity, might be even more important, at least for fish. A team led by researchers […]
Study confirms what scientists have been saying for decades: the sixth mass extinction is real and caused by us

The Panamanian golden toad is classified as “Extinct in the Wild” on the IUCN Red List. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Humans are wiping species off the plant at a rate at least 100 times faster than historical levels, providing further evidence that we’re in the midst of a sixth great extinction, concludes a new […]
Human impacts are ‘decoupling’ coral reef ecosystems

Researchers argue that predictability of ecosystem could be sign of health A largely pristine coral reef in the remote Pacific on an island largely unpopulated by humans. Photo by: Brian J. Zgliczynski. There is a growing consensus among scientists of all stripes that we have entered the age of the Anthropocene, or the epoch of […]
Without draconian measures, global population boom is ‘locked in’

Little chance of reaching ‘sustainable population’ in next century According to recent projections, the number of people living on Earth could exceed ten billion by the end of this century. Now, a new study has examined what it would take to reverse that unrelenting growth and achieve a sustainable population that is less threatening to […]
‘Too many people’: Philippine island being deforested despite extensive protections

Almost completely covered in Protected Areas, Palawan lost 6.4 percent of its tree cover in just over a decade About an hour and a half plane ride from the Philippine capital Manila is a long, narrow island home to about a quarter of all the animal species found in the country. So unique is this […]
World population could surpass 13 BILLION by the end of the century

Highly unlikely that global population will peak this century Crowd from above. Photo by: Public Domain. By 2100, over 13 billion people could be walking the planet. That’s the conclusion of a new study published today in Science, which employed UN data to explore the probability of various population scenarios. The new study further demolishes […]
‘Canary in the cornfield’: monarch butterfly may get threatened species status

Species declined 90 percent in 20 years Monarch butterflies were once a common sight throughout the North American heartland. In Mexico, where they overwinter, single trees would often be covered in thousands. But declines in milkweed – their caterpillars’ only source of food – have led to a 90 percent decline in monarch numbers. Now, […]
Challenging the ‘tragedy of the commons’: new documentary explores how humans and nature can coexist (VIDEO)

The documentary film, “48 Cantones: The Mayan Forest,” created by brothers Thomas & Julian Moll-Rocek, explores the Mayan Cosmovision and tells the story of the 48 Cantones in their own words. It serves as a reminder of humanity’s diverse cultural heritage, and offers hope that the world can find a balance with nature. We scrambled […]
The threat of traditional medicine: China’s boom may mean doom for turtles

Growing population and traditional mindset fueling demand for wild turtles, driving some species towards extinction For thousands of years turtles have been used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments and diseases. Originally published in the journal Radiata and recently republished HerpDigest David S. Lee and Liao Shi Kun write, “[In […]
Blue-footed boobies on the decline, plummeting sardine stocks may be to blame

Reasons for Galapagos sardine decline not known, scientists suspect overfishing or natural cycle The iconic blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) of the Galapagos Islands has suffered a population decline of 50 percent in less than 20 years, according to research conducted by biologists from Wake Forest University. The study, which appeared in the journal Avian Conservation […]
Booming populations, rising economies, threatened biodiversity: the tropics will never be the same

For those living either north or south of the tropics, images of this green ring around the Earth’s equator often include verdant rainforests, exotic animals, and unchanging weather; but they may also be of entrenched poverty, unstable governments, and appalling environmental destruction. A massive new report, The State of the Tropics, however, finds that the […]
Unrelenting population growth driving global warming, mass extinction

Scientists need to start speaking out on overpopulation Suburb development in Colorado Springs, Colorado U.S. The population of the U.S. is currently growing at around 0.7 percent annually. Photo by: David Shankbone. It took humans around 200,000 years to reach a global population of one billion. But, in two hundred years we’ve septupled that. In […]
Is the banteng making a comeback? Researchers find new population in Cambodia

Local communities playing a big role in protecting forest habitat Researchers have discovered a new population of banteng (Bos javanicus), a species of wild cattle, in northwestern Cambodia. The discovery was announced June 4, 2014 by Fauna and Flora International (FFI), and efforts are underway to implement conservation initiatives to protect the area and its […]
By the bones: herring populations were superabundant before commercial fisheries

Scientists analyzed almost half a million fish bones to shed light on the population history of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in the North Pacific Ocean. Their paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reveals a decline of unprecedented scale. It suggests that while the abundance of Pacific herring does […]
Newly discovered snails at risk of extinction

A team of Dutch and Malaysian scientists has recently completed one part of a taxonomic revision of Plectostoma, a genus of tiny land snails in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, according to their article published recently in ZooKeys, it seems that these animals may be going extinct as fast as they are being discovered. “Many of these […]
Hope in the Heart of Darkness: huge population of chimpanzees discovered in the DRC

After weeks of slogging through thigh deep mud on hired motorbikes, passing dozens of bushmeat vendors offering everything from okapi skins to monkey meat to chained chimpanzee orphans, Dr. Thurston C. Hicks and his colleagues had finally arrived at their goal: they were sitting in a clearing in the legendary Gangu Forest, one of the […]
It’s in the genes: researchers use DNA to learn about tapir behavior

Tapirs are notoriously hard to find and directly observe in the wild. Because of this, little is known about how species behave in their natural habitats. But in a study published in PLOS ONE, researchers found a way around this complication by using tapir DNA to shed light on their behavior. The team sequenced and […]
20 million people face hunger in Africa’s Sahel region

The UN and partner humanitarian groups today called on the international community to spend $2 billion to avoid a famine in Africa’s Sahel region, which includes nine nations along the southern edge of the Sahara. Although the Sahel is chronically prone to food insecurity, the situation has dramatically worsened as the UN estimates 20 million […]
Over 75 percent of large predators declining

The world’s top carnivores are in big trouble: this is the take-away message from a new review paper published today in Science. Looking at 31 large-bodied carnivore species (i.e those over 15 kilograms or 33 pounds), the researchers found that 77 percent are in decline and more than half have seen their historical ranges decline […]
David Attenborough: someone who believes in infinite growth is ‘either a madman or an economist’

Sir David Attenborough has said that people living in poorer countries are just as concerned about the environment as those in the developed world, and “exporting environmentalism” isn’t necessarily an “uphill struggle”. The veteran broadcaster said ideas about protecting the natural world were not unwelcome in less developed nations—but added that wealthier countries should work […]
Humanity consumes this year’s resources 133 days too early

Today is Earth Overshoot Day, according to the Global Footprint Network and WWF’s Living Planet Report, which means the seven billion people on Earth have consumed the globe’s renewable resources for the year. In other words for the next 133 days humanity will be accumulating ecological debt by overdrawing on our collective resources. “Simply put, […]
Foodies eat lab-grown burger that could change the world

Yesterday at a press event in London, two food writers took a bite into the world’s most unusual hamburger. Grown meticulously from cow stem cells, the hamburger patty represents the dream (or pipedream) of many animal rights activists and environmentalists. The burger was developed by Physiologist Mark Post of Maastricht University and funded by Google […]
The neglected giraffe: world’s tallest animal in need of conservation assistance

The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th—July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed.
Crop yields no longer keeping up with population growth

If the world is to grow enough food for the projected global population in 2050, agricultural productivity will have to rise by at least 60%, and may need to more than double, according to researchers who have studied global crop yields. They say that productivity is not rising fast enough at present to meet the […]
Building a new generation of local conservationists: how improving education in Uganda may save one of the world’s great forests

The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th—July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed. Students learn about sustainable farming. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth […]
Fertility in Africa could push world population over 11 billion

The global population could grow by another 4 billion people by the end of the century if fertility rates in Africa don’t decline, according to a new report by the United Nations. Currently around 1.1 billion people live on the continent, but that number could skyrocket to 4.2 billion (a 380 percent increase) by 2100, […]
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 […]
Over 500 scientists warn we ‘are causing alarming levels of harm to our planet’

A new consensus statement by 520 scientists from around the world warns that global environmental harm is putting at risk the happiness and well-being of this and future generations. “Based on the best scientific information available, human quality of life will suffer substantial degradation by the year 2050 if we continue on our current path,” […]
Eat insects to mitigate deforestation and climate change

A new 200-page-report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urges human society to utilize an often-ignored, protein-rich, and ubiquitous food source: insects. While many in the industrialized west might turn up their noses at the idea of eating insects, already around 2 billion people worldwide eat over 1,900 species of insect, according to […]
The river of plenty: uncovering the secrets of the amazing Mekong

Home to giant catfish and stingrays, feeding over 60 million people, and with the largest abundance of freshwater fish in the world, the Mekong River, and its numerous tributaries, brings food, culture, and life to much of Southeast Asia. Despite this, little is known about the biodiversity and ecosystems of the Mekong, which is second […]
An insidious threat to tropical forests: over-hunting endangers tree species in Asia and Africa

A fruit falls to the floor in a rainforest. It waits. And waits. Inside the fruit is a seed, and like most seeds in tropical forests, this one needs an animal—a good-sized animal—to move it to a new place where it can germinate and grow. But it may be waiting in vain. Hunting and poaching […]
Scientists: stop treating population growth as a ‘given’ and empower women

Climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, water scarcity, and land issues: almost all of the world’s environmental problems are underpinned by too many people inhabiting a finite planet. A new study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B warns that overpopulation—combined with over-consumption—is threatening to push the entire globe into “a collapse of global […]
A second look at ‘Fewer, Richer, Greener: The End of the Population Explosion and the Future for Investors’
Fewer, Richer, Greener: The End of the Population Explosion and the Future for Investors (November/December 2012, Vol. 68, No. 6: 20–37), by Mr. Laurence B. Siegel provides us with a commentary of population explosion and green investment opportunities over the long-run. In the investment advice portion of Fewer, Richer, Greener: The End of the Population […]
Paradigm shift needed to avert global environmental collapse, according to author of new book The Blueprint: Averting Global Collapse

Scientists and experts are increasingly concerned that we are entering an age of ecological collapse with untold impacts for future generations. In Daniel Rirdan’s new book, The Blueprint, he outlines how to avoid this fate. Author, global strategist, and speaker Daniel Rirdan set out to create a plan addressing the future of our planet. His […]
Forests, farming, and sprawl: the struggle over land in an Amazonian metropolis

An interview with Karimeh Moukaddem, a part of our on-going Interviews with Young Scientists series. Typical farmhouse outside of Parauapebas. Photo by: Karimeh Moukaddem. The city of Parauapebas, Brazil is booming: built over the remains of the Amazon rainforest, the metropolis has grown 75-fold in less than 25 years, from 2,000 people upwards of 150,000. […]
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 […]
Illegal hunting threatens iconic animals across Africa’s great savannas, especially predators

Lion with a snare around its neck. Photo by: Frederike Otten. Courtesy of Panthera. Bushmeat hunting has become a grave concern for species in West and Central Africa, but a new report notes that lesser-known illegal hunting in Africa’s iconic savannas is also decimating some animals. Surprisingly, illegal hunting across eastern and southern Africa is […]
One in eight people suffer from malnutrition worldwide

Girl in village in Madagascar. One of the world’s poorest countries, it has been estimated that about 70 percent of Malagasy people suffer from malnutrition. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In a world where technology has advanced to a point where I can instantly have a face-to-face conversation via online video with a friend in […]
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 […]
Cowards at Rio?: organizations decry ‘pathetic’ agreement

A Malagasy girl. While Madagascar faces widespread deforestation and erosion, it is estimated that 70 percent of its people suffer from malnutrition. The Rio+20 Summit is attempting to tackle both environmental degradation and poverty, but civil groups say the agreement falls far short of what is needed. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. As world leaders […]
Scientists: if we don’t act now we’re screwed

Aerial view of the infamous Río Huaypetue gold mine in the Peruvian Amazon. This remote but massive gold mine is known for the destruction of primary rainforest, widespread mercury pollution, and child and slave labor. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Scientists warn that the Earth may be reaching a planetary tipping point due to a […]
Consumption, population, and declining Earth: wake-up call for Rio+20

Suburban sprawl in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The average American’s ecological footprint is the fifth highest in the world. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Human society is consuming natural resources as if there were one-and-a-half Earths, and not just a single blue planet, according to the most recent Living Planet Report released today. If governments and societies […]
Educating the next generation of conservation leaders in Colombia

Guardians of Nature students take a field trip to snorkel in coral reefs. Photo courtesy of: Miguel Hernandez. Colombia’s northern departments of Cordoba and Bolivar are home to an abundance of coral reefs, estuaries, mangroves forests, and forests. Rich in both marine and terrestrial wildlife, local communities depend on the sea and land for survival, […]
Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2011

Victories won by activists around the world tops our list of the big environmental stories of the year. In this photo: a young woman is placed in handcuffs and arrested for civil disobedience against the Keystone XL Pipeline in the U.S. In all, 1,252 people were arrested in the two week long action. Photo by: […]
11 challenges facing 7 billion super-consumers

The Turkana tribe of northern Kenya are buffeted by constant drought and food insecurity, which recent research says may be worsening due to climate change. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about Halloween this year is not the ghouls and goblins taking to the streets, but a baby born somewhere in […]
Five ways to feed billions without trashing the planet

Soy fields meet Amazon rainforest in Brazil. A new study argues that the destruction of rainforests for agriculture must stop. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. At the end of this month the UN predicts global population will hit 7 billion people, having doubled from 3.5 billion in less than 50 years. Yet even as the […]
UN calls for secure contraceptives as wildlife group hands out Endangered Species condoms

Sometime at the end of this month, the seventh billion person on Earth will be born: that’s seven billions mouths to feed, seven billion throats to water, and seven billion bodies to keep warm. But the population continues to rise: experts believe the global human population could hit 10 billion by 2050. A UN meeting […]
Balancing agriculture and rainforest biodiversity in India’s Western Ghats

An Asian elephant wanders through tea fields in the Western Ghats. Photo © Kalyan Varma. When one thinks of the world’s great rainforests the Amazon, Congo, and the tropical forests of Southeast Asia and Indonesia usually come to mind. Rarely does India—home to over a billion people—make an appearance. But along India’s west coast lies […]
Protected areas not enough to save life on Earth

Sprawl in the desert: urban sprawl spreading out from Las Vegas. A new study finds that to save life on Earth, society must confront human population and overconsumption of resources. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Since the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 protected areas have spread across the world. Today, over 100,000 protected […]
Richard Leakey: ‘selfish’ critics choose wrong fight in Serengeti road

To read more about Tanzania’s recent announcement related to the Serengeti road: Unpaved road through Serengeti to progress. The controversial Serengeti road is going ahead, but with conditions. According to the Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ezekiel Maige, the road will not be paved and it will be run by the Tanzanian park […]
How do tourists view the Serengeti?

Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, an immense expanse of East African savanna, is a world famous tourist destination because of its plentiful megafauna, particularly the great migrating herds of wildebeest. Yet despite huge visitor numbers and the annual revenue of millions of US dollars, local poverty and increasing population continue to imperil the reserve. A […]
Nobel laureates: ‘we are transgressing planetary boundaries that have kept civilization safe for the past 10,000 years’

Last week the 3rd Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability concluded with participants—including 17 past Nobel Prize winners and 40 other experts—crafting and signing the Stockholm Memorandum. The document calls for emergency actions to tackle human pressures on the Earth’s environment while ensuring a more equitable and just world. “Science makes clear that we are […]
US southern forests face bleak future, but is sprawl or the paper industry to blame?

White Marsh Clearcut, outside of the Green Swamp, North Carolina, US. Photo by: Abigail Singer, courtesy of Dogwood Alliance. More people, less forests: that’s the conclusion of a US Forest Service report for forests in the US South. The report predicts that over the next 50 years, the region will lose 23 million acres (9.3 […]
From the Serengeti to Lake Natron: is the Tanzanian government aiming to destroy its wildlife and lands?

Thousands of lesser flamingoes (Phoenicopterus minor) crowd in Lake Bogoria in Kenya. Nearly all of these flamingoes will breed in Tanzania’s Lake Natron, now a proposed site for soda ash mining. Photo by: Steve Garvie. What’s happening in Tanzania? This is a question making the rounds in conservation and environmental circles. Why is a nation […]
What’s behind the 85% decline of mammals in West Africa’s parks?

A recent, well-covered study found that African mammals populations are in steep decline in the continent’s protected areas. Large mammal populations over forty years have dropped by 59% on average in Africa [read an interview on the study here] and by 85% in west and central Africa, according to the study headed by Ian Craigie, […]
India government: forest target ‘unrealistic’

Not long ago much of India was covered in vast and varied forests. Today just over one-fifth (21%) of the nation remains under forest cover, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) but an ambitious plan hopes to bring the forest cover percentage to 33%, or one third of the country. However that goal […]
Dari Kamboja ke Kalifornia: 10 hutan yang paling terancam di dunia

Keterangan pers dari Conservation International awalnya memasukkan Selandia Baru sebagai negara dengan hutan paling terancam kedua di dunia, padahal sebenarnya posisi itu diduduki oleh hutan di Kaledonia Baru Hutan-hutan di Asia-Pasifik adalah yang paling terancam, termasuk 5 dari 10 hutan paling terancam di dunia. Populasi yang sedang tumbuh, pertanian yang sedang berkembang, komoditi seperti minyak […]
Parks key to saving India’s great mammals from extinction

Tigress photo captured at Nagarahole National park by camera trap. Copyright: K Ullas Karanth/WCS. An interview with Krithi Karanth, a part of our Interviews with Young Scientists series. Krithi Karanth grew up amid India’s great mammals—literally. Daughter of conservationist and scientist Dr. Ullas Karanth, she tells mongabay.com that she saw her first wild tigers and […]
The ocean crisis: hope in troubled waters, an interview with Carl Safina

The view from Lazy Point. Photo courtesy of Carl Safina. Being compared—by more than one reviewer—to Henry Thoreau and Rachel Carson would make any nature writer’s day. But add in effusive reviews that compare one to a jazz musician, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Darwin, and you have a sense of the praise heaped on Carl […]
Paradise & Paradox: a semester in Ecuador

The author being approached by sealions on Playa Mann. Photo by: Rachel Lynch. A semester abroad is an opportunity to live a sort of compacted life. In a few short months you seem to gain the experience of a much longer time and make enough memories to fill years. I recall a weeklong trip to […]
From Cambodia to California: the world’s top 10 most threatened forests

The press release from Conservation International originally listed New Zealand as possessing the world’s 2nd most threatened forests when in fact it is New Caledonia’s forests. Asia-Pacific forests are the most endangered, including 5 of the top 10 threatened forests. Growing populations, expanding agriculture, commodities such as palm oil and paper, logging, urban sprawl, mining, […]
Africa’s vanishing wild: mammal populations cut in half

An interview with Ian Craigie. The big mammals for which Africa is so famous are vanishing in staggering numbers. According to a study published last year: Africa’s large mammal populations have dropped by 59% in just 40 years. But what is even more alarming was that the study only looked at mammal populations residing in […]
Meat producers should replace cattle with insects, scientists say

Scientists in the Netherlands have discovered that insects produce significantly less greenhouse gas per kilogram of meat than cattle or pigs. Their study, published in the online journal PLoS One, suggests that a move towards insect farming could result in a more sustainable – and affordable – form of meat production. The rearing of cattle […]
Census: 308.7 million people live in the United States

308,745,538 people were living in the United States on April 1, 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The results represent a 9.7 percent increase since 2000, the smallest decadal increase since the 1930s. Nevertheless, America’s growth rate remains among the highest among wealthy countries, partly a product of immigration. The census found the largest […]
Lack of schools, trade drive exodus from remote parts of the Amazon

Lack of school access and higher costs of trade are driving an exodus from remote areas in the Amazon, a new study published in Population & Environment reveals. The research sheds light on to why people are leaving remote forest areas. It follows an earlier publication indicating that migration away from remote rural areas may […]
Jane Goodall and David Attenborough: overpopulation must be addressed

In a recent interview with The Telegraph world famous primatologist and conservationist, Jane Goodall, and wildlife documentarian Sir David Attenborough agreed that overpopulation must be addressed to protect the global environment. “There are three times as many people on earth as when I first started making television programs all of whom require food and a […]
It’s not just size that matters: how population affects climate change

As the world’s population increases, a surge in the number of older adults and the movement of people from the countryside to crowded cities will significantly affect levels of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, according to a sweeping study published in the 11 October issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A […]
Undergrads in the Amazon: American students witness beauty and crisis in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador

Although most Americans have likely seen photos and videos of the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, they will probably never see it face-to-face. For many, the Amazon seems incredibly remote: it is a dim, mysterious place, a jungle surfeit in adventure and beauty—but not a place to take a family vacation or spend a honeymoon. […]
Humanity consuming the Earth: by 2030 we’ll need two planets

Too many people consuming too much is depleting the world’s natural resources faster than they are replenished, imperiling not only the world’s species but risking the well-being of human societies, according to a new massive study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), entitled the Living Planet Report. The report finds that humanity is currently consuming […]
Farms in the sky, an interview with Dickson Despommier

To solve today’s environmental crises—climate change, deforestation, mass extinction, and marine degradation—while feeding a growing population (on its way to 9 billion) will require not only thinking outside the box, but a “new box altogether” according to Dr. Dickson Despommier, author of the new book, The Vertical Farm. Exciting policy-makers and environmentalists, Despommier’s bold idea […]
Berantas Pemburu, Lakukan Penyamaran, Selamatkan Hewan Liar: Semua dalam Satu Hari Kerja Arief Rubianto

Arief Rubianto akan berbicara di Wildlife Conservation Network Expo di San Francisco, 3 Oktober 2010. Arief Rubianto, kepala satuan anti-perburuan di Pulau Sumatera, Indonesia, mendeskripsikan kehidupan sehari-harinya dengan ini: “seperti Mission Impossible”. Tidak percaya pada saya? Rubianto telah bertarung melawan penebang liar, baku tembak dengan pemburu, berhasil bertahan selama 4 hari di hutan tanpa makanan, […]
Fighting poachers, going undercover, saving wildlife: all in a day’s work for Arief Rubianto

Arief Rubianto will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 3rd, 2010. Arief Rubianto, the head of an anti-poaching squad on the Indonesian island of Sumatra best describes his daily life in this way: “like mission impossible”. Don’t believe me? Rubianto has fought with illegal loggers, exchanged gunfire with […]
Rivers worldwide in peril: society treats symptoms, ignores causes

Dams, agricultural runoff, pesticides, sewage, mercury pollution from coal plants, invasive species, overconsumption, irrigation, erosion from deforestation, wetland destruction, overfishing, aquaculture: it’s clear that the world’s rivers are facing a barrage of unprecedented impacts from humans, but just how bad is the situation? A new global analysis of the world’s rivers is not comforting: the […]
Dapatkah Pembayaran Konservasi Hutan Hancurkan Pertanian Organik?

Program pembayaran karbon hutan seperti mekanisme pengurangan emisi dari penggundulan hutan dan degradasi (REDD) yang diajukan dapat memberikan tekanan pada teknik pertanian “ramah-alam liar” dengan meningkatkan kebutuhan untuk mengintensifkan produksi pertanian, sebuah makalah yang diterbitkan bulan Juni dalam Conservation Biology memperingatkan. Makalah tersebut, ditulis oleh Jaboury Ghazoul dan Lian Pin Koh of ETH Zurich dan […]
Could forest conservation payments undermine organic agriculture?

Forest carbon payment programs like the proposed reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism could put pressure on “wildlife-friendly” farming techniques by increasing the need to intensify agricultural production, warns a paper published this June in Conservation Biology. The paper, written by Jaboury Ghazoul and Lian Pin Koh of ETH Zurich and myself in […]
Nation’s wealth does not guarantee green practices

Brazil, the US, and China have biggest overall environmental impact. Developing countries are not the only ones that could benefit from a little environmental support. Wealthier countries may need to ‘know themselves’ and address these issues at home too. According to a recent study in the open access journal PLoS ONE, wealth may be the […]
If Madagascar’s biodiversity is to be saved, international community must step up

The international community’s boycott of environmental aid to Madagascar is imperiling the island’s unique and endangered wildlife, according to a new report commissioned by the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau of Africa. International aid to the desperately poor nation slowed to a trickle after a government coup last year, including a halt on […]
UK’s Royal Society to undertake ‘comprehensive review’ of population growth

The UK’s Royal Society has announced that it will begin a major study into the impacts of human population. A largely taboo topic for decades, the Royal Society wants to provide a ‘comprehensive review of the science’ of population growth, according to a press release. The study, due in 2012, will focus especially on sustainable […]
PBB Peringatkan Harga Makanan Dapat Meningkat hingga 40 Persen
Sebagian harga makanan pokok dapat naik hingga sebanyak 40 persen di dekade ke depan, menurut laporan baru oleh Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) PBB. The Agricultural Outlook 2010-19 menemukan bahwa harga makanan global gandum dan padi-padian dapat melompat antara 15 dan 40 persen dari tingkat 1997-2006, setelah krisis pangan dunia di tahun 2007. Minyak sayur […]
Forest loss occurring around Kibale National Park in Uganda

A new study in Tropical Conservation Science finds that Kibale National Park in Uganda has retained its tropical forest despite pressures of a dense human population and large-scale clearing activities just beyond the border of the park. Home to twelve primate species, including Chimpanzees, the park is known as a safe-haven for African primates. Although […]
Conservation catch-22: do nature reserves attract human settlers?

Does the creation of protected areas draw people to settle on their fringes, negatively impacting ecosystems and biodiversity? According to an opinion piece in Tropical Conservation Science the answer to this question is to date unknown. According to a number of studies population has grown around many tropical protected areas, but researchers have yet to […]
UN warns food prices could rise by 40 percent

Some staple food prices could rise by as much as 40 percent in the next decade, according to a new report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Agricultural Outlook 2010-19 found that global food prices of wheat and coarse grains could jump between 15 and 40 percent from 1997-2006 levels, prior to […]
Anglican Church says overpopulation may break eighth commandment

In a bold move for a Christian church, Australia’s Anglican Church has linked overpopulation to the eighth commandment given to Moses on Mount Sinai: ‘Thou shall not steal’, according to The Age. The General Synod (the governing body of Australia’s Anglican Church) has released a discussion paper that states “out of care for the whole […]
A total ban on primary forest logging needed to save the world, an interview with activist Glen Barry

Radical, controversial, ahead-of-his-time, brilliant, or extremist: call Dr. Glen Barry, the head of Ecological Internet, what you will, but there is no question that his environmental advocacy group has achieved major successes in the past years, even if many of these are below the radar of big conservation groups and mainstream media. “We tend to […]
Collapsing biodiversity is a ‘wake-up call for humanity’

A joint report released today by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) finds that our natural support systems are on the verge of collapsing unless radical changes are made to preserve the world’s biodiversity. Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Ahmed Djoghlaf, called the bleak report “a […]
World failing on every environmental issue: an op-ed for Earth Day

The biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, the deforestation crisis: we are living in an age when environmental issues have moved from regional problems to global ones. A generation or two before ours and one might speak of saving the beauty of Northern California; conserving a single species—say the white rhino—from extinction; or preserving an ecological […]
Jane Goodall renews her faith in nature and humanity during the “Gombe 50” anniversary, An interview with Dr. Jane Goodall

Celebrating 50 years of pioneering research and sharing an inspiring vision for our future, world-renowned primatologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall renews her faith in nature and humanity during the “Gombe 50” anniversary. 2010 marks a monumental milestone for the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and its founder, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE. Fifty years ago, Goodall, […]
What happened to China?: the nation’s environmental woes and its future

China has long been an example of what not to do to achieve environmentally sustainability. Ranking 133rd out of 146 countries in 2005 for environmental performance, China faces major environmental problems including severe air and water pollution, deforestation, water-issues, desertification, extinction, and overpopulation. A new article in Science discusses the complex issues that have led […]
Depopulation may be harming the Amazon rainforest

Urbanization may be having unexpected impacts in the Amazon rainforest by leaving forest areas vulnerable to exploitation by outsiders, report researchers writing in Conservation Letters. Conducting field surveys during the course of 10,000-kilometers of travel along remote Amazon rivers, Luke Parry of Lancaster University found that a sharp decrease in rural habitation has not been […]
Women in Bangladesh help biodiversity with homegardens

Overpopulated, largely poor, and environmentally degraded, the nation of Bangladesh has known its share of woes. Yet even in face of struggles, including a forest loss of over 90 percent, the women of Bangladesh are aiding the country’s struggling people and biodiversity through the establishment of some 20 million homegardens. Long-neglected by the government and […]
Will it be possible to feed nine billion people sustainably?

Sometime around 2050 researchers estimate that the global population will level-out at nine billion people, adding over two billion more people to the planet. Since, one billion of the world’s population (more than one in seven) are currently going hungry—the largest number in all of history—scientists are struggling with how not only to feed those […]
Could space technology save our planet?
A new book, Paradise Regained: the Regreening of Earth argues that the solutions to the world’s current environmental crises—including climate change—could be lying far beyond our planet. “As a scientist and an advocate for space development, I believe that those that are in the environmental movement and space advocates should be working together to help […]
Record year for CO2 emissions, even with economic slowdown

Wealthy nation’s demand for manufactured goods helps drive emissions growth. 8.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide was emitted into the earth’s atmosphere in 2008, a growth of 2 percent despite the economic crisis. This averages out to each person contributing a record high of 1.3 tons of carbon, according to a report in the journal […]
“Money is not a problem,” palm oil CEO tells conservationists during speech defending the industry
- Earlier this month at a colloquium to implement wildlife corridors for orangutans in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Dr. Yusof Basiron, the CEO of Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), told conservationists and primate experts that the palm oil industry was ready to fund reforestation efforts in the corridors.
- “We can raise the money to replant [the corridors] and keep contributing as a subsidy in the replanting process of this corridor for connecting forests,” Basiron said in response to a question on how the palm oil industry will contribute.
- “Money is not a problem.”

Kenya’s pain, part two: decades of wildlife decline exacerbated by drought
- Not many years ago if you were planning a trip to Africa to see wildlife, Kenya would be near the top of the list, if not number one.
- Then violent riots in late 2007 and early 2008 leaving a thousand dead tarnished the country’s image abroad.
- When calm and stability returned, Kenya was again open for tourism, and it’s true that most travelers were quick to forget: articles earlier this year announced that even with the global economic crisis Kenya was expecting tourism growth.
- However, a new disaster may not be so quickly overcome.

Kenya’s pain: famine, drought, government ambivalence cripples once stable nation

Part one in a two part look at the crisis in Kenya. The next article will focus on how the drought is impacting wildlife. Kenya was once considered one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s success stories: the country possessed a relatively stable government, a good economy, a thriving tourist industry due to a beautiful landscape and abundant […]
Alleviating poverty and saving biodiversity are inherently linked argue scientists

Twenty-nine scientists argue in Science today that the world will not be able to lift up the world’s poor unless it also addresses global biodiversity loss. They say that the same underlying problems—exploitation of resources, unsustainable overconsumption, climate change, population growth—are exacerbating global poverty and the extinction of species. “Action is urgently needed to identify […]
Saving gorillas by bringing healthcare to local people in Uganda, an interview with Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

How can bringing healthcare to local villagers in Uganda help save the Critically Endangered mountain gorilla? The answer lies in our genetics, says Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, wildlife veterinarian and director of Conservation through Public Health (CTPH). “Because we share 98.4% genetic material with gorillas we can easily transmit diseases to each other.” Therefore, explains Kalema-Zikusoka […]
Economists, scientists warn that world crises require new order of international cooperation and enforcement

A group of environmental scientists and economists warn that under current governing models the number and scale of human-caused crises are “outrunning our ability to deal with them”. The researchers, writing in Science, say that “energy, food and water crises, climate disruption, declining fisheries, ocean acidification, emerging diseases and increasing antibiotic resistance are examples of […]
World population set to reach 7 billion in two years

Despite declining birth rates in some developed countries, the world population is still growing—and fast. A new study by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) finds that the human population will hit a new milestone of seven billion people by 2011. The number will be reached just twelve years after the planet hit 6 billion people […]
Meeting food and energy demands by mid-century will be a challenge, says report

Meeting food and energy demands in a world where human population is expected to reach 9 billion by mid-century will require a range of approaches that increase the sustainability of agricultural production, reports a new assessment from Deutsche Bank’s Climate Change Advisors (DBCCA). The report, titled “Investing in Agriculture: Far-Reaching Challenge, Significant Opportunity: An Asset […]
Record hunger: one billion people are going hungry worldwide

A new estimate by the UN FAO estimates that one billion people are currently going hungry: the highest number in history. Largely exacerbated by the global economic crisis, the number of the world’s hungry has risen by 100 million people. The economic crisis has led to more hunger due to lower wages and layoffs worldwide. […]
What is the crop productivity and environmental impact of too much or too little fertilizer?

While the use of synthetic fertilizer has greatly increased agricultural production globally—helping to feed a global population that is not slowing down—it has brought with it high environmental costs. Fertilizer runoff has polluted many coastal regions creating ‘dead zones’ where the ocean is starved of oxygen by the influx of nitrogen. Synthetic fertilizers have also […]
Rich countries buy up agricultural land in poor countries

Over two-and-half million hectares in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; half a million hectares in Tanzania; and a quarter of a million hectares in Libya: these figures represent just some of the recent international land deals where wealthy countries buy up land in poorer nations for food, and sometimes biofuel, production. The controversial trend […]
UN: Population growth rates fall to 1.1 percent in Asia-Pacific

The population growth rate in the Asia-Pacific region has dropped to 1.1 percent, according to the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2008, compiled by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The 1.1 percent growth rate is the lowest in the developing world. The study found a 0.5 […]
Chimpanzee population plummets 90 percent in supposedly strong region
Chimp populations continue to decline in Africa. A new survey of our closest relatives in the Cote D’Ivoire found that the population fell from an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 individuals to a paltry 800 to 1,200, a decline that took place in less than twenty years. Perhaps most troubling about this new survey is Cote […]
Group devoted to cutting human population receives boost from David Attenborough

Legendary filmmaker, broadcaster, and conservationist, David Attenborough has become a patron of the group Optimum Population Trust (OPT). The organization’s goal is to use education and policy to lower the world’s population. “I’ve seen wildlife under mounting human pressure all over the world and it’s not just from human economy or technology – behind every […]
Sustainable farming is the only way to feed the planet going forward

Rural depopulation to have biodiversity impacts
Rural depopulation to have biodiversity impacts Rural depopulation to have biodiversity impacts mongabay.com December 1, 2008
Continued focus on economic growth will doom the planet say ecologists

Continued focus on economic growth will doom the planet Continued focus on economic growth will doom the planet mongabay.com October 16, 2008
There is enough water for everyone provided it is well-managed and distributed

There is enough water for everyone provided it is well-managed and distributed There is enough water for everyone provided it is well-managed and distributed Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com August 21, 2008 An increasingly-popular view of our future is an exponentially thirsty world where billions lack access to fresh water, leading to widespread famine and wars over […]
No longer a fan of Earth Day

Thoughts following Earth Day 2008 As It Stands in May 2008 After April 22nd of this year, I am no longer a fan of Earth Day. It has become a strange pseudo-holiday that allows individuals, governments, corporations, and the media to focus a minuscule spotlight on our environmental crises, and then breathe a sigh of […]
More people now live in cities than in rural areas

More people now live in cities than in rural areas More people now live in cities than in rural areas mongabay.com February 27, 2008 By the end of 2008, half of the world’s 6.7 billion people will live in urban areas, according to a report released today by the United Nations. The 2007 Revision of […]
Despite fire risk, more Americans building near forests

Despite fire risk, more Americans building near forests Despite fire risk, more Americans building near forests mongabay.com October 29, 2007 While much of the world is seeing an urbanization trend, U.S. housing density around national forests is expected to rise by 2050, reports a study from the U.S. Forest Service. The shift could put more […]
Asians played larger role in colonization of Europe than Africans
Asians played larger role in colonization of Europe than Africans Asians played larger role in colonization of Europe than Africans mongabay.com August 6, 2007 Humans with Asian origins played a larger role than those from Africa in colonizing Europe millions of years ago, reports a paper published in the early online edition of the journal […]
Rural population decline may not slow deforestation

Rural population decline may not slow deforestation Rural population decline may not slow deforestation mongabay.com June 3, 2007 A new paper shoots down the theory that increasing urbanization will lead to increasing forest cover in the tropics. Writing in the July issue of the journal Biotropica, Sean Sloan, a researcher from McGill University in Montreal, […]
World population to peak at 9.2 billion in 2050

World population to peak at 9.2 billion in 2050 World population to peak at 9.2 billion in 2050 mongabay.com March 13, 2007 World population is expected to reach 9.2 billion by 2050 according to a new study by the United Nations. Virtually all growth will occur in developing countries, with their population growing from 5.4 […]
Human ecological footprint to grow 34% by 2015 finds study

Consumption, population drive environmental problems, not urbanization or life expectancy finds study Human ecological footprint to grow 34% by 2015 finds study Consumption, population drive environmental problems,not urbanization or life expectancy Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com February 8, 2007 Population size and affluence are driving environmental degradation according to a new study published in the current […]
Just how bad is the biodiversity extinction crisis?

A debate erupts in the halls of conservation science In recent years, scientists have warned of a looming biodiversity extinction crisis, one that will rival or exceed the five historic mass extinctions that occurred millions of years ago. Unlike these past extinctions, which were variously the result of catastrophic climate change, extraterrestrial collisions, atmospheric poisoning, […]
By 2030 AIDS could be leading global cause of illness
By 2030 AIDS could be leading global cause of illness By 2030 AIDS could be leading global cause of illness mongabay.com November 27, 2006 HIV/AIDS, depression, and ischemic heart disease could be leading causes of illness by 2030 say researchers from the World Health Organization in a new paper published in the journal PLoS Medicine. […]
AIDS will block Millennium Development Goals for some counties

AIDS will block Millennium Development Goals for some counties AIDS will block Millennium Development Goals for some counties Public Library of Science news release November 27, 2006 HIV/AIDS will make it difficult, if not impossible, for many countries to reach the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a new analysis by researchers published to […]
US population set to break 300m Tuesday

US population set to break 300m Tuesday US population set to break 300m Tuesday mongabay.com October 16, 2006 The U.S. population is expected to reach 300 million people on Tuesday, October 17 according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The world’s largest economy has the fastest population growth (0.91 percent) of G-8 countries, meaning […]
Remote island provides clues on population growth, environmental degradation

Remote island provides clues on population growth, environmental degradation Remote island provides clues on population growth, environmental degradation University of Oregon August 24, 2006 Halfway between South America and New Zealand, in the remote South Pacific, is Rapa. This horseshoe-shaped, 13.5 square-mile island of volcanic origin, located essentially in the middle of nowhere, is “a […]
Jacob, Emily again the most popular baby names in America
Jacob, Emily again the most popular baby names in America Jacob, Emily again the most popular baby names in America mongabay.com August 7, 2006 Jacob was the most common name for baby boys born in the United States during 2005 according to the Social Security Administration. Emily was the most popular name for girls. In […]
Map projects regional population growth for 2025

Map projects regional population growth for 2025 A section of the new population map created by the Center for Climate Systems Research shows increasing populations in coastal areas, which will expose 2.75 billion people worldwide to the effects of sea level rise and other coastal threats posed by global warming. Image courtesy of the Center […]
Growth of cities can affect local weather

Growth of cities can affect local weather Growth of cities can affect local weather Human activities in arid urban environments can affect rainfall and water cycle University of Georgia June 19, 2006 In the past half-century, cities have begun to expand in some of the Earth’s most arid areas. While scientists have known for some […]
World cereal production forecast to decrease in 2006

World cereal production forecast to decrease in 2006 World cereal production forecast to decrease in 2006 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization May 7, 2006 Worldwide, 39 countries are in need of external food assistance — the majority required for drought-affected and chronically food insecure populations in southern and eastern Africa, according to a […]
Pittsburgh has more urban sprawl than Los Angeles, new maps show

Pittsburgh has more urban sprawl than Los Angeles, new maps show Pittsburgh has more urban sprawl than Los Angeles, new maps show University of Toronto April 26, 2006 Recent urban development in Los Angeles is less scattered than recent development in Boston. Miami is America’s most compact big city and Pittsburgh its most sprawling. Changing […]
Tropical deforestation rates to slow in future – new study

Tropical deforestation rates to slow in future – new study Tropical deforestation rates to slow in future – new study Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com April 6, 2006 As human population growth rates diminish in coming years deforestation rates are expected to slow according to research published in Biotropica online. The report offers hope that reduced […]
Without recycling, world metals face depletion finds Yale study
Without recycling, world metals face depletion finds Yale study Without recycling, world metals face depletion finds Yale study Yale University January 26, 2006 Researchers studying supplies of copper, zinc and other metals have determined that these finite resources, even if recycled, may not meet the needs of the global population forever, according to a study […]
Number of hungry Africans doubles in a decade

Number of hungry Africans doubles in a decade Number of hungry Africans doubles in a decade Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com January 24, 2006 EDITOR’S SUMMARY: The number of Africans requiring food assistance has doubled in the past decade due to crop failures, drought, failing governments, civil strife, and the impact of AIDS, said the United […]
New evidence shows abrupt worldwide increase in birth rate during Neolithic period
New evidence shows abrupt worldwide increase in birth rate during Neolithic period New evidence shows abrupt worldwide increase in birth rate during Neolithic period University of Chicago Press Journals release January 3, 2006 In an important new study assessing the demographic impact of the shift from foraging to farming, anthropologists use evidence from 60 prehistoric […]
New maps reveal the human footprint on Earth

New maps reveal the human footprint on Earth New maps reveal the human footprint on Earth University of Wisconsin release December 5, 2005 by Paroma Basu As global populations swell, farmers are cultivating more and more land in a desperate bid to keep pace with the ever-intensifying needs of humans. As a result, agricultural activity […]
Plague could worsen with global warming

Plague could worsen with global warming Plague could worsen with global warming By James Kilner, Reuters November 14, 2005 OSLO (Reuters) – Warmer, wetter weather brought on by global warming could increase outbreaks of the plague, which has killed millions down the ages and wiped out one third of Europe’s population in the 14th century, […]
Pre-Columbian Amazon supported millions of people

The Virgin Forest? Amazon Myths and New Revelations Modern day agriculture in the Amazon. Controversial evidence uncovered over the past decade suggests that the Amazon rainforest was once home to large sedentary populations of people. Besides the well-known empires of the Inca and their predecessors, the Huari, millions of people once lived in the forests […]
New measure of wealth accounts for resource depletion, environmental damage

New measure of wealth accounts for resource depletion, environmental damage New measure of wealth accounts for resource depletion, environmental damage Modified World Bank Press Release September 18, 2005 Accounting for the actual value of natural resources, including resource depletion and population growth, shows that net savings per person are negative in the world’s most impoverished […]
Atlas shows Africa impacted by war, environmental degradation, population growth
Atlas shows Africa impacted by war, environmental degradation, population growth Atlas shows Africa impacted by war, environmental degradation, population growth UNEP News Release 2005/27 June 5, 2005 The following is a highlight from the United Nations Environment Programme’s new Atlas, “One Planet Many People Atlas of Our Changing Environment” Africa The impact of the civil […]
Gray Corps of senior citizens could help fight poverty, health problems in developing world
“Gray Corps” of senior citizens could help fight poverty, health problems in developing world “Gray Corps” of senior citizens could help fight poverty, health problems in developing world mongabay.com editorial May 30, 2005 Americans are wealthier and older than ever before. According to recent data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, […]
World population growth rate continues to plummet
World population growth rate continues to plummet World population growth rate continues to plummet An updated report from the U.N. finds population trends In many countries population not replacing itself mongabay.com May 2, 2005 According to figures released earlier this year by the UN, global birth rates fell to the lowest level in recorded history […]

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