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By Karla Mendes
- Expected in 2026, the long-awaited trial for the 2019 killing of forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara and the attempted killing of fellow guardian Láercio Guajajara, in the Brazilian Amazon, was pushed again, the court told Mongabay.
- A year ago, the advisory staff to the judge in the case told Mongabay that the case wouldn’t be held in 2025 for lack of time; one year after it said “there are no available slots on the court’s hearing calendar,” sparking outrage among Guajajara Indigenous, activists and authorities.
- “There appears to be no justification provided by the judge for why the plenary session for the jury trial has not been held throughout 2026, especially given that the last procedural step took place back at the end of 2025,” Alfredo Falcão, the federal prosecutor leading the case, told Mongabay.
- The Federal Public Ministry will analyze “the actual reasons for the delay in this trial” and, if applicable, “take the appropriate procedural steps to ensure that the trial takes place as quickly as possible,” he added.
By Francesco De Augustinis
- The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean approved new management plans for several iconic species during its latest meeting, held Oct. 26-30 in Rome.
- However, the organization did not pass expected fishing restrictions, including a proposal to expand protections for deep-sea areas and another to protect an ecologically important cold-water coral reef.
- Both proposals had widespread support from commission members just a few months earlier, leading some observers to conclude the U-turn by certain countries was related to political concerns that had little to do with fisheries.
By Lynet Otieno
- The 10-year initiative brings together the Kenyan government, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), NGO The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Enduring Earth and other conservation partners.
- Areas identified under the program cover 31 of Kenya’s 47 counties, and partners say it is a step towards achieving Kenya’s goal of bringing at least 30% of its lands, inland waters and near-shore ecosystems under effective conservation and management.
- According to the Protected Planet database, around 13% of Kenya’s terrestrial area and less than 1% of its marine and coastal areas currently enjoy protections.
- Investments under the new initiative are expected to support approximately 7,800 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs by creating opportunities in ecotourism, carbon initiatives, sustainable grazing and other nature-based enterprises.
By Mongabay.com
A juvenile orangutan seized from an apartment in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2024 has been repatriated to its native Indonesia, following two years of health and procedural delays. The endangered an…
By Maverick Avila
Philippine researchers have confirmed the presence of horseshoe crabs in the southern island province of Tawi-Tawi for the first time through interviews with local residents. Previously, scientists h…
By Mongabay.com
Rising temperatures in Bangladesh are creating an occupational health crisis for the 4.2 million workers in the country’s garment industry, reports Mongabay contributor Usraat Fahmidah. A World Ban…
By Andy Ball
- Sand exports from Cambodia to Singapore have resumed after a nine-year ban, with Cambodian trade statistics showing that more than 694,000 tons of sand, valued at $3.47 million, were exported from June-September 2026.
- Sand mining is occurring along the Trapeang Rung River in Cambodia, in an area described as having “astonishing” biodiversity, drawing fears of lasting damage to seagrass beds, mangrove forests and the ecosystems and fisheries they support.
- Fishers in the area, who are already struggling with dwindling fish stocks and rising fuel prices, say their access to fishing grounds has been blocked by mining operations, and fear the dredging operation will do long-term damage to fisheries.
By Kingsley Charles
- In Nigeria, the waterleaf plant, one of the country’s most widely eaten vegetables, is succumbing to changing rainfall patterns and flooding.
- Farmers say their plants aren’t reaching maturity amid months of relentless rain; meanwhile, market vendors are faced with diminished supplies, while buyers balk at increased prices.
- While technology-powered farming methods and better water management can offer solutions, many of Nigeria’s smallholder farmers cannot afford the price of these improvements.
By Rafael Spuldar
- New mapping by Brazil’s agricultural research agency, Embrapa, found that the area on which cacao grows in Pará state rose 33% between 2022 and 2024, with 96% of mapped cacao on land cleared before 2020.
- That record leaves Amazon cacao well positioned to meet the EU’s new deforestation rules, with the sector keen to secure better prices for farmers who grow cacao without clearing forest.
- Most new plantings are full-sun monocultures, which are less sustainable than agroforestry, but sources say Brazil is unlikely to follow West African countries in clearing forest for cacao.
By Shanna Hanbury
A coalition of legal and environmental groups has filed money laundering complaints against JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, and 12 financial institutions, investors and advisers, including…
By Yannick Kenné
Rokiatu Traoré, president of a social enterprise in Mali that uses agroforestry to restore degraded land and create jobs for women and youths, has been named a Changemaker at the United Nations’ S…
By Associated Press
Chemical manufacturer 3M will pay up to $7.35 billion to settle lawsuits by people who say they were sickened by groundwater contamination from compounds used in firefighting foam and other consumer …
By Shanna Hanbury
With no local polling station or means of getting to one from their remote community, residents of the Tumucumaque Indigenous Park in northern Brazil weren’t able to vote in October’s general ele…
By Chris Beeko
- Ghana is the first country in Africa to be awarded a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade license, which is seen as the “gold standard” in the sustainable timber trade and allows it to sell lumber to the EU.
- To achieve this milestone, representatives of Ghana’s government, industry and civil society needed to establish new ways of working together.
- “A stakeholder process that began with significant differences produced what became known informally as ‘Team Ghana’ at international forest meetings. For me, this remains one of the most important outcomes of the process,” a new analysis explains.
- This post is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
By Fernanda WenzelSpoorthy Raman
- Protected Asian golden cats may soon be commercially bred in Indonesia and exported internationally if there’s no opposition raised by other countries before Nov. 10, according to regulations under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty.
- If permitted, PT Alam Nusantara Jayatama, a breeding facility run by Indonesian businessman Danny Gunalen, would be the first in the world to produce these threatened cats in captivity for commercial sale, which includes selling them as pets.
- Only a handful of zoos in the world keep or breed the skittish Asian golden cats, which live secretive lives in the wild and, according to zookeepers, are hard to breed in captivity, as they can become aggressive and don’t make for great display animals.
- Conservationists have questioned the need for commercially breeding Asian golden cats for the pet trade and raised concerns that such a facility could be used to launder wild-caught individuals. Neither PT Alam Nusantara Jayatama nor Danny Gunalen responded to Mongabay’s questions about the concerns raised, or how the operation helps conservation.
By Mongabay.com
In the land of tigers, prey animals like deer and monkeys are often the first to sound the alarm when they sense the predator’s presence. Forest communities in Nepal, where the success of tiger con…
By Shreya Dasgupta
Madagascar’s largest fruit bat is getting smaller, and hunting may be partly to blame, a recent study suggests. The Malagasy flying fox (Pteropus rufus) feeds mainly on fruit and nectar, making it …
By Aimee GabayJuan Maza
Around 500 people recently invaded Indigenous land in the Brazilian Amazon, home to an uncontacted Indigenous group. But this was no spontaneous land grab. Behind the occupation was a carefully coord…
By Adriana AmâncioÁthila GalindoYamini Benites
- A map produced by Mongabay cross-references Recife’s water supply schedules with census data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), revealing racial, gender and class disparities in access to water.
- In peripheral communities home to large Black populations, piped water may be available for as little as 91 hours a month, leaving residents with dry taps for up to 15 consecutive days.
- These same neighborhoods face a dual water crisis, suffering chronic shortages while remaining the most vulnerable to floods and landslides.
- A partial privatization of water services promises to address the shortfall, but critics warn the concession could deepen existing inequalities.
By Ryan Truscott
- South Sudan is home to the world’s biggest migration of mammals — some 6 million antelopes that move across a vast area of seasonal swamps, woodlands, and grassland.
- Part of this region has recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including two national parks — Boma and Badingilo — that are at the center of this landscape.
- But the antelope spend at least 70% of their time outside their boundaries, making the work of wildlife protection a challenging one.
By Spoorthy Raman
- In a recent letter, scientists call on Ecuador to stop the trafficking of marine iguanas, endemic to the Galápagos Islands, amid a surge in seizures.
- The archipelago is home to four species of endemic iguanas, and all are in demand as exotic pets, despite it being illegal to take them from the wild under Ecuadorian laws or sell them internationally under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty.
- The authors say that international wildlife traffickers recruit domestic artisanal fishers whose livelihoods are impacted by drug cartels, dwindling fish, and poverty.
- Conservationists say Ecuador must audit its systems designed to stop wildlife trafficking in the Galápagos and countries must close CITES loopholes that let traffickers legally trade offspring of smuggled wildlife.
By Mongabay.com
Coastal communities near Bangkok in Thailand are testing artificial mangrove roots to combat severe shoreline erosion, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. The shorelines of Phra Samut Chedi district,…
By Ashley Yeong
- A study by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) found microplastics in 64% of coral fragment samples taken from sites at Pulau Redang Marine Park.
- The primary plastic identified was polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polymer commonly used in single-use drinking bottles.
- Corals tangled in plastic debris or fibers had nearly three times as many microplastics in their skeletons as those that were not.
- Sites closer to tourist hotspots recorded the highest levels of contaminants, while quieter sites reserved for turtle nesting had lower levels.
By Jules Struck
- A new project off the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu tests an unusual method of shielding coastal communities and infrastructure from destructive waves: an artificial reef intended to act as a set of speed bumps.
- By January 2027, 60 huge concrete structures will be sunk off Kalaeloa Harbor, an industrial port on West O‘ahu, to protect the coastline from storm surge and erosion.
- The project also aims to provide shelter for corals and eventually create habitat for reef-dwelling fish and other marine life.
- This “living breakwater” was designed to facilitate ongoing community participation, and could be replicated at other locations in the Hawaiian archipelago.
By Mongabay.com
Researchers recently spotted the brightly colored Ghana cuckooshrike in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park. The “lost” bird hadn’t been seen in 13 years, reports Mongabay’s John Cannon. …
By Mike DiGirolamo
For a time during the 19th and 20th centuries, gray wolves were practically extinct across Western and Central Europe. Now, thanks to strict protection measures in countries across the region, their …
By Francesco De Augustinis
- The 45th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) took place Oct. 19-30 in Hobart, Australia.
- The multilateral body charged with regulating fishing and protecting ecosystems in the Southern Ocean concluded with no agreements on the longstanding issues of establishing new marine protected areas and adopting new krill-fishing management measures.
- Of particular interest was the potential establishment of a marine protected area in a large swathe of sea between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney Islands. Krill fishing is concentrated in the area, which also serves as an important feeding ground for krill-reliant wildlife.
- China, a top krill fishing nation that, with Russia, has blocked the establishment of new protected areas for nearly a decade, proposed redefining existing and future MPAs within the CCAMLR convention area such that fishing could take place there.
By Aimee Gabay
A federal judge issued an emergency order on Oct. 23 to deploy federal security forces to the Apyterewa Indigenous Land in Brazil’s Pará state. The order came after new evidence emerged that hundr…
By Mark Hillsdon
- Pledges to protect the world’s oceans are featured prominently in countries’ action plans to meet the targets set out in the Global Biodiversity Framework — the international agreement to reverse nature loss — according to a new report released by two organizations during the U.N. biodiversity conference (COP17) held Oct. 19-30 in Yerevan, Armenia.
- Yet the report says most pledges related to ocean biodiversity are only “weakly anchored” in policy and accountability measures, raising concerns about how they will be fulfilled.
- Speaking during the conference, a group of small-scale fishers underscored the report’s finding that few country commitments addressing the economics of fishing focus on small-scale fishers, and said their role as coastal custodians is often overlooked.
- Instead, the fishers said, governments are focused on creating Blue Economy initiatives, prioritizing sectors such as tourism and shipping and excluding local, small-scale fisheries.
By Associated Press
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban officials have been invited and will attend the upcoming U.N. climate summit as observers. The summit starts next week in Antalya, Turkey. This marks their …
By Elodie Toto
- The United Nations Environment Programme named Ethiopia’s Desa’a forest restoration initiative a World Restoration Flagship, recognizing efforts to restore a degraded Afromontane ecosystem in the Tigray region.
- The project has restored more than 23,000 hectares (57,000 acres) of degraded land, prevented an estimated 500,000 metric tons of soil erosion and increased soil water infiltration in restored areas.
- Despite progress, years of armed conflict have disrupted restoration work and devastated local communities. Renewed fighting reported in September 2026 could further threaten the project’s long-term goals.
By Anna Weekes
A new payments scheme rewards two rural communities on the edge of Botswana’s Okavango Delta for living alongside wildlife. Residents have installed cameras around their villages and earn money fro…
By Shanna Hanbury
African countries left the United Nations biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, with an unresolved funding gap for conservation. International funding for protected and conserved areas in Afri…
By Tom Johnson
- A new report and unearthed court records raise questions over the palm oil industry body RSPO’s ability to police its members, writes The Gecko Project’s Tom Johnson.
- The report, by Rainforest Action Network, builds on work by The Gecko Project, published in 2023, investigating Singapore-listed, Indonesian-owned First Resources, a palm oil producer alleged to be clearing rainforest through a network of secret companies in Indonesia.
- In December 2025, the RSPO Complaints Panel issued its final ruling on a long-running case against First Resources.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
By Naina Rao
A federal court in the U.S. has sentenced two residents of the state of California for their roles as financial facilitators in a scheme trafficking wildlife body parts between the U.S. and Vietnam. …
By Victoria Schneider
- Work that began earlier this year on a luxury resort inside Zanzibar’s Ngezi-Vumawimbi Forest Reserve appears to have come to a halt.
- Details of the project remain opaque, but construction of a wall near the reserve’s boundary and land used by nearby communities sparked public outcry earlier in 2026.
- Last year, scientists published an open letter calling on the authorities to reconsider the development as it could pose a major threat to endemic plant and animal species.
By Elisângela MendonçaSpoorthy Raman
- Internal U.K. government communications obtained by Mongabay and The Guardian show environment officials explicitly advised government ministers this summer not to “engage formally” with the controversial Indian zoo Vantara after its lobbyists tried to secure a meeting.
- The main reasons for the advice included “reputational sensitivities” and “ongoing compliance proceedings” involving the zoo. Vantara declined to respond to Mongabay’s questions about U.K. concerns.
- The documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also revealed that Vantara received 152 permits over three years to transfer animals to Vantara. Government officials raised concerns over applications by Vantara to import falcons and falcon hybrids after a 50,000 pounds “donation” from an unnamed source to a U.K. falcon exporter.
- In Geneva, the U.K. is set to chair the Standing Committee of CITES from Nov. 2-6, which will oversee the implementation of the treaty and review compliance cases, including those linked to India’s wildlife imports.
By Karla Mendes
Brazil’s Indigenous voters helped reelect incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 25. Following his win, two officials in the municipality of Tacuru, Mato Grosso do Sul, allegedly se…
By Latoya Abulu
At the 2026 U.N. Biodiversity Conference in Armenia (COP17), Indigenous peoples and local communities strengthened their role in the decision-making of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), w…
By Claudia Geib
- A new study used data from U.S. forests to analyze whether diversity in tree species helped forests weather compound climate extremes, such as drought and high temperatures occurring at the same time.
- The study found that diversity did have a protective effect: More diverse forests were more resilient during compound climate events, and recovered more effectively afterwards.
- However, the study also found that the protective effect of diversity wasn’t equally strong across all types of climate events, and that other factors — like rainfall, soil health and day-to-day temperatures — also played a role in how well these forests handled climate stress.
- Researchers say that the study’s findings give forest managers a good place to start when planning adaptation strategies for the climate extremes that lie ahead.
By Nick Ruggia
- A study of climate data from 1980 to the present showed a broad global expansion of extreme heat days outside of summer months, extending into spring and fall.
- Extreme heat occurrences varied by region: Western Europe, southern Africa and northwest India are seeing hotter springs, while eastern China, northern Africa, eastern Europe and the western U.S. are largely experiencing hotter autumns.
- Extreme heat (and humidity) occurring outside the traditional summer window threatens both public health and agriculture. It also increases the risk of wildfires and accompanying health-threatening smoke, and even hurricanes.
- Researchers warn that vulnerable populations can be caught off guard by unseasonable extreme heat days. Likewise, governments need to extend summer heat precautions into the spring and fall to protect citizens.
By Aimee Gabay
- A Brazilian federal court has ordered the removal of non-Indigenous occupants from the Piripkura Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso, home to Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation.
- The order gives those affected 120 days to leave and remove cattle, machinery and other belongings.
- The ruling follows recent and new evidence of illegal deforestation and cattle ranching in the territory, including a recent inspection that identified 36.83 hectares (91 acres) of unauthorized clearing attributed to a rancher.
- Federal prosecutors have raised concerns about a new threat to the Piripkura in court files seen by Mongabay, including reports of clandestine airstrips allegedly being used for drug trafficking inside the territory, raising fears about violence and unwanted contact.
By Edward Carver
- Conflict between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities, including via direct competition for species, disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear.
- A new study introduces an index that scores 126 countries on their vulnerability to such conflicts.
- The scores are based on factors such as how much industrial activity occurs near shore, how reliant countries are on small-scale fishing for food and income and the strength of their governance systems.
- West Africa and East Asia are the most vulnerable subregions, according to the index, with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mozambique the most vulnerable countries.
By Jenny KrusoeLisa KurbielMariam Mwinyi
- On the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, thousands of women work among the tides to cultivate an important natural resource: Seaweeds.
- But this ‘seaweed economy’ is not immune to pressures brought by climate change, disease, and changing environmental conditions affecting many other marine economies across the world, so a partnership between the national government, the U.N., and NGOs is working to ensure its future.
- “The future of this industry will not be secured by hope alone. It will be secured by bringing science into traditional knowledge and practices through partnerships and investment,” the authors write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
By Associated Press
Heavy rains and flash flooding have prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the U.S. Southwest. In Colorado, officials in Pagosa Springs warned Sunday of potentially catastrophic flooding as…
By Carolyn Cowan
- A camera-trapping study in a protected area in northern Laos found community-led ecotourism plays a paradoxical role by reducing localized hunting pressure, but also scaring wildlife away from habitats around tourism hotspots.
- There were roughly twice the number of medium to large mammals on average in more remote parts of the forested landscape than at sites closer to trekking and kayaking routes, the camera-trap data showed.
- Experts caution against viewing tourism as a bigger threat to wildlife than more direct exploitation, such as hunting, logging and mining.
- They highlight the revenue that ecotourism generates and the support that it builds among local communities for conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
By Elizabeth Oliveira
- Federal prosecutors are demanding an action plan after authorities found cyanide-contaminated ponds in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon.
- A cheaper and more profitable alternative to mercury for miners, cyanide can kill by asphyxiation within minutes and severely contaminate soil and water.
- As crackdowns on mercury drive miners toward cyanide, a regulated chemical, officials say they hope Brazil’s legal cyanide supply chain will allow them to trace the sources and cut off the flows.
By Romi Castagnino
Amazonian tiny bats are turning leaves into homes. Some species build shelters by biting and folding giant leaves into hidden “tents” suspended in the forest understory. But scientists discovered…
By Sean Mowbray
One of West Africa’s largest markets selling wildlife for belief-based uses has expanded rapidly over the past decade, according to a recent study. Researchers surveyed the Akodessewa Fetish Market…
By Hans Nicholas Jong
- Months-long wildfires and the resulting thick smog are taking a growing toll on public health in Indonesia, with residents reporting respiratory illnesses and even deaths.
- Indonesia’s Health Ministry recorded 333,470 acute respiratory infection cases in the seven worst-affected provinces by Oct. 21, while nonprofit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has estimated that short-term exposure to wildfire-related air pollution contributed to 5,200 deaths in August and September.
- The haze crisis is affecting millions across Indonesia and neighboring countries, with residents in Singapore and Malaysia reporting health problems and authorities recording increases in respiratory illnesses.
- Health experts warn that repeated exposure to fine-particle pollution can cause long-term medical problems and call for stronger public-health protections and a shift from reactive to preventive policy in handling wildfires.
By Naina Rao
A small, venomous primate that scientists thought had gone extinct still survives on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, and to the communities there was never really “lost,” according to a recent study…
By Annie Burns-Pieper
- In Panama, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Oct. 27 from representatives of six countries alleging harm linked to Canadian mining companies in Latin America.
- Among the complaints, Marco Manobanda, an Indigenous fish-farmer from Las Naves, Ecuador, testified that a copper and gold mine, owned by two Vancouver-based companies, Silvercorp Metals Inc. and Salazar Resources Ltd., is causing deforestation and water contamination where he lives.
- The hearing comes about four months after the government eliminated the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, created to investigate complaints about overseas human rights abuses and environmental harm linked to Canadian companies.
- Civil society witnesses asked the commission to recommend that the Canadian government adopt mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation.
By John Cannon
- The U.N. biodiversity conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, produced roughly $1.8 billion in new nature-finance announcements, including $500 million from the Netherlands to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, but overall spending on biodiversity remains far short of the $200 billion per year target in the Kunming-Montreal framework.
- Spending that is harmful to nature is far greater than beneficial financing and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s call to reform $500 billion in damaging subsidies remains largely unmet.
- The framework is off-track, with 22 of its 23 targets behind schedule, less than 20% of land protected against the 30×30 goal and the Cali Fund for genetic-resource revenues holding only about $10,000 against a $1 billion annual goal.
- Hambardzum Matevosyan, Armenia’s environment minister and the COP17 president, was praised for focusing conference parties on reforming and eliminating harmful subsidies through a series of initiatives.
By David Brown
More than 100 known species of lemurs live in Madagascar. These primates with large eyes, a pointed snout, and long bushy tails are found only in the island country, where they usually live in large …
By Kannikar Petchkaew
- During a recent “people’s tribunal” in Bangkok, women from across Asia spoke about their experiences as leaders of movements seeking justice for communities affected by World Bank-funded development projects.
- The women are from communities affected by a variety of projects across the continent, including dams and land redistribution programs.
- Several themes emerged from the discussions, including the importance of maintaining resistance for decades, the obstacles and dangers faced by protest leaders, and the way that documenting struggles can serve as both a tool of resistance and a means of survival.
By Emma White
- In Naya Padampur, Nepali women are building livelihoods through microenterprises that earn them income and reduce their dependence on forest products.
- Previously, many women ventured into the forest outside of Naya Padampur to fetch firewood, a dangerous task due to the proximity of wild animals such as rhinos and tigers.
- Successful women-led microenterprises in Nepal and beyond have provided a symbiosis between land and community, allowing conservation efforts to flourish while acting as a catalyst for women’s empowerment.
- Still, many women in Nepal face societal and financial hurdles to building businesses and owning property.
By Associated Press
A group of U.S. lawmakers is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio not to support Colombia’s plans to restart aerial spraying of coca crops in the Amazon, warning of risks to human health and the e…
By Laura Allen
- A nonprofit is reintroducing crocodiles as part of a mangrove restoration project in Veracruz, Mexico.
- The project also involves using an Aztec technique for reforestation by planting mangrove seedlings on raised mounds called chinampas.
- Practitioners in Veracruz, as well as in Colombia, say crocodiles help mangroves function by moving sediment as they swim and keeping channels open so water flows.
- However, others point to a lack of research supporting claims that crocodiles perform a structural role in their habitat.
By Stephin Thomas
- Citizen scientists in Pune are mapping trees along the Mula-Mutha riverbanks using smartphones, measuring tapes and the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity.
- The data are strengthening conservation efforts by providing evidence against tree felling and advocating for sustainable alternatives to engage citizens.
- From protecting the ecologically rich Ram-Mula Devrai to drawing on global citizen science initiatives, Pune’s volunteers are part of a larger trend in community-led documentation that can help safeguard urban green spaces and influence conservation decisions.
By Biena MagbitangGabriele Di DonfrancescoHelena Rodríguez GómezLouis Boyd-Madsen
- The Philippines has stopped accepting electronic waste imports from the United States, following months of campaigning from activists who said the country risked becoming a dumping ground for hazardous foreign waste.
- The restriction on U.S. e-waste may not resolve a broader enforcement problem caused by a 2025 court ruling, which pointed out that the Subic Bay freeport lies outside Philippine customs jurisdiction, and that environmental authorities can’t require importers to secure pre-shipment clearances.
- The Subic Bay freeport is a key hub in the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, which aims to secure supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals.