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Fishing cats misunderstood, misidentified in Nepal’s Kapilvastu
- Fishing cats in Nepal are often misunderstood and mistaken for leopards or blamed for fish losses, leading to retaliation and conflict with fish farmers.
- Surveillance measures like CCTV and myths have fueled fear and misinformation, despite little evidence showing fishing cats as major threats to aquaculture.
- A conservation initiative called “fish banks” tried to reduce conflict by compensating farmers with fish instead of money but had mixed results and eventually lost funding.
- Experts emphasize the need for science-based conservation, better population data and public education to protect fishing cats and promote coexistence in human-altered landscapes.
‘Snow-white’ monkeys of Sri Lanka draw in tourists
For a small village near the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka, “snow-white monkeys” have become a major tourist attraction, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. These white monkeys are a color variant of the endangered purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus), also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, found only in Sri Lanka. Purple-faced langurs typically […]
An interview with orangutan conservationist and advocate Gary Shapiro
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Orangutans, with their expressive eyes and human-like behaviors, have long fascinated us. Few people, however, have delved as deeply into their world as Gary L. Shapiro. His five-decade career began with a groundbreaking study in primate communication, where […]
Remembering Pope Francis and his visit to typhoon-hit Philippines
Pope Francis was well known for his environmental activism. Time called him the “Climate Pope” for his prominent role in the global climate movement. He consistently talked about the consequences of human action on the planet and described the destruction of the environment as a “structural sin,” calling on people to act with urgency. As […]
In Borneo village, Indigenous Dayaks leave farming amid stricter fire rules
- Rice growers from an Indigenous Dayak community in Central Kalimantan province say stricter rules enacted to prevent wildfires have contributed to a decline in the number of farmers growing rice, potentially elevating risks of food insecurity among rural communities on Indonesian Borneo.
- Remie, a 46-year-old from Mantangai subdistrict, said higher input costs have also worsened the business case for growing rice. Many Dayak farmers have migrated in search of alternative work, local officials said.
- “We don’t burn the forest,” the kepala adat, the customary law authority, in Mantangai Hulu village told Mongabay Indonesia.
How a remote diner in India is fueling a culinary and ecological revival
CHUNG VALLEY, India — Tucked away in the remote Chug Valley of Northeast India, Damu’s Heritage Dine is quietly leading a food revolution. Run by a group of Monpa women in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, this humble diner is bringing ancient mountain flavors back to life, one traditional dish at a time. […]
Armed groups and junta profit as toxic mines devour southern Myanmar
- Since Myanmar’s 2021 coup, lead mining in the country’s southern Tanintharyi region has exploded, with the number of mining sites more than doubling as lawlessness enables rapid expansion.
- The environmental impact has been severe, with polluted rivers, dying crops, and communities losing access to clean water.
- Armed groups and junta officials profit from the boom by collecting bribes and taxes, turning mining into a revenue source across all control zones.
- Environmentalists warn that without immediate action and sustainable planning, the region’s ecosystems and natural resources may be permanently lost.
Global agarwood trade heavily dependent on wild, threatened trees: Study
- The global agarwood trade heavily depends on wild-harvested endangered tree species, despite international regulations for protection, with significant volumes going undocumented in official trade records, a new study reveals.
- About 70% of the trade depend on Aquilaria filaria and Aquilaria malaccensis, both threatened species, sourced from the wild, raising major sustainability concerns. Meanwhile, there are some tree species that are not even covered by CITES, the global wildlife trade convention.
- Due to discrepancies between CITES and customs data, along with weak enforcement and outdated regulations, researchers suggest the illegal trade is far larger than reported.
- Researchers urge stronger monitoring, updated data, expanded species protection, and a shift to cultivated sources. They also call on consumers and wealthy importers to support conservation and governments to promote sustainable practices.
Indian trawlers leave Sri Lankan small-scale fishers a ravaged, bereft sea
- Bottom trawlers from India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu have been encroaching Sri Lanka’s northern waters for years, carrying out destructive fishing practices that have caused serious depletion of fish stocks and damaged marine habitats.
- Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s local small-scale fishers continue to struggle due to reduced catches, destruction of their fishing nets and financial loss while being forced to fish in limited nearshore areas or abandon fishing temporarily to avoid conflict with the trawlers.
- In this political bone of contention, Tamil Nadu has been demanding reclamation of Katchatheevu — an uninhabited island between India and Sri Lanka — to gain unrestricted fishing rights, and the past bilateral promises to phase out bottom trawling have gone unfulfilled.
- Sri Lanka banned bottom trawling in 2017 and now needs to take specific actions to prevent illegal bottom trawling in its northern waters to avoid the risk of fisheries there from collapsing.
Nepal announces its snow leopard population after first-of-its-kind assessment
- Nepal has released its first consolidated national estimate of snow leopards, placing the population at 397 individuals, after synthesizing multiple studies conducted between 2015 and 2024.
- Despite covering just 2% of global snow leopard habitat, Nepal hosts nearly 10% of the global population, making it the fourth largest population of the species.
- The estimate contributes to the Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards (PAWS), a global initiative aiming for standardized and robust population assessments across all 12 snow leopard range countries.
- While the estimate is a milestone, it’s based on just 43% of Nepal’s potential snow leopard habitat, with key areas like Dhorpatan and Api-Nampa still under-surveyed.
Pangolins help biodiversity recover after fires
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. A forest may burn to the ground, but beneath the ashes, a pangolin is already rebuilding. Pangolins are best known for their misfortune. As the world’s most trafficked mammal, their numbers have been decimated by poaching for scales […]
Data discrepancies suggest Laos monkey smuggling persists, despite trade ban
- A new report highlights widespread monkey laundering in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where wild-caught long-tailed macaques are illegally funneled into breeding farms before being exported for biomedical research as captive-bred animals.
- Despite growing concerns over the ethics and effectiveness of animal testing, the biomedical industry continues to rely on macaques, fueling a multibillion-dollar trade, with some shipments worth millions of dollars.
- Thailand has emerged as a hotspot for poaching, with poachers capturing monkeys in urban areas before smuggling them across the Mekong River into Laos and Cambodia, often using concealed transport methods.
- Laos has significantly increased its estimate of wild macaques to justify legalizing their capture, raising concerns of official complicity in laundering monkeys for the biomedical industry, despite international skepticism over the accuracy of the data.
Church pressure spurs scrutiny of Indonesian geothermal projects
- In early April, the governor of Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province said his administration would review all geothermal development on Flores Island.
- The statement followed a campaign by the Catholic Church, led by the Archdiocese of Ende, which advocated for local residents concerned about environmental damage.
- Indonesia has the world’s largest potential for geothermal energy, and use of the technology has grown in recent years as the country seeks to expand renewables to meet its international climate commitments.
- The Vatican assumed a leadership role on climate change under the late Pope Francis, who died over Easter at the age of 88.
Meet the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners
- Each year, the Goldman Environmental Prize honors grassroots activists from each of the six inhabited continental regions.
- The 2025 prize winners are Semia Gharbi from Tunisia, Batmunkh Luvsandash from Mongolia, Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika from Albania, Carlos Mallo Molina from the Canary Islands, Laurene Allen from the United States and Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari from Peru.
Mangroves mount a fragile green revival in Iraq’s toxic south
- Sea-level rise and upstream damming have worsened saltwater intrusion in the Shatt al-Arab River, pushing brine deep into Iraq’s interior and threatening agriculture, fishing and marshland ecosystems.
- A mangrove-planting project has been launched as a nature-based solution to combat coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion and pollution — threats that not only endanger Basra’s coastline but also the freshwater marshlands farther inland.
- Despite scientific backing and community support, the project faces significant obstacles like untreated sewage and industrial waste, while limited government support further hampers the project’s long-term viability and impact.
Indonesia strengthens forest monitoring with new tool to meet EU deforestation law
- Indonesia is stepping up traceability efforts to comply with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans imports of deforestation-linked commodities like palm oil, timber and coffee starting in December 2025.
- A new platform, Ground Truthed.id (GTID), combines field-based evidence and geolocation data to detect and document environmental violations in real time, offering a bottom-up alternative to satellite-reliant systems.
- GTID emphasizes collaboration with Indigenous peoples, civil society and law enforcement, using a verification process to turn grassroots reports into legally actionable cases.
- The platform is expected to complement a government-run traceability dashboard by acting as an independent watchdog, helping prevent illegally sourced or conflict-ridden products from entering international supply chains.
Agroforestry can reduce deforestation, but supportive policies matter, study finds
- Agroforestry is recognized as a way to boost local biodiversity, improve soils and diversify farming incomes. New research suggests it may also benefit nearby forests by reducing pressure to clear them.
- The study found agroforestry has helped reduce deforestation across Southeast Asia by an estimated 250,319 hectares (618,552 acres) per year between 2015 and 2023, lowering emissions and underscoring its potential as a natural climate solution.
- However, the findings also indicate agroforestry worsened deforestation in many parts of the region, highlighting a nuanced bigger picture that experts say must be heeded.
- Local social, economic and ecological factors are pivotal in determining whether agroforestry’s impacts on nearby forests will be positive or negative, the authors say, and will depend on the prevalence of supportive policies.
Report alleges criminality in Cambodian, Vietnamese monkey trade
- A new report is the latest to bolster long-standing allegations that many long-tailed macaques imported into the U.S. for biomedical research were illegally caught from the wild and falsely labeled as captive-bred, with suspiciously high birth rates at breeding facilities in Southeast Asia.
- Cambodia became a major supplier of monkeys for research after China stopped exports in 2020, but investigations found indications of large-scale monkey-laundering operations, leading to legal cases, failed prosecutions, and a 64% drop in exports by 2023. Despite concerns, global wildlife trade regulator CITES did not ban the trade.
- Vietnam’s reported monkey exports also show discrepancies, with new “satellite breeding facilities” appearing without proper documentation, raising concerns that wild monkeys are also being trafficked into breeding farms.
- A tuberculosis outbreak linked to Vietnamese monkey exports highlights the public health risks, while U.S. company Charles River Laboratories faces scrutiny over its alleged role in the illegal monkey trade, seeming to benefit from political ties to evade accountability.
Vital Mekong fish corridors tracked for first time, but funding cuts threaten future research
- By implanting fish with small electronic transmitters, researchers were able to track key migration corridors in the Mekong River.
- The findings underscore the threat that dozens of planned dams along the Mekong will cut off these vital migratory paths.
- The study, which the lead author describes as a “pilot effort,” was funded by USAID; the funding gap caused by the U.S. foreign aid freeze leaves the future of such research in question.
‘Trophies’ shared on social media reveal scale of mass bird slaughter in Lebanon
- Millions of migratory birds fly over Lebanon, which is on the African-Eurasian flyway, where hunters indiscriminately shoot them, often illegally, despite some of the species being threatened and/or protected.
- A first-of-its-kind study uses social media photos and posts to assess the level of illegal hunting in Lebanon, where studies show an estimated 2.5 million birds are killed each year.
- The study found that 94% of the hunted bird species, identified by assessing more than 1,800 photographs, were legally protected, and the poachers posed with their hunt in nearly half of these photos without fear of consequences for their illegal acts.
- Conservationists blame weak law enforcement and small penalties for poachers’ blatant disregard for regulations, and point to the growing trend of using social media to garner likes and views as a driving reason behind the carnage.
Indonesia raises concerns over EU deforestation law’s impact on smallholders
- The Indonesian government has raised concerns over the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), citing unclear due diligence rules, unrealistic expectations for smallholders, and contradictions in geolocation data requirements.
- Deputy Foreign Minister Arief Havas Oegroseno questioned the fairness of demanding geolocation data from Global South producers while EU privacy laws restrict similar data sharing within Europe.
- Arief also highlighted the EU’s inconsistent enforcement of past trade agreements like the FLEGT deal on timber, casting doubt on whether the EUDR will be applied fairly across member states.
- An EU envoy acknowledged some ambiguities but defended the EUDR’s goals, stressing that cooperation with Indonesia remains a priority despite stalled talks over data discrepancies.
In an ancient Javanese sultanate, coastal women battle climate fallout
- The coast of Demak district, the site of the first Islamic sultanate on the island of Java, has been inundated by the sea over decades owing to groundwater extraction and development.
- The erosion of human settlements is likely introducing new risks for women: “Our conclusion is that women and children, as well as poor families, including the elderly and disabled, are the most vulnerable,” a local legal aid nonprofit told Mongabay.
- Globally, around 90% of fish species are either fully exploited or overfished, and climate change is set to worsen the crisis by disrupting fish reproduction as oceans warm and acidify.
Diverse forests and forest rewilding offer resilience against climate change
- Recent studies from two long-running planted forest experiments in China and Panama find that increasing tree diversity in reforestation efforts can boost resilience in the face of climate change, among other benefits.
- Researchers elsewhere propose a “rewilding-inspired forestry” approach that aims to restore biodiversity, aid climate mitigation and bolster forest ecosystems — an approach that requires a significant shift from current forestry practices.
- However, scientists underline that while reforestation and forest rewilding can contribute to curbing climate change, they have their limits and must be combined with deep carbon emissions cuts and conservation of existing forests.
Action plan aims to save Asia’s leaf-eating monkeys amid ‘alarming’ declines
- A new conservation plan aims to halt the decline of langur monkeys in Southeast Asia, where habitat loss and poaching have severely reduced their numbers.
- The 10-year Asian Langurs Conservation Action Plan focuses on the six countries in the Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, a region known for its astonishing range of habitats and species.
- Based on insights from leading primatologists, the plan prioritizes measures needed to safeguard 28 species and subspecies of langurs.
- Key goals include strengthening and enforcing existing wildlife laws, reducing demand for langurs and their body parts, and raising awareness about their protected status and cultural and ecological importance.
Daripalli Ramaiah, India’s tree man, died April 12, aged 87
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In Reddipalli, a village tucked into the dry red soils of Khammam district in India’s Telangana state, there lived a man who measured life not in years or wealth, but in saplings. By his own modest estimate, Daripalli […]
As big money wavers, Southeast Asia’s green startups fight to stay powered
- Southeast Asia’s clean-energy startups like Vietnam’s SmartSolar and Indonesia’s Swap Energi are expanding but face growing challenges due to waning government support and shifting global investment trends.
- U.S. and regional funding cuts, along with economic uncertainty and geopolitical shifts, are making it harder for renewable startups to secure long-term financing and scale their operations.
- Despite these headwinds, founders say local demand remains strong, and backing from European development agencies is helping maintain momentum — though the path to profitability is getting narrower.
Judges charged in Indonesian bribery scandal after clearing palm oil giants of corruption
- Four judges and two lawyers in Indonesia have been charged with transacting bribes to issue a favorable ruling for palm oil giants Permata Hijau, Wilmar and Musim Mas in a high-profile corruption case.
- Prosecutors allege that the companies funneled up to 60 billion rupiah ($3.57 million) to the judges through intermediaries, avoiding potential fines totaling more than $1 billion.
- The ruling controversially cleared the companies of prosecution despite their clear legal violations, using a colonial-era legal loophole.
- The case is part of a broader 2022 cooking oil export scandal that led to prior convictions of company executives and a trade ministry official, with Indonesia’s AGO now appealing the verdict and expanding its investigation.
Even the Gulf of Aqaba’s ‘supercorals’ bleached during 2024 heat wave
- Scientists have long considered the corals in the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Red Sea to be uniquely resilient to extreme temperatures.
- For the first time on record, however, the heat wave of 2024 bleached some of these super-resilient corals in Israeli and Jordanian waters, according to scientists.
- Scientists studying the episode’s severity and extent estimate that perhaps 5% of the corals in their study area in Israeli waters bleached during the oppressive Northern Hemisphere summer; a small fraction died, but most recovered over the relatively cooler months that followed.
- Tackling threats like pollution that could reduce the corals’ ability to withstand extreme heat is the best way to protect them from rising marine temperatures, and scientists say an oil terminal that sits barely half a kilometer from some of the “supercorals” poses an imminent threat.
Where war once raged in Iraq, Yezidi women plant hope
- Yezidi women, many of whom survived a genocidal campaign by the terror group ISIS, are breaking social barriers by leading environmental renewal efforts in northern Iraq through tree planting, recycling and education.
- The region’s environmental crisis — marked by drought, desertification and water scarcity — has devastated agricultural livelihoods, making sustainable land restoration crucial for displaced families’ futures.
- Despite initial resistance, the Clean Green initiative has enabled Yezidi women to take on leadership roles, challenging traditional norms and helping to rebuild their community’s identity through environmental stewardship.
‘Heart of Borneo’ dams raze Indigenous forests for Indonesia green energy drive
- A joint venture between Indonesia and state-owned Malaysia companies is constructing a network of dams in the Bulungan and Malinau districts of North Kalimantan, a sparsely populated Bornean province bordering the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
- The dams will generate 9,000 megawatts to power industry in the under-construction Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia in Bulungan district, a site the government hopes will be a global hub of solar panel and battery manufacture.
- One community of around 28 families has already been relocated as dam contractors prepare to submerge more villages and tunneling continues.
Award-winning film highlights lasting damage from X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka
- “This Is Not a Pearl,” a short film by Sri Lankan filmmaker Tharindu Ramanayaka, uses a poetic narrative of a pearl oyster mistaking toxic plastic pellets, or nurdles, for her pearl to symbolize the environmental devastation caused by the 2021 MV X-Press Pearl disaster.
- The sinking of the MV X-Press Pearl off Sri Lanka’s coast released 1,680 metric tons of plastic nurdles, marking the world’s largest nurdle spill and triggering long-term damage to marine ecosystems.
- Scientific studies show that toxic chemicals from the spill continue to harm marine life, especially zooplankton like sea urchin larvae and copepods, threatening the broader ocean food web.
- Sri Lanka’s legal efforts for compensation, including cases in both Singapore, where the ship’s operator is based, and the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, remain unresolved; meanwhile, nurdles continue to wash ashore, requiring continuous cleanup efforts nearly four years later.
Singapore biobank offers backup plan for pangolins
- Scientists in Singapore have decided to collect and freeze sperm from pangolins to use in future artificial insemination programs for the threatened mammals should the need arise.
- The eight known species of pangolins are collectively the world’s most trafficked mammal. The Sunda pangolin has seen its population decline by over 50% in the last 15 years.
- All pangolin species are listed as threatened, and scientists say they hope to create a reservoir of genetic material before arriving at a “too little, too late” scenario.
- While it has successfully extracted and stored sperm from 38 pangolins, the Singapore lab hasn’t collected egg cells from female pangolins because the procedure is much more invasive.
Indonesia bets on ‘reuse’ to curb plastic waste and build a circular economy
- Indonesia is promoting “reuse” as a key solution to its plastic waste crisis, with civil society and the Ministry of Environment launching a “reuse road map” to mainstream practices like refilling and returning containers, aiming to shift focus from recycling to more sustainable waste prevention.
- The country produces 7.8 million metric tons of plastic waste annually, with nearly 5 million tons mismanaged and more than 1 million tons ending up in the ocean, making Indonesia one of the top contributors to marine plastic pollution.
- Experts say reuse is more effective than recycling, but receives far less investment globally; activists warn that reliance on recycling, especially chemical recycling, allows continued plastic overproduction and worsens environmental damage.
- Expanding reuse can also boost the economy, creating jobs in packaging, logistics and cleaning services, while reducing plastic-related harm; however, it requires significant infrastructure, regulatory support and public awareness to scale up.
Dugong numbers plummet amid seagrass decline in Thailand’s Andaman Sea
- Thailand’s dugongs are disappearing fast, reflecting an unfolding crisis in the region’s seagrass ecosystems.
- Seagrass beds on Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast that support one of the world’s most significant populations of dugongs have died off in recent years, creating an increasingly challenging environment for the charismatic marine mammals.
- Scientists point to a combination unsustainable coastal practices and climate change as the main factors driving the decline.
- Government agencies, marine scientists and volunteers are taking emergency steps to save the remaining dugongs, but experts warn their long-term survival in Thailand depends on fixing the root causes of the seagrass loss.
Snared, skinned, sold: Brutal March for Indonesia’s Sumatran tigers
- Police in Indonesia charged at least 11 people in the month of March with wildlife crimes after a tiger was butchered in Riau province and alleged traffickers were found with body parts in the semiautonomous province of Aceh.
- In West Sumatra province, conservation officials successfully trapped a young female tiger whose leg had previously been amputated, likely in a snare trap.
- Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered subspecies of tiger and fewer than 400 are believed to remain in the wild.
Photos: The volunteers standing guard at one of Nepal’s human-wildlife frontiers
- CBAPU, a dedicated volunteer group, is actively working to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts in Nepal’s Bardiya National Park by preventing wildlife incursions and protecting local communities.
- The region experiences frequent human-wildlife conflict incidents, mostly involving elephants and tigers, leading to fatalities and injuries among both communities and wildlife.
- CBAPU’s initiatives combine local ecological knowledge with modern techniques like firecrackers, laser lights and drones to safely deter wildlife.
- Despite its successes, CBAPU faces challenges due to the lack of legal recognition, financial support and safety measures for volunteers, threatening the sustainability of their efforts.
Can solar fences stop human-elephant conflict in India?
VALPARAI, India — Frequent interactions between humans and wildlife define life in Valparai, a town in India’s Tamil Nadu state, where the surrounding dense forests of the Western Ghats are fragmented by sprawling tea estates. These forests are home to elephants, Indian bison, bears and leopards, which frequently traverse the area. The relationship between wildlife […]
Thailand’s ‘second’ tiger population stable, but barriers to expansion persist
Populations of the critically endangered Indochinese tigers in eastern Thailand’s forest reserves remained stable between 2018 and 2021, but a shortage of prey and the presence of highways prevented their expansion to promising habitat, a recent study has found. Scientists have been monitoring Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) populations across the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai (DPKY) […]
After decade of delays, pressure mounts on Indonesia to pass Indigenous rights bill
- Indonesia’s Indigenous rights bill has been stalled in parliament for more than a decade despite repeated promises to pass it.
- Activists say the delay reflects a lack of political will and a reluctance on the part of lawmakers and government officials to cede power to Indigenous communities.
- The bill would secure legal recognition of Indigenous land, culture and self-governance, reducing conflict and criminalization.
- Civil society groups plan to mobilize thousands of protesters if the bill isn’t passed by August this year.
Bangladesh witnesses coastal erosion, salinization as tourism crushes a flowering creeper
- Bangladesh’s sandy beaches have been witnessing the disappearance of a once-common flowering vine, the beach morning glory, especially on Cox’s Bazar beach.
- Seashore erosion is now increasing in the region as this plant is supposed to retain soil and protect the beach from erosion.
- Experts and studies indicate the excessive and unchecked tourism in the coastal district as one of the major reasons for this loss.
How cultural and religious beliefs combine for snow leopard conservation (commentary)
- “Deep-rooted cultural beliefs and legal protections continue to play a crucial role in safeguarding snow leopards, supported by awareness campaigns that reinforce traditional practices and conservation,” a new commentary explains.
- In many areas across their range where livestock are killed by the rare predators, farmers’ religious customs often dictate that they must not harmed in retaliation.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Indonesia’s peatlands face growing flood risks amid widespread degradation
- Nearly half of Indonesia’s peatlands are vulnerable to flooding due to degradation from exploitation, with 6 million hectares (15 million acres) — twice the size of Belgium — highly at risk.
- Peatland drainage, subsidence and fires have significantly reduced the water retention capacity of these carbon-rich ecosystems, leading to inland and coastal flooding, particularly in Sumatra and Borneo.
- Despite efforts to curb exploitation, industrial activities continue to degrade peatlands, with 33% of peat hydrological units overlapping with concessions for oil palms and pulpwood plantations.
- National and international policies, like the EU Deforestation Regulation, fail to fully address peatland degradation as a form of deforestation, prompting calls for stricter regulations and corporate accountability.
Fishing cats in India struggle to survive outside protected areas
The wetlands of West Bengal in eastern India are one of the country’s best habitats for the fishing cat, a species vulnerable to extinction. But a significant population of these fish-eating, mid-sized wildcats lives outside protected areas, putting them at high risk of road accidents and retaliatory killing, reports contributor Nabarun Guha for Mongabay India. […]
Uttarakhand’s extreme weather wreaks havoc on crops, livelihoods & futures
- In Uttarakhand, extreme weather events like droughts, erratic rainfall and hailstorms have severely affected farming, leading to lower crop yields, increased pests and financial distress for farmers.
- Festivals and agricultural practices linked to seasonal changes are losing their significance due to shifting flowering and harvesting periods, affecting both cultural traditions and livelihoods.
- Reduced snowfall and irregular rainfall have led to water shortages, depleting natural aquifers and springs that local communities rely on for drinking water and irrigation, while forest fires, intensified by extreme heat, have caused loss of human life and biodiversity.
- Climate change is also impacting tourism and small businesses, with rising temperatures and unpredictable weather affecting visitor numbers and local economies.
Amid fuzzy data, scientists urge monitoring of Hong Kong’s tokay gecko trade
- Thousands of tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), native to South and Southeast Asia, are sold each year in Hong Kong’s traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacies.
- Recent studies have raised questions on the sustainability of this trade and the origins of the geckos, as vendors’ claims don’t agree with data in the CITES database, exposing data discrepancies in legal trade.
- Without stricter oversight, these discrepancies could result in unsustainable trade and facilitate illegal trafficking of tokay geckos in the region, say conservationists, who urge countries and CITES to better monitor the trade.
Bangladesh continues promotion of biodegradable bags amid battle against polythene
- Bangladesh became the first country in the world to ban plastic bags in 2002. However, due to weak law enforcement, the country still sees a high usage of plastic.
- Approximately 24 kilograms (53 pounds) of plastic per capita are discarded yearly in the capital city, Dhaka, alone.
- Alternatives to plastic bags have been created using cassava, potato starch, cloth and jute, but they are more expensive than polythene.
- The high cost of these reusable bags is hindering the adoption of everyday eco-friendly alternatives.
Mysterious sloth bear deaths raise alarm at Sri Lanka’s largest national park
- Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka’s largest and a prime location for year-round sloth bear sightings, has sparked concern after the sudden deaths of three sloth bears (Melursus ursinus inornatus) occurred within a span of a few weeks.
- As sloth bears like to feed on carrion, there are often concerns about these animals contracting swine flu, which is generally present in wild boar populations due to consumption of carcasses, posing a risk of zoonotic transmission.
- Veterinary surgeons are awaiting laboratory analysis of the recently dead bear’s organ samples to finalize the autopsy report, but they indicate that tick fever is a likely cause of death due to heavy tick infestation.
- The sloth bear is an elusive and iconic species, recognized as a key wildlife attraction and a member of Sri Lanka’s “Big Five” wildlife species, alongside the elephant and leopard, making its conservation essential to the country’s nature-based tourism industry.
Siamese crocodile release into the wild marks conservation milestone in Cambodia
- This month, conservationists released 10 captive-bred Siamese crocodiles into Cambodia’s Virachey National Park as part of a regionwide effort to boost wild populations of the critically endangered crocodilian.
- The release marked the first such attempt in Virachey. Since the species was rediscovered in Cambodia in 2000, nearly 200 crocodiles have been released in Cambodia’s Cardamom mountains region.
- Efforts to restore or boost Siamese crocodile populations are underway in protected areas in Laos and Thailand, too.
In Pakistan, sea level rise & displacement follow fisherfolk wherever they go
- Rising sea levels are displacing fisherfolk in Pakistan’s coastal areas, forcing them to move to higher ground, such as Karachi, where they now face saltwater intrusion and other climate impacts.
- For many, this displacement is not just about losing homes, but also cultural heritage, traditions and livelihoods, with women, in particular, losing economic freedom as fishing communities decline.
- The Pakistani government lacks a formal policy for the voluntary migration of climate refugees, and while efforts like mangrove restoration have been attempted, they have not significantly alleviated the fishing community’s problems.
- Karachi is projected to receive 2.3 million climate migrants by 2050, primarily due to rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and other climate-related catastrophes.
The Turtle Walker: Satish Bhaskar, sea turtle conservationist
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For months on end, he would maroon himself on remote islands — no phone, no company, no fanfare. Just a transistor radio, a hammock, and the possibility of seeing a turtle. It was enough. For Satish Bhaskar, the […]
Superstitions fuel trafficking of India’s red sand boa
In India, superstitions and myths have fueled a rampant illegal trade in the red sand boa, a docile, nonvenomous snake, reports Shatabdi Chakrabarti in a video for Mongabay India. The red sand boa (Eryx johnii), as its name suggests, is a thick reddish snake that burrows in loose mud and sand. It’s found in dry, […]
Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
- A conservation effort in eastern Indonesia helped reduce thresher shark catches by 91% among participating fishers by providing alternative income opportunities, according to a recent study.
- The program, which ran from 2021 to 2023, supported nine voluntary fishers with resources to transition to new livelihoods, leading to increased income for some, though a few struggled due to personal challenges and job instability.
- However, some fishers felt pressured by family or community expectations to continue shark fishing, and conflicts with local leaders also influenced participation.
- The study highlights the need for long-term conservation efforts that involve local communities, address socio-political challenges and receive strong government support.
Indiscriminate pesticide use threatens Bangladesh honeybees
- In Bangladesh, honeybee populations are dwindling as unaware farmers use insecticides, particularly neonicotinoids, which disrupt their foraging and survival.
- Experts are seriously concerned about the use of chemical cocktails comprising neonicotinoids without extensive research.
- Despite worldwide concerns over neonicotiniods, Bangladesh authorities are yet to address the issue due to lack of awareness.
Indigenous communities in Indonesia demand halt to land-grabbing government projects
- More than 250 members of Indigenous and local communities gathered in Indonesia’s Merauke district to demand an end to government-backed projects of strategic national importance, or PSN, which they say have displaced them, fueled violence, and stripped them of their rights.
- PSN projects, including food estates, plantations and industrial developments, have triggered land conflicts affecting 103,000 families and 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land, with Indigenous communities reporting forced evictions, violence and deforestation, particularly in the Papua region.
- In Merauke itself, the government plans to clear 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) for rice and sugarcane plantations, despite Indigenous protests; some community members, like Vincen Kwipalo, face threats and violence for refusing to sell their ancestral land, as clan divisions deepen.
- Officials have offered no concrete solutions, with a senior government researcher warning that continued PSN expansion in Papua could escalate socioecological conflicts, further fueling resentment toward Jakarta and potentially leading to large-scale unrest.
Nepal collaborates with neighbors to gain wildlife crime intel but struggles with enforcement
- Nepal collaborates with India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka through networks like South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), which have helped uncover major wildlife trafficking rackets.
- Overlapping jurisdictions, lack of expertise, and limited coordination between police, forest offices and the paramilitary security forces hinder effective prosecution of wildlife crimes in Nepal.
- While Nepal police have increased arrests and training, experts stress the need for better crime scene documentation, inter-agency coordination, and stricter enforcement of wildlife laws.
A century later, a rare mushroom with a curious shape emerges in Sri Lanka
- Documented just once in 1919 at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sri Lanka, an elusive mushroom has resurfaced more than a hundred years later, causing excitement among mycologists and nature lovers alike.
- The fungus is known for its phallic shape and foul-smelling spore mass, which attracts insects for spore dispersal — a unique strategy among fungi, which otherwise mostly use wind to disperse the spores.
- After the publication of a research paper, at least five separate observations from different parts of the country were reported highlighting that the mushroom may survive in many places.
- Mycologists call for greater attention to fungi in biodiversity research and conservation, as many species may remain hidden — or risk disappearing unnoticed.
Climate change spikes wildfire risk in Sri Lanka
- Almost all forest fire in Sri Lanka is human-caused; the two main forest fire seasons are February to March and July to August.
- Annually, 100-2,500 hectares (247-6,178 acres) of forest resources are damaged due to forest fires in Sri Lanka, and in the past few years, the damage to forest resources by fire has increased and is likely to continue increasing with global warming.
- Usually, wildfires are mainly occurring in forest plantations or grasslands where they do not spread to dense forest, but as of late, fires have begun to reach forest areas.
- Some ecosystems like savanna need fire to sustain them, as seeds in some of the trees need fire to crack their outer layer in order to germinate. But in areas with invasive guinea grass, which burns longer and hotter, large trees are also observed dying.
Indonesians suing pulpwood firms over haze face intimidation, seek human rights protection
- A group of South Sumatran residents suing three pulpwood companies for recurring haze pollution has sought protection from Indonesian human rights commission, citing intimidation, including bribes and threats.
- The lawsuit highlights violations of the right to a healthy environment, as recurring fires on company concessions have caused severe air pollution, harming residents’ health, education and livelihoods.
- The case, which seeks both financial compensation and environmental restoration, is now in the evidentiary stage after mediation failed, and could set a precedent for corporate responsibility in Indonesia’s recurring haze crisis.
- Despite the threats, plaintiffs like Yeyen say they remain committed to the fight for justice and environmental protection, emphasizing the need for corporate accountability and a healthier future for all Indonesians.
As apes adapt to human disturbance, their new behaviors also put them at risk: Study
- Worldwide, the most frequent causes of disturbances to ape habitats are land conversion for agriculture or logging, a recent study concludes.
- The study found that the most common ways apes adapted to habitat change included foraging for human crops, changing nesting patterns, and traveling along human-made paths.
- These changes can help apes survive in the short term, but can increase long-term risk, especially when behaviors like crop foraging bring them into conflict with humans.
- While some patterns were observed worldwide, human responses to behaviors like crop foraging varied widely, highlighting the need for local voices and priorities to be a central part of conservation planning.
India’s Indigenous restaurateurs bring tribal cuisines to the city
Indigenous entrepreneurs in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand are popularizing traditional tribal foods with urban restaurants, reports Mongabay India’s Kundan Pandey. One such restaurant is Ajam Emba in Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi. The name means “delicious taste” in Kurukh, the language spoken by the Indigenous Oraon community. Founded by Aruna Tirkey, a member of the […]
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