location: East Africa

location: East Africa

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Has Uganda done enough to prevent pollution of Lake Albert by oil drilling? (commentary)
- Thousands of households in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo rely on Lake Albert for their daily water needs and for fish, and it provides key habitat for unique wildlife like shoebills and Goliath herons.
- Two oilfields — Kingfisher on its eastern shore and Tilenga near the northeastern terminus of Lake Albert — in active development there, by the Ugandan affiliate of Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Total E&P Uganda respectively, appear to be a threat to water quality and wildlife, a new op-ed argues.
- “Issues such as the lack of commitment to a system of sound disposal of water, sewage and drilling cuttings all portend a bad omen in an area that is home to some unique wildlife,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Zanzibar must act to conserve its natural & cultural heritage for the future (commentary)
- The popular Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar is further expanding its already extensive tourism footprint to outlying islands like Pemba without considering the environment, a new op-ed argues.
- Major conservation problems include demolition of small islands for resort construction, destruction of nearly a quarter of Pemba Island’s flagship protected area to build an “eco-resort,” and plans to develop the ecologically important islet of Misali.
- “Now is the time for Zanzibar’s government to reexamine past and future investment decisions to ensure they respect Zanzibar’s natural heritage and conserve it for future generations,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Aloyce Mwakisoma, keeper of forest knowledge in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, has died at 45
He was born in the forests that would later define his life. In Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley, where mist drifts down from the Udzungwa Mountains, young Aloyce Mwakisoma learned the names of plants before he could read their Latin equivalents. His father, once a hunter, became a research assistant after hunting was outlawed in the 1990s, […]
Local divers pick away at Lake Malawi’s underwater garbage problem
- Accumulations of trash lie below the tranquil waters of Lake Malawi National Park, a problem local environmentalists say likely extends throughout Lake Malawi, the world’s fourth-largest freshwater lake by volume.
- They blame dumping by lake users as well as poor waste handling upland within Malawi and in Mozambique and Tanzania, which share the lake’s shoreline. Malawi does not have public waste recycling facilities and all municipalities dump waste in open landfills where it risks draining into river systems.
- Divers with a local nonprofit volunteer collecting lake garbage in return for training and the use of diving equipment to make a living guiding tourists.
- Meanwhile, the Malawian government is working with universities to map and eventually clean up garbage hotspots in the lake as it works to strengthen waste management in the country.

Migrating elephants get room to roam via community conservation efforts
- Years of elephant movement data reveal distinct routes the animals take to access food and water, but road building and new rail lines, towns, cities and fences are increasingly cutting off their ability to move across the landscape.
- In response, conservationists are working with communities across hundreds of miles of northern Kenya to delineate these corridors, so that any future development will protect their pathways, which are also dwindling due to severe erosion of some areas from heavy grazing followed by rain events.
- In an excerpt from her new book “ROAM: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World,” author Hillary Rosner discusses these issues and how local communities are partnering with NGOs to ensure the future free movement of these iconic animals.

Africa’s largest freshwater lake could be site of Kenya’s nuclear power plant
- The proposal to build a 1,000-MW nuclear power plant on Kenya’s southeastern coast has faced strong opposition from residents and environmental experts, who warn of potential harm to communities, fisheries and the environment.
- Government agencies are now holding consultations at another prospective location on the other side of the country, near Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake.
- Kenya’s energy needs today are met mostly from low-carbon sources, and the country is on track to achieve universal energy access by 2030, but authorities say nuclear power is needed to meet future development goals.
- Some experts, however, warn about the high costs, delays, and long-term environmental risks associated with nuclear power projects.

Fears of major locust swarms wane in the Sahel but agencies step up monitoring
- Fears of major desert locust swarms in the Sahel in 2025 are receding, as authorities in the region continue to monitor breeding sites.
- The FAO says control measures were carried out by teams in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria in response to earlier alerts.
- While field reporting has been hampered by limited resources and insecurity in many key parts of the region, improved remote surveillance and information-sharing tools have been strengthened.

Scientists rethink Serengeti migration numbers with satellite, AI tools
- An AI-powered satellite survey has found that the number of wildebeests migrating across Kenya and Tanzania annually might be less than half of the million-plus figure that’s widely touted.
- The authors of the study said their findings underscore the need to calibrate the findings from different surveying methods in order to accurately estimate wildebeest numbers.
- The wildebeest migration is one of the largest mammal migrations in the world, with the animals migrating 800 kilometers (500 miles) in search of better grass.
- Estimating accurate numbers of migrating wildebeests is essential to keep track of the population in the face of habitat loss and increased human presence.

Urban appetite for lemur meat piles pressure on iconic primates
- Thousands of threatened lemurs are killed by specialist hunters every year to feed a lucrative urban market for their meat in cities across Madagascar.
- While rural subsistence hunting is seasonal and opportunistic, the year-round urban luxury trade for lemur meat threatens large-bodied species, including during key reproductive periods.
- Primatologists recently issued a statement calling for strategies aimed at different actors involved in lemur meat hunting, including stricter gun regulations and enforcement directed at the urban trade, and the development of economic alternatives for rural subsistence hunters.

Permaculture promises peace, food, increased equality in Kenyan county
- In Kenya’s semiarid Baringo county, Indigenous pastoralists like Salina Chepsat are moving from herding to diversified organic crop farming.
- They benefit from training by the Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative in permaculture and seed saving, but male control of land still restrains how much they can do.
- Boreholes and a shared irrigation scheme enable year-round crops and foster cooperation among different ethnic communities with a history of hostilities.
- Experts call for co-designed strategies combining water access, land restoration and inclusive decision-making to secure food and peace.

Growing trees on farms boosts nutrition in rural Malawi
- Malawian households with fruit trees on their farms consumed more vegetables, and each additional tree species increased fruit consumption by 5% over a 10-year study period.
- Trees improve nutrition through direct consumption of fruits, ecosystem services that boost other crop production and potential income from sales, and they provide cooking fuel.
- Despite trees’ benefits, fruit and vegetable intake dropped 42% and 25%, respectively, due to rising food prices, currency devaluation and climate change.
- Researchers recommend including food-producing trees in Africa’s reforestation programs and shifting agricultural policies from focusing solely on staple grains to supporting diverse, nutritious crops.

From shamba to PELIS: Kenyan farmers derive livelihoods from government timber plantations
- Under the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) enlists communities living near timber plantations to support replanting of trees in exchange for temporary access to land to grow crops.
- A successor to the widely-criticised “shamba system”, PELIS relies on leaders of community forest associations to curb previous problems such as farmers overstaying on plantation land and and corrupt forest officers allocating large pieces of land to themselves and others.
- KFS is satisfied that the revamped scheme provides a cheap, effective way to restore tree cover, but some environmentalists want further changes to improve the ecological impact of PELIS.

Satellite images reveal oil project surge in Ugandan park and wetland
New satellite analysis shows that wells and roads for a project in Uganda feeding Africa’s longest heated oil pipeline have progressed significantly within a protected area and near a critical wetland. The Tilenga oil field marks the starting point of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, currently under construction by the French multinational TotalEnergies. The […]
How AI helps conservationists better understand and protect giraffes
- Scientists have deployed artificial intelligence models to identify and re-identify endangered giraffes in Tanzania.
- The Wild Nature Institute partnered with Microsoft’s AI For Good Lab to launch Project GIRAFFE which uses open-source AI tools to identify and re-identify individual giraffes based on spot patterns on their bodies.
- The data has helped scientists come up with estimates on survival and reproduction rates, movements, and behavior of the animals.

Kenya’s PELIS trades biodiversity for livelihoods and tree cover gains
- Kenya’s forest plantations and livelihoods scheme (PELIS) allows communities to farm plots in plantations while helping replant trees, aiming to increase tree cover and support rural incomes.
- The system, a successor to the shamba scheme, has shown mixed results: boosting seedling survival and community cooperation in some areas, but also enabling corruption, encroachment and biodiversity loss where mismanaged.
- Critics, especially Indigenous groups like the Ogiek, argue PELIS replaces diverse natural forests with exotic monocultures that harm ecosystems and undermine traditional forest-based livelihoods.
- Despite past suspensions, President William Ruto revived PELIS in 2022 to support Kenya’s ambitious target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, intensifying debate over whether plantation forestry can truly substitute for natural forest restoration.

Collaboration key to lemur survival: Interview with primatologist Jonah Ratsimbazafy
- Primatologist Jonah Ratsimbazafy has warned that primate conservation is at critical juncture, and success will depends on collective effort.
- As he concluded his term as president of the International Primatological Society, he urged its members to work collaboratively and inclusively.
- Mongabay interviewed Ratsimbazafy about the state of research and protection for the Madagascar’s iconic lemurs on the sidelines of the 30th congress of the IPS in Antananarivo in July.

EUDR implementation comes laden with potential unintended consequences
- The European Union’s regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) is set to enter into force at the end of 2025, after a one-year delay. Experts say this tool is needed to address deforestation within the bloc’s commodities supply chains, but experts say the EUDR, unless revised, may come with unintended consequences.
- A shift of deforestation-linked commodities from the EU to nonregulated markets (known as leakage) could undermine the EUDR, while smallholder farmers could be sidelined to more easily meet the regulation’s goals, worsening social problems, risking land use change and even causing harm to ecosystems beyond forests.
- Experts propose a range of measures to address these problems in advance of EUDR implementation, including direct forest protection, inclusion of other vulnerable ecosystems in the legislation and greater efforts by government and companies to help smallholders adapt to regulatory requirements.

‘It doesn’t make sense’: Marine biologist on Kenya’s proposed nuclear power plant
- Kenya is considering building a nuclear power plant in Uyombo, a coastal town in Kilifi county. It would be near Mida Creek mangroves, Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve and Watamu National Marine Park and Reserve, all recognized for their high biodiversity, including endemic species and coral reefs.
- The plant’s cooling system could raise water temperatures in the area. This could harm marine life, potentially causing further coral bleaching and disrupting plankton and other critical species, which would, in the long run, affect the entire food chain.
- Residents and environmentalists, including marine biologist Peter Musila, have criticized the project and the government for poor communication, lack of public consultation and insufficient information on nuclear waste management.
- Musila argues Kenya does not need nuclear energy given the country’s renewable energy potential, and such a project raises concerns about potential accidents and long-term impacts on ecosystems and local livelihoods.

The clothes that never die: How fast fashion is burying Africa in plastic
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Mountains of smoking waste sprawl across the Dandora dump in Nairobi, Kenya. The acrid stench clings to the air; marabou storks pick over scraps alongside people searching for plastic bottles or bones. Interspersed among the refuse are scraps […]
Ethiopian initiatives try to mainstream traditional and resilient enset crop in diets
- Enset, a drought-tolerant crop native to Ethiopia and known as the “tree against hunger,” feeds more than 25 million people and is seen as a key to building climate-resilient food systems.
- Despite its importance, enset has long been neglected by both local agricultural policies and international partners, limiting its potential to improve food security on a broader scale.
- Efforts are underway to revive the cultivation and use of enset through innovation and national development programs — turning it into marketable products like flour used for porridge or cookies, which can be consumed in urban areas and across the country.
- However, challenges such as crop disease, limited investment and lack of international support remain key obstacles to its expansion as a sustainable food solution.

From counting trees to enhancing climate resiliency, Kampala focuses on its forests
- Recognized as a “Tree City of the World,” Uganda’s capital city of Kampala has set out on a journey to transform its urban forest into a resilient, native-rich landscape.
- What began as a response to falling trees has become a comprehensive environmental strategy tackling health, equity and climate change.
- Kampala has recently expanded its mission to increase green spaces to include biodiversity and connecting wildlife corridors throughout the city.

Patrick Kilonzo Mwalua, water bearer to Tsavo’s wild, died June 18, 2024, aged 51
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. It began with a buffalo. The animal lay slumped beside a dry waterhole in Kenya’s Tsavo West National Park, its great ribs rising and falling slowly in the dust. No rain had come. No relief was in sight. […]
What we can learn from the Nuer people and their sacred birds
For the pastoralist Nuer people who migrate with the seasons between western Ethiopia’s Gambella region and Africa’s largest wetland, the Sudd, in South Sudan, birds are gaatkuoth or “sacred children of God.” The community has identified at least 71 bird species that are culturally important to them and useful in traditional medicine, as well as […]
Encouraging signs from a no-fishing zone in Comoros could inspire others
- Signs of improvement in fisheries arising from a small no-fishing zone in the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros could inspire the establishment of more such zones across the archipelago.
- A fishers’ group installed the first no-take zone inside a marine protected area off the island of Anjouan in 2021. The group’s president told Mongabay fishers are now encountering more fish nearer to the shore outside the zone’s bounds.
- Buoyed by the results, a local nonprofit plans to establish five no-take zones in Anjouan over the next two years, covering 425 hectares (1,050 acres) of coral reefs.
- Earlier efforts to enforce temporary fishing closures to promote octopus fisheries for export and reduce pressure on fragile coral reef ecosystems didn’t lead to the anticipated benefits.

Ethiopia’s iconic Walia ibex faces extinction once again
The Walia ibex, an iconic wild goat species found only on the steep, ragged cliffs of the Simien Mountains in northern Ethiopia, has sharply declined in number over the past decade, according to a recent study. This puts the Walia ibex (Capra walie), now largely confined to Simien Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage […]
Uncovering forest loss in gorilla park six months after M23 offensive in the DRC
- Six months since M23 armed rebels took control of provincial capitals in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local activists and satellite imagery collected by Mongabay have identified sites of expanding forest loss in Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
- Researchers say this is due to collapsing conservation efforts, lack of park monitoring, and massive logging and charcoal production inside the national park. While M23 and other militias don’t produce the charcoal directly, they profit by taxing its transport and trade.
- Activists who have denounced the illegal exploitation have been harassed, attacked, or even killed. Some, like Josue Aruna, have been forced into hiding or exile after facing death threats.
- On July 19, the DRC government and M23 signed a ceasefire agreement, with conservationists saying they hope this will create conditions for restoring security in the area and halt the destruction of the rainforest.

A forest garden project attempts to expand into the Sahel
- A project in the Sahel and East Africa claims to fight both soil erosion and poverty through regenerative agroforestry.
- U.S.-based NGO Trees for the Future (TREES) trains farmers in what it calls the forest garden approach, an ancient model to plant diverse species next to each other.
- The approach is one of seven selected by the U.N. as a world restoration flagship program and aims to scale up massively to plant a billion trees by 2030.
- However, some experts say the potential for scaling up is limited, especially in the semiarid Sahel region, given the need for easily accessible sources of water.

The sacred humans-bird connection in Ethiopia’s wetlands: Interview with Abebayehu Aticho
- The Gambella region of Ethiopia is home to 71 bird species that are culturally important to the traditional pastoralist Nuer people and have several uses for the community, such as indicating seasonal changes and fish abundance.
- According to a recent study, the Nuer people maintain deep connections with these species, which helps the birds’ conservation, but threats to their habitats and wetlands are increasing.
- In the lead up to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15), Mongabay interviewed the study’s lead author Abebayehu Aticho about the spiritual ties, symbiotic relationships of Nuer people with birds and wetlands, and strategies required for the species’ conservation.
- The preservation of traditional knowledge and its incorporation into conservation strategies and policy making at local, national and global levels is important, says Aticho.

‘Shock and alarm’ as Malawi pardons wildlife trafficker Lin Yunhua
LILONGWE — Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has granted a presidential pardon to Lin Yunhua, a Chinese national sentenced to 14 years in prison for wildlife trafficking. Lin was among 37 inmates who received a presidential pardon as part of Malawi’s 61st independence anniversary celebrations on July 6. Conservationists have since expressed their disappointment, warning that […]
Agencies race to prevent new food crisis as locusts return to northern Africa
- Swarms of desert locusts are moving across parts of North Africa following ideal breeding conditions in late 2024 and early 2025, raising fears of major locust infestations moving south into the Sahel later this year.
- The Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) has conducted joint surveys and provided equipment and vehicles to strengthen ground response in countries like Libya and Tunisia.
- Mobile apps are helping to integrate Indigenous knowledge and local observations with enhanced satellite and remote monitoring of areas where desert locusts breed.
- These and other efforts are working to keep up with climate change, which has enhanced conditions that spur desert locust outbreaks, and regional insecurity which undermines already patchy monitoring of outbreaks on the ground.

A Kenya marine biodiversity credit program restores mangroves — and livelihoods
- The decline of mangroves significantly weakens Kenya’s coastal protection, leaving shorelines susceptible to erosion, storm surges and rising sea levels, disrupting marine ecosystems, depleting fish stocks, leading to reduced biodiversity — and lost livelihoods for locals.
- A U.S.-based organization called Seatrees is working with the local Community Based Environmental Conservation (COBEC) and residents of Marereni to restore and protect coastal and marine ecosystems as a natural solution to climate change.
- Since 2024, Seatrees has offered donors the option of buying $3 “biodiversity blocks,” each of which represents a single tangible conservation action: planting one mangrove tree on site in Marereni.
- The work goes beyond just planting trees, as community members turn mangrove restoration into a livelihood by establishing and maintaining nurseries — and, in some cases, starting side businesses with the income.

After USAID cut, Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area aims for self-sufficiency
- The abrupt end of USAID funding has disrupted conservation progress in Ethiopia’s Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), where community-led efforts had curbed illegal hunting and led to an increase in elephant and giraffe populations.
- In response, local leaders and communities are working to become financially self-sufficient by establishing income-generating initiatives.
- But progress is hindered by the lack of a functioning office, expert staff, and basic operational resources.
- While experts recognize the area’s strong potential for ecotourism and community benefit, they warn that poverty, conflict and climate challenges, combined with weak infrastructure, make external technical and financial support critical for a successful transition to self-reliance.

Friendship benefits male and female mountain gorillas differently, study shows
- A 21-year study of 164 wild mountain gorillas found that strong social bonds produce different health effects for males and females, with males experiencing more illness but fewer injuries when they have close friendships.
- Female gorillas with strong social bonds generally had better health outcomes, experiencing 19% fewer injuries and 14% less illness compared to those with weaker social bonds.
- The benefits and costs of friendship varied based on group size, with females in small groups having fewer offspring despite better health, while those in large groups had more babies but higher rates of illness.
- The research helps explain why animals exhibit such diverse social behaviors and may inform conservation efforts for this endangered species, which numbers just over 1,000 individuals.

What happens to artisanal fishers when a deep-sea fishing port comes to town?
- A new fishing port slated for completion in June will bring huge commercial vessels into the artisanal fishing community of Shimoni, Kenya.
- Local fishers fear that once the new port comes online, their fishing will become impossible in the near-shore waters they have fished for ages, and the huge vessels will disrupt local seafood markets.
- In 2023, President William Ruto promised to equip the local fishers with boats capable of fishing in the deep sea, but more than a year later, this promise has yet to be fulfilled, and local fishers say that boats the county delivered aren’t up to the task.
- Moreover, they say training will be essential to operate any deep-sea fishing vessels, along with mechanical support, and they worry they won’t be able to afford the upkeep costs.

Balancing wildlife and human needs at Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth park
To the outside world, Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is a model of successful conservation of wildlife amid declining populations in other parts of Africa. But while elephant, giraffe and buffalo populations have grown as much as sixfold, the people inside the park live with a colonial legacy that restricts both their livelihoods and their access […]
Vanishing giants: The Indian Ocean’s biggest fish need saving (commentary)
- New research confirms the decline of predatory and large-bodied fishes in the western Indian Ocean due to overfishing, unregulated fishing practices and climate change.
- The lead author of a new paper published in the journal Conservation Biology argues that these fish must be protected to ensure healthier reefs, marine ecosystems and adjacent human communities.
- “This issue isn’t just about protecting fish, but also maintaining a healthy ecosystem, supporting a crucial food source for millions and sustaining the livelihoods of many coastal communities. If we act now, we can still turn the tide,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

As a fishing port rises in Kenya, locals see threats to sea life, livelihoods
- In Shimoni, Kenya, a new fishing port is slated to open in June.
- While the government promises local people opportunities for jobs and businesses once operations start, some residents foresee more harm than good from the port.
- Some conservation activities — including seagrass, coral and mangrove restoration projects as well as fishing, seaweed farming and tourism operations — have already suffered during the port’s construction phase, which began in 2022, local people say. They fear it may get worse once the port opens, especially if planned dredging proceeds.
- A county government official said Kwale county is monitoring the situation and pledged to mitigate any impacts and safeguard fishing activities and conservation efforts.

Seaweed farming as an eco-friendly alternative for Tanzanian fishing communities
Climate change, overfishing and habitat loss have caused a sharp decline in fish stocks around Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania. To find a new income from the sea, women from Pemba are turning to sustainable seaweed farming, Mongabay’s video team reported in May. Seaweed farming was introduced to the island in 1989. It […]
Tanzania’s Mafia Island eyes sea cucumber farming to prevent extinction
Residents of Mafia Island in Tanzania don’t really eat sea cucumber; they call it jongoo bahari, or “ocean millipede” in Swahili. But sea cucumbers are a prized delicacy in East Asia, where demand has fueled a black market for the spiny sea creatures, Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo reported in May. A kilogram of dried sea cucumbers […]
Protecting Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains means putting communities at the center of conservation
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Conservation efforts often falter on the fault line between ecological ambition and human reality. A new initiative in southern Tanzania seeks to bridge that divide, reports contributor Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. The Udzungwa Landscape Strategy (ULS), launched in […]
As climate change worsens global locust crisis, researchers offer solutions  
Locust outbreaks, which cause considerable crop losses, affect a quarter of the world’s population today. In a recent paper, scientists predict the situation will worsen with climate change, and they suggest a way forward by integrating local communities’ knowledge. Locusts are species of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae, which, under certain environmental conditions, can […]
High-profile wildlife trafficking case tests Malawi’s conservation commitment
- In 2021, Malawian authorities arrested and sentenced Chinese national Lin Yunhua, a key figure in an international wildlife trafficking syndicate, to 14 years in prison for possession of pangolin scales, rhino horns and ivory.
- Recently unearthed documents reveal that, since then, there have been attempts to secure a pardon and allegations of bribery and corruption, but that Malawi’s justice system has resisted efforts to undermine the sentence.
- Lin now faces additional charges for attempting to bribe a judge and a prison official, with the case referred to the high court due to its complexity and public significance.
- Conservationists and government officials cite Lin’s prosecution as evidence of Malawi’s strengthened commitment to fighting high-level wildlife crime and corruption, though challenges remain.

Gelada monkey vocalizations offer insight into human evolution: Study
With their bright red, hairless chests and grass-grazing lifestyle, gelada monkeys are quite unusual. They are the only primate, other than humans, to primarily live on land instead of in trees, and a new study shows they are also able to detect emotional and social cues through vocal exchanges. “Geladas are special because they live […]
Peril and persistence define the path of Africa’s conservationists
- Local conservationists across Africa face threats, isolation and underfunding, as illustrated by Nigerian conservationist Itakwu Innocent, who survived an assassination attempt and has endured years of violence and ostracism for protecting wildlife and opposing poaching in his community.
- Women and young scientists in particular face systemic barriers in conservation, including gender bias and limited access to funding and recognition, despite taking leadership roles and driving grassroots initiatives in places like Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
- Funding disparities and broken promises by international NGOs have undermined trust in conservation efforts, making it harder for local scientists like Owan Kenneth to gain community support without financial incentives.
- Despite these challenges, recognition and success stories are emerging, with initiatives like fellowships and community-led reforms helping figures such as Adekambi Cole, Bashiru Koroma and Asuquo Nsa Ani make tangible conservation gains and inspire others.

New maps reveal Earth’s largest land mammal migration
Researchers have released new maps documenting the “Great Nile Migration,” the Earth’s largest-known land mammal migration across South Sudan and Ethiopia. The maps chart the seasonal movements of two antelope species, the white-eared kob (Kobus kob leucotis) and the tiang (Damaliscus lunatus tiang). Every year, around 5 million white-eared kob and 400,000 tiang migrate across […]
After terror attacks, Mozambique nature reserve faces ‘new reality’
- On April 29, ISIS-affiliated insurgent fighters attacked a conservation outpost inside Niassa Special Reserve in northern Mozambique.
- The attack claimed the lives of two rangers working with the Niassa Carnivore Project, and another two remain missing.
- Mozambican officials said last week there were “clear indications” that the fighters had left the reserve.

Derek Pomeroy, a leading figure in Ugandan ornithology died on May 29th, aged 90
If Derek Pomeroy said to meet him at 7am, you were expected to be there by exactly 7am—not a minute later. Punctuality was not just a preference; it was a principle. Whether in a zoology lab, a birdwatching field station, or over tea at Makerere University, order and discipline mattered. Behind that exacting standard, however, […]
USAID cut curbs hopes at Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area
- A sudden USAID funding cut has stalled conservation efforts in Ethiopia’s Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), a 197,000-hectare (486,000-acre) corridor home to elephants, giraffes and other threatened species.
- The project, launched in 2022 with $8.5 million in USAID support, had helped reduce illegal hunting, create local jobs and improve community-led biodiversity management.
- The suspension, announced in January this year, has triggered community members to lose hope and return to illegal hunting and deforestation, while fueling land-grab rumors that undermine Indigenous land rights.
- Conservationists and Indigenous leaders say the crisis reveals the risks of overreliance on foreign aid and that, without urgent support, hard-won ecological and social gains could be lost.

To collect native seeds, Ugandan botanists are climbing forest giants
- To access the best seeds for the propagation of native species, botanists often need to safely and sustainably collect from a variety of mother trees.
- In Uganda, Sebastian Walaita at the Tooro Botanic Gardens has been honing his skills and training botanists in high tree climbing for more than 25 years.
- These skills allow the botanists to collect seeds from even the tallest trees, in a way that captures genetic diversity.
- In October 2024, Walaita and a fellow Ugandan held a training in high tree climbing and seed collection in Côte d’Ivoire.

Young Rwandans support bird conservation through mobile app recordings
A young tour guide and his group of student mentees are helping monitor bird species in Rwanda with the help of a mobile app, Mongabay contributor Mariam Kone reported. Joseph Desiré Dufitumukiza, who enjoys bird-watching, felt moved to take action after he read about the decline of native bird species in Rwanda, including the Maccoa […]
Crisis hits community-led conservation group in northern Kenya
- Since its founding in 2004, the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) has attracted both admiration and criticism for its model of encouraging communities to register wildlife conservancies across northern Kenya.
- Earlier this year, a court ruled that two of its member conservancies had been set up illegally, and that same month it lost a major donor with the end of USAID funding.
- Now, a carbon credit project it manages has been suspended, and the organization’s founder, who was pushed out by its board last year, says he thinks it’s “dead.”

Kenyan soil carbon project suspended for a second time
The carbon credit certifier Verra has placed the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project under review for a second time, it confirmed to Mongabay in an emailed statement. Until the review is completed, the project will not be permitted to sell any credits it generates through its model of managing livestock grazing routes. The decision is […]
13 years after deadly attack, an okapi returns to Epulu in DRC reserve
- Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in partnership with the Okapi Conservation Project, has announced the return of an okapi to the reserve’s Epulu area after more than a decade.
- In 2012, an armed group of poachers killed seven people and 14 okapis at Epulu, and while the security situation in the area has improved since then, threats persist.
- The protected area is threatened by armed gangs, poachers and illegal gold mining, all of which endanger the species’ natural habitat.
- Experts say this instability has contributed to the continued decline of the okapi population, with an estimated 5,000 of these “African unicorns” left in the wildlife reserve.

Mozambique announces petrochemical city on sensitive Inhambane seascape
In April this year, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo announced the launch of a national petrochemical city project in Mavanza village in Vilankulo district of Inhambane province. The coastline of Inhambane province, or the Inhambane seascape, is a globally important area that conservation groups have previously urged the government of Mozambique to protect for its threatened […]
Building a future from seaweed in coastal Tanzania
PEMBA ISLAND — Tanzania. The coastal communities on Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania, have long depended on the rich marine resources of the Indian Ocean. But in recent years, fish stocks have declined due to overfishing, habitat loss, and the impacts of climate change. Many have had to seek new ways to earn […]
Poaching intensifies in M23-occupied areas of Virunga National Park
- On March 11th, 2025, Virunga National Park authorities discovered a young gorilla named Fazili caught in a poacher’s trap.
- The closure of Virunga National Park eco-guard patrol posts in areas under M23 occupation has prevented regular patrols and monitoring since April 2024, said researchers, and some locals are taking advantage of the security situation to benefit from the park’s resources, collaborate with armed groups for land, or take part in the wild meat trade.
- No species have completely disappeared from the park, and the population of gorillas continued to rise in 2024 but there has been a 50% decrease in wildlife since the M23 resurgence in 2021 and poaching is expanding, said park officials.
- About one hundred community trackers are working to protect wildlife during the security crisis.

Rwanda’s Olivier Nsengimana inspires protection for gray crowned cranes in East Africa
- Ten years ago, the gray crowned crane (Balearica regulorum), faced with habitat loss and capture for illegal trade, was quietly slipping toward local extirpation in Rwanda.
- The Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA), led by veterinarian Olivier Nsengimana, has been at the forefront of a campaign to end the keeping of cranes as pets, rehabilitating many captive birds and releasing them into the wild.
- The association is also enlisting community members to strengthen protection of the cranes’ wetland habitat from encroachment and damage — a strategy that it is extending to neighboring countries via partnerships with other NGOs.
- For these efforts, Nsengimana has been awarded the 2025 Whitley Gold Award, making him a two-time winner after he first received the award in 2018.

Indris like to “move it”
Madagascar’s Indri indri lemurs can carry a tune. Through collecting songs and calls produced by 20 indri groups in Madagascar’s rainforests over the span of 15 years, scientists have found that indri songs exhibit rhythmic patterns that are common in human music — providing a pathway for decoding the evolution of music. Indris are critically […]
Discovery of critically endangered bat in Rwanda leads to conservation talks
- Bats are one of the most diverse orders of mammals and represent an important component of ecological balance. They may make up a large portion of the mammal diversity — including in countries like Rwanda where much of the natural forest and savannah habitats have been lost, changed or degraded.
- Researchers recently discovered two rare bat species in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park, and the IUCN lists 54 species of bats as occurring in the country.
- Research shows that killing bats to control zoonotic diseases can make things worse.
- Several studies show that bats are important predators of insects and are, therefore, a natural asset for agrarian productivity, suppressing pest populations.

Beyond the Safari
The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa, as protected areas become battlegrounds over history, human rights, and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss. Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins, and trying to forge a path forward […]

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