location: Europe

location: Europe

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Hidden ‘bubble cave’ may help world’s rarest seal steer clear of humans: Study
On the Greek islet of Formicula, researchers have found rare Mediterranean monk seals will take refuge in an air-filled “bubble cave,” according to a recent study. This type of hidden chamber, accessible via underwater passages, allows the seals to breathe, and possibly hide from tourists, the researchers said. Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), the world’s […]
Parts of Europe swelter in record May heat as deaths at amateur sports events spur warnings
PARIS (AP) — Europe is baking under unseasonal heat that is shattering temperature records, including in the United Kingdom on Monday, and prompting government warnings after deaths were reported at amateur sports events in France. The French sports minister, Marina Ferrari, posted condolences to the loved ones of a runner who died Sunday in a […]
Monica Montefalcone, leading seagrass scientist, dies in Maldives diving accident, aged 51
- Monica Montefalcone, a University of Genoa marine ecologist and leading expert on Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica meadows, died in a diving accident in the Maldives at age 51.
- Her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, 23, died with her, along with three other Italians, four of whom were connected to the University of Genoa.
- Montefalcone’s work linked field science, conservation practice and public understanding, especially through mapping, monitoring and restoring seagrass meadows and other coastal marine habitats.
- Colleagues and students remembered her as a demanding field scientist, generous teacher and clear communicator who helped younger researchers find their place in marine biology.

European bottom trawling costs billions every year in climate impacts, study finds
Europe’s fishing industry makes around 180 million euros ($210 million) every year in profits from bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy fishing gear along seabeds. But a new study found when climate costs associated with the practice are calculated, society is paying a price up to 90 times higher than the fishing industry profits. “Bottom […]
From caws to code: AI helps decrypt animal communication
- Scientists are increasingly using artificial intelligence models to decode the communications of other species.
- The Earth Species Project has built a generalizable model that could be used across species; the team also works with scientists around the world to develop custom models for specific species.
- In northern Spain, ESP’s AI tools are helping scientists understand how a population of cooperative-breeding crows communicate with one another.
- The technology is also being deployed to understand how orcas communicate with each other, and how underwater noise affects their communication.

The European wildcat hovers between recovery and local extinction
- European wildcats are making a comeback in the Czech Republic, where they’re critically endangered. Conservationists found evidence of this species breeding in the Lusatian Mountains.
- Though these wildcats, similar in size to large domestic cats, aren’t at risk range-wide, some populations face local extinction.
- Experts note that positive recovery in Central European countries is countered by declines and a lack of basic population data elsewhere.

From Africa to Central Asia, the European roller’s migration builds relationships
- The European roller breeds in open woodlands across Europe and Central Asia and migrates as far as 10,000 kilometers to Africa each year.
- Since 2024, a nascent project of BirdLife South has been investigating the birds’ migration routes and stopover sites.
- The European Roller Monitoring Project aims to identify valuable or vulnerable habitat and build the international relationships that can support the protection of this and other species.

Cocaine exposure drives salmon to alter movements
Young Atlantic salmon exposed to cocaine and its breakdown product, benzoylecgonine, swim farther and more widely in the wild, a new study shows. This behavioral change can put them in risky situations, researchers say. “[T]he effects of illicit drug pollution on aquatic wildlife is not just a laboratory finding — it can measurably alter wildlife […]
Offshore wind’s clean energy potential remains largely untapped, say experts
- Offshore wind has enormous clean energy potential across the globe. Though the sector has expanded in recent years that potential remains largely untapped.
- Today, China and European nations lead the way in developing offshore wind farms, with the U.S. hampered by the Trump administration, and other nations just beginning to tap into the potential of marine wind.
- Currently, about 80 gigawatts of power is generated by existing marine wind farms. According to some estimates, more than 2,000 GW of offshore wind is needed to meet climate goals, requiring a huge expansion including in deeper waters using floating platforms.

Brazil FOIA confirms Lula & Macron talked before key CITES vote on endangered tree
- Earlier in 2026, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s office denied to Mongabay that he had had a phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, before a decisive vote at the 2025 meeting of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty to secure the highest trade protections for endangered Brazilwood.
- But after Mongabay’s Freedom of Information Act request, Lula’s office confirmed the two leaders had, in fact, been in direct communication during the CITES summit. The confirmation comes after allegations that last-minute political maneuvers by France diluted Brazil’s proposal and resulted in reduced protections. France has not responded to Mongabay’s similar freedom of information request, and has declined to comment about any communications between Lulu and Macron at the CITES summit.
- Brazilwood is highly sought-after by the music industry to craft violin bows costing up to $8,200 apiece. The species, endemic to Brazil, has declined by 84% over the last three generations and is now critically endangered.

Forest-focused environment laws may be pushing farming into other ecosystems
Grasslands, wetlands and other nonforest ecosystems are being converted to agricultural land far faster than forests. However, they remain largely overlooked by Europe’s flagship antideforestation law and other environmental policies, according to a new report by the Rainforest Alliance, World Resources Institute and partner organizations. The report found such ecosystems are being lost to agriculture […]
EU deforestation law nudges timber trade, Indonesia probe shows, but risks persist
- An investigation tracing Indonesian timber to recently cleared forests shows EU-bound supply chains still carry deforestation risks, even as the bloc prepares to enforce stricter rules.
- The upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is already shifting behavior, with some European buyers and Indonesian suppliers cutting ties and tightening traceability.
- But trade data from 2025 show high-risk imports continue, highlighting uneven progress and persistent loopholes in complex, opaque supply chains.
- Researchers and advocates say only full, consistent enforcement of the EUDR, alongside stronger due diligence and reforms in Indonesia, will meaningfully curb deforestation-linked timber trade.

Invasive ferrets removed from an island in a world-first
Rathlin Island off the north of Northern Ireland is now free from feral ferrets that were harming its native seabirds. Conservationists say this is the first time these nonnative animals, which were domesticated from polecats some 2,000 years ago, have been completely eradicated from any island. Ferrets (Mustela furo) were introduced to Rathlin in the […]
Creating the North Atlantic’s largest MPA network: Interview with Azores President José Manuel Bolieiro
- In May, José Manuel Bolieiro, president of the Portuguese-administered Azores region, will be honored at the international Peter Benchley Ocean Awards, known as the “Oscars for the Ocean.”
- Bolieiro played a key role in the recent expansion of the archipelago’s existing ocean protections with the establishment of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network, now the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic.
- He spoke to Mongabay about the importance of ensuring adequate funding and enforcement for the new MPA network, his hope that Portugal can be a global reference for ocean conservation, and how growing up in the Azores fostered his deep love of the sea.

A French city cut its marine pollution — and its seagrass bounced back
- Neptune grass is generally regarded as the most ecologically important seagrass and shallow-water habitat in the Mediterranean Sea, where it is endemic. But the species has been in decline for many decades.
- A new study found that following the introduction of stronger environmental regulations and practices in the mid-to-late 1980s, Neptune grass (Posidonia oceanica) repopulated sampled sections of the waters off Marseille, France, over the ensuing four decades at rates that experts called “exceptional” and “remarkable.”
- The lead author said the study shows the value of passive restoration: letting seagrass meadows regrow on their own after removing the human-caused drivers of decline, rather than focusing on replanting or transplanting the species.

Pyrenees brown bear population climbs to an estimated 130 in latest census
The annual census of brown bears in the Pyrenees mountain range of Spain, France and Andorra estimated that 130 bears are now living in the region with an average annual population growth rate of more than 11% over the last 18 years. The subpopulation of Pyrenees brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) has been steadily increasing […]
Asia now hub of growing illegal wildlife trade across 100+ countries, study shows
- At least 110 countries are now involved in illegal trade in wildlife — more than doubling from 49 in 2000. Trade connections jumped by more than 400%, according to a recent analysis of global wildlife seizure data.
- Asia, rather than Europe, is now the center of illegal trade for most species, the study found, sparked by extensive trading, business and diplomatic connections with Africa — the source for many wildlife products.
- This trade, often run by transnational criminal syndicates, is complex and resilient to disruptions, such as the pandemic or border restrictions, and adapts quickly, making intervention and enforcement extremely challenging.
- Experts say constant monitoring and transnational law enforcement efforts are needed to crack down on this rapidly evolving illegal enterprise.

Seabird nests built with plastic waste off the coast of Germany: Photo of the week
The northern gannet, a seabird that lives across the northern Atlantic Ocean, typically builds its nests from seaweed and other aquatic plants. But more recently, its nests have started to include plastic material fished from the ocean. Martin Brogger, a researcher at Argentina’s Institute of Marine Organisms Biology (IBIOMAR), photographed several gannet nests containing plastic […]
Eight arrested as Europe cracks down on lucrative eel smuggling syndicates
- Authorities in France and Spain have arrested eight suspects tied to a cross-border syndicate, accused of trafficking critically endangered European eels.
- Investigators say more than 7 million juvenile glass eels, worth nearly 600,000 euros (690,000 dollars), were smuggled over two years’ time.
- The arrests follow a year-long joint probe by investigators from the two countries into illegal fishing and laundering of eel catches.
- The case highlights the scale of an illicit trade that persists despite bans and trade protections for the species.

The Dutch Nitrogen Crisis
What happens when biodiversity conservation and food systems collide? As the top meat exporter in the European Union, the Netherlands has become a case study in the ecological limits of industrial farming. When courts forced action to protect fragile ecosystems, it set off mass farmer protests, political upheaval, and a tug-of-war between regulation, technology and […]
Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss & avian flu, report finds
- A U.N.-backed report finds that nearly half of the world’s migratory species protected under a global treaty are now decreasing — and about one in four now faces extinction.
- Habitat loss and degradation as well as hunting and fishing are driving these declines, but a deadly virus, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, is also taking a heavy toll on bird populations.
- Wildlife corridors and protected ocean networks can play a pivotal role in conserving imperiled species: Animals need to move to find food, a mate and migrate.

Plastic, from home and abroad, spills into Türkiye’s waters
- Türkiye has become a major destination for plastic waste recycling, notably from Europe and the U.K. Most of this scrap heads to the roughly 180 waste facilities handling plastic in Adana province.
- But large quantities are dumped along riverbanks or escape the facilities through their wastewater and eventually flow downstream into the Mediterranean Sea.
- The resulting pollution is taking a toll on riverine and marine ecosystems, including important sea turtle nesting sites.
- Some experts say Türkiye should stop importing plastic altogether to stem the tide of pollution, but the government has said the recycling industry plays an important economic role.

From forest to flatpack, IKEA faces timber traceability test under EUDR
- As the EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) nears implementation this year, furniture giant IKEA may need stronger traceability systems to prove its timber isn’t linked to post-2020 deforestation.
- Although nearly all IKEA wood is FSC-certified or recycled, past investigations show this voluntary scheme can miss illegal or unsustainable logging.
- The EUDR requires geolocation data and stricter due diligence than existing certifications or regulations, but repeated delays and possible rule changes have created uncertainty for companies like IKEA preparing to comply.
- Industry watchdogs say high-profile companies like IKEA can “do more” to champion the landmark regulation and implement leading wood traceability systems, rather than relying solely on existing — voluntary— certification schemes.

Pascale Moehrle pressed Europe to take its seas seriously
- Pascale Moehrle, who led Oceana’s European office from 2019 to 2025, spent more than four decades working on wildlife conservation and ocean policy.
- Her death was announced by Oceana on March 4, 2026.
- Moehrle pushed European governments to follow scientific advice on fisheries, curb destructive fishing practices and enforce protections in marine protected areas.
- Her work focused on turning Europe’s commitments on ocean protection into practical policy that could restore marine ecosystems and sustain fisheries.

Azores dodges proposal to overturn no-fishing zones in its giant new MPA network
- A law establishing the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network was approved in October 2024 and took effect recently, on Jan. 1 this year.
- The network now safeguards 30% of Azorean waters, 287,000 square kilometers of seascape sheltering a rich array of marine life, and makes up the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Not two weeks later, on Jan. 15, the Azores Parliament voted on a measure that upholds a core provision of the MPA network, after it came under fire in recent months: No fishing inside the fully protected areas, which constitute half the vast network.
- Conservationists expressed satisfaction, broadly, with the agreement, but fishers’ groups expressed disappointment.

Gerard C. Boere, conservationist and designer of flyways, died Jan 6, aged 83
At the edges of continents, where water thins into mud and birds gather before long journeys, conservation has often been a matter of persistence. It has required people willing to think across borders, seasons, and political cycles. Long before such thinking was fashionable, a small group of scientists and civil servants argued that migratory birds […]
Tipping points and ecosystem collapse are the real geopolitical risk (commentary)
- Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute argues that climate tipping points and large-scale biodiversity loss now pose a more profound threat to global security than many conventional risks, undermining food systems, water supplies, public health, and state legitimacy across borders.
- Drawing on a newly released UK security assessment and wider research, he shows how ecosystem collapse creates cascading, non-linear shocks — from inflation and political polarization to displacement and conflict — that current economic and risk models consistently underestimate.
- He concludes that protecting and restoring nature, alongside a rapid energy transition, is not a secondary environmental concern but a core security and economic strategy, and often cheaper than coping with systemic collapse after the fact.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Pesticides found in 70% of European soils, harming beneficial life: Study
- A new study found pesticide residues in 70% of soil samples across 26 European countries, making contamination the second-strongest factor shaping soil biodiversity after basic soil properties.
- The pesticides severely harmed beneficial organisms like mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes that help plants absorb nutrients, and disrupted critical soil functions, including phosphorus and nitrogen cycling.
- Pesticide contamination extended beyond farmland into forests and grasslands where pesticides aren’t applied, likely due to spray drift, with some chemicals persisting in soil for years.
- Researchers say current regulations are inadequate because they test pesticides on only a few individual species rather than examining effects on entire soil communities and the ecosystem functions they perform.

Communities join global push to protect European, Arctic & US peatlands
- A conservation effort across Finland, Canada’s Arctic and the U.S. is trying to establish one of the first coordinated efforts to protect and restore peatlands in Europe and North America.
- At the same time, communities and organizations are leading research activities, preserving Indigenous knowledge and creating artistic spaces to raise awareness about peatland conservation.
- Although peatlands cover only about 3-4% of the Earth’s surface, studies show they contain up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon.
- Given that peatlands are overlooked and face growing risks, sources say a cross-regional approach is timely for advancing peatland conservation while helping communities become better prepared and more resilient to climate change and mining impacts.

When nature becomes a security risk
Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a different category to that list. Global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, it argues, now pose a direct and growing risk to national security, with implications […]
Europe’s olive grove crisis affects nature & culture, but has solutions
Across Mediterranean Europe, olive groves are in decline from a range of factors, from disease to depopulation. In Italy alone, there are estimated to be roughly 30 million abandoned olive trees, and the ecological, cultural and socioeconomic impacts from the loss are devastating, explains the latest guest on the Mongabay Newscast. Still, solutions exist to […]
Francis Hallé, the botanist who took a raft into the rainforest canopy
- The richest part of a tropical rainforest is often the hardest to study: the canopy, where much of its biodiversity lives beyond reach from the ground. Francis Hallé helped change that by finding ways to observe the treetops without cutting them down.
- A French botanist, biologist, and illustrator, he became known for the “canopy raft,” a platform set onto the crowns of trees by a balloon. It turned the upper forest from a place described in theory into one examined up close.
- Hallé was an expert in tropical forest ecology and “the architecture of trees,” a way of identifying trees by how they grow and branch. He paired field science with drawing and plain speech, and he was unsparing about the forces driving deforestation.
- In his later years he pursued a long-term plan to restore a “primeval forest” in Western Europe, left to evolve with minimal human interference over centuries. It was, in his view, a test of whether societies could think beyond the political moment.

EUDR antideforestation law officially delayed for second year in a row
The European Union’s antideforestation law, known as EUDR, has officially been delayed for a second year. The amendment was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Dec. 23, 2025. The EUDR bans the import of commodities, including cocoa, coffee, soy, beef, timber, palm oil and rubber, that come from areas deforested after […]
Azores must respect its exceptional network of marine protected areas (commentary)
- Just over a year ago, the Azores created the largest network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the North Atlantic, becoming a beacon of hope and a global leader in ocean conservation.
- Then, in early 2025, a proposal to allow tuna fishing in “no-take” areas there was submitted to the Regional Assembly; this is currently under discussion and could come to a vote this week or next week.
- “Such a retreat from ocean protection would not only be a local tragedy but also a disheartening contribution to the global backpedaling on environmental political will,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

SE Asia’s smallholders struggling to meet EUDR: Interview with RECOFTC’s Martin Greijmans
- The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to take effect at the end of 2026, after EU lawmakers voted to postpone its implementation for a second year.
- The legislation aims to reduce commodity-driven deforestation and illegal trade in forest products by enabling companies importing into the EU to trace entire supply chains.
- Experts say the increased oversight is a vital step to reduce the footprint of EU consumption on forests, but caution that many smallholders across Southeast Asia need more support to prepare for compliance, especially on land documentation and geolocation data.
- Without appropriate technical, financial and governance support, observers warn, the new rules could sideline smallholders or push them into less regulated markets, deepening already existing inequities.

Brigitte Bardot, who turned fame into a lifelong fight for animals
- In a period when animal protection was often dismissed in public debate as sentimental or marginal, Brigitte Bardot used the force of her celebrity to insist that cruelty toward animals, especially wildlife, was a serious moral and political issue.
- She redirected her fame toward sustained campaigns against practices such as the commercial seal hunt, whaling, fur trapping, and bullfighting, arguing bluntly that wild animals were among the most defenseless victims of modern economic systems.
- By formalizing her activism through the Fondation Brigitte Bardot and maintaining an uncompromising public stance long after leaving cinema, she treated wildlife protection not as a gesture or phase, but as a permanent measure of society’s restraint.
- Bardot died on December 28, 2025 in Saint-Tropez, France. She was 91.

Stuart Brooks, peat protector, has died
- Stuart Brooks was part of a small group of conservationists who helped shift peatlands from the margins of environmental policy to a recognized priority for climate, biodiversity, and land management. His influence came through persistence rather than spectacle.
- Trained as a geographer, he built practical expertise in peatland ecology early in his career and helped consolidate it into guidance that became standard for restoration work in the UK and beyond.
- In senior roles at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the John Muir Trust, and the National Trust for Scotland, he worked to align conservation practice with public policy, often arguing for approaches that respected natural processes over intervention.
- As a founder and chair of the IUCN UK Peatland Program, he translated specialist knowledge into institutions, strategies, and protections that continue to shape peatland restoration at national and international levels.

Sámi reindeer herders protest EU-backed graphite mine, fearing lost grazing ground
- Sweden has approved the EU-backed Nunasvaara South graphite mine by Australia-based battery anode and graphite company Talga Group on land Sámi reindeer herders use for winter grazing.
- The mining company told Mongabay it has designed the mine area to limit the impact on nature and it plans to shut down operations for six months of the year to allow reindeer to graze on their winter grounds.
- But Sámi residents, who depend on herding, told Mongabay they fear their reindeer will be displaced because their winter grazing grounds will be destroyed, and they criticize the company’s environmental safeguards.
- They also said the mine’s inclusion as a strategic project under the EU Critical Raw Minerals Act has allowed it to be fast-tracked without essential environmental safeguards and that the company has made little attempt to meaningfully communicate with affected communities.

Researchers find concerning gaps in global maps used for EUDR compliance
- Most companies importing certain products into the EU must comply with the European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR), which will go into application on Dec. 30, 2026.
- Satellite and other remote-sensing maps can guide both companies trying to comply with the regulation and government agencies verifying levels of deforestation risk attached to imports.
- But a recent review paper suggests that most of the available maps struggle to meet all of the requirements of the EUDR and could over- or underestimate the risk of deforestation for certain products.
- A key issue is the maps’ ability to differentiate forest from systems that look similar, such as agroforestry, commonly practiced by smallholder farmers producing cocoa, coffee and rubber.

EU votes to delay EUDR antideforestation law for second year in a row
The European Parliament voted on Dec. 17 to delay a key antideforestation regulation that was adopted in 2023 and originally supposed to be implemented at the end of 2024. The implementation was delayed a year to December 2025, and now the EU has voted to delay it yet again by another year. The European Union […]
As storms surge & the sea rises, Belgium builds dunes for protection
- Belgium is trialing “dune-by-dike” systems as a nature-based defense against storm surges and sea-level rise, using engineered sand dunes in front of existing dikes to create a double buffer along vulnerable stretches of coast.
- There are four dune-by-dike pilot sites in Belgium, including a 750-meter site in Raversijde, a neighborhood in the coastal city of Ostend, which Mongabay visited in late November.
- The Raversijde dune-by-dike project was established in 2021 with grids of vegetation that collected sand as the wind blew, helping build up the dunes.
- While experts said they believe dune-by-dike systems could protect large portions of the Belgian coast, they said building and maintaining the dunes relies on dredging sand from the sea to replenish adjacent beaches.

Boom in burning waste for fuel could put human health and environment at risk
- Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) — conglomerated waste often composed of up to 50% plastic — is being burned globally in waste-to-energy incinerators, cement kilns, paper mills, and by other industries.
- Proponents say RDF reduces fossil fuel use and produces cleaner energy, while diverting waste from landfills.
- Critics say a lack of monitoring often hides RDF’s true environmental and human health footprint, and that when burned alongside fossil fuels, the technology can significantly worsen pollution. Health issues potentially connected to RDF contaminants range from cancer to hormone disruption.
- That’s a major concern as RDF ramps up, with countries in the Global South especially starting to use and dispose of waste in this way. Burning RDF and the incineration of plastic waste has been linked to greenhouse gas emissions and also extremely toxic pollutants such as dioxins.

‘Myopic’ fisheries managers toy with a new ‘tragedy of the commons’ (commentary)
- There are many examples of “tragedies of the commons,” whether in the atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide pollution, or in the oceans because of marine plastics. But arguably the largest in the world is caused by overfishing, a new op-ed argues.
- The general absence of effective fisheries regulations that ensure the conservation of healthy fish populations endangers whole oceans and the billions of people who depend upon fish for their livelihoods.
- “Currently, fisheries ministers are myopically obsessed with the pain the industry always claims it would suffer next year if the right conservation policies were adopted. They should look instead at how long we have been getting it wrong, and how quickly things could be turned round,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Norway pauses deep-sea mining for four years
Norway has closed the door to deep-sea mining in its waters until at least 2029, stopping an industry that had been on the cusp of launching in spite the environmental risks it presented. On Dec. 3, Norway’s five political parties supporting the new government debated the fiscal budget. They agreed that the government would not […]
Cristina Gallardo, 39, a devoted guardian of Spain’s wild places, is lost to a fall
The cliffs above Cala de Moraia are steep and inaccessible. To most people, the terrain would signal danger rather than duty. But dangerous places often shelter life that needs defending. Rare plants cling to the cliff face, surviving only because most people cannot reach them. On November 25th, 2025, one person did. She was there […]
‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists
- An international team of 43 scientists has called for a “paradigm shift” in toxicology and chemical regulation globally after having found severe lapses in current regulatory systems for evaluating the safety of pesticides and plastics derived from petrochemical byproducts.
- The researchers note that the full commercial formulations of common petrochemical-based pesticides and plasticizers have never been subjected to long-term tests on mammals. Only the active ingredients declared by chemical companies have been assessed for human health risks, while other ingredients have not.
- The scientists found that synthesized pesticides and plasticizers contain petroleum-based waste and heavy metals such as arsenic that can make them “at least 1,000 times more toxic” than the active ingredients alone, posing chronic disease and health threats, especially to children — claims that the chemical industry denies.
- Researchers urge lowering the admissible daily intake, or toxicity threshold, for already approved chemical compounds; long-term testing on the full formulations of new pesticides and new plasticizers; and requiring all toxicological data and experimental protocols for approved commercial compounds be made public.

EU backs another one-year delay for EUDR antideforestation law
The European Union has voted to postpone implementing a key antideforestation law for the second year in a row, citing technical concerns. Critics of the move warn that a delay and other proposed changes will further weaken the law. On Nov. 26, the European Parliament voted 402 to 250 in favor of an amendment that […]
Are wolves scared of us?
The “big bad wolf,” as portrayed in popular culture, still has a healthy fear of humans, a new study reveals. As wolves return to parts of their historical ranges in Europe and North America, there’s growing concern that the predators are becoming less fearful of people. But a recent study from Poland shows that wolves […]
Plans to dispose of mining waste in Norway’s Arctic Ocean worries Sámi fishers, herders
- Mining company Blue Moon Metals plans to dispose of its mining waste in Repparfjord, a nationally protected salmon fjord in the Norwegian Arctic that Indigenous Sámi fishers rely on.
- When operational, the Nussir ASA copper mine will deposit between 1 million and 2 million metric tons of tailings at the bottom of the fjord annually, according to the company’s permit.
- The Norwegian Environment Agency told Mongabay that the company plans to place its mining waste into the fjord in a controlled manner to limit the dispersal of harmful residues.
- Some Sámi residents, whose livelihoods depend on fishing and reindeer herding, told Mongabay they fear the tailings and mine will destroy vital marine habitats for salmon and disrupt traditional reindeer breeding and migration areas.

France’s largest rewilding project takes root in the Dauphiné Alps
- The nonprofit Rewilding Europe announced its 11th project this summer in the Dauphiné Alps, a forested mountain range in southeastern France where wild horses, bison and lynx thrived more than 200 years ago.
- Rewilding is a restoration concept that works toward wildlife comeback to a landscape with minimal other human intervention.
- The project is focused on fostering an environment where wild horses, alpine ibex, roe deer, vultures, Eurasian lynx and wolves can build healthy populations.
- The biggest challenges include working with private landowners and convincing locals that predators, such as wolves, can be beneficial.

Why Sweden’s forest policy matters to the world (commentary)
- Sweden is one of the world’s largest exporters of forest-based products: paper, timber, cardboard and biofuels travel across the globe, ending up in your packaging, your books, in your home.
- A recent government proposal encourages fertilization with nitrogen to speed up tree growth, which may work in the short term but eventually fails and is leached into waterways, altering ecosystems and being released back into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
- “If a country with some of the world’s largest intact boreal forests chooses to double down on short-term extraction, it will not only undermine the EU’s climate goals — it will send a dangerous signal to other forest nations, from Canada to Brazil, that soil and biodiversity can be sacrificed in the name of so-called green growth,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Europe’s under-pressure bats face ‘astonishing’ threat: Ambush by rats
Researchers have captured video of an unexpected predator at two bat hibernation sites in northern Germany: invasive brown rats that lie in wait to intercept the bats mid-flight. Invasive rodents are known predators of native animals on islands, including bats. However, this is likely the first time invasive brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been recorded […]
As Ghana ships first ‘gold standard’ timber to EU, questions about FLEGT’s future remain (commentary)
- Ghana is the first country in Africa to be awarded a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license, which is seen as the “gold standard” in the sustainable timber trade.
- The fate of many of Africa’s surviving forests could depend on its success, highlighted by an official meeting in Brussels this week that will mark the first shipment of timber from Ghana to the EU under the program — but a new op-ed wonders if it will it be the last.
- “If Ghana’s FLEGT license turns out to be the last, it would snatch defeat from the jaws of a famous victory. But there is also hope that Ghana’s groundbreaking system of timber traceability could help spur similar systems in other countries,” the author argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Scientists map Italy’s entire coast to guide seagrass and marine recovery
- Posidonia oceanica is a Mediterranean seagrass whose meadows act as a carbon sink, a coastal protector and a nursery for marine life.
- This ecosystem is under severe threat from human activities, including illegal trawling, pollution and boat anchoring, resulting in significant degradation and loss of biodiversity.
- Italy is employing sophisticated sensors to create an unprecedentedly detailed and comprehensive map of its entire coastline, including its Posidonia meadows, in an effort to improve management and conservation of its marine habitats.
- While large-scale mapping provides the blueprint, targeted protection and restoration efforts demonstrate that it’s possible to reverse the damage and bring life back to the sea.

Bird flu hits migrating cranes hard in Germany as the virus flares up
LINUM, Germany (AP) — In a spot outside Berlin that’s usually a paradise for birdwatchers, volunteers have recovered nearly 2,000 dead cranes in recent days as bird flu has hit the migrating birds hard. Linum, a small village about an hour’s travel from the German capital, is a popular resting spot for thousands of cranes […]
Report finds dangerous mercury levels, highlights mislabeling in shark meat sold in EU
- Nearly a third of shark meat samples taken from products sold in Europe contained dangerously high methylmercury levels, with all tope shark and almost a quarter of blue shark samples exceeding EU safety limits, a new study finds.
- Much shark meat is mislabeled under names like rock salmon, huss or veau de mer, leaving consumers unaware they’re eating shark and could be ingesting a potent neurotoxin.
- Methylmercury can’t be cooked out, builds up in human tissue and can cause lasting neurological harm. Meanwhile, shark populations are declining, threatening marine ecosystem stability.
- The study’s authors urge stricter labeling laws, tighter food monitoring and consumer education, arguing that eating apex predators is both ecologically and medically unsustainable.

Oil and gas giant TotalEnergies found guilty of greenwashing
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies has been found by a Paris court to have deceived consumers by overstating its climate pledges and its role as an active player in the fight against global warming. The court last week ordered TotalEnergies to remove those misleading environmental claims from its website, in a move NGOs say […]
EU proposes soft delay of anti-deforestation law & more exemptions for rich nations
The European Union has dropped plans for another one-year delay to its anti-deforestation law, instead proposing a six-month grace period before enforcement begins. The proposal also introduces simplification measures and exemptions that favor EU nation states, the U.S., Canada, Australia and China. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), approved in 2023, sets out to ensure commodities […]
Rise in persecution of climate defenders in Europe slammed by UN expert
Climate activists worldwide are facing increased persecution and criminalization by governments, with some of the most severe measures coming from Europe, according to a United Nations human rights expert. Governments including those of the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain have introduced measures that criminalize protests and redefine terrorism and organized crime laws to persecute […]
The slender-billed curlew, a migratory waterbird, is officially extinct: IUCN
The last known photo of the slender-billed curlew, a grayish-brown migratory waterbird, was taken in February 1995 at Merja Zerga, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. There will likely never be another one. The species, Numenius tenuirostris, has officially been declared extinct by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “The extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew is […]

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