location: Global

location: Global

Social media activity version | Lean version

10 notable books on conservation and the environment published in 2025
- As challenging as 2025 has been for conservation and environmental issues, the dogged struggle to address the crises we face remains a central focus for scientists, activists and communities around the globe.
- Their stories hold the promise of a brighter future in the years to come.
- The list below features a sample of important literature on conservation and the environment published this year.
- Inclusion in this list does not imply Mongabay’s endorsement of a book’s content; the views in the books are those of the authors and not necessarily of Mongabay.

Top ocean news stories of 2025 (commentary)
- Marking the midway point in the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 2025 was a key year for the ocean.
- The past 12 months brought landslide multilateral wins for ocean policy, unprecedented ocean financial commitments, and increasing momentum to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
- Here, marine scientists, policy experts and a communications expert lay out the key ocean stories from the past year.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

2025: A year of consequence for Mongabay’s journalism
- In a year marked by public fatigue, political polarization, and pressure on democratic institutions and press freedom, Mongabay operated in an information environment where attention was scarce but decisions with lasting consequences were still being made, often quietly and locally.
- 2025 also brought significant loss, including the deaths of East Africa editor Ochieng Ogodo and Advisory Council member Jane Goodall, alongside many other environmental defenders; Mongabay honored these lives through dozens of tributes aimed at making their work visible and carrying it forward through solutions-focused reporting.
- Mongabay published more than 7,300 stories across eight languages, expanded into Swahili and Bengali, reached an expected 110 million unique visitors, grew its team to 130 people, and earned international recognition that reinforced the credibility and practical value of its journalism.
- Across regions, Mongabay’s reporting directly shaped policy, enforcement, markets, and science—from hunting bans and mining reforms to financial blacklisting and new conservation priorities—and the organization enters 2026 focused on deepening impact through fellowships, expanded coverage, multilingual short news, and the launch of its Story Transformer tool.

The top 10 most listened-to podcasts of 2025 from Mongabay
- Another year has come and gone on Mongabay’s flagship podcast with over 40 episodes added to the catalogue.
- The following are the top 10 interviews people listened to the most.
- This chronological list includes professors, authors, Mongabay staffers, conservationists, and advocates detailing investigations, research, advocacy philosophy, examining the existential and environmental threats humanity faces.
- The editorial team agrees with the audience: if you want to hear some of the best conversations from 2025, start here.

BRICS+ offers Indigenous & local communities ways to advance environmental and social goals (analysis)
- As the world grapples with climate change, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity, Indigenous and local communities remain at the forefront of conservation, yet are often sidelined in terms of global environmental governance.
- However, as the geopolitical landscape shifts, new opportunities are emerging for these communities to assert their influence: one alternative is the BRICS+ alliance, a coalition of 10 nations that has increasingly positioned itself as a counterbalance to Western-dominated global governance structures.
- BRICS+ “offers unique opportunities for reimagining Indigenous inclusion through their emphasis on multipolarity, South-South cooperation, and alternative development paradigms that could, if strategically leveraged, provide space for Indigenous voices to shape governance from within,” and therefore bring environmental and social goals forward, a new analysis argues.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Jeff Foott, chronicler of ice, rock, and change, has died, aged 80
- Jeff Foott belonged to a generation of outdoorsmen who moved easily between climbing, science, rescue work, and seasonal labor, guided less by career ambition than by close attention to the natural world. His ethic was shaped early, long before environmental concern became institutionalized.
- Trained as a marine biologist, he turned to photography and film as a way to show how wildlife lived and what was at risk, producing more than 40 films and widely published images for outlets such as National Geographic, the BBC, and PBS.
- His visual work favored clarity and restraint over spectacle, whether documenting sea otters, alpine ice, or red rock landscapes increasingly altered by a warming climate. He remained attentive to environmental change without turning his work into overt argument.
- In his own words, what mattered to him was not climbing but whether people would know that some tried to act on concern for climate, democracy, and the things held in common. He let photographs carry the burden of persuasion.

Rethinking how we talk about conservation—and why it matters
- Feedback from across the conservation sector suggests a shift in how the movement talks about itself—from crisis-heavy messaging toward agency and evidence—because constant alarm fatigues audiences while stories of progress keep them engaged.
- Respondents to date have emphasized that scalable, durable conservation efforts share core traits: genuine local leadership, transparency about what works (and what doesn’t), visible community benefits, and diversified funding that strengthens resilience.
- Practitioners highlighted the importance of aligning human well-being with environmental outcomes, with models like Health in Harmony showing how rights, livelihoods, and conservation can reinforce one another when communities define their own priorities.
- This piece builds on a conversation Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler had last week at the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) conference in Washington, D.C.

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.

The value of journalism in the AI era
- Generative AI has disrupted journalism, but Mongabay is seeing increased engagement, with chatbot users clicking through and spending more time on reported stories.
- AI cannot observe, verify, or make accountable judgments, making journalism’s core functions—provenance, verification, and editorial judgment—more valuable in an era flooded with low-quality AI content.
- As quick visual cues for detecting synthetic material fade, audiences increasingly rely on trusted institutions, transparent sourcing, and original reporting to understand what is real.
- This piece is a reflection by Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler on how AI is reshaping news consumption and reinforcing the importance of journalism.

When abandoned conservation projects are counted as progress, what are we protecting? (commentary)
- An issue that receives little attention from conservationists and funders is the quiet abandonment of conservation projects after their high-profile launches.
- New evidence suggests that over one-third of conservation initiatives are abandoned within a few years of launch; if these eventual failures are not reported, they tend to be assumed to remain active.
- “Conservation must be reframed as a long-term commitment. Until the community confronts the uncomfortable truth that starting new projects holds no value unless existing ones are sustained, billions of dollars will continue to be spent on initiatives that provide the illusion of progress while nature continues its decline,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Marine heat waves and raw sewage combine to put human health at risk
- Climate change is fueling an increasing number of marine heat waves across the globe.
- When this intensifying heat is coupled with pollution — especially sewage, nitrogen fertilizer agricultural runoff, wildfire soot and possibly plastics — waterborne bacterial pathogens can multiply, raising human health concerns.
- These connections are exemplified in the escalating spread of Vibrio, a group of naturally occurring bacteria whose numbers are multiplying and undergoing global distribution shifts due to complex relationships between marine heat waves and pollution.
- Vibrio infections can range in severity but can result in sickness and death. One notorious Vibrio species is known as the flesh-eating bacteria; another causes cholera.

The lab-in-a-backpack busting illegal shark fins: Interview with Diego Cardeñosa
- Diego Cardeñosa chose lab-based DNA research over fieldwork during his Ph.D. on sharks, betting it could deliver greater conservation impact despite being less glamorous.
- He developed a portable, rapid DNA test — like the kits used during the COVID-19 pandemic — that allows inspectors to identify shark species from fins on the spot, solving a key bottleneck that let illegal shipments slip through.
- The tool has evolved from identifying a handful of protected species to distinguishing among more than 80 sharks and rays in a single test.
- Now deployed across multiple countries, the relatively low-cost kit is expanding through grant support, with plans to adapt the technology to other trafficked wildlife beyond sharks.

Earth’s freshwater fish face harsh new climate challenges, researchers warn
- Climate change is rapidly altering freshwater ecosystems — raising temperatures, altering flood pulses and oxygen levels — and driving complex, region-specific changes in how fish grow, migrate and survive.
- Long-term U.S. data show sharp declines in cold-water fish as streams and lakes warm, while warm-water species gain only slightly. Some cold-adapted species are now disappearing as deep waters cease being a cold refuge.
- From Africa to the Arctic, impacts are emerging, including stronger lake stratification, declining fisheries and rivers turning orange as thawing permafrost releases toxic metals. Declining freshwater fisheries increasingly put food security at risk, especially affecting diets and health in traditional and Indigenous communities.
- Scientists say management and conservation techniques rooted in past conditions no longer work. New approaches must anticipate shifting baselines as climate change rapidly accelerates.

Navigating the complex world of reforestation efforts
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Reforestation has become a feel-good global rallying cry. From corporations touting “net zero” targets to philanthropies seeking visible impact, planting trees has become shorthand for planetary repair. Yet behind the glossy photos of saplings and smiling farmers lies […]
‘Internet of Animals,’ a unified wildlife tracker, set to resume after hiatus
- A global project that tracks wildlife via satellites has resumed operations after a hiatus of three years.
- Project ICARUS, which aims to create the “internet of animals,” capitalizes on advances in wireless tracking technology to monitor individual animals.
- The trackers record data that will help scientists track the movements, migrations and behaviors of animals in different parts of the world.
- The system also enables scientists and conservationists to understand how animals are interacting with one another and with their respective ecosystems.

New technologies offer hope in fight to save the world’s imperiled rosewoods
- Rosewood accounts for nearly a third of the value of illegal wildlife trade seizures worldwide, and illegal harvesting of the trees has continued in spite of efforts to regulate its trade and harvest.
- Researchers say that new and existing technologies such as AI-equipped drones could help detect the illegal logging of rosewood trees inside inaccessible and remote forests, allowing forest officials to intervene in real time.
- AI could also help predict the risk of future rosewood logging activities, helping forest officials focus their monitoring efforts.
- In addition, the nonprofit TRAFFIC is currently testing AI-based image recognition tools for species identification, while other scientists are working on techniques that identify rosewood species based on DNA samples.

The vanishing pharmacy: How climate change is reshaping traditional medicine
- Climate change is threatening medicinal plants globally, with rising temperatures, shifting rainfall and habitat loss causing species to lose suitable habitats and face extinction, jeopardizing health care for the 80% of the world’s population that relies on traditional medicine.
- Environmental stress from extreme weather is altering the chemical composition of medicinal plants, changing their therapeutic properties and making traditional remedies less predictable or effective.
- The loss of these plants means losing not only potential sources for pharmaceutical development (more than 70% of modern drugs derive from natural compounds) but also millennia of Indigenous and traditional knowledge, cultural practices and spiritual connections to healing.
- Communities worldwide are fighting back through conservation efforts including creating medicinal plant gardens, developing alternative species lists, training new healers, documenting traditional knowledge and combining agroforestry with forest restoration to protect their health care systems.

Birds, bugs and butterflies netted in global seizures by Interpol
In a single month this year, nearly 30,000 live animals, were seized in a coordinated global crackdown on the illegal trade in wildlife and plants. Known as Operation Thunder and coordinated by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), it also confiscated tens of thousands of body parts from endangered species, and high-value plants and […]
Study finds more ‘laggards’ than ‘leaders’ among high seas fisheries managers
- A new paper suggests that regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) haven’t done a very good job setting up systems to conserve fish stocks and broader ecosystems.
- The paper questions RFMOs’ readiness for a coming new era of marine governance, with the high seas treaty set to take effect in January.
- The authors rated 16 RFMOs based on 100 management-related questions, such as “Are there consequences for violations of conservation measures …?” and used the answers to help identify “leaders” and “laggards.” The average rating was 45.5 out of 100.
- They also determined that on average, more than half of RFMOs’ target stocks are overexploited or collapsed, reinforcing previous research.

Global manta and devil ray deaths far exceed earlier estimates: Study
- A new global assessment estimates more than 259,000 manta and devil rays (genus Mobula) die in fisheries each year, far exceeding previous figures, with researchers warning that the true toll is likely higher due to major data gaps.
- Small-scale fisheries account for 87% of global mortality, with India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Peru responsible for most mobulid deaths .
- The study documents steep, long-term declines, including in Mozambique, the Philippines and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Yet many losses came to light only recently due to late adoption of monitoring and weak reporting.
- Researchers say the recent uplisting of all mobulid species to CITES Appendix I, which bans international commercial trade, is a key step, but note that national-level protections, improved data reporting, gear reforms, and better spatial management are needed to reduce mortality.

Study warns of major funding gap for 30×30 biodiversity goal
A new study launched at the U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi warns that international funding to help countries meet the global “30×30” biodiversity target is rising but remains billions of dollars short of what is needed. The State of International 30×30 Funding report has tracked public and philanthropic support for protected and conserved areas in […]
Despite a growing planetary crisis, leaders find hope in community efforts
- This week in Nairobi, yet another report on the planet’s decline was released, at the seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), amid dire alarms on everything from wetlands to pollution and climate disinformation.
- Yet cost-effective solutions exist, and leaders called for multilateral approaches that move toward a more circular economy.
- Grassroots leaders say they find hope in real-world examples of restoration and reform efforts led by community groups and in the growing evidence that, even in a destabilized world, communities, institutions and governments are laying the foundations of a livable future.

Real-time deforestation alerts get an AI boost to identify the causes
- A new alert system developed by online deforestation-tracking platform Global Forest Watch tells users what’s causing the deforestation.
- The new alert system deploys AI models to classify deforestation alerts based on what’s causing them, from agriculture (large- and small-scale), to mining and wildfires.
- While the data currently focus on the Amazon Rainforest, Congo Basin and Indonesia — home to most of the world’s tropical rainforests — the team plans to expand to other forests as well as non-forest ecosystems.

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.

UN honors five climate ‘Champions of the Earth’
The United Nations Environment Programme on Dec. 10 announced its five “2025 Champions of the Earth,” the U.N.’s highest environmental honor. Since 2005, UNEP’s Champions of the Earth has recognized individuals, groups and organizations who have contributed significantly toward transforming the environment for the better. The award celebrates four categories of contribution: policy leadership, inspiration […]
Hope, solidarity & disappointment: A familiar mix for Indigenous delegates at COP30
- COP30, held in Brazil, was promoted as both the “Amazonian COP” and the “Indigenous COP,” where more than 900 Indigenous representatives from around the world formally took part in the negotiations.
- While Brazil announced the demarcation of new Indigenous territories and 11 signatories issued a joint commitment to strengthen land tenure for Indigenous peoples, wider frustrations overshadowed these measures.
- Indigenous delegates described a familiar pattern: They were invited into the venue but not into the center of decision-making; that divide was visible in the Global Mutirão, the main COP30 outcome, in which Indigenous peoples appear in the preamble but are absent from the operative paragraphs — the part of the text that directs how countries must act and report.

What would this scientist tell Trump? Interview with Robert Watson, former chair of the IPCC
- This week, the UN Environment Program launched the Global Environment Outlook 7 (GEO-7), a stark assessment that comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s dismissal of climate change as a “con job.”
- In this context, Mongabay interviewed GEO-7 co-chair Sir Robert Watson about what to tell a political leader who rejects the science.
- “The evidence is definitive,” says Watson, who argues that countries must rethink their economic and financial systems and that science must be heard in the rooms where power lies.

‘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.

New report warns of mounting planetary crises — and pathways to hope
A global U.N. report released Dec. 9 warns that the planet is on track for deeper climate shocks, accelerating biodiversity loss, worsening land degradation and deadly pollution — unless countries drastically transform how economies are powered, fed and governed. The 7th edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), produced by 287 scientists from 82 countries, […]
Governments must prioritize nature protection, former US senator Russ Feingold says
Bill Gates recently claimed that protecting nature or improving human health is an either-or choice, but former national leaders like Russ Feingold, a retired U.S. senator, and Mary Robinson, former Irish president, disagree. As chair of the Global Steering Committee of the Campaign for Nature, a nonprofit organization uniting prominent politicians in support of nature […]
Balancing evidence and empathy in an age of doubt
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. People often say that good journalism requires a 30,000-foot view. I’ve found the opposite to be true. The stories that move the world rarely start in boardrooms or at summits; they start with someone standing knee-deep in a […]
Mongabay expands its newsroom with launch of dedicated Wildlife Desk
- Mongabay has launched a dedicated Wildlife Desk to expand independent reporting of the state of wildlife and the ecosystems they inhabit.
- The desk builds on years of wildlife coverage across a global newsroom with deep experience in reporting on topics such as wildlife ecology, animal behavior, habitat connectivity, zoonotic diseases and the wildlife trade.
- Mongabay’s wildlife reporting has already contributed to real-world impacts, including scrutiny of destructive mining projects affecting tigers in India and chimpanzees in Guinea, support for critically endangered river dolphin conservation in Indonesia, and more.
- The Wildlife Desk reinforces Mongabay’s capacity to deliver independent journalism that advances understanding of wildlife at a global scale.

Assessments argue carbon offsets are failing communities and climate goals (commentary)
- A new report from the Land Matrix documents 9 million hectares (more than 22 million acres) of land that are subject to carbon offset deals worldwide.
- The Land Matrix data does not include what it calls “community- or farmer-based projects” as it claims that these do not contribute to land concentration and inequality — but a similar analysis sees it very differently.
- “The takeaway is that we all have to build stronger analyses of what is going on with these carbon land grabs, and put an end to offsetting as a false solution to the climate crisis,” the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

From COP30 to Sri Lanka, indigenous voices shape climate & food sovereignty
- Indigenous protests at the recently concluded COP30 echo global climate-justice demands, calling for territorial rights, forest protection and an end to extractive industries — themes strongly reflected in the discussions at the Nyéléni Global Forum on Food Sovereignty held this August in Sri Lanka.
- Sri Lanka’s third Nyéléni Forum brought together more than a thousand grassroots food producers and Indigenous communities, who warned that climate impacts in the country — from erratic rainfall to coastal disruption — are deepened by land-grabs, industrial agriculture and weak community rights.
- Nyéléni concluded with a collective call — the Kandy Declaration — which rejected market-driven climate solutions such as carbon offsets, instead promoting agroecology, community control of land and seeds and people-led governance as essential for climate resilience and food sovereignty.
- Links between Brazil’s Indigenous protests and Sri Lanka’s forum reveal a growing global movement, asserting that climate stability depends on protecting the rights, knowledge and territories of the communities that safeguard biodiversity and produce much of the world’s food.

For fossil fuel-dependent islands, ocean thermal energy offers a lifeline
- Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is gaining renewed attention as a reliable, 24/7 clean-energy option for tropical islands, with a pilot project in the Canary Islands showcasing its potential and building on small-scale tests in Japan and Hawai‘i.
- The technology uses the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep water to evaporate a working fluid, drive a turbine and regenerate the cycle — offering massive theoretical potential to generate up to 3 terawatts globally.
- Seawater-based heating and cooling systems, including seawater heat pumps and seawater air-conditioning (SWAC), are already in use and could be scaled up rapidly to cut emissions when paired with renewables.
- Major barriers include cost, investor reluctance and environmental concerns, especially around deep-water discharge and ammonia use, prompting calls for large-scale demonstration projects to prove first prove their viability and safety.

How dropping ads set us free to focus on impact
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, Mongabay’s senior marketing associate, recently interviewed me about my journey with Mongabay. Here’s my response to his question about pivoting our business model. The transition in 2012 was a turning point. At the time, the advertising […]
What was — and the uncertainty of what will be: Youth voices from COP30
- COP30 in Brazil drew youths from around the world who are experiencing climate change effects in different ways and working to mitigate the crisis in their communities.
- Mongabay spoke with young representatives from Gabon, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Germany and Brazil during the November conference in Belém.
- The youths found mixed results at COP30, with some progress made on the technical side, especially in transparency, adaptation metrics and certain aspects of loss and damage; while issues like phasing out fossil fuels, securing predictable climate finance and ensuring a just transition faced significant pushback.
- German Felix Finkbeiner, who, at 9 years old, created the organization Plant-for-the-Planet, noted, “When young voices come together at conferences like COP30, they inspire hope, innovation, and accountability, reminding the world that change is not only necessary but possible.”

International Cheetah Day: Survival still at stake for the world’s fastest cat
Dec. 4 is International Cheetah Day. It was established in 2010 by the Cheetah Conservation Fund to raise awareness about the dwindling populations and shrinking habitats of the fastest land animal on Earth. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is one of the most endangered big cats in the world, with a severely fragmented population of around […]
Can two Amazons survive? Invisible e-waste is poisoning the world
- E-waste, which refers to discarded electrical or electronic devices, is the fastest growing domestic waste stream in the world, and it is highly toxic, threatening public health. Much of this e-waste, largely produced by rich countries, is dumped in poor countries, with Asia and Africa major destinations.
- Because poor countries mostly lack the highly sophisticated equipment and processes needed to dismantle and recycle these complex composite products safely, unskilled scrap workers, including children, plunder them for resalable components, often with a disastrous impact on their health and the environment.
- Increasingly, the torrent of discarded cell phones and obsolete computers is greatly exacerbated by invisible e-waste: a vast, varied plethora of microchip-containing products, ranging from vaping devices to e-readers, toys, smoke detectors, e-tire pressure gauges and chip-containing shoes and apparel.
- Invisible e-waste greatly adds to developing world recycling challenges. The U.N. Environment Programme warns that “the increasing proliferation of technological devices has skyrocketed the amount of electronic waste worldwide” with nations now facing “an environmental challenge of enormous dimensions.”

‘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.

Peregrine falcons retain trade protections, despite downlisting bid by Canada and US
The U.S. and Canada have failed in their bid to loosen restrictions on the international trade in peregrine falcons, with delegates to CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, voting against it at an summit underway in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The two countries had submitted a joint proposal to move peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) from CITES Appendix […]
Countries back strong new trade limits for sharks and rays at CITES summit
Delegates at a global summit to update international wildlife trade rules have agreed on sweeping new protections for more than 70 shark and ray species. The move marks a significant step toward effectively tightening the legal trade in some of the world’s most threatened marine life. The meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, running through this week, […]
Unequal access to nature: Few outdoor spaces in Europe and the U.S. accommodate sensory, mental disabilities
- Of the 193 members of the United Nations, 164 signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, agreeing to provide access as a right for all people to effectively participate in society, but many fall short when it comes to outdoor spaces.
- Researchers reviewed accessibility features provided by UNESCO Biosphere Reserves for physical, sensory, mental, and cognitive disabilities.
- They found that while more than half of the Reserves provide access for people with some physical disabilities, most do not appear to accommodate sensory, cognitive, or mental disabilities.

Predators in peril: Protected areas cover just a fraction of global carnivore ranges
- Globally, human impacts threaten the ranges of carnivores that depend on large swaths of natural land to survive.
- A new study found that a majority of the total, combined range of land-dwelling carnivores falls outside of land designated for habitat conservation.
- Researchers determined that Indigenous lands are particularly important for supporting carnivore ranges.

A ‘Life After Cars’ can provide huge human health and environmental benefits
Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon and Aaron Naparstek realized that no one was discussing the many cultural factors that have played a role in humanity’s car dependency, or the negative impacts this reliance on motor vehicles has on human health and the planet. So they started their own show to do exactly that, The War on […]
International Jaguar Day: A year of wins for the big cat
Every Nov. 29 is International Jaguar Day, created to raise awareness about threats the jaguar (Panthera onca) faces, including habitat loss and poaching. While the Amazon and Brazil’s Pantanal biomes are strongholds for the jaguar, hosting a high density of the animals, the species has lost most of its historic range, a reality that conservationists […]
Critical minerals dropped from final text at COP30
Delegates at last month’s U.N. climate change summit, or COP30, adopted a new mechanism to coordinate action on a just energy transition worldwide toward a low-carbon economy, away from fossil fuels. However, a proposal at the conference in Brazil to include language on critical minerals within the mechanism’s scope was scrapped at the last minute […]
Octopuses use their arms to sense and respond to microbiomes on the seafloor
- Octopus suckers can sense and react to microbiomes in their environment.
- Distinct microbial populations on objects relevant to the octopus’s survival, like eggs and prey, inform the animal’s behavior.
- Scientists found that in response to different microbial signals, chemotactile receptors trigger reflexive responses in octopus suckers and arms.

Small grants can empower the next generation of conservationists
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Paul Barnes, who leads the Zoological Society of London’s EDGE of Existence program, has spent the past few years listening to the frustrations of early-career conservationists. The stories are rarely about fieldwork itself. They’re about making rent, juggling […]
45 more shark species up for CITES protections; tight vote expected
- Twenty-nine houndsharks and 16 gulper sharks are up for listing on CITES Appendix II at the wildlife trade regulator’s summit in Uzbekistan this week.
- Conservationists expect the vote to be close, with critics saying “lookalike” species shouldn’t face trade restrictions. Proponents argue it’s necessary given the lack of knowledge among customs officials.
- Houndsharks are widely consumed for their meat in Europe and Australia, while gulpers are hunted for their liver oil.

Saving forests won’t be enough if fossil fuels beneath them are still extracted, experts warn
- A new analysis finds that tropical forests in 68 countries sit atop fossil fuel deposits that, if extracted, would emit 317 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases — more than the remaining 1.5°C (2.7°F) carbon budget — revealing a major blind spot in global climate policy.
- Because Brazil’s proposed Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) focuses only on stopping deforestation, researchers warn it risks missing far larger emissions from potential oil, gas and coal extraction under protected forests.
- India, China and Indonesia hold the largest fossil reserves beneath forests, with Indonesia facing acute trade-offs as most of its coal lies under forest areas where mining threatens biodiversity and Indigenous communities, including rhino habitats in Borneo.
- Experts say that compensating countries for leaving fossil fuels unextracted — through mechanisms like debt swaps or climate finance — could unlock massive climate benefits, but fossil fuel phaseout remains excluded from TFFF negotiations despite growing calls to include it.

Island-confined reptiles face high extinction risk, but low research interest
Reptile species found only on islands are significantly more vulnerable to extinction than their mainland counterparts, yet remain vastly overlooked by researchers, according to a recent study. “Reptiles, partly due to their ability to endure long periods without food or water, are particularly effective island colonizers,” Ricardo Rocha, study co-author and an associate professor at […]
COP30: What did it deliver for the ocean?
- As climate change talks took center stage at COP30, a growing number of countries have integrated ocean-based solutions into their national climate commitments.
- A new report found that 92% of coastal and island nations’ updated climate plans now include ocean-related measures, although these strategies still represent only 12% of all proposed climate mitigation actions.
- Brazil and France unveiled a Blue NDC Implementation Taskforce to boost ocean solutions, while countries like the Solomon Islands and Ghana launched new plans for protecting their marine and coastal systems.

Rights to millions of hectares of Indigenous & local communities’ lands restored by ‘barefoot lawyers’
Nonette Royo is a lawyer from the Philippines and executive director of The Tenure Facility, a group of “barefoot lawyers” working to secure land tenure for Indigenous, local and Afro-descendant communities across the world. To date, the organization has secured more than $150 million in funding and has made progress in securing land rights covering […]
Botanists decode secret life of rare plants to ensure reintroduction success
- Working with South African daisies, Colombian magnolias and Philippine coffee trees, botanists the world over are discovering the secrets to bringing extremely rare and threatened plants back from the brink of extinction. Reintroductions are often the only way to build back thriving populations, but scientists face numerous hurdles.
- A major barrier is lack of botanical knowledge about rare species, making it hard to produce sufficient viable seeds, determine triggers for germination, and identify suitable seedling habitat. If seeds aren’t available from rare plants, botanists must use cuttings to propagate plants.
- Newly established plant populations often need help in the face of numerous threats. Climate change, for example, can not only create harsh new growing conditions but also fuels the spread of plant pests. Young plants frequently need to be protected from human activities like poaching, intentional burning or land-use change.
- While it can take decades for reintroduced plants to grow into sustainable, self-replenishing populations, project funding is often limited to three years or less, especially in the Global South. Experts say they hope funding will increase as recognition grows that ecosystem restoration requires plant diversity, including rare species.

Big finance still funds deforestation, 10 years after Paris pact
A new report by the Forests & Finance Coalition finds that despite years of voluntary climate commitments, banks and other financial institutions have continued to increase their investments in companies linked to deforestation. The value of investments in these companies — in industries such as beef, soy, palm oil and paper — has increased by […]
Chronic diseases prevalent across animals, but understudied: Study
From obesity in cats and dogs and osteoarthritis in pigs, to cancer in whales and high blood glucose in racoons, chronic diseases are increasingly becoming a concern across the animal world, a recent study finds. Most of these ailments can be traced back to human-driven changes, the author says. Antonia Mataragka, the study’s author from […]
Conservation can emphasize human well-being to navigate its current funding crisis (commentary)
- Cuts in funding, weakening support from governments, and disinformation are all driving a current crisis for conservation.
- But these challenges need not hold conservation programs back, the authors of a new op-ed with decades of experience at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other development programs argue, and suggest three strategies that can work.
- “Leaning into the human well-being outcomes of conservation can also shift the pervasive and harmful view that conserving nature is primarily an environmental undertaking rather than a cornerstone of sustainable development,” they write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

It’s time to end the carbon offset era, COP30 scientists & communities say (commentary)
- The COP30 Science Council and Indigenous delegates, activists and local communities in Belém this week argued that forests are not offsets and that the world cannot simply trade its way out of the climate crisis.
- Carbon offsetting programs have been under intense scrutiny for years, and a broad coalition of COP30 attendees and advisors say that this is the moment to move forward on climate finance with greater effectiveness and equity.
- “This is the Amazon COP. If it ends with a decision that ignores Indigenous rights and props up offset markets that science says cannot work, it will squander the moral clarity of this moment,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

EU touts climate leadership while undermining antideforestation rules, critics say
- European governments are pushing to delay and weaken the EU Deforestation Regulation, backing a one-year postponement to 2026 and major reductions in due-diligence requirements.
- The political shift is driven largely by Germany and supported by France, despite earlier European Commission rollbacks and opposition from only a few member states.
- Civil society groups warn that further delays would gut the law, punish early-compliant companies, and undermine the EU’s regulatory credibility.
- At COP30, the EU’s silence on deforestation has fueled accusations of hypocrisy as advocates say weakening the EUDR would have severe consequences for tropical forests.

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia