location: Latin America

location: Latin America

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Can ‘fog harvesting’ help solve water scarcity in Chile’s Atacama Desert?
- Communities living in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, look for creative ways to fight water scarcity, including “harvesting” water droplets from the foggy climate.
- Local groups erect large mesh structures that can intercept thousands of liters of water droplets per day from fog being carried by the wind. The water is used for drinking and cultivating fruits and vegetables.
- Researchers have studied the factors that increase harvesting results, including sea level, temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed.
- With more research and support for pilot programs, they say local governments could one day adopt the strategy into their water management plans.

How Costa Rica’s extreme climate changes the social behaviors of white-faced capuchin
- For 33 years, a research team has studied white-faced capuchin monkeys in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica, gathering data on their complex social lives.
- A new study from the team shows that during extreme climate events, large groups of capuchins may go hungry, while smaller groups may fare better.
- Climate extremes alter the physical landscape, causing animals to change their societal behaviors. For capuchins, this means greater competition for food, heightened territorial sensitivity and fluctuating group sizes.
- While capuchins can adapt to environmental changes over time, there are limits to their resilience, as seen during the severe droughts caused by the El Niño in 2014-2016, when dwindling food sources caused capuchins to abandon societal norms in search of food.

Can harpy eagles attack humans? Amazon case rekindles scientific debate
- An attack by a harpy against a tourist in French Guiana has sparked a debate about interactions between humans and the world’s largest eagle.
- Field reports indicate that these episodes are uncommon and usually associated with defending prey, but they can result in serious injuries.
- Although rare, these cases expose a conservation dilemma: They may reinforce stigma against the species but also reveal real conflicts about which there is little public debate.

Amazon deforestation falls to 10-year low in first half of 2026
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in the past 10 years, according to satellite data published by Brazil’s National Space Agency (INPE). Between January and June 2025, a total of 2,090 square kilometers (807 square miles) of deforestation was recorded in the Brazilian Amazon. In the same months of 2026, […]
Invasive giant prawn spreads through protected areas in Brazil
- A study led by researchers from Brazil and Uruguay confirmed the presence of invasive prawns in several conservation areas along the Brazilian coast, including estuaries listed by UNESCO as Natural World Heritage Sites.
- Considered an opportunistic predator and highly adaptable to different marine conditions, the giant river prawn competes with native species for food and shelter, in addition to being a potential vector for diseases.
- While scientists demand concrete actions to stop the advancement of this intrusive crustacean, small-scale fishers report significant drops in their capture of native animals, warning about the impact of invasive species on their livelihoods.

Meat giant JBS silently ditches bolder environmental targets in latest review
The world’s largest meatpacking company, JBS, has scrapped two of its key environmental goals in its latest annual sustainability report. JBS’s “Net Zero by 2040,” which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout its supply chain, and zero deforestation targets were substantially rolled back compared to previous years, according to its 2025 Sustainability report, published July […]
European Commission excludes leather from landmark deforestation law
The European Union has dropped leather from its final list of products targeted under the bloc’s landmark antideforestation law. Experts say the July 13 decision is the result of industry lobbying rather than a true reflection of leather’s deforestation footprint. The EU deforestation regulation, or EUDR, mandates that companies selling commodities such as cattle, soy, […]
Brazil lists the Amazon river turtle as endangered for the first time
- The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered, entering Brazil’s official list of fauna species threatened with extinction for the first time.
- Despite protection and conservation efforts, cágado-iaçá’s populations over the past 36 years declined by more than 50% in Amazonas and western Pará states, according to official data.
- The species is widely consumed in the northern region, alongside the yellow-spotted river turtle and the Amazon turtle, which remain in a less concerning category, according to ICMBio.
- The hyacinth macaw, the black howler monkey and the red silky anteater were reclassified as vulnerable, adding to the list of 790 species recently published.

How Brazil’s federal fiscal policy hinders Amazon Rainforest conservation (commentary)
- The three Brazilian states whose territory is mostly Amazon Rainforest — and carry the heaviest share of its conservation burden — are among the poorest and most fiscally dependent in the country.
- Amapá, Acre, and Amazonas operate on budgets so dependent on federal funding that they have almost no ability to act on their own, yet they are also precluded from developing their economies within their vast and federally protected swaths of forest.
- “It is a design flaw in Brazil’s fiscal constitution, and it is getting worse,” a new op-ed argues. “Brazil cannot credibly lead global climate diplomacy while its Amazonian states remain fiscally trapped.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Rising seas, garbage and heat threaten Brazil’s migratory shorebirds
- Among the many effects linked to climate change and damages to estuarine ecosystems, research indicates that migratory birds that depend on coastal wetlands could lose half of their habitats by 2050
- The impact is significant for Brazilian shorebirds: besides depending on a continuous chain of healthy wetlands to complete their long journeys between hemispheres, they suffer from the degradation of feeding areas such as mangroves.
- One the most threatened species is the red knot (Calidris canutus): low food availability could impair the bird’s preparation for the 8,000-kilometer (5,000-mile) journey it makes from Brazil’s northeast coast to the U.S. coast.
- Researchers are conducting censuses and conservation projects in areas of high shorebird biodiversity, including the Potiguar Basin in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Norte state, considered a “regionally important site” for these migratory birds.

Ecuador’s Amazon coffee farmers get ahead of Europe’s deforestation rules
- Since 2019, nearly 400 coffee producers in the Ecuadorian Amazon have adopted a deforestation-free production model that combines traceability, geospatial monitoring, and certification.
- In 2025 alone, the initiative exported as much deforestation-free coffee as it had during the previous three years combined, totaling 172.5 metric tons of coffee between 2022 and 2025.
- The project currently involves 373 producers across nearly 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres), of which more than 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of natural forest remain conserved.
- The model is designed to anticipate the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will require geographic proof that commodities such as coffee aren’t linked to deforestation after 2020.

Women Defenders of the Colombian Amazon
Colombia is among the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. Yet here, women stand as frontline defenders of both nature and culture. Mongabay is documenting the women protecting forests, rivers and ancestral territories by strengthening traditional governance and reviving ancestral stewardship while confronting coca traffickers and illegal miners. In this Special Issue, meet the women […]
How narcos moved 108 tons of timber infused with drugs from Bolivia to Chile
- Chilean authorities found drug-impregnated wood as part of the country’s largest-ever narcotics seizure, which uncovered 108 tons of cocaine and ketamine in cargoes of timber, according to officials.
- In neighboring Bolivia, the origin of the so-called “narco-timber,” raids were conducted at sawmills in the departments of Santa Cruz, Pando, Beni and La Paz. The investigation is also expected to expand to Cochabamba.
- The method to impregnate drugs in forest-sourced wood is seen as highly sophisticated and makes it difficult for authorities and even trained canines to detect.
- Part of the wood used by criminal networks comes from Amazonian regions in Bolivia, posing risks to tropical forests.

Lydia Möcklinghoff, champion of the giant anteater, has died in a plane crash. She was 45
- Lydia Möcklinghoff, a German biologist and science communicator, died on July 3, 2026, aged 45, in a plane crash near Campo Grande, Brazil, during a flight connected to Pantanal fieldwork.
- She became one of Germany’s leading experts on giant anteaters, turning a little-understood animal into the focus of serious field research, public writing, radio reporting, and children’s science communication.
- Her work combined patience, humor, and precision, linking the behavior of anteaters to larger questions about habitat, fire, drought, land use, and the future of the Pantanal.
- Through books, columns, podcasts, films, and WDR’s MausRadio, she helped readers and listeners see that overlooked species are worth studying, explaining, and protecting.

In Honduras, solar power has done more harm than good, communities say
- A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies reveals how solar projects throughout southern Honduras have negatively impacted the local economy and health of surrounding communities.
- It says the state awarded contracts that avoided rigorous environmental oversight, leading to tree cover loss and pollution.
- At the same time, solar power development has done little to transition Honduras away from fossil fuels, which continue to be the largest contributor to the country’s electricity generation.

Dark earth: Ancient Amazonian soil can boost forest restoration, study finds
- Researchers from the University of São Paulo and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation showed in a study that the ancient organic-rich soil known as Amazonian dark earth (ADE) boosted seedling growth under real field conditions.
- The investigation suggests ADE could work as a “biological engineer” by reshaping the soil’s microbiome, increasing beneficial fungal diversity and reducing pathogenic microbes that hinder tree growth.
- With conservation in mind, scientists are now working to isolate these micro-organisms to develop bioinputs for forest restoration without disturbing the original Amazonian dark-earth deposits.

A fraction of promised climate money reaches Amazon communities: Interview with Latimpacto’s leaders
- Despite major funding pledges for the Amazon, much of the promised capital never reaches Indigenous peoples and local communities, often because funding structures are poorly aligned with on-the-ground realities.
- Latimpacto, a Colombia-based philanthropic network, is working to close this gap through initiatives that train funders, support locally led innovation and integrate Indigenous knowledge into conservation and development projects.
- Mongabay spoke with Latimpacto’s leaders, Carolina Suárez Visbal and Juan David Ferreira, who say the organization is also advocating for stronger domestic philanthropy across Latin America, arguing that better tax incentives, trust-based grantmaking, and patient, flexible capital are needed to complement international funding.
- Suárez Visbal and Ferreira say they see greater collaboration between Latin America and Southeast Asia as a key opportunity, calling for shared funding mechanisms and knowledge exchange to strengthen conservation of tropical forests and broader socioecological resilience.

Roads, loggers close in on an unprotected refuge for isolated Kakataibo
- Isolated peoples and forests in the Kakataibo Extremo Norte area of the Peruvian Amazon are under threat from illegal loggers, drug traffickers, the construction of illegal roads, and multiple forestry concessions.
- Indigenous leaders and organizations have sought formal recognition for the area as an Indigenous reserve since 2021, but the Ministry of Culture rejected the application in 2023 because it relates to isolated Kakataibo people who are already recognized by the Peruvian state and receive protections in a nearby reserve.
- Sources told Mongabay that threats to the area’s isolated groups are increasing, exposing them to significant risk due to their extreme vulnerability.
- To apply for a new reserve, the Ministry of Culture said organizations should carry out a new study on the presence of isolated peoples in the region, but sources say studies have already been done and that they lack the finance to do them again.

Rare seed collection offers hope for last wild tree of its kind from Chile
On Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island, in the South Pacific, a tree juts out precariously from the side of a steep cliff. It’s the last known wild individual of Dendroseris neriifolia. To prevent its total extinction in the wild, conservationists recently collected seeds from the tree and have begun trials to cultivate them. All 11 species […]
NGO support can negatively impact allocation of Amazonian territorial rights, research finds
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a critical role in the fight to secure title to ancestral Indigenous lands in the Amazon. They can provide financial assistance and legal representation in court, but new research shows that for groups that do not benefit from this support, the arrival of NGOs may cause more harm than good. […]
María Laura Tolmos, 37, turned a childhood in the Amazon into her life’s work
- María Laura Tolmos, who died of breast cancer on June 21st in Barcelona, aged 37, grew up in the Peruvian Amazon, where the forest became the foundation of her life and work.
- A forest scientist trained in Peru and Germany, she completed a Ph.D. in forest sciences and forest ecology at the University of Göttingen in 2024.
- At Wilderness International, she served as co-director of science and helped found Wilderness International Perú, bringing rigor, field knowledge, and institutional trust to its conservation work.
- In the field, she was exacting and deeply alive to nature, whether checking research methods, sleeping in a hammock in the forest, joining night surveys, or noticing the species and details others passed by.

Brazil boosts budget and number of firefighters amid strong El Niño forecast
Brazil has increased wildfire spending and has hired a record number of federal firefighters in anticipation of extreme drought in the Amazon due to what could be one of the strongest El Niño events in more than a century. The El Niño climate pattern, which emerges from unusually warm waters in the tropical Pacific, typically […]
Brazil’s expanding offshore oil frontier puts biodiversity at risk: study
- Fossil fuel exploration off the northeast coast of Brazil presents a greater cumulative risk of oil spills than previously expected, according to new modeling.
- Seagrass meadows and deep-water reefs in the Potiguar Basin are at greatest risk, as well as portions of the coasts of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Amapá states.
- As the Brazilian government is pursuing rapid expansion of oil exploration in the region, researchers recommend prioritizing preparedness for emergencies where pollution would likely spread, and expanding Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in low-risk areas.
- Campaigners worry that MPAs might restrict local fishing communities or be implemented too slowly.

New data reveals surge in human rights abuses linked to transition minerals mining
New data released by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that, worldwide, South America has the most abuse allegations associated with large-scale mining for transition minerals over the past 15 years. Such minerals are essential for the shift away from fossil fuels and are critical for other industries, such as tech and […]
Dutch importers linked to suspect Amazon timber, investigation finds
- Wood from a Brazilian logging company banned several times for violating regulations may have ended up in the Netherlands, according to an investigation by campaign group Earthsight.
- The bans on logging company Samise stemmed from suspicions of, among other violations, illegal extraction, and resulted in fines and community service orders for the company.
- Yet Samise’s timber went on to be imported by Dutch companies GWW Houtimport, Van den Berg Hardhout, and Hoogendoorn Hout, via Brazilian exporter Greenex, according to the investigation.
- Earthsight called for rigorous implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is scheduled to go into effect at the end of the year.

Santa Marta report by 57 nations defines rapid fossil fuel transition path
- The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, which took place in April 2026, in Colombia, released its final report on June 23 at the London Climate Action Week.
- The so-called Santa Marta Process, arising from a meeting between 57 nations, is not meant to replace the U.N. climate framework consensus process, but rather to complement it. The SMP explores the means for moving beyond decades of diplomatic deadlock.
- The new report offers five practical pathways to a just, orderly, and equitable fossil fuels transition, a process requiring stronger international cooperation and more effective and robust governance frameworks from what currently exist.
- The report’s key findings, including a shift of financing and subsides away from fossil fuels to green energy, was agreed to by 57 countries forming the so-called “Coalition of the Willing.” But Colombia and the Netherlands, which sponsored the April summit, already appear to be realigning their nations with fossil fuels.

Sightings of humpback whales surge in Rio de Janeiro, fueling demand for whale-watching trips
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Sightings of humpback whales off Rio de Janeiro’s coast are surging as they recover from decimation due to commercial whaling, prompting an acceleration in the demand for whale-watching excursions to spot the huge marine creatures during their annual migration. The species’ population has jumped from around 2,000 to around 35,000 […]
Crackdown lets rainforest reclaim illegal road in rare win for the Amazon
- Recent satellite images show forest closing over the path of an illegal road that nearly severed the Xingu Socioenvironmental Corridor in 2022.
- In early 2023, civil society pressure put the road at the top of the government’s agenda, leading to enforcement operations and a sharp decline in new illegal road openings across the Xingu Basin.
- Conservationists warn the gains remain fragile: Invaded Indigenous territories face violent backlash, illegal mining is regrouping, and this year’s elections could redefine Brazil’s environmental policies.

Targeted conservation in Brazil could help protect the Amazon’s flying rivers
- The Amazon’s atmospheric moisture flows known as “flying rivers” provide over 70% of rainfall in parts of southern Peru and northern Bolivia, but they are threatened by deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
- According to a new report by the NGO Amazon Conservation, the lack of protections for areas known as undesignated public forests and road development projects pose a deforestation risk that would disrupt the flying rivers during dry and transition seasons.
- Research shows that the Amazon is already experiencing longer dry seasons, which in turn affects the forest’s capacity to recycle moisture for the flying rivers.
- Conservation targeting the forests that are most important for recycling atmospheric moisture could help maintain the flying rivers, the report proposes.

Secret Amazon species may be new source of ibogaine for addiction treatment
- A new harvesting method allows an undisclosed Amazon plant to provide production of ibogaine, a psychedelic compound known for its largely unregulated and understudied properties in helping chemical addiction.
- Regarded as sacred in Gabon, the iboga plant that’s the primary source of ibogaine has been subject to poaching and smuggling, leading to the decline of its natural reserves and encouraging researchers to seek out alternatives.
- The substance is at the center of a new political and scientific movement to advance medicinal studies of natural compounds labelled today as illegal drugs.

Foreign nationals attempt to fly to Europe with rare cacti from southern Brazil
- Brazilian authorities detained Czech, German and Russian nationals carrying hundreds of cacti and their seeds, all native to Southern Brazil.
- The species targeted are critically endangered and highly prized by collectors worldwide.
- The foreigners caught by police include amateur botanists who are renowned among the international cactus-loving community.
- Illegal removal from nature harms the preservation of species that can take up to 10 years to become productive.

Human rights abuse allegations continue to rise in the mining sector, report finds
- The U.S. and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. But as investment grows, so does conflict throughout the sector.
- The Business and Human Rights Centre released the 2025 findings for its Transition Mineral Tracker, which monitors allegations of abuse by large-scale mining of bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, iron ore and zinc.
- The NGO reviewed 299 mining operations and their owners, counting 329 allegations of abuse, up from 156 the year before.
- The allegations increased in every region of the world, but nowhere has been worse than in South America, which has seen 447 allegations since 2010.

As Amazon oil drilling begins, scientists warn of risks to a little-known reef
- Brazilian state oil and gas company Petrobras has started drilling in the Equatorial Margin after years of political, scientific and environmental disputes over the risks posed by oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River.
- Researchers warn that the Amazon Reef system harbors a wealth of biodiversity and has not been widely studied, despite being close to Petrobras’s exploration block.
- Scientists disagree about the composition and extent of the Amazonian reefs, while environmentalists denounce attempts to downplay their ecological importance.
- Experts warn that an oil spill could reach mangroves, small-scale fisheries, and even neighboring countries, due to strong marine currents in the area.

Telling one guiña from another: It’s all about the angle
- Guiña are small cats found in Chile and Argentina. Though in 2025 the IUCN downlisted the species to least concern, not enough is known about populations under threat from habitat loss, persecution and forest fires.
- To help fill those gaps, researchers switched the angle of the camera traps used for surverying the species to film guiña individuals from above rather than at ground level. That enabled them to identify individual cats during camera trapping between February 2019 and November 2020 in a protected area in Reñihué Valley, Chile.
- If used more widely in camera trap surveys, this technique could help accurately estimate guiña populations in the wild.
- The researchers also say this technique could be applied to other small cat species.

Honduras taps armed forces to eliminate deforestation by 2029. Is it working?
RÍO PLÁTANO BIOSPHERE RESERVE, Honduras — Deep inside Honduras’ protected forests, a battle is taking place between environmental defenders and deforestation. Deforestation rates in the country are among the highest in the Americas, threatening one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. In 2024, its government launched a plan to eliminate deforestation by 2029, with a […]
Amazon floodplains cocoa offers a climate-resilient and sustainable chocolate
- Traditional communities in Pará, Brazil’s top cocoa-producing state, are managing native species that naturally resist pests and extreme weather.
- The dense forest canopy of the floodplains provides natural irrigation and protection for cocoa trees against extreme droughts, heavy rain and pests.
- Global demand for organic and ethically sourced chocolate is expected to rise, positioning Amazonian states to fill international supply gaps, despite hurdles.
- Experts compare Pará’s emerging artisanal chocolate sector to Burgundy wine or Ethiopian coffee due to the unique “terroir” flavors of its native beans.

Rewilding Rio: Conservationists restock an ‘empty forest,’ one species at a time
- Rewilding efforts in Tijuca National Park on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro have been reintroducing species previously extinct in the area, such as agoutis, howler monkeys, toucans, and now, blue‑and‑yellow macaws.
- The return of the animals is aimed at reviving the “empty forest,” since they’re essential for seed dispersal and regeneration of the Atlantic Forest.
- Studies show that toucans introduced in Tijuca 50 years ago have already reprised their ecological role, interacting with plant species from their original diet.
- Despite the progress, challenges persist, such as adaptation of the species to their new home; the latest to be released, the macaws, have had to be recaptured and are now undergoing new training.

Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa
- On June 16, the Marine Conservation Institute recognized six marine protected areas, three in Madagascar and one each in Senegal, Chile and Canada, as Blue Parks.
- The awards, announced at the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, recognize MPAs whose management is “durable, equitable and effective” at protecting marine life.
- Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries agreed to protect 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030, but experts say that protection must be meaningful, not just symbolic.
- One of the common features of the awardees is the existence of some form of co-management with Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Fire surge in 2025 threatened isolated peoples in Brazil
- In 2025, fires caused a significant spike in forest loss in Indigenous territories in Brazil that are home to peoples living in voluntary isolation: Alto Turiaçu, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, and Apiaká do Pontal e Isolados.
- According to data from Global Forest Watch, fires were responsible for nearly all of the forest loss in each of the territories, destroying mostly primary forest.
- Indigenous leaders told Mongabay that fires are a threat to their way of life, including those living in voluntary isolation, negatively impacting health, vegetation, biodiversity, and food security.
- A climate expert warns the upcoming El Niño, predicted to be stronger than the 2023-2024 event, will likely lead to warmer temperatures and drier conditions across the Amazon Basin, making it more prone to fires.

Brazil curbs Amazon deforestation in Piripkura, but ranchers’ cattle linger
- A crackdown by the Brazilian government on land-grabbers who establish cattle ranches and other agricultural activities in the Piripkura Indigenous Territory, home to the last two known isolated Piripkura people, have seen some success with tree cover loss in 2025 down.
- While there was very little deforestation from 2024-2025, authorities told Mongabay that 1,000 cattle left by the invaders still remain in the territory, and they have still not received authorization from the federal government to remove them.
- The presence of cattle encourages ranchers to enter the land to care for them, said sources, though some remain there legitimately.
- Authorities have implemented a succession of land use restriction orders since 2008 to prevent the entry of land grabbers, though a recent court decision has provisionally allowed some ranchers to remain in the Indigenous land until the conclusion of the demarcation process.

Study offers first map of Amazon’s climate-resilient upslope corridors
- Worsening climate change creates enormous challenges for ecosystems and individual species. As the world warms, plants and animals must quickly migrate to cooler places to stay resilient and survive. But today such migrations are often blocked by deforestation, human infrastructure and lack of conserved lands.
- In the tropics, vast lowlands can require species to move large distances north or south to escape warming. The most rapid path to climate-resilience is upslope migration, with plants and animals relocating shorter distances uphill to cooler places.
- A new study has mapped major elevational gradients in the Amazon that offer the best possibility for connectivity and upslope relocation in the biome — overlaying elevational gradients, amount of forest cover, fragmentation and protected areas.
- This broad-brush research could aid policymakers in identifying the most viable upslope corridors, helping nations and NGOs target best opportunities for land protection to enhance connectivity and aid species survival.

South America’s farms depend, in part, on a healthy Amazon
- The Amazon is not only a carbon store; it is also a major source of atmospheric moisture that helps sustain rainfall across much of South America.
- A new Nature study finds that deforestation lowers the warming threshold at which large parts of the Amazon could lose stability.
- Recent droughts, El Niño conditions, and fire risk show why degraded forests are less able to withstand climate stress and recover afterward.
- Protecting intact forests, restoring degraded areas, and reducing fire are increasingly important for climate resilience, biodiversity, and South America’s food system.

Death and exile: A war plagues Indigenous Jiw and Nukak in the Colombian Amazon
- By late May, at least 48 people were killed in rural areas of Colombia following clashes between the FARC guerrilla dissident groups controlled by the aliases “Calarcá” and “Iván Mordisco.”
- Conflicts have displaced 10 Indigenous Jiw families from the municipality of Mapiripán, Meta department. They had to reach the urban area of San José del Guaviare for protection.
- The clashes occurred near the Tomachipán-Cumare road, an illegal trail used by dissident armed cells as a strategic corridor to mobilize and transport drug trafficking supplies in the Guaviare department.
- Experts warn that controlling this disputed area is important for armed groups, as it means dominating strategic zones in the department and also being closer to the Venezuelan border.

What’s at stake for the environment in Colombia’s upcoming election?
- Colombia will hold its runoff presidential elections on June 21, with left-wing Iván Cepeda from the current governing Historical Pact party facing Abelardo de la Espriella from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party.
- The future of the Colombian Amazon, fossil fuel phaseout and the rights of traditional communities are all at stake, with both candidates proposing dramatically different approaches to tackle environmental issues.
- Cepeda’s program, analyzed by Mongabay, promises to halt oil and gas and protect territories and communities; de la Espriella has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining.
- Both have very different approaches to ending violence, which is linked to deforestation and environmental degradation, with Cepeda focusing on total peace and large-scale land redistribution and de la Espriella on greater force and militarization.

Monika Silva Koniuszek, 41, defended the everyday things corruption corrodes
- Monika Silva Koniuszek, a Polish-born activist and mother of two, was found dead on June 8th at her home in Montañita, Ecuador. She was 41.
- She had made Ecuador’s Santa Elena coast her home, running a small hostel and becoming a local defender of communities, beaches, mangroves, turtles, and basic public services.
- Her activism linked everyday problems, including sewage, land disputes, public works, and coastal development, to alleged corruption and weak accountability.
- She had reported threats before her death. Ecuadorian, Polish, European, and human-rights bodies have called for a thorough and independent investigation.

Illegal miners adapt their strategies in Yanomami Amazon territory
- Illegal miners are adapting their tactics in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in Brazil’s Amazonas and Roraima states to evade efforts in the last few years to remove them, found researchers.
- Miners are fragmenting into smaller groups instead of concentrating near airstrips, going deeper into the middle of the Amazon forest, moving to specific border areas with Venezuela and paying high prices to continue their activities.
- Illegal mining is significantly down in the territory due to the government operation, said Indigenous people and authorities, though concerns remain for the health of isolated Indigenous people.
- Brazil’s government says it is in the phase of “scavenging the territory” to remove miners deep in the forest which are unable to be detected by satellite imagery and require long walks into the Amazon.

Stingless bees in Peru become the first insects with legal rights. Will it happen globally?
Two municipalities in the Peruvian Amazon have granted native stingless bees the legal right to exist, thrive and be represented in court. This is the first time any insect has been recognized as a rights-bearing entity anywhere in the world, according to a correspondence published in Nature. The ordinances passed in the municipalities of Satipo […]
Lawsuit demands accountability for Cerro de Pasco mining pollution in Peru
- The Cerro de Pasco mine in Peru’s central highlands has caused years of environmental and public health issues due to heavy metal pollution, a new lawsuit says. The mine contains silver, copper, zinc and lead, among other metals.
- The mayor and public prosecutor for the municipality of Cerro de Pasco want operators to admit responsibility for the pollution and revise their mining practices. They also want the companies to conduct health studies and pay for medical treatment for residents.
- Although Cerro de Pasco has been repeatedly recognized as an extremely contaminated zone that gravely affects vulnerable populations, measures so far have not improved outcomes for local communities and the environment.

Amazon deforestation alerts fall to lowest 12-month level since 2014, show Brazilian data
- INPE’s DETER alert system detected 370 square kilometers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon in May, down from 960 square kilometers in May 2025.
- Over the past 12 months, DETER registered 3,182 square kilometers of deforestation, the lowest total for any 12-month period in the system’s record dating back to July 2014.
- Independent monitoring by Imazon shows a similar downward trend, reinforcing evidence that forest clearing has continued to decline.
- Scientists warn that a likely strong El Niño could still increase drought, fire and forest degradation risks, even if clear-cutting remains low.

As human Ebola cases climb in DRC, critically endangered gorillas are at risk
- Gorillas are vulnerable to communicable diseases that infect humans and other nonhuman primates, including the Ebola virus.
- A new Ebola outbreak was announced in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May, but so far, there have been no reported cases of gorilla infection. Previous outbreaks have devastated western lowland gorillas.
- Armed conflict hampers both conservation and efforts to monitor both Grauer’s and mountain gorilla populations in DRC. They also impair the public health response, which has also been seriously impacted by cuts in U.S. funding under the Trump administration.
- Gorillas are highly social animals, which facilitates spread of infectious disease. Infants and females are disproportionately affected, which has serious consequences for recovery of devastated populations.

Amazon deforestation declines as Brazil reduces forest loss nationwide
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon biome fell by 23.5% in 2025 compared with 2024, according to a new report from MapBiomas, a Brazil-based land-use mapping project. Reductions in deforestation were recorded across the board in all of Brazil’s biomes, culminating in a 21% nationwide decrease in forest loss. In total, nearly 985,000 hectares (2.4 million acres) […]
In Ecuador, an Indigenous community goes thirsty despite its two rivers
- On the banks of the Puní River’s middle basin, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, illegal mining has increased by 2,700% over seven years, contaminating the main water source for the ancestral Kichwa community of Capirona.
- Residents of Capirona say that, by 2021, the color of the Puní River started to change, turning brownish. Meanwhile, problems such as skin rashes, fungal infections and itching became frequent.
- In samples of mining ore collected by Ecuadorian authorities from an illegal mining camp on the banks of Puní, signs of mercury were found at levels far exceeding the permitted limit for this metal in agricultural soils.
- Industrial farming activity has also polluted the waters of the Shalkana River, another watercourse located within the community. Despite being surrounded by two rivers, residents of Capirona rely on two water tankers sent weekly by municipal authorities, which is enough for barely half of the families for just a few days.

Brazil carves an Amazon national park to make room for grain railway
- Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld a law removing 862 hectares (2,130 acres) from Jamanxim National Park, clearing a legal obstacle for the proposed Ferrogrão grain railway.
- The lower house in Congress also approved a measure reducing another Jamanxim conservation unit; although, the bill still must be voted on in the Senate.
- The project threatens Indigenous territories and key habitats for jaguars, giant otters and primates in an Amazonian region already facing extensive land grabbing and deforestation.
- Experts warn the ruling could make it easier to reduce protected areas elsewhere in Brazil for future infrastructure and development projects.

Colombia passes landmark cattle traceability law to combat illegal deforestation
Colombia passed a landmark law June 4 aimed at improving traceability of its cattle supply chain to ensure beef isn’t sourced from deforested land. The law hopes to enhance existing traceability systems and make it easier to identify when cattle have grazed in protected areas and forests that were illegally cleared for pasture. “This is […]
Ancient Maya knowledge helps Guatemalan farmers cut agrochemical use
- Guatemalan farmers are turning to organic pesticides, rooted in traditional practices and sustainable ideas, to replace expensive synthetic alternatives.
- Using a mixture of locally available plants, and ideas about farming passed down by ancestors, they are creating natural pesticides to protect their plots.
- Cheaper than agrochemicals, these biopesticides are safer to use and don’t cause the ecological damage associated with chemical use.
- Although international interest in biopesticides is growing, agrochemicals still dominate the market.

In Peru and Brazil, extractivism threatens Indigenous people in isolation: Report
- Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI) in Peru and Brazil’s Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor are under threat by oil and gas expansion, proposed highways and illegal mining, a recent report says.
- Oil and gas blocks overlap with 10% of the 16-million-hectare corridor, including nearly 1.7 million hectares of intact tropical forest, and 12% of PIACI reserves pending approval are at risk from oil and gas.
- The report identifies 13 mining concessions and 500,000 hectares of logging concessions on the Peruvian side alone.
- Indigenous leaders and civil society organizations in Peru say the government must stop handing out concessions and revoke or relocate existing ones, otherwise PIACI face exposure to disease due to forced contact, conflict and the destruction of the ecosystems they depend on to survive.

The ‘ghost dog’ of the Amazon reveals the value of intact forests
The short-eared dog is one of the Amazon’s least-known carnivores. In Bolivia, it’s also one of the hardest to find. The species has a fox-like snout, small rounded ears, partially webbed toes, and a long bushy tail that often drags on the forest floor. In Spanish, it’s sometimes called perro fantasma, or ghost dog, a […]
Genetic study reveals extinction risk for unique mangrove-adapted pampas cat
- The San Pedro de Vice dry mangrove habitat on the northwest coast of Peru hosts a very small population of desert pampas cats (Leopardus garleppi). It’s part of a population unlike any other across the species’ Latin American range, which stretches from southern Colombia to northern Argentina.
- While the desert pampas cat is normally found in arid deserts, dry forests or grasslands, this small coastal population is one of a kind in that it is uniquely adapted to a dry mangrove habitat bordered by desert.
- While camera-trap data initially suggested a healthy population in San Pedro de Vice, a recent genetic study performed on scat determined there are just nine cats in this isolated area, all of them related, with just two actively breeding — raising concerns this unique population can’t survival without conservation intervention.
- Researchers say this population’s story is a warning to conservationists that other small cat species worldwide thought to be thriving may be facing isolation and genetic bottlenecks in fragmented ecosystems, risking multiple local extinctions. But expensive genetic studies of hard-to-find scat make assessments difficult.

New golf-ball sized blue octopus species now identified in the Galapagos
While on a deep-sea expedition in the Galapagos in 2015, scientists found a golf-ball sized, short-armed blue octopus. In a recent study, they confirmed that it’s new to science. The newly described octopus, named Microeledone galapagensis, was first sighted with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) near an underwater mountain, roughly 1,773 meters (5,800 feet) below […]
Gold mining damages dung beetle communities in the Amazon, study finds
Small-scale gold mining is a major cause of deforestation in the Amazon, and researchers found that in Guyana it destroys dung beetle communities and prevents their recovery for decades. Gold mining causes 90% of the deforestation in the Guiana Shield, which contains a quarter of the Amazon rainforest as well as large gold deposits, according […]

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