location: Oceania

location: Oceania

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Nations at southern bluefin tuna meeting stop short of adopting new seabird protections
- The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), a multilateral body that manages the stock of southern bluefin tuna, held its annual meeting Oct. 5-8 in Brussels.
- Seabird protections drew debate, and a modicum of conservation progress was made: The parties agreed on 13 priority seabird species and designated high-risk areas for them.
- However, the designations don’t carry any new mandatory protections: Due to the reluctance of some members, the commission stopped short of adopting proposed conservation measures for the high-risk areas, most notably tighter seabird bycatch mitigation requirements.

New Zealand builds an arsenal of tools to battle a ‘wily’ invasive seaweed
- Two invasive forms of a seaweed called caulerpa were discovered in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2021, forming meadows that blanketed the seabed. This raised fears that the caulerpa would smother marine life, compete with native species for space and displace habitats.
- A suite of innovative caulerpa-removal methods has been developed in New Zealand, some with government funding.
- Nationwide eradication is no longer seen as achievable, but a major natural dieback has tempered some of the worst fears about ecological devastation.

Australia’s new eco police flexes muscles with major wildlife trafficking bust
Australian authorities have disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking syndicate, uncovering a clandestine operation where smuggled native animals were hoarded alongside caches of cash and gold, reports contributor Johan Augustin for Mongabay. The operation reportedly seized 28 native and a few exotic species alongside approximately A$300,000 (nearly $210,000) in cash, gold, and silver bullion on July […]
Invading the globe: Bird flu now threatens Australia and Oceania
- A deadly strain of avian flu, H5N1, has spread across the globe since it emerged in Europe in 2020, infecting hundreds of species and decimating domestic poultry, seabird and marine mammal populations.
- In June, bird flu breached the last uninfected continent, Australia, and has since infected numerous bird species — and spilled over into mammals, including critically endangered Australian sea lions.
- Wildlife disease tracking and data collection are guiding current mitigations, such as carcass removal. The New South Wales government launched an immunization trial for vulnerable captive birds in August and began vaccinating little penguins in the wild on Sept. 18. But little can be done to stop the spread.
- A comprehensive One Health perspective that incorporates human, wildlife and livestock health could aid efforts to prevent outbreaks of zoonotic disease that pass between them all.

In Australia’s Wet Tropics, restoration misses the forest for the tree cover
- A survey of 25 organizations working on rainforest restoration in Australia’s Wet Tropics found that nearly all monitor their sites, but about half keep no records and simply check sites visually.
- The groups ranked habitat connectivity, biodiversity, and threatened species habitat as their top goals, yet measured success mainly by canopy closure, tree survival, and the end of weeding.
- About 42% stop monitoring once the canopy closes, usually within three to five years, long before the slower recovery of rainforest plants and animals can be tracked.
- Most groups said monitoring would be a high priority if they had more funding, and the survey authors warn that short-term checks won’t provide the proof of recovery that carbon and biodiversity markets require.

Rising seas could cost Australia economic losses of $855 billion, study finds
Rising sea levels due to climate change could damage hundreds of thousands of properties and millions of hectares of land along Australia’s coastline by 2100, according to a recent study. This could cost the country an economic loss of $855 billion, researchers estimate. To calculate the costs, researchers in Australia used existing projections of sea […]
Iwi and community-led effort return kiwi to Wellington for first time in over a century
For the first time in 150 years, kiwi once again live in the hills surrounding Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. More than 250 manu (“birds” in the Māori language) were successfully translocated back to the region, thanks to the efforts of the iwi (nations of Aotearoa), community members, and landowners behind the Capital Kiwi Project. Paul […]
As yellow-eyed penguins disappear, conservationists focus on deaths in fishing nets
- Yellow-eyed penguins, found only in Aotearoa New Zealand, are at risk of extinction.
- The “mainland” population is down to 117 breeding pairs, having declined more than 80% since the 2008-2009 breeding season; the only other population, which lives on New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, is believed to be larger but isn’t well surveyed.
- Set-net fishing, a type of gillnet fishing, has been one of several factors in the population decline.
- Following pressure from conservationists but over the objections of fishers, New Zealand’s government recently banned set-net fishing around the Otago Peninsula and established an annual fishing-related mortality limit of four yellow-eyed penguins.

As Australia’s kangaroo numbers rise, record cull renews calls for other control methods
- Kangaroo populations are surging across Australia, driven partly by large-scale deforestation and few natural predators.
- This year, a controversial government cull program in the Australian Capital Territory logged one of its highest numbers of kills.
- Scientists and conservationists say there’s no easy way to control the species’ growing numbers.
- Other possible solutions include reforestation efforts and reintroducing native predators like dingoes.

Reptiles, gold and money: How Australia is cracking down on wildlife trafficking
- Australian authorities disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking ring in Sydney, seizing 36 reptiles and about AU$300,000 (more than $215,000) in cash and gold bullion.
- The animals included 28 native Australian reptiles, including shingleback lizards, spiny-tailed skinks and lace monitors.
- This bust was the first major wildlife crime operation conducted by the National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), Australia’s new federal environmental regulator.
- The National EPA alleges native reptiles were supplied to foreign nationals for illegal export.

H5N1 bird flu jumps to marine mammals and wildlife in Australia
H5N1 avian influenza is spreading rapidly across southeastern Australia owing to infected wild bird species, including little penguins, magpies, crested terns and pelicans. Bird aggregations during breeding seasons will likely accelerate transmission to mammals, said Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer James Todd. In late August, H5N1 jumped to a mammal, a red fox (Vulpes vulpes), in […]
‘You Belong with Me:’ Taylor Swift has a new genus of bug named after her
You may have heard her songs, seen her videos, maybe even attended one of her concerts … but have you seen the new genus of Australian plant bugs named after Taylor Swift? Scientists at the University of California, Riverside recently described a new genus of plant bugs, they’ve named Swiftiephylus, in honor of the Grammy-winning […]
‘Carnival of the Nearly Extinct Animals’ celebrates species with song
Once upon a time, flocks of passenger pigeons were so dense they blocked the sun like great gray thunderclouds flying overhead. Composer Stephanie Ann Boyd imagines this with music. “You will feel this movement before you hear it: a deep rumble in the low voices of the orchestra suddenly crescendo and explode into a grand, […]
Indigenous fisherwoman finds ‘lost’ spinach pipefish, not seen by science in 40 years
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the final day of a two-week expedition, where researchers were searching for a “lost” species along Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, Helen Asu arrived with two small, greenish-brown fish. She had caught them while fishing for prawns […]
New Zealand put fishing boats under camera surveillance. Will it stay the course?
- In recent years, Aotearoa New Zealand has mandated onboard cameras across most of its inshore fleet, alongside other forms of electronic monitoring, covering vessels using six types of fishing gear.
- The rollout, aimed at monitoring catch, discards, protected species interactions, and the use of mitigation devices, has put New Zealand near the leading edge internationally in the use of onboard cameras.
- Conservation-minded experts say the system is far from perfect but has improved transparency and especially the quality of data on bycatch, or unintended catch.
- Shane Jones, the New Zealand government official in charge of fisheries, has expressed skepticism about the onboard camera system and sponsored a bill that would restrict public access to the footage, raising doubts about the program’s future.

Why is Amazonian wildlife turning up at a Bangkok market?
- The sheer numbers and vast array of Latin American wildlife species offered for sale in one of Southeast Asia’s largest wildlife markets, in Thailand, has been steadily rising over the past two years, observers say, alongside animals from across the globe.
- The trend points to a broader shift in the global wildlife trade, with more species coming out of the imperiled Amazon and many of them sold as pets.
- Trafficked animals are often laundered from other South American countries through Peru, where regulations make it easier to export species abroad.
- Many of these species are threatened, plucked from the wild, and then face abhorrent conditions during the journey from the Amazon to Asia, raising further animal welfare concerns; many perish during transit.

New nocturnal snake from New Guinea named after Slash of Guns N’ Roses
Scientists have identified a new-to-science, reddish-brown snake from specimens found in the forests of Papua New Guinea and named it after Slash, the lead guitarist of the rock band Guns N’ Roses. Slash’s groundsnake (Lielaphis slashi) is the twentieth species to be confirmed within the genus Lielaphis, a group of groundsnakes found primarily on the […]
Indigenous knowledge helps reveal the ties between reefs and mangroves
- A scientific collaboration between Australian scientists and First Nations Bardi Jawi rangers and elders has highlighted how fish species rely on the connectivity of reef and mangrove ecosystems.
- The study found that culturally important fish species, which form part of traditional fishery practices in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, migrated between the two ecosystems more than other species.
- The collaboration enabled Western scientists to draw on millennia of traditional ecological knowledge in carrying out the study and interpreting its findings.
- While most of the findings were already part of traditional ecological knowledge, rangers say they learned how certain species may not be able to survive if either reefs or mangroves were threatened by climate change and environmental impacts.

Indigenous rangers pull killer ‘ghost nets’ from Australia’s northern coast
- Indigenous ranger groups across northern Australia are removing tons of ghost nets and other marine debris from some of the country’s most remote coastline, where abandoned fishing gear kills turtles, dugongs and sharks long after it is lost.
- The nets ride ocean currents into the Gulf of Carpentaria from Southeast Asia, and removing them is slow and dangerous work, though rangers are now using drones and AI to find nets faster than before.
- After funding for the patrols nearly lapsed, the Australian government committed AU$25 million ($18 million) over four years, most of it to continue the cleanups, and AU$4.5 million ($3.2 million) to stop nets from reaching the ocean in the first place.
- Rangers and advocates say the fix is not to blame any single country, but to address the problem at its source and keep supporting the Traditional Owners who care for this coastline.

Superb fairywrens disappearing in Australia’s capital: Conserving insects could help save them
- A three-decade study of Australia’s beloved superb fairywren revealed a substantial decline in what was previously considered a common species in the capital, Canberra. This population could disappear within decades.
- Researchers say this is part of a worrying trend of declining woodland birds and insects in Australia and across the globe, mainly driven by loss of habitat, pesticides and changing climate.
- The study highlighted the “catastrophic cumulative effect” that multiple small impacts from climate change can have on wildlife.
- Through collaborative efforts between ornithologists, entomologists and local communities, Australia could reshape its urban environments and better monitor the health of its birds: creating insect-friendly gardens and protecting and restoring bushy habitat could help slow its decline.

The conservation population of Australia’s endangered eastern quoll welcomes joeys
- The endangered eastern quolls are functionally extinct in the wild on the Australian mainland, but wild populations still survive in Tasmania.
- In fox-free Tasmania, predation by cats is likely a driver of wild population decline.
- Released captive-bred eastern quolls in Tasmania are now demonstrating successful interbreeding with wild populations.
- Meanwhile, work to rewild eastern quolls on the mainland has seen captive-bred quolls released into predator-proof conservation reserves, with plans to scale up over the coming years.

Australia’s 30×30 conservation promise matters a lot, but how it’s achieved is key (commentary)
- How Australia — one of the planet’s most megadiverse nations — tackles its goal to conserve 30% of its land and seas by 2030 (30×30) may signal whether this, the world’s most ambitious conservation commitment, can succeed.
- With just four years to meet its promise, Australia has a way to go, but has also achieved some important milestones in part by involving Indigenous communities closely in the effort.
- “If Australia meets the target well, it will help demonstrate that conservation can be representative, rights-based, well-funded, and effective,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Scientists discover 149 new deep-sea species at remote Indian Ocean seamounts
- A new study details a deep-sea expedition near the remote Christmas and Cocos islands, where researchers visited unexplored seamounts and identified 149 previously unknown marine species, including black corals, sea worms, sea cucumbers and a variety of fish.
- At a site they dubbed “The Shark Tooth Graveyard,” researchers discovered around 1,000 shark teeth, covering more than 22 million years of evolution.
- Researchers from institutions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. surveyed the seafloor down to 5,431 meters (17,818 feet), where conditions are cold, dark and high-pressure with limited food options for benthic species.
- Deep-sea research is notoriously challenging, but scientists stress the importance of exploring these ecosystems as they face growing threats from warming oceans, pollution, overfishing and deep-sea mining.

Bogong moths support Australia’s alpine ecosystems, but face uncertain future
- Bogong moths are a critical resource for the many rare and wonderful species that live in the Australian Alps, but their future is far from certain.
- The IUCN classifies the bogong moth as an endangered species, but Australia, the only country where the moth is habitually found, has refused to recognize it as such, categorizing it instead as “data deficient”.
- Currently, a network of entomologists, ecologists, data scientists, First Nations peoples, and volunteers is working to address the data gaps, hoping to reapply for a national endangered species listing and identify the best strategies to protect the bogong moth.
- However, tracking a tiny creature that migrates hundreds of kilometers in the dark of night is no easy task.

Rescue networks built by fire: Saving animals from Australia’s bushfires
- While emergency responders prioritized human life and property during Australia’s 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, there were few systems in place to protect wildlife or evacuate and care for domestic animals during and after the fires, exposing a gap in disaster planning.
- Neighbors, wildlife carers, veterinarians, landholders and volunteers rapidly organized evacuations, rescue efforts, feeding stations and supply networks, demonstrating the power of local knowledge and grassroots coordination.
- Fire ecology research suggests animals may be more vulnerable to fire than previously understood, and more research is needed to understand wildlife mortality and survival during and post-bushfire.
- Experts say that community-led efforts could dramatically improve outcomes for both people and animals during disasters with better funding, coordination and institutional support. Community networks offer a blueprint for the future as bushfires become more frequent in a climate-changed world.

Local knowledge guides rediscovery of spinach pipefish, not seen in four decades
- Scientists have rediscovered spinach pipefish, a freshwater species endemic to Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, not seen in nearly 40 years.
- The discovery came during a two-week survey led by local scientists and community members. Local fisherwoman Helen Asu netted two spinach pipefish, which scientists sent to experts for confirmation of the taxonomy.
- Scientists say the rediscovery offers hope that populations of the little-known, elusive fish still survive and provides an opportunity to understand more about its life cycle, habitat and ecology.
- The discovery highlights the importance of combining local knowledge with scientific research.

Dolphin mother and calf observed using shells to catch fish in Australia
A small population of dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia have a documented history of using an unusual tool to help them catch fish: Large, empty snail shells. For the first time, scientists have now observed the same behavior in a different dolphin population on Australia’s east coast. Researchers even filmed a baby dolphin […]
New Zealand opens marine reserves with groundbreaking Māori co-management model
- Five new marine protected areas (MPAs) came into effect in Aotearoa New Zealand in July after more than a decade of grassroots and governmental work — and a sixth is expected to open in the near future.
- The MPAs are no-take marine reserves, areas where all extractive activities are banned, co-managed by the regional Māori tribe Kāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation.
- The reserves are the first in the country to be co-managed by Indigenous people and the government through shared decision-making and a joint ranger team.
- The reserves are the first part of a planned network, called Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia, which is expected to have not only the reserves but also other types of protected areas that have less strict protections.

On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing
- Joint management of the Great Barrier Reef is changing, with Traditional Owners playing an increasing role in the conservation of one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
- Despite climate change continuing to threaten the health of the Reef, the World Heritage Committee has again decided not to put the Great Barrier Reef on its “in danger” list, and has cited increased levels of Traditional Owner management in its decision.
- Traditional use and management agreements currently cover 43% of the Great Barrier Reef’s coastline and the government has announced new funding and measures to further include Indigenous management.
- There are still gaps in the full inclusion of Indigenous communities in the stewardship of their traditional waters, say Indigenous governance organizations, though strides are being made.

Logging and the slow disappearance of Australia’s large old trees (commentary)
- Large old trees store substantial amounts of carbon and provide essential nesting and denning hollows for hundreds of Australian animal species.
- Logging removes these trees directly and increases the risk that surviving trees will be damaged by wind and regeneration burns.
- In this commentary, David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University argues that protecting large old trees is essential because they take centuries to replace.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Australia confirms first mass bird flu mortality in wildlife
Australia has confirmed the country’s first mass mortality of native seabirds from the deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1. On Aug. 1, authorities confirmed the positive cases among 49 dead and 35 sick greater crested terns (Thalasseus bergii) at Baudin Rocks, an island roughly 5 kilometers (3 miles) off South Australia’s southeast coast near Cape […]
New ‘conservation deed’ aims to protect tree kangaroos, forests, people in Papua New Guinea
- On June 30, 266 clan leaders across 41 villages in Papua New Guinea’s Torricelli Mountains signed a legally binding “conservation deed” that protects rainforest and its inhabitants and is the result of decades of work by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance.
- The deed shields the range’s exceptional biodiversity, including the critically endangered tenkile and weimang tree kangaroos, after a long-stalled effort to secure formal government protected-area status has left communities exposed to logging pressure.
- Conservation deeds have held up in court, with a 2025 National Court ruling citing one to restrict logging on clan lands in East New Britain.
- Built over two years through a free, prior and informed consent process, the Torricelli deed bans commercial logging and mining, as well as the hunting of threatened species, renews every five years and gives the alliance a model it now plans to extend to nearby areas under similar threat.

Four Pacific nations are planning one of the world’s largest ocean corridors
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Four Melanesian countries are planning a network of marine reserves across one of the world’s richest stretches of ocean. Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji announced the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves in May. Solomon Islands joined in […]
Coral reef experts press on, with climate looming over international conference
- Coral reef scientists, conservationists, policymakers and community leaders from more than 90 countries met July 19-24 at the International Coral Reefs Symposium in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Participants discussed how to combat the drivers of climate change, how to characterize and communicate the current condition of coral reefs, and how to empower Indigenous communities and integrate their knowledge systems, among other topics.
- During the week of the conference, a new U.S.-based coral reef research center was launched and the first-ever high-resolution mapping of living corals for the Pacific Ocean was announced.
- The next International Coral Reef Symposium will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2030.

Pat Lowe spent decades describing and defending the Kimberley
- Pat Lowe, who died on July 2nd, 2026, aged 84, was a psychologist, writer, naturalist, editor, and longtime defender of the Kimberley in Western Australia.
- Her understanding of the region was shaped by years living with Walmajarri artist Jimmy Pike at Kurlku in the Great Sandy Desert and by listening to Indigenous knowledge-holders.
- She helped found Environs Kimberley, later chaired it, served on its board for decades, and edited its newsletter for 29 years.
- Lowe also supported Broome’s literary community, wrote extensively about the Kimberley, and argued that communities should be able to reject projects that would permanently damage Country, the Indigenous Australian term for ancestral lands, waters, relationships, knowledge, and responsibilities.

Extreme weather dampens breeding success for marine predators in Tasmania: study
- A recent study found that extreme weather events like storms, heat waves and floods can interfere with the breeding success of marine predators like seals, shearwaters and albatross that raise their young along the coasts of the Australian state of Tasmania.
- While some colonies appeared unaffected by extreme weather, others saw offspring swept away by powerful waves and storm surges, hypothermia during unusually wet episodes, and deadly overheating during periods of high temperatures.
- The researchers noted that these extremes are among many challenges seals, seabirds and other marine predators face, including pollution, disease and declining food supplies, which can also be influenced by extreme weather events.

As Australia expands seismic testing, experts warn of profound effects on sealife
- Research has shown the intense, impulsive underwater noise from marine seismic surveys can harm marine animals up and down the food chain. Yet marine scientists say major gaps remain in understanding how the effects of repeated exposure may accumulate across ecosystems over time.
- Even so, the technology is becoming embedded in Australia’s energy transition plans, as projects increasingly rely on seismic surveys not only to search for gas, but also to repeatedly monitor sites where carbon dioxide captured during gas production would be injected permanently into seabed rock formations.
- The process, known as carbon capture and storage, is relatively new, and while proponents say it is the only way to reach net zero goals, major economic and performance challenges remain.
- The expansion of carbon capture and storage could make seismic surveys a recurring feature of Australia’s net-zero ambitions.

Melanesian nations announce intention to create massive ocean reserve corridor
- Solomon Islands is the latest Pacific island nation to sign on to a new network of marine protected areas (MPAs) known as the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves, or MOCOR, which was announced by Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Fiji at the first Melanesian Ocean Summit in May.
- Located in the southwestern Pacific, Melanesia is a hotspot for marine biodiversity and the discovery of new species.
- While large marine corridors can be more effective than isolated MPAs, researchers caution that robust management and enforcement are necessary to prevent them from becoming so-called “paper parks.”
- Details about MOCOR’s size, configuration, precise location, governance, enforcement mechanisms and community consultation processes are scarce.

Scientists use AI to produce first high-resolution map of global seagrass extent
- Scientists have produced the first high-resolution map of seagrass ecosystems around the world.
- Data from the map reveal that 70% of global seagrass cover is concentrated off the coasts of just five countries.
- The map also found that nearly 80% of seagrass loss happened outside marine protected areas, emphasizing the importance of targeted conservation action.
- Seagrass ecosystems play an important role in protecting coastlines and carbon sequestration; however, they face threats from hurricanes, coastal development, and marine heat waves.

Once endangered, Australia’s numbat is making a hopeful recovery
The animal emblem of Western Australia, the numbat, is recovering after decades of conservation efforts, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. For decades, the numbat or banded anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus) was listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It has now been moved to the lower threat category of near threatened. […]
Illegal fishing takes a toll on Australia’s sea cucumbers
- Researchers blame an increase in illegal fishing for the decline of sea cucumbers in a remote Australian marine park and say many other reefs in the country have also been affected.
- The Australian government has launched an operation to crack down on illegal fishing in the country’s Northern Territory where the problem is acute, including for high-value sea cucumbers.
- But as long as the market for sea cucumbers remains strong in China and other East Asian countries, experts say, wild populations of this slow-growing animal could collapse and put the health of reef systems at risk in Australia and beyond.

Australia’s seagrass meadows under pressure as climate change turns up the heat
- Australia is a global stronghold for seagrasses, the flowering plants that grow in coastal waters and bays.
- Seagrasses are unsung but vital ecosystem engineers: They stabilize sediments, provide habitat and food for marine species, help cleanse the water column of pollutants and sequester vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
- Across Australia’s waters, these undersea meadows are suffering as coasts are developed, seas are polluted and climate change continues to raise water temperatures.
- Conservationists are working to restore seagrasses and build resilience to preserve these vital marine ecosystems.

Rare fungi help restore Palmyra Atoll rainforests, new study finds. Here’s how
Palmyra Atoll in the North Pacific is one of the most remote island systems on Earth. A native rainforest tree on the island performs a critical ecological service by providing nesting sites for thousands of seabirds, whose guano fuels the surrounding coral reefs. But a new study revealed that this entire cycle depends on an […]
Tiny new marsupial species, not seen in two decades, confirmed from museum specimens
Researchers have confirmed a new-to-science species of marsupial in Australia’s Northern Territory. The tiny mouse-like carnivore has been named the Arnhem Plateau planigale (Planigale petrophila) after the area where it’s thought to live in; its scientific name translates to rock lover. Planigales are the world’s smallest marsupials, some weighing just a couple of grams. Only […]
Laser scanning forests may boost carbon estimates, but credibility questions linger
- Ground-based laser scanning, called LiDAR, can be used to make detailed maps of forest structure.
- Such detail can allow for more accurate estimates of the amount of carbon stored in aboveground vegetation, which is helpful for assessing the outcomes of reforestation projects and assigning an accurate number of carbon credits.
- Carbon credits, bought and sold on the carbon market, are used by companies and other entities to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions.
- But experts caution that transparency, not estimation accuracy, remains the carbon market’s biggest challenge.

Deadly bird flu strain confirmed in Australia for first time
A deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1, that has killed millions of wild and domestic birds and mammals across the globe, has for the first time reached Australia’s shores. Australian authorities confirmed that two migratory seabirds, a brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus) and a northern giant petrel (Macronectes halli), have both tested positive for H5N1, a […]
Rodent-killing baits threaten small wild cats and other wildlife
- Anticoagulant rodenticides — used to control rodent populations — pose a little-recognized threat to a host of wildlife species, including wild cats.
- Many small cat species hunt rodents and live in areas where rat poison is commonly used, including agricultural lands. These anticoagulant poisons accumulate in the liver and can prove lethal: It takes days for animals to die from internal bleeding.
- Widespread exposure in bobcats and caracals is well-documented, however research on other small cat species is limited — but concerning.
- Wildlife biologists say that greater controls limiting the use and availability of rodenticides are needed to protect wildlife.

Tiwi rangers eradicate invasive tropical fire ants in Australia’s Melville Island
- Over the last two decades, Indigenous rangers in Australia’s Tiwi Islands came together with scientists, government actors, NGOs and private enterprise to eradicate the invasive tropical fire ant species from Melville Island.
- The species threatens small animals, vulnerable sea turtle hatchlings and nesting birds, according to some studies.
- The eradication program included locating the ant nests, poisoning them at small-scale with Amdro, an insecticide bait, and then monitoring sites to ensure the eradication was complete.
- A member of the eradication effort hopes lessons of the Tiwi eradication program could be replicated in other regions of the country, like Ashmore Reef.

Vanilla, fake eggs and nausea: How Australian scientists are training foxes to avoid turtle nests
- Freshwater turtles in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin are disappearing. Introduced red foxes — which prey on their eggs — are considered one of the leading threats.
- Researchers from La Trobe University are testing a non-lethal conservation method called “conditioned taste aversion,” using chemically treated poultry eggs to teach foxes to associate turtle nests with nausea.
- Early trials have shown promising but variable results, reducing nest predation by 30-90% depending on the site. Researchers are working to make the aversion longer-lasting.
- The project is being carried out in collaboration with Traditional Owners, community conservation groups and citizen scientists, with the long-term goal of developing a simple, accessible protocol that could help protect turtles, as well as other ground-nesting native species threatened by introduced predators.

New walking shark discovered in Papua New Guinea
Researchers have described a new-to-science species of walking shark, which lives in the remote, shallow waters off southeastern Papua New Guinea. The newly named Dudgeon’s walking shark (Hemiscyllium dudgeonae) is a type of epaulette shark, a group of small sharks famous for their ability to use their fins to “walk” when stranded in tidal shallows. […]
French Polynesia expands ocean protections to 30% of its waters
The government of French Polynesia announced it is expanding the extent of ocean where extractive industries like seabed mining and industrial fishing will not be allowed. With this move, 30% of French Polynesia’s waters will now be fully protected. Last year on June 8, French Polynesia, a French overseas territory, established the Tainui Atea marine […]
The Bougainville community in Panguna wants justice for mining’s ‘toxic legacy’
Theonila Roka Matbob grew up next to what was — at the time — the world’s largest open-pit mine in Bougainville, an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea, operated by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. This mine wrought environmental and social devastation on the community of Panguna for decades. And many of these impacts carry […]
Australian authorities seize 100,000 live cockroaches in crackdown on exotic insect trade
- Australian authorities seized more than 100,000 exotic cockroaches from a breeder in New South Wales.
- The confiscated insects include Madagascar hissing cockroaches, endemic to the island country of Madagascar, and dubia roaches, which are popular both as reptile food and collected as pets.
- Importing exotic insects is illegal in Australia, as they can become invasive or carry disease, and they cannot be legally kept, bred or sold.
- The seizure highlights the unregulated but growing trade in invertebrates across the world, especially as food for increasingly popular reptile pets.

How courtrooms are deciding the fate of whales
Legal courtrooms are becoming a new battleground in the fight to save whales. In New Zealand, the proposed Tohorā Oranga Bill could recognize whales as legal persons — building on Pacific Indigenous efforts like He Whakaputanga Moana. This push to obtain legal rights for whales is part of the fast-growing ‘Rights of Nature’ movement. But […]
Australia establishes the first Sea Country Indigenous Protected Area
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For the Karajarri people of Kimberley in northwestern Australia, the coastline, reefs, wetlands, beaches and desert-edge country form one estate, held through law, memory, work and obligation. That relationship now has new recognition, reports Mongabay’s John Cannon. In […]
Destructive ‘wrong stories’ drive environmental exploitation, Indigenous scholar says
A new book from Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta of Australia explores how human narratives dictate how modern society governs itself and, crucially, how it exploits or protects the natural world. “It’s a terrible thing to … misrepresent things, make false claims, bear false witness in a way that is bending story, the story that everybody […]
Tony Parkes, the banker who replanted a rainforest
- Tony Parkes left a successful career in investment banking and devoted three decades to restoring the Big Scrub, the once-vast subtropical rainforest of northern New South Wales.
- After moving to the Northern Rivers, he and his wife, Rowena, planted tens of thousands of trees on their own land, turning private restoration into a public cause.
- As co-founder and longtime president of Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy, he helped unite landholders, scientists, bush regenerators, donors and volunteers around a disciplined model of rainforest recovery.
- His work helped protect remnants, plant millions of trees, strengthen restoration science and make the recovery of the Big Scrub part of the region’s civic life.

Researchers find dramatic restoration on land and sea after island rat removal
When invasive rats are removed from islands, the ecological benefits can ripple across both land and sea more quickly than scientists expected, according to recent research. Scientists have long assumed that meaningful recovery after the predators are eradicated would take decades. However, researchers with the U.S.-based NGO Island Conservation conducted a rat-removal experiment on Ulong Island […]
Indigenous organization buys wetland property in Australia to help conserve it
A large property containing a unique wetland system in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin was transferred into long-term Indigenous ownership in 2026 for conservation. The 33,000-hectare (81,545-acre) property contains most of the Great Cumbung Swamp, located at the end of the Lachlan River in the state of New South Wales. The swamp has a mix of open […]
A year on, Australia’s biggest harmful algal bloom continues to wreak havoc
- The largest and longest-lasting harmful algal bloom in Australia’s history, which started in early 2025, has potentially affected more than 20,000 square kilometers of ocean waters and about a third of the coasts in the state of South Australia.
- The algal bloom has devastated marine ecosystems and caused significant economic losses in the local fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries.
- As officials, researchers and communities grapple with its ecological, health and social impacts, the bloom has exposed a lack of preparedness at all levels of government for responding to future HABs.

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