location: West Africa

location: West Africa

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Before giant meat producer JBS expands to Nigeria, people deserve answers (commentary)
- The world’s largest meat company is pursuing a $2.5 billion investment that could reshape Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
- Critics are calling for greater transparency about this plan and point to JBS’ legacy in the Amazon of deforestation, land grabbing, forced labor, invasions of Indigenous territories, intimidation and violence against small-scale farmers, among other concerns.
- “The central issue is not whether Nigeria should welcome investment, but whether a project of this scale will be subjected to the level of transparency, scrutiny, and due diligence needed to ensure that its benefits do not come with avoidable environmental and human rights costs,” argues an expert with Climate Rights International.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Forests in Liberia are falling to cocoa, in half a year the EU could ban imports
On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforestation over a relatively concentrated period. Along with video production coordinator Juan Maza, Mukpo documented illegal cacao plantations in the rainforests in the county of […]
Women’s collectives are protecting Nigeria’s gorilla wildlife sanctuary
In the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led […]
Ghana’s High Court sentences politician to 20 years in illegal mining case
- A court in Accra has sentenced Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a regional chairman of Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic Party, to 20 years in prison for unlicensed mining in the country’s Samreboi concession.
- In recent years, the area has been massively degraded by illegal mining, known locally as “galamsey,” damaging remaining wildlife habitat, destroying farmland, and altering natural drainage patterns.
- Civil society hopes the conviction of a prominent politician signals that political cover allowing illegal mining will now be reined in.

One scientist’s mission to save Ghana’s disappearing guitarfish
- Fishers from Ghana travel the length of the West African coastline to find the richest fishing grounds, but the availability of this vital source of protein is under threat from a number of sources.
- Declining catches of bony fish like tuna and mackerel have put elasmobranch populations — sharks and rays — under increasing pressure by fishers, who seek them not just to supply local markets for their meat, but to meet lucrative demand for their fins from Asia.
- Sawfish and wedgefish species have now been fished to local extinction in Ghana, and marine biologist Issah Seidu warns guitarfish will be next.
- Earlier this year, Seidu was the recipient of a Whitley Award, which will support the work of his NGO alongside Ghanaian fishing communities to research and protect guitarfish.

Oil has harmed the nature and people of the Niger Delta; human rights may save it
On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, I speak with travel writer Noo Saro-Wiwa. She has documented the violence and natural destruction that the presence of oil companies have brought to the people of the Niger Delta in her latest book, The Burning Ground: Oil and Militancy in Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa is also the daughter […]
Pangolin DNA study links local wild meat markets to global trafficking networks
Pangolin scales and other body parts trafficked internationally appear to come from the same areas that supply the animals for local wild meat markets, a new study has found. It created a DNA database and location-prediction model for three threatened species: the white-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis), Sunda (Manis javanica) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins. Pangolins are […]
Something strange is happening in Liberia
Liberia is losing its rainforest at an alarming rate. Satellite data reveals rapid deforestation across one of West Africa’s last remaining intact rainforests, driven largely by illegal cocoa plantations supplying the global demand for chocolate. To find out more, we travel deep into Liberia’s forests to speak with migrant cocoa workers, forest rangers, and community […]
Why are forests vanishing in southeastern Liberia?
GRAND GEDEH, Liberia – In the past century, most of West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest has been lost to commercial agriculture, infrastructure development and logging. More than half of what’s left is in Liberia, and the remaining rainforest now faces a threat that’s already driven much of the region’s deforestation: cacao production. In the past […]
‘Chasing Deforestation’ in Liberia: Behind the scenes with Mongabay
- In a new episode of “Chasing Deforestation,” Mongabay investigates the emergence of a cocoa industry in southeastern Liberia that is destroying its forests.
- Mongabay reporters traveled deep into the Liberian rainforest to find illegal cacao farms with the help of forest rangers and eco-guards.
- The investigation was led by Mongabay Africa bureau features writer Ashoka Mukpo.

The vanishing forests on Liberia’s cocoa frontier
- Liberia’s remote southeast, home to some of West Africa’s last remaining rainforests, is facing a deforestation crisis driven by cacao farming.
- Tens of thousands of workers from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire have migrated across the border in recent years, driven by land shortages and a price boom.
- This “cocoa rush” destroyed more forest in Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county last year than in any county on record since 2002.

How a spiritual practice is preserving Benin’s mangroves
In the West African nation of Benin, Vodun, an ancient spiritual religion rooted in a deep connection between humans and nature, has become a primary tool for protecting the country’s disappearing mangroves. By invoking the authority of the Zangbéto deity, local communities and conservationists create spiritual sanctuaries that forbid the destruction of mangroves under threat […]
Conserving Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees: Interview with Tacugama’s Willie Tucker
- Habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade and climate change remain the leading threats to the western chimpanzee population in Sierra Leone.
- Through community livelihood programs including livestock and seed support, conservationists are trying to help reduce dependence on forests and hunting.
- In 2019, Sierra Leone designated the western chimpanzee as the country’s national animal, strengthening public awareness and support for conservation.
- Willie Tucker, camp supervisor of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, spoke with Mongabay about the sanctuary’s work at the forefront of western chimpanzee conservation, as the facility currently cares for more than 100 western chimpanzees, many of which were rescued from private homes.

Confronting culture to protect vultures: Interview with Nigeria’s Michael Williams
- Michael Manja Williams, an ornithologist and wildlife researcher, has traversed 18 states across Nigeria, studying how cultural practices have spurred a rapid decline in Nigeria’s vulture numbers.
- Williams cites negative public perceptions about vultures as a significant challenge and trains what he calls Vulture Guardians to counteract these beliefs.
- With an increasing number of younger Nigerians lending support to conservation, he is hopeful about the future of vultures in Nigeria.
- Williams recently spoke to Mongabay about his foray into vulture conservation and the challenges thus far.

Cabo Verde program and its fishers have been protecting the sea for 10 years
- In Cabo Verde, 190 fishers from seven of the archipelago’s 10 islands volunteer with the Guardians of the Sea program, reporting illegal practices and sightings of marine megafauna as they go about their daily fishing work.
- Their presence at sea acts as a strong deterrent against illegal activities and raises awareness among other fishers about the importance of long-term, sustainable marine management, according to a program co-founder.
- Fishers have always been a pillar of Cabo Verde’s economy and identity. The country hosts a fleet of approximately 1,535 vessels, ranging from artisanal to semi-industrial, and the sector provides a livelihood for coastal families.

Belief-based use increasing threat to yellow-billed kite, an important African scavenger
- Yellow-billed kites are widespread across Africa. But conservationists warn that in the absence of heavily-hunted vultures, this bird is now targeted for use in belief-based rituals in West Africa.
- A survey spanning two hunting seasons in southern Benin estimated that more than 20,000 yellow-billed kites were poached for consumption and for sale in fetish markets. Researchers tallied nearly 2,000 birds for sale in markets.
- Poaching is also occurring in neighboring Togo and Nigeria.
- Experts are concerned that at this scale, poaching could quickly lead to population-level declines. They urge action to control hunting and sale of this bird.

The women leading a quiet conservation revolution in a Nigerian gorilla sanctuary
- Women’s conservation collectives in the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary are working to defend the wildlife, forests and rivers in a protected area that’s home to threatened gorillas and chimpanzees.
- Funded by membership dues, these groups carry out patrols, investigate wildlife crimes, and work collaboratively with traditional leadership structures to censure violators.
- One of the groups’ notable successes comes in ensuring that rules aimed at protecting the environment are upheld without bias or favoritism.
- The successes of the pioneering women’s collectives have inspired the formation of similar initiatives in other villages surrounding the sanctuary.

Researchers in Nigeria successfully cultivate wild mushroom in agricultural waste
Researchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they report in a recent study. Lentinus squarrosulus is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including […]
Endangered West African leopards show signs of recovery, despite odds. ‘It’s a win’
- Researchers working in Benin’s Pendjari National Park reported some promising news for West African leopards: Density rose from 2017 to 2023.
- West Africa’ leopards are regionally endangered, with just 354 remaining across the region.
- Pendjari National Park sits within the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a large transboundary conservation landscape encompassing national parks, hunting reserves and buffer zones that in recent years has been infiltrated by non-state armed groups operating in the Sahel. While conservation efforts in the national park are working, the security crisis remains a major threat.

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.

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.

Leaked study warns of irreversible damage from iron ore mine in Guinea UNESCO site
- Ivanhoe Atlantic, a U.S. mining company, plans to mine iron ore in Guinea’s UNESCO-protected Nimba Mountains.
- Mongabay has obtained a copy of the confidential environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) currently being reviewed by Guinean authorities, which details extensive and irreversible damage to Nimba’s endemic and endangered species and critical habitats.
- The ESIA concludes that the planned mine risks causing “lasting and significant damage” to the adjacent World Heritage Site.
- The document’s findings also indicate the project might be breaching globally recognized environmental and social safeguards that Ivanhoe has publicly committed to.

Hope for vultures in Nigeria as some belief-based users adopt plant alternatives
Using plants instead of vulture parts for belief-based practices is helping to tackle poaching of the birds in some regions of Nigeria, say conservationists. Vulture populations have collapsed in Nigeria. The country was once home to seven vulture species; recent surveys recorded only two, the critically endangered hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the palm-nut vulture […]
‘Rare animals, photography and Instagram’ could help an Ivorian rainforest
- In late May, Mongabay accompanied a group of conservationists and scientists to Taï National Park — a large rainforest in Côte d’Ivoire famous for its habituated western chimpanzees.
- Despite the presence of these charismatic apes, the park gets relatively few visitors, whose presence could help to support conservation efforts and deter poachers.
- Conservationists are now planning to promote niche tourism in the park and support work by the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR) to protect Taï’s stunning biodiversity.
- Chimpanzee sightings are a major attraction for any visitor to the park, but other animals, including one of the world’s largest scorpions and Africa’s largest and rarest owl, could also prove to be a draw for those looking for an adventure-filled experience.

EU votes to end illegal logging agreement with Liberia
The European Union’s parliament voted decisively to end its logging oversight partnership with Liberia on June 17, marking the end of a long-running attempt to reform the country’s timber sector through foreign aid. The vote, which passed with 92% in favor, is expected to lead to a formal decision by the EU to terminate the […]
A few seconds with one of West Africa’s rarest birds
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The white-necked picathartes is easy to miss. In Taï National Park, in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, it nests beneath rocky overhangs, shaping mud cups against stone walls deep inside the forest. It may appear for only a few seconds, […]
Demand for vultures in West Africa threatens Central African populations
Conservationists warn that vulture populations in central African countries like Chad are increasingly at risk due to belief-based use in Nigeria and Benin. Abiola Sylvestre Chaffra, a research fellow at the International Bird Conservation Partnership, told Mongabay he was out in Chad, photographing vultures, when a man offered to help him capture the birds. Vultures […]
Côte d’Ivoire’s tree-climbing crocodile needs to be protected, scientist says
- On a recent visit to Taï National Park, in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, Mongabay accompanied Ivorian environmental scientist Christine Kouman on a night-time boat trip up the Hana River.
- The river is home to Africa’s rarest crocodile, the critically-endangered West African slender-snouted crocodile.
- For more than a decade Kouman, whose work has been supported by Project Mecistops.
- Now the scientist, who cofounded the conservation NGO EBURCO, is working with others to ensure its rainforest habitat stays well protected.

In search of the ‘rare and beautiful’ in an Ivorian rainforest
- In late May, Mongabay visited the Taï National Park in southwestern Cote d’Ivoire.
- The park protects the largest remnant of Upper Guinean forests in West Africa, which is itself home to unique animals.
- One of these is the white-necked picathartes, a bird that builds its mud-cup nests on rock walls deep inside the rainforest.
- A Mongabay correspondent accompanied a member of the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves to visit a rare nesting site in the hope of spotting its elusive occupants.

Sea turtle hunters become their protectors in Cabo Verde
Former sea turtle hunters in Cabo Verde, off the coast of West Africa, have shifted to working in loggerhead turtle conservation along the archipelago nation’s main nesting beaches. The change was propelled by 2018 legislation that criminalized killing threatened turtle species, Sonam Lama Hyolmo reported for Mongabay. Rangers, around a dozen of which used to […]
The quest to reconnect imperiled rainforest in West Africa
- Conservationists working with the official national parks agency in Côte d’Ivoire are planning to create an ecological corridor linking Taï National Park with Grebo National Park in neighboring Liberia.
- The corridor has support from the Ivorian village of Nigré, where residents will grow native trees alongside their crops to facilitate animal movements.
- Animals that will likely benefit include the bongo; like other antelopes in Taï, they are believed to play a key role in helping to disperse seeds to ensure forest regeneration.
- Stitching together the surviving parts of West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest could help ensure this ecosystem and its inhabitants thrive.

Four alleged wildlife traffickers arrested in Guinea, dried seahorses and shark fins seized
- Guinean authorities arrested four alleged wildlife traffickers and seized 41 kilograms of dried seahorses and 26 kilograms of shark and ray fins.
- The suspects are thought to be part of a transnational criminal network operating in West Africa involved in smuggling protected marine wildlife for more than four decades, and now face 1-5 years in prison and fines.
- The arrests were made when the accused were trying to sell seahorses to Chinese nationals in the country, who would then export them to China.
- The seizure highlights the growing role of West Africa as a source of the illegal global trade in marine species protected under CITES, the international wildlife agreement.

Despite oil spills in Nigeria’s mangrove forests, Shell continued operations, documents show
- Documents disclosed as part of a lawsuit against UK-based oil company Shell show leadership continued operating a compromised pipeline in Nigeria’s Niger Delta despite knowing it posed a pollution risk in the surrounding coastal wetland environment.
- According to locals in Bille, a town near the pipeline, oil spills between 2011 and 2013 killed thousands of hectares of mangroves and aquatic life that rely on the wetland ecosystem, impacting people who depend on fishing.
- Shell said organized criminal gangs were responsible for the spills and that shutting down the pipeline and removing illegal connections also came with security risks.
- The Niger Delta region is a globally important biodiversity hotspot, hosting four Ramsar Wetlands and the largest mangrove forest in Africa.

Mongabay Africa’s most-read stories so far in 2026
From human-elephant coexistence to an alternative conservation model from the Democratic Republic of Congo, from teen innovators in Kenya to Guinea’s complicated experience with mining, the stories that attracted the most readers in the first five months of 2026 reflect the richness of Mongabay’s Africa coverage on World Environment Day, June 5, 2026. They also […]
Chimpanzees vs. a mega railway
A massive railway project, The Simandou corridor, in Guinea is cutting through one of West Africa’s most important ecosystems. The Simandou corridor is fragmenting forests that are home to the largest population of endangered western chimpanzees, putting their survival at risk. But why is this massive railway project being built? Deep within Guinea’s forests lie […]
A Nigerian teen is turning agricultural waste into biodegradable sanitary pads
- Nigerian teenager Raheema Auwal-Panti founded ‘Pantipads’ to tackle the problem of access to sanitary products and the prevalence of non-eco-friendly sanitary pads.
- She designed pads that use low-grade agriculture waste that decomposes easily.
- Auwal-Panti’s project was selected in a shortlist of 35 global teams for the 2026 Earth Prize, instituted by the Earth Foundation, a Switzerland-based non-profit that empowers, educates and inspires young people to tackle environmental challenges.

A ‘symphony’ of wildlife suggests carbon financing is working in Sierra Leone
- A study conducted in Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park found that the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) financing program, set up to ensure that forests sequester carbon, also confers some benefits to the park’s animal biodiversity.
- Compared to a neighboring protected area without REDD+ funding and a bordering community-owned agroforestry area, the national park had higher soundscape saturation, a proxy for biodiversity. However, the authors also found that the agroforestry area had a higher diversity of insects than the two other study areas.
- The study emphasizes that carbon financing programs can provide benefits outside of storing carbon, but experts also highlight that it shows that on-the-ground monitoring can be cheaply, effectively added to programs like REDD+ to help better conserve forests as whole ecosystems.

Liberia’s carbon market policy nears completion amid pushback
Liberian policymakers have almost completed a framework for selling carbon credits to international buyers. But local environmental groups say they’re being shut out of a fast-tracked final review of the policy. According to Jeanine Cooper, chief executive officer of Liberia’s Carbon Market Authority, the “penultimate” draft of the policy was nearing completion last week. In […]
Nigeria aims for stronger wildlife protections with sweeping new law
- Nigeria’s Senate recently passed a new bill to strengthen wildlife legislation in the country, which is a hub for international trafficking rings.
- Supporters say the government will need to provide resources for agencies to enforce the law.
- Despite many headline seizures of illegally trafficked wildlife, many cases do not go to court and even fewer end in convictions; experts also point to a confusing and contradictory patchwork of existing wildlife legislation.
- Conservationists see this as an opportunity to reset Nigeria’s handling of wildlife crime, but villagers who supplement their income through hunting fear that enforcement of the new law could mean the loss of an important safety net in difficult farming seasons.

Vodun’s sacred role in saving West Africa’s mangroves
GRAN POPO, Benin — In Benin, mangroves are said to be protected by the Zangbéto. In the Vodun belief, this deity forbids wood cutting, under penalty of a curse. As a result, in 10 years, more than 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of mangroves have been preserved thanks to this spiritual practice, which protects fragile and […]
In the Nimba Mountains, a film examines the paradox of mining-funded conservation
- The Nimba mountain range, which lies at the border of Liberia, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, is one of the most biodiversity-rich regions of West Africa.
- Home to western chimpanzees and other threatened species, it is also the site of some of the world’s highest-quality iron ore deposits.
- “Overburden,” a film produced by researchers and academics, explores the impact of mining on the Nimba range, and its increasingly close relationship with conservation.

Crude oil and wood fires fuel Nigeria’s soot pollution, in photos
Visual storyteller Taiwo Aina-Adeokun traveled across Nigeria over several months from 2025-26, documenting areas of the country where heavy plumes of smoke, containing the sooty pollutant black carbon, are a part of daily life. In some cases, the soot comes from Nigeria’s smoked-food culinary traditions. In others, it is a byproduct of the country’s oil industry. […]
In Senegal, artisanal fishing kills a surprising number of sharks and rays: study
- A study at two fish landing sites in southern Senegal found artisanal fisheries catch large numbers of sharks, rays and guitarfish, most of them threatened species.
- The authors suggest artisanal fishing may have a greater impact on these species than industrial trawling due to its large scale and limited monitoring and enforcement.
- Much of Senegal’s trade in artisanally caught sharks and rays is poorly monitored and exports take place without required permits, raising concerns about ongoing species population declines in the region, experts say.

With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future (commentary)
- Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments.
- Ghana’s minister for fisheries and aquaculture explains in a new commentary that the Greater Cape Three Points reserve will help restore marine ecosystems and protect the livelihoods of 21 coastal communities, while advancing the nation’s 30×30 conservation goal ahead of next month’s Our Ocean Conference in Kenya.
- “We urge governments everywhere to follow in Ghana’s footsteps to protect more of our ocean, invest in effective management, and ensure communities are at the heart of these efforts,” the minister writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

International Leopard Day: A spotty outlook for the spotted cat
Leopards are the most widespread of the big cats, but their range across Asia and Africa is shrinking. In many places, so are their numbers. Recent Mongabay coverage of leopards (Panthera pardus) revealed a global trade in leopard trophies and body parts, but also more hopeful signs, such as leopards persisting on the edge of […]
As Ghana eyes lithium future, affected communities face uncertainty
- After more than two years of delays, Ghana’s parliament has ratified a deal with a subsidiary of Australian miner Atlantic Lithium to develop the country’s first lithium mine.
- The company received permission to develop a mining concession in Ewoyaa in 2023, and under Ghanaian laws restrictions were put in place on agricultural and other economic activities in that area.
- But delays in parliamentary ratification as a result of renegotiating the deal have meant that around 1,500 farmers are still awaiting compensation for loss of access to their land and livelihoods.
- Advocates warn the project could now be fast-tracked at the expense of community rights, citing Ghana’s past experience with industrial mining and the environmental, social and governance challenges associated with lithium mining in other parts of the world.

Nigeria arrests suspected pangolin trafficking kingpin on the run
Authorities in Nigeria have arrested the suspected kingpin of a transnational pangolin trafficking network, the latest in a series of high-profile wildlife busts in the country. Shamsideen Abubakar was linked to a September 2021 case in which authorities seized 1,009.5 kilograms (2,226 pounds) of scales in Lagos, estimated to have come from at least 5,451 […]
Nigerian bat specialist wins Goldman Prize for community conservation work
- Between January and April, farmers in Nigeria’s Cross River state use fire to clear land for planting — fires which sometimes burn out of control, destroying standing crops and neighboring forest.
- Since 2022, bat specialist Iroro Tanshi’s Small Mammal Conservation Organization (SMACON) has worked with five villages near southern Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary to prevent dangerous fires.
- Tanshi’s work with communities around Afi, which is home to critically endangered bats, gorillas and chimpanzees, has now been recognized with the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Strait of Hormuz crisis should catalyze African biofertilizer production (commentary)
- As tensions disrupt food, fuel and fertilizers flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, Africa’s dependence on imported synthetic inputs is once again exposed, since up to 50% of its fertilizer supplies originate in Persian Gulf nations.
- While Africa’s largest chemical fertilizer manufacturer ramps up production to meet the continent’s acute need, a key question becomes whether biologically derived fertilizers created by small to medium enterprises — and by farmers themselves — can help fill the gap.
- “For the farmer standing in her field at dawn, the question is immediate: will she have what she needs to plant? The answer must be equally immediate and rooted in the strength and potential of our own solutions and soils,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Nearly a million birds shipped from Africa to Asia in 15 years; canaries top the list
- Hong Kong and Singapore, two Asian wildlife trade hubs, imported more than a million live wild birds, nearly two-thirds from Africa between 2006 and 2020, according to a new analysis of customs data. Canaries, including species declining in the wild, topped the list.
- More than two-thirds of the birds came from African countries where export regulations are weak, including Mali, Guinea, Tanzania and Mozambique.
- This massive live bird trade depletes wild populations and may spread dangerous diseases or invasive species, researchers say.
- Experts urge countries to restrict imports of live birds, implement stricter quarantine measures and adopt an approved list of pets that don’t pose risks to biodiversity or human health.

Ghana declares its first marine protected area
Ghana has declared its first marine protected area after more than 15 years of efforts to bolster marine conservation and safeguard its depleting fish stocks. Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang announced the creation of the MPA on April 14. It marks a “historic moment,” according to Ghana’s fisheries commission, Benjamin Campion. The designated area covers […]
Defying conflict to track the world’s rarest chimpanzees
GASHAKA GUMTI NATIONAL PARK, Nigeria — Here in Nigeria’s largest protected wilderness area lies one of the last strongholds of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti), the world’s rarest chimpanzee subspecies. For nearly a decade, however, this population has lived largely out of sight. Once a leading hub for field research in West Africa, Gashaka […]
Second progress report shows little action on World Bank redress plan at Liberian plantation
- An action plan for redress for communities whose land and human rights the World Bank’s ombudsman found were violated by the operators of the Salala rubber plantation in Liberia appears to have stalled.
- A progress report published in February said the bank’s private sector arm would continue to engage key stakeholders, but affected communities say they have not been contacted.
- In 2023, the International Finance Corporation’s ombudsman found communities’ complaints about inadequate compensation and widespread sexual harassment were valid.
- The IFC and the former operator of the plantation, Socfin, committed to carrying out the action plan, but a year later the plantation was sold, creating uncertainty over who will see the process through.

Unwrapping deforestation: Your chocolate Easter bunny may harm the environment
- The United Kingdom’s cocoa imports drove more than 2,000 hectares of deforestation in 2025 alone, mainly in Côte d’Ivoire (78%) and Ghana (18%), according to an analysis by climate NGO Global Witness.
- Total post-2021 losses linked to chocolate products exceeded 8,244 hectares. For all commodities — including palm oil, soy, beef, coffee and rubber — the deforestation exposure was 52,000 hectares.
- Britain continues to be exposed to deforestation despite enacting the 2021 Environment Act, designed to purge illegal forest destruction from supply chains. The reason is that the U.K. has not put in place key rules.
- Promised regulations remain stalled, with no timeline from the government to implement them. This leaves companies without due diligence rules and consumers remain exposed to goods linked to deforestation.

With high seas treaty in place, West African countries plan for protected area
- West African nations are working on a proposal to establish one of the first high seas marine protected areas located beyond their national waters.
- The focus of the proposed MPA is the convergence zone between the Canary and Guinea currents, covering a biologically productive and ecologically complex marine zone that stretches from the maritime borders of Senegal to Nigeria.
- The region is a global biodiversity hotspot facing threats, including industrial fishing and plastic pollution, and is at risk from future deep-sea mining.
- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) members are aiming to finalize the proposal by the end of this year, but questions remain about how the management of the area will be financed and on monitoring and enforcement.

‘Staggering’ trade for belief-based use drives hooded vultures to near-extinction in Benin
- Hundreds of critically endangered hooded vultures and their parts are being illegally sold in markets in Benin, according to recent research. The birds are coveted for their supposed supernatural properties by many practitioners of the traditional Vodùn faith.
- During a four-month study, researchers counted 522 birds for sale. Vendors sold them as dried carcasses, heads or live birds in nine markets across southern Benin. and claimed to have sourced them from at least 10 West African countries.
- Although hunting and selling hooded vultures in Benin is illegal and cross-border trade is regulated under an international treaty, demand is driving widespread commerce.
- Hooded vultures are one of the most threatened raptors, with their numbers declining by 50-96% in recent years. The trade, along with accidental poisoning and habitat loss, could wipe them out, and experts call for greater awareness and better law enforcement in Benin to combat illegal trade.

Satellite images identify vulture breeding colonies by their droppings
- A new study reveals that colonies of critically endangered Rüppell’s vultures are visible via satellite images.
- A group of researchers scanned more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) in seven countries in East and Central Africa to look for the tell-tale whitewash formed by droppings deposited by the birds beneath their nests.
- In all, the team pinpointed 232 potential nesting sites, mostly in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad.
- Following declines of more than 90% for the species over the past 40 years, knowing where Rüppell’s vultures nest can help conservationists ensure their protection.

Cameroon’s decade of conflict leaves apes and conservationists in peril
- Dozens of protected areas in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, including parks that are home to great apes and other threatened species, have been swept up in a decade-long armed conflict between government forces and separatist militias.
- The ongoing conflict has blocked conservationists’ access to forests, and exposed conservationists, local civilians and the region’s wildlife to violence.
- Displaced people have turned to farming and hunting in forests in order to survive, while militias also hunt and camp in the forest.
- Conservationists have explored new strategies to keep their work alive, including working with local citizen scientists, but say the task of rebuilding organizations in the midst of a humanitarian crisis is huge.

Guinea-Bissau’s transitional government bans fish meal production
- On Jan. 29, the government of Guinea-Bissau issued a flat ban on fish meal production, citing threats to marine ecosystems and food security.
- In recent years, as West African coastal nations — most notably Mauritania — increasingly clamped down on the industry, Guinea-Bissau emerged as a new regional fish meal hub.
- The first Chinese-owned fish meal factory vessel arrived in its waters in October 2019, followed by a second one in May 2024; both were supplied by Turkish-flagged industrial purse seiners that had previously fished for fish meal factories in Mauritania.
- The production also expanded on shore: In April 2025, Guinea-Bissau’s then-president inaugurated a fish meal plant, and as of February 2026, at least one other facility was under construction.

Senegal GTA gas project draws international scrutiny
The UK’s OECD national contact point (NCP), which oversees complaints related to corporate conduct with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has ruled admissible a complaint from Senegalese fishers alleging wrongdoing by energy companies in Senegal. A local NGO and an artisanal fishers’ association assert that the natural gas platform Grand Tortue Ahmeyim […]

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