serial: Evolving Conservation

serial: Evolving Conservation

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Australia targets at least 62% emissions cut in the next decade
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia on Thursday set a new target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by between 62% and 70% below 2005 levels by 2035. The new target adds to Australia’s ambition of a 43% cut by the end of this decade and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, leader of the center-left […]
Landmines and violence in Colombian Amazon confine Indigenous Siona families
Siona Indigenous guards in southern Colombia are raising alarm that landmines and armed groups are cutting off their families from natural resources and trapping them in small portions of their territory. It’s been an ongoing problem for decades, Mongabay contributor Jose Guarnizo reported. In August 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expanded its […]
Pet sharks have become cool, but is owning them ethical?
- Owning a shark and keeping it in a home aquarium has become cool — and it’s no longer just the province of tech bros and celebrities.
- But experts note that most home aquariums are inadequate and can lead to stunted growth, deformities and early death.
- Yet sharks are often easy to buy, with some selling for as little as $90 online; zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum), which are endangered, go for around $6,000.

Funding is needed to save Samoa’s ‘little dodo’ from extinction (commentary)
- Since 2014, Samoa’s “little dodo” has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List: related to the extinct dodo, an adult manumea, as it’s called locally, has not been photographed well in the wild, and its song has rarely been recorded.
- But an underfunded conservation effort led by the Samoa Conservation Society and the nation’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) could still snatch this fascinating species from the extinction list, a new commentary argues.
- “In my view, a large-scale, multiyear forest conservation project funded by the Global Environment Facility and led by the MNRE is essential,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Mass vulture poisonings expose need for cross-border action in Southern Africa
- A cluster of mass vulture poisonings in May and June 2025 has drawn attention to an ongoing problem in the transfrontier conservation area that straddles South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
- The field response to the poisonings involved teams of veterinarians, rapid response teams, and stepped-up monitoring of the area, saving the lives of more than 80 vultures.
- The series of incidents triggered meetings involving South Africa National Parks, conservation NGOs and other authorities to assess where systems were lacking and could be improved.
- Experts say national strategies to address poisoning and strengthen vulture conservation need to be complemented by regional action.

New conservation area protects 53% of carbon in northern Peruvian Amazon
- Peru’s government has established the Medio Putumayo Algodón Regional Conservation Area in the Loreto region of the Amazon Rainforest.
- This new protected area holds 53% of Peru’s carbon stock, which will be conserved by preventing deforestation in the region.
- The regional conservation area covers more than 283,000 hectares of primary rainforest along the Putumayo River, which links Peru and Colombia.
- The area will benefit 16 Indigenous communities, including the Murui (Huitoto), Yagua, Ocaina, Kukama Kukamiria, Kichwa, Maijuna and Bora peoples.

In Guatemala, young Kaqchikel Maya protect their sacred forest with open mapping
- The Indigenous community of San José Poaquil is using technology to monitor the health and integrity of their ancestral forest.
- As a result of an open mapping project started in 2022, locals have created online maps for their forest, which have allowed them to keep track of wildfires, deforestation and other illicit activities that threaten the area.
- The Kaqchikel Maya have long fought to own the title of their communal forest, which was finally granted by the Constitutional Court in 2016, yet tensions persist.
- The community has obtained payments for the ecosystem services they provide through forest monitoring and restoration; these will allow them to further invest in protecting their territory.

Mozambican reserve harbors largest documented breeding population of rare falcon
- A new study estimates Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique hosts 68–76 breeding pairs of Taita falcons, likely the world’s biggest population of the rare raptor.
- Niassa’s granite inselbergs provide hunting advantages over larger falcons, allowing the Taitas to thrive.
- Woodland clearance, charcoal production, agriculture and domestic fowl could shift the balance in favor of peregrines and lanners, but conservation measures and the resilience of miombo woodlands offer hope.
- Once-healthy populations in South Africa and Zimbabwe have collapsed, underscoring Niassa’s importance for the species’ survival.

24 years on, part one of WTO treaty curbing fisheries subsidies takes effect
- The first part of the WTO’s treaty banning harmful fisheries subsidies, known as Fish One, entered into force Sept. 15 after more than two decades of negotiation and three years of ratification.
- It bans subsidies for IUU fishing and exploitation of overfished stocks while requiring parties to the treaty to disclose detailed data on fleets, catches and subsidy programs.
- Yet it allows certain subsidies to persist; for instance, for fishers targeting unassessed fish stocks or “managed” overfished stocks.
- The treaty will lapse in four years if no follow-up “Fish Two” deal can be reached, but negotiations remain stalled.

With global rules pending, can the shipping industry get more carbon efficient?
- The European Union and the International Maritime Organization have advanced shipping decarbonization regulations that will raise the price of maritime fuels.
- The push could lead to increased use of efficiency measures that reduce how much fuel vessels need in the first place.
- Such measures include everything from adding sails to ships to lubricating or redesigning hulls and optimizing routes or arrival times. These are cheaper and more immediately available than alternative fuels.
- Many associations and companies, particularly in Europe, are working to make efficiency gains as fast as possible.

Experts flag unintended harms from EU deforestation law
The European Union’s anti-deforestation law (EUDR) will come into effect on Dec. 30, 2025, after a one-year postponement. It requires producers of soy, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber and timber to prove that their products are not sourced from land deforested after December 2020. The law has been praised as a landmark tool for […]
What Republic of Congo’s gold rush is leaving behind
Gold mining by the Chinese company City SARL inside the Dimonika Biosphere Reserve in the Republic of Congo has devastated 5 hectares (12 acres) of forest. Artisanal gold miners and some local community members have had to leave the area, depriving them of food and drinking water. Water samples taken in the area and analyzed […]
146 environmental defenders were killed or disappeared last year
The latest tally from Global Witness is a grim ledger. In 2024, at least 146 people were killed or disappeared while defending land, water and forests. That brings the total to at least 2,253 deaths and disappearances since 2012, a steady toll that turns local acts of stewardship into mortal hazards. The organization’s report reads less […]
Satellite images reveal oil project surge in Ugandan park and wetland
New satellite analysis shows that wells and roads for a project in Uganda feeding Africa’s longest heated oil pipeline have progressed significantly within a protected area and near a critical wetland. The Tilenga oil field marks the starting point of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, currently under construction by the French multinational […]
Nepal’s Himalayan biodiversity struggles with new herds and highways (commentary)
- Nepal’s Limi Valley near the Tibetan border is a high-altitude landscape with immense cultural and natural value, providing both pasture for traditional yak herders and habitat for wildlife ranging from snow leopards to lynx, bears, and a range of wild grazing animals like Tibetan gazelles and blue sheep.
- Recently, though, the building of a road coupled with outmigration and depopulation have led to an influx of herders and hunters that threaten to reduce the area’s high biodiversity richness.
- “Limi Valley and its high alpine pasturelands represent a unique high-altitude ecosystem where rich biodiversity intersects with centuries-old cultural traditions. Yet, the rapid introduction of large goat and sheep herds, coupled with the expansion of roads into previously undisturbed wildlife habitats, places the ecosystem under unprecedented strain,” a new op-ed warns.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Growing trees on farms boosts nutrition in rural Malawi
- Malawian households with fruit trees on their farms consumed more vegetables, and each additional tree species increased fruit consumption by 5% over a 10-year study period.
- Trees improve nutrition through direct consumption of fruits, ecosystem services that boost other crop production and potential income from sales, and they provide cooking fuel.
- Despite trees’ benefits, fruit and vegetable intake dropped 42% and 25%, respectively, due to rising food prices, currency devaluation and climate change.
- Researchers recommend including food-producing trees in Africa’s reforestation programs and shifting agricultural policies from focusing solely on staple grains to supporting diverse, nutritious crops.

Spain sweltered under hottest summer on record in 2025, weather agency says
MADRID (AP) — Spain said Tuesday that summer 2025 was the hottest on record for the southern European nation, which like the entire Mediterranean region is being hard hit by climate change. Its national weather service said that the country had an average temperature of 24.2 C (75.5 F) between June 1 and Aug. 31. […]
From shamba to PELIS: Kenyan farmers derive livelihoods from government timber plantations
- Under the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) enlists communities living near timber plantations to support replanting of trees in exchange for temporary access to land to grow crops.
- A successor to the widely-criticised “shamba system”, PELIS relies on leaders of community forest associations to curb previous problems such as farmers overstaying on plantation land and and corrupt forest officers allocating large pieces of land to themselves and others.
- KFS is satisfied that the revamped scheme provides a cheap, effective way to restore tree cover, but some environmentalists want further changes to improve the ecological impact of PELIS.

Grassroots community seeds sorghum in eastern Indonesia to adapt to climate change
- In 2022, Ambrosia Ero and Hendrikus Bua Kilok joined forces in Lembata Island to boost locally grown food staples, including persuading a junior high school to plant a field of sorghum on the school estate.
- They helped establish a village organization, Gebetan, which began by documenting nutritious crops grown by past generations of Indigenous farmers on the island. They then conducted outreach to farmers on the resilience of sorghum to drought.
- The grass roots organization has won 84 million rupiah ($5,000) in funding to expand on this work with crops that are better able to withstand the increasingly adverse growing conditions in East Nusa Tenggara province owing to climate change.

The return of the axolotl (cartoon)
Axolotls may enjoy celebrity status among pet owners, but their wild populations have been dealt huge blows by habitat loss, water pollution, invasive species and the pet trade. Now, the success of reintroduction programs in their native ranges in Mexico — where they have tremendous cultural significance — brings new hope for their comeback.
Norway fund drops Eramet over Indonesia mine threatening forests, Indigenous tribe
- Norway’s $1.6 trillion government pension fund is divesting its $6.8 million stake in French miner Eramet after its ethics council found “unacceptable risk” of severe environmental damage and human rights violations at the PT Weda Bay Nickel mine the company operates in Halmahera, Indonesia.
- Weda Bay Nickel sits in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot and has already cleared about 2,700 hectares (6,700 acres) of rainforest since 2019, far exceeding its plan, threatening endemic species and risking extinctions before they’re documented.
- Weda Bay Nickel sits in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot and has already cleared about 2,700 hectares (6,700 acres) of rainforest since 2019, far exceeding its plan, threatening endemic species and risking extinctions before they’re documented.
- The case highlights growing investor scrutiny over whether nickel for electric vehicle batteries and other clean-energy technologies can be sourced without destroying tropical forests or violating Indigenous rights.

Canada’s mining companies destroy biodiversity with impunity, Indigenous journalist reports
An international tribunal of environmental rights activists recently found extensive evidence that the Canadian mining sector is “guilty for the violation of Rights of Nature across South America and Serbia.” The guest on this episode of Mongabay’s podcast corroborates these accusations, and describes human rights abuses in South American nations that she has seen in […]
Palm Oil War
In Pará, Brazil’s top palm oil-producing state, Indigenous and traditional communities face mounting threats as companies expand into contested lands. Between 2021 and 2023, Mongabay’s Karla Mendes reported from the region, where the expansion of oil palm plantations has triggered pollution, deforestation and violent land conflicts. This series exposes how some of Brazil’s leading palm […]
Once again, an endangered orca in Washington state is seen carrying a dead calf
EASTSOUND, Wash. (AP) — Once again, an endangered orca in Washington state has been seen carrying her dead newborn calf in an apparent effort to revive it. Researchers with the Center for Whale Research, SeaDoc Society and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said they received reports on Friday that the whale — identified as J36 […]
No new record low for Arctic sea ice loss in 2025
- Arctic sea ice hit its 2025 summer minimum without setting a record low on Sept. 10, despite a historically low winter maximum earlier in the year.
- Scientists say sea ice loss has slowed over the past 20 years due to natural variability in atmospheric and ocean systems, counterbalancing the impacts from human-caused climate change.
- However, researchers warn that this slowdown likely offers only a temporary reprieve, and that the continued escalation of global warming could cause rapid sea ice loss before 2050.
- The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center for the first time switched to using Japanese sea ice data after losing access to key U.S. military satellite data, which had allowed for a continuous Arctic sea ice record since 1979.

Satellite data show burst of deforestation in Myanmar rare earth mining hotspots
- The largely unregulated mining of rare earth minerals in Myanmar’s Kachin state is taking a heavy toll on forests, rivers and human health, according to sources and satellite imagery collected by Mongabay.
- From 2018 to 2024, townships where the mining is concentrated lost about 32,720 hectares (80,850 acres) of tree cover in subtropical and moist forests.
- Researchers say all rare earth minerals from Kachin state wind up at magnet manufacturers in China, which supply some of the world’s best-known producers of electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics.
- Myanmar’s ongoing civil war is a complicating factor in the issue, with the armed group that controls the Kachin mining sites currently renegotiating terms with Chinese companies and authorities that import the elements, while also formulating regulations for rare earth mining. Whether these will meet international standards remains to be seen, sources say.

Putting the right plants in the right place boosts restoration (commentary)
- A recent study used machine learning to ask the question: What would land look like if humans didn’t exist?
- The results tell us all we need to know, a new op-ed argues: If we want to restore land effectively, we must understand the land.
- “This research is a reminder that ecological restoration isn’t about chasing a single, idealized pristine past without people. It’s about managing land in ways that are place-based,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Warming triggers unprecedented carbon loss from tropical soils, study finds
- Tropical forests exchange more CO2 with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome, meaning that even a relatively small shift in the balance of carbon uptake and release there could have a big impact on global climate. Despite this, research on tropical soil responses to warming has lagged behind.
- In a field experiment in Puerto Rico, researchers used infrared heaters to warm understory plants and topsoil by 4° Celsius. Warming significantly increased soil carbon emissions, but terrain also had a major impact: A warmed plot at the top of a slope showed an unprecedented 204% increase in CO2 emissions after one year.
- Carbon emissions from plots lower on the slope increased between 42% and 59% in response to warming — in line with the results from the only other long-term tropical soil warming experiment to date. However, the upper-slope response represents the largest change in any soil warming experiment conducted globally.
- The new study results add to a growing body of evidence that tropical soils are far more sensitive to warming than previously thought. If elevated tropical soil CO2 releases persist in the long term, it could have dire consequences for Earth’s climate. But the soil biome may adjust over time, so future effects remain unclear.

Robert Redford, filmmaker who fought for nature, has died, aged 89
- Robert Redford combined a celebrated career in film with decades of environmental advocacy, treating landscapes as characters in his movies and pushing to protect them in real life.
- From his base in Utah, he founded Sundance to support independent filmmakers and later the Redford Center with his son James, using storytelling as a tool for environmental action.
- He was instrumental in battles such as stopping a coal plant on Utah’s Kaiparowits Plateau, served on the NRDC board for nearly 50 years, and used his public platform to argue that “defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad.”
- At the United Nations in 2015 and elsewhere, he pressed world leaders to act urgently on climate change, while urging younger generations and artists to tell stories that could “wake up the heart.”

How journalism helps turn information into outcomes
- Journalism acts as a catalyst, not by writing laws or planting trees, but by making hidden issues visible, shifting incentives, and protecting those on the frontlines. Cases in Gabon, Sabah, and Peru show how facts, once public, can alter decisions and outcomes.
- Modern reporting uses tools beyond notebooks—AI, maps, and data—to turn diffuse harms into patterns others can act on. Whether exposing illegal airstrips in the Amazon or tracing deforestation in Paraguay’s leather supply chain, information becomes infrastructure for accountability.
- Impact depends on trust and distribution. Solutions journalism offers usable models rather than despair, and publishing in multiple languages or formats ensures the right people see it. The result is quiet but powerful: small course corrections across systems that together change direction.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Wild horses return to Spain’s Iberian highlands after 10,000 years
For the first time in more than 10,000 years, wild horses once again roam Spain’s northwestern highlands. The 35 horses introduced by Rewilding Spain are bringing renewed resilience to the land, Mongabay senior editor Jeremy Hance reported. In 2023, an initial 16 Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii), the world’s last fully wild horse, were introduced […]
Poisoning crisis could drive vulture extinction in South Africa’s Kruger region
- More than 400 vultures died in a spate of poisoning events in and near South Africa’s Kruger National Park in May and June this year.
- André Botha, co-chair of the Vulture Specialist Group at the IUCN, says more than 2,000 vultures have been poisoned in the wider Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) since 2015, and other raptors and predators have also died.
- Observers have noted an increase in hunting and snaring of species such as impala for the bushmeat trade, with poachers frequently leaving poison-laced carcasses behind to deliberately kill carnivores or vultures.
- Botha and others stress that urgent action is needed to rein in poisoning and wildlife crime in the GLTFCA, particularly preventative engagement with communities.

A nest with a chick brings rare hope for hooded vultures in South Africa
In rare good news for vultures in Africa, conservationists have confirmed the first-ever nest of a hooded vulture containing a chick in KwaZulu-Natal, a province in southeast South Africa. That marks the southernmost recorded nesting site of the critically endangered vulture species, according to KwaZulu-Natal-based nonprofit Wildlife ACT. “It gives us as conservationists some new […]
How AI helps conservationists better understand and protect giraffes
- Scientists have deployed artificial intelligence models to identify and re-identify endangered giraffes in Tanzania.
- The Wild Nature Institute partnered with Microsoft’s AI For Good Lab to launch Project GIRAFFE which uses open-source AI tools to identify and re-identify individual giraffes based on spot patterns on their bodies.
- The data has helped scientists come up with estimates on survival and reproduction rates, movements, and behavior of the animals.

Critics say FSC update risks weakening accountability for forest harm
- The world’s biggest sustainable timber certifier has updated how it applies its “corporate group” rules, which determine whether certified companies are held responsible for violations by affiliates, suppliers or subsidiaries.
- NGOs like Forest Peoples Programme, Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network warn the change could let forestry giants such as APP and APRIL rejoin the FSC without fully remedying past deforestation and land conflicts.
- The NGOs took part in the review process, but say it favored corporate voices and misrepresented civil society input, raising concerns that the update prioritizes company reputations over community rights.
- Critics say narrowing the corporate group scope risks shielding parts of conglomerates from scrutiny just as the FSC tests its remedy framework with some of the world’s largest forestry companies.

An ancient Indigenous civilization endures beneath an Amazon urban soy hub
- Ocara-Açu, a vast precolonial Amazon settlement, underlies the modern-day city of Santarém in Brazil, once serving as the core of a regional network that may have housed up to 60,000 people before the invasion of Europeans.
- Occasionally, Santarém’s rich Indigenous heritage surfaces through the cracks in the urban concrete, although archaeological sites have disappeared as a result of urban expansion, agriculture, and the construction of a soy terminal by commodities giant Cargill.
- Archaeological discoveries in the Santarém region challenge the long-held belief that the Amazon was too harsh to sustain large, complex human cultures, revealing a radically different urban paradigm.

Oysters could help fight climate change, study finds
New research from China suggests that oysters can be good at removing carbon dioxide from oceans, making the bivalves both an important food source and a potential tool in the fight against climate change and ocean acidification. Scientists have long debated whether oysters are a net source or sink of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the […]
Women-led patrols and fire prevention restore forests in northern Thailand
- Each year, northern Thailand struggles with choking haze caused by crop burning and forest fires, taking a severe toll on human health.
- Over the past two decades, a group of women in Lampang province have taken action to improve their local environment and curb sources of haze by restoring their local community forest.
- Their bold approach to fire prevention — combining regular patrols, check dams and fire breaks, as well as an innovative wildfire alert system — has earned them a reputation as a regional model for other communities.
- Now thriving, the community forest also yields wild mushrooms, leafy vegetables and other marketable produce that support local livelihoods.

Meet the DJs of nature, inspired by biodiversity
- Technology has allowed electronic music artists endless possibilities for mixing and creating sounds.
- Some of these artists draw inspiration from nature and biodiversity, incorporating birdsong, rainforest soundscapes and the sounds of plant and animal species into their work.
- From Frankfurt, Germany, to the Peruvian Amazon, musicians are creating music that raises awareness about the beauty of biodiversity and how it is nowadays threatened.

Ani Dasgupta watched wetlands tame floods in Kigali. He believes nature is infrastructure we can fund.
- Ani Dasgupta’s path runs from Delhi’s slums to the World Bank and now WRI, where he argues climate, nature, and development must move together. His leadership emphasizes moral purpose, trust, and “orchestration” that links funders, governments, NGOs, and communities to turn knowledge into action.
- He points to pragmatic models: post-tsunami Aceh’s collaborative rebuild, a Kenyan macadamia venture restoring land while raising incomes with Terrafund’s early support, and Kigali’s wetland revival culminating in Nyandungu Park. These show nature-based solutions can cut risk and create jobs, yet financing remains the bottleneck despite WRI’s estimate that $1 in adaptation yields $10 in benefits over a decade.
- Technology is a means, not a cure-all: radar-powered RADD alerts, Global Forest Watch, and WRI’s Land & Carbon Lab aim to democratize environmental intelligence, with AI lowering entry barriers. Evidence like Indigenous monitoring in Peru halving deforestation underpins his measured optimism that systems can bend if collaboration is real and benefits are visible.
- Dasgupta was interviewed by Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025.

Beavers restored to tribal lands in California benefit ecosystems
- In 2023, California relocated beavers for the first time in more than seven decades.
- The state’s wildlife agency partnered with Native American tribes to move beavers from places where they were causing problems, such as flooding, to parts of their former range.
- The moves and the state’s broader beaver restoration program are the result of decades of advocacy to change an adversarial relationship to one focused on beaver conservation and the benefits beavers can provide, from increased fire resilience to more consistent water supplies.
- The change in mindset involved education and coexistence campaigns, as well as correcting long-held misconceptions about the limited extent of the beaver’s former range in California.

Uruguay’s green hydrogen plans raise ecological concerns in Argentina & at home
- Communities in the Argentinian town of Colón worry that an upcoming major green hydrogen project on the Uruguay River will affect local ecosystems, as well as local tourism.
- The Paysandú e-fuels facility is one of Uruguay’s major hydrogen projects, as the country is pushing to further decarbonize its economy and boost hydrogen exports. The plant will produce green hydrogen using renewable energy to then produce e-methanol for exporting.
- Argentinian activists fear potential pollution from the plant and criticize the project for lack of transparency over its environmental impacts. Opposition is also growing on the Uruguayan side of the river.
- Another green hydrogen project in the town of Tambores is also being denounced for its impact on water resources, as the plant will withdraw large amounts of water from some of the country’s largest aquifers.

Shipping companies support a first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases, opposed by Trump officials
Nearly 200 shipping companies said Monday they want the world’s largest maritime nations to adopt regulations that include the first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases to reduce their sector’s emissions. The Getting to Zero Coalition, an alliance of companies, governments and intergovernmental organizations, is asking member states of the International Maritime Organization to support adopting […]
Brazil weighs new measures to manage shark trade, fishing
- The Brazilian government is reviewing its legal framework for the trade in sharks, including fin exports and management of the fishery for blue sharks (Prionace glauca), the only species allowed to be caught in the country.
- At a Sept. 3 meeting, the National Environmental Council (CONAMA), a government advisory body, recommended the government ban shark fin exports and restrict the use of shark-fishing gear known as wire leaders.
- At the same meeting, the Ministry of Environment announced the suspension of an ordinance regulating blue shark fishing, including quotas, due to “increased pressure” on endangered species and flaws in monitoring and enforcement.
- The moves follow a recent Mongabay investigation revealing that government agencies sought to procure thousands of tons of shark meat for meals at public institutions including schools, hospitals and prisons. The exposé was cited at the Sept. 3 CONAMA meeting as well as in a class-action civil suit filed by conservation NGO Sea Shepherd Brasil seeking to ban federal public institutions from issuing tenders for shark meat.

The Great Insect Crisis
Insects underpin ecosystems worldwide, yet they are disappearing at alarming rates. In this 2019 special series, Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance traces the global scale of the so-called “Insect Apocalypse,” as reported in the mainstream media — from massive declines in flying insects in Germany to the near-collapse of arthropods in Puerto Rico’s forests. Drawing on […]
Conservationists oppose Peru’s plans to build prison in sensitive ecosystem
- A high-security prison planned on El Frontón Island, off the coast of Lima, Peru, would interfere with the movement of threatened marine species, experts say.
- The project is part of a larger government plan to address overcrowding and organized crime in the country’s prison system.
- The planned island prison will cover 5.7 hectares out of El Frontón’s total area of 100 hectares (14 out of 250 acres) and house approximately 2,000 inmates.
- Conservationists have called for a formal environmental impact assessment for the project, citing multiple threatened species in the greater Humboldt Current ecosystem where the island sits.

Rare earth rush endangers rural communities and conservation areas in Brazil
- Brazil has 23% of global reserves of rare earth minerals, second only to China, but its production remains at an early stage, accounting for only 1% of the global market.
- The race to mine and process rare earths in Brazil has raised fears among community leaders, particularly in rural settlements that are the focus of some 187 rare earth mining applications currently in process.
- In these areas, rare earth mining activities risks exacerbating land disputes and devastating preserved forests — including one in Bahia state that hosts a 600-year-old endangered Brazilwood tree.

Madagascar’s dry forests need attention, and Verreaux’s sifakas could help
- Western Madagascar is home to some of the country’s poorest communities and its most endangered wildlife, presenting intertwined challenges for conservation.
- The region’s characteristic dry forests have been badly damaged by clearing of land for shifting agriculture — and for mining, plantations and timber harvesting — over the past 50 years: Across Madagascar, nearly 60% of dry forest species are classed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
- NGO leaders, scientists and government representatives are forming a dry forest alliance to better coordinate efforts to protect this valuable biome.
- Among the new alliance’s first actions was pushing for the inclusion of the critically-endangered Verreaux’s sifaka on the latest list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates, which alliance members hope will attract greater attention to this primate’s threatened habitat.

More deforestation leads to a drier dry season, Amazon study finds
- Between 2002 and 2015, forest loss in Brazil’s southern Amazon reduced the amount of rainfall during the dry season by more than 5%, a recent study found.
- Researchers studying how deforestation in the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso affected the atmospheric water cycle between 2002 and 2015 found that a reduction in forest cover reduced evapotranspiration and disrupted regional atmospheric systems.
- Lower rainfall during the dry season can compromise crops, boost wildfires, and reduce water supplies and river levels, sometimes leaving communities isolated.

Australia approves the world’s first chlamydia vaccine for koalas
Australia’s veterinary medicine regulator has approved a vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia, one of the leading causes of koala infertility and death. Researchers found the single-dose vaccine reduced mortality in wild koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) by at least 65%. In some cases, it even reversed existing symptoms in koalas that were already infected. “Koalas are […]
Hyped reports of soaring Sri Lanka elephant deaths don’t match data
Claims of a spike in elephant deaths in Sri Lanka this year — amplified by social media and public officials — don’t add up, reports Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo. In fact, analysis of the existing data shows a slight decrease from recent years. The claims are fueled by several headline-grabbing elephant deaths in Sri Lanka […]
How to smuggle a wild Galápagos iguana? Pretend it was bred in Africa
At least 60 wild iguanas have been captured, sold and exported from the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador under permits that shouldn’t have been recognized since Ecuador doesn’t allow the export of live iguanas, Mongabay’s Ana Cristina Alvarado reported. Researchers behind a recent study found that traffickers smuggle the iguanas out of the archipelago, then declare […]
Overcrowding threatens sustainability of jaguar ecotourism in Brazil’s Pantanal
The Brazilian Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland and home to the highest density of jaguars anywhere. Thousands of tourists arrive every year to see the animals in their natural habitat But the boom in tourism has created new problems, Mongabay contributor Francesco Schneider-Eicke reported from Porto Jofre, a jaguar hotspot in the northern Pantanal. […]
The carbon market paradox: Steve Zwick on why financing forests is more complicated than it looks
- Steve Zwick’s career has traced the intersection of climate, finance, and media, from Chicago trading pits to international business reporting, Deutsche Welle, Ecosystem Marketplace, and now his Bionic Planet podcast and Carbon Paradox, where he focuses on clarifying the complexities of carbon markets and REDD+.
- He emphasizes that carbon markets are built on probabilities, not certainties, and criticizes both media and advocacy for flattening nuance into oversimplified verdicts. For him, methods evolve through revision, guardrails, and conservative accounting, with avoidance of deforestation often delivering the greatest climate impact.
- Zwick frames forest carbon as payment for services protecting a global commons, not charity, and insists that best practice must be community-led. He warns that skewed scrutiny and polarized narratives risk sidelining a tool that, while imperfect, can mobilize resources quickly until deeper emissions cuts take hold.
- Zwick was interview by Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025.

Finding optimism
Since publishing my piece on optimism in conservation, I’ve heard from many who are finding it tough. I’m not an expert, but here are ideas that might help in the right situation. There’s a longer version of this piece here. Treat optimism as a method, not a mood. Narrow the frame, pick levers you […]
Forests on Indigenous lands help protect health in the Amazon
Healthy forests are more than climate shields; in the Amazon, they also serve as public-health infrastructure. A Communications Earth & Environment study spanning two decades across the biome links the extent and legal status of Indigenous Territories to 27 respiratory, cardiovascular, and zoonotic or vector-borne diseases. The findings are complex, but one pattern is clear: […]
Floodwaters begin receding in a major Pakistani city but nearby towns face evacuations
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say floodwaters that threatened a major town in eastern Punjab province have started receding, sparing its 700,000 residents. However, rising waters on Friday swamped villages near two nearby cities, forcing panicked evacuations. The Disaster Management Authority said waters around Jalalpur Pirwala, which had touched the official danger mark, are now […]
Countries shorten tuna fishing closure at Pacific summit with few conservation ‘wins’
- The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), a multilateral body that manages tuna and other fish stocks in the Eastern Pacific, held its annual meeting Sept. 1-5 in Panama.
- Commission members agreed to shorten an annual fishing closure from 72 days to 64 days, which was in keeping with recommendations from the IATTC’s scientific committee.
- The members also agreed to move toward adoption, in 2026, of a long-term harvest strategy for bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus).
- They didn’t adopt proposals to increase monitoring of longline tuna vessels and strengthen shark protection measures, due to resistance from East Asian members.

Indonesia reopens Raja Ampat nickel mine despite reef damage concerns
- Indonesia has allowed state-owned PT Gag Nikel to resume mining operations on Gag Island in Raja Ampat, despite a ban on mining small islands and a previous suspension imposed in June.
- A 2024 survey commissioned by Gag Nikel reported widespread community complaints of dust, health issues, sedimentation, and coral damage from barges — contradicting the government’s claims of minimal impact.
- NGOs say the “green” rating cited by the government to justify the resumption masks real destruction in Raja Ampat, one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems, and note the government has revoked other mining concessions in the area for similar impacts but not Gag Nikel’s.
- More than 60,000 people have signed a Greenpeace petition opposing mining in Raja Ampat, warning sedimentation could destroy coral reefs and threaten local livelihoods even as the nickel feeds Indonesia’s EV battery supply chain.

Conservationists split over greener ranching versus ditching beef
Beef production is a major driver of climate change. It fuels deforestation in crucial biomes, a significant source of carbon emissions, and cows themselves produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Regenerative ranching practices aim to reduce the environmental and climate impacts of rearing cattle, but some conservation groups say a pivot away from beef is […]

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