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topic: Climate Change
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Ahead of UN climate talks, Brazil fast-tracks oil and highway projects that threaten the Amazon
MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — With the first U.N. climate talks in the Amazon set for November, Brazil is fast-tracking a series of controversial decisions that undercut its green rhetoric, revealing mounting political pressure on the federal environmental agency and widening divisions within President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s cabinet. The country’s federal environmental agency approved […]
After controversy, Plant-for-the-Planet focuses on the trees
- Plant-for-the-Planet, a global forest restoration and youth empowerment initiative, oversees reforestation projects in Mexico, Spain and Ghana.
- The organization was founded by Felix Finkbeiner at just 9 years old, when his school tree-planting project happened to make the local news in Germany. Now 27, he continues to help run Plant-for-the-Planet as it juggles rapid growth with the slow, painstaking work of planting trees.
- In recent years, the organization has been plagued by controversy, with news investigations exposing exaggerated planting numbers, poor record-keeping, and plans to invest in controversial real estate development.
- Now Plant-for-the-Planet is focusing on data collection and longer-term restoration strategies, hoping to leave its mistakes in the past.
To survive climate change, scientists say protected areas need ‘climate-smart’ planning
- Climate change is threatening the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in safeguarding wildlife, ecosystem services and livelihoods, with scientists now calling for the incorporation of “climate-smart” approaches into the planning of new and existing PAs.
- Key approaches to developing a network of climate-smart PAs include protecting climate refugia, building connectivity, identifying species’ future habitats and areas that promote natural adaptation. These approaches rely on science-based spatial models and prioritization assessments.
- For example, the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) initiative supports conservationists, local communities and authorities in implementing adaptation measures in and around PAs across Africa, Fiji and Belize.
- Experts emphasize that climate-smart conservation plans must address immediate local needs, engage diverse stakeholders through transboundary collaboration, and rapidly expand across freshwater and marine ecosystems, especially in the Global South.
Paris goal of 1.5°C warming is still too hot for polar ice sheets, study warns
At the landmark Paris climate agreement, nearly every country in the world pledged to a goal to limit warming to well below 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels by 2100, and work toward a more ambitious goal to limit warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). The hope is that such a limit will help Earth avoid […]
It’s time to pay the true value of tropical forest conservation (commentary)
- Conserving the world’s tropical forests requires large-scale and predictable finance, a new op-ed by Brazilian officials argue in making their case for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a finance regime that will be discussed at this year’s U.N. climate summit (COP30) in their nation.
- The TFFF would pay a fixed price per hectare of tropical forest conserved or restored, providing positive incentives aligned with national fiscal planning via a funding model that blends public investment and private market borrowing.
- “The time to act boldly for our forests is now. The TFFF is not only possible — it is essential. We are calling on the world to join us,” they write.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Mongabay India wins best science podcast at Publisher Podcast Awards
Mongabay India’s 2024 podcast miniseries “Wild Frequencies” bagged the “Best Science and Medical” category at the Publisher Podcast Awards ceremony in London on June 11. The podcast is a three-episode series that tells stories of how researchers in India use the science of bioacoustics, or animal sounds, to better understand the lives of wildlife, such […]
French Polynesia creates world’s largest marine protected area
French Polynesia has announced the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area. Speaking on the first day of the United Nations Ocean Conference in France, French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson said the MPA will cover the territory’s entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or 4.8 million square kilometers (roughly 1.9 million square miles). “We have […]
Climate futures: What’s ahead for our world beyond 1.5°C of warming?
- This two-part Mongabay mini-series examines the current status of the climate emergency, how the global community is likely to respond and what lies ahead for Earth systems and humanity as the planet almost inevitably warms beyond the crucial 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) goal established in the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.
- For global average temperatures to stabilize at less than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, humanity likely needs to achieve 43% greenhouse gas emissions cuts by 2030. But progress on climate action has stagnated in recent years, global GHG emissions are yet to peak and our remaining carbon budget is dwindling.
- Above 1.5°C of warming, we risk passing critical tipping points in natural Earth systems, triggering self-perpetuating changes that could shift the planet out of the habitable zone for humanity and life as we know it. Even with rapid, large-scale action on climate change, crossing some tipping points may now be unavoidable.
- However, analysts have identified positive social, technological and economic tipping points we can nurture to decarbonize far more rapidly. These include the decreasing cost of renewable energy, the rise of circular economy principles to reduce waste in industry and a societal shift to more plant-based diets.
Record-breaking heat wave due to climate change hits Iceland & Greenland: Scientists
In May, both Iceland and Greenland experienced record-breaking heat. A new rapid analysis has found that the heat wave in both regions was made worse and more likely in today’s warmer climate. The analysis was conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers that evaluates the role of climate change in extreme […]
Mongabay investigation of sketchy forest finance schemes wins honorable mention
Mongabay contributor Glòria Pallarès earned an honorable mention in the 2025 Trace Prize for Investigative Reporting, announced May 28, for her investigation into how Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were misled into handing over their rights to millions of hectares of forest. The January 2024 investigation, “False claims of U.N. backing see Indigenous […]
Climate futures: World leaders’ failure to act is pushing Earth past 1.5°C
- This two-part Mongabay mini-series examines the current status of the climate emergency; how world leaders, scientists and the global community are responding; and what may lie ahead as the world warms beyond the crucial 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) limit established in the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.
- The unprecedented warming that began in 2023, continued through 2024 and extended into 2025 has caused surprise and alarm. Scientists still don’t fully understand the cause, but some fear it signals the global climate is transitioning into a new state of accelerated warming.
- 2024 was the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. A recent projection finds it likely Earth will see a 20-year average warming of 1.5°C by as early as 2029, exceeding a key Paris accord goal and which could trigger self-perpetuating changes pushing Earth’s climate into a less habitable state.
- In January, President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement, signaling that the U.S. will not lead on climate action. To date, nearly all the world’s nations have fallen far short of what is needed to stay within 1.5°C. As countries submit new U.N. carbon commitments, some fear the U.S. reversal will ripple around the world.
‘Madness’: World leaders call for deep-sea mining moratorium at UN ocean summit
- World leaders have renewed calls for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining at the 2025 U.N. Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France, as the U.S. moves to mine the deep sea in international waters under its own controversial authority.
- Four additional countries have joined the coalition of nations calling for a moratorium, precautionary pause, or ban on deep-sea mining, bringing the total number to 37.
- The U.S., which did not have an official delegation at UNOC, is pushing forward with its plans to mine in international waters — a decision that has drawn criticism from the international community.
World Bank to finance controversial DRC hydropower project, concerns remain
The World Bank recently approved an initial $250 million in financing for the controversial Inga 3 mega dam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a move that worries civil society organizations. Inga 3 has long been planned as part of the Grand Inga hydropower project, a series of dams at Inga Falls on the […]
New study dismisses Amazon River runoff as primary cause of sargassum blooms
- Brazil’s northern beaches recently suffered from arrivals of sargassum blooms, a phenomenon affecting Caribbean nations that most scientists so far have associated with nutrients coming from the Amazon River plume into the Atlantic Ocean.
- A recent study suggests that ocean changes are the primary nutrient source for sargassum blooms since 2011, challenging previous hypotheses.
- Sargassum is causing considerable health and economic concerns as large amounts of this brown macroalgae arrive and accumulate in coastal ecosystems of western Africa and the greater Caribbean Sea every year.
- Brazilian authorities are learning from Caribbean countries how to manage sargassum blooms best, and experts think they should keep monitoring possible ocean current changes.
Indonesian women sustain seaweed traditions in a changing climate
- The women of Indonesia’s Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan islands have harvested seaweed for generations.
- Climate change and tourism development now threaten seaweed cultivators’ centuries-old practices.
- In the face of these changes, seaweed cultivators are working with tourism operators and coral-conservation groups to preserve, and adapt, their traditional practices.
With offerings in 4 languages, Mongabay’s podcasts expand global reach
Mongabay now produces podcasts in four languages: Indonesian, English, Spanish and, the latest addition, French. “Producing podcasts in multiple languages is part of our nonprofit news outlet’s strategy to reach people where they are, in the mediums they prefer, and in the language that they use,” Rhett Ayers Butler, founder and CEO of Mongabay, said in […]
Real-world return on climate adaption investments wildly underestimated, report finds
- Since 2015’s Paris climate agreement, poor, climate-vulnerable nations have made a case for wealthy, industrialized nations (responsible for most climate change) to pay hundreds of billions for climate adaption and resilience. But while making big promises, actual funding by wealthy nations has repeatedly fallen far short of what’s needed.
- One possible reason: The real-world value of adaption and resilience projects has long been grossly underestimated due to incomplete data. A new study uses a novel methodology to put a comprehensive dollar value on such projects. It found that every $1 invested yields $10.50 in environmental and social benefits over a decade.
- Known as the “triple dividend of resilience,” this new methodology counts not only avoided climate change damages, but also economic gains (such as improved infrastructure and job creation) as well as broader environmental enhancements (improved public health and biodiversity protections, for example).
- It’s hoped this new analysis will offer policymakers and NGOs leverage at November’s COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, as they try to convince wealthy nations and financial institutions to unlock the many billions needed by vulnerable nations in adaption and resilience funding to weather escalating climate change impacts.
Penguin poop helps form clouds over Antarctica, potentially cooling it
In Antarctica, penguin poop, or guano, can cover the ground for miles, especially around penguin colonies with thousands of individuals. In fact, large, brown guano stains on Antarctica’s white ice have even helped scientists discover new penguin colonies from space. A recent study now finds that the massive amounts of guano play a critical role: […]
One-two punch for mangroves as seas rise and cyclones intensify
- More than half of mangroves worldwide may face high or severe risk by 2100 due to increased tropical cyclones and sea level rise, with experts predicting Southeast Asia to be hardest hit under all emissions scenarios.
- A new risk index combines multiple climate stressors — cyclones and sea level rise — with ecosystem service value, providing a novel, globally scalable tool for risk assessment and conservation planning.
- Mangrove loss has major human and economic costs, jeopardizing flood protection worth $65 billion annually and threatening 775 million people dependent on coastal ecosystems.
- Urgent, dynamic conservation and emissions cuts are essential; restoring degraded areas, enabling inland migration, and reducing emissions could significantly reduce risk and buy adaptation time.
EU appetite for EVs drives new wave of deforestation in tropical forests
- The European Union’s demand for electric vehicles may lead to the deforestation of 118,000 hectares (291,584 acres) in critical minerals-supplying countries, according to a new report.
- Brazil, which accounts for large reserves of nickel, graphite, rare earths, lithium and niobium, would be one of the most affected countries.
- Despite the mining project’s socioenvironmental impacts, the Brazilian federal government has backed companies with financing and political support.
- Experts warn that the new minerals rush increases pressure on Indigenous communities already suffering from mining companies’ violations.
Heavy rains inundate northeast India
Dozens of people are reported dead amid torrential rains over the past week in India’s northeastern region, local media reported. The most heavily affected states are Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In Assam, more than 640,000 people have been affected as the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries overflowed beyond danger levels, flooding many areas. Around 40,000 […]
Climate change and shrinking Arctic sea ice threaten bowhead whales
Bowhead whales are endemic to the icy waters of the Arctic and prefer living in shallow waters near sea ice, filtering krill and tiny crustaceans called copepods for food. However, the Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, and a recent study estimates that if this continues, then by 2100 the whales […]
World Oceans Day: Scientists find new clues about frontiers of ocean life
In 2008, the United Nations recognized June 8 as World Oceans Day to spotlight the rising vulnerabilities facing the oceans that cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface. Seventeen years later, average ocean temperatures have never been higher. Heat stress has hit 84% of the world’s coral reefs. In places as far as Antarctica, whales […]
Unnoticed oil & gas threat looms for Indigenous people near Amazon blocks
- While oil prospects in the Amazon north shore attract international attention, the offer of exploration blocks around Indigenous territories goes unnoticed in Mato Grosso state.
- Brazil will auction 21 blocks in the Parecis Basin, an area with dense Indigenous activity, yet none of these communities have been consulted, as leaders struggle to handle existing threats such as ranchers and miners.
- Impacts on Indigenous territories include the influx of workers and machinery during research and the risk of toxic gas emissions and water pollution if projects move forward.
- The rainforest is the most promising frontier for the oil industry, with one-fifth of the world’s newly discovered reserves from 2022-24.
Latin American banks still slow to protect the environment, report finds
- Across Latin America, banks have failed to integrate sustainability regulations into lending, bond issuance and financial advisory services, according to a WWF sustainable finance assessment.
- WWF examined the policies of 22 banks across Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and found that the countries’ financial sectors had largely failed to implement protections against nature-related risks, such as deforestation and biodiversity loss.
- Only six of the 22 banks have policies that acknowledge the “societal and economic risks” associated with environmental degradation, and just two of them have made net-zero carbon emission commitments for their lending portfolios.
New method can detect nearly every coral genus in Japan from water samples
- Environmental DNA (eDNA) coral research involves analyzing water samples to identify corals based on the DNA that they secrete into the water, largely via their mucus.
- eDNA research on corals can help scientists understand the changes wrought by global warming and marine pollution by providing coral identification data faster and in some cases more accurately than visual surveys by scientists.
- A team of marine scientists based in Japan, an archipelagic nation with a high level of coral biodiversity, has used an eDNA method to develop a system that can detect nearly all of the country’s 85 reef-building coral genera; no other research group in the world has achieved the same level of detection accuracy and coverage for corals using eDNA.
- They released their findings in a study published on May 22.
Methods to recognize the Amazon’s isolated peoples: Interview with Antenor Vaz
- Mongabay interviewed Antenor Vaz, an international expert on recognition methodologies and protection policies for Indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact (PIACI), about the importance of confirming and recognizing the existence of isolated peoples.
- Vaz is a regional adviser for GTI-PIACI, an international working group committed to the protection, defense and promotion of the rights of PIACI, which recently launched a report to help governments, Indigenous organizations and NGOs prove the existence of Indigenous peoples living in isolation.
- In this interview, Vaz highlights strategies states can use to confirm and recognize the existence of isolated peoples while maintaining the no-contact principle.
Hundreds die after flash floods tear through Nigerian market town
At least 200 people have been confirmed dead and 500 more remain missing after flash floods devastated a Nigerian market town, media reported. Torrential rain started early on May 29, and within just a few hours caused intense flooding in the town of Mokwa, Niger state, a major trading hub for northern farmers selling beans, […]
Villagers in Sumatra bring ancient forest flavors back to the table
- Women living around the 7th-century Muaro Jambi temple complex in Sumatra, Indonesia, have revived ancient ingredients and cooking techniques to serve one-of-a-kind meals to visitors.
- Their dishes are inspired by the plants and animals depicted on the bas-reliefs of another ancient Buddhist site: Borobudur in Java.
- The ancient menu has proved popular both among visitors and locals, who are rediscovering their agrobiodiverse heritage.
- The women have nurtured an ancient food forest and garden in Muaro Jambi to conserve the diverse wild plants and varieties in their menus.
Is rising CO2 really bad for the world’s drylands? Mongabay podcast probes
Increased carbon dioxide emissions since industrialization have accelerated climate change, and its widespread negative impacts have been reported worldwide. But the rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are also making some parts of our planet greener in what’s called the CO2 fertilization effect. Some politicians claim this effect means more atmospheric CO2 is doing […]
Carbon capture projects promise a climate fix — and a fossil fuel lifeline
- Governments across Southeast Asia are looking at carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a way to meet climate targets.
- Projects have been proposed in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, with Japanese companies involved in all three countries.
- Critics say CCS costs too much to be commercially viable, underperforms at capturing carbon, and serves as a diversion from actually reducing emissions.
Samoa’s new marine spatial plan protects 30% of the country’s ocean
- The Samoan government announced June 3 that it has enacted a law establishing a marine spatial plan to sustainably manage 100% of its ocean by 2030.
- The country has also created nine new marine protected areas that cover 30% of its ocean.
- Fishing is prohibited in the new protected areas, which include a migration route for humpback whales.
- The plan became law on May 1.
Kim Stanley Robinson on how his novel ‘Ministry for the Future’ holds lessons for the present
Roughly five years since Kim Stanley Robinson’s groundbreaking climate fiction novel, The Ministry for the Future, hit shelves and The New York Times bestseller list, there’s little he says he’d change about the book, were it to be published again, he tells Mongabay’s podcast. The utopian novel set in a not-so-distant future depicts how humans […]
World Bank uses climate crisis as cover for land-grabbing, Oakland Institute says
The World Bank promotes expansion of private land ownership and title to improve efficient land use and recently announced billions of dollars to support these policies, claiming it will also facilitate carbon projects including offsets and afforestation. But analysis by the Oakland Institute (OI) argues those investments overwhelmingly benefit big business at the expense of […]
EUDR risk classifications omit governance & enforcement failures, critics say
- Critics say the EU’s anti-deforestation law, the EUDR, uses a risk classification system that overlooks critical issues like governance, corruption and law enforcement capacity, missing systemic failures and enforcement gaps — the very conditions that enable illegal deforestation to flourish.
- A Forest Trends analysis warns that this approach may lead to misclassification of countries with weak enforcement and high illegality as “low risk.”
- These shortcomings in the benchmarking system have triggered growing unease among countries affected by the EUDR, including some that say their deforestation risk has been misrepresented.
- Set to take effect at the end of this year, the EUDR will ban imports of seven forest-linked commodities — soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, timber, rubber and beef — unless they can be proven to be deforestation-free and legally produced.
Brazil set to blast 35 km river rock formation for new Amazon shipping route
- The Brazilian environmental agency, IBAMA, approved a license to blast a natural rock barrier on the Tocantins River in Pará state to enable boats to pass during the dry season, as part of wider efforts to build a massive waterway for commodities.
- Federal prosecutors requested the suspension of the license due to missing studies and other issues.
- A federal court stated that the proposed blasting will have a limited and controlled impact, asserting there are no Indigenous, Quilombola (Afro-Brazilian) or riverine communities living in that section of the Tocantins River — a claim that advocates say is inaccurate.
- Rock removal will impact endangered fish, Amazon turtles and the Araguaia river dolphin, which is found only in this region and feeds on fish that spawn in Pedral do Lourenço.
Marine artificial upwelling, problematic climate solution slow to advance
- Artificial upwelling is a form of geoengineering that aims to use pipes and pumps to channel cool, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface. In doing so, it could fertilize surface waters, prompting the growth of plankton, which can then absorb and store large amounts of atmospheric carbon.
- Long considered a potential marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) method, artificial upwelling has more recently been coupled with seaweed farming to potentially soak up even more atmospheric CO2.
- But technological challenges have plagued open-water upwelling experiments, while environmentalists worry that large-scale use could ultimately prove ineffective and ecologically harmful.
- Experts state that though upwelling could prove a viable solution to improve fisheries and protect coral reefs from marine heat waves, more research is needed. Considering the rapid current pace of climate change, it’s debatable as to whether implementation at scale could come in time to stave off dangerous warming.
World Peatland Day: Protecting a crucial carbon sink
Peatlands are one of the world’s biggest carbon sinks. These naturally waterlogged boggy swamps can hold thousands of years’ worth of compressed, partially decomposed vegetation matter — despite covering just 3-4% of Earth’s land surface, they’re thought to store more carbon per area than the world’s forests combined. In honor of World Peatland Day on […]
From local planting to national plan, Belize bets on mangrove recovery
- Mangroves in Belize protect coastlines, are nursery grounds for fish, and store vast amounts of carbon.
- In 2021, the government of Belize committed to restoring 4,000 hectares (nearly 10,000 acres) of mangroves, and protecting an additional 12,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) within a decade, as part of its emissions reduction target under the Paris climate agreement.
- To support this restoration target, WWF Mesoamerica is developing a national mangrove restoration action plan.
- Restoration initiatives are already underway in areas like Gales Point, Placencia Caye and elsewhere.
Study identifies US regions that benefit birds, people & climate the most
A new study identifies key regions across the U.S. where investments can deliver triple benefits for people, the climate and birds. These conservation sweet spots support significant numbers of more than half of U.S. bird species, including 75% of forest birds. “We wanted to think about how places that we might focus our conservation attention […]
US pioneers restoration of deep water corals damaged by country’s worst oil spill
- Scientists are conducting a pioneering large-scale deep-sea coral restoration in the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which damaged 1,994 square kilometers (770 square miles) of seafloor habitat.
- Underwater robots and Navy divers using specialized gear to work at depths up to 100 meters (328 feet) plant coral fragments on the ocean floor, while labs in Texas, South Carolina and Florida grow corals in tanks for future transplantation.
- The novel eight-year, multi-million-dollar project has achieved milestones including high deepwater coral survival rates at sea and the first successful spawning of deep-sea corals in captivity, which produced more than 1,000 baby corals.
- The restoration faces ongoing threats from climate change, commercial fishing, agricultural runoff and potential future oil spills, with nearly 1,000 spills occurring in U.S. waters in 2021 and 2022 alone.
Ahead of hosting COP30, Brazil is set to weaken environmental licensing
- A new bill may dismantle Brazil’s environmental license framework, easing the way for infrastructure projects such as oil exploration on the Amazon coast and paving the BR-319 road, in one of the rainforest’s most preserved areas.
- The new rules, considered unconstitutional by experts, would benefit around 80% of the ventures with a self-licensing process that exempts environmental impact studies and mitigation measures.
- More than 1,800 Indigenous lands and Quilombola territories not fully demarcated would be ignored in the licensing process.
- The bill is still pending approval by the Chamber of Deputies, but experts say they believe the measure will be challenged in the Brazilian Supreme Court.
Guinea-Bissau’s grassroots efforts offer a blueprint for global mangrove restoration (commentary)
- Guinea-Bissau’s mangroves have declined by nearly a third over the past 80 years, but the country still has the largest mangrove area as a proportion of its total area in the world.
- A grassroots revolution is underway, spearheaded by national organizations, international partners and local communities to restore the country’s mangrove landscapes.
- Called Ecological Mangrove Restoration, this method focuses on optimizing conditions for the mangroves to restore naturally, as well as collaborating with communities to ensure sustainability and resilience by fostering ownership of the project while leveraging local knowledge and resources.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Manage people more and bears less, say Indigenous elders in world’s ‘polar bear capital’
- Indigenous residents of Churchill in Canada’s Manitoba province have coexisted with polar bears for thousands of years, emphasizing respect for the animals and staying out of their way.
- The province-run Polar Bear Alert Program also aims to keep the community safe from overly curious or dangerous bears, but some of its practices have been called into question by locals.
- Churchill’s tourism industry drives the local economy and is also the source of most problematic human-bear interactions.
- As climate change causes bears to spend more time on land, Churchill leaders are working with local and regional stakeholders to improve human-polar bear coexistence.
Amazon illegal gold mines drive sex trafficking in the Brazil-Guyana border
- Poverty and poor border controls have allowed young women to be trafficked into the sex trade catering to illegal gold miners in Brazil’s border areas with countries like Guyana and Venezuela.
- Research by the Federal University of Roraima identified 309 people who were victims of human trafficking between 2022 and 2024.
- In the Guyanese border town of Lethem, young women, mostly from Venezuela but also from Brazil, are trafficked into bars from across the border in Brazil, seemingly without restriction.
- Organized crime networks associated with illegal mining use elaborate recruiting tactics and exploit the vulnerability of victims, who often don’t recognize themselves as trafficked or are afraid to speak out.
Mongabay journalist Karla Mendes profiled in new book on climate leaders
Mongabay reporter Karla Mendes has been featured as one of 36 global climate leaders in a new book launched in the U.S. on May 27. What Will Your Legacy Be?: Conversations With Global Game Changers About the Climate Crisis by author Sangeeta Waldron includes a chapter on Mendes’s investigative work and career trajectory. The chapter […]
Future of Mexican communal land in limbo as mining company overstays agreement
- Canadian mining company Equinox Gold has failed to implement a closure process after its land use and social-cooperation agreement with the Carrizalillo ejido in Mexico’s Guerrero state ended on March 31.
- It instead announced the indefinite suspension of its Los Filos mine, which the country’s agrarian attorney and legal experts say is not permitted in Mexico.
- Prior to the termination date, representatives of the ejido told Mongabay the company carried out a smear campaign to pressure them into signing a renegotiation proposal which they rejected because of its unfair conditions.
- Meanwhile, members of the ejido who rely on rent payments from the company to survive, have not received any compensation from the company and cannot return to their agrarian way of life because the mine occupies most of their land and the few available areas are contaminated.
Urban forests in Niger’s schoolyards serve climate resilience and education
- Trees growing school yards in Niger’s two largest cities are helping to cool classrooms and illustrate the value of urban forests.
- A study of green spaces across 60 schools in Niamey and Maradi two cities found that trees in schools help mitigate extreme heat, a source of food and income, and enhance learning.
- School yards represent a form of protected area within cities, and the study’s author encourages municipal and educational authorities to integrate urban forestry into planning for school infrastructure.
‘Satellites for Biodiversity’ upgrades with new projects and launches insight hub
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) recently announced the winners of their “Satellites for Biodiversity” grant, which now uses higher-resolution satellite imagery to aid conservation efforts. They also launched an Ecosystem Insight Hub, which comprehensively documents the processes and findings of their grantees. The latest batch of six “Satellites for Biodiversity” awardees […]
Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push
- Nickel mining on Kabaena Island has caused severe environmental degradation, threatening the health, livelihoods and cultural identity of the Indigenous Bajo people and resulting in child deaths due to toxic sludge.
- Investigations by environmental groups revealed dangerous heavy metal contamination, deforestation and violations of environmental laws, linking the mining operations to politically exposed persons and global electric vehicle supply chains.
- Indonesia’s Environment Ministry has acknowledged the crisis, pledged enforcement and is developing restoration plans but has so far avoided criminal charges.
- Local activists and experts call for a moratorium on mining permits and stronger law enforcement, stressing that temporary fixes and economic gains must not come at the cost of human lives and ecological collapse.
What’s at stake for the environment in Suriname’s upcoming elections?
- Voters in Suriname this weekend will elect all 51 members of the National Assembly, who will then choose the president, usually the leader of a majority party or coalition.
- Incumbent President Chandrikapersad Santokhi is a likely candidate, but critics say he’s prioritized agribusiness and mining over conserving the country’s vast Amazon Rainforest or land rights for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.
- Other candidates include Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk and former National Assembly chair Jennifer Geerlings-Simons.
Environmental defenders targeted in 3 out of 4 human rights attacks: Report
More than 6,400 attacks against human rights defenders were reported between 2015 to 2024, according to a new report from nonprofit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC). “That’s close to two attacks every day over the past 10 years against defenders who are raising concerns about business-related risks and harms,” said Christen Dobson, co-head […]
Community-based biofuels offer ‘sensible’ alternative to palm oil for Indonesia, analysis shows
- Indonesia’s current biofuel strategy relies heavily on expanding oil palm plantations to meet its B40 and upcoming B50 biodiesel mandates, which could cause up to $4.72 billion in environmental and social damage.
- A proposed alternative scenario by the NGO Madani Berkelanjutan calls for boosting yields from existing plantations and promoting community-based biofuel production using diverse feedstocks like used cooking oil and non-palm crops.
- This alternative model avoids deforestation and social conflict, supports rural economies, and could generate a higher net economic benefit of $37.1 billion, compared to $31.36 billion under the business-as-usual scenario.
- Researchers warn the country is nearing its ecological cap for oil palm plantations, urging a shift to intensification and diversification to prevent irreversible environmental harm.
EU anti-deforestation law could overlook big violators, NGO warns
The European Union’s landmark anti-deforestation law could fail to deliver on its environmental promises if enforcement authorities disproportionately focus on small importers while missing less obvious violations from major commodity firms, according to a new analysis by U.K.-based investigative nonprofit, Earthsight. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force Dec. 30, 2025, aims to […]
Climate change now threatens thousands of species on Earth
- A new analysis of more than 70,000 wild animal species reveals that climate change now threatens thousands of to the planet’s wildlife, along with overexploitation and habitat degradation.
- The study found that nearly 5% of the assessed species are threatened by climate change, with ocean invertebrates being particularly vulnerable to climate change-related threats, such as extreme temperatures, floods, droughts, storms and ocean acidification.
- The study warns that some animal populations, both on land and at sea, have already begun to collapse due to climate change-related events, and it’s now necessary to monitor mass die-offs to understand the impacts of climate change and predict future impacts.
On Amazon destruction, will Brazil President Lula’s ‘disinformation space’ be penetrated? (commentary)
- Brazil’s President Lula apparently lives in a “disinformation space” surrounded by ministers promoting projects that destroy the Amazon Rainforest and lock in petroleum extraction for decades to come, a new opinion piece argues.
- Among these projects are the BR-319 highway and its associated side roads; the distribution of government land to known deforesters; and opening new oilfields at the mouth of the Amazon River.
- Lula’s support for these proposals is leading Brazil to a climate catastrophe that would devastate the country, the author writes, and the two key ministers who should be the ones to explain to the president the consequences of these projects are apparently not penetrating Lula’s disinformation space.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Tropical forest loss hit new heights in 2024; fire a major driver in Latin America
- A new dataset and analysis released by World Resources Institute finds global tropical forest loss jumped to a record high in 2024, with 6.7 million hectares (16.6 million acres) worldwide.
- In total, the area of forest lost in 2024 is nearly the size of Panama.
- For the first time, fire, not agriculture, was the primary driver of primary tropical forest loss, with Latin America badly hit.
- Non-fire related tropical forest loss also increased, by 14%.
Brazil bets on macaúba palm to make renewable diesel and aviation biofuel
- Macaúba, a palm tree found across the Americas, is tipped as a new biofuel feedstock to decarbonize transport and aviation. The macaúba palm produces an oil when highly refined that can be made into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
- Bolstered by hype and billions of dollars of investment, companies are planning to plant hundreds of thousands of hectares on reportedly degraded land across Brazil. Firms are also investing in major refining facilities. This macaúba gold rush was triggered by major financial incentives from the Brazilian government.
- Macaúba’s potential green attributes are similar to jatropha, a once promising biofuel feedstock that bombed a decade ago. Macaúba is widespread but currently undomesticated. Whether macaúba plantations can achieve the yield and scale needed to help satisfy the world’s sustainable energy needs remains unknown.
- Industry proponents state that it can be produced sustainably with no land-use change or deforestation. But other analysts say that very much depends on how the coming boom, in Brazil and elsewhere, pans out.
Extreme heat, violent storms: How Rio de Janeiro is facing its new climate reality
- Extreme weather in Rio de Janeiro is getting worse: recent years have brought record-breaking heat and rainfall to Brazil’s second-largest city, intensifying the risk of floods and landslides, particularly in vulnerable urban areas.
- Experts warn of “climate gentrification,” where urban development and inequality amplify disaster risk; more than 20% of Rio’s homes are in high-risk areas, many in precariously built communities on hill slopes or low-lying flood zones.
- Disaster prevention measures exist but fall short; while sirens provide some early warnings, experts stress the need for comprehensive urban reform, nature-based solutions like the “sponge city” design, and greater community involvement to truly mitigate risks.
As Indonesia phases out coal, what happens to people & environments left behind?
- An analysis by the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) finds that the country’s energy transition plans do not address the remaining impacts of coal plants such as pollution, degraded ecosystems and lost livelihoods.
- This raises a critical question about what happens to the communities and environments left behind as the country plans to retire its coal-fired power plants to tackle climate change.
- In Cirebon, West Java province, fishers and farmers had to change professions when their land was used for a coal plant; now, some want to return to their former work, but their lands and sea are polluted and degraded from years of coal plant operations, and traditional livelihoods are no longer viable.
- ICEL program deputy director Grita Anindarini said Indonesia could benefit from drawing examples from other countries or jurisdictions whose transitions are designed to remedy harm, with land redistribution, economic diversification and Indigenous rights being central to their plans.
How extreme droughts could redefine the future of Amazonian fish
- The most severe Amazon drought on record, in 2023, followed by a new high in 2024, triggered multiple threats to Amazonian fish biodiversity, such as warming waters, loss of habitat, limited reproduction, and compromised growth.
- Fish are the main source of protein and other nutrients for those who live in the region; species most threatened by droughts include several that are important to local fisheries.
- Stronger droughts are already projected in the region in a scenario where global warming reaches 1.5°C (2.7°F); if it exceeds 2°C (3.6°F), the risk of prolonged, severe and frequent droughts increases significantly, with impacts on food security and Amazonian biodiversity.
- Short-term policies can be adapted to this new reality, such as adjustment of closed seasons, when fishing of certain species is banned; in the medium term, it’s crucial to invest in modernizing the monitoring of fish stocks, experts say.
In Nepal, centuries-old Buddhist incense tradition faces overharvesting, climate threats
- Lighting sang, a traditional incense made from juniper and other local plants, is a sacred daily ritual among Buddhist communities in Nepal’s Trans-Himalayan regions like Manang, symbolizing purification and peace.
- Though classified as “least concern” globally by the IUCN, black juniper faces pressure due to habitat fragmentation, overharvesting for incense and increasing commercial demand.
- Climate change, especially prolonged winter droughts and delayed snowfall, is impairing the regeneration of juniper shrubs, making them more vulnerable despite their natural resilience in harsh alpine conditions.
Republic of Congo’s gold mining boom undermines conservation efforts
The Republic of Congo has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world, but “uncontrolled gold mining” in recent years could harm the country’s biodiversity, especially in the Sangha region, Mongabay’s Elodie Toto reported in a video published in February. Sangha, located in the country’s north, on the border with Cameroon and the Central […]
Endangered Species Day: Three animals on the path to recovery
Every third Friday of May is Endangered Species Day. More than 900 known species are already extinct to date, while at least 28,500 others are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. As the world’s natural biomes get chipped away by aggressive resource extraction, mammals, fungi, corals and […]
Kenyan soil carbon project suspended for a second time
The carbon credit certifier Verra has placed the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project under review for a second time, it confirmed to Mongabay in an emailed statement. Until the review is completed, the project will not be permitted to sell any credits it generates through its model of managing livestock grazing routes. The decision is […]
Community-led system boosts fisheries in a corner of fast-depleting Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi’s fish stocks are declining, but one community stands apart: around Mbenje Island, a traditional fisheries management plan has ensured thriving fish populations for generations, Mongabay contributor Charles Mpaka reports. Landlocked Malawi is highly dependent on the lake, which supplies 90% of the country’s fish catch; more than 1.6 million people rely directly or […]
Flawed energy road map may block Indonesia’s coal exit, critics warn
- Indonesia’s first energy transition road map has been criticized for prioritizing financial considerations over emissions cuts, potentially stalling efforts to retire its coal fleet in favor of renewables.
- The road map’s scoring method gives excessive weight to funding availability and economic impact, while undervaluing emissions, effectively blocking the early retirement of many high-emission plants, critics say.
- The road map also lacks a binding retirement timeline and a specific list of coal plants targeted for closure, despite a pledge to phase out coal by 2040, delaying peak emissions in the power sector until 2037 — seven years later than international guidelines.
- Critics warn that the roadmap’s reliance on “false solutions” like carbon capture and cofiring with alternative fuels could prolong coal’s lifespan, while failing to address key social and economic impacts needed for a fair transition away from coal.
Even in intact Amazon forests, climate change affects bird populations: Study
- A recent study analyzed the behavior of birds that feed on insects in parts of the Amazon that have not yet been altered by human activity. Of the 29 species studied, 24 have gone through a reduction in population.
- The results point to climate change as the cause: Less rainfall and more severe droughts seem to be affecting the number of insects there, resulting in less food for the birds, which seem to be reacting by reproducing less in order to save energy.
- According to the study, an increase of just 1° C (1.8° F) in average dry season temperature in the Amazon would result in a 63% drop in the bird community’s average survival rate.
Study offers new tool to compare environmental impacts of crops
In a recently published study, researchers offer a new tool to compare how different crops affect the environment in different regions. Named PLANTdex, the tool assesses the environmental impact of a crop by considering five key indicators — greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater biodiversity loss, marine biodiversity loss, land biodiversity loss, and water resource depletion — […]
As renewable diesel surges, sustainability claims are deeply questioned
- Renewable diesel (RD), dubbed HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) by producers, is hailed by its supporters as a climate-friendly alternative to carbon-intensive fossil diesel. RD is a complex biofuel often made in retooled oil refineries from feedstocks including waste cooking oils, but also problematic animal fats and soy and palm oil.
- Renewable diesel substitutes easily for fossil diesel, so is touted as a climate-friendly transition fuel. Its use, mostly in vehicles, grew slowly in the past. Now, thanks largely to government-offered green subsidies, production is surging as firms widely expand uses to marine shipping, power plants, heating oil, and data center backup fuel.
- But critics are skeptical about industry claims of RD life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts of up to 95% over fossil fuel-derived diesel. They warn RD carbon releases will surge if renewable diesel sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
- As the renewable diesel industry expands beyond Europe and the U.S., analysts warn it will be a false climate solution unworkable at scale, so production and use should be constrained. Independent monitoring is also needed to track feedstock supply chains to assure crops don’t have high carbon intensities or cause deforestation.
A migrating flycatcher returning to the same Sri Lankan garden sparks interest in birders
- An Asian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) with distinctive markings on its head that has returned to the same home garden in Colombo for four consecutive migratory seasons has sparked interest among bird enthusiasts in Sri Lanka.
- Many birds, especially migratory species, possess a remarkable ability to return to the same location year after year, sometimes to the exact tree or nest, which is a behavior known as site tenacity or site fidelity.
- World Migratory Bird Day is traditionally observed on the first Saturdays of May and October, aligning with bird migrations in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively.
- A online bird observation platform, eBird, is gaining popularity in Sri Lanka with over 4,000 birders listed with the platform, strengthening the role of citizen science in tracking bird movements.
Report urges stricter mining standards to manage climate and social impacts
- A new report from the Mining Observatory finds that key mining states in Brazil are highly exposed to climate risks, water insecurity and environmental degradation.
- Mining for transition minerals can in some cases exacerbate the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and local communities in the states of Pará, Minas Gerais, Goiás and Bahia.
- Researchers told Mongabay that without better socioenvironmental safeguards, the expansion of transition minerals mining represents a “major” threat to these communities’ way of life and the preservation of ecosystems.
- The report urged governments and companies to implement stronger policy frameworks, climate adaptation strategies, robust oversight and better mechanisms to involve rights-holders in key decisions.
Ground-level ozone wreaks havoc on warming planet
Ozone as a layer several kilometers up in the atmosphere protects living beings, including humans, from ultraviolet rays. But its accumulation at ground level can be very dangerous, Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray explains in an article published in April. Ground-level, or tropospheric, ozone forms when methane, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds react […]
In Côte d’Ivoire a changing climate hits farmers and markets alike
- Towns across Côte d’Ivoire are facing shortages of staple foods like plantain and tomatoes, due to erratic weather.
- Prolonged drought and heavy rains have affected growers in towns like Soubré, who are struggling to maintain sufficient production to supply local markets.
- An expert says adapting to the new climate reality is key, and proposes training farmers in new agricultural techniques and improving natural resource management.
Science lays out framework to assess climate liability of fossil fuel majors
- In recent decades a growing number of lawsuits have been launched by states, cities and other government entities to hold fossil fuel companies financially liable for the climate harm caused by the greenhouse gas emissions their products produce.
- But those efforts often come up against challenging legal arguments made by the companies saying that their actions and emissions cannot be scientifically linked to specific climate change-driven extreme weather events.
- Now, fast-advancing attribution science is offering answers to those legal arguments. A new study has created a framework that connects the emissions over time of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies — BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Saudi Aramco and Gazprom — to rising temperatures and specific heat-related climate disasters.
- Researchers say that, in time, this framework for assigning attribution and financial damages could be extended to specific fossil fuel companies and a range of climate change-intensified extreme events such as hurricanes, flooding, sea-level rise and wildfires. The framework has yet to be tested in court.
More than one in 10 Americans lives in a sinking city, study finds
The 28 most populous cities in the United States are all at least partly sinking. That’s according to a new study from the Columbia University Climate School. Researchers used U.S. census data from 2020 to pinpoint the country’s most populous cities, which, combined, are home to roughly 39 million people or 12% of the U.S. […]
Warming climate is already too hot to handle for 2% of amphibians, study shows
- Researchers found 2% of amphibian species are already experiencing temperatures beyond their physiological limits, potentially increasing to 7.5% with continued climate warming.
- The study revealed an unexpected pattern where tropical species in the Southern Hemisphere face greater heat risk, while in the Northern Hemisphere, species at higher latitudes are more vulnerable.
- Habitat plays a crucial role in vulnerability, with aquatic species facing the lowest risk, tree-dwelling species at moderate risk, and ground-dwelling species experiencing the highest risk of overheating.
- Conservation efforts should focus on maintaining water bodies and shaded areas, as these serve as critical thermal refuges that can help amphibians survive extreme heat events.
Report shows policy gaps in safeguarding the carbon rights of forest communities
- An absence of government legal and policy reforms is impacting the rights of Indigenous, Afro-descendant peoples and local communities associated with carbon programs in 33 countries, according to a recent report.
- More than half of the reviewed countries don’t have carbon trading regulations, and nearly half have no legal provision to recognize the communities’ right to free, prior and informed consent, the report found.
- It emphasizes safeguarding carbon rights to ensure the communities’ consent and rights over decision-making as countries prepare to comply with the Paris Agreement’s market mechanism for trading high-quality carbon credits.
- Although the voluntary carbon market is faring comparatively better in ensuring these rights, researchers say there still remains much to do in terms of addressing grievances and making sure people stay informed.
Indonesia’s gas bet poses risks for economy, health and climate
- Indonesia’s plan to nearly double the electricity it generates from natural gas by 2040 risks locking the country into fossil fuel dependency, undermining its net-zero emissions targets, a new report says.
- Building out gas infrastructure could cost the state up to $57 billion in losses by 2040 and threaten 6.7 million jobs, while investing in community-managed renewables could generate up to $159 billion and 96 million jobs, it says.
- Gas plants pose significant health risks from air pollution and could cost the national health insurance system up to $103 billion, while threatening biodiversity in coastal areas and sensitive ecosystems.
- The report also warns that Indonesia risks becoming dependent on Japan for gas technology, locking it into a long-term fossil fuel trap that benefits Japan economically while shifting the environmental burden to Indonesia.
Solutions needed as climate change & land use fuel global crop pest menace
- Climate change is colliding with land use practices, deforestation and biodiversity loss to drive a rapidly growing threat of crop pests.
- Future warming of 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels (likely by the 2040s or 2050s, according to current projections) could see substantial losses of staple crop yields for wheat (an estimated 46% loss), rice (19%) and maize (31%) due to pest infestations, according to a recent paper.
- Temperate regions are likely to see the greatest increases in crop pests as warming creates conditions for migrating subtropical species to establish themselves in previously unhabitable areas.
- The authors underline the need for more pest monitoring, diversification of farmland crops and biotechnological solutions to meet this growing threat.
Protected parks in peril as Republic of Congo ramps up oil drilling
- The Republic of Congo plans to nearly double its oil production over the next three years, including drilling in protected areas like Conkouati-Douli National Park, sparking outrage from environmental activists and civil society groups.
- This expansion directly contradicts the country’s climate commitments made at the 2023 U.N. climate conference and its stated goals of preserving biodiversity.
- Major international oil companies — including TotalEnergies, Perenco, and Chinese firms — are supporting this fossil fuel push despite past pollution scandals and a lack of public environmental impact assessments.
- Critics also warn of systemic corruption and resource mismanagement, questioning whether the projected revenues will benefit the public as fuel shortages and extreme climate impacts continue to hit the country.
Amazon people brace for a drier future along the endangered Madeira River
- The Madeira River, the largest tributary of the Amazon, has been losing water flow over the last 20 years while facing severe droughts.
- The water drop is worrying the local population, whose livelihoods depend on balanced water bodies for small-scale agriculture, wild fruit extractives, fishing and transportation.
- The Madeira is particularly vulnerable to hydrological extremes and reached its lowest level ever recorded in September 2024.
- The Amazon has been warming since the 1980s, suffering 15 extreme droughts so far.
Indigenous youth at the U.N. share environmental setbacks and solutions
- Indigenous leaders from around the world converged in New York for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from April 21 to May 2, 2025, discussing how states have, or have not, protected the rights of Indigenous peoples.
- Conversations range from the environmental effects of extractive industries to climate change.
- Young people in attendance often work alongside elders and leaders to come up with solutions and address ongoing challenges.
- Grist interviewed seven Indigenous youth attending UNPFII this year hailing from Africa, the Pacific, North and South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Arctic.
North American birds are plummeting in areas where they’re plentiful
A newly published study has found that nearly 75% of bird species in North America are sharply declining across their ranges, and eight in 10 plummeting in the very areas where they’re thought to be thriving and plentiful. Nearly every species, 97%, had gains and losses in their populations depending on the location, the study […]
Winter warming and rain extreme events pose overlooked threat to Arctic life
- Accelerated Arctic warming is reshaping the polar environment, but focusing only on the impacts of long-term annual temperature rise can miss key consequences of shorter-lived, but extreme, weather shifts coming as a result of climate change.
- A new meta-analysis highlights how extreme weather events in winter, such as rain-on-snow and temperature spikes, are increasing across the Arctic — though not every region gets the same extreme whiplash weather.
- Even short surges of wild winter weather — 24 hours of rainfall on snow-covered ground, for example — can decimate animal and plant populations and change an ecosystem for generations. One such rain-on-snow event in 2023 killed nearly 20,000 musk oxen in the Canadian Arctic.
- Better understanding of Arctic winter weather extremes (along with their immediate and long-term effects on flora and fauna), and factoring these into climate models, could help create more accurate, effective, region-specific conservation plans.
International Leopard Day celebrates the resilient, yet often-overlooked, big cat
Shy, solitary leopards might lose out to tigers and lions in the game of charisma, but the rosette-patterned big cats are incredibly adaptable — they can survive in the densest of cities just as easily as in forests, grasslands and high mountains. While highly adaptable, leopards (Panthera pardus), listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red […]
New report reinforces critical role of Amazonian protected areas in climate fight
- A new report has found that protected areas and Indigenous territories in the Amazon store more aboveground carbon than the rest of the rainforest.
- Protected areas and Indigenous territories were also found to serve as significant carbon sinks between 2013 and 2022, absorbing 257 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
- Protected areas in Colombia, Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana were found to be significant carbon sinks.
- The report underscores the need to protect these areas that aren’t currently threatened by deforestation as they play a critical role in offsetting emissions from other parts of the forest.
Wood pellet maker Drax denied pollution permit after small town Mississippi outcry
- Nearly 30 wood pellet mills operate in the southeastern U.S., with more planned. Environmental advocates have long opposed biomass for energy schemes, noting that the burning of wood pellets is a poor replacement for coal because it releases major carbon emissions, while also causing deforestation and biodiversity harm.
- But those arguments have barely moved the dial when it comes to regulating the industry or banning its lucrative green subsidies, so activist wins have been few. But the angry protests of southeastern U.S. citizens — many of them poor and Black —in rural areas where pellet mills are located have raised another big issue: pollution.
- A case in point is Drax’s Amite County plant located in Gloster, Mississippi. Drax is one of the biggest forest biomass producers in the world, but that hasn’t stopped Gloster’s citizens from opposing the company for its impacts on health and quality of life, like toxic air pollution, excessive noise and truck traffic.
- Drax has been fined twice, totaling more than $2.7 million for its pollution, with Gloster citizens recently winning over the state of Mississippi, which for now is refusing to give Drax a permit to legally pollute even more. Pollution is bad near other wood pellet plants, and forest advocates are now allying with irate citizens.
Deadly South Korea wildfires made twice more likely by climate change
Massive wildfires that killed at least 32 people and scorched an area nearly double the size of Seoul in late March could become more common under human-driven climate change, scientists warn. The fires burned an area of 104,000 hectares (257,000 acres) and destroyed 5,000 buildings, constituting the deadliest and largest wildfire disaster in South Korea’s […]
Reflections on 20 years of Mongabay News (commentary)
- Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler reflects on 20 years since the start of Mongabay News.
- During those early days of Mongabay, Rhett would toil to produce several hundred articles a year by himself; this year, Mongabay’s global team of journalists, editors, and collaborators are on track to publish more than 7,000 stories across six languages.
- Rhett also shares his learnings from the past 20 years, and offers what lies ahead for Mongabay.
Scientists warn coral restoration can’t keep pace with global reef collapse
- Coral restoration is vastly outpaced by degradation, while intensifying climate stress, prohibitive costs, poor site selection and lack of coordination make large-scale restoration currently unviable, a new study has found.
- The scale-cost mismatch is staggering: Restoring just 1.4% of degraded coral could cost up to US$16.7 trillion, while current global funding is only US$258 million.
- The study found most projects assessed prioritize convenience over ecological value, restoring easily accessed reefs instead of climate-resilient or biologically strategic ones, undermining long-term outcomes.
- Researchers say standardized data and smarter planning are urgently needed to ensure that global coral restoration is scientifically informed and strategically targeted, and not merely symbolic.
How to conserve species in a much hotter world
By 2075, we will be living on a planet that is much hotter, possibly 3-5° Celsius (5.4-9° Fahrenheit) hotter than the preindustrial average. But how can humanity help nature improve its climate resilience in the years to come? Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance found some answers after interviewing several conservationists. “In 50 years, it’s entirely possible that […]
Brazil prosecutors dispute $175m Amazon Rainforest carbon credit deal
Brazilian prosecutors are calling for the cancellation of the largest carbon credit deal in the Amazon Rainforest, saying it breaks national law and risks harming Indigenous communities. The 1 billion real ($175 million) contract, signed last year by the state of Pará, promises to sell up to 12 million metric tons of forest-based carbon credits […]
England’s flooded farmlands offer habitat, carbon storage & storm protection
When aging infrastructure failed to protect coastal farmland in southwest England from sea level rise, conservationists chose to embrace the flooding and created a new wetland reserve. Mongabay’s Leo Plunkett and Sandy Watt report in a recent Mongabay video that the newly created marsh has brought a host of benefits to the region. The Steart […]
Global offshore oil platforms are among top ocean polluters, report finds
Most new oil and gas projects in 2024 were located offshore, where spills can be hard to detect. Researchers at the nonprofit SkyTruth recently published a report identifying the biggest sources of pollution from offshore oil, including oil leaks, transportation emissions and methane flaring, as well as the most polluted locations. Christian Thomas, a geospatial […]
We can’t plant our way out of climate change
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Forests with diverse tree species are more resilient to climate extremes and better at storing carbon, according to recent studies conducted in China and Panama. Though hardly groundbreaking, these findings reinforce an increasingly evident truth: Biodiversity in reforestation […]
How did Finland lead the pursuit of a circular economy? Mongabay podcast explores
As the first nation to develop a circular economy road map in 2016, Finland has had a head start in trying to develop an economy that’s based on reusing and regenerating materials and products. A lot can be learned from Finland’s experience so far, including challenges and gaps, Mongabay’s Mike DiGirolamo found in an episode of […]
EV supply chain & transport need redesign, Mongabay podcast shows
Reducing transportation’s carbon footprint is not as easy as replacing internal combustion engine (ICE) cars with electric vehicles (EVs). Producing EVs and disposing their components have environmental and human rights impacts, which also need to be carefully considered and mitigated, Mongabay’s Mike DiGirolamo found in an episode of Mongabay Explores podcast in November. In this […]
Global warming hits hardest for those who can’t escape it
- The world’s most vulnerable people, including refugees, migrants and the poor, increasingly face threats related to climate change.
- Many lack the ability to move away from impacts like heat, flooding and landslides.
- A new study reveals a lack of data showing the causes of this involuntary immobility.
- Experts say governments and organizations can invest in low-cost interventions aimed at reducing suffering.
Pope Francis’ uncompromising defense of nature may be his greatest legacy
- The world has never before seen a pope like Francis, who died this week at the Vatican in Rome. He spoke with uncompromising conviction for all of nature, the poor, Indigenous and traditional peoples, and for all those who lack a voice in the halls of corporate and political power.
- His spiritual writings on climate change are unprecedented. From 2015 onward, he spoke out in official papal documents in defense of all living beings — recognizing the importance of preserving the complex web of life, melding science and faith, and urging humanity to embrace an iron-willed resolve to conserve “our common home.”
- His lofty words directly inspired the preamble of the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and helped launch conservation advocacy alliances between people of all faiths. But Francis met with great opposition and was often minimized or ignored by many in the Catholic Church, by the business community and global leaders.
- Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso has reported on the pope’s progress as conservationist and humanist over the last decade. Here he offers a sampling of the pontiff’s words urgently imploring all of us, but especially consumers, the business community and world leaders, to live into our sacred duty as Earth stewards.
Indonesia defies global coal retreat with captive plant boom
- Indonesia added 1.9 gigawatts of new coal capacity in 2024, the third-highest globally, mainly to power metal smelters supporting the electric vehicle industry — despite global efforts to phase out coal.
- Captive coal plants built for industry have tripled in capacity since 2019, exploiting a loophole in Indonesia’s coal moratorium and undermining its climate pledges under the Paris Agreement and Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
- Indonesia now has the fifth-largest coal fleet in the world and plans to expand by another 26.7 GW by 2030, with serious concerns about economic viability, environmental damage, and public health in regions like Sulawesi and North Maluku.
- Government-backed alternatives like biomass cofiring and carbon capture are criticized as costly and ineffective, while experts urge Indonesia to shift meaningfully toward renewables to align with global energy and climate trends.
Ongoing global coral bleaching event affects 84% of world’s reefs
Coral reefs around the world have been subjected to unprecedented heat stress since early 2023. A new report finds heat-related coral bleaching has damaged corals in more than 80 countries, making it the most extensive bleaching event ever recorded, with no clear end in sight. Between January 2023 and April 2025, heat stress impacted 84% […]
Church pressure spurs scrutiny of Indonesian geothermal projects
- In early April, the governor of Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province said his administration would review all geothermal development on Flores Island.
- The statement followed a campaign by the Catholic Church, led by the Archdiocese of Ende, which advocated for local residents concerned about environmental damage.
- Indonesia has the world’s largest potential for geothermal energy, and use of the technology has grown in recent years as the country seeks to expand renewables to meet its international climate commitments.
- The Vatican assumed a leadership role on climate change under the late Pope Francis, who died over Easter at the age of 88.
Cyclone Tam brings widespread flooding to New Zealand for days
New Zealand experienced heavy flooding and damage due to Cyclone Tam last week through this weekend. What started out as a tropical low hovering over the South Pacific Ocean nation of Vanuatu was upgraded to Cyclone Tam on April 14 by the Fiji meteorological service, media reported. The cyclone then moved southeast toward New Zealand, […]
Amazon illegal miners bypass enforcement by smuggling gold into Venezuela
- Criminal groups are operating to smuggle illegal gold from the Brazilian Amazon into Venezuela, where the metal is laundered and exported overseas.
- Illegal gold traders adopted this new strategy after Brazil’s administration increased control over the metal’s commerce.
- Mongabay followed the steps of Adriano Aguiar de Castro, who, according to authorities, jumped from one gold laundering scheme to another and now is also involved with gold smuggling into Venezuela.
- The need to cross national borders brings gold trading groups closer to organized crime and poses new challenges to authorities.
Earth Day check-in: Planetary boundaries in peril
Scientists have identified nine planetary boundaries that help regulate a livable planet. Human activities have pushed six of those nine critical Earth systems beyond safe limits, threatening the stability of life as we know it. Mongabay has consistently reported on all nine systems: Climate change, largely driven by fossil fuel emissions, is causing sea level […]
15 years after the BP oil spill disaster, how is the Gulf of Mexico faring?
- The Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20, 2010, was the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over nearly three months.
- Fifteen years later, the gulf ecosystem shows a complicated picture of both resilience and lingering damage, with some species, like brown pelicans, recovering, while others, like humans, dolphins and deep-sea corals, continue to struggle with long-term health impacts.
- The disaster prompted an unprecedented legal settlement directing billions toward restoration projects, though experts debate whether these funds have been used effectively for ecosystem-scale recovery.
- Climate change remains the “800-pound gorilla in the room,” threatening the gulf’s future resilience, one expert said, with others warning that continued pressure from fossil fuel development, agricultural runoff and other threats could push the system beyond its capacity to recover.
Critically endangered right whales spotted in the Bahamas for first time
Two North Atlantic right whales, among the most at-risk marine mammals, were spotted swimming in the Bahamas on April 15, marking the first time the species has been seen in the nation’s waters. “That moment for me was breathtaking, and I couldn’t fully gather myself. I thought it was fake at first,” Isaac Ellis, a […]
Mangroves mount a fragile green revival in Iraq’s toxic south
- Sea-level rise and upstream damming have worsened saltwater intrusion in the Shatt al-Arab River, pushing brine deep into Iraq’s interior and threatening agriculture, fishing and marshland ecosystems.
- A mangrove-planting project has been launched as a nature-based solution to combat coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion and pollution — threats that not only endanger Basra’s coastline but also the freshwater marshlands farther inland.
- Despite scientific backing and community support, the project faces significant obstacles like untreated sewage and industrial waste, while limited government support further hampers the project’s long-term viability and impact.
Nature on the move: How conservation must adapt to survive
Resilience means getting through something — tough, messy, with losses, but surviving. So said Andrew Whitworth, executive director of Osa Conservation in Costa Rica, summing up a growing shift in conservation thinking. As the planet hurtles toward a future 3-5° Celsius (5.4-9° Fahrenheit) warmer by 2075, holding the line is no longer enough. The goal […]
Succulents die off with expanding desert in South Africa and Namibia
Succulents endemic to South Africa and Namibia are drying up and dying across the increasingly hot northern part of their range. Mongabay contributor Leonie Joubert reports that a combination of climate change and overgrazing are causing desertification that the plants can’t survive. In September 2024, botanists Wendy Foden and Kayleigh Murray surveyed an area Foden […]
How Mexican fishers are protecting an endemic oyster — and its ecosystem
- In Mexico’s Nayarit marshes on the Pacific Coast, the work of a fishing group called Ostricamichin has enabled the recovery of the Cortez oyster, an endemic and economically important mollusk, along with other marine species.
- The Marismas Nacionales Nayarit National Reserve, where the Cortez oyster is cultivated, accounts for 45% of Mexico’s national fishing production, thanks to floating rafts that help grow the endemic species in its waters.
- However, members of Ostricamichin say their project is threatened by climate change and illegal fishing. But the biggest threat, currently, is a proposed dam project which, they say, would devastate the delicate ecosystem.
Most frogs in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands to lose habitat by 2100: Study
Amphibians in Brazil’s Pantanal, one of the world’s largest and most biodiverse wetlands, could lose huge swaths of their habitat as the region dries out from climate change, a new study has found. Researchers studied the Upper Paraguay River Basin (UPRB), which stretches into parts of Paraguay and Bolivia and fully contains the Pantanal. Of […]
How to use the law to save the planet | Against All Odds
Increasingly, legal courts have become the battleground in the fight for a climate-positive future. In the last two decades, 320 cases around the world have been litigated on behalf of regular citizens that have framed climate change as a human rights issue. Activists are finding the legal path to be a useful tool for holding […]
Elevator to extinction (cartoon)
As climate change pushes montane species upslope in a bid to escape warming temperatures, species, including birds, occupying the highest altitudes could be left with nowhere to go, making them the most prone to extinction.
2 Mongabay podcasts shortlisted for 2025 Publisher Podcast Awards
Podcasts from Mongabay and Mongabay India have been shortlisted in two categories of the 2025 Publisher Podcast Awards. Media Voices, the weekly publication behind the award, announced the shortlist for the Publisher Podcast Awards last week. Episodes from Mongabay Explores, hosted by Mike DiGirolamo, and Mongabay India’s Wild Frequencies were both shortlisted in the “Best […]
In an ancient Javanese sultanate, coastal women battle climate fallout
- The coast of Demak district, the site of the first Islamic sultanate on the island of Java, has been inundated by the sea over decades owing to groundwater extraction and development.
- The erosion of human settlements is likely introducing new risks for women: “Our conclusion is that women and children, as well as poor families, including the elderly and disabled, are the most vulnerable,” a local legal aid nonprofit told Mongabay.
- Globally, around 90% of fish species are either fully exploited or overfished, and climate change is set to worsen the crisis by disrupting fish reproduction as oceans warm and acidify.
Diverse forests and forest rewilding offer resilience against climate change
- Recent studies from two long-running planted forest experiments in China and Panama find that increasing tree diversity in reforestation efforts can boost resilience in the face of climate change, among other benefits.
- Researchers elsewhere propose a “rewilding-inspired forestry” approach that aims to restore biodiversity, aid climate mitigation and bolster forest ecosystems — an approach that requires a significant shift from current forestry practices.
- However, scientists underline that while reforestation and forest rewilding can contribute to curbing climate change, they have their limits and must be combined with deep carbon emissions cuts and conservation of existing forests.
Endangered Chilean frogs thrive in London while waiting out deadly fungus
A total of 86 Darwin’s frogs are being housed at London Zoo to keep them safe from a deadly infectious disease that has affected over 500 amphibian species worldwide. In October 2024, conservationists from the Zoological Society of London, the NGO Ranita de Darwin and other partners rescued 53 southern Darwin’s frogs (Rhinoderma darwinii) from […]
Typhoon-strength winds sweep across northern China, killing cyclist
The strongest winds in decades triggered damage across northern and eastern China, killing a cyclist, grounding flights, shutting down tourist sites, and prompted emergency weather alerts across much of the country. The cyclist, a 55-year-old woman from Anhui province, was killed on April 12 when she was struck by a falling tree amid a series […]
As big money wavers, Southeast Asia’s green startups fight to stay powered
- Southeast Asia’s clean-energy startups like Vietnam’s SmartSolar and Indonesia’s Swap Energi are expanding but face growing challenges due to waning government support and shifting global investment trends.
- U.S. and regional funding cuts, along with economic uncertainty and geopolitical shifts, are making it harder for renewable startups to secure long-term financing and scale their operations.
- Despite these headwinds, founders say local demand remains strong, and backing from European development agencies is helping maintain momentum — though the path to profitability is getting narrower.
Illegal gold mining creeps within a kilometer of Amazon’s second-tallest tree
- Prosecutors in Brazil’s Amapá state have warned of an illegal gold mine operating just 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from second-highest known tree in the Brazilian Amazon — an 85-meter (279-foot) red angelim.
- Illegal gold miners have been moving into Amapá in the wake of federal raids on mining hotspots in other parts of the Brazilian Amazon, including the Yanomami and Munduruku Indigenous territories.
- A surge in the gold price has fueled the miners’ destructive potential and their capacity to open new areas in highly isolated places.
Even the Gulf of Aqaba’s ‘supercorals’ bleached during 2024 heat wave
- Scientists have long considered the corals in the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Red Sea to be uniquely resilient to extreme temperatures.
- For the first time on record, however, the heat wave of 2024 bleached some of these super-resilient corals in Israeli and Jordanian waters, according to scientists.
- Scientists studying the episode’s severity and extent estimate that perhaps 5% of the corals in their study area in Israeli waters bleached during the oppressive Northern Hemisphere summer; a small fraction died, but most recovered over the relatively cooler months that followed.
- Tackling threats like pollution that could reduce the corals’ ability to withstand extreme heat is the best way to protect them from rising marine temperatures, and scientists say an oil terminal that sits barely half a kilometer from some of the “supercorals” poses an imminent threat.
Heat wave scorches parts of India with record temperatures
Several cities across India saw temperatures top 40° Celsius, or 104° Fahrenheit, this past week, with some areas exceeding 46°C (114.8°F). Delhi experienced a heat wave for three consecutive days, recording its warmest April night in three years, with temperatures 5-6°C (9-10.8°F) above normal for the period. Many areas in the country’s northwest remain on […]
In Panama, Indigenous Guna prepare for climate exodus from a second island home
- The island of Uggubseni, located in Panama’s Guna Yala provincial-level Indigenous region, spent the month of February participating in region-wide celebrations to mark the centenary of a revolution in which the Indigenous Guna expelled repressive Panamanian authorities and established their autonomy in the region.
- Though the intervening century has left the Guna’s fierce independence undimmed, new existential threats now face Uggubseni: Accelerating sea level rise due to human-caused climate change and overpopulation.
- A consensus now exists among Uggubseni residents that moving inland is necessary; but it remains unclear whether the government will be able to deliver the necessary funding and support.
- Although 63 communities nationwide are at risk of sinking due to climate change, there’s only one other model for climate relocation: In June 2024 the Panamanian government relocated around 300 families from Gardi Sugdub, another island in Guna Yala, to a new community on the mainland where problems remain rife.
How is conservation preparing for a much hotter world? Experts share
- Fifty years from now, in 2075, the world will be considerably hotter, perhaps as much as 3-5° Celsius (4.5 to 9° Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average.
- Experts say we need to focus on building greater resilience into ecosystems now to help species get through the next half century.
- We should be protecting large landscapes, including altitudinal gradients, according to experts.
- We should also be focusing on good management, community relations, rewilding and restoration.
Nepal farmers regret planting government-hyped eucalyptus
In the late 1970s, Nepal launched a reforestation project to restore its massively deforested lands in the southeastern Terai landscape. However, the main tree of choice, eucalyptus, after showing initial signs of success has now proven detrimental to the region’s soil moisture and fertility, Mongabay contributor Mukesh Pokhrel reported in February. To prepare for the […]
Honduras pays the climate cost as its forests disappear and storms rise
- Despite its high vulnerability to extreme weather events, Honduras continues to clear its forests, seen as one of its best protections against climate change and intensifying storms and hurricanes.
- Between 1998 and 2017, Honduras was the world’s second-most affected country by climate change.
- The biggest driver of deforestation in Honduras is shifting agriculture, responsible for nearly three-quarters of all tree loss, with cattle ranching being a top culprit.
- International organizations focusing on climate adaptation and mitigation are urging the Honduran government to do more to prioritize long-term preparedness, with the country recently making progress in that direction.
For scandal-ridden carbon credit industry, Amazon restoration offers redemption
- As REDD projects around the world face setbacks, restoration projects in the Amazon are flourishing as a means of reviving market confidence in forest-based carbon credits.
- In Brazil, the golden goose for restoration, this business model has attracted companies from the mining and beef industries, banks, startups, and big tech.
- Federal and state governments are granting public lands to restoration companies to recover degraded areas.
- Restoration projects require substantial investments and long-term commitment, face challenges such as increasingly severe fire seasons, and deal with uncertainty over the future of the carbon market.
As Acapulco’s mangroves disappear, Mexico takes strides to protect its coastal forests
- One of Acapulco’s lagoons has experienced the near-complete loss of its mangroves due to urbanization and hurricanes.
- Another Acapulco lagoon has also lost portions of its mangroves, affecting the local fishing industry.
- Overall, the Mexican state of Guerrero has lost more than half of its mangroves since 1979.
- Mexico’s government is working with international organizations, scientists and local communities to restore the country’s lost mangroves.
122 companies responsible for a third of present day sea-level rise: Study
What’s new: Almost half of global average temperature rise and a third of sea-level rise can be attributed to the “carbon majors,” the world’s 122 largest fossil fuel and cement producers, a recent paper shows. What the study says: Research from U.S.-based science advocacy NGO Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) used climate-carbon cycle models, and […]
How tires leave a long trail of destruction
Tires play an essential role in modern society, but have enormous negative environmental impacts. Mongabay recently reported on how the world’s top tire manufacturers are unable to prove that the supply chain of their rubber products is deforestation-free. A look back at an episode of Mongabay’s video series “Consumed,” published in January 2024, shows how […]
Colombia’s green transition should be inclusive: Interview with Susana Muhamad, former environment minister
- Colombia’s first leftist government “has been successful in some aspects” of its environmental agenda, but needs more economic diversification and cohesion between economic actors and the government, former environment minister and COP16 president Susana Muhamad tells Mongabay.
- In an interview shortly after her resignation in March, Muhamad calls for legalizing coca, ending some harmful subsidies for fossil fuels and agriculture, and applying a stricter regime for approving environmental licenses.
- She also celebrates the establishment of the Cali Fund and the empowerment of Indigenous peoples at COP16, saying the next steps should be to launch a global campaign to encourage private companies to contribute more toward biodiversity goals.
- Muhamad also praises the 22-year record-low deforestation rate in 2022, which was followed by a subsequent increase as armed groups continue to drive forest loss; she says the Amazon should be a key focus for the new environment minister and that Colombia “should have zero deforestation.”
Melting Antarctic ice could weaken world’s strongest ocean current, study warns
The strongest ocean current on Earth circles Antarctica. It’s the primary way water moves between the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and helps regulate the global climate. But a new study suggests the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), which until now has been extremely stable, might begin to slow down in the next 25 years, with […]
Colombian farmers switch from coffee to cacao as temperature and prices soar
- Due to rising temperatures and climate change, small-scale coffee farmers in Colombia are increasingly planting cacao.
- Cacao faces fewer immediate challenges compared to coffee, which is prone to pests and diseases, and can integrate well into agroforestry systems. However, agronomists warn that the switch to cacao can lead to clearing forests and increasing chemical inputs in order to expand existing plantations.
- Higher profits, the high prices of cacao in the market, and the increasing expenses needed to manage coffee crops are also factors pushing small-scale farmers towards the switch.
- Although coffee remains Colombia’s most important agricultural product, cacao is emerging not just as an alternative, but as a defining crop in Colombia’s evolving agricultural future, say agronomists.
Study delves into increase in humpback whale sightings in UK and Ireland
Earlier this year, U.K. media reported an increase in humpback whale sightings in British and Irish waters. Between December 2024 and January, The Guardian reported some 17 sightings of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the Isles of Scilly in southwest England. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Sussex Dolphin Project reported more than 50 sightings from Sussex in […]
Farmers turn to living ‘yam sticks’ to grow their crop and spare the forest
- In major yam-producing areas such as West Africa and the Caribbean, the tuber is traditionally grown using sticks as scaffolds for vine growth, which are traditionally cut from the forest, causing deforestation.
- Scientists and yam breeders are trialing ways to replace these sticks through agroforestry, introducing living supports that can also improve the soil and provide other benefits to farmers.
- Trials using plants such as pigeon pea and bitter damsel as living yam sticks have shown potential.
- However, conservationists say that entrenched traditional farming methods and a lack of funding to promote more sustainable approaches are preventing living vine sticks from widespread application.
After outcry, Brazil Supreme Court nixes proposal for mining on Indigenous lands
- Brazil’s Supreme Court backed down and withdrew its proposal to open up Indigenous territories to mining and economic activities from a controversial bill that critics say violates the Constitution.
- On the same day, the Federal Attorney General’s Office presented a draft presidential decree also excluding mining activities on Indigenous territories but allowing tourism and other activities led by Indigenous communities.
- Both drafts would keep contentious articles regarding compensation for non-Indigenous settlers, which could make the land demarcation process unfeasible, critics say.
- The proposals are the outcome of a yearslong legal battle centered in the highly controversial time frame thesis, aiming to nullify any Indigenous land demarcation claims to areas that weren’t physically occupied before the 1988 Constitution.
Uttarakhand’s extreme weather wreaks havoc on crops, livelihoods & futures
- In Uttarakhand, extreme weather events like droughts, erratic rainfall and hailstorms have severely affected farming, leading to lower crop yields, increased pests and financial distress for farmers.
- Festivals and agricultural practices linked to seasonal changes are losing their significance due to shifting flowering and harvesting periods, affecting both cultural traditions and livelihoods.
- Reduced snowfall and irregular rainfall have led to water shortages, depleting natural aquifers and springs that local communities rely on for drinking water and irrigation, while forest fires, intensified by extreme heat, have caused loss of human life and biodiversity.
- Climate change is also impacting tourism and small businesses, with rising temperatures and unpredictable weather affecting visitor numbers and local economies.
Floods devastate normally arid parts of Australia’s Queensland
Intense flooding submerged usually dry areas of Queensland state in eastern Australia during the last week of March, forcing many people to evacuate and leave their livestock behind. David Crisafulli, the Queensland premier, called the floods “unprecedented” as several places in western Queensland recorded the worst floods in the last 50 years, CNN reported. Some […]
Nearly one-third of fungi on IUCN Red List are threatened with extinction
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently updated its Red List of Threatened Species to include an additional 482 fungi, bringing the total to roughly 1,300 species of mushrooms, puffballs and other fungi. More than 400 of the species assessed are at risk of extinction, primarily threatened by agricultural expansion, deforestation and climate […]
Ground-level ozone pollution poses growing threat to planetary health
- In the stratosphere, ozone acts as a protective layer. But in the troposphere, at ground level, this colorless gas is incredibly harmful to human health and the environment in ways scientists are still working to fully understand. The problem exists worldwide, but may become especially bad in tropical nations this century.
- Ground-level ozone is a major air pollutant that shortens human lives and kills thousands each year, resulting in major economic impacts. It is formed when methane, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (released from vehicles, industry, power plants and crops) react in the presence of sunlight.
- Climate change worsens tropospheric ozone, with higher temperatures accelerating the chemical reaction that creates it, and because stalled weather systems (especially heat domes) allow buildup of ozone in stagnant polluted air. Ozone pollution not only impacts urban area, but also rural agricultural areas.
- Ozone impacts on biodiversity are significant and growing — harming pollinators, reducing crop yields and limiting forest growth, with global implications for food security and humanity’s reliance on forests as carbon sinks. Effectively tackling climate change and reducing ozone precursors are major solutions.
Innovators battling wildfires with AI, drones & fungi get $50k grants to scale up
To address the devastating effects of wildfires in Western North America, the nonprofit Conservation X Labs (CXL) and its partners have awarded $50,000 each to 12 shortlisted teams seeking to scale up novel technologies and processes to lower wildlife risk and increase ecosystem and community resilience. CXL announced the 12 finalists of its first Fire […]
Longer periods of drought threaten Brazilian amphibians
- According to a study, global warming will increase droughts in up to 33% of the habitats of frogs, toads and treefrogs; in Brazil, the strongest impacts will be felt on the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest — precisely those with the greatest diversity of amphibians.
- Drought and amphibians are not a viable combination: These animals depend on water and humidity to survive; without that, they may dehydrate in a few hours and die.
- The Atlantic Forest is home to more than 700 species of anuran amphibians, more than 50% of which are endemic; in the Amazon, the greatest focus of potential extinction is the Arc of Deforestation.
- In a warmer and drier climate, the question is whether there will be time for these animals to adapt or evolve over generations to survive these new conditions.
Colombia’s coffee farmers try to balance innovation and tradition to adapt to climate change
- Researchers and coffee farmers in Colombia are trying to find strategies to adapt to unpredictable weather, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall, which are disrupting Colombia’s coffee industry by fueling pests and diseases like the coffee berry borer and coffee leaf rust.
- Cenicafé, the national coffee research center, is continuously developing new hybrid coffee varieties that are resistant to diseases and climate change for farmers, but pests are evolving, requiring more research and genetic diversification.
- Some farmers are restoring the much slower traditional shade-grown coffee practices through reforestation and agroforestry, which help them access premium high-end coffee markets while tackling and adapting to climate change.
- With the limited options presented, some researchers say coffee growers must at times choose between high-yield hybrids or eco-friendly organic farming, weighing sustainability against economic survival.
Rethinking carbon: The climate movement needs to be a human one, says Paul Hawken
Celebrated author, thinker and entrepreneur Paul Hawken joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his new book, Carbon: The Book of Life, and argues that the jargon and fear-based terms broadly used by the climate movement alienate the broader public and fail to communicate the nuance and complexity of the larger ecological crises that humans are causing. […]
As US agroforestry grows, federal funding freeze leaves farmers in the lurch
- Agroforestry has been steadily gaining ground over the past eight years in the U.S., with the number of projects increasing 6% nationwide according to a new study.
- A federal funding freeze imposed on Jan. 27 put many agroforestry projects on hold pending a 90-day review.
- The freeze has had immediate impacts on farmers and the nonprofit organizations that support them, including a halt on reimbursements and stop work orders.
- Appalachian farmers and their communities are facing a loss in income and the dissolution of important community food resources.
Wildfires in South Korea kill at least 30 people
At least 30 people were killed and more than 48,000 hectares, or 119,000 acres, of land was burned in fires that raged over the last week of March in South Korea, media reported. According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the fires started on March 21 and were accompanied by strong winds and dry weather. Local authorities […]
UK delays to environment law have led to massive deforestation, report says
- U.K. lawmakers have spent the last four years delaying the implementation of “forest risk” regulations on imported commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee and rubber.
- A law passed in 2021 needs secondary legislation to implement the regulations, which would establish what supply chain information needs to be collected by businesses and how it should be reported to the government.
- As the country waits for the law’s implementation, U.K. imports have resulted in more than 39,300 hectares (97,100 acres) of deforestation, according to a report from NGO Global Witness.
Brazil plans new Amazon routes linking the Pacific & China’s New Silk Road
- New roads and riverways integrating the Brazilian Amazon and ports on the Pacific coast of South America are expected to be announced in 2025, reducing shipment costs to supply China.
- Brazil’s plans to build ports and roads to help move grains, beef and iron ore from the rainforest echo a development vision that dates back to the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Environmentalists warn the new routes boost deforestation and encourage land-grabbers and ranchers to keep exploring the Amazon as a commodity hub.
In Pakistan, sea level rise & displacement follow fisherfolk wherever they go
- Rising sea levels are displacing fisherfolk in Pakistan’s coastal areas, forcing them to move to higher ground, such as Karachi, where they now face saltwater intrusion and other climate impacts.
- For many, this displacement is not just about losing homes, but also cultural heritage, traditions and livelihoods, with women, in particular, losing economic freedom as fishing communities decline.
- The Pakistani government lacks a formal policy for the voluntary migration of climate refugees, and while efforts like mangrove restoration have been attempted, they have not significantly alleviated the fishing community’s problems.
- Karachi is projected to receive 2.3 million climate migrants by 2050, primarily due to rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and other climate-related catastrophes.
Polar sea ice continues steep decline; but will a troubled world notice?
- Polar sea ice has reached record, and near-record, lows for this time of year, pushing the pace of global warming and alarming scientists. The just declared 2025 Arctic sea ice extent winter maximum is the lowest on record, at 14.33 million km² (5.53 million mi²). That’s 80,000 km² (31,000 mi²) below the previous low seen on March 7, 2017.
- The 2025 Antarctic sea ice extent summer minimum on March 1 tied for the second lowest on record, at 1.98 million km² (764,000 million mi²). The all time record Antarctic summer low was 1.79 million km² (691,000 million mi²) reached on February 21, 2023. Polar ice satellite records have been continuous since 1979.
- Sea ice loss is expected to continue its slide based on climate models, with scientists warning that the Arctic landscape is likely to be transformed beyond recognition within decades. Sweeping changes will devastate Indigenous polar communities, disrupt Arctic ecosystems, and ultimately lead to the demise of iconic polar wildlife.
- Inhospitable polar conditions continue challenging scientists’ ability to gather data and make precise polar forecasts vital for knowing our climate future. But it may be even more challenging to raise public awareness and political will to reduce carbon emissions and reverse polar ice loss before it passes dangerous tipping points.
Netherlands’ largest forest biomass plant canceled, forest advocates elated
- Vattenfall, the Netherlands’ third-largest energy producer, has announced it is abandoning plans to build the country’s largest wood pellet burning power plant.
- Forest advocates, who launched a campaign to derail Vattenfall’s plans in 2019, declared victory. They note that burning wood pellets to make energy produces more carbon emissions per unit of energy than coal, despite industry claims that the technology is carbon neutral.
- Increasing scientific evidence shows that burning forest biomass for energy is a false climate solution that increases deforestation and biodiversity loss, while releasing significant carbon emissions at the smokestack — worsening climate change.
- In a recent pivot, EU officials now seem more willing to admit the error of past carbon neutrality claims for wood pellet burning power plants, though they now say those emissions can be eliminated by installing Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BCCS) at the facilities — an untested, unready technology, scientists say.
Are your tires deforestation-free? Even their makers can’t tell, report finds
Only one out of the world’s 12 major tire manufacturers have shown evidence their supply chain is deforestation-free, a recent assessment has found. The report, released March 26 by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), assessed 30 natural rubber companies, including 12 that manufacture tires, to see what portion of their supply chain is independently […]
Devastating flood forces relocation of 10,000 tortoises at Madagascar sanctuary
- In January, a rehabilitation center for critically endangered tortoises in southern Madagascar was severely impacted by heavy flooding caused by two cyclones.
- The rescue center hosts thousands of tortoises rescued from traffckers; the flooding killed more than 800 of them.
- Temporary solutions have been put in place to care for the now twice-rescued animals, as reconstruction will not be possible until later this year.
- This is the first time the conservation center has faced disruption on this scale since it was launched in 2017.
Expedition links Antarctic glacial melting to climate catastrophe in Brazil
- A team led by Brazilian researchers carried out a 70-day expedition around Antarctica to understand the melting rate of glacial ice and to see how the region is reacting to global warming.
- The changes in the landscape that the researchers encountered were shocking, leading them to predict that Brazil’s climate will be increasingly affected by warming in Antarctica.
- In the shadow of the 2024 floods, the greatest climate tragedy it has seen in history, the state of Rio Grande do Sul should prepare itself for the same sort of event to happen again within the next 30 years, they warn.
Photos: Ethiopian farmers blend tradition, innovation to sustain centuries-old agriculture
- For more than 400 years, the people of the Konso highlands in Ethiopia have used terracing and traditional farming methods to adapting to their harsh environment, building a globally recognize agricultural system on steep, erosion-prone land.
- However, in recent decades, climate change has altered once-predictable weather patterns, making it harder for small-scale farmers to maintain their traditional farming practices and secure their livelihoods.
- Farmers are adjusting to changing weather patterns by blending traditional farming methods with new techniques, aiming to safeguard their livelihoods and ensure the land remains fertile and productive.
- While experts acknowledge farmers’ efforts to adapt, they warn that these efforts alone will not suffice as climate change impacts intensify, stressing the need for external support to sustain local livelihoods and preserve traditional farming practices.
Surgically implanted tags offer rare insight into rehabilitated sea turtles
In 2021, the New England Aquarium in the U.S. state of Massachusetts began surgically implanting acoustic tags in rescued loggerhead sea turtles before returning them to the ocean. Four years on, these tags are providing a rare peek into where rehabilitated turtles travel. “Surgically implanted acoustic transmitters have been used for many years in many […]
Hotter weather threatens heart health, Australian study warns
Extreme heat is putting people in Australia at serious risk of heart problems and premature deaths, according to new research. As the climate warms, rising temperatures could more than double Australia’s burden of cardiovascular diseases by 2050, unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, and people take measures to adapt to the heat, researchers found. Cardiovascular […]
African forum on urban forests calls for greater access to green spaces
- Researchers policymakers, and civil society gathered at the African Urban Forest Forum in Johannesburg to discuss the role of urban forests in African cities.
- The forum centered on how trees can make cities more climate-resilient, providing more equitable access to green spaces, and finding sustainable financing strategy for urban forests.
- In a declaration at the end of the forum, participants called for greater collaboration to increase tree canopy cover in cities and address the combined challenges of rapid urbanisation, climate change and historical inequalities.
Africa’s last tropical glaciers are melting away along with local livelihoods
- Africa’s remaining tropical glaciers are rapidly disappearing as greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming.
- New maps published by Project Pressure show the Stanley Plateau glacier, in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains, lost nearly 30% of its surface area between 2020 and 2024.
- The Rwenzoris’ glaciers are a vital source of water for more than 5 million people living in the plains below the mountain range; they also have cultural significance.
- Project Pressure’s ongoing surveys, carried out in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority, are intended to provide local authorities with data needed to adapt to the loss of the glaciers and other impacts of climate change.
An arachnid in your orchid? Ornamental plant trade risks spreading invasive species
What’s new: Your recently imported ornamental tree might have a stowaway spider or lizard hidden in its branches, a recent study warns. What’s more, these accidentally transported wildlife can turn into invasive pests in their new environment, researchers say. What the study says: The increasing popularity of imported ornamental plants has resulted in a multibillion-dollar […]
World Water Day: 3 stories of resistance and restoration from around the globe
More than 2 billion people around the world live without access to safe drinkable water, as rivers, groundwater, lakes and glaciers face continued threats of pollution and overexploitation due to urbanization, environmental destruction, and climate change. This World Water Day, Mongabay looks back at some of its coverage from 2024 on how local communities are […]
Conservationists, fishing industry find balance on protecting African penguins
Conservation NGOs and commercial sardine and anchovy fisheries in South Africa have reached an out-of-court settlement agreeing to extents of fishing closures around six key African penguin breeding colonies. The agreement, endorsed by the environment minister, was made a court order on March 18. The boundaries of the new fishing closures achieve “the sweet spot […]
With climate change, cryosphere melt scales up as a threat to planetary health
- Earth’s cryosphere — comprised of ice sheets, glaciers, permafrost and snowfall — is in a rapid state of flux due to escalating climate change, with numerous studies underlining the grave risks posed by the thaw.
- Today, that worldwide meltdown poses new threats to human lives — endangering freshwater supplies and food security while increasing the risks of natural disasters and disease outbreaks. Cryosphere loss poses immense dangers to the environment, agriculture, economy and society according to a new report.
- If emissions continue unabated, these problems will only worsen. Scientists warn of compounding risks as cryosphere melt escalates, including sea level rise, the slowing of ocean currents, and the triggering of feedbacks that will add to climate change.
- 2025 is designated the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Experts are calling for drastic cuts to carbon emissions because each fraction of a degree of warming avoided counts toward the preservation of the cryosphere along with the ecosystem services that ice, snow and permafrost provide.
‘Sustainable’ palm oil firms continue illegal peatland clearing despite permit revocation
- 0Three palm oil companies in Indonesian Borneo, including subsidiaries of the country’s top deforesting firm in 2023, continue to clear protected peatlands and forests despite having their permits revoked.
- Despite also holding Indonesia’s sustainable palm oil certification, the ISPO, the companies have been found draining peatlands, deforesting, and expanding plantations in violation of environmental laws.
- The companies have faced multiple government sanctions, yet continue operations unchecked, highlighting Indonesia’s ongoing struggles with enforcing environmental regulations.
- Peatland destruction releases vast amounts of CO₂, contributing significantly to climate change; the report calls for stricter law enforcement; expanded deforestation regulations in the EU, a top export market; and better transparency in the palm oil sector.
Brazil declares environmental emergency ahead of 2025 fire season
Brazil has declared a nationwide environmental emergency to prevent another devastating fire season in 2025. In 2024, record-breaking blazes scorched millions of hectares of native vegetation in the Amazon Rainforest and other biodiversity-rich biomes. The measure, decreed by environment minister Marina Silva on Feb. 27, gives authorities extra powers and resources to nip wildfires in […]
Bleak future for Karoo succulents as desert expands in South Africa
- Recent population surveys show continued decline in two desert-adapted succulent tree aloe species, with conservationists fearing for the state of an understudied third species.
- A years-long drought has accelerated spreading dust-bowl conditions following decades of mining and heavy grazing, with grave consequences for endemic succulents.
- A conservation triage should prioritize cultivating at-risk species in nurseries and botanical gardens, many of which are unlikely to survive reintroduction into their natural habitats.
‘3,000 year-old’ trees in Tanzania are new species
- A group of botanists has discovered a new species of rainforest tree in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains.
- A total of around 100 mature trees were found growing in two village land forest reserves surrounded by abandoned croplands, and initial assessments suggest some of them could be up to 3,000 years old.
- The team behind the discovery says the trees are vulnerable to extinction because of their low numbers and tiny distribution.
- But the area in which they were found is the site of a forest restoration project, giving hope for their long-term survival.
‘Unprecedented’ Supreme Court bill threatens Indigenous rights in Brazil
- Presented in February by Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, a draft bill violates Indigenous people’s constitutional rights by stripping their veto power against impactful activities on their ancestral lands and adding further obstacles to an already long land demarcation process.
- Critics say the Supreme Federal Court’s act is “unprecedented” in Brazil’s history by an institution that’s entitled to protect Indigenous and minorities’ rights — as dictated by the Constitution.
- The move comes months after the same court decided those Indigenous rights couldn’t be stripped by a legislative bill, with the support of Mendes.
- Critics say the bill “brings together the main threats to Indigenous peoples” and “directly contradicts the Brazilian Constitution, the decisions of the Supreme Court itself and international human rights law.”
Australia faces inflation, agriculture losses after Cyclone Alfred
The Australian government has warned of impacts to the country’s economy in the wake of Cyclone Alfred that caused massive losses to infrastructure, agriculture and the dairy industries when it struck in late February. The horticultural industry was among the worst hit, with strong winds toppling and damaging hundreds of orchard trees, and floodwaters inundating […]
Sri Lanka communities left gasping for climate mitigation support
- Despite being highly vulnerable to climate risk, Sri Lanka is slow to tap into climate funding due to a range of issues including inadequate data systems, institutional weaknesses and limited capacity to design and implement viable projects.
- Sri Lanka’s disaster management units require significant funding to initiate mitigation measures amid increasing climate change impacts, where the most vulnerable populations bear the brunt of climate impacts.
- The island’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are still to be submitted, adding to delays in pursuing climate finance opportunities for Sri Lanka.
- With many people vulnerable to climate change impacts and lacking adaptive capacity, building resilience calls for much higher financial investments in climate adaptation.
Political appointments in Indonesian climate program spark outcry over accountability
- Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has appointed seemingly unqualified members of his political party to a key program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, raising concerns over political favoritism and lack of climate expertise.
- The program is largely funded by Norway and the U.K., with critics warning that donor money is being misused for political appointments rather than forest conservation.
- Norway has called for accountability but remains passive, stating that fund allocation is Indonesia’s responsibility; activists have urged both Norway and the U.K. to audit spending and ensure funds aren’t misallocated.
- Experts warn that time is running out to meet Indonesia’s 2030 climate targets, and that failure could harm Indonesia’s global reputation and worsen climate-related disasters.
The rough road to sustainable farming in an Amazon deforestation hotspot
- Far from international forums and economical centers, locals in one of the Amazon deforestation hotspots seek alternatives to agribusiness and gold mines.
- Mongabay went to Pará state’s southwest and found examples of people struggling to keep sustainable initiatives in a region dominated by soy, cattle, gold and logging.
- Despite the bioeconomy buzz, people working on the ground say they miss support from banks and public administrations.
Future for Nature Award 2025 winners conserve frogs, pangolins, dwarf deer
Three young conservationists were recently named winners of the 2025 Future For Nature (FFN) Awards for their initiatives to conserve amphibians, pangolins and Andean wildlife. The winners will each receive 50,000 euros ($54,000), FFN said in a statement. “Working in conservation can be tough,” Anthony Waddle, the winner from Australia, told Mongabay by email. “We […]
‘Sham’ federal firings suspended, but NOAA’s future remains uncertain
On March 13, U.S federal Judge James Bredar issued an order requiring the Trump administration reinstate thousands of probationary federal employees recently fired as part of government downsizing. The reinstatement order applies across 18 agencies including the Department of Commerce, which administers the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA, which had already fired roughly […]
California ground squirrels shock scientists by hunting and eating voles
After more than a decade studying California ground squirrels, Jennifer Smith felt she had a solid understanding of their behavior. Then, in the summer of 2024, her students spotted something she never expected: one of the squirrels chased, killed and ate a vole, a small rodent common across the western coast of North America. Until […]
Deadly Botswana rains made more likely by climate change, rapid urbanization
Unusually heavy rainfall struck southern Botswana and eastern South Africa from Feb. 16-20, flooding cities and killing at least 31 people. In Botswana, the government said nearly 5,500 people were affected, and more than 2,000 people evacuated. A new rapid study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a team of international climate scientists analyzing extreme […]
One in five butterflies lost in the US since 2000, study finds
A study in the United States found a dramatic 22% decline in butterfly populations between 2000 and 2020. Previous research has focused on a specific butterfly species or regions of the country. For this study, researchers wanted to understand overall butterfly population trends across the U.S. They gathered records of 12.6 million individual butterflies across […]
Indonesia’s coal gasification reboot faces backlash over economic, environmental risks
- Indonesia is reviving plans to develop coal gasification plants to produce hydrogen and dimethyl ether (DME), aiming to reduce reliance on imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with funding from the newly launched Danantara sovereign wealth fund.
- Experts warn that coal gasification is economically unviable, with previous plans falling through due to high costs, and that the government may need to provide large subsidies to make the initiative financially feasible.
- Environmental concerns include high carbon emissions from DME production, increased air pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity threats, contradicting Indonesia’s energy transition commitments.
- Critics argue that using state funds for coal gasification poses financial risks, urging the government to prioritize renewable energy investments instead for a more sustainable and cost-effective energy transition. coal combustion and threatens air quality, water sources, and biodiversity.
Re:wild and Age of Union announce conservation partnership
- The nonprofits Re:wild and Age of Union announced a new partnership to scale up their conservation efforts to focus on protecting critical ecosystems and developing creative projects like documentaries and art installations.
- Their first collaboration will be a million-dollar restoration project in Madagascar, where 90% of original forest cover has been destroyed by slash-and-burn agriculture and the overexploitation of natural resources.
- Leaders of both organizations said partnerships like this will be the key to scaling up conservation efforts and have a lasting impact on local communities.
To save a Honduran reef, locals craft custom gear and hunt invasive lionfish
Without a natural predator, invasive lionfish, which damage coral reefs, have become widespread throughout the Caribbean over the last several decades. To prevent further harm off the northern coast of Honduras, locals have resorted to crafting their own spears to effectively and safely hunt lionfish, reports Mongabay contributor Fritz Pinnow. Julio San Martín Chicas, program […]
2024 was worst year for British bumblebees: Report
Bumblebee numbers in Great Britain declined by almost a quarter in 2024 compared with the 2010-23 average, making it the worst year for the genus Bombus since records began, according to the latest “BeeWalk” report. BeeWalk, run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, is an annual standardized monitoring program, in which volunteers and partner organizations record […]
A tale of two cities: What drove 2024’s Valencia and Porto Alegre floods?
- In 2024, catastrophic floods occurred in the cities of Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Valencia, Spain. These two record floods number among the thousands of extreme weather events that saw records for temperature, drought and deluge shattered across the globe. Such horrors have only continued in 2025, with the cataclysmic wildfires in Los Angeles.
- Scientists have clearly pegged these disasters to carbon emissions and intensifying climate change. But a closer look at Porto Alegre and Valencia shows that other causes contributed to the floods and droughts there, and elsewhere on the planet — problems requiring nuanced but Earth-wide changes in how people live and society develops.
- Researchers especially point to the drastic destabilization of the world’s water cycle, which is increasingly bringing far too little precipitation to many regions for far too long, only to suddenly switch to too much rain all at once — sometimes a year’s worth in a single day, as happened in Valencia when 445.5 mm (17.5 inches) fell in 24 hours.
- The problem isn’t only CO2 emissions, but also local deforestation and hardened urban infrastructure that promote flooding. But what may be seriously underestimated is how large-scale destruction of forest, marshland and other vegetation is dangerously altering rainfall patterns, a theory proposed decades ago by a little-known Spanish scientist.
Will Brazil’s President Lula wake up to the climate crisis? (commentary)
- The global climate system is even nearer than we thought to a tipping point where global warming escapes from human control. Emissions from both fossil fuel combustion and the loss and degradation of forests must be drastically reduced, beginning immediately.
- Brazil would be one of the greatest victims if global warming escapes from control, but, excepting the Ministry of Environment and Climate change, virtually the entire Brazilian government is promoting projects that will increase emissions for decades to come.
- Brazil’s President Lula so far shows no signs of waking up to the climate crisis, to its implications for Brazil, and to the climatic consequences of his current policies.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Flash floods, blackouts and a ‘sharknado’ as Cyclone Alfred lashes Australia
Heavy rainfall and flooding damaged homes and vehicles in Australia, with locals even reporting shark sightings in inland canals. Cyclone Alfred formed over the Coral Sea on Feb. 22, NASA Earth Observatory reported. It intensified for a week offshore causing heavy rainfall along the coast even before making landfall in Australia on March 8. The […]
Dry season predictability and temperature drive dengue cases: Study
What’s new: Rising temperatures and variation in the length of dry seasons appear to influence the prevalence of dengue fever, according to a recent study conducted in the Philippines. What the study says: Cases of dengue fever are rising globally; in the Americas, they more than doubled from 4.6 million cases in 2023 to 10.6 […]
10 unique community-led conservation solutions in the face of environmental despair
- Recent events and policy decisions across the world are worrying conservationists and climate researchers.
- Events include funding cuts to conservation projects, countries and companies rolling back on their climate commitments, and reports of declining wildlife populations as governments continue pursuing unsustainable economic development efforts.
- Although environmental efforts globally have been impacted, community conservation solutions persist with proven impacts for biodiversity conservation while restoring nature and benefiting people.
- Here, Mongabay lists out ten unique community-led initiatives across the world that show positive and proven impacts.
Collaboration, data and tracking move Africa’s Great Green Wall toward its goal
- After years of delays due to insufficient funding and prevailing conflicts, the Great Green Wall in the Sahel, aimed at preventing desertification, gained momentum with an accelerator program announced in 2021.
- As part of the accelerator, efforts are underway to address delays, improve monitoring progress of different projects that are part of the GGW initiative, track them by country, and evaluate their effectiveness, including building a new online database.
- GGW partners say they hope the harmonized monitoring and progress tracking can help sustain funding and realize the objectives of the ambitious initiative in the Sahel.
Indonesia families evicted for Jakarta PIK2 project flooded at relocation site
- The peak of the rainy season in Indonesia has caused damage across much of the archipelago, with major landslides in forested uplands.
- On the north coast of Jakarta’s greater metropolitan area, families displaced by an upscale property development were relocated to a site that later flooded.
- A landslide in January killed 26 people in one village in Central Java province, while a married couple were swept away last week in a flash flood in a nearby community.
- Research predicts annual rainfall could increase 10% in volume by 2050 in Indonesia, while incidents of extreme rain could become more frequent.
What have we learned from 15 years of REDD+ policy research? (analysis)
- The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation program (REDD+) is supposed to provide participating countries, jurisdictions and communities in the Global South with incentives to protect their forests.
- This analysis draws on more than a decade of comparative research and identifies a broad array of actors involved in REDD+, with large power differences between them. The authors argue that the power imbalances among these groups are obstructing progress toward shifting away from “business-as-usual” deforestation in the tropics.
- The ambition for sustainable forest “transformation” is at risk of being co-opted by those who stand to benefit from maintaining the status quo, and the authors say it is therefore important for the research community to keep asking what proposed reforms and changes may represent, and whom they serve.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Mangroves at risk as El Salvador begins work on new airport
- Officials broke ground last week on the Airport of the Pacific near the coastal town of La Unión, in eastern El Salvador, where mangrove ecosystems support wildlife and prevent coastal erosion.
- While the project could bring thousands of jobs to an undeveloped part of the country, it could also lead to massive development where coastal habitats currently protect drinking water for local communities.
- The airport is part of President Nayib Bukele’s plan to invest over a billion dollars into the eastern side of the country.
Forest biomass growth to soar through 2030, impacting tropical forests
- The forest biomass industry — cutting forests to make wood pellets to be burned in power plants — will continue booming through 2030, says a new report. By then, pellets made in the U.S., Canada, EU and Russia could top 31 million metric tons annually, with those made in tropical nations surging to over 11 million tons yearly.
- The U.K. and EU are forecast to go on burning huge amounts of pellets (more than 18 million metric tons each year by 2030). But Asia will burn even more (27 million tons), with Japan and South Korea expanding use, as Taiwan enters the market.
- Scientists warn that forest biomass burning is unsustainable and produces more CO2 emissions than coal per unit of energy generated. Pellet-making is contributing to deforestation and biodiversity loss in North America, and will increasingly do so in tropical nations, including Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Forest advocates continue campaigning against biomass for energy, achieving some hard-won victories. Enviva, the world’s largest biomass producer, went bankrupt in 2024, while South Korea and Japan have taken first steps to reduce subsidies for wood pellets. But the U.K. continues offering millions in subsidies to biomass power plants.
Yaku Raymi: The Quechua Ritual to Save a Glacier
SANTA FE, Peru — What happens when a glacier dies? In the community of Santa Fe, in Peru, water is disappearing, animals are dying due to a lack of pasture and rainfall has become sporadic. The community members know that climate change is affecting the apu, or mountain god, but they say that transforming a […]
In the drylands of northern Kenya, a ‘summer school’ for young researchers
- In northern Kenya’s Isiolo county, young researchers who study pastoralism gathered for a week of training and lectures.
- Most of the researchers were from East Africa; many were themselves raised in pastoralist communities.
- Isiolo county, a semiarid rangeland where most people make their living herding livestock, has been hit hard by drought in recent years.
- The researchers said they wanted to change the “old narrative” about pastoralist communities and their relationship to the environment.
COP16 biodiversity summit in Rome OKs finance pathway; big obstacles loom
- When the COP16 U.N. biodiversity summit ended without a final agreement in October 2024 in Cali, Colombia, negotiators agreed to meet in Rome, Italy, in February. There, the parties mapped a sweeping permanent plan on how to raise $200 billion annually by 2030 to reverse global species extinctions and conserve life on Earth.
- In Rome, the parties approved mechanisms for raising, tracking and reporting on that huge sum, with funding potentially coming from nations, philanthropies, banks and even corporations. The Achilles’ heel of this agreement is that no funding commitment made by any party now or in the future is legally binding.
- Even as participants celebrated this funding strategy breakthrough, two major powers dealt blows to finance targets. The U.S. under President Donald Trump abandoned USAID conservation financial commitments abroad, while the U.K. announced a shift in priorities away from climate and biodiversity foreign aid to military spending.
- The final Rome agreement also reduced the likelihood that trillions of dollars paid out by the world’s nations in “perverse subsidies” to industries that do the greatest harm to life on Earth would be redirected in a timely way to global biodiversity goals.
Agroforestry stores less carbon than reforestation, but has many other benefits, study finds
- New research finds that a reforestation and agroforestry project on Indigenous land in Panama missed its carbon sequestration goal, but returned better-than-average results and had many other benefits.
- The study found that tree planting had higher carbon storage, but agroforestry brought benefits to the local community in terms of extra income and food security.
- Fire was the biggest reason why the carbon goal was missed, which is an increasingly common challenge for carbon projects worldwide due to climate change.
- Researchers say project funders need to work closely with local communities to align goals around carbon storage and livelihoods.
From Kenya to Madagascar, massive effort aims to put seagrasses on the map
In 2019, scientists set out to map the extent of seagrass in Seychelles, an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa. There, they hit upon a startling number: More than 90% of the country’s “blue carbon,” or the carbon stored in marine ecosystems, is contained within seagrass meadows. Under the Large-scale Seagrass Mapping and […]
Pastoralists know every landscape has a history: Interview with Gufu Oba
- Pastoralism, the practice of moving livestock like cattle across landscapes to forage, provides a livelihood for between 200 million and 300 million people globally.
- In East Africa, pastoralists are being pressured by climate disruptions, infrastructure projects, land-use changes, and in some cases wildlife conservation projects.
- Gufu Oba, professor emeritus from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, tells Mongabay that pastoralists are an integral part of the world’s rangelands, and their knowledge is crucial to protecting those landscapes.
Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems
- Contrary to popular conception, Lake Chad is not shrinking; new research shows that the volume of water in the lake has increased since its low point in the 1980s.
- However, more intense rain in the region, coupled with the impacts of historic drought, increases the risk of flooding.
- The region is also plagued by continuing conflict and insecurity, making to harder for people to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- A Lutheran World Federation project is working with communities in the Lake Chad Basin on sustainable agriculture and fisheries, land restoration, conflict resolution and more.
India’s fisherwomen getting left behind by blue economy policies
Women make up nearly half of India’s marine fisheries workforce, yet policies to strengthen the country’s blue economy are leaving women behind, reports contributor Priyamvada Kowshik for Mongabay India. India’s draft blue economy policy framework aims to significantly boost the contribution of marine resources to the country’s GDP, and at the same time improve the […]
Yanomami youth turn to drones to watch their Amazon territory
- In the Yanomami Indigenous Land, the largest in Brazil, leaders believe in their youths’ skills to maintain their ancestors’ legacy and safeguard the future of a sprawling territory covering almost the size of Portugal.
- Located in the Brazilian Amazon between the states of Roraima and Amazonas, the Indigenous territory faced a severe humanitarian and environmental crisis with the invasion of around 20,000 illegal miners in search of gold and cassiterite.
- Trained youths can now act as multipliers of drone monitoring and watch the land against new invasions.
To benefit biodiversity & climate, restoring lost forests works best: Study
- A new study in Science indicates that reforestation projects, which restore degraded or destroyed forests, are the most effective land-based method for carbon removal and biodiversity protection.
- Meanwhile, the authors found that afforestation, in which trees are added where they didn’t exist before, and bioenergy cropping, in which carbon-removing crops are planted to make biofuels, can have negative effects on wildlife, outweighing the benefits of carbon removal.
- The research highlights the importance of identifying the best places for reforestation projects, but the authors emphasize that reforestation is not a replacement for fossil-fuel reduction.
African NGOs appeal judgement in controversial oil pipeline case
Four NGOs recently appealed to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to have their concerns about a contentious oil pipeline heard on merit. The landmark case, filed four years ago, had previously been dismissed on technical grounds. The four East African NGOs — the Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT) and the […]
In Nepal, a eucalyptus boom became an ecological cautionary tale
- Nepal’s Sagarnath Forest Development Project which ran a reforestation program from 1977-1984 and introduced eucalyptus as a fast-growing, low-maintenance solution for deforestation and fuelwood needs.
- While eucalyptus initially thrived, it depleted soil moisture and negatively impacted nearby crops, leading to reduced yields and financial losses for the farmers who had replaced traditional crops like rice and mustard with large-scale eucalyptus plantations.
- Discontent over eucalyptus’s effects, and the lack of guidance by those who promoted the planting scheme, led to widespread removal of trees, legal disputes among farmers, and complaints to local governments.
- Experts say such large-scale exotic tree plantations are no longer permitted under national and international biodiversity laws, with the project’s failure highlighting the importance of considering ecological sustainability, soil health and informed decision-making in reforestation efforts.
Mangrove deforestation for commodities limits conservation funding in SE Asia
- Southeast Asia’s mangrove forests are still at risk of conversion for oil palm, rice and aquaculture, despite their immense potential for mitigating global biodiversity and climate goals.
- Commodity-driven deforestation and a range of climate change-related risks threaten the long-term survival of 85% of the region’s mangrove forests that could feasibly host carbon credit projects, a new study finds.
- The long-term risks undermine the integrity of blue carbon credits as a potential source of much-needed conservation funding, the study says, ultimately jeopardizing the capacity of mangroves to sequester carbon and provide ecosystem benefits.
- The authors recommend a diverse suite of conservation funding mechanisms rather than relying solely on blue carbon credits, and also urge greater investments in community-led mangrove initiatives.
Deforestation and airstrip close to isolated teen’s Indigenous land in Brazil Amazon
On the evening of Feb. 12, a teenager from an isolated Indigenous group voluntarily made contact with people in a fishing village in the western Brazilian Amazon, according to Brazil’s Indigenous agency, Funai. He returned to his land on Feb. 15. The young man is likely part of an isolated Indigenous group in the Mamoriá […]
An investment fund that pays out for nature? Mongabay podcast explains the TFFF
The Brazilian government in 2023 announced a novel funding mechanism to incentivize forest preservation: the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). In an episode of Mongabay’s weekly podcast Newscast, host Mike DiGirolamo explored what experts think about the TFFF, what it can do, and what it can’t. Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso, who has written previously […]
Lula pushes oil drilling at mouth of Amazon despite climate risks
- Despite his climate leadership stance ahead of COP30, Brazilian President Lula da Silva is pushing to approve oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon.
- Lula argues that oil revenues will fund Brazil’s energy transition. Critics say this is a flawed justification for expanding oil extraction under the guise of financing climate solutions.
- If projects get the green light, activists highlight the potential for significant environmental damage, including threats to biodiversity and Indigenous communities.
- Critics fear that approving this project will set a precedent for further oil exploration in the Amazon region, worsening environmental risks. In June, Brazil’s petroleum agency will auction more than 300 oil blocks across the country, including 47 at the mouth of the Amazon and 21 onshore in central Brazil.
Conservation in wealthy nations may worsen global biodiversity loss, study finds
Efforts to rewild landscapes across Europe and North America could be making global biodiversity loss worse by shifting environmental destruction to poorer, more biodiverse regions, a new study warns. Scientists from the University of Cambridge, U.K., found that when farming and resource extraction move abroad to accommodate conservation in wealthy countries, it can result in […]
16 new-to-science grasshopper species found in US, Mexico deserts
What’s new: A recent study has identified 16 new-to-science species of grasshoppers living in the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico. One of the grasshoppers was named after the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, while others reference actors from shows like Star Trek. What the study says: The grasshopper genus Agroecotettix, known to live in very […]
Vicuña poop creates biodiversity hotspots as glaciers retreat rapidly
- The vicuña, a wild relative of the llama, could help reestablish plants in barren areas where glaciers have melted, according to a recent study in the high Andes of Peru.
- As vicuñas tend to poop in the same places, they establish communal latrines where soils have much higher moisture, organic matter, nutrients and microorganisms than surrounding areas formerly covered by ice.
- Researchers say they believe these more nutrient-rich soil patches can speed up plant colonization by as much as a century and provide refuge for plant species moving uphill as temperatures increase.
- Peru is losing its glaciers at a worrying speed, with research pointing out that in the Central Andes, between 84% and 98% of their glaciers might disappear by 2050.
Taranaki Maunga, New Zealand mountain, declared a ‘legal person’
New Zealand has formally granted a mountain legal personhood for the first time, recognizing not only its importance to Māori tribes but also paving the way for its future environmental protection. The law, passed in January, notes that the mountain, located in Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island, will be called by its Māori name […]
As Indonesia, US back away from climate goals, hopes fade to retire coal plants early
- Despite commitments to transition away from coal, Indonesia faces major hurdles in closing coal-fired power plants due to economic concerns, legal risks, and political resistance.
- Indonesia’s climate envoy has cast doubt on the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, calling coal plant closures “economic suicide,” threatening the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
- High-ranking government officials and investors with coal assets, along with concerns over legal repercussions for state losses, hinder efforts to retire coal plants early.
- While some renewable projects are progressing, restrictive policies and funding shortfalls limit expansion, though debt swaps for clean energy investment offer a potential solution.
US security think tank warns of China’s grip over Indonesian nickel industry
- A report from a U.S. government-funded think tank, C4ADS, has raised concerns about Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity being controlled by Chinese companies, many with ties to the Chinese government.
- The report says China’s dominance could limit Indonesia’s control over pricing and supply while giving China geopolitical leverage, particularly over countries like the U.S. that rely on nickel for electric vehicle production.
- Chinese-owned nickel processing facilities in Indonesia are also major environmental polluters, relying heavily on coal power, contributing to deforestation, and facing scrutiny over poor labor conditions and workplace fatalities.
- While Indonesia has expressed interest in diversifying investment, C4ADS noted that reducing China’s influence will require significant foreign investment and structural changes in the industry.
Only 17% of peatlands, vital to curbing climate change, are protected, study finds
- Just 17% of peatlands worldwide are protected, according to a new study, despite the fact that they hold more carbon than all the world’s forests.
- Peatlands are waterlogged accumulations of dead, partly decomposed vegetation, and are scattered widely from the northern latitudes through temperate zones to the equatorial tropics.
- The new maps show that more than 25% of peatlands overlap with Indigenous territories, an area of some 1.1 million square kilometers (about 425,000 square miles); much of that land doesn’t overlap with other forms of protection, providing an opportunity to keep peatlands intact through the strengthening of Indigenous land rights.
- Conservation scientists see targeting peatlands for protection as “low-hanging fruit” to deal with climate change because they’ve stockpiled so much carbon on only about 3% of land on Earth.
Beyond COP, former UN climate chief talks nuance, optimism on Mongabay podcast
Christiana Figueres, the former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change, led the climate negotiations that birthed the landmark Paris Agreement. Yet, in November 2024, after the 29th climate talks held in Azerbaijan, Figueres was among 22 scientists who wrote to the U.N. calling for “a fundamental overhaul of the COP.” […]
Many companies meet climate pledges on paper — not on the ground, analyst says
A recent paper in the journal Nature Climate Change concludes there is limited accountability for corporations that fail to achieve their climate change mitigation targets. Lofty sounding initiatives like “carbon neutrality” or “net zero emissions” goals are often met with positive fanfare, but when companies eventually fail to reach them, there are scant consequences. According […]
Photo series on Himalayan water-saving ice stupas wins global award
A photo series on ice stupas — artificial glaciers in the northern Indian Himalayas — recently won first place in the 2024-25 Onewater’s Walk of Water: Water Towers photo story contest. Ice stupas are towering man-made ice structures engineered to store winter water and provide irrigation during the dry summer months. Slovenian photographer Ciril Jazbec […]
As the rainforest gets drier, Amazon Indigenous groups thirst for clean water
- The 2024 extreme and historical drought that hit the Amazon exposed a chronic problem: access to drinking water and sanitation in Indigenous lands, where only a third of households have proper water supply systems.
- In some Amazon rivers in Brazil, cases of diseases related to inadequate basic sanitation, such as malaria and acute diarrhea, have been increasing amid climate change and population growth.
- Indigenous organizations have been demanding the implementation of adapted infrastructures in the villages, such as water tanks, wells, cesspools and septic tanks.
- The Brazilian federal government already has resources and plans to begin addressing these issues.
Australian bushfires leave wildlife facing increased predator risk, decades of recovery
Simultaneous wildfires since December 2024 have left Grampians, Little Desert and the Great Otway National Parks in Australia devastated. Scientists say it will take decades for plants and wildlife to recover. Michael Clarke, emeritus professor of zoology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, told Mongabay by email the area burnt in Little Desert alone is […]
Bonobos can recognize ignorance and help, a new ‘milestone’ in ape intelligence
Bonobos, one of humanity’s closest relatives, can tell when a human doesn’t know something and steps in to help — a cognitive ability never before identified in nonhuman apes, a study found. Researchers tested this in a game with three bonobos (Pan paniscus) living at Ape Initiative in Iowa, U.S. One bonobo, Kanzi, 44, is […]
Protecting peatlands and mangroves could halve Southeast Asia’s land-use emissions
- Protecting and restoring peatlands and mangroves across Southeast Asia could cut regional land-use emissions by half, equivalent to 16% of global land-use emissions, according to a new study.
- It found that rewetting 5.34 million hectares (13.4 million acres) of drained peatlands, along with restoring degraded peat swamp forests and mangroves, could significantly enhance carbon sequestration, with Indonesia having the highest mitigation potential.
- Southeast Asia lost 41% of its peat swamp forests and 7.4% of its mangroves from 2001 to 2022, largely due to plantations and aquaculture, contributing 691.8 million metric tons of CO2 annually, with peatland burning alone accounting for up to 20% of emissions.
- The study underscores conservation and restoration as cost-effective climate solutions capable of drastically reducing national emissions, and calls on governments to integrate these efforts into their climate strategies to meet and enhance their Paris Agreement commitments.
After LA, fire crisis reaches Latin America — from Mexico to Argentina
- As the effects of climate change become increasingly evident, Latin American countries are facing complex circumstances when it comes to defending themselves against forest fires — and urban fires.
- In Argentinian Patagonia, fires have destroyed more than 10,100 hectares (24,958 acres) of native forests, including areas of Nahuel Huapi National Park. There are also active fires in Chile that have killed three firefighters.
- Mongabay Latam talked to specialists in order to understand what is happening in some of the territories that have been hit hardest by the fires.
- Experts agree that it is urgent for Latin American governments, which often have limited capacity, to double down on their prevention efforts and allocate sufficient resources to fire management strategies, taking timely action against forest fires.
Rice fields of India host valuable, but disappearing, wild edibles
Rice fields across India host a variety of wild, edible plants that Indigenous communities value for their nutritional and medicinal properties. But these “weeds” are rapidly disappearing. To revive them, some individuals and organizations in the country are making efforts to document and preserve their diversity, reports contributor Sharmila Vaidyanathan for Mongabay India. For instance, […]
Climate change made LA fires more likely amid hot, dry conditions: Report
The devastating fires that swept through parts of Los Angeles, U.S., in January raged for more than three weeks before being fully contained. In that time, they burned through more than 20,200 hectares (50,000 acres) of forests and homes, killing at least 29 people. A recent report from World Weather Attribution (WWA) finds that climate […]
Deforestation boom in Gran Chaco raises alarm over Argentina’s forest law
- The Gran Chaco was hit by a rise in deforestation in 2024, damaging the dry forest ecosystem that spans an area more than one and a half times the size of California across Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil.
- In 2024, Argentina lost 149,649 hectares (369,791 acres) of its approximately 52.6 million hectares (130 million acres) of Gran Chaco forest — most of it from agriculture and fires, according to a Greenpeace report.
- The problem may stem from a flawed categorization system in which provincial governments are supposed to rate the rigor of forest protections in different areas.
- Critics of the system say it’s out of date and easily manipulated to allow development in forested areas that should otherwise be protected or exploited sustainably.
Fossil fuel, plastic, and agrichemical companies coordinate social media on climate change, study finds.
A recent study reveals a strong connection between three fossil fuel-based industries — oil and gas, plastics, and agrichemicals — and their use of social media to deny climate change and delay climate action. Energy, plastics and agrichemicals all rely on the same feedstock: fossil fuels. The biggest energy companies sell oil and gas predominantly; […]
Researchers find two individuals of UK’s ‘loneliest bat’ species
For more than two decades, researchers knew of just a single, male individual of the greater mouse-eared bat that would repeatedly hibernate in an unused railway tunnel in Sussex, U.K. This male bat became known as the “loneliest soul in Britain” since he was without a companion. But researchers have now found that he isn’t […]
Declining biodiversity and emerging diseases are entwined, more study needed
- A new review study traces the complex links between biodiversity loss and emerging infectious diseases — though one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other.
- Instead, complex interactions between factors (including climate change, habitat loss, agricultural practices, and closer contact between wildlife, livestock and people) can contribute to emergent infectious diseases and new pandemics.
- It’s now well understood that human actions are causing a major increase in pandemics. To stave off future global outbreaks, researchers say we need to better understand the shared upstream drivers of both biodiversity loss and emerging disease.
- The study highlights significant gaps in the monitoring and surveillance of wildlife pathogens worldwide. It suggests that prevention and early interventions targeting locales and situations where emergent disease spillover is likely are important to avoiding future human pandemics.
Japan sees record snowfall as Australia braces for cyclone Zelia
Japan: Record-breaking snowfall wreaked havoc in northern Japan last week, leaving at least three people dead and 54 injured as of Feb. 10, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Among the worst hit regions were Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost island, and the Japan Sea coast. The thick snow halted transportation in many areas […]
Brazil has seen a 460% increase in climate-related disasters since the 1990s
- An unprecedented study analyzed data from 1991 to 2023 and found that each 0.1°C increase in average global air temperature led to 360 new climate disaster events and damages in Brazil amounting to R$ 5.6 billion ($970 million).
- The global warming process has accelerated over the current decade, resulting in an average of 4,077 recorded climate-related disasters per year in Brazil, compared to 725 per year during the 1990s — an increase of 460%.
- The extreme events recorded over the period — totaling 64,280 — include droughts, floods and storms in 5,117 Brazilian municipalities; over 219 million people were affected, 78 million of whom during the last four years.
- Despite the increased number of disasters and the damage they caused, Brazil’s federal budget for risk and disaster management has been cut every year between 2012 and 2023 by an average of R$ 200 million ($34.6 million) per year.
Mining dredges return to Amazon River’s main tributary, months after crackdown
- Five months after a major operation by federal forces, illegal mining dredges are back on the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon.
- The return of the floating structures shows the resilience of illegal gold mining in the Amazon, which destroys the riverbeds and contaminates the water with mercury.
- As the federal administration closes miners’ siege of Indigenous territories, the illegal miners are migrating to less-monitored areas, experts says.
Indigenous protests in Brazil topple law seen as threat to rural schools
After 23 days of protests, Indigenous groups and teachers in the Brazilian state of Pará have successfully pressured Governor Helder Barbalho to revoke a controversial education law that favored online learning in remote communities and slashed benefits for teachers. The protests erupted in the state capital Belém, host city of the next U.N. climate summit, […]
Surge in rat numbers linked to climate warming, urbanization: Study
What’s new: Cities experiencing warmer temperatures, fewer green spaces and denser human populations are seeing a rise in rat numbers, a recent study shows. What the study says: Jonathan Richardson, a biology professor at the University of Richmond, U.S., and his colleagues wanted to check if anecdotal media claims about increasing urban rat (Rattus spp.) […]
January 2025 was warmest on record as climate change ‘overwhelms’ La Niña’s cooling
January 2025 was the warmest January on record, surpassing the previous record set by January 2024, according to satellite data from the EU’s Copernicus program. The findings were unexpected as ongoing La Niña conditions in the Pacific typically cool down global temperatures. The global average surface air temperature for the month reached 1.75° Celsius (3.15° […]
Handcrafted woodwork helps save an Amazonian reserve, one tree at a time
- A community in the Brazilian Amazon is transforming fallen trunks and dead trees into everyday items and art pieces.
- Household utensils, furniture, miniature trees and jewelry made with forest seeds are some items being produced by women and youth in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve.
- The woodshop sits in a region where rubber tappers have fought for environmental and labor rights for ago, and which still faces deforestation pressure.
What’s at stake for the environment in Ecuador’s upcoming election?
- Ecuador will hold presidential elections on Feb. 9, with incumbent center-right Daniel Noboa facing left-wing challenger Luisa González.
- Both candidates have prioritized security concerns and the economy over environmental issues like climate change, deforestation and water scarcity, but do have some policy proposals that could be promising.
- Noboa and González both promise to increase protections for forests, protected areas and Indigenous communities, but also plan to continue attracting foreign investment in mining, oil and gas, and other activities that threaten Ecuador’s vulnerable ecosystems.
Kenya wildfire threatens region of rare wildlife, plant species
- A wildfire in northeastern Kenya has likely killed thousands of plants and animals in an area home to critically endangered white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) as well as other rare species.
- There is not a complete assessment of the destruction and the Kenya Wildlife Service says larger animals may have escaped; however, many smaller animals including snakes, rodents and rare birds, as well as indigenous plants, were likely lost.
- The cause of the fire is still under investigation but bone-dry conditions combined with drought and high winds fueled the flames.
Researchers find microplastics for the first time in the Finnish Sámi waters
- Scientists and Indigenous Skolt Sámi knowledge holders have detected microplastics in the lakes and rivers that the Indigenous Sámi communities have used for generations.
- The concentration of microplastics was small, researchers found, but it was still higher than the quantity expected, given that the area is thought to be pristine.
- The average size of the microplastics was 100 micrometers and concentrations ranged from 45 to 423 microplastic particles per cubic meter.
- While the source of the microplastics is unknown, researchers say one of the sources could be from the transboundary pollution accumulated in fish that come from the ocean to the freshwaters for spawning.
Australia reeling from floods in the north, bushfires in the south
Northeastern Australia, particularly the state of Queensland, has faced record-breaking rainfall of up to 2 meters, or 6.5 feet, since Feb. 1, reportedly leaving at least two people dead. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli called the damage “quite frankly incredible,” with the state experiencing nonstop rains, heavy flooding and power outages, BBC reported. He also called […]
Researchers make the case for shift from economic growth to human well-being within planetary limits
- New research concludes that humanity would benefit more if it aims for ecological sustainability and stays within the limits of what Earth can provide, rather than pursuing relentless growth.
- The success of capitalism depends on the push for growth, which requires the use of resources and energy, and comes at the cost of ecological damage.
- Economists have proposed alternatives that focus on staying within a set of planetary boundaries that define the safe operating space for humanity.
- The review, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, draws on more than 200 resources from the scientific literature.
Brazilian soy farms and cattle pastures close in on a land where the grass is golden
- Deforestation, wildfires, illegal land use and climate changes are sources of concern for the traditional Afro-Brazilian quilombola communities in Brazil’s Jalapão region.
- Communities here rely on the sustainable harvest of the region’s native “golden grass” to craft traditional items that provide their main source of income.
- Jalapão is home to the largest mosaic of protected areas in the Cerrado, the savanna biome where the most the deforestation in Brazil occurs today: 5 million hectares (12.4 million acres) of native vegetation have been lost over the last six years.
- Jalapão’s golden grass has earned a Geographical Indication seal, giving the communities bragging rights and exclusivity for the product; but local craftspeople say there’s less of the grass to be found in the humid areas where it grows.
Indonesia mulls Paris Agreement exit, citing fairness and energy transition costs
- Indonesia is considering withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, arguing it is unfair for developing nations to comply when a major polluter like the U.S. has pulled out, again.
- Officials highlight Indonesia’s lower per capita emissions and stress the need for more financial aid to transition away from coal.
- Environmental groups warn that exiting the agreement could harm Indonesia’s economy, global reputation, and ability to secure climate funding.
- While Indonesia signed a $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deal in 2022, slow fund disbursement has fueled frustration, and coal remains central to its energy strategy.
Cyclone Elvis kills 5 in Madagascar as another storm approaches
Madagascar is bracing for Tropical Cyclone Faida to make landfall on its northern coast on Feb. 4, even as it deals with the aftermath of another recently dissipated storm, Elvis, that reportedly killed at least five people. Those killed during Elvis’s passage were involved in “lightning events” in Vohibato district in eastern Madagascar, according to […]
Underwater volcano in Barents Sea reveals diverse marine life, study finds
What’s new: Following the discovery of the underwater Borealis Mud Volcano on the Arctic seabed in 2023, researchers have now confirmed that the methane-spewing volcano is home to a diverse array of marine life thriving in the unique habitat. What the study says: In 2023, scientists from UiT The Arctic University of Norway discovered the […]
Mexican fishers relocate in wake of sea level rise, raising job concerns
- In the southern Mexican state of Tabasco, most residents of the El Bosque community have been relocated after their homes were destroyed by coastal erosion.
- Community members have expressed concern about job security, as the new site is 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) away from the sea and residents cannot as easily fish, which they depend on for their livelihoods.
- While planned relocation has emerged as a critical strategy to protect those impacted by climate change, reports have shown relocation does not always reduce socioeconomic pressures.
- Although fishers from El Bosque are concerned about the impact of the relocation on their livelihoods, some see it as an opportunity for younger generations to seek alternative livelihoods and better opportunities.
Amazon states lead rebellion on environmental enforcement
- Brazilian Amazon states are leading an offensive against environmental regulations in the Amazon and beyond.
- The movement gained momentum in October when Brazil’s granary, Mato Grosso state, approved a bill undermining a voluntary agreement to protect the Amazon from soy expansion.
- Before Mato Grosso, other Amazon states like Acre and Rondônia had already approved bills reducing protected areas and weakening the fight against illegal mining.
- With its economy highly reliant on agribusiness, Mato Grosso is considered a successful model for other parts of the Amazon.
One-third of food giants ignore fertilizer risks, report finds
Fertilizers help feed the world, but excessive use is poisoning water, polluting the air and accelerating climate change. Despite the damage fertilizers can cause, roughly a third of the world’s largest food companies don’t acknowledge any risk, while most companies that recognize the hazards do little to address them, according to a new report by […]
The warming Arctic is now a carbon source, report finds
- A combination of increased microbial activity, thawing permafrost, and more frequent wildfires now means the Arctic is releasing more carbon dioxide than it’s storing, according to the 2024 Arctic Report Card.
- The temperature has also been rising; the past nine years have been the warmest on record in the Arctic.
- The changes have affected the region’s wildlife, with migratory tundra caribou populations declining by 65% over the past two to three decades.
- The report concludes that supporting Indigenous leadership, ways of life, and sustained climate action will be crucial for understanding and responding to rapid Arctic change.
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