topic: Community-based Conservation

topic: Community-based Conservation

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Why are they killing this beautiful fish?
Lionfish are beautiful, venomous and devastating Caribbean reefs. In Honduras, divers are fighting back with homemade spears, hunting competitions and by putting lionfish on restaurant menus. Watch the full film to meet the community fighting back against one of the Caribbean’s most destructive invasive species.
Andean condors: From fear to coexistence
In a remote Colombian village where Andean condors were once feared and routinely poisoned, Doris Torres grew up seeing the birds as a threat to her sheep. But as she learned about the importance of the species, Vultur gryphus, she turned into an unlikely conservationist now leading a grassroots effort that has helped bring condors […]
Women farmers in Sumatra find a gentler way to keep elephants at bay
On the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, in the buffer zone of a national park, a women-led farming group has come up with a solution to reduce encounters with elephants. Deforestation and oil palm encroachment have stripped Tesso Nilo National Park of more than three-quarters of its old-growth forest. This has forced the park’s roughly 150 […]
Michael Painter put Indigenous land rights at the center of conservation
- Michael Painter, an ecological anthropologist who joined the Wildlife Conservation Society in 1997, spent much of his career working at the intersection of conservation, Indigenous land rights, and rural development.
- In Bolivia, he helped strengthen partnerships with Indigenous organizations in the Gran Chaco and Greater Madidi, including efforts that supported the titling and management of large Indigenous territories.
- Painter later worked within WCS to advance a human-rights-based approach to conservation, including safeguards for research involving people and stronger recognition of Indigenous rights and governance.
- Painter died on February 11, 2026.

The race to document Indigenous knowledge to protect Philippines’ birds
In the forests of the Philippines’ Mindoro Island, an urgent effort is underway to record the vanishing ecological knowledge of the Indigenous Iraya Mangyan community. As elders age and fewer young people learn beside then, and deforestation and infrastructure development threaten the island’s endemic wildlife, traditional knowledge holders are partnering with conservationists to document wildlife, […]
In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, communities build their own micro-hydropower plant
- In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, 19 families are developing a 300-kilowatt hydropower project that can provide an alternative source of income to the large-scale extractive and productive industries that are common in the Imbabura province.
- The communities own 90% of the HidroAguagrún project and half of its net electricity revenue will go directly into a trust for conservation activities once the plant is fully operational.
- The project offers a potential model for community-owned renewable energy, but replicability depends on community willingness and cohesion, water availability and funding.

This rare wild cow is making a comeback
Thailand’s banteng (Bos javanicus) population has declined dramatically across much of its range. But inside Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, this rare wild cattle species is making a comeback. Anti-poaching efforts and community-led ecotourism have allowed banteng to return to the forests, benefiting both wildlife and local livelihoods.
Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19
- As climate and economic shocks put pressure on tropical forests, a new study suggests support for rural communities could help protect forests while strengthening their ability to withstand crises.
- Forest loss in protected areas of West Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a larger decline in villages receiving health and livelihood support, the study finds.
- The findings point to health care, alternative livelihoods and other social support as potential tools for easing pressure on forests and helping forest-dependent communities adapt to future economic and environmental shocks — although the study does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Cambodia defies UN call to free ‘arbitrarily jailed’ environmental activists
- Cambodia insists five environmental activists jailed in 2024 will remain behind bars, after a U.N. working group called their detention arbitrary and urged their immediate release.
- The five members of Mother Nature Cambodia were sentenced to six to eight years in prison for allegedly plotting against the government.
- The U.N. working group found no legal basis for their detention and said their prosecution and trial violated their rights, including through discriminatory treatment and a lack of a fair trial.
- Cambodian officials maintain the activists were detained through lawful judicial proceedings, while rights advocates say the case reflects a broader government crackdown on environmental defenders.

In Java’s hills, former bird hunters are rebuilding a songbird haven
- Some former hunters on the Indonesian island of Java have abandoned catching birds for the songbird trade and have since become notable local conservation figures.
- The Menoreh Hills is a karst biosphere in Central Java province where sightings of songbirds have declined over several years due to hunting and land-use change.
- One local songbird, the Javan blue flycatcher, has become critically endangered due to hunting, with population assessments indicating the number of caged birds is at least an order of magnitude greater than the total population living freely in low- and mid-lying forests in Java.

A Sumatran villager lost ground to the sea. So he planted mangroves
In a coastal village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an oil palm and pineapple grower named Harisyah is fighting rapid coastal erosion. The region’s northern coastline, which sits on carbon-rich tropical peat soils, is losing ground to the sea at a rate of more than 6 meters (20 feet) annually. Researchers attribute the retreat […]
China’s Tianmu Mountain reserve tackles modern conservation amid religious tradition
Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions have long guided the protection of plants and wildlife in a nature reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China. Local temples enforced strict rules and punishments against forest destruction, but, following the reserve’s recent expansion, state regulations now provide the formal legal framework for the area. Local officials say religious […]
Indigenous water systems gain ground as climate pressures intensify in Bolivia
- When a 2022 drought hit Bolivia’s Ascensión de Guarayos, restoring traditional paúros helped the community survive after the municipal reservoir ran dry.
- The youth-led effort to revive paúros has grown into a broader conservation project, including a legally protected urban ecological corridor.
- The initiative is part of a global trend to restore Indigenous water systems as low-cost, climate-resilient solutions to growing water scarcity.
- Experts say blending traditional and modern approaches can strengthen water security — but only if local communities lead and retain control.

Can REDD+ deliver for Philippines’ Iraya Mangyan?
- The Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme combines Indigenous forest patrols, ancestral-domain support, carbon monitoring and livelihood projects to protect more than 40,000 hectares (nearly 99,000 acres) of Iraya Mangyan forest.
- Indigenous patrollers and local officials say the program has already strengthened monitoring and helped reduce timber poaching and small-scale mining, while surveys have documented hundreds of plant and animal species across the project area.
- Community nurseries and paid conservation roles are creating early livelihood opportunities, but many benefits remain limited and uneven while the project awaits verification, a finalized benefit-sharing agreement and carbon revenue expected no earlier than around 2029.
- Whether the program can deliver lasting benefits will depend on finalizing a transparent revenue-sharing agreement, sustaining patrols and livelihoods during the long wait for carbon income, and ensuring the Iraya retain a meaningful role in decisions over their forests.

How a rare bird sparked a wildlife movement across 16 villages in Guyana
- The documentation of the endangered red siskin, a rare bird, in Guyana inspired the creation of the South Rupununi Conservation Society.
- The organization has built a multi-community grassroots conservation approach that is grounded in traditional knowledge, organizes across 16 village boundaries and includes Indigenous villagers, farmers and teachers who research wildlife, develop conservation guidelines and teach local ecology.
- Projects include community conservation zones to protect wildlife such as giant anteaters, the genetic documentation of species and monitoring.
- Short-term funding, development pressure and cultural change threaten the model, even as communities invest their own money into projects.

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

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

Dragonflies help protect water and ancestral Indigenous languages in Colombia
- Researchers investigating Colombia’s remote region of Guainía have identified nearly 120 dragonfly and damselfly species, uncovering a biodiversity hotspot for these insects.
- Dragonflies rely on pristine freshwater ecosystems, but their aquatic habitats face growing pressure from regional deforestation, unmanaged waste and exponential tourism.
- By naming in their ancestral languages and monitoring local dragonflies, communities are deepening their understanding of ecosystem health and connecting biodiversity and ancestral wisdom with water protection.

How ‘gentle power’ can preserve traditional biodiversity in Tokyo
- In Japan, satoyama are rural landscapes with natural attributes that have also been shaped by centuries of human activity.
- Tokyo’s satoyama provide habitat for many kinds of animals, including ecologically sensitive amphibians.
- A recent study examined a satoyama conservation initiative in Tokyo, finding that it succeeded by prioritizing mutual trust and collaboration — an approach the study defines as “gentle power”.
- Yet, some say this approach, which is based on volunteer participation, can stagnate as the volunteers are typically older, leading to the challenge of “how to pass this on to the younger generation.”

Hands On: Stories that build change
Communities across the globe are responding to environmental pressures like climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution with local knowledge and practical action. This Mongabay multimedia Special Issue documents what communities are doing to adapt through hands-on activities—showcasing applied wisdom, craftsmanship, and worldviews that are crucial to navigating environmental crises at the local level
Indigenous fishers rethink shark hunting & protect species on Colombia’s coast
- In the Colombian department of La Guajira, at South America’s northernmost tip, Indigenous Wayuu fishers from the community of Punta Gallinas are working with marine biologists to conserve and document shark populations.
- Despite a 2021 law banning targeted shark and ray fishing in Colombia, the meat remains a vital protein source in one of the country’s most remote and food-insecure regions.
- Colombian shark conservation initiative Proyecto Puyuii is working with Wayuu fishers to record shark species in the understudied waters of La Guajira, implementing sustainability measures such as larger-mesh nets, safe release techniques and avoiding longlines.
- With sustainable tourism touted as a potential economic alternative to shark fishing, some fishers argue that compensation will need to be offered before they can afford to stop.

Elders, conservationists race to record fading sacred ties to Philippines’ endemic birds
- The Iraya Mangyan ancestral forestland supports hundreds of plant and animal species, including many that are rare, threatened or found only on the Philippines’ Mindoro Island.
- Culturally important birds include the Mindoro racket-tail (Prioniturus mindorensis), Mindoro boobook (Ninox mindorensis) and Mindoro scops owl (Otus mindorensis), whose calls and behaviors guide weather preparation, farming decisions and spiritual practices.
- Iraya knowledge also links medicinal plants, wildlife and healing, showing how customary beliefs can regulate harvesting, discourage disturbance and protect forest habitats.
- Community-led documentation will help carry this knowledge into ancestral-domain planning, ecotrail interpretation and broader conservation of Mindoro’s endemic wildlife.

On an Indonesian island, an ancient ritual evolves to protect an endangered cockatoo
- A new study has found that the Huaulu Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is adapting a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual to help protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo.
- Researchers say that rather than hunting the birds for their feathers, used in the Cidaku ceremony, the Huaulu have agreed to use naturally shed feathers, collected from rehabilitation centers, rescue facilities and zoos.
- The findings suggest that conservation efforts may be more effective when they work with Indigenous cultural traditions and local knowledge rather than relying solely on imposing restrictions from outside.
- However, an independent expert warns that this still leaves the much larger threats to the species — wildlife trafficking and habitat loss — unaddressed, and that the approach is a bespoke solution that won’t work with other threatened species.

Mobile queen conch hatcheries strive to help the species, engage Caribbean communities
- International demand for queen conch meat and shells has led to severe overharvesting, while habitat degradation, pollution and warming waters add further threats.
- In a bid to slow the decline of the queen conch, researchers are partnering with local conservation organizations across the Caribbean to establish a network of mobile hatcheries aimed at protecting the giant marine snail through its vulnerable early life stages.
- The goal is not only to nurture developing conch, but to create community spaces where local people can learn about the queen conch life cycle and participate in restoration efforts.
- However, some researchers have doubts about whether aquaculture alone can restore wild conch fisheries.

John Salehe helped shape Tanzania’s community conservation movement
For wildlife moving between Lake Manyara and Tarangire, a line on a map was never enough. Elephants, wildebeest, and other animals crossed land used by pastoralists and farmers, where roads, cultivation, and settlements were expanding. Keeping such routes open meant persuading people who lived there that wildlife had a place in their future. It meant […]
Among the sacred hills of Colombia’s Guainía
I had been struck by photographs of the Cerros de Mavicure rising above the forest and the Inírida River in eastern Colombia. The dark rock, exposed against an almost unbroken expanse of green, seemed unlike anywhere else I had visited in the Amazon. Last month, ahead of Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in Bogotá, I finally […]
How women farmers are helping elephants and forests in a Sumatran national park
- Tesso Nilo National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is notorious for human-wildlife conflicts, but women farmers living in its buffer zone are working to protect the park.
- Members of the Batang Nilo Women’s Forest Farmer Group, known as Perbani, plant citrus trees, which elephants avoid, around their farms, while also growing fruits that the animals can feed on.
- Perbani also empowers its more than 30 members through monthly gender equality classes, covering skills such as leadership and public speaking, as well as a savings-and-loans scheme.
- In 2024, the forestry ministry granted the women’s group Wanawiyata Widyakarya status, awarded to community organizations that successfully run conservation and forestry-related enterprises and provide training to residents.

Land rights and mangroves entwine in a Brazilian quilombo’s resistance
- Officially recognized as a collection of quilombos, or traditional Afro Brazilian communities, by the government in 2023, Brejão dos Negros is still awaiting the land titles it has been demanding for 20 years.
- The federal land reform agency has demarcated more than 8,000 hectares (19,800 acres) of the territory, but the communities have been authorized to use less than a tenth of this area.
- This delay has left them vulnerable to land disputes; the encroachment of shrimp farms into mangrove areas, which harms fishing and shellfish gathering; and increased salinization of the São Francisco River, which affects their crops and hinders their access to potable water.
- Seeking new income sources, the community members are turning to pesticide-free farming; one of the communities has become the largest producer of agroecological rice in Sergipe state.

Decades after religions shaped China’s Tianmushan, authorities tackle protecting reserve
- For more than a millennium, Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions in China have shaped conservation practices at Tianmu mountain, with beliefs in the sacred connection between humans and nature influencing how communities protect its forests, wildlife and ecosystems.
- Today, state regulations provide the legal framework for the protection of the expanded Tianmushan–Qingliangfeng UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and establish a management plan developed with local communities to tackle challenges the rich ecosystem faces and negotiate sustainable development following past land conflicts. Authorities and a study show efforts have increased plant productivity.
- Authorities say religious values continue to influence conservation efforts, as monks, residents and officials work on education, ecotourism and monitoring programs to preserve the mountain’s biodiversity.
- Despite progress, the reserve faces ongoing challenges including climate change and tree disease.

On fragile Sumatran peatland, a farmer fights to bring back lost mangroves
- A palm oil grower in an Indonesian village on Sumatra island, around 100 miles west of Singapore, has spent 15 years studying the role of mangroves in coastal ecosystems and pushing local action to restore coastal forests.
- Research shows this area of Sumatra’s northern coastline, which is separated from the Strait of Malacca by a narrow channel and the island of Bengkalis, is experiencing coastal abrasion of more than 6 meters per year, due primarily to mangrove loss.
- Indonesia pledged to restore around 600,000 hectares in five years by 2024, which researchers say was likely the world’s most ambitious reforestation initiative on record. However, only a small share of the planned planted area was successfully seeded.

Meet the Indigenous women restoring Kenya’s Mau Forest — and reshaping gender roles
- In Kenya, a network of Indigenous women’s groups is restoring degraded areas of the Mau Forest while also providing the women with incomes and decision-making power.
- The Paran Women Group includes Maasai, Ogiek and other Indigenous community members learning to manage enterprises such as tree nurseries, kitchen gardens, savings groups, beekeeping and landscape restoration.
- Research shows that restoration programs designed to transform unequal gender roles give women more prominence in the household and improve conservation outcomes.
- Paran members say they previously relied on their husbands for everything, but they now have income of their own as well as a larger say in family decisions.

World Lion Day: The communities living with lions
Numbering fewer than 25,000, lions remain vulnerable to extinction. These big cats have suffered catastrophic declines and today occupy roughly 6% of their historical range. Living with lions (Panthera leo) is not easy. Outside of protected areas, lions kill livestock and, infrequently, people. In response, the cats are poisoned, shot and speared. But across Africa, […]
On the frontlines of conservation in Sumatra: Rangers safeguard Batutegi forest
- In southern Sumatra, a small team of forest rangers is racing to protect Batutegi forest, an important watershed and refuge for endangered wildlife such as tigers and slow lorises.
- Batutegi faces persistent pressures from forest encroachment and the need to balance conservation with local livelihoods.
- Experts say protecting Batutegi will require sustained collaboration with local communities, alongside long-term conservation and forest management efforts.

On a Philippine beach, villagers are stepping up to save sea turtle nests
Beaches in San Vicente municipality in the Philippines’ Palawan province are crucial nesting grounds for olive ridley sea turtles. But the turtles and their babies face perilous journeys on those beaches — from dogs, tourism, and increasingly severe storms and high tides. To counter these threats, the NGO Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) […]
Women’s collectives are protecting Nigeria’s gorilla wildlife sanctuary
In the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led […]
White-rumped vulture returns to a Cambodian sanctuary after a decade’s absence
For the first time in 10 years, a critically endangered white-rumped vulture has been spotted in Cambodia’s Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary. However, this conservation milestone is unfolding just as the sanctuary stares down new threats from mining operations and hydropower dams. During a June 2026 census, surveyors recorded the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) at a supplementary […]
How a community is helping sea turtles hatch in the Philippines
- The municipality of San Vicente in the Philippines’ Palawan is a vital nesting ground for Olive Ridley sea turtles.
- Nesting turtles and their eggs face an array of challenges. Predation by dogs is the most immediate threat, but rising sea levels, more severe storms and tourism development plans also loom large.
- To try to protect the turtles, Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, a Philippine-based NGO, runs a research project and works with paid patrollers to monitor and protect turtles and their nests.
- Community involvement is key to the group’s conservation efforts.

Fighting new oil blocks in the Congo Basin: Interview with activist Pascal Mirindi
- Pascal Mirindi is a Congolese environmental activist fighting oil exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- In 2022, as the Congolese government promoted new oil blocks in eastern DRC, Mirindi and his friends created a movement to raise community awareness of the dangers of fossil fuel exploitation.
- In late 2024, the Congolese government initiated a green corridor extending from the eastern to the western side of the country, aiming to establish the “largest protected tropical forest in the world,” yet a few months later, the country launched new oil blocks covering 60% of the country’s surface.
- Mirindi spoke with Mongabay in June about his activism and the future of the DRC.

Ancient rock structures help restore biodiversity on the US-Mexico border
- On the border between the United States and Mexico, ranchers are struggling under shifting climatic conditions, including extreme drought and intense flooding.
- Small rock structures known as trincheras are an ancient method of slowing water flow, reducing erosion and improving subsoil quality, allowing life to rebound in degraded rangelands.
- A growing body of research indicates that rock detention structures like trincheras help improve drought resilience, increase biodiversity and water yields.
- In Sonora, a state dominated by private rangelands, momentum is growing to build these structures and adopt a wider range of “regenerative ranching” practices, as conservationists and ranchers work together.

Nepal’s birdwatchers can fill gaps in conservation data
Nepal’s expanding birdwatching community offers a vital lifeline for both biodiversity monitoring and ecotourism, reports contributor Bibek Bhandari for Mongabay. According to a recent study, a growing interest in birdwatching, particularly among younger generations, is helping bridge gaps in ecological data while promoting Nepal as a birdwatching destination. Nepal is home to more than 900 […]
Like ‘climbing Kilimanjaro’ without help: Interview with a Limpopo conservationist
- In South Africa’s Limpopo province, one man, Tshilidzi Mulugana, spearheaded a community project to educate youth about conservation and replant indigenous trees.
- The project received some initial funding, which lasted a few months; despite current financial constraints, Mulugana and his wife continue the push to change the way local residents view trees.
- He says some community members make a living from cutting and selling firewood, and many people are not interested in conservation without compensation; meanwhile, repeated floods have washed away trees and vegetation.
- Mulugana spoke with Mongabay about the challenges he and his wife face in running a community conservation effort on their own.

Community conservation under fire: Interview with Myanmar’s Clean Mountains founder
- Since the 2021 coup in Myanmar, environmental degradation has worsened, but one small women-led team works on grassroots conservation in conflict areas.
- Clean Mountains helps local communities in Karenni and Karen states with waste management, water conservation, sustainable agriculture and forest conservation.
- Founder Ou Ou discusses how the ongoing conflict has fueled natural resource destruction and also silenced the voices of conservationists.
- She also speaks about the role of gender in conservation work, why women participate more often in waste management efforts and how long-standing traditional beliefs continue to leave women out of decision-making roles.

In India’s Western Ghats, sacred groves are better at growing future forests
- A study of “giant” trees in India’s Western Ghats finds that sacred groves, forest patches that communities protect, because they believe the trees belong to their gods, hold nearly twice the giant-tree species of nearby villages.
- The groves also grow far more young trees from large, bird-spread seeds, making them nurseries for the next forest.
- Researchers call giant trees “ecological catcher’s mitts” and say conservation should protect whole forests and the cultures around them, not just single animals.
- The groves are under pressure as simple forest shrines are replaced with concrete temples and young people leave villages, taking their knowledge with them.

How a spiritual practice is preserving Benin’s mangroves
In the West African nation of Benin, Vodun, an ancient spiritual religion rooted in a deep connection between humans and nature, has become a primary tool for protecting the country’s disappearing mangroves. By invoking the authority of the Zangbéto deity, local communities and conservationists create spiritual sanctuaries that forbid the destruction of mangroves under threat […]
Trump reduces size of 2 national monuments in Utah as Republicans reshape land management
President Donald Trump is sharply reducing the size of two national monuments in Utah. The move to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by about 90% unravels protections established by former presidents for areas with unique archaeological and historical features. It comes as Republicans under Trump have sought to drastically reshape the management […]
Restoring Kashmir’s lakes one community at a time: Interview with Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo
- Conservationist Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo says restoring Kashmir’s lakes and wetlands depends on partnerships between communities, government agencies and local stakeholders.
- Nearly half of the lakes recorded across Jammu and Kashmir in the 1960s have disappeared or shrunk, reflecting decades of pollution, encroachment and unplanned urbanization.
- Through Mission Ehsaas, Wangnoo and the Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation have helped revive degraded water bodies, showing how community-led conservation can drive ecological restoration.
- Wangnoo discussed the ecological significance of Kashmir’s wetlands, the region’s beauty — and his optimism for the future.

A win-win, animal crossings make roads safer for wildlife and people
Worldwide, roads act as both death traps and barriers for wildlife, fragmenting the landscapes animals need to survive. However, ecologists and engineers are working to “reconnect the wild” through the strategic construction of wildlife crossings. As Mongabay contributor Ben Goldfarb reports, structures, including underpasses and massive overpasses paired with roadside fencing, have proved highly effective […]
Could a blighted urban inlet become a global beacon of waterway renewal?
- A group of advocates is seeking to transform False Creek, a tidal inlet in Vancouver, Canada, from a polluted city inlet into a place where nature thrives and people can safely swim in the water.
- Facing jurisdictional challenges over who gets to decide the future of this once vital marine ecosystem, advocates have explored various governance models for the inlet, such as getting it designated as an urban marine park or granted environmental personhood.
- Not everyone agrees, and now, they are pushing for the surrounding community to voice their desires and negotiate for False Creek’s future.

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

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

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

Nepal’s birdwatchers help monitor wildlife and promote tourism
- Birdwatching is becoming increasingly popular in Nepal, contributing to biodiversity conservation through public engagement and ecological data collection.
- Despite its popularity, a lack of public participation and data-sharing practices affect record-keeping.
- Researchers say documentation provided by birdwatchers helps fulfill data gaps related to bird population and habitat.
- Birdwatching helps promote local destinations and generate economic activity, though Nepal as a birdwatching destination remains largely untapped.

Dusky langurs start using new canopy bridge in Malaysia’s Penang Island
Endangered dusky langurs have successfully begun using a new artificial canopy bridge in a major tourism hub on Malaysia’s Penang Island. Camera traps set up by the Langur Project Penang (LPP) confirmed that the first dusky langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) crossed the bridge made out of old fire hoses on June 1, about two months after […]
New Indonesia roadmap aims to protect Indigenous knowledge for biodiversity
- Indonesia is developing a roadmap to recognize and protect Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ (IPLCs) traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation, aligning with its commitments to international frameworks.
- Indigenous communities in Indonesia already safeguard vast biodiverse areas — an estimated 29 million hectares (71.6 million acres) — through customary practices, though only a small portion has been formally documented or recognized.
- The lack of legal recognition of Indigenous territories and rights leave many communities vulnerable to having their conservation efforts overlooked or criminalized despite their role in protecting ecosystems.
- Experts and advocates argue the roadmap must be backed by stronger policy recognition and broad collaboration among government, Indigenous groups, experts and civil society.

Updated standards make the case for restoration: ‘We have to create uplift’
- The Society for Ecological Restoration released the third edition of its global restoration standards on June 23, shifting the emphasis from doing no harm to actively driving ecological “uplift” and recovery in line with the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s goal of restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
- A central feature is the refined “Five-star System,” complemented by the “Restorative Continuum,” tools that measure restoration progress both ecologically and socially.
- The standards make an explicit “business case” for restoration, framing it as a way to redirect environmentally harmful subsidies toward investments that benefit both biodiversity and economic livelihoods, giving companies and funders a trusted roadmap for action.
- Experts emphasized that integrating local and Indigenous ecological knowledge alongside science is essential to credible restoration, with one researcher calling for greater involvement from Global South practitioners in shaping future iterations of the standards.

A coastal Philippine farm offers a blueprint for farming with wetlands
- The Glinoga Integrated Farm in the Philippines’ Quezon province uses permaculture techniques to grow crops in harmony with the surrounding coastal ecosystem.
- One study looking at permaculture farms across 11 provinces in the Philippines found that Glinoga had the highest level of crop diversity among the farms it surveyed.
- Farm operator Ninieveh Glinoga converted the farm to a permaculture system after decades of incapacity by relatives and tenants had left the farms soil degraded.

On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline
- The critically endangered Javan green magpie, an Indonesian songbird with perhaps as few as 50 individuals left in the wild, has become the focus of a new 10-year conservation action plan developed by nearly 50 experts and conservation organizations.
- Once widespread in West Java’s upland forests, the species has been driven to the brink by habitat loss and trapping for the songbird trade, with surveys between 2018 and 2021 failing to find any birds at many former strongholds.
- The plan aims to protect remaining habitat, work with local communities to reduce trapping, strengthen enforcement against illegal trade, and support future conservation translocations using birds bred in captivity.
- Conservationists say the effort could also benefit other threatened species and mountain forest ecosystems, but warn that increased attention on the bird could inadvertently stimulate demand from wildlife traffickers and collectors.

An island community in Thailand works to protect and revive its dugongs
Once a lush field of green, the seagrass meadows surrounding Thailand’s Koh Libong are now largely barren stretches of sand, devastating the island’s iconic dugong population, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Koh Libong’s seagrass meadows were once Thailand’s largest, and a critical coastal habitat that is protected nationally. Yet, between 2020 and 2024, seagrass cover in […]
As Canada eyes Arctic road expansion, Indigenous guardians race to understand caribou
- Indigenous guardians in the Northwest Territories, Canada, are going out into the field to monitor how roads affect Arctic caribou, which undertake the longest terrestrial migration on the planet, through events on the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road.
- In the last six years, they have documented a pattern of how caribou avoid roads that bisect the land: When they will avoid crossing, only walk parallel, get trapped on the other side and wait 24 hours of zero disturbance to cross.
- Canada and some Indigenous governments plan to expand roads across the north, like the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, as part of an Arctic development plan to boost economic opportunities and mining in northern communities.
- As plans for the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor advance, Indigenous guardians and stakeholders underline the need for caribou protections and local jobs in conservation to offer alternatives to industrial opportunities.

‘Rare animals, photography and Instagram’ could help an Ivorian rainforest
- In late May, Mongabay accompanied a group of conservationists and scientists to Taï National Park — a large rainforest in Côte d’Ivoire famous for its habituated western chimpanzees.
- Despite the presence of these charismatic apes, the park gets relatively few visitors, whose presence could help to support conservation efforts and deter poachers.
- Conservationists are now planning to promote niche tourism in the park and support work by the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR) to protect Taï’s stunning biodiversity.
- Chimpanzee sightings are a major attraction for any visitor to the park, but other animals, including one of the world’s largest scorpions and Africa’s largest and rarest owl, could also prove to be a draw for those looking for an adventure-filled experience.

Old fire hoses become lifelines for Malaysia’s endangered langurs
On Malaysia’s Penang Island, conservationist Yap Jo Leen is turning old fire hoses into lifesaving bridges that help endangered monkeys cross busy roads in residential areas. The idea took root after she witnessed a female dusky langur and her infant get struck by a vehicle in 2016, Yap told Mongabay’s Phil Jacobson and AFP’s Isabelle […]
Conservation efforts by families displaced for national park sees success in DRC
Descendants of families forcibly displaced during the creation of Maiko National Park in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo back in the 1970s are now leading a new wave of community-led conservation. Gangala Yafali Mangusa Jr., from one such displaced family, is the head of the Bamasobha Local Community Forest Concession (CFCL), […]
Sea turtle hunters become their protectors in Cabo Verde
Former sea turtle hunters in Cabo Verde, off the coast of West Africa, have shifted to working in loggerhead turtle conservation along the archipelago nation’s main nesting beaches. The change was propelled by 2018 legislation that criminalized killing threatened turtle species, Sonam Lama Hyolmo reported for Mongabay. Rangers, around a dozen of which used to […]
Community-led initiatives safeguard marbled cats in northeast India
In India’s northeast, local communities are leading the charge for the protection of the marbled cat, one of Asia’s most poorly studied small wild cat species, reports contributor Barasha Das for Mongabay India. The marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. However, not much is known about its population and […]
How a tiny blue gecko became a conservation comeback story
Williams electric blue day gecko is a small Tanzanian reptile whose recovery shows what focused conservation can do, reports Mongabay contributor, Manuel Fonseca. Once heavily collected for Europe’s pet trade, the species is now rebounding because pressure from trade has eased, captive breeding has reduced demand for wild animals, and local people are helping restore […]
Australia establishes the first Sea Country Indigenous Protected Area
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For the Karajarri people of Kimberley in northwestern Australia, the coastline, reefs, wetlands, beaches and desert-edge country form one estate, held through law, memory, work and obligation. That relationship now has new recognition, reports Mongabay’s John Cannon. In […]
The quest to reconnect imperiled rainforest in West Africa
- Conservationists working with the official national parks agency in Côte d’Ivoire are planning to create an ecological corridor linking Taï National Park with Grebo National Park in neighboring Liberia.
- The corridor has support from the Ivorian village of Nigré, where residents will grow native trees alongside their crops to facilitate animal movements.
- Animals that will likely benefit include the bongo; like other antelopes in Taï, they are believed to play a key role in helping to disperse seeds to ensure forest regeneration.
- Stitching together the surviving parts of West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest could help ensure this ecosystem and its inhabitants thrive.

In Indonesia’s Lombok, fishers find food security tied to mangrove reforestation
- On the east coast of Indonesia’s Lombok Island, local people who rely on the local crab fishery have initiated their own mangrove planting program in a bid to resuscitate failing crab habitats.
- The system is known as a silvofishery, which integrates mangrove forests with aquaculture cultivation to raise productivity.
- Instead of catching immature crabs from the coastline for quick sale, some local fishers have started to raise the crabs to adulthood alongside newly planted mangroves, garnering a higher price while overseeing a more sustainable population.
- However, local officials say a lack of technical training means most silvofishery initiatives have been forged through trial and error, and that expanding the system could result in greater mangrove planting in addition to boosting purchasing power in subsistence communities.

How silk caterpillars became a tool for conservation in Madagascar
- Catherine Craig’s conservation work began with field biology, from chimpanzees at Gombe to decades of research on spiders, silk and insect behavior.
- In Madagascar, she developed a conservation enterprise built around native silk-producing caterpillars, border forests and new sources of income for farmers and artisans. The project’s endurance depended on Malagasy leadership, patient work with communities and a willingness to adapt when markets, weather and local needs changed.
- After more than two decades, Craig stepped back from daily leadership, leaving the program financially secure and increasingly governed by the people who built it locally.
- Craig spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in June 2026.

The long and winding road to safe highways: Inside the global movement to reconnect habitat
- Across the globe, roads pose a deadly physical threat to wildlife and fragment the landscapes animals need to move through to survive. For some species, a road is a wall: They won’t even attempt to cross.
- Decades of research have proved that wildlife crossings (underpasses and overpasses), combined with roadside fences, prevent deadly collisions, protecting both animals and people.
- Crossings are part of larger efforts to reconnect shattered ecological corridors worldwide. Animals need to move to find food, water, a mate — and to escape more frequent, extreme wildfires and extreme weather events.
- Some of the motivation in building and retrofitting wildlife bridges and underpasses involves public safety and economics. Crashes with large animals cost the U.S. economy more than $10 billion each year.

In Sumatra, social forestry links conservation with livelihoods
- Sri Atmiatun, a farmer in Indonesia’s Batutegi forest landscape, is among hundreds of community members participating in the country’s social forestry program, which grants legal access to state forest land while requiring sustainable management.
- The program has expanded farmers’ access to training, support and diversified agroforestry systems, contributing to reduced forest clearing and greater conservation awareness, although challenges related to markets, institutions and farming practices remain.
- Batutegi’s experience reflects both the opportunities and limitations of social forestry, as communities, government agencies and conservation groups work to improve livelihoods while preventing further forest loss.
- The changes are also creating new roles for rural women, whose growing involvement in farming enterprises and community organizations is reshaping local economies and decision-making.

Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. ‘This is an emergency’
- A six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand Thai officials take action regarding river pollution that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals concluded on World Environment Day.
- Health authorities in Thailand have found arsenic in two people living near the Kok River. Heavy metals have also been found in the water and fish of Kok and other rivers.
- A spokesperson for the Thai Prime Minister’s Office said the government established a working group to monitor the contamination problem in the Kok River and has been continuously coordinating with other countries.
- China, which imports rare earth oxides and compounds from Myanmar, also addressed the pollution of rivers in an online statement: “The Chinese government has always placed utmost importance on protecting the environment and ecosystem.”

Descendants of people pushed out for DRC national park lead forest conservation efforts
- Gangala Yafali Mangusa Jr. is a descendant of one of the families that had to leave the forests of what is today in and around Maiko National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Now, he heads the management committee of the Bamasobha Local Community Forest Concession (CFCL) and works with communities to protect biodiversity through local conservation efforts.
- According to experts, the sustainability of conservation efforts depends largely on the ability to balance biodiversity protection with improving the living conditions of Indigenous peoples and local communities.
- According to satellite imagery from Global Forest Watch, forest loss in the Bamasobha CFCL was reduced from 940 hectares in 2024 to 120 hectares in 2025.

Building bridges for human-wildlife coexistence: Interview with Yap Jo Leen
- Conservationist Yap Jo Leen launched the Langur Project Penang after witnessing dusky langurs, an endangered monkey she was studying for her Ph.D. research, getting struck by vehicles on Malaysia’s Penang Island.
- Since 2019, her group has built three canopy bridges made from repurposed fire hoses to help langurs and other tree-dwelling wildlife safely cross busy roads, with no recorded langur roadkill deaths at the first bridge site since its installation.
- The project combines wildlife conservation with citizen science and environmental education, training volunteers to track langur movements, collect ecological and social data, and work with local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
- Yap says the long-term goal is not simply to build more wildlife bridges, but to foster a broader culture of coexistence and community stewardship for urban wildlife across Malaysia.

Thai island community rallies to protect beloved dugongs, revive declining seagrass
- Seagrass beds around the island of Koh Libong in Thailand’s Andaman Sea have died off in recent years, part of wider nationwide declines scientists say have multiple, complex causes.
- The seagrass shortage has devastated the island’s once famed dugong population, jeopardizing tourism businesses and impacting the island community who have long protected them.
- Locals frustrated by slow government seagrass recovery plans are working with researchers and conservation groups to build citizen science skills and trial seagrass restoration techniques.
- Signs of hope are emerging, with recent surveys recording more dugongs in local waters, prompting local leaders to call for increased public awareness and enforcement of protections.

Communities say sacred groves are shrinking in India’s eastern ghats
Sacred groves in the Indian state of Odisha continue to be protected now, as they have for hundreds of years because of cultural and spiritual values associated with them, a recent study has found. However, the forests are decreasing in size, nearly all residents interviewed by researchers said. India is estimated to have roughly 100,000 […]
In Malaysia, a bridge helps endangered langurs and humans coexist
In Malaysia’s Penang state, conservationists and residents are collaborating to reduce conflict between humans and endangered dusky langurs displaced by urban development and habitat loss. The Langur Project Penang built a canopy bridge to help langurs safely cross a busy road and access more habitat, reducing time spent in residential areas and lowering complaints from […]
On Southeast Asia’s largest lake, locals wield tech to defend the flooded forest
- Communities living around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap are using a combination of natural and technological solutions to help protect the lake and its surrounding forests from fires.
- A community savings initiative funds patrol teams, which respond to satellite alerts and have stopped more than 50 wildfires.
- Local residents are also restoring the forest by growing native trees in community nurseries.
- Threatened wildlife are returning as a result of these efforts: the fishing cat has been spotted for the first time in 10 years in the restoration area.

Timor green pigeon could go extinct without immediate action, study finds
The extremely rare Timor green pigeon has fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild, according to a recent study. Researchers say its extinction risk must be revised from endangered to critically endangered. The fruit-eating Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus), known for its distinctive mango-green plumage, is “endemic to Timor, Rote and adjacent satellite islands” […]
Jane Goodall’s grandson on hope after loss
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Five months after Jane Goodall’s death, her grandson Merlin Van Lawick appeared at the ChangeNOW environmental forum in Paris carrying something both public and personal. He was there not as a substitute for his grandmother, but as someone […]
At world’s largest shark conference, scientists warn of a grim outlook across the board
- Hundreds of researchers and conservationists met in Colombo from May 4-8 for Sharks International, held once every four years.
- Major topics at the conference included the trade in shark and ray meat, reducing shark bycatch, and the use of new technologies in conservation.
- Participants also highlighted innovative programs that encourage community-based conservation, and grappled with the contentious topic of closing fisheries to aid recovery of threatened species.

‘Hope is rooted in action’: Interview with Jane Goodall’s grandson Merlin Van Lawick
- Mongabay met Merlin Van Lawick, grandson of conservation icon Jane Goodall, in Paris during the ChangeNOW 2026 environmental forum.
- Van Lawick is involved in the communication science and communications teams at the Jane Goodall Institute, from his hometown in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
- In this interview with Mongabay, he talks about his relationship with his grandmother, how he developed a strong interest in storytelling, and new ways of thinking to scale up impact in a quickly changing world.
- The forum was also an occasion for him to share the challenges and hopes of the Jane Goodall Institute.

Climate change, socioeconomic shifts threaten Nepal’s yak herding traditions
In the remote Dolpo region of western Nepal, the ancient practice of yak herding is facing an existential crisis. Traditional herders of domesticated yaks in these alpine rangelands are struggling against the convergence of climate change, rising operational costs, labor shortages, and the spread of lethal diseases, reports Mongabay’s Sonam Lama Hyolmo. According to the […]
Conservationist wins top award to protect lions and people in Zimbabwe
- A Zimbabwean conservationist working to reduce conflict between lions and livestock farmers is a winner of one of this year’s Whitley Awards, better known as the “Green Oscars.”
- The prize money will fund the expansion of the work led by Moreangels Mbizah and her NGO, Wildlife Conservation Action, in a region that is a hotspot for human-carnivore conflict.
- Community guardians employed by WCA warn farmers when lions enter their farming areas; promote the use of secure animal enclosures for cattle, goats and sheep, and oversee the installation of solar-powered flashing lights to deter nocturnal raids by lions.
- These interventions have reduced conflict by up to 98% in at least two rural wards, but habitat loss through the expansion of farms into wildlife migration corridors worries Mbizah and her team.

What it takes to make conservation work in Central Africa: Luis Arranz’s 46-year journey
- Luis Arranz has spent more than four decades managing protected areas in Central Africa, taking a field-based approach shaped by long tenures in places like Zakouma, Garamba, Dzanga-Sangha, and Salonga.
- He argues that conservation is less about new plans than about execution—maintaining teams, logistics, and consistent operations in remote and difficult terrain.
- Success depends on aligning conservation with local livelihoods, through mechanisms such as tourism and other income-generating activities tied to protected areas.
- Progress is fragile: parks rely heavily on external funding, operate in unstable security contexts, and can quickly deteriorate without sustained presence on the ground.

Community-led ecotourism protects rebounding wild cattle in Thailand
The critically endangered banteng is making a comeback in Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, and has become a unique community-led conservation icon, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Thailand’s population of banteng (Bos javanicus), one of the world’s rarest wild cattle species, was once reduced to just a few hundred individuals due to decades of deforestation, […]
A reforestation corridor in Madagascar offers a future for lemurs and locals
- A reforestation corridor project aims to reconnect 150 hectares of fragmented forest between Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and the Analamazoatra Special Reserve, home to a dozen lemur species and many other animals and plants that are found nowhere else on Earth.
- Led by the Mad Dog Initiative in partnership with The Dr. Abigail Ross Foundation for Applied Conservation, Association Mitsinjo and Ecovision Village, the project represents a unique convergence of science, private investment and community action.
- The project has already planted more than 100 native tree species across 70 hectares, a portion of which were grown in soil inoculated with mycorrhiza, with seedlings showing high survival and growth rates. Even in its early stages, lemurs are using the corridor.
- To address local challenges and increase the chances of long-term restoration success, project partners are investing in ecotourism, health care and education, among other strategies.

30-year Himalayan project shows power of community-led forest restoration
- A 30-year forest restoration project in India’s Western Himalayas transformed degraded land into a biodiverse ecosystem through the participation of local communities.
- According to a recently published study, the project resulted in the establishment of 88 tree species that are now naturally multiplying, and employed simple bioengineering techniques to retain soil moisture, resulting in long-term natural regeneration and ecological stability.
- The restored site, named Surya-Kunj, or Sun-Grove, now supports rich biodiversity, including more than 160 bird species as well as medicinal plants.
- Strong community participation and educational value has helped turn the project into a scalable model for mountain ecosystem recovery, researchers say.

Living with wildlife, bearing the cost
- Communities living alongside wildlife bear immediate and recurring costs—from crop loss and injury to disrupted routines—while the benefits of conservation are often diffuse and global in scope.
- These burdens are disproportionately carried by rural and Indigenous communities, many of whom are excluded from decisions about land use and conservation, despite being most affected by them.
- Conservation efforts are increasingly incorporating rights-based approaches, compensation schemes, and conflict mitigation strategies, but their effectiveness remains inconsistent and often insufficient to offset real losses.
- The long-term success of conservation depends on whether it can align ecological goals with the stability and wellbeing of local communities, rather than relying on unequal sacrifice to sustain protected areas.

Christianity can be an ally for Kenyan conservation (commentary)
- Part of the difficulty in mainstreaming religious faith into conservation thinking and practice comes down to outdated narratives.
- The negative impact of Christianity on the environment has in particular been well-circulated for over a half-century, but this doesn’t fully reflect current realities in nations like Kenya.
- “As the diversity of Christian expression in Kenya demonstrates, the faith, its theologies and its outworkings are plural, contested, and capable of generating both productive and destructive relationships with the environment and its non-human inhabitants,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Canadian muskoxen hit by double punch of novel diseases and climate change
- New emerging diseases and other threats, including climate change, are upending muskox recovery in parts of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
- An emerging pathogen, dubbed Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Arctic clone, was linked to widespread muskox mortalities on Victoria and Banks islands from 2009-14. Another outbreak was identified on Ellesmere Island in 2021.
- Brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, is now appearing in muskoxen on Victoria Island and parts of the mainland, with rates increasing since 2015.
- These emerging diseases were identified, researched and tracked via an innovative community-based wildlife health surveillance program that teams up Inuit hunters and trappers, scientists and government agencies. Muskoxen are a key food source for many Inuit communities and play a vital role in Arctic ecology. Their loss could put food security and Indigenous culture at risk.

How wild cattle recovery is transforming local livelihoods near key Thai reserve
- Banteng, a species of wild cattle, have suffered an 80% population decline across their range in recent decades. But in Thailand, populations are rebounding strongly in well-protected areas.
- Decades of strict habitat protection and ranger patrols have reduced poaching and recovered numbers to such an extent that several herds have spread outside of protected sites into surrounding buffer areas, where enforcement of wildlife laws is limited.
- In an effort to protect the growing herds, villagers living in the buffer area of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, who once experienced conflict with the banteng, have set up a community-led ecotourism initiative based on banteng-watching.
- The wildlife tours are creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching, and the banteng are proving to be a key species around which to rally local support for conservation.

Ethiopian women plant trees, restoring lands & livelihoods
- In southern Ethiopia, unsustainable farming practices and tree cutting for fuel are causing land degradation.
- The Integrated Women’s Development Organization has planted fruit and other trees as well as grass for animal fodder to restore soil and tree cover and provide additional income for its members.
- IWDO recently became a member of the GLFx network, connecting it with similar independent, community-oriented groups to strengthen its work protecting and restoring healthy forests and other landscapes.

Working together, Indigenous peoples & researchers describe new Amazonian palm
- Although used for centuries by the Cacua Indigenous people in Colombia, the táam palm was, until recently, unknown to science. During fieldwork in the village of Wacará, two botanists were offered to eat a fruit they had never seen before, so they set out to discover what species it was.
- With help from the Indigenous community, they were able to find the palm and collect samples in line with the Cacua people’s approach to conserving the plant.
- Lab tests showed that táam was a palm species previously unknown to science that researchers named Attalea taam. After the discovery, the botanists returned to the community and started a participatory process to study the palm’s ecology and distribution.
- Several members of the Cacua community co-authored the scientific paper describing the new species. By relying on Indigenous knowledge and mapping, the researchers say they have obtained better results than through using just a Western scientific approach.

What ‘paper parks’ reveal about the limits of conservation policy (commentary)
- From fisheries to forests, conservation success depends on building trust, norms and cooperation that make regulations real, a new op-ed argues.
- Structural reforms to conservation policy may change the rules, but these succeed only when the behaviors those rules depend upon take hold.
- “Durable conservation happens when people trust the rules, expect others to follow them, and participate in the systems that make compliance real. Where those behavioral foundations are missing, even the best policies remain paper promises,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Brazilian settlers turn to reforestation in ambitious land recovery plan
- Driven by the work of several generations of land reform settlers, an initiative has already planted 10 million trees across 6,000 hectares in the Pontal do Paranapanema region of western São Paulo; the goal is to reach 75,000 hectares by 2041, an area roughly the size of New York City.
- By reconnecting Atlantic Forest fragments and creating ecological corridors, the project has helped bring wildlife back: 174 bird species and 29 mammal species have been recorded in reforested areas, and in 2024, a jaguar was sighted for the first time.
- The effort has also delivered local economic benefits: Rural startups, community nurseries and agroforestry coffee plantations have been established to support the program, all providing additional income for settler families.

Local conservationists sustain research on threatened heron amid Myanmar instability
- Community-based surveys in northern Myanmar have documented a small population of white-bellied herons, one of the world’s most threatened bird species.
- Experts say the sightings reaffirm the conflict-torn area’s importance as one of the world’s few remaining strongholds for the critically endangered species.
- Several threats to the birds were identified, including opportunistic hunting using homemade guns, which the researchers plan to mitigate through outreach programs in local communities.
- The surveys were funded by a wider conservation program that aims to boost local capacity for conservation to cover diminished government support and reduced NGO presence amid Myanmar’s political crisis.

New strategy to reverse Kenya’s shark decline tries to bring fishers on board
- A new strategy by government agencies, scientists and coastal community members proposes a working plan of 19 goals to reverse the steep decline of sharks and rays in Kenya.
- As small-scale fishers have a lot of influence on the marine species’ populations, most of the goals directly involve fishers or try to get them on board to make the conservation strategy a success.
- Goals include alternative fishing gear, different livelihoods to reduce fishing pressure, increasing the number of locally managed marine areas, involvement of fishers in conservation decision-making and more effective enforcement.
- Community fishing representatives say they are on board with the plan but highlight that a few points, like concrete and viable alternative livelihoods and fishing methods, need to be offered to reach the conservation goals.

Five more community-led African groups join global landscape restoration network
- The Global Landscapes Forum recently announced the addition of 12 new “chapter” members to its GLFx network.
- The GLFx network connects independent, community-oriented groups worldwide to strengthen their work protecting and restoring healthy forests and other landscapes.
- Five of the new members are in Africa, including the School Food Forest Initiative in Uganda, which works with children to plant trees and grow food on school grounds.

How Namibia’s bird conservation projects build community resilience (commentary)
- Droughts and land degradation often erode communities’ social bonds, but in the Karas region of Namibia, bird conservation initiatives have become a rallying point.
- Women and youth are at the forefront of these initiatives, which has inspired confidence among peers and shown that conservation is not the domain of scientists alone, but also a practice of everyday community resilience.
- “It is time for policymakers, NGOs, and donors to support these initiatives not just as biodiversity projects, but as investments in community well-being,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Many Indigenous peoples in Asia feel excluded from nat’l biodiversity planning: Report
- Many Indigenous peoples in Asia say they have little sway on their nation’s biodiversity goals, despite calls in the global U.N. biodiversity agreement for their full and effective participation in decision-making, according to recent reports.
- The research found 13% of survey respondents participated in state-led consultations with Indigenous peoples while almost 60% reported that participation was not meaningful.
- However, the research also found that Indigenous peoples increasingly participated in the NBSAP revision processes compared with a previous global biodiversity agreement for the 2011-20 period.
- Some Indigenous sources said they felt like their participation was tokenistic and recommend the creation of an Indigenous-led version of the national biodiversity targets to help influence policy.

How a community defended its ancestral forest from logging
- In northeastern Gabon, the community of Massaha used participatory mapping to document ancestral villages, sacred sites and traditional land use inside a rainforest slated for industrial logging.
- Their biocultural map revealed a long history of occupation that colonial records and modern conservation maps had largely overlooked.
- The evidence helped the community argue for protection of their forest, prompting government intervention that halted logging and opened discussions about formal conservation.
- The case highlights how local knowledge and community-led mapping can complement global conservation data and reshape how forests are understood and protected.

Study finds livestock pushing lions away from shared rangeland in Kenya
- A new study in Kenya’s Mara conservancies finds lions increasingly avoiding areas used by Maasai livestock, even after the animals have moved on.
- Researchers suggest lions are responding not just to immediate encounters with herders but to past grazing pressure and perceived long-term risk.
- The findings raise questions about how livestock grazing may reshape predator behavior and wildlife use of shared landscapes.
- Experts say any grazing limits must balance conservation goals with Maasai livelihoods that depend heavily on livestock.

In Malawi, farmers rebuild soil and livelihoods through agroecology
- Climate change and high input costs are worsening food insecurity in Malawi, leaving millions of people vulnerable and soils degraded.
- But a gradual embrace of agroecology is boosting resilience, cutting fertilizer costs by more than 40% and improving yields.
- Local organizations like Small Producers Development and Transporters Association (SPRODETA) are leading farmer training and seed preservation efforts.
- Government support is increasing, but scaling up agroecology nationwide remains a challenge, proponents say.

Local communities are conservation’s most undervalued asset (commentary)
- Conservationists will gather this week for the 5th Business of Conservation Congress in Nairobi, and one talking point there will be focusing finance toward local communities, since that is not only important for achieving equity but also a practical strategy for achieving sustainable and successful outcomes.
- Although community-led conservation programs are genuinely shown to be more efficient, that advantage should also extend to conservation finance.
- But if conservation finance does not shift, and if communities and the organizations that serve them are not brought in as partners even as biodiversity losses continue, the authors of a new op-ed argue that “the trajectory we are on will not change.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa, a guardian of Madagascar’s amphibians, has died, aged 45
- Madagascar contains an exceptional share of the world’s frog diversity, most of it found nowhere else, making local conservation efforts decisive for species survival. Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa, a guide from the Andasibe region, became one of the people working to keep those species from disappearing.
- Through the community organization Mitsinjo, he helped establish and run a captive-breeding facility that maintained threatened amphibians as insurance against habitat loss and disease, while also contributing new scientific knowledge about their life cycles.
- Largely self-taught, he served as a bridge between international researchers and local communities, translating technical knowledge into Malagasy and sharing what he knew with students, journalists, and younger conservation workers.
- His life illustrated how effective conservation in Madagascar often depends less on distant institutions than on persistent local effort — people willing to perform careful, unglamorous work year after year to keep fragile species alive.

Photos: In the Colombian Amazon, fishing binds a community to river and forest
- For members of the Macaquiño community in the southeastern Colombian department of Vaupés, fishing forms part of the deep cultural and spiritual connection they have with their waters and the species that inhabit it.
- The introduction of more intensive modern fishing gear, such as using longlines and mesh nets, has had an impact fish populations and has contributed to a decline in the use of some ancestral fishing practices, they said.
- Community elders told Mongabay that while some traditional fishing tools are still used today, few people know how to make them, raising concerns that fishers may eventually turn to other techniques that can damage habitats and reduce fish species.

Botswana shows how smarter cattle herding can save lions, reopen ancient wildlife pathways
- Restoring traditional herding practices in northern Botswana has led to a huge decrease in cattle predation and retaliatory lion poisonings in the Okavango Delta region.
- More lion cubs are now surviving, with the lion population in northern Botswana up 50% over the past four years.
- Experts say bringing back traditional herding practices is the key to restoring migration routes for wildebeest, zebra and many other species.
- If herding expands, government officials may consider removing some veterinary cordon fences that have blocked wildlife corridors for decades.

Amazon villages build autonomous energy systems after mega-dam failed pledges
- A pilot project in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Reserve is providing 24-hour electricity through an integrated system of solar panels and river-based hydrokinetic turbines.
- The project’s hydrokinetic turbines use specialized filter systems and slow-rotation grids designed to generate electricity without harming local river fauna.
- Roughly 990,000 people in the Brazilian Amazon still lack access to electricity despite the region hosting some of the world’s largest hydropower facilities.

Kiliii Yüyan puts Indigenous ‘Guardians of Life’ and their planetary stewardship in focus
National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan returns to the Mongabay Newscast to share his experience creating his new book, Guardians of Life: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Science, and Restoring the Planet from specialty publisher Braided River. This book documents the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of nine Indigenous communities worldwide, featuring contributions and essays from many members of […]
In Kenya’s Jomvu Creek, women help restore a vanishing coast through crab farming
- On the outskirts of the coastal Kenyan city of Mombasa, a women’s organization in Jomvu Creek aims to transform livelihoods and the environment through mud crab farming.
- A blue economy grant is allowing the women to establish a crab-fattening enterprise and build a boardwalk through the creek, with hopes of boosting ecotourism.
- In a good month, the women’s crab sales amount to $310, meaningful income in an area where many had said they were living hand to mouth.
- Beyond income, the Jomvu women see themselves as caretakers of the creek, linking crab farming to mangrove restoration and planting nearly 1 million seedlings; the trees stabilize the shoreline, reduce erosion and create nursery habitats for fish and crabs.

In Peru’s Andes, Quechua women turn human-wildcat conflict into coexistence
- In Peru’s Andean highlands, Quechua women who once killed pumas in retaliation for livestock losses are now leading efforts to protect them.
- Through a women-led conservation group, communities used camera traps and monitoring to reframe pumas and other wildcats as part of a shared ecosystem.
- Practical measures such as improved corrals, nonlethal deterrents and forest protection have sharply reduced conflict and ended retaliatory wildcat killings.
- An alpaca wool textile cooperative links conservation with women’s economic empowerment, strengthening both livelihoods and wildlife protection.

How intermediaries are reshaping mangrove restoration
- Despite growing global interest in mangrove conservation and restoration, many projects fail; experts say one reason is that restoration efforts are often led by small community groups with limited resources and expertise.
- Over the past five years, Seatrees, a California-based NGO, has supported mangrove restoration projects in Kenya, Mexico, the U.S. and Indonesia by providing funding to scale up tree planting, produce storytelling materials and build capacity in science, monitoring and impact measurement.
- In Kenya, where their restoration efforts are most advanced, Seatrees and its local project partner have supported more than 30 community groups to plant more than 1 million mangrove seedlings, maintain nurseries, dig trenches to improve hydrology and patrol forest areas for illegal logging — while paying participants for this important work.
- Seatrees has recently funded the creation and operation of a mangrove seedling nursery in the Florida Keys, run by CoastLove, a local NGO that engages residents and tourists in hands-on activities.

Communities join global push to protect European, Arctic & US peatlands
- A conservation effort across Finland, Canada’s Arctic and the U.S. is trying to establish one of the first coordinated efforts to protect and restore peatlands in Europe and North America.
- At the same time, communities and organizations are leading research activities, preserving Indigenous knowledge and creating artistic spaces to raise awareness about peatland conservation.
- Although peatlands cover only about 3-4% of the Earth’s surface, studies show they contain up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon.
- Given that peatlands are overlooked and face growing risks, sources say a cross-regional approach is timely for advancing peatland conservation while helping communities become better prepared and more resilient to climate change and mining impacts.

Whale sharks released from nets along India’s coast as fishers turn rescuers
- Once hunted and butchered for oil and meat, whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are now being rescued by fishers along India’s western Arabian Sea coast.
- Since 2001, the nonprofit Wildlife Trust of India has been educating fishing communities about whale sharks, training fishers in safe disentanglement techniques and offering compensation for destroyed nets.
- During that time, more than a thousand whale sharks have been released from accidental entanglement in fishing nets along India’s west coast.
- However, experts say the compensation for rescues remains insufficient and that social security, insurance, training and livelihood-linked incentives should be offered to protect the fishers who engage in whale shark rescues.

In the Brazilian Amazon, community conservation success comes with a cost: Study
- In Brazil’s western Amazon, community-led efforts to protect the pirarucu, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, bring conservation benefits that extend into upland ecosystems.
- A study in Nature Sustainability found that by patrolling oxbow lakes along the Juruá River, communities effectively protect a mean area 86 times larger than the lakes they directly monitor, making this the largest community-based conservation initiative in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Local families bear the full economic burden of conservation efforts; surveillance represents 32% of total costs and reduces community income by 21%. Researchers say that using payments for environmental services would help ease pressure on communities.

In Brazil, planting forests for carbon credits could help ecosystem restoration
- The sale of carbon credits from forest restoration is taking off in Brazil, but the sector still needs to tackle mistrust, the complexity of ecosystem restoration and the long-term nature of the projects.
- Founded in 2021, Brazilian firm re.green commercially restores forests by selling carbon credits and has projects spanning 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest.
- The company aims to restore 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of tropical forests across Brazil. Its work so far has been recognized through an EarthShot Prize in 2025.
- As well as restoring ecosystems to sell high-integrity carbon credits, the company also works with the community and produces data and knowledge on forest restoration.

Sumatra’s female forest protectors
“We’re not patrolling; we’re roaming.” In the forests bordering Mount Leuser National Park, a group of Indigenous women are demonstrating a new paradigm of conservation in what is traditionally male-dominated industry. Through the Nuraga Bhumi Institute, a female-led initiative founded by Nayla Azmii, these women patrol a 5-hectare buffer zone that was once destined to […]
Cowboy boots made from pirarucu leather fund Amazon’s sustainable fishery
- Sustainable pirarucu fisheries in Brazil’s Amazonas are restoring once-depleted populations of this freshwater giant, thanks to community-led management systems and sales to brands overseas.
- Selling pirarucu skin to the fashion industry, especially for Texas-bound cowboy boots, is key to financing the fishery, helping maintain fair prices for fishers and cover part of the high costs of transport, storage and community monitoring.
- The system depends on heavy collective labor and constant protection against illegal fishing, with communities traveling long distances, patrolling lakes and facing armed threats — all while receiving limited recognition or policy support from authorities.

Conservation’s unfinished business
- A recent Nature paper argues that many persistent failures in conservation cannot be understood without examining how race, power, and historical exclusion continue to shape the field’s institutions and practices.
- The authors contend that conservation’s colonial origins still influence who holds decision-making authority, whose knowledge is valued, and who bears the social costs of environmental protection today.
- As governments pursue ambitious global targets to expand protected areas, the paper warns that conservation efforts risk repeating past injustices if Indigenous and local land rights are not recognized and upheld.
- To address these challenges, the authors propose a framework centered on rights, agency, accountability, and education, emphasizing that more equitable conservation is also more durable.

Helping Cape Town’s toads cross the road: Interview with Andrew Turner
- Endangered western leopard toads have lost habitat to urban development in Cape Town, and crossing roads during breeding season adds another danger: getting “squished.”
- Mongabay interviewed Andrew Turner, scientific manager for CapeNature, who discussed underpasses to help the toads safely reach their destinations: ponds for mating and laying eggs.
- Citizen science offers a useful data source, as volunteers record and photograph the toads they help cross the road; “It’s hard for scientists and researchers to be everywhere, but citizenry is everywhere,” Turner says.

A new frog species emerges from Peru’s cloud forests — and it’s already at risk
- Local communities and scientists have discovered a new-to-science frog species, Oreobates shunkusacha, in the cloud forests of the Bosques de Vaquero Biocorridor, in the San Martín region of Peru.
- Its name, Shunku Sacha, which in Kichwa-Lamista means “heart of the forest,” honors the local communities leading conservation work in the area.
- In a study describing O. shunkusacha, researchers write that the species is likely endangered.
- Over the past 40 years, the Lake Sauce sub-basin, where the frog lives, has lost nearly 60% of its forest cover, placing both the survival of the newly discovered species and the stability of this ecosystem at risk.

Fights against development projects marks 2025 for Nepal’s Indigenous people
- From protests to court rulings, for Nepal’s Indigenous peoples and local communities, 2025 was marked by activism and struggles to secure their forests, land and territories from infrastructure projects.
- As threats from hydropower, cable cars and mining projects increased, communities lost touch with their forest, lands and sacred connection with nature, which impacted biodiversity conservation.
- However, communities pushed legal action against these projects that operated without FPIC, community consultation, environmental regulation and safeguards.

Clark Lungren and the case for compromise in conservation
- Clark Lungren spent most of his life in Burkina Faso, where he worked on conservation not as an external intervention but as a local, becoming a naturalized citizen and embedding himself in village life. His authority came less from formal credentials than from long familiarity with people and place.
- He was best known for his role in the recovery of the Nazinga area, where wildlife rebounded after communities were granted controlled hunting rights in exchange for protection. The arrangement, initially dismissed by many experts, proved durable.
- Lungren argued consistently that conservation would only last if it aligned with local governance and incentives, a view reflected in community-managed hunting zones and buffer areas around protected lands. He favored workable compromises over strict orthodoxy.
- Active well into his seventies, he continued training, research, and advocacy through a demonstration farm near Ouagadougou. The systems he helped build persisted in a region where many conservation efforts were short-lived.

Grassroots forest protection succeeds where planting drives fail in Nepal
- Cases from Nepal suggest that degraded land can regenerate naturally when locals enforce rules such as banning open livestock grazing, restricting access, fining illegal logging and organizing patrols, without the need for costly tree-planting drives.
- Native species return within a few years after the land is protected, showing that fertile soil, existing seed banks and wildlife presence can restore forests naturally.
- Researchers and community leaders say Nepal should prioritize long-term, community-led forest protection and natural regeneration, which are more effective, sustainable and lower-cost than coordinated tree planting.

Project sees long-term success restoring forests in the high Andes: Study
- The Polylepis forests of Peru are some of the highest high-altitude forests in the world, playing an essential role in the water cycle.
- Over the past few decades, various restoration projects have worked to restore Polylepis forests across their former range.
- In 2022, researchers revisited a restoration project in Aquia, Peru, to understand what factors contributed to its success. The study concludes that stakeholder participation and formal conservation agreements helped the project succeed.
- Over the past four years, initiatives by ECOAN and Accion Andina have built on previous success.

As fish catches fall and seas rise, Douala’s residents join efforts to restore mangroves
- Cameroon’s coastal fisheries are in decline, leaving fishers with dwindling catches — a crisis linked directly to the depletion of the country’s mangroves, experts say, which are breeding grounds for fish.
- The expansion of urban settlements, conversion of coastal land for agriculture, and sand extraction drives mangrove loss in Cameroon; another key driver is the use of mangrove wood for smoking fish.
- The Cameroon government and NGOs have set themselves an ambitious goal of restoring 1,000 hectares (nearly 2,500 acres) of mangrove forests by 2050.
- A key strategy involves engaging local communities in the replanting process and providing alternative livelihoods, such as urban farming and beekeeping, to reduce dependence on mangrove wood.

Small cat conservationists hail Uganda’s new Echuya Forest National Park
- Uganda’s Echuya Forest Reserve will become a national park, alongside five other forest areas. That news is being heralded by small cat conservationists as a win for the threatened African golden cat (Caracal aurata) and other wildlife that dwell in the forest.
- African golden cats are forest dependent and considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. They’re especially threatened by snaring across their range. It’s unknown exactly how Echuya’s population is faring, but camera-trapping efforts in 2015 required 90 days to record just one of these elusive cats.
- Data coming out of Uganda suggest that national parks can act as strongholds for the felid, raising hopes that Echuya’s population can recover and possibly thrive.
- Wildcat conservationists have also developed programs to build engagement and benefit communities near the new park, initiating goat and sheep “seed banks” as alternatives to bushmeat, setting up savings and loan associations to improve quality of life, and arranging community soccer matches to build goodwill.

Despite a growing planetary crisis, leaders find hope in community efforts
- This week in Nairobi, yet another report on the planet’s decline was released, at the seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), amid dire alarms on everything from wetlands to pollution and climate disinformation.
- Yet cost-effective solutions exist, and leaders called for multilateral approaches that move toward a more circular economy.
- Grassroots leaders say they find hope in real-world examples of restoration and reform efforts led by community groups and in the growing evidence that, even in a destabilized world, communities, institutions and governments are laying the foundations of a livable future.

Mongabay expands its newsroom with launch of dedicated Wildlife Desk
- Mongabay has launched a dedicated Wildlife Desk to expand independent reporting of the state of wildlife and the ecosystems they inhabit.
- The desk builds on years of wildlife coverage across a global newsroom with deep experience in reporting on topics such as wildlife ecology, animal behavior, habitat connectivity, zoonotic diseases and the wildlife trade.
- Mongabay’s wildlife reporting has already contributed to real-world impacts, including scrutiny of destructive mining projects affecting tigers in India and chimpanzees in Guinea, support for critically endangered river dolphin conservation in Indonesia, and more.
- The Wildlife Desk reinforces Mongabay’s capacity to deliver independent journalism that advances understanding of wildlife at a global scale.

Philippine mangroves survived a typhoon, but now confront a human-made challenge
- A new study shows mangroves in Tacloban, the Philippine city hit hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan in December 2013, have expanded beyond pre-storm levels.
- This recovery was driven by community-led reforestation efforts from 2015-2018, when residents planted 30,000 Rhizophora mangrove seedlings across 4 hectares (10 acres) of Cancabato Bay.
- Satellite image analysis and modeling reveal how the forest was destroyed by Haiyan and how it later withstood 2019’s Typhoon Phanfone.
- However, experts warn that the recovering mangroves may be threatened by an ongoing project to build a causeway across the bay, which could generate pollution and physical disturbances.

The Indigenous women changing the course of their communities
- Indigenous women leaders play a key role as defenders of their territories, biodiversity and ancestral knowledge.
- From their communities, they lead environmental restoration, collective health care, political participation and economic autonomy.
- Three women leaders from Peru, Mexico and Colombia share their stories of resilience and leadership in territories beset by violence as well as social, economic and environmental challenges.
- They do it by caring for bees, water, and the lives of Amazonian peoples, not only for the present but for future generations.

Loma Santa marks first Indigenous protected area in the Bolivian Amazon
- Establishing the first Indigenous protected area in the Bolivian Amazon took years and involved local communities, NGOs and the government.
- This natural reserve is home to five Indigenous peoples of the Bolivian Amazon, who act as the guardians of Loma Santa.
- Imperiled by illegal logging, communities hope new tools will make combating the exploitation of their natural resources more effective.
- The protected area emerged from the first Indigenous territorial autonomy in the Bolivian Amazon, where the communities have their own system of self-governance.

In Ecuador’s Yasuní, cameras reveal the wild neighbors visitors rarely see
- The Kichwa Sani Isla community and the U.S. organization fStop Foundation are using high-resolution camera traps to document biodiversity around a community-run eco-lodge in Ecuador.
- Scientists trained community members to install, maintain and operate the cameras, including devices placed 40 meters (130 feet) up in the treetops.
- Since February 2025, the cameras have recorded at least six jaguars, suggesting an intact food chain and a healthy ecosystem.
- The Kichwa community has made ecotourism an effective tool for conservation through its Sani Lodge, helping curb pressures on the forest.

Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile
- In southern Chile’s Huellelhue River estuary, three Mapuche Huilliche communities are leading efforts to restore the natural beds of the choro mussel through a participatory governance model that brings together ancestral knowledge, science and education.
- Intensive harvesting during the 1990s led to the collapse of this mollusk, disrupting local ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
- After confirming the mussel’s critical state, a total harvesting ban was declared in 2019; the communities formally requested that the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture extend it to 2026.
- Thanks to the ban, the mussel population is now showing clear signs of recovery, while Indigenous communities and experts implement a sustainable management plan and a laboratory-based repopulation program.

The valuable peatlands of Peru’s Pastaza River Fan: one of the world’s largest carbon reservoirs
- In Peru’s Datem del Marañón province, local communities are combining ancestral knowledge with scientific expertise to protect the peatlands that thrive in this part of the Amazon.
- Peatlands cover only 3% of Earth’s surface, yet can store up to five times more carbon dioxide per hectare than other tropical ecosystems.
- Although research on Peru’s peatlands remains limited, their importance lies in both their role in mitigating climate change and their socioeconomic value for local communities.
- The area that’s the focus of scientists’ research and local communities’ conservation work is part of the Pastaza River Fan, Peru’s largest wetland and the third-deepest peatland in the world.

Indigenous guardians protecting the Amazon Trapeze continue to face challenges
- Defending the Amazon Rainforest is something that Indigenous communities have been doing for centuries, and the practice has gained renewed interest with the “Indigenous guard” program that launched two decades ago in Colombia.
- According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), there are around 1,200 guards across the three Indigenous councils in the Amazon Trapeze region, Colombia’s tri-border area with Peru and Brazil.
- However, the lack of income for the guardians in particular, and of economic opportunities for communities here in general, have driven many Indigenous people, including some guards, to get involved in illicit activities such as coca cultivation in Peru or drug trafficking.
- To continue protecting the environment, Indigenous guards are calling for greater government support and say they hope to receive fair compensation for the work they do.

Afro-descendant territories slash deforestation, lock in carbon, study shows
- New research documents the positive impacts that Afro-descendant populations have had on tropical ecosystems in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname.
- The study found that deforestation rates are between 29% and 55% lower in Afro-descendant lands than in protected areas.
- This is the first scientific study to employ statistical, geographical and historical data to assess the contribution of Afro-descendant communities in conservation.
- According to the researchers, Afro-descendant populations and their good practices are at risk due to a lack of legal recognition, invisibility of their contributions, and extractive activities in their territories.

What was achieved for Indigenous peoples at COP30?
- The two-week COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, saw the largest global participation of Indigenous leaders in the conference’s history.
- With the adoption of measures like the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, a $1.8 billion funding pledge, and the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), the summit resulted in historic commitments to secure land tenure rights for Indigenous peoples, local communities and Afro-descendant people.
- Yet despite these advances, sources say frustrations grew as negotiators failed to establish pathways for rapid climate finance for adaptation, loss and damage, or to create road maps for reversing deforestation and phasing out fossil fuels.
- While some pledges appear ambitious, Indigenous delegates say effective implementation of the pledges will depend on government transparency and accountable use of funds.

Indigenous Dayak resist new southern Borneo national park amid global protection deficit
- Indigenous peoples and student protesters staged several demonstrations in Indonesian Borneo in August in a bid to pressure local authorities to cancel plans for a 119,779-hectare (295,980-acre) national park in the Meratus mountain range.
- Meratus Mountains National Park would be the first national park in South Kalimantan province, and the 58th in Indonesia.
- The draft plans will absorb almost two dozen villages impacting several thousand families, many of whom fear displacement given the lack of formal state recognition of Indigenous communities.
- Local civil society organizations say the public protests reflect a lack of consultation with affected communities, a pattern established by many governments as countries rush to protect 30% of the world’s land and marine areas by 2030.

How Indonesian communities rescued the Bali starling from the brink of extinction
One of the world’s rarest birds has rebounded from near extinction after Indigenous communities on the Indonesian island of Bali committed to protect it under traditional laws, Mongabay contributor Heather Physioc reported. The Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) is a songbird with striking white plumage and a cobalt-blue face. In 2001, just six birds were known […]
Pioneering primatologist in Madagascar shares decades of conservation wisdom
Patricia Wright, a pioneering primatologist who established the Centre ValBio research station in Madagascar, began her work there in 1986. As the person who first described the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) to Western science, her contributions led to the creation of Ranomafana National Park, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She joins the Mongabay […]
In Mexico, world’s smallest turtle faces big threats from trafficking, habitat loss
- The Vallarta mud turtle, the world’s smallest turtle, lives only in temporary lagoons in the Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta, which poses a huge challenge for its conservation.
- By the time scientists had determined they were a distinct species, just 1,000 turtles remained; since then, their number has dropped to 300.
- A key driver of this decline is the illegal pet trade, with an estimated 200 turtles smuggled to China this year alone, according to experts.
- Even though the turtle is listed as critically endangered, Mexican authorities have been slow to implement measures to protect it or its habitat, which is being lost to tourism developments.

Coal-dependent South Africa struggles to make just energy transition real
- Communities in South Africa’s coal-mining towns say there’s little sign of a clean energy transition on the ground, where they complain of persistent pollution and violence toward activists.
- A metalworkers’ union leader who sits on South Africa’s climate commission says the transition is racing forward, outpacing new jobs promised to mine workers.
- A mine operator says coal is a critical element in producing renewable energy infrastructure.

Indigenous delegates prepare for COP30 with focus on justice, land and finance
- The 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, will run from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, Brazil, and is expected to host the largest participation of Indigenous peoples in the conference series’ history, with more than 3,000 Indigenous delegates registered.
- Mongabay spoke with some of the delegates from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific about their expectations for the conference and their objectives.
- They’re calling for recognition of Indigenous lands as a climate solution, a just energy transition, protection for forest defenders, and financial pledges that ensure at least 20% of forest conservation funds be directed to Indigenous and local communities.
- COP30 is expected to launch initiatives such as the Belém Action Mechanism for a just transition and the Tropical Forest Forever Facility. In the lead up to the conference, governments and donors also announced major commitments to recognize customary lands and provide funding support land rights.

Forest sanctuaries and spiritual balance in the Karen highlands of Thailand
- One of Thailand’s largest Indigenous groups, Karen Pgaz K’Nyau culture is deeply rooted in animist beliefs that emphasize the importance of living in balance with nature.
- Their approach to land management incorporates sacred and community forests and traditional small-scale farming, where rituals, prayers and customary regulations govern the use of natural resources.
- However, the pressures of modernization and exclusionary conservation policies undermine their capacity to continue their spiritual practices on ancestral land, threatening cultural identity, food security and ecosystem integrity in many highland villages.

Local divers pick away at Lake Malawi’s underwater garbage problem
- Accumulations of trash lie below the tranquil waters of Lake Malawi National Park, a problem local environmentalists say likely extends throughout Lake Malawi, the world’s fourth-largest freshwater lake by volume.
- They blame dumping by lake users as well as poor waste handling upland within Malawi and in Mozambique and Tanzania, which share the lake’s shoreline. Malawi does not have public waste recycling facilities and all municipalities dump waste in open landfills where it risks draining into river systems.
- Divers with a local nonprofit volunteer collecting lake garbage in return for training and the use of diving equipment to make a living guiding tourists.
- Meanwhile, the Malawian government is working with universities to map and eventually clean up garbage hotspots in the lake as it works to strengthen waste management in the country.

Supporting frontline leadership in a time of crisis (commentary)
- During Climate Week in New York, Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler joined discussions with grassroots leaders from the Global South that offered a sharper view of how philanthropy meets—and sometimes misses—the realities of frontline work.
- A common theme: philanthropy’s structures often clash with the realities of frontline conservation and climate work, prioritizing short-term, quantifiable outcomes over long-term, relational support that nurtures resilience and agency.
- Leaders noted that true impact often occurs outside traditional metrics—in community empowerment, social cohesion, and local leadership—yet rigid grant cycles and top-down governance continue to stifle this potential. A more durable model of giving would put more emphasis on trust, shared decision-making, mental-health support, and “disciplined optimism,” enabling frontline groups to sustain progress and adapt over decades rather than grant cycles.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Women firefighters in Thailand restore community forest
In northern Thailand’s Ban Pong village, a group of women has spent nearly two decades restoring and guarding their community forest to prevent dry-season wildfires. From the restored forest, residents now harvest forest products to sell in markets and feed some of Ban Pong’s 7,100 residents, Mongabay staff writer Carolyn Cowan reported. Led by Rachaprapa […]
Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
- An Indonesian songbird once nearly extinct in the wild, the Bali starling, is making a comeback through community-led conservation on Nusa Penida and beyond.
- Strict law enforcement and captive breeding failed to reverse the bird’s decline; poaching and habitat loss continued despite decades of formal protections.
- In the early 2000s, conservationists changed tactics, working with communities on Nusa Penida to establish the island as a sanctuary for Bali starlings.
- Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching.

Anguish for residents as Thailand’s most polluting coal plant gets new lease of life
- Thailand has pushed back retiring several coal-fired units at the 2,400-MW Mae Moh power plant, keeping some units running until at least 2031 and refurbishing others to 2048, despite earlier closure plans.
- Mae Moh is Thailand’s biggest CO2 polluter, and also emits high levels of other air pollutants, which nearby communities have for decades blamed for respiratory and other illnesses.
- Extending the plant’s lifespan undercuts Thailand’s clean-air pledges and Paris Agreement targets as fossil fuels still dominate the power mix, while renewable growth remains slow.
- Residents are skeptical the plant will be shut as planned by 2050, and are demanding stronger mitigation, cleanup and health care as coal jobs remain a major part of the local economy.

Northern Cameroon’s lions are reproducing, but concerns remain
- GPS tracking of 10 collared lions in Bouba Ndjida National Park has confirmed multiple lionesses with cubs, indicating successful reproduction of Cameroon’s highly threatened northern lion subspecies.
- Conservationists warn many cubs may not reach adulthood because dispersing young lions are exposed to snares, retaliatory killings, and other human pressures along the park’s edges.
- With only about 60-80 lions in Bouba Ndjida and fewer than 1,000 northern lions left in Central Africa, the park is seen as crucial to the subspecies’ survival and recovery.
- Uncontrolled livestock grazing, poaching, insecurity, and weak connectivity with neighboring parks hamper conservation; experts call for larger safe areas, community involvement, and coordinated management to ensure long-term survival.

The Indigenous tradition sustaining Nepal’s alpine pastures amid climate change
- The Gurung people of Nepal’s Himalayas manage fragile alpine pastures through the ‘thiti’ system, which sets annual guidelines for rotational grazing, forest use and herb collection.
- Livestock owners pay small per-animal fees that finance habitat protection and support herders, ensuring resources are used fairly.
- Conservationists view thiti as a proven Indigenous approach to protecting high-altitude grasslands threatened by climate change.
- Out-migration, shrinking pasturelands, tourism growth and lack of legal recognition are weakening the tradition.

As Sri Lanka struggles with ghost nets, volunteer youth lead seabed cleanup
- Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, commonly called “ghost nets,” continue to trap and kill marine animals such as sea turtles, dolphins and whales, long after these nets being discarded in Sri Lankan waters.
- As this fishing gear can travel long distances via winds and ocean currents before sinking, it accumulates along shorelines or converges in large plastic patches in the oceans, becoming a transboundary issue.
- Volunteer initiatives such as The Pearl Protectors are diving to remove ghost nets, successfully recovering tens of hundreds of kilograms of discarded fishing gear from coral reefs and seagrass beds.
- While recycling efforts continue, a Sri Lankan designer has pioneered an innovative upcycling approach, transforming ghost fishing nets into fashion items — merging marine conservation with sustainable creativity to raise awareness of ocean pollution.

Permaculture promises peace, food, increased equality in Kenyan county
- In Kenya’s semiarid Baringo county, Indigenous pastoralists like Salina Chepsat are moving from herding to diversified organic crop farming.
- They benefit from training by the Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative in permaculture and seed saving, but male control of land still restrains how much they can do.
- Boreholes and a shared irrigation scheme enable year-round crops and foster cooperation among different ethnic communities with a history of hostilities.
- Experts call for co-designed strategies combining water access, land restoration and inclusive decision-making to secure food and peace.

New species of gecko described from Madagascar’s sacred forests
- An international team of biologists has discovered a new species of gecko in small forest fragments in southeastern Madagascar.
- Due to its extremely limited range, researchers say it should be classified as critically endangered.
- The management of these forests by local communities offers a significant advantage for the species’ conservation, according to the research team.

Navigating conservation’s crisis (commentary)
- Conservation is facing a convergence of crises: accelerating ecological decline, weakened institutions, disinformation-fueled information breakdowns, and mounting threats to frontline defenders. These pressures interact, compounding the difficulty of protecting nature and people.
- To endure, the sector must adapt its financing and design models to what governments can sustain, treat information as infrastructure, and build unconventional coalitions that align conservation with livelihoods, public health, and local leadership.
- Resilience also depends on protecting the people doing the work and adopting “optimism as a method” — disciplined, evidence-based approaches that link effort to tangible outcomes, tell small stories of progress, and resist fatalism.
- The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

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

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

Women-led patrols and fire prevention restore forests in northern Thailand
- Each year, northern Thailand struggles with choking haze caused by crop burning and forest fires, taking a severe toll on human health.
- Over the past two decades, a group of women in Lampang province have taken action to improve their local environment and curb sources of haze by restoring their local community forest.
- Their bold approach to fire prevention — combining regular patrols, check dams and fire breaks, as well as an innovative wildfire alert system — has earned them a reputation as a regional model for other communities.
- Now thriving, the community forest also yields wild mushrooms, leafy vegetables and other marketable produce that support local livelihoods.

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

Discovery of dazzling blue butterfly underscores peril facing Angola’s forests
- Scientists have described a new butterfly species, Francis’s gorgeous sapphire (Iolaus francisi), from Angola’s Namba Mountains, where its survival depends on mistletoe plants.
- High-altitude evergreen forests, known as Afromontane and covering about 590 hectares (1,460 acres) in the Namba Mountains, are the largest of their kind in Angola but remain without legal protection.
- Researchers warn that fires, timber harvesting, and especially unregulated farming could devastate the forests, as has happened at Kumbira, another Angolan Afromontane forest.
- Conservationists say community-led initiatives are key to protecting Namba, as Angola’s parliament moves to consider protected status for nearby Mount Moco, another Afromontane oasis.

Thailand’s living floral heritage takes root in a park of rare and ancient trees
- Landscape designer Bunrak Thanacharoenrot, inspired by his agricultural roots, spent 25 years curating and transplanting rare and unusual Thai trees to create Changthong Heritage Park near Chiang Mai.
- Opened in November 2024, the park showcases centuries-old trees, rare species, and unique genetic mutations, blending conservation with immersive visitor experiences.
- The park emphasizes both biological and aesthetic value, rescuing threatened species and saving significant trees from destruction, while promoting harmony between humans and natural ecosystems.

Social media post sparks rediscovery of endemic Sri Lanka rainforest plant
- Classified as “extinct in the wild” in Sri Lanka’s 2012 Red List, the endemic rainforest giant known as Pini- Beraliya (Doona ovalifolia) has been rediscovered in several locations, but the first discovery of the plant was triggered by a Facebook post.
- The species was long known only from a single cultivated specimen found at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya, which served as a living reference during decades without any wild sightings.
- Conservation efforts now include propagation of hundreds of seedlings at the Endane plant nursery in mid-country and the creation of a community-run nursery in Pimbura in southwestern Sri Lanka, where schoolchildren actively water and monitor these plants in their school premises.
- A recovery plan aims to protect all remaining wild trees, expand ex-situ collections and restore suitable riparian habitats with the help of local guardian groups.

Local forest governance helps jaguars and forests flourish in Guatemala
- Thirteen communities with concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve are working with Guatemala’s protected areas authorities to conserve the forests and wildlife on their lands.
- Community members use drones, camera traps, phone apps and satellite data analysis to track changes in the ecosystem and the movements of species.
- Their involvement has helped conserve the local jaguar population by drastically reducing forest loss in the central zone of the reserve.
- Further north, on the border with Mexico, jaguars are under threat from drug trafficking, illegal ranching and hunting, timber and wildlife trafficking, and illegal encroachments to build new villages.

NGOs launch novel community projects to conserve Mexico’s ocelots
- The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is often overlooked because it shares much of its American range with its more charismatic larger cousin, the jaguar. Recently, scientists discovered some surprising behaviors in this versatile small feline — including a tendency to hang out with opossums.
- In Mexico, the ocelot is classified as an endangered species due to habitat loss and hunting. A relatively new threat is climate change, as longer dry periods force the small cat to approach human settlements in search of water.
- NGOs in Mexico are working to end community-wildlife conflicts and promote peaceful coexistence between humans and ocelots. Projects conducted with beekeepers, farmers, schoolchildren and pet owners help achieve that goal.
- One lesson learned: There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Each community needs a tailored approach, ranging from building specially designed water troughs, painting school murals with kids, helping farmers construct ocelot-proof chicken cages, to free vaccination and sterilization programs for dogs and cats.

Community efforts yield new marine protected area in the Philippines
The Philippines has officially designated a new marine protected area after an 18-year campaign by local communities, fisher associations, civil society organizations and government agencies, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced Aug. 13. The newly created Bitaug Marine Protected Area (MPA), which covers nearly 150 hectares (about 370 acres), is the largest MPA in Siquijor province […]
From counting trees to enhancing climate resiliency, Kampala focuses on its forests
- Recognized as a “Tree City of the World,” Uganda’s capital city of Kampala has set out on a journey to transform its urban forest into a resilient, native-rich landscape.
- What began as a response to falling trees has become a comprehensive environmental strategy tackling health, equity and climate change.
- Kampala has recently expanded its mission to increase green spaces to include biodiversity and connecting wildlife corridors throughout the city.

Goldman Prize winner’s shift from engineer to activist in Tenerife, Canary Islands
Carlos Mallo Molina grew up inspired by his engineer father who led port construction projects across Spain. But while working on a highway project in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, Molina realized that a related plan to build a port in a marine protected area threatened the marine ecosystem that he had come to […]
In western Nepal, farmers switch to growing turmeric; elephants stay away
- In western Nepal’s Bardiya district, farmers from marginalized communities are replacing traditional crops with turmeric — a plant elephants avoid — dramatically reducing human-elephant conflict.
- Backed by conservation groups and supported by scientific studies, the community-led shift to turmeric farming offers a replicable model for coexistence.
- The initiative combines traditional knowledge, scientific research and targeted support to turn a long-standing conservation challenge into an opportunity for ecological and economic resilience.

Fences, tech and trust help save jaguars in Panama’s Darién
- In Panama’s Darién province, jaguar predation on cattle is one of the top reasons for people killing the locally endangered felines, and a top threat to their populations.
- To reduce jaguar killings, the nonprofit Yaguará Panamá Foundation is working on conservation measures directly with livestock farmers and Indigenous families.
- A recent study documents jaguars’ movements through once-forested landscapes for the first time, providing biologists with better information for how humans and jaguars can avoid conflict.
- Using GPS and observational data, the organization helps create land management plans, such as installing electric fences to help keep jaguars away, while improving overall environmental conditions.

Unrestricted funding is key for frontline conservation groups: Mongabay podcast
The U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) works to link funders with community-based conservation groups, ensuring that much-needed resources are reaching the frontlines. In a Mongabay Newscast episode in July, Jean-Gaël “JG” Collomb, CEO of WCN, advocates for giving more unrestricted funding to local groups who know the environment best, allowing them to decide how to […]
With nocturnal surveys and awareness building, Sri Lanka steps up to protect its owls
- In Sri Lanka, volunteers and researchers survey owls at night along set routes to mark the International Owl Day that falls on Aug. 4. But what takes more effort is the public educational events to challenge deep-rooted superstitions about owls.
- From the common Indian scops owl (Otus bakkamoena) and brown hawk-owl (Ninox scutulata) to the elusive barn owl (Tyto alba), several owl species persist in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital city despite habitat loss and disturbance.
- In Sri Lankan culture, owls are generally viewed as a bad omen, leading to persecution and eviction from nesting sites, even though species like barn owls provide valuable rodent control, hence being particularly useful in urban settings.
- Practices such as placing hollow coconut trunks in agricultural fields to attract barn owls for natural pest control offer nature-based solutions that could be reintroduced to modern agriculture and beat the stigma around the species.

What we can learn from the Nuer people and their sacred birds
For the pastoralist Nuer people who migrate with the seasons between western Ethiopia’s Gambella region and Africa’s largest wetland, the Sudd, in South Sudan, birds are gaatkuoth or “sacred children of God.” The community has identified at least 71 bird species that are culturally important to them and useful in traditional medicine, as well as […]
Asia’s longest free-flowing river faces threats of dams and diversions
The Salween River, at around 3,300 kilometers, or 2,000 miles, is Asia’s longest free-flowing river, running from Tibet through Myanmar to the Andaman Sea. But Indigenous groups and communities living along its banks in China, Myanmar and Thailand say they fear hydropower development might cause the river to suffer the same fate as the Mekong […]
Nepal’s forest guardians monitor the elusive red panda
In eastern Nepal, local communities are leading the effort to monitor the elusive and endangered red panda, contributor Deepak Adhikari reports for Mongabay. Fewer than 10,000 red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) now remain in the rapidly disappearing bamboo forests of the eastern Himalayas across India, Bhutan, China and Nepal. To help monitor them in Nepal, the […]
Recently contacted Indigenous in Peru want REDD+ and conservationists to stay away
- Indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon who have only recently come into contact with the outside world have created their own federation to stand against conservation projects they say benefit from their forests at their expense.
- In their guiding principles, the Chachibay Declaration, they demand an end to REDD+ and other large-scale conservation projects on or near their territories, which they call “exploitative.”
- The federation represents 12 communities living deep in the Peruvian Amazon who are currently facing increased illegal logging and drug trafficking.
- These communities say they don’t need any more biodiversity reports or conservation projects, but support with their basic survival needs like clean water and security.

How Cambodia’s new environmental code undermines Indigenous peoples’ rights (commentary)
- Indigenous peoples in Cambodia have traditionally stewarded — and relied on — millions of hectares of forestland for their sustenance.
- Now, these communities are concerned about the long-term viability of their cultures and forest stewardship traditions since Cambodia’s parliament adopted a Code on Environment and Natural Resources, which excludes Indigenous peoples’ input and fails to recognize their rights in forest and natural resource management.
- “Without their voices and needs being considered, Indigenous peoples will continue to be victimized on their own land as their rights to access to nontimber forest products and traditional forests and land management have been excluded in the code. If these rights aren’t protected, Indigenous cultures and customs are at risk of disappearing, as their daily livelihoods and cultural practices are strongly intertwined with forests and natural resources,” the author argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay or his employer.

Forget decrees; try patience. Martin Goebel plays the long game in conserving Baja California Sur
- Martin Goebel champions a patient, relationship-based approach to conservation, focusing on community trust and long-term collaboration rather than top-down mandates or rapid results.
- Through LegacyWorks and its ResiMar initiative in Baja California Sur, Goebel and partners work to regenerate ecosystems from mountains to sea by aligning environmental goals with local aspirations, emphasizing social legitimacy as a prerequisite for success.
- Drawing from decades of experience, including missteps like the vaquita reserve, Goebel argues that the toughest conservation challenges are social—not ecological—and require humility, listening, and time to build something that truly lasts.
- Goebel spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in Mexico in June 2025.

Scientists & communities rush to save rare, diverse Brazilian grassland ecosystem
- Rupestrian grasslands form an ecosystem of extremes: covering a mere 0.8% of Brazil’s territory, they are home to 15% of the nation’s flora. Of the 5,700 plant species catalogued, 40% can only be found there, giving the ecosystem one of the world’s highest endemic rates.
- The list of threats to this mountaintop ecosystem is long and includes the invasion of exotic species, urban growth and climate change. But mining poses the greatest threat: A single vein of ore could mean the extinction of dozens of native species.
- Community efforts to protect rupestrian grasslands have led to the creation of conservation units, while universities are forming partnerships with mining companies to drive restoration projects. At one time, restoration was thought to be impossible because of the inhospitable zones in which rupestrian grasslands grow, but a recent article has proven the contrary.

To save pangolins, we need to change the narrative (commentary)
- A new Netflix documentary about pangolins, the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal, is a powerful example of what can happen when media companies highlight the plight of lesser-known species.
- Most conservation dollars are directed at animals that already get attention and funding, like lions or elephants, while species like pangolins — which also have important ecological roles — receive comparatively little, so the narrative needs to change, a new op-ed argues.
- “We need to promote the visibility of lesser-known threatened species as part of their protection [and] broaden the conservation narrative beyond the most recognizable animals and give the same care and attention to the ones that are less familiar, but still at risk,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

The sacred humans-bird connection in Ethiopia’s wetlands: Interview with Abebayehu Aticho
- The Gambella region of Ethiopia is home to 71 bird species that are culturally important to the traditional pastoralist Nuer people and have several uses for the community, such as indicating seasonal changes and fish abundance.
- According to a recent study, the Nuer people maintain deep connections with these species, which helps the birds’ conservation, but threats to their habitats and wetlands are increasing.
- In the lead up to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15), Mongabay interviewed the study’s lead author Abebayehu Aticho about the spiritual ties, symbiotic relationships of Nuer people with birds and wetlands, and strategies required for the species’ conservation.
- The preservation of traditional knowledge and its incorporation into conservation strategies and policy making at local, national and global levels is important, says Aticho.

Study links Afro-descendant communities to less deforestation, more biodiversity
A new study finds that Afro-descendant communities in four Amazonian countries are linked to lands with high biodiversity and 29-55% less deforestation compared with protected and unprotected areas. More than 130 million people in Latin America identify as Afro-descendant peoples (ADP), descendants of those forcibly brought to the Americas during the slave trade. “What we […]
Community patrols can slash environmental crime by 80% (commentary)
- When communities are equipped with training, resources and institutional support, they can become powerful guardians of biodiversity, the lead author of a new study writes.
- His team’s research showed that community-led patrols reduced illegal activities such as unregulated fishing, hunting and logging by up to 80% in two vast protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon, even in the near-total absence of formal government enforcement.
- “The implications of the study stretch beyond the Amazon. As funding and political support for environmental enforcement dwindle in many tropical countries, decentralized and community-driven strategies offer a practical path forward,” he argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Sharks didn’t rebound—so Mark Erdmann is putting them back
- For over 30 years, Mark Erdmann has combined scientific discovery with grassroots conservation in Indonesia, helping communities protect their reefs from destructive practices and documenting more than 220 new species.
- As a leader behind Raja Ampat’s pioneering community-governed marine protected areas, Erdmann has shown how local stewardship can revive ecosystems—bringing back sharks, rays, and sustainable tourism.
- Despite new threats like over-tourism and revived mining, Erdmann remains hopeful, pointing to rising public resistance, tech-enabled rewilding programs like ReShark, and a new generation of Indonesian conservationists.
- Erdmann spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler during a voyage in the Pacific in June 2025.

Nepal sees positive outcome from reforestation project using local knowledge
- A reforestation project that integrated local communities and their ecological knowledge in Nepal is showing the fruits of success, almost one decade since the completion of the project.
- Local communities in six study sites across the western Gandaki province planted 131,186 trees of 44 native species on a total of about 76 hectares (187 acres) of government-owned land.
- According to a study, the density of vegetation on the study sites increased from being ‘sparse’ to ‘dense’ between 2018 and 2022.
- Although researchers say they acknowledge the role of local ecological knowledge in the reforestation process, the manner in which this knowledge contributed to the outcomes is yet to be determined.

The forest guardians along Nepal-India border leading red panda conservation
- In eastern Nepal’s Taplejung district, Forest Guardians like Surya Bhattarai are on the frontlines of red panda conservation — monitoring habitat, deterring poaching and gathering scientific data to help protect the species.
- With fewer than 10,000 wild red pandas left globally and major threats from road construction, habitat fragmentation and stray dog attacks, conservation efforts have expanded beyond protected areas into community forests.
- To reduce pressure on forests and foster local stewardship, the nonprofit Red Panda Network combines habitat restoration, eco-tourism, education and alternative livelihoods such as nettle-based handicrafts and homestays.

Study urges legal protection for Sulawesi’s endangered bear cuscus amid habitat loss
- A new study has revealed that the endangered bear cuscus in South Sulawesi occupies a highly fragmented and shrinking habitat, with less than 1% of surveyed areas deemed suitable, largely due to poaching, mining expansion and forest loss.
- Despite being previously protected, the species was excluded from Indonesia’s 2018 protected species list, and researchers argue this oversight must be corrected given the animal’s vulnerability and ecological importance.
- The study also highlights the cuscus’ broader scientific significance as one of the few marsupials in western Wallacea, as well as its cultural and emotional value to local communities that have learned to coexist with it.
- Experts and the study’s authors urge stronger habitat protection, stricter environmental controls and greater public engagement to ensure the species’ survival.

Jaguar population doubles around Brazil’s Iguaçu Falls
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Once vanishing from view in the dense Atlantic Forest, jaguars are again stalking the undergrowth of Iguaçu National Park in Brazil. Their comeback — numbers have more than doubled in the region since 2010 — is a rare success […]
This nonprofit connects frontline conservationists with funders, catalyzing impact
Jean-Gaël “JG” Collomb says community-based conservation organizations know best how to tackle the complex conservation challenges unique to their ecosystems. However, they’re also among the most underserved in terms of funding of all stripes. On this week’s episode of Mongabay’s podcast, Collomb explains how his nonprofit, Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), is working to change that. […]
A Kenya marine biodiversity credit program restores mangroves — and livelihoods
- The decline of mangroves significantly weakens Kenya’s coastal protection, leaving shorelines susceptible to erosion, storm surges and rising sea levels, disrupting marine ecosystems, depleting fish stocks, leading to reduced biodiversity — and lost livelihoods for locals.
- A U.S.-based organization called Seatrees is working with the local Community Based Environmental Conservation (COBEC) and residents of Marereni to restore and protect coastal and marine ecosystems as a natural solution to climate change.
- Since 2024, Seatrees has offered donors the option of buying $3 “biodiversity blocks,” each of which represents a single tangible conservation action: planting one mangrove tree on site in Marereni.
- The work goes beyond just planting trees, as community members turn mangrove restoration into a livelihood by establishing and maintaining nurseries — and, in some cases, starting side businesses with the income.

After USAID cut, Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area aims for self-sufficiency
- The abrupt end of USAID funding has disrupted conservation progress in Ethiopia’s Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), where community-led efforts had curbed illegal hunting and led to an increase in elephant and giraffe populations.
- In response, local leaders and communities are working to become financially self-sufficient by establishing income-generating initiatives.
- But progress is hindered by the lack of a functioning office, expert staff, and basic operational resources.
- While experts recognize the area’s strong potential for ecotourism and community benefit, they warn that poverty, conflict and climate challenges, combined with weak infrastructure, make external technical and financial support critical for a successful transition to self-reliance.

In Cameroon, forest mapping app helps Baka protect biodiversity and way of life
- In southeastern Cameroon, the Indigenous Baka people are helping protecting their forests with the Sapelli app.
- They spearheaded the design of this tool as part of a 2021 project launched in six villages around Lobéké National Park.
- The app allows the Baka to map nontimber forest products (NTFPs), flag human-wildlife conflict, and combat poaching.
- According to a recent report co-authored by WWF and the park’s conservation service, no elephants, gorillas or chimpanzees were killed in this protected area between 2022 and 2024, thanks to the park management’s adoption of technology.

First congress of forest basin leaders results in call for direct financing
- Participants at the world’s first global congress of Indigenous and local communities from forest basins seek to increase direct financing to community forest conservation.
- Community-led organizations are scaling up and creating their own funding mechanisms to directly access financing for climate, biodiversity and environmental protection.
- Little funding goes directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities, for reasons that span lack of community capacity and donor trust to financial requirements.
- In the run-up to the U.N. climate conference, COP30, in November 2025, organizations are calling for funding pledges to include community forest conservation.

An overlooked biocultural landscape in Sri Lanka receives overdue protection
- Sri Lanka has declared the Nilgala wilderness, a unique landscape harboring the island’s largest savanna ecosystem interwoven with a mosaic of unique habitats, as a national forest reserve.
- Despite being home to numerous endemic and range-restricted species found nowhere else on the island, Nilgala had long been an overlooked conservation priority, facing continuous environmental threats.
- The area is also the ancestral homeland of Sri Lanka’s Indigenous Vedda community and is revered as an ancient herbal sanctuary, deeply rooted in cultural and historical traditions.
- As a defiant act of opposition to various past attempts to open Nilgala for large-scale agricultural development, environmentalists once staged a unique ritual of ordaining 1,000 trees within the Nilgala area at a religious ceremony to protect the forest from destruction.

Red tape fouls a coastal community’s fight to protect fjords in Chilean Patagonia
- Fishing pens are considered sustainable fishing method and have been used in Chile’s Patagonian region since pre-Columbian times.
- Residents of the Huequi Peninsula have restored a fishing pen and discovered that it no longer catches the hundreds of fish it once did.
- They’re seeking to protect the Comau and Reñihué fjords, which are threatened by the fishing and aquaculture activity.
- They’ve applied for designation of the waters in the two fjords as a Marine Coastal Space for Indigenous Peoples, but the process, which is supposed to take three years at most, has now dragged on for five years.

On a Patagonian plateau, a microendemic frog makes a hopeful comeback
- Conservationists in Argentina’s Patagonia region have helped save the country’s most threatened amphibian, the El Rincon stream frog, a species whose entire existence centers on a single warm stream in the Somuncurá Plateau.
- To restore the frog population, researchers removed invasive trout from the stream, bred hundreds of frogs in captivity and released them in the wild, and worked with ranchers to keep cattle out of the frogs’ habitat.
- Researcher Federico Kacoliris, who mobilized the conservation movement around the species, recently received a Whitley Award, known as the “Green Oscars,” which will help his foundation expand protections in the area.

Specter of dams and diversion looms over Southeast Asia’s Salween River
- The Salween River, one of Asia’s last free-flowing rivers, supports Indigenous communities and biodiversity across China, Myanmar and Thailand, but faces threats from at least 20 proposed hydropower dams, mainly in Myanmar.
- Myanmar’s postcoup instability has stalled dam construction, though powerful armed groups and foreign investors, particularly from China and Thailand, remain key players in determining the river’s fate.
- The Thai-backed Hatgyi Dam and the Yuam River Diversion Project risk submerging villages, displacing Indigenous Karen communities, and diverting massive amounts of water for agriculture in central Thailand.
- Local resistance, legal challenges and transboundary activism are mounting, with critics calling for permanent protection of the Salween and condemning the exclusion of affected communities from decision-making.

Protecting Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains means putting communities at the center of conservation
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Conservation efforts often falter on the fault line between ecological ambition and human reality. A new initiative in southern Tanzania seeks to bridge that divide, reports contributor Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. The Udzungwa Landscape Strategy (ULS), launched in […]
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.

Jaguar recovery unites Brazil and Argentina in conservation effort
- Once on the brink of local extinction, jaguar numbers across the Brazil-Argentina Iguaçu-Iguazú border have more than doubled since 2010 thanks to coordinated conservation efforts.
- The cross-border collaboration between groups in both countries has been crucial to restoring jaguar populations across the Atlantic Forest Green Corridor.
- Women-led economic initiatives and formal institutional support, like “Jaguar Friendly” certification for the local airport, are strengthening human-wildlife connections.
- The long-term survival of jaguars in Iguaçu-Iguazú, a population considered critically endangered, depends on political will and habitat connectivity, as the big cats remain isolated from other jaguar groups.

Uniting plantations to save Bornean elephants: Interview with Farina Othman
- Conservationist Farina Othman, a 2025 Whitley Award winner, has been working with endangered Bornean elephants in Sabah, Malaysia, since 2006.
- Since the 1970s, logging, oil palm plantations and roads have reduced and fragmented elephant habitats, increasing contact between the animals and humans; retaliatory killings arising from human-elephant conflict are now among the major threats to the species’ survival.
- Equipped with knowledge of the Bornean elephant’s behavior, Othman works with local communities and oil palm plantations to promote coexistence with the elephants.
- In a recent interview with Mongabay, Othman dives deep into the human-elephant conflicts in the Lower Kinabatangan area, explaining why and how she attempts to change communities’ perceptions of elephants and reconnect elephant habitats.

Pay-to-release program reduces shark deaths, but backfires in some cases
- A pay-to-release program for threatened sharks and rays significantly reduced bycatch in Indonesia, with 71% of wedgefish and 4% of hammerheads released alive; but it also led some fishers to intentionally catch these species to claim incentives.
- Unequal payments across regions (ranging from $1 to $135 per fish) and the absence of national protective laws have complicated conservation efforts in key fishing areas like East Lombok and Aceh Jaya.
- A rigorous randomized controlled trial revealed unintended consequences: wedgefish mortality dropped by just 25%, while hammerhead mortality rose by 44% due to incentive-driven targeting.
- Local NGO KUL, which runs the program, has revised it to limit payouts and promote gear swaps, aiming to better align conservation outcomes with fisher livelihoods in the world’s top shark- and ray-catching nation.

Indigenous forest stewards watch over one of the world’s rarest raptors
The Philippine eagle is considered one of the world’s rarest birds of prey, with roughly 400 breeding pairs left in the wild. Amid ongoing threats from logging and hunting, Indigenous forest rangers are helping conservationists protect the species’ nests and habitat, Mongabay contributor Bong S. Sarmiento reported last year. Datu Julito Ahao of the Obu […]
Mining company returns to haunt Thailand’s Karen communities as resistance mounts
- A long-dormant fluorite mine is being reopened in northern Thailand, but the ethnically Karen communities that live in Mae Hong Son province’s Mae La Noi district are staunchly resisting the return of the mining company.
- Universal Mining, a Thai company, aimed to reopen its fluorite mine in 2021 following an injection of Chinese investments, but so far has failed to secure the environmental impact assessment needed to recommence mining operations in Mae La Noi.
- Experts warn that Universal Mining may be able to find a way around the environmental regulations as the Thai government has earmarked parts of Mae La Noi for extraction in its national mining strategy.
- According to rights advocates, the conflict brewing between the mining company and the Karen communities is a reflection of limited rights Thailand gives its Indigenous People.

USAID cut curbs hopes at Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area
- A sudden USAID funding cut has stalled conservation efforts in Ethiopia’s Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), a 197,000-hectare (486,000-acre) corridor home to elephants, giraffes and other threatened species.
- The project, launched in 2022 with $8.5 million in USAID support, had helped reduce illegal hunting, create local jobs and improve community-led biodiversity management.
- The suspension, announced in January this year, has triggered community members to lose hope and return to illegal hunting and deforestation, while fueling land-grab rumors that undermine Indigenous land rights.
- Conservationists and Indigenous leaders say the crisis reveals the risks of overreliance on foreign aid and that, without urgent support, hard-won ecological and social gains could be lost.

Young Rwandans support bird conservation through mobile app recordings
A young tour guide and his group of student mentees are helping monitor bird species in Rwanda with the help of a mobile app, Mongabay contributor Mariam Kone reported. Joseph Desiré Dufitumukiza, who enjoys bird-watching, felt moved to take action after he read about the decline of native bird species in Rwanda, including the Maccoa […]
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.

Community conservancies in Kyrgyzstan see conservation success against illegal hunting
- Vast terrains in northern Kyrgyzstan that host numerous flora and fauna — many of them endemic to the country — were a hub for illegal hunting and poaching of the species.
- Community-based conservancies established by local NGOs are helping species make an effective comeback, conservationists say.
- Records of roe deer increased from 33 in 2013 to more than 250 in 2020 in an area of 20,000 hectares (49,421 acres) protected by Shumkar-Tor.
- As the community-led conservation shows progress with increased species populations, conservancies are scaling up their monitoring efforts by introducing digital tools for patrolling and installing camera traps in isolated areas.

In Panama, an Indigenous-led project rewrites the rules of reforestation
- Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute are collaborating with local communities in the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, a protected Indigenous territory, to foster a ground-up reforestation strategy using native trees and carbon payments.
- The project involves about 30 plots totaling 100 hectares (247 acres) of land, giving participants full ownership of their trees.
- The approach is based on carbon-sequestration data and other scientific metrics collected from Smithsonian’s Agua Salud research site in Colón.
- The work also leans on economic analyses to ensure that reforestation projects can become reliable and sustainable livelihood strategies for Panama’s rural communities.

Indigenous rights advocates petition to overturn Indonesian conservation law
- In Indonesia, where state-designated conservation areas often overlap with customary territories, Indigenous peoples have faced prosecution and imprisonment for living in and managing their ancestral lands as they always have.
- Many hoped a new 2024 conservation law would recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples to manage their lands; instead, the law continues to sideline communities and potentially criminalizes their traditional practices, despite scientific evidence that Indigenous peoples are among the most effective stewards of nature.
- Indigenous rights proponents say the new law was passed without meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples, and several groups have filed a judicial review petition with the Constitutional Court, seeking to overturn the new law.

Crisis hits community-led conservation group in northern Kenya
- Since its founding in 2004, the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) has attracted both admiration and criticism for its model of encouraging communities to register wildlife conservancies across northern Kenya.
- Earlier this year, a court ruled that two of its member conservancies had been set up illegally, and that same month it lost a major donor with the end of USAID funding.
- Now, a carbon credit project it manages has been suspended, and the organization’s founder, who was pushed out by its board last year, says he thinks it’s “dead.”

Concrete sprawl in Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal threatens sarus cranes
- Sarus cranes, once abundant in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, are rapidly declining due to unplanned urbanization, wetland loss and habitat degradation, with local elders recalling their disappearance from areas that were once full of ponds and farmland.
- A recent survey found that 59% of respondents believe the crane’s range has shrunk, citing habitat loss (44%), hunting (19%) and wetland degradation (16%) as key threats to the bird.
- Lumbini province hosts Nepal’s largest population of sarus cranes, but only four pairs remain within the 200-hectare (500-acre) Lumbini gardens that constitute a popular pilgrimage site and have seen a surge in the built-up area

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.

Indigenous conservationists lead the fight to save Mentawai’s endangered primates
- Five of the six nonhuman primate species found in the Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands have traditionally been hunted; traditional beliefs forbid killing the sixth, Kloss’s gibbon, or bilou.
- With widespread deforestation and the erosion of traditional practices that governed hunting behavior, all of the islands’ primates are now endangered or critically endangered.
- Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai, a grassroots, Indigenous-led organization, is working with communities to protect primates within the framework of Indigenous Mentawai customs.

In India, folklore is a tool that helps women save the greater adjutant stork
- In Northeastern India’s Assam, women have joined forces to save the resident greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius), known locally as the hargila, which was long considered a “dirty, smelly bird” that villagers would attack.
- The women, who call themselves the Hargila Army, incorporate the birds into their songs, prayers and weavings in order to help protect the species and spark appreciation for them.
- Since starting these efforts, the IUCN has reclassified the greater adjutant from endangered to near threatened, as the birds’ population numbers have risen.
- A new paper explores the effectiveness of incorporating the hargila into local folklore as a conservation strategy.

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 […]
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.

‘It has been worth it’: The local women saving Yucatán’s mangroves
- Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem services, from acting as nurseries for fish to buffering coasts from storms.
- Mangroves along the northern coast of the Mexican state of Yucatán have been impacted by deforestation and highway and port development.
- A group of women called Las Chelemeras has for the past 15 years worked to restore the region’s mangrove forests and ecosystem function.
- Their restoration tasks involve opening and maintaining channels so that water can infiltrate and drain with the tides, and planting mangrove tree seedlings.

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.

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.

Why conservation research findings are rarely surprising
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. “We already knew that.” I frequently receive complaints from readers about findings in scientific papers being commonsense or obvious. And yes, it’s true: science often confirms what we’ve long suspected or seen in practice. By its nature, science […]
Saving saiga antelope with cooperation and community in Kazakhstan
In 2006, a group of international NGOs and the government of Kazakhstan came together to save the dwindling population of saiga antelope of the enormous Golden Steppe, a grassland ecosystem three times the size of the United Kingdom. Since that moment, the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative has successfully rehabilitated the saiga (Saiga tatarica) from a […]
Where war once raged in Iraq, Yezidi women plant hope
- Yezidi women, many of whom survived a genocidal campaign by the terror group ISIS, are breaking social barriers by leading environmental renewal efforts in northern Iraq through tree planting, recycling and education.
- The region’s environmental crisis — marked by drought, desertification and water scarcity — has devastated agricultural livelihoods, making sustainable land restoration crucial for displaced families’ futures.
- Despite initial resistance, the Clean Green initiative has enabled Yezidi women to take on leadership roles, challenging traditional norms and helping to rebuild their community’s identity through environmental stewardship.

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.

A Kichwa women’s collective uses ecotourism to safeguard Ecuador’s Amazon
- Sani Warmi is a women’s collective that runs ecotourism activities and practices agroecology to generate income and conserve the Ecuadorian Amazon.
- Its members guide tourists around the traditional chacra — a diversified agroecological system — and introduce them to their traditional foods and practices.
- The group produces organic chocolate with cacao grown on a community plot and on their smallholdings and has a fish-farming project.
- These initiatives reduce the need to extract resources from the forest, protecting this area which is home to approximately 600 bird species.

Colombia’s women clam collectors protect Pacific mangroves and mollusks
- Along Colombia’s Pacific coast, women belonging to the Afro-Colombian community who harvest piangüa mollusks have united in efforts to conserve these small, black-shelled clams.
- For generations, piangüa collecting has been their livelihood, a nutrient-rich food source and important symbol of cultural heritage.
- But piangüa populations have diminished in recent years, due to commercialization and overharvesting as well as exports to Ecuador.
- The women piangüeras monitor the local mangroves, crucial to piangüa conservation, and when they observe signs of human disturbance or logging, they encourage people to leave the area alone during “rest periods” so the mangroves can recover.

How a young beekeeper’s initiative brought hope and profit to Sierra Leone communities
- Near Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Island, Aruna Bangura, a young beekeeper, started a beekeeping initiative using modern hives after observing a decline in bees and increased deforestation in the region.
- The initiative began with less than 20 frame hives and has now expanded to 400 beekeepers from eight communities who have built more than 300 modern hives.
- The modern hives attract more bees compared to the traditional ones and generate money for locals so they can reduce their dependence on logging to sell charcoal, which, in turn, can help reduce pressure on the forests that the bees depend on.
- Bangura faced challenges in the initial phases of the project but has since won money from the Iris Project’s Stem Prize to kick off the project with plans to expand it.

The effort to save Syria’s northern bald ibis population failed, but much can be learned (analysis)
- The bald ibis once lived across the Middle East, North Africa and Southern and Central Europe, but has disappeared from most of these areas and is currently considered endangered.
- A strenuous effort to save one of the last breeding populations in Syria succeeded briefly, but eventually failed due to multiple reasons, including the recent civil war.
- However, much good resulted from the program and insights were revealed, a new analysis explains.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Kenya’s cities adopt Miyawaki method to restore lost ecological glory
- Due to urbanization and human settlements destroying natural forests, African cities are increasingly experiencing high traffic noise, harmful emissions, and a “concrete jungle” development.
- In Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, forest cover decreased from 14% in 1976 to 3.3% in 2000. The city’s natural vegetation, too, decreased from 15% in 1979 to 2.7% in 2000.
- Since 2007, a restoration practice known as the Miyawaki method has successfully established mini forests in three areas in the capital, Nairobi, planting over 236,212 seedlings between 2011 and 2020.
- The project has benefited local communities by providing tree seedlings and forest maintenance activities; one resident has provided over 30,000 seedlings to the reforestation company and is currently working on their projects.

Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
- A conservation effort in eastern Indonesia helped reduce thresher shark catches by 91% among participating fishers by providing alternative income opportunities, according to a recent study.
- The program, which ran from 2021 to 2023, supported nine voluntary fishers with resources to transition to new livelihoods, leading to increased income for some, though a few struggled due to personal challenges and job instability.
- However, some fishers felt pressured by family or community expectations to continue shark fishing, and conflicts with local leaders also influenced participation.
- The study highlights the need for long-term conservation efforts that involve local communities, address socio-political challenges and receive strong government support.

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.

Caribbean reef sharks rebound in Belize with shark fishers’ help
- Endangered Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) and other shark species are making a striking recovery in Belize after plummeting due to overfishing between 2009 and 2019, according to recent observations.
- Experts say the establishment of no-shark-fishing zones around Belize’s three atolls in 2021 is what enabled the population boom.
- A remarkable cooperation and synergy among shark fishers, marine scientists and management authorities gave rise to the shark safe havens and led to their success, experts say.

Chauffeur at Indonesia energy nonprofit drives uptake of biogas by Java farmers
- A former migrant worker and chauffeur has pioneered the use of biogas in his home village near the city of Yogyakarta on Indonesia’s Java Island.
- A net zero roadmap published by the International Energy Agency requires the production of biogas to quadruple by the year 2050.
- Critics of biogas at the industrial dairy scale say it absorbs conservation funding that is better spent elsewhere.
- Local residents near Yogyakarta city say the installation of anaerobic digesters has improved household finances and that they no longer need to queue to buy propane cylinders.

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 […]
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.

Women in Ghana plant ‘diversion’ trees to protect shea trees and their livelihoods
- For International Women’s Day, Mongabay puts a spotlight on a community forest restoration effort to protect Ghana’s shea trees, which are economically and ecologically important species for the country.
- The majority of participants are women, as they traditionally play a central role in every part of the value chain, from harvesting shea nuts to producing shea butter.
- The people from Yazori and Mognoni have so far planted over 53,000 seedlings over about 158 hectares of land to divert attention away from indigenous shea trees, which locals increasingly cut down for charcoal and firewood.
- The other trees have many benefits over shea species, like growing faster and being more resistant to fires, but shea trees still produce more efficient charcoal and women depend on the project to pay for new seedlings.

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.

DRC conflict so far ‘devastating’ to Indigenous lands & people: Interview with Samuel Ade Ndasi
- Many Indigenous groups have been forced to flee from armed groups that have invaded their territories and are carrying out extractive activities in eastern DR Congo.
- Human rights organizations, including Minority Rights Group (MRG), have documented reports of killings and violence orchestrated against the Batwa and Bambuti, whom armed groups suspect by are aiding the government forces.
- Most of these Indigenous communities do not receive benefits or money from the mining activities occurring on their traditional lands, Samuel Ade Ndasi of Minority Rights Group says. Some community members are being used as forced labor in some of the mining activities.
- Mongabay interviews Ndasi, who says armed groups like the M23 must respect of all the norms of international law and ensure that Indigenous peoples are not forcefully displaced from their ancestral territories.

Ugandan researcher wins ‘Emerging Conservationist’ award for work on golden cats
- Ugandan conservationist Mwezi Badru Mugerwa has been awarded the Indianapolis Prize’s Emerging Conservationist Award for 2025.
- Mugerwa has dedicated the past 15 years working with local communities to stop the poaching of the African golden cat (Caracal aurata), a species endemic to West and Central Africa.
- He and his team at conservation organization Embaka are also using camera traps and artificial intelligence tools to monitor and survey the population of the species, and to gauge the impact of their work.

Indigenous Dayak community makes strides on Borneo toward forest autonomy
- In Mekar Raya, a semi-remote pocket of Ketapang district near the west coast of Indonesian Borneo, the local Dayak Simpan Indigenous society are navigating the complex bureaucracy of the state in a bid to gain semi-autonomous control of their customary forest.
- Under the national “social forestry” program, Indonesia’s central government has released more than 8 million hectares (20 million acres) from the national forest estate to management by local and Indigenous communities.
- The Dayak Simpan in Mekar Raya have previously resisted attempts by the palm oil industry to survey local land. Local sources say devolved management of the forest to the community will all but eliminate the risk of this land-use change.
- Several areas of the forestry are held sacred by the Dayak Simpan, with customary rules prohibiting the felling of trees or disturbance of water courses.

First Niger Delta red colobus monkey videos reflect community conservation success
Camera traps installed in December 2024 in a community conservation area in the Niger Delta have captured the first videos of elusive and critically endangered red colobus monkeys. The news comes after years of community efforts to protect their habitat following degradation from oil extraction. So far, camera traps have recorded 15 videos that show […]
Pause to USAID already having impacts on community conservation in the Amazon
- U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on foreign aid funding during his first day in office, affecting hundreds of sustainability, health and environmental programs worldwide.
- The funding pause will impact environmental projects in the Amazon Rainforest, including community-led conservation projects that halt deforestation, and may put the safety of environmental defenders who depend on security assistance from USAID in jeopardy, say sources.
- Indigenous leaders told Mongabay that programs in their territories were frozen immediately and they are yet to receive any information about what happened and if the projects will ever resume.
- Some conservationists and Indigenous leaders said USAID funding has also led to issues within communities and countries, like political interference, and that the funding pause highlights the dangers of dependency on foreign aid.

Volunteer radio station brings old media to remote Sumatran tiger habitat
- A volunteer radio station established by environmental nonprofits and staffed by local community members is bringing news and entertainment to villages around Bukit Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary, a Sumatran tiger habitat in Indonesia’s Riau province.
- Young volunteers at the station interned at a radio station on Java Island, where they learned to broadcast and repair transmitters in the remote Sumatran forest, which is inaccessible by road and has almost no cellphone service.
- The radio station offers a means for young people in disparate communities to share ideas and information on the economy and environment.

In the high Andes, a dream to restore a special forest takes root
- In 2024, the United Nations recognized seven landmark projects worldwide as outstanding examples of success under its ongoing Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
- One of them was Acción Andina (Andean Action), an initiative that has launched 25 restoration and conservation projects focused on the high-altitude Polylepis forests of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia.
- More than 25,000 people from 200 communities have restored nearly 5,000 hectares (12,400 acres) of these forest and protected more than 11,250 hectares (27,800 acres) of existing woodland.
- The initiative next aims to expand into Colombia and Venezuela.

Forest communities craft recommendations for better ART TREES carbon credit standard
- Fourteen organizations representing Indigenous peoples and local communities across Central and South America submitted recommendations to Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) to demand transparent and inclusive carbon market standards at the jurisdictional level.
- The three major recommendations call for more transparency, inclusivity and accountability in jurisdictional programs of the voluntary carbon market through ensuring rights, free, prior and informed consent, and improved access to fair and equitable benefit-sharing.
- Analyzing the shortcomings of voluntary carbon markets surrounding their standards and certification, the signatories are demanding robust mechanisms that existing standards fail to meet or national legislation fails to implement.
- While opinions on voluntary carbon markets remain largely divided, Indigenous leaders and researchers say properly implementing these recommendations can help the carbon market address a $4.1 trillion gap in nature financing by 2050 and support communities.

In Ecuador, a mountain shrub could hold the key to restoring a precious ecosystem
- The spread of agriculture, including the use of fires to clear native vegetation, have devastated Ecuador’s páramo, a high-altitude ecosystem that represents a critical source of drinking water for local communities.
- Reforestation of frailejones, a rare shrub species that helps trap humidity from the air and filter water to the ground, may prove key to restoring the ecosystem.
- A privately financed initiative in Ecuador is researching how to grow the shrub at scale in a nursery for mass replanting, but faces teething challenges in this first-of-its-kind initiative for the country.

A cattle ranch is the unlikely scene for saving a fox found only in Brazil
- The hoary fox is the only canine endemic to both the Cerrado biome and Brazil; it’s now trying to survive among cattle pastures and soy plantations.
- Other threats resulting from human contact include road accidents, conflicts with domestic dogs, and various diseases.
- Seeking to protect the species, the Raposinha do Pontal Project combines research, conservation and community engagement on a cattle farm in Goiás state, southern Brazil.

Kenyan court orders two community wildlife conservancies shut down
A Kenyan court dealt a blow to the conservation group Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) when a three-judge panel ruled that two of its community conservancy affiliates were set up illegally. The decision, issued by the Environment and Land Court of Isiolo county in northern Kenya, ordered the conservancies to shut down their operations effective immediately. […]
On a São Paulo eco-farm, Brazil’s landless movement makes its case for occupation
- Founded by peasants and progressive members of the Catholic Church, the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) advocates for a fair distribution of land ownership, agrarian reform and agroecological practices in Brazil.
- To achieve its goals, MST occupies rural lands lying idle to force the Brazilian state to implement its constitutional duty to expropriate and redistribute such lands if they aren’t serving the public good.
- On May 21, 2024, Brazil’s lower House of Congress passed a bill that would penalize people occupying public or private land by excluding them from receiving any public benefits, including those related to agrarian reform programs.

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