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Indigenous knowledge helps reveal the ties between reefs and mangroves
- A scientific collaboration between Australian scientists and First Nations Bardi Jawi rangers and elders has highlighted how fish species rely on the connectivity of reef and mangrove ecosystems.
- The study found that culturally important fish species, which form part of traditional fishery practices in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, migrated between the two ecosystems more than other species.
- The collaboration enabled Western scientists to draw on millennia of traditional ecological knowledge in carrying out the study and interpreting its findings.
- While most of the findings were already part of traditional ecological knowledge, rangers say they learned how certain species may not be able to survive if either reefs or mangroves were threatened by climate change and environmental impacts.
Brazil’s Senate passes rare earth minerals regulation, paving the way for boosted exploration
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Senate has approved a bill to regulate the exploration of critical minerals, including rare earths, marking a step toward exploiting its vast reserves. The bill approved Thursday now awaits President Lula’s signature. It establishes a legal framework and offers tax incentives for domestic processing. Brazil holds the world’s second-largest […]
Marine conservation collides with mining in Indonesia’s biodiversity-rich Moramo Bay
- Pressure on a protected marine area in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province is growing as conservation efforts intersect with mining activity.
- Moramo Bay is part of the Coral Triangle, one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity regions, and provides habitat for humphead wrasse and other protected species.
- Researchers and officials say the health of its coral reefs and marine life is increasingly under scrutiny as development expands around the conservation area.
Illegal gold mining continues in Indonesia’s Aceh despite government crackdown pledge
- Residents in different districts across the Indonesian province of Aceh say gold mining activity in the interior of forest areas continues despite the province’s leaders agreeing a crackdown on illegal mining.
- Fuel shortages have been reported at local gas stations, which some attribute to demand from excavators working to unearth gold ore from inside forest areas.
- In August, Mongabay reported that gold miners had encroached in to a crucial reintroduction forest in Aceh for critically endangered Sumatran orangutans rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
- Environmental advocacy group Walhi says there are more than 1,000 units of heavy equipment working at more than 450 illegal mining operations in Aceh, while a former provincial official said the government is aware of mining in around half of Aceh’s districts.
Cherokee youth win legal rights for waterway in first all-female U.S. effort
- On Jan. 8, 2026, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the inherent legal rights of the Longperson (Ganvhidv Asgaya), an interconnected waterway system whose headwaters rise in the Great Smoky Mountains and end in the sea.
- The resolution was brought forward by the NAIWA Daughters, a group of Indigenous girls aged 10 to 17, making it the first all-female-led rights-of-nature effort in the U.S., and only the second such youth-led resolution passed by a Tribal nation.
- The effort followed 18 months of grassroots organizing and built on the foundations of the rights-of-nature movement, which holds that ecosystems and natural entities should have legal standing to exist and flourish.
- The Longperson resolution grants the waterway five inherent rights and has already spurred related action, including a separate tribal resolution to raise funds for removing the Ela Dam.
On renewable energy, it’s time to debunk the ‘transition minerals’ narrative (commentary)
- The world needs to move from fossil fuels to renewable ones, but the narrative pushed by powerful financial, political, and environmental institutions — that it’s necessary to massively scale up mining of “transition” or “critical” minerals to achieve this — is false, a new op-ed argues.
- Not only do these minerals’ extraction cause countless environmental and community harms, the numbers cited about how they are used — and the number of new mines needed — don’t add up, a recent report has shown.
- “The vast majority [of critical minerals] are used in industries that are either unrelated — or in direct opposition — to the clean energy transition,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
From seizure to sentence: Weak prosecution leaves tigers vulnerable to trafficking in Southeast Asia: Report
- Prosecution of tiger crime — trafficking and sales of tiger skins, bones, and other body parts — is poor in Southeast Asia, according to a recent report.
- Fewer than half of arrests were prosecuted: Of 259 cases examined, only 110 resulted in fines or jail sentences, with outcomes varying widely between countries.
- The authors propose concrete actions to strengthen enforcement to deter tiger poaching and trafficking: improving domestic and international coordination, better training for law enforcement, and intelligence-driven investigations.
Development banks are backing problematic mineral projects, report finds
“Development bank-backed transition minerals projects are frequently associated with significant environmental, social, and human rights risks.” This is the conclusion of the latest report by the International Accountability Project (IAP), an international advocacy organization. IAP analyzed 77 projects globally, approved between 2023 and 2025. The analysis resulted in the Transition Minerals Finance Tracker, an interactive […]
Vietnam seizes 1.2 tons of ivory, plus big cat bones, hidden in timber shipment
Authorities in Vietnam have intercepted more than a ton of elephant ivory along with big-cat bones in a shipment from the Republic of Congo. Gia Lai provincial authorities announced that the haul of 1,193 kilograms (2,630 pounds) of ivory and 79.3 kg (175 lb) of bones was uncovered at Quy Nhon Port in early August. […]
West Africa’s plan to save its vultures struggles to take flight
- Launched two years ago, the West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan (WAVCAP) aimed to protect the region’s dwindling vulture populations. But progress to implement it is lacking, say experts.
- Vultures are under severe threat in the region due to poisoning for belief-based use, persecution, and habitat destruction. Other raptors and bird species are under severe pressure due to this trade as well.
- Experts point to a lack of coordination, limited funding, and low priority for vulture conservation as ongoing challenges, amid an ever-growing trade in their parts that’s also impacting Central African countries.
- Urgent action is needed to avoid complete extirpation of vultures in countries like Benin and Nigeria, say experts, adding they hope that a coordination meeting in November will address these issues.
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.
Invaders storm Indigenous Amazon land, threatening isolated people
- About 200 people have invaded the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Land in Brazil’s Pará state since August 13, breaking through Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) gates, removing signs and establishing camps.
- The invasion followed the creation of the Bacajaí Environmental Protection Area that completely overlaps with the federally protected Indigenous Land — creating legal confusion which authorities say has been exploited by individuals who wish to occupy the area.
- Federal authorities have warned of an imminent risk of confrontation and potentially genocide against Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation and have called for the urgent deployment of the National Force and Federal Police.
- On August 26, a federal court ordered the Union and Funai to send teams from the Public Security Force within 48 hours to contain the invasion but the deadline has passed and the teams have not yet arrived.
Nepal’s flood disaster puts its hydropower-first strategy, exports to the test
- ● The Aug. 26 flash floods on the Nepal-China border wiped out or badly damaged 281 megawatts of installed capacity and damaged 388 MW under construction in Nepal, with losses estimated to be hundreds of billions of Nepali rupees. With transmission lines on the Trishuli riverbank washed away, another 150 MW of power is cut off from the national grid.
- Surface-built powerhouses, dams and desanders near the riverbed suffered the worst damage, while underground powerhouses held up well, pointing to project locations, longer access tunnels, and early-warning systems as key resilience factors, though these upgrades could raise project costs by 10-12%.
- Some experts argue the flood should prompt Nepal to prioritize domestic consumption over its export-driven hydropower strategy, citing both physical disaster risk and falling electricity prices in neighboring India.
- The disaster threatens Nepal’s newly achieved net-exporter status (18.75 billion rupees, or $142 million in Financial Year 2025) heading into winter’s low-flow season, and is accelerating calls to scale up solar power.
Philippines fast-tracks critical minerals, raising Indigenous, environmental concerns
- The Philippines’ new critical-minerals policy targets at least 9 million hectares (22 million acres) of prospective mineral areas, more than 11 times the land currently covered by approved mining projects, according to an environmental legal group.
- Environmental and Indigenous rights advocates warn that expanded mineral development could increase pressure on forests and ancestral domains.
- Critics say that by rolling out the simultaneous processing of mining permits and clearances, the new policy could undermine meaningful free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) if Indigenous communities are pushed to make decisions without adequate time and information.
- The mining industry has welcomed faster and more predictable permitting, while advocates are calling for stronger community participation and safeguards for Indigenous rights and ecosystem health before large-scale critical-mineral development proceeds.
Drought is deepening a health crisis among Peru’s recently contacted Indigenous Matsés
- Since initiating contact with the outside world in 1969, the Matsés Indigenous people of the northeastern Peruvian Amazon have faced a barrage of epidemics.
- During a recent visit to the Matsés reserve, Mongabay found a population still suffering from outbreaks of deadly malaria and hepatitis B, exacerbated by state neglect and environmental threats like drought.
- Matsés leaders, anthropologists, and health experts warn that exposure could be fatal for isolated groups neighboring Matsés land, as well as those in nearby reserves across the wider Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor.
- Drought and an intensifying El Niño could further compound these health pressures by disrupting rainfall patterns, creating conditions that allow malaria-bearing mosquitoes to proliferate and affecting river transport for medical care.
Displaced by a typhoon, Taiwan’s Bunun people fear for the future of their culture
- More than a hundred Bunun Indigenous people were forced to resettle in lowland areas after 2009’s Typhoon Morakot destroyed the only road leading to Tengjhih, their mountain settlement, in southern Taiwan.
- The Bunun, who believe the connection to their ancestors is a pillar of their identity, still wish to return to their ancestral land, saying it would allow them to preserve rituals and traditional knowledge.
- Each year, however, climate change is making rainfall more destructive, wreaking havoc on efforts to rebuild and reopen the road to Tengjhih.
- Indigenous communities have heavily criticized the government’s resettlement program, under which families receive ownership of the apartments they are given, but not of the land on which the buildings stand.
Logging operations uncovered at Cambodian senator’s dam in the Cardamoms
- Construction of the Stung Russei Chrum Kandal hydropower dam inside Phnom Kravanh National Park, one of Cambodia’s largest protected rainforests, began in 2023.
- Satellite imagery suggests forest clearance and large-scale logging are happening beyond the authorized construction sites.
- Experts say the images reflect a wider pattern in Cambodia of exploitation of licenses for dam development to further illegal logging operations.
Togo cosponsors proposal to review commercial whaling ban
Togo is cosponsoring a proposal to review commercial whaling quotas, drawing criticism from whale conservation groups. The draft resolution was submitted for discussion at the upcoming 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which will be held Sept. 27 to Oct. 2. Togo was the only African nation to support the proposal, which was […]
Christiana Figueres & Garik Israelian on Jane Goodall’s legacy and the search for truth
A new award has been created in honor of late conservation icon Jane Goodall by the board of the Starmus Festival, an international gathering of scientists and artists to be held from Oct. 17-22 in Tenerife, Spain. Christiana Figueres has been selected as the recipient of this inaugural Jane Goodall Earth Medal. Figueres is the […]
In Indonesia, 20 Indigenous subtribes seek common ground amid mining divisions
- Representatives of 20 Indigenous subtribes in Raja Ampat gathered in Arborek for Heyul Pelei Koranu Fyak, a gathering to strengthen unity and find common ground over the future of the archipelago.
- The gathering came as nickel mining has created divisions within some Indigenous communities, including on Manyaifun Island, where opposition to a mining project led to intimidation and conflict among residents.
- Participants issued the Arborek Resolution, which rejects extractive activities that damage Raja Ampat’s landscape, seascape, culture and Indigenous communities, while calling for permanent protection of the region.
- The gathering also promoted a broader vision of Indigenous-led development and solidarity, the Arborek Declaration, bringing together communities from Indonesia, the Amazon and Sarawak, and committing to stronger customary rights, knowledge-sharing and cooperation led by Indigenous youth and women.
Scientists use mining data to build malaria alert system in the Amazon
- Researchers have found a direct link between illegal mining, miners’ routes, and malaria cases in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in Brazil.
- Now, they’re working on an alert system that will rely on mining data to warn local health agents about the risk of a malaria outbreak.
- The number of malaria cases dropped sharply after authorities expelled illegal miners from the Yanomami land, but Indigenous people worry the potential return of a right-wing government after October’s election could revive the humanitarian crisis.
Namibia greenlights controversial project to dredge phosphate from seabed
- Company Namibian Marine Phosphate has received an environmental clearance for dredging within a concession that spans 2,234 square kilometers (863 square miles) of the Atlantic seabed off Namibia’s coast.
- The company wants to mine phosphate rock, a major ingredient in fertilizers, which has previously only been commercially mined on land.
- The nonprofit Ocean Conservation Namibia (OCN) has strongly criticized the decision to issue the ECC, warning “that the large-scale development could have significant impacts on the Benguela marine ecosystem, Namibia’s fishing industry, and marine conservation.”
- NMP, registered in Namibia, is 85% owned by Oman-based Mawarid Mining LLC and 15% owned by a Namibian company, Havana Investments (Pty) Ltd.
UN fund for sharing biodiversity benefits struggles for attention — and money
- The Cali Fund, established to channel companies’ contributions from the use of digital genetic data back to the countries and communities of origin, has received just $6,000 from two companies since its launch in February 2025 — far short of the $1 billion a year it was expected to raise.
- “Nobody knows about the fund,” said Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, citing low awareness, a limited operational framework, and the reluctance of large companies to make the first move.
- Experts also flagged limited recognition of the fund’s compliance certificates by countries, and concerns over a memorandum of understanding that uses “donor” language.
- Governments are expected to address these issues at the next U.N. biodiversity summit, in Yerevan, Armenia, in October.
The world’s reefs are disappearing. Coral trafficking is booming
- There are more than 1,300 documented cases since 2000 of live coral smuggling, with many cases sourcing coral from Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia, according to data from the wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC.
- The cases involve at least 43 countries around the world, with the U.S. by far the biggest importer of corals.
- The cases include 3.15 million pieces of coral, with many shipments intentionally mislabeled as toys, clothes, or food to get endangered species past customs inspectors.
- Experts say there are solutions, including farm-raised coral substitutes and dyeing farmed coral to document that it was not grown in the wild, making it easier for authorities to spot illegally harvested varieties.
Gulf of Mexico’s unique Orca Basin shouldn’t become a carbon dump (commentary)
- Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, an ecosystem exists in water so salty and lacking in oxygen that its marine life is unique and virtually unstudied.
- Called the Orca Basin, it’s now the focus of a corporate effort to profit from fighting climate change by dumping tons of organic waste into its depths, a deep-sea biologist explains in a new op-ed.
- “The Orca Basin is not a waste repository waiting for a use. It is a living system that has been developing for thousands of years, hosting organisms we have barely begun to characterize, preserving a chemical and biological record we have barely begun to read,” the author argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Gold miners breach a crucial refuge for rescued Sumatran orangutans
- New analysis by Indonesia’s largest environmental pressure group shows illegal goldminers have encroached Indonesia’s Jantho forest reservation, a vital reintroduction site for the charity workers and state biodiversity officials trying to save the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan from extinction.
- Global investors have rushed to buy gold to maintain wealth against inflation and political instability, exacerbated by the Trump administration and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The total area damaged by goldminers in Indonesia’s Jantho reservation according to satellite analysis exceeds 14 hectares (around 35 acres), equivalent to approximately 20 football pitches.
- A traditional administrator for the Jantho area in Aceh, a semiautonomous province of Indonesia, said 13 local villages had united against mining in the area, and had reported the miners to local authorities.
‘You can’t protect what you don’t know:’ Interview with marine scientist Loyiso Dunga
- The Great African Seaforest is one of the only expanding kelp forests in the world. To better understand this important ecosystem, and why it should be conserved, marine biologist Loyiso Dunga set out to map the entire forest for the first time ever in 2016 using satellite imagery.
- Dunga now works on kelp forest conservation across the globe with both the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Kelp Forest Alliance.
- As a member of an Indigenous community in South Africa, Dunga is sensitive to how conservation measures were employed during the country’s apartheid-era to expel coastal communities, and makes sure that other scientists include coastal communities in their work.
- “There is so much knowledge that is documented within coastal communities but is outside of science,” Dunga says. “I try to spend a lot of time understanding that, which also enriches my science.”
Siraya language, deemed ‘extinct’ over a century ago, finds its voice again in Taiwan
- A family of Siraya activists in Taiwan is a major driving force behind the revival of their ancestral language — more than a hundred years after it was last spoken.
- The work to revitalize the Siraya language, which began more than 20 years ago, helped secure the community’s legal recognition as Taiwan’s 17th Indigenous group.
- The story of the Siraya language’s revitalization began as a love story between Siraya activist Uma Talavan and Filipino musician Edgar Macapili.
- While she could not understand a Dutch missionary’s Siraya translation of the Gospel of Matthew, her husband recognized similarities between the Siraya language and his mother tongue, Bisaya, both of which belong to the Austronesian language family.
Global sea surface temperatures reach a record high, again
Global sea surface temperatures have reached a record high, raising serious concerns for global Earth systems, according to new data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). On Aug. 22, the daily global average sea surface temperature, outside polar regions, reached 21.1° Celsius (69.98° Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record set in March […]
Failed environmental safeguards leave coastal Bangladesh facing coal pollution
- A major thermal power plant, located in coastal Bangladesh, has been operating without regular air-quality testing, allegedly causing suffering among nearby residents.
- A recent study also found a significant decline in air and water quality around the coal-fired thermal power plant.
- Meanwhile, the government recently exempted the power plant authority from conducting air-quality tests, as officials say they believe such plants do not generate significant air pollution.
- In addition, the plant’s chimney is shorter than the height approved in the initial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Under protection: The environmentalist’s widow in Brazil who had to disappear to survive
- In 2015, environmentalist Raimundo dos Santos Rodrigues was murdered in an ambush inside the Gurupi Biological Reserve in Brazil’s Maranhão state, where he served as a member of the advisory board.
- A local rancher, who was illegally logging inside the reserve, orchestrated the killing.
- Rodrigues’ wife Maria survived the attack but has spent more than 10 years living in another state in a government protection program.
- Maria experiences a contradiction in her new life: She had to be made invisible by the state to survive the state’s failure to investigate and prosecute socio-environmental crimes.
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.
Australia’s 30×30 conservation promise matters a lot, but how it’s achieved is key (commentary)
- How Australia — one of the planet’s most megadiverse nations — tackles its goal to conserve 30% of its land and seas by 2030 (30×30) may signal whether this, the world’s most ambitious conservation commitment, can succeed.
- With just four years to meet its promise, Australia has a way to go, but has also achieved some important milestones in part by involving Indigenous communities closely in the effort.
- “If Australia meets the target well, it will help demonstrate that conservation can be representative, rights-based, well-funded, and effective,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
‘Devastating’ rush for critical minerals has little to do with green energy: Report
A new report published by U.S.-based think tank the Oakland Institute warns that the rush for critical minerals comes with massive implications for the world, especially African countries. The report, “RUSH: Global Scramble for Minerals Wages War on People and Planet,” challenges the popular narrative that an expansion of mining operations is necessary for the […]
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 ‘leading’ Chinese miner of Mozambique’s heavy sands linked to environmental destruction
- Rapid loss of mangroves in Mozambique’s Zambezia Province is linked to the activities of Mozambique Heavy Sand Company VIII, which is part-owned by an influential Chinese mining group, Mongabay has found.
- The mangrove loss occurred inside a site considered “one of the most diverse and productive river delta systems in the world.”
- Satellite imagery suggests it was caused by what appears to be a blocked waterway where sand mining activities took place between 2022 and 2026.
- Increasingly, environmentalists are raising the alarm about the environmental impacts of heavy minerals prospecting and mining in vast sections along Mozambique’s coast.
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 […]
Nigeria can build the new coastal highway and also protect natural areas (commentary)
- To improve living conditions in Nigeria, new roads like the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway are needed.
- But these can and must be built in such a way that protects mangroves, swamps, and remnant forests, using knowledge and tools like environmental and social impact assessments.
- “The question is not whether Nigeria should develop. It is whether development will be intelligent enough to avoid destroying the natural infrastructure that already protects coastal communities,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Blast fishing destroys reefs. Underwater microphones can help detect it
- Once home to a pristine and vibrant network of coral reefs, the Spermonde Archipelago off the coast of South Sulawesi in Indonesia has had its coral decimated by the illegal practice of blast fishing, in which improvised explosives are tossed into the sea to kill and stun fish en masse.
- A new study harnesses acoustic data to produce what is likely the first rigorous estimate of the frequency and intensity of bomb fishing in the archipelago.
- Using low-cost microphones and an easy-to-run algorithm, the researchers detected more than 3,500 so-called fish bombs going off in their study area within the archipelago — an average of 23 blasts a day, or almost one every hour.
- The scientists believe their approach could help communities and NGOs around the world design targeted interventions to combat the practice, which can devastate not only reefs but the broader marine ecosystems.
‘They will do it legally or illegally’: Interview with James Giahyue on Liberia’s cocoa boom
- In July, Mongabay published a feature investigation and video report about deforestation in southeastern Liberia dude to cacao cultivation.
- The remote region contains some of West Africa’s last intact rainforests, many of which are under threat due to the emergence of the cacao industry there.
- Liberian journalist James Giahyue told Mongabay that poverty and the involvement of local politicians are helping to drive deforestation there.
Kenyan investigators arrest 4 people linked to 18 Amboseli elephant deaths
At least four suspects have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 18 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem in southern Kenya, near the border with Tanzania. Preliminary investigations by a multiagency team suggest poisoning from agricultural pesticides, authorities say. In July, 16 elephants were found dead at Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Group Ranch in […]
In South Africa, renewable energy latest part of timber industry’s green efforts
- A 10-year agreement provides York Timber Holdings with access to renewable electricity “at scale,” an official with the timber company said.
- The agreement will reduce the sawmill’s greenhouse gas emissions, while reducing its exposure to electricity tariff hikes and potential future carbon-based costs, according to the company.
- “Renewable energy is just one element of sustainability. Responsible management of plantations, conservation of biodiversity and water stewardship are just as important,” a forestry specialist said.
Can big tech stop wildlife crime?
There’s a new, unlikely ally in the fight against illegal wildlife crime: Big tech. Earlier this year, new commitments from household names including Paypal, Meta, eBay and Etsy were announced at the United For Wildlife Business Forum to End Wildlife Trade. Wildlife trafficking is a sophisticated international crime worth billions of dollars. As wildlife trade […]
Polluted waterways and water shortages complicate the fight against Ebola in the DRC
- Safe access to water is scarce across parts of Ituri province, which is the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood, saliva and urine of an infected person. It is, therefore, crucial, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, to be able to wash regularly. Response teams also need access to water to clean equipment and areas used by patients.
- People sometimes use taps and showers installed at Ebola treatment centers to collect water, potentially increasing contact between healthy and infected people.
- Artisanal and small-scale mining in the region also put pressure on local water resources, by turning some waterbodies muddy.
Ashéninka leader reportedly killed while patrolling Indigenous territory is found alive
- Ashéninka leader Américo Pascuala Tumisha was reportedly shot and killed Aug. 23 while patrolling the territory of the Onconashari Indigenous community in Peru’s Ucayali region. He was subsequently found to be alive.
- Onconashari residents have reported incursions linked to unauthorized copaiba extraction since at least 2020, including threats against community members who objected.
- The community has a long history of territorial monitoring and in 2025 received formal government recognition for its Forest Surveillance and Control Committee, which Pascuala later coordinated.
- Global Witness has documented more than 60 killings and disappearances of environmental and land defenders in Peru since 2012; AIDESEP says at least 38 Indigenous defenders were killed in the Peruvian Amazon between 2014 and 2026.
At global desertification conference, pastoralists call for greater recognition
- Hundreds of pastoralists are in Mongolia for the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD, from Aug. 17 to 28, 2026.
- They want stronger protections for Indigenous pastoral traditions, greater access to funding and resources to address climate change, and official recognition of Indigenous knowledge of how to adapt to a hotter, drier world.
- The pace of arable land degradation is 30 to 35 times the historic average, threatening even the most resilient communities, according to the U.N.
- Pastoralist delegates say that though their traditions offer biodiversity benefits, traditional knowledge is not always enough as climate change and land degradation accelerate.
In Bhutan, a philosophy of happiness guides a push for food self-sufficiency
Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between China and India. Forty percent of its 800,000 citizens work in the agriculture sector. The mountainous country is famous for its breathtaking landscapes and its unique policy of “Gross National Happiness,” instituted in 1972 by Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth king of Bhutan. My guests on the Newscast […]
US proposes rescinding Roadless Rule protections for national forests
Aug. 25 is a National Day of Action to support U.S. national parks and public lands. One focus of the event is the U.S. government’s intention to rescind a rule that bans road construction and industrial logging across more than 23 million hectares (57 million acres) of national forest land. The 2001 Roadless Rule, has […]
EU’s deforestation rule could derail Liberia’s cocoa trade
In Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county, deforestation for cocoa has soared since 2020, pushing the region’s cocoa trade into an uncertain future. The EU is Liberia’s biggest cocoa customer, but is set to implement the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans the import of forest products, including cocoa, made on land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020, […]
Cambodia targets online wildlife trade on social media, but experts say it’s not enough
- Cambodia’s environment ministry has called on content creators and social media users to stop posting content that promotes the online sale of wildlife products, to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in the country.
- The ministry’s statement comes after a recent undercover investigation by the NGO Earth League International revealed rampant illegal wildlife trade of endangered species products such as rhino horns, ivory, pangolin scales, and tiger bones, claws, skin and meat.
- The investigation found that most consumers of these products in Cambodia were wealthy Chinese government officials and businessmen, while the trafficking was run by “kingpins” who also operate scam centers to defraud people of their money.
- Conservationists say Cambodia’s statement is encouraging, but doesn’t address the bigger issue: organized criminal syndicates that traffic wildlife as part of their business model.
Palm oil firms kept zero-deforestation pledges, but forests saw little extra benefit
- In the past decade, palm oil-producing countries, such as Indonesia, have introduced policies and company-level commitments to curb deforestation.
- In both concessions linked to companies with zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs) and those not linked to ZDCs, data suggests annualized deforestation has dropped dramatically from the 2000s.
- Despite this drop, a new study suggests ZDCs have not, in fact, led to additional reductions in deforestation.
- A decline in palm oil prices and historic deforestation in concessions may have contributed to this contrasting picture, say researchers.
Plans of Peru’s new administration spur concern among environmentalists
- On July 28, Peru inaugurated its new leader, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, from the Popular Force Party.
- Fujimori says she will expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country, as well as road, rail and port networks to facilitate extractive and productive projects.
- Mongabay spoke with legal experts, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders about the government’s plans and what it might mean for the country’s energy transition commitments and the environment.
In Raja Ampat, children learn that their knowledge can help protect their islands
- Research suggests that children who grow up closely connected to their surroundings can develop sophisticated understandings of their local environment.
- A recent children’s book reading was part of a gathering of Indigenous communities in Arborek that brought together representatives from 20 Indigenous subtribes in Raja Ampat, as well as Indigenous people from other parts of Indonesia and abroad.
- The book turns the biodiversity of Indonesia into a visual story about what could be lost if mining damages the environment.
- The author and illustrator hope that seeing their home, animals and stories represented in a book will encourage the children to tell more stories of their own.
Xokleng Indigenous people plant thousands of critically endangered pine in Brazil
The Xokleng Indigenous people of Santa Catarina state of southern Brazil have planted nearly a 100,000 seedlings of a critically endangered native tree, Mongabay contributor Letícia Klein reported. The Brazilian pine (Araucaria angustifolia), or araucária, can grow more than 50 meters (164 feet) tall and has a straight trunk with a broad crown of branches […]
Antarctic krill fishery closes months early amid increasing fishing pressure
- The krill fishery in the Southern Ocean has closed more than three months early after reaching its annual catch limit of 620,000 metric tons — a precautionary quota established to prevent overfishing.
- Krill forms the foundation of the Antarctic food web, with penguins, whales, seals, fish, squid and other animals depending on the tiny shrimp-like crustacean.
- The early closure of the fishery is linked to the growth of the krill-targeting fleet, as well as to what some scientists call an “unprecedented” concentration of fishing activities in areas where krill is most abundant.
- Scientists are raising concerns about the combined impacts of overfishing and climate change on both krill and the Antarctic and Southern Ocean wildlife it nourishes.
Indonesia integrates Indigenous data in bid to put customary lands on map
- The Indonesian government has integrated data from its Ministry of Culture, the Ancestral Domain Registration Agency and AMAN, the country’s largest Indigenous peoples’ alliance, to build a new dataset covering 3,857 Indigenous communities.
- The database will document and register customary territories and capture cultural aspects as well, including Indigenous languages, local foods and traditional knowledge.
- It is hoped that the database will provide greater visibility of Indigenous territories and enable them to be incorporated into permitting, development planning and spatial planning, but it does not grant legal recognition to Indigenous communities or customary territories.
Wind energy surplus fuels unregulated data centers in Brazil’s dry land
- The energy firm Serena filed 12 requests to build data centers in a remote town of only 11,000 people already affected by wind farms in Brazil.
- The project sits in a protected area, stressing the waters of the Itaparica Lagoon, local fishers and Quilombola communities.
- Tech firms in Brazil are exploiting a lack of specific regulations and renewable power surplus to plan data centers without undergoing environmental licensing.
Pete Brosius brought Penan forest stewardship in Sarawak into court
In the early 1990s, the logging roads running through Sarawak’s Upper Baram became the site of a bitter confrontation. Penan families built wooden barricades and faced off bulldozers, timber trucks, and state security forces. As the protests drew international attention, the government of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud restricted media access and portrayed the Penan […]
Angola’s peatlands highly underestimated, new study suggests
- New research mapping out the Angolan Highlands Water Tower (AWHT), a stretch of elevated plateau spanning 380,382 km², finds that a significantly larger portion of the region hosts peatland than previously thought.
- The findings show that the AWHT, named thus because it receives and regulates vast amounts of rainwater, and because it feeds important freshwater systems across southern Africa, is also a critical carbon sink.
- The research can inform national carbon policies and conservation strategies for these peatlands which store thousands of years-old carbon, experts said.
- The biggest threats to the AHWT’s peatlands are human-made including slash and burn agriculture and the unsustainable use of peat — partially decomposed plant material that builds up in waterlogged soils — which result in the release of CO2.
Spain proposes 23 new marine protected areas in the Canary Islands and Mediterranean
- The proposal represents Spain’s latest effort to advance protection of 30% of its waters by 2030.
- It looks to protect 22,405 square kilometers (8,651 square miles) of marine waters, primarily in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean around the Canary Islands, as well as four sites in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Conservation groups have raised concerns in recent years about the state of Spain’s marine protected areas, highlighting a significant discrepancy between areas designated “on paper” and those that are subject to effective protection.
To secure protected areas from wildlife trafficking, criminal networks must be dismantled (commentary)
- Well managed protected areas can reduce the illegal wildlife trade, but the reality is that this crime will persist as long as trafficking networks remain, a new op-ed says.
- Corruption often provides traffickers a way to circumvent and undermine even well-managed protected areas, suppressing enforcement and concealing wildlife losses.
- “The question is not whether we can afford to invest in dismantling trafficking networks. Given what we now know about their reach and capacity, the question is whether we can afford not to,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Drugs are becoming institutionalized: Interview with Ticuna leader in Peru’s Amazon
- Mongabay interviewed Francisco Hernández Cayetano, president of the Federation of Ticuna and Yagua Communities of the Lower Amazon, about substance abuse problems affecting Ticuna youth.
- He says many youth are addicted to drugs and alcohol, which they picked up while working as coca harvesters for drug traffickers due to a lack of alternative employment options.
- The arrival of narcotraffickers, as well as illegal miners, has also led to deforestation and water pollution in Peru.
- In this interview with Mongabay, Hernández describes efforts to bring Ticuna leaders from the Amazon’s tri-border area together to discuss solutions to their shared problems.
Criminal probe clears Sloth World of criminal neglect in deaths of 57 animals
Authorities in the U.S. state of Florida have cleared a controversial startup of criminal neglect after dozens of wild-caught sloths that it imported from South America for tourism purposes died. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) opened an investigation following the closure of the Sloth World facility in April this year. On Aug. 19, it […]
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.
New Zealand opens marine reserves with groundbreaking Māori co-management model
- Five new marine protected areas (MPAs) came into effect in Aotearoa New Zealand in July after more than a decade of grassroots and governmental work — and a sixth is expected to open in the near future.
- The MPAs are no-take marine reserves, areas where all extractive activities are banned, co-managed by the regional Māori tribe Kāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation.
- The reserves are the first in the country to be co-managed by Indigenous people and the government through shared decision-making and a joint ranger team.
- The reserves are the first part of a planned network, called Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia, which is expected to have not only the reserves but also other types of protected areas that have less strict protections.
Philippine Supreme Court rules monitoring commercial fishing vessels is unconstitutional
- The Philippine Supreme Court struck down a regulation requiring commercial fishing vessels to continuously transmit their locations and submit electronic catch reports.
- The requirement was partially implemented before being suspended in 2022 during a court challenge, with devices installed on about 52% of targeted vessels.
- Small-scale fishers and scientists warn reduced oversight could increase commercial incursions into coastal waters where many fish stocks are already overexploited.
- Following the high court’s decision, the country’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources filed a motion for reconsideration, a procedural remedy that allows a party to ask the Supreme Court to review its ruling before it becomes final.
Brazil marks borders for isolated Indigenous group in the Amazon after decades
Agents of Brazil’s Indigenous agency, FUNAI, spent 60 days in June and July 2026 physically marking the borders of the Rio Pardo Kawahiva Indigenous Territory. The 411,000-hectare (1 million-acre) area in the Amazon biome of Mato Grosso state is home to the Kawahiva, an isolated Indigenous group. The government agency confirmed the presence of the […]
New leadership initiative carries on legacy of late Indonesian environmental activist
- The Yaya Leadership Initiative, launched in memory of late Indonesian environmental leader Nur Hidayati, aims to develop a new generation of community leaders, particularly women, young people, Indigenous peoples, and grassroots activists.
- The initiative builds on Yaya’s leadership approach, which emphasized sharing power, supporting women and young activists, and connecting environmental, Indigenous, agrarian, and human rights movements.
- Organizers say the initiative is especially important as Indonesian environmental defenders face rising threats, while social movements struggle with fragmentation, polarization, and a lack of leadership succession.
- The YLI has begun supporting emerging leaders through fellowships and aims to build networks that help activists remain in their movements, work across causes, and nurture the next generation of leaders.
Spotted by AI: seahorses and shark fins
While elephant ivory, rhino horns and pangolin scales get a lot of attention when it comes to illegal wildlife trade, marine wildlife are widely targeted as well. A new AI-driven tool detects marine wildlife in luggages and bags at airports. The tool can detect sea cucumbers, sea horses and shark fins, with more species to […]
On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing
- Joint management of the Great Barrier Reef is changing, with Traditional Owners playing an increasing role in the conservation of one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
- Despite climate change continuing to threaten the health of the Reef, the World Heritage Committee has again decided not to put the Great Barrier Reef on its “in danger” list, and has cited increased levels of Traditional Owner management in its decision.
- Traditional use and management agreements currently cover 43% of the Great Barrier Reef’s coastline and the government has announced new funding and measures to further include Indigenous management.
- There are still gaps in the full inclusion of Indigenous communities in the stewardship of their traditional waters, say Indigenous governance organizations, though strides are being made.
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.
Indonesia leads global tally of abuses linked to Chinese transition-mineral investments
- Indonesia recorded 96 allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals from 2023 to 2025, the most of any country, with 90 involving nickel, according to a new report.
- Water, soil, and air pollution were among the main environmental concerns, while Indonesian nickel processors accounted for 57% of work-related deaths and 68% of injury allegations documented globally.
- The report also documented allegations involving Indigenous rights violations, intimidation of environmental defenders, and failures to obtain free, prior, and informed consent around nickel projects in Indonesia.
- The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, which compiled the report, says Chinese companies need stronger human rights and environmental due diligence, as gaps between corporate commitments and practices could create growing risks for workers, communities, and supply chains.
Texas activist’s claims of Indigenous ancestry face scrutiny
A recent investigation from Grist, a U.S.-based nonprofit media organization, raises questions about environmental activist Juan Mancias’ Indigenous claim to the land he works to protect in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2017, Mancias traveled to France and helped pressure French banks to withdraw support for oil and gas projects that he said threatened […]
Fatal barge crashes fuel fear over Madeira River waterway expansion in Brazil
- Brazil is planning to dredge the Madeira River to boost grain exports despite recent fatal barge collisions and poor dialogue with local communities.
- In addition to accidents, expanded traffic and dredging pose risks of erosion, water pollution, harm to aquatic species and fishing.
- As national elections approach, communities worry that politicians will prioritize agribusiness over the safety of those who rely on the river to access doctors, schools, work, trade and daily routines.
Aceh’s community fishers struggle to preserve tradition amid blooms of plastic pollution
- Coastal communities in Indonesia’s Aceh province have practiced community fish trawling since the time of the Aceh Sultanate, but the tradition today exists in only a handful of communities across the semiautonomous province.
- The customary panglima laot, a customary fishery lead, at one beach in the Aceh capital Banda Aceh, told Mongabay Indonesia that the customary rules included environmental protections such as requirements not to take threatened species.
- However, this traditional fishing practice is under threat due to the increasing burden of plastic and other household waste accumulating in nearshore waters and along beaches.
- For many, the time and cost required to patch holes in giant fishing nets can make the cost of doing business unviable, leading some fishers to abandon the tradition for jobs elsewhere.
South Africa’s top court blocks Shell oil exploration off country’s Wild Coast
In a landmark judgment on Aug. 14, South Africa’s Constitutional Court set aside exploration rights held by oil giant Shell and Impact Africa, a South African oil and gas company. The ruling prevents the companies from exploring for fossil fuels off South Africa’s Wild Coast. The case was brought by Wild Coast communities and environmental […]
Sand mining plans spark opposition from fishers in Indonesia’s Riau Islands
- Plans to mine marine sand off Indonesia’s Numbing Island have sparked opposition from fishers, environmental groups, and some lawmakers who warn of damage to fishing grounds and marine tourism.
- Although the government describes the project as marine sediment management and no company has begun operations, the proposal has divided local communities over the promised compensation.
- Critics warn the dredging could increase water turbidity, damage coral reefs, alter coastal currents, and weaken natural coastal defenses.
- The dispute has also raised legal and geopolitical concerns, with researchers arguing the Riau Islands’ strategic location makes the environmental risks a national security matter.
‘To speak of agroecology is to speak of farmers’ autonomy’: Interview with Olga Muthambe
- In an interview with Mongabay, Mozambican social activist Olga Muthambe advocates agroecology as a response to the challenges confronting rural women affected by extractive industries and armed conflict.
- Muthambe is a co-founder of NGO Hikone Moçambique, a civil society organization that has been active in the African nation for over a decade. Since its inception, the organization has connected more than 5,000 women to socioeconomic training initiatives.
- According to Muthambe — who currently serves as the NGO’s executive director — agroecology enables women to produce pesticide-free food for both family consumption and trade, thereby improving food security and generating income.
Rescued from traffickers, reintroduced orangutan becomes mother in the wild
- Fieldworkers at the Jantho orangutan release forest in Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost region, have recorded the 10th birth by orangutans successfully released back into the wild from a charity-run rehabilitation center.
- Indonesia’s forestry minister named the baby Badar, which means a full moon, and highlighted the need for consistent protection of orangutan habitats in Borneo and Sumatra islands, which are home to Indonesia’s three species of orangutan.
- However, a new study on Sumatran orangutan populations published in the September issue of “Global Ecology and Conservation” concluded that surviving populations likely declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023.
A mine polluted a Zambian river in 2025: Residents continue to live with the impacts
- A recent study on the ecological impacts of a tailings dam failure in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province in 2025 finds that highly toxic substances such as arsenic, lead and zinc were released into the Kafue River system.
- As a result of the spill at Sino-Metals Leach Zambia’s mine, millions of liters of acidic mining waste were released into waterways connected to the river.
- The assessment links the incident to the death of wildlife and the contamination of soils and water sources in the region.
- Sino-Metals Leach Zambia says it has initiated cleanup measures, but communities still reside on contaminated land, according to civil society organizations.
Siraya gain recognition as Taiwan’s 17th official Indigenous group
- On July 30, the Siraya became the first Indigenous group from Taiwan’s lowland plains, or pingpu, to gain official status under the Pingpu Indigenous Peoples Identity Act, which offers pathways to redress the erasure of their Indigenous identities.
- The designation also encapsulates the Siraya’s decades-long fight for legal recognition after centuries of forced assimilation by various colonial powers.
- The Siraya, a traditionally matrilineal people residing mainly in the southern city of Tainan and its surroundings, are considered to be the largest of the Pingpu Indigenous groups.
- Seen to be “well assimilated” with the Han Chinese population, the Pingpu communities have been largely denied not only official Indigenous status but also legal protections, resources, and other benefits.
Myanmar junta pushes to restart Myitsone Dam project
Since June, Myanmar’s military government has increased its efforts to restart a massive, controversial hydropower project backed by China that has remained suspended for 15 years. The Myitsone Dam project, launched in 2009 and estimated to cost $3.6 billion then, was to be built along the Mali River, the N’mai River, and their confluence at […]
Six African countries now support precautionary pause on deep-seabed mining
Three more African countries have joined calls for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining until the environmental, social and economic impacts of such mining are better understood. This brings the number of African countries supporting a moratorium to six. Mauritius, Mozambique and the Republic of the Congo announced support for the precautionary pause during the […]
Indigenous groups renew legal challenge to Indonesian conservation law
- Indigenous groups in Indonesia are petitioning the country’s Constitutional Court to invalidate parts of a 2024 conservation law, arguing it could allow the government to designate ancestral lands as conservation areas without communities’ consent and threaten their customary land rights.
- The court case comes a year after the court denied a judicial review of the law’s legislative process, despite dissent from two justices.
- The latest legal challenge focuses on provisions allowing the creation of “preservation areas”, which the groups say could restrict communities’ access to their lands and undermine traditional forms of conservation.
Brazil Supreme Court upholds laws that led to downfall of Amazon soy moratorium
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld state laws denying tax incentives to farmers who adhered to the country’s soy moratorium. The court also affirmed the constitutionality of the voluntary agreement. For nearly 20 years, the pact barred the purchase of soy grown on deforested Amazon land. Major grain traders withdrew from […]
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.
As DRC confronts largest Ebola outbreak, health agencies revise strategy
- The Central African country is facing its largest and also the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record.
- Health agencies are seeking to revise their strategy to tackle the public health crisis but focusing on response at the village level in the affected provinces of the DRC.
- Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC underscored the need to bring the outbreak response to the village level, saying that a community-centered approach helps build trust between local populations and health teams while strengthening participatory surveillance.
- One of the reasons this outbreak has turned out to be more difficult to contain is because a rare strain of the Ebola virus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, is driving the cases.
Illegal mining threatens Ghana’s first marine protected area
- Illegal gold mining in Ghana’s Greater Cape Three Points Forest Reserve threatens vulnerable and endangered species in the protected forest, say conservationists.
- Sediment and toxic chemicals from the mining also threaten the adjacent waters of a newly declared marine protected area just offshore.
- Conservation NGOs want the government to act against illegal miners, including establishing permanent camps in the forest to protect a wider area.
On ivory, follow the trafficking networks and not the headlines (commentary)
- An emerging narrative is that elephant poaching has declined, yet evidence shows that the illegal trade in ivory persists, and that the involvement of organized crime in it keeps growing.
- Despite big and news-making seizures of illegal ivory recently, criminal networks continue operating, and southern Africa appears to be back at the illegal global trade’s center.
- “The current narrative that the situation is under control should not be accepted without question,” a new op-ed for World Elephant Day 2026 argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Cambodia’s banned sand trade with Singapore appears to be back
- Cambodia appears to have resumed exporting sand to Singapore, despite a 2017 national ban, with Koh Kong provincial authorities saying a new dredging operation has been licensed.
- Mongabay traced at least four bulk carriers from Koh Kong to Singapore’s Tuas Port, where the site of a massive land reclamation project.
- The dredging is taking place within protected area boundaries and could affect riverbanks, fisheries and wildlife, as well as a major downstream mangrove forest.
- Environmental activists say they hope to draw attention to the renewed sand trade, but Cambodia’s shrinking civic space and restrictions on civil society groups have made standing up to environmental violations increasingly difficult.
Key Amazon cases reach Brazil’s Supreme Court following Lula’s defeats in Congress
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court is set to decide cases that could reshape protections for the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous communities. These cases involve Indigenous land rights, environmental safeguards, and infrastructure projects. Congress approved measures that environmentalists say violate constitutional rights, but President Lula vetoed some. Lawmakers overrode these objections, sending disputes to […]
What makes chimpanzee conservation last? Lessons from Sierra Leone
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For more than three decades, Willie Tucker has helped care for Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees and watched the pressures on them change, reports contributor Patricia Sia Ngevao for Mongabay. Tucker, widely known as “Pa Willie,” helped establish Tacugama […]
Uzbekistan’s houbara releases serve hunting, not conservation, expert says
There’s no conservation motive or benefit behind the Uzbekistan government’s recent releases of more than 2,000 captive-bred Asian houbara bustards across its desert regions, according to an expert on the threatened species. The government has touted the releases over the past three months as a wildlife restoration effort, but Nigel Collar, a conservation biologist at […]
Gabon ends fisheries partnership agreement with EU
Gabon has ended its 19-year fisheries partnership with the European Union, which allowed EU industrial vessels to target tuna in Gabonese waters in exchange for payment, arguing the agreement no longer serves the country’s economic interests. The decision follows a June 2025 Council of Ministers meeting at which the government announced it would seek to […]
Climate change doubled likelihood of Canada’s extreme fire weather, study finds
Human-induced climate change has more than doubled the likelihood of the extreme weather conditions that fueled Canada’s destructive 2026 wildfire season, finds a rapid analysis. As of early August, thousands of wildfires torched more than 3.8 million hectares (9.4 million acres) across the country — an area already significantly in excess of Canada’s 30-year annual […]
Suriname moves to evict Mennonites and illegal Amazon settlers
- The government in Suriname has created a task force to crack down on land developers who illegally clear the Amazon Rainforest for agriculture and cattle ranching.
- Many areas under development are connected to Mennonites who migrated to the country from other parts of the region to help meet a domestic demand for food production.
- Conservationists warn that the group’s history of industrial-scale clearing and unauthorized ranching in other nations puts the rainforest at risk.
- Some Mennonites have received a deurwaardersexploot, a written notice delivered by a bailiff to appear in court, according to Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons.
Sacred places & living lands: How Indigenous Sámi peoples steward biodiversity (analysis)
- The richness of an area’s biodiversity is not only related to protection of particular species or fragments of wilderness, but also often relates to how human beings inhabit the land across long stretches of time, a new analysis argues.
- For instance, the home territories of Scandinavia’s Indigenous Sámi peoples reveal that their sacred natural sites frequently contain greater biodiversity, more intact vegetation, and better-preserved ecosystems than surrounding landscapes.
- “Sámi land use suggests that cultural traditions, local knowledge, and enduring relationships with the landscape can help sustain environments where both humans and other living beings continue to share the same living lands,” the author writes.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Thermal drones deployed in Kenya’s Amboseli Park to tackle human-elephant conflict
- Amboseli National Park, home to a population of nearly 2,000 African elephants, has witnessed significant human-wildlife conflict, in part, because it is largely unfenced to allow elephants to move freely.
- Park managers are turning to drones to help reduce contentious interactions between elephants and residents in surrounding areas.
- The drones provide real-time aerial surveillance that enables rangers and communities to track elephants and prevent dangerous encounters by corralling them away from human settlements and farmland.
- “Thanks to the use of drones in wildlife conservation, we have seen a reduction in retaliatory injuries and deaths,” Jeremy Goss, Program Director at Big Life Foundation, told Mongabay.
How Mennonites in Belize built a land-buying machine taking over forests
Over the past two decades, Belize lost around 20% of its forest cover — more than 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres). Much of it is the result of agricultural expansion by Mennonites, the conservative Christian denomination that arrived in the country more than six decades ago. To understand the corporate machinery that’s allowed the Mennonites to […]
How social media and parrotfish poop are protecting the Maldives
- Parrotfish play a vital role in reef ecosystems by producing sand from consumed coral and maintaining healthy reefs by grazing algae; in doing so they support the sediment accretion processes that help low-lying atolls naturally grow and adapt to rising sea levels.
- A grassroots social media campaign in the Maldives raised awareness about the ecological importance of parrotfish, helping build widespread public support for their conservation after the species began proliferating in local fish markets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Public backing from the #FishForTomorrow campaign led the Maldivian government to ban the catch of all parrotfish species in 2020, making the Maldives one of the first countries to enact national protections based largely on community advocacy.
- Building on this success, the NGO Maldives Resilient Reefs is expanding conservation efforts through sustainable fishing partnerships, seagrass protection and a nationwide initiative to protect 30% of the country’s marine habitats by 2030.
Jute loses ground to plastic despite Bangladesh’s packaging law
- Despite being the world’s second-largest producer of jute, a biodegradable fiber, Bangladesh faces the daunting task of combating the onslaught of hazardous plastic-based packaging and synthetic fibers.
- The Mandatory Jute Packaging Act of 2010 stipulated that 19 essential items must be contained and transported in jute sacks, but the legislation failed to protect the jute industry, which employs 3 million households.
- While traders ensure a door-to-door supply of “cheap” plastic and synthetic fiber for users, the government has closed down 25 state-owned jute mills that produced “costly” jute sacks and bags.
- Although a small rice mill demonstrates that jute sacks and bags are cheaper and bring a good profit, the government has not devised a proper strategy to sensitize businessmen to switch to jute instead of plastic/synthetic packing materials.
Looming loss of Singapore’s Maju Forest to development raises many questions (commentary)
- A 23-hectare (57-acre) forest in the Singaporean neighborhood of Clementi that provides stress relief and community enjoyment for residents, plus habitat for urban biodiversity, has been proposed for development, sparking a public debate.
- Although Singapore has earned recognition for integrating nature into this, one of the world’s most densely populated urban environments, the proposal would convert most of it into public housing.
- A new op-ed argues that urban forests are essential public health infrastructure and that this debate reflects a challenge that cities increasingly face: How should we value mature ecosystems in an era of climate change, urbanization and rising health challenges?
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Environmental activists in Kenya concerned over billionaire’s planned oil refinery
- Environmental activists opposed to the oil refinery project cite risks to the local ecosystem and the community’s livelihoods.
- The Kenyan government insists that the project will boost the East Africa region’s economy, and create 60,000 jobs during its construction and then operation.
- Opponents demand absolute transparency with the local community and seek adequate inclusion of all stakeholders during the Environment Impact Assessment process.
Malaysia implements total e-waste import ban to curb toxic trade
In April 2026, Malaysia enacted an absolute ban on the import of electronic waste, moving to end its role as a primary destination for the world’s hazardous electrical and electronic scrap. The regulation aims to shutter a black market of illegal recycling yards that use falsified paperwork to smuggle toxic materials into the country, reports […]
Investigation exposes Cambodia’s illegal wildlife trade linked to transnational crime
There’s a thriving illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia that caters to high-ranking government officials and wealthy Chinese nationals, according to a report on a yearlong undercover investigation by the U.S.-based NGO Earth League International (ELI). The report, titled “Sandokan,” identified five kingpins allegedly running transnational criminal networks involved in wildlife smuggling, human and drug trafficking, […]
Mining threat persists in Raja Ampat, Indonesia’s ‘Amazon of the Seas’
- The Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat is home to some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity.
- A year ago, the Indonesian government suspended mining activities for review and later revoked the permits of four of the five nickel companies operating in Raja Ampat following a public backlash.
- According to a new Greenpeace report, Raja Ampat remains vulnerable to nickel mining, with three companies still pursuing mining rights on its largest island and state-owned PT Gag Nikel continuing to operate.
Global hunger levels fall but Africa still lags behind, UN report finds
- The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says the number of people facing hunger globally fell by around 43 million people between 2022 and 2025 — 20% of Africans were food insecure in 2025, compared to just 6% in Asia.
- FAO’s director of agrifood economics, David Laborde, said severe cuts to development aid, armed conflict, and climate shocks have held back food production in Africa over the past decade.
- Analysts told Mongabay that African governments need to stop promoting agriculture approaches that rely on imported synthetic fertilizer and pesticides, and instead support more effective practices that strengthen soil fertility, diversify crops and diets for farmers, and are more resilient to external shocks.
Doña Oscarina, master ceramicist, documented Indigenous knowledge along the Tiquié River
- Doña Oscarina Caldas Azevedo was a Desana master ceramicist, farmer, teacher, and Indigenous environmental researcher from Brazil’s upper Rio Negro region.
- As the first woman to serve as an Indigenous Environmental Management Agent on the Tiquié River, she helped bring women’s agricultural knowledge into environmental monitoring.
- She documented crop cycles, rainfall, river levels, and community life, while cultivating 18 varieties of cassava and preserving knowledge of ceramics, medicinal plants, and ritual practice.
- Through teaching, research, publications, and international forums, she worked to ensure that younger generations could continue applying and expanding this knowledge.
Brazil’s mining agency under fire over corruption and omission probes
- Federal prosecutors are suing the Brazilian mining agency for failing to monitor wildcat gold mines in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Illegal miners take advantage of the agency’s lack of oversight and name small areas as the origins of tons of gold that have actually been taken from protected areas.
- Measures implemented in the past few years have contributed to a sharp decrease in gold laundering in Brazil, but illegal metal is now being smuggled out of the country.
- ANM’s top officials are also under investigation for receiving bribes to favor mining companies.
New ‘conservation deed’ aims to protect tree kangaroos, forests, people in Papua New Guinea
- On June 30, 266 clan leaders across 41 villages in Papua New Guinea’s Torricelli Mountains signed a legally binding “conservation deed” that protects rainforest and its inhabitants and is the result of decades of work by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance.
- The deed shields the range’s exceptional biodiversity, including the critically endangered tenkile and weimang tree kangaroos, after a long-stalled effort to secure formal government protected-area status has left communities exposed to logging pressure.
- Conservation deeds have held up in court, with a 2025 National Court ruling citing one to restrict logging on clan lands in East New Britain.
- Built over two years through a free, prior and informed consent process, the Torricelli deed bans commercial logging and mining, as well as the hunting of threatened species, renews every five years and gives the alliance a model it now plans to extend to nearby areas under similar threat.
Ebola responders persevere in the DRC as Uganda nears end of outbreak
- Community leaders and local radio stations are fighting widespread misinformation, while resistance to safe burials has fueled attacks on Ebola treatment facilities.
- The current Ebola outbreak has become the fastest-growing outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 3,360 reported cases and nearly 1,487 deaths in about two and a half months.
- Aid workers say funding cuts have weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and logistics at a time when the response is already constrained by armed conflict.
- According to WHO, in Uganda, the last confirmed patient was discharged from care on July 16, and the 42-day with no new Ebola cases countdown necessary to declare the end of that country’s outbreak has started.
Nicaragua’s gold boom is now encroaching on protected areas and Indigenous land
- Mining concessions have begun to encroach on protected areas and Indigenous and Afro-descendant territory, the result of a mining boom that began in 2022, according to a new investigation from community-based Indigenous group Wangki.
- Since 1994, Nicaragua has granted 213 mining concessions covering more than 2.4 million hectares (5.9 million acres), representing approximately 20% of the country’s total land area. A significant portion of that — 113 of the concessions — has only been granted in the last three years.
- The Nicaraguan government has signed trade agreements, passed new laws, and revised environmental regulations to help accelerate the expansion of the mining sector, especially by Chinese companies.
- Pollution and deforestation from mining threaten ancestral traditions, and make it harder to practice subsistence farming and find clean drinking water, the investigation said.
Documentary captures impacts of diamond mining along South Africa’s West Coast
- A documentary explores the legacy of mining along South Africa West Coast and its impacts on coastal ecosystems and the local population.
- The West Coast, an area stretching 450 kilometers up to the Namibian border, has historically been a hotspot for diamond mining.
- Out of Mined features the voices of the Indigenous Nama peoples, fishing communities and conservationists who live with the long-term impacts of the extractive industries.
- The region is now facing a new wave of mining applications, mostly targeting heavy minerals.
Rare living stone plant, found in a tiny area in Namibia, is critically endangered
In a small area of Namibia’s Erongo Mountains, a tiny, pebble-like plant grows on a very thin layer of gravel. This succulent, Lithops werneri, is found in just one tiny 4 square-kilometer (1.5 square-mile) area, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. With more than an 80% decline in its population since 1981 […]
David Page wrote about the mountains and worked to protect them
- David Page, executive director of Winter Wildlands Alliance, died at 57 when a dump truck whose brakes had failed struck his car on Teton Pass; his dog, Rio, also died in the crash.
- An award-winning writer and longtime POWDER contributor, Page wrote closely reported stories about avalanche risk, immigrant workers in ski towns, mountain communities, and the landscapes of the American West.
- He joined Winter Wildlands Alliance in 2016 and became executive director in 2022, working on national forest planning, winter travel rules, conservation funding, and public participation in land-management decisions.
- Page lived in Mammoth Lakes with his wife, Allison, and built his life around family, skiing, music, dogs, and the Sierra Nevada; fuller accounts of his life appear in “Remembering David Page” and “Remembering David Page: A Writer Who Helped Define POWDER.”
Land records reveal how Mennonites are reshaping Belize’s forests
- Mennonites have become some of the most prolific land buyers in Belize, acquiring large properties and making bids faster than competitors. But who owns what land isn’t always clear.
- To better understand the land management process, a Mongabay investigation gained access to records in deforested and degraded areas in and around Mennonite communities throughout Belize.
- The documents show that the communities use trusts and churches to acquire and collectively manage land, allowing them to transfer property internally and tap collective resources to purchase more.
- At the same time, Belizeans living in and around Mennonite communities often occupy much smaller plots of land, surviving off subsistence crops or working at Mennonite-owned businesses.
Coral reef experts press on, with climate looming over international conference
- Coral reef scientists, conservationists, policymakers and community leaders from more than 90 countries met July 19-24 at the International Coral Reefs Symposium in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Participants discussed how to combat the drivers of climate change, how to characterize and communicate the current condition of coral reefs, and how to empower Indigenous communities and integrate their knowledge systems, among other topics.
- During the week of the conference, a new U.S.-based coral reef research center was launched and the first-ever high-resolution mapping of living corals for the Pacific Ocean was announced.
- The next International Coral Reef Symposium will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2030.
Climate shocks hit hydropower in Southern Africa, reviving interest in coal
- Prolonged droughts, especially those linked to the 2023–24 El Niño, exposed the vulnerability of Zambia and Zimbabwe’s hydropower-dependent electricity systems, triggering severe power shortages and renewing interest in coal.
- While coal is viewed as a short-term solution to stabilize electricity supplies and support industrialization, it could undermine Paris Agreement commitments, lock in carbon emissions and reduce export competitiveness as trade rules that put a cost on carbon emissions come into play.
- Households and businesses in Zimbabwe are increasingly investing in rooftop solar, demonstrating that decentralized renewable energy is becoming a practical response to unreliable grid electricity.
- Although solar power is becoming more cost-effective, limited access to finance and policies that continue to favor fossil fuels are slowing the transition to cleaner, climate-resilient energy systems across Southern Africa.
Climate change boosted Spain wildfire risk 20-fold, research shows
Human-induced climate change drastically fueled the weather behind recent devastating wildfires in France and Spain, according to a new rapid analysis by researchers studying the role of climate change on today’s extreme weather. In its report, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers, noted that severe blazes scorched 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres) […]
Central African Republic’s Dzanga-Sangha tests the promise of wildlife tourism
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around […]
Palm oil expansion reignites decade-old Indigenous land conflict in Indonesia
- Two palm oil companies have resumed clearing forest in a long-disputed Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo, more than a decade after international pressure halted operations.
- The Dayak Benuaq community of Muara Tae says the companies are clearing its ancestral land without its consent, while the companies maintain they legally acquired the land from a neighboring village.
- Community members say the renewed clearing is destroying regenerating forest and farms central to their livelihoods, despite years of advocacy, international recognition, and an unresolved complaint to the RSPO, the top certifier of sustainable palm oil.
- Advocates say the dispute exposes persistent weaknesses in Indonesia’s recognition of Indigenous land rights, allowing companies to rely on administrative boundaries that communities say override customary ownership.
World Ranger Day: Justice for the protectors of the wild
July 31 is World Ranger Day, which celebrates the work rangers do for the natural world and commemorates those killed or injured in the line of duty. Among them was Anton Mzimba, head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, where he had served for 25 years. On July 26, 2022, Mzimba was […]
US declines to protect endangered monkeys used in medical research
Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most […]
Before giant meat producer JBS expands to Nigeria, people deserve answers (commentary)
- The world’s largest meat company is pursuing a $2.5 billion investment that could reshape Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
- Critics are calling for greater transparency about this plan and point to JBS’ legacy in the Amazon of deforestation, land grabbing, forced labor, invasions of Indigenous territories, intimidation and violence against small-scale farmers, among other concerns.
- “The central issue is not whether Nigeria should welcome investment, but whether a project of this scale will be subjected to the level of transparency, scrutiny, and due diligence needed to ensure that its benefits do not come with avoidable environmental and human rights costs,” argues an expert with Climate Rights International.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
It’s time we recognize the roles of rangers — and prioritize their safety (commentary)
- Two rangers who were badly injured in a serious vehicle accident while on duty in Mozambique earlier this month faced different outcomes: While one was enrolled in an insurance scheme that covers medical treatment and evacuation for rangers injured in the field, the other was not and faced far more limited options for his ongoing care and recovery.
- Increasingly, rangers are being called upon to operate in environments shaped by organized crime, armed conflict, and geopolitical instability, with climate change and climate-related disasters adding another layer of complexity.
- “Advocating for rangers’ work and highlighting the resources they lack matter more than ever, because the job role itself is evolving,” writes Louise de Bruin, CEO of the Game Rangers Association of Africa.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Report: Indonesian authorities weaponize laws to silence environmental and Indigenous defenders
Indonesian authorities are wrongfully prosecuting environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders who protest deforestation, pollution and land grabs, says a new report by international nonprofit Human Rights Watch (HRW). In its 70-page report, HRW uses 15 publicly recorded cases from 2015 to 2025 as examples to suggest how police use complaints from companies and politicians to […]
The global gold rush consuming the Amazon (commentary)
- Record gold prices and rising global demand are increasing the incentives for illegal mining across the Amazon, including in protected areas and Indigenous territories.
- Illicit gold can be laundered into legal markets through false documentation, shell companies, traders, and refiners, while mining damages rivers, forests, and communities through deforestation, sediment, mercury contamination, and diesel emissions.
- Central banks and other major buyers should impose stronger sourcing, traceability, audit, and due-diligence requirements to make illegal gold harder to sell, argues Robert Muggah, co-founder and research director of the Igarapé Institute.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
How can Indigenous knowledge reshape AI development?
As artificial intelligence increasingly becomes a part of ecological monitoring, a growing body of research suggests integrating Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) into ethical frameworks for AI governance to prioritize environmental reports contributor Shradha Triveni for Mongabay. Researchers in a recent study published in the journal AI and Ethics examined how the Navajo philosophy of Hózhó, […]
Proposed mine expansion raising pollution concerns in Canada and US
- A proposed expansion of an Elk Valley Resources’ coal mine in southeast British Columbia is moving through the environmental assessment process despite concerns over pollution.
- Decades of coal mining in the valley has led to harmful selenium concentrations and loads downstream, in British Columbia and the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho.
- While EVR is making progress in line with the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, current actions are inadequate to mitigate the selenium pollution crisis, according to researchers and experts from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and BC nonprofit Wildsight.
- Proponents of the mine expansion point to the substantial contribution the mines make to federal, provincial and regional economies.
UN regulator delays deep-sea mining rules, but extends criticized exploration contract
- The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-associated organization that oversees deep-sea mining activities in international waters, held a council meeting July 13 to 24 in Kingston, Jamaica.
- During the meeting, the council extended a deep-sea mining exploration contract for a subsidiary of The Metals Company (TMC), despite the company actively pursuing mining exploration and exploitation permits for the same areas through a U.S. government agency.
- In addition, the council once again failed to finalize the rules needed for commercial seabed mining to commence, with many issues remaining unresolved.
Kenya investigates mysterious deaths of 15 elephants in Amboseli
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is investigating the deaths of 15 elephants in the Amboseli savannah ecosystem, near the border with Tanzania. KWS told Mongabay that some preliminary laboratory investigations have found a toxic substance in the dead elephants. The animals were found between June 24 and July 24, 2026, at the Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku […]
Indigenous Parakanã fear election U-turn may spark new invasions in Brazil
- The Parakanã Indigenous people are reoccupying their territory in Pará state after the eviction of around 3,000 invaders by federal forces.
- The intruders, however, are ready to come back if Brazil’s next administration carries a new anti-environmental agenda in 2027.
- Experts compare illegal activities such as gold mining to powerful bacteria that may return even stronger if you don’t use the proper antibiotic.
- Also in Pará, the state administration has the challenge of keeping deforestation under control after a successful operation in the Triunfo do Xingu Environmental Protection Area.
Brazil court orders recognition of Indigenous land and apology for historic atrocities
A federal judge in Brazil has given the country’s government 24 months to recognize the traditional territory of the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna Indigenous people in the northwestern state of Mato Grosso. The court accepted evidence from federal prosecutors that detailed decades of government inaction following massacres, forced displacement and other human rights violations against the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna people. […]
Fatal WWII bomb blast in Indonesia was a result of illegal fishing activity, police say
- At least seven people were killed on May 31 when a World War II bomb exploded in Fandoi village on Indonesia’s Biak Island.
- Interviews with officials indicate the explosion occurred while an unexploded wartime ordnance was being dismantled to recover explosives for illegal blast fishing.
- The HALO Trust estimates that unexploded bombs and ammunition have killed or injured around 25,000 people in neighboring Papua New Guinea since the end of the World War II, reflecting the region’s enduring wartime legacy.
- A casualty estimate for the Indonesian territory of the New Guinea archipelago is unclear.
International Tiger Day: A complex landscape of recovery, conflict, and empty forests
July 29 is International Tiger Day. Few species have benefitted from global conservation attention and funding like the tiger. Its numbers have seen a hopeful increase in recent years, yet the big cat continues to face localized pressures. Recent Mongabay coverage highlights three starkly different realities for tigers (Panthera tigris) across Asia. India’s corridors under […]
Indonesian zoo corruption case renews scrutiny of animal welfare
- An alleged corruption case at Indonesia’s Surabaya Zoo has reignited concerns over governance at the country’s wildlife conservation institutions.
- Experts say the investigation highlights broader questions about transparency, accountability and how conservation facilities are monitored.
- They warn that failures in oversight can have far-reaching implications for both public trust and animal welfare.
Tech helps Vietnam rangers turn the tide on poaching
In Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park, which borders Laos, an antipoaching unit is integrating high-tech tools with on-the-ground patrols to help turn the tide on illegal wildlife poaching. The antipoaching unit (APU) was formed through a partnership in 2018 between the NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) and the park, to address the widespread use of […]
Forests in Liberia are falling to cocoa, in half a year the EU could ban imports
On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforestation over a relatively concentrated period. Along with video production coordinator Juan Maza, Mukpo documented illegal cacao plantations in the rainforests in the county of […]
Fishers fight for solutions as Brazil lists tambaqui as threatened
- One of the most cooked fish in the Brazilian Amazon, the tambaqui was included in the official national list of threatened species, triggering fear of losses from Amazon small-scale fishers who depend on the species for their livelihood.
- The tambaqui was classified as vulnerable due to projections of a 43.4% overall population decline over three generations as it’s targeted by intense fishing.
- Starting at the end of October, its fishing could be prohibited in Brazil if a recovery plan isn’t implemented, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
- The gray triggerfish was also included in the list of 490 fish and invertebrate threatened fauna, triggering reactions from artisanal fishers and the fishing industry.
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 […]
End of Brazil’s Soy Moratorium risks millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest: Study
Millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest are newly at risk of being legally deforested, a new study estimates. The potential increase in deforestation comes as soy companies have terminated their voluntary participation in the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a private-sector agreement that barred signatories from buying soy grown on land deforested after 2008. Researchers found 9.1 […]
‘The shape of the land will change:’ South African villages resist heavy sands mine
- Communities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape are opposing a proposed heavy mineral sands mine that a South African company wants permission to operate day and night for 30 years on their communal land.
- They say the land targeted for mining is far from unused, supporting more than a 1,000 cattle, traditional medicine gathering, tourism and facilitates access to the coast and fishing.
- The villagers say that if the mine goes ahead, it will damage livelihoods, ancestral graves, biodiversity and water resources.
- The planned mine could also impact their long-running campaign to acquire commercial seaweed harvesting permits and an existing small-scale sand mining business run by a village committee.
Pat Lowe spent decades describing and defending the Kimberley
- Pat Lowe, who died on July 2nd, 2026, aged 84, was a psychologist, writer, naturalist, editor, and longtime defender of the Kimberley in Western Australia.
- Her understanding of the region was shaped by years living with Walmajarri artist Jimmy Pike at Kurlku in the Great Sandy Desert and by listening to Indigenous knowledge-holders.
- She helped found Environs Kimberley, later chaired it, served on its board for decades, and edited its newsletter for 29 years.
- Lowe also supported Broome’s literary community, wrote extensively about the Kimberley, and argued that communities should be able to reject projects that would permanently damage Country, the Indigenous Australian term for ancestral lands, waters, relationships, knowledge, and responsibilities.
More than 100 queen ants destined for Laos seized in Mexico
Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel delivery company reported a suspicious package to Mexico’s Federal Attorney for […]
How carbon markets can succeed & also serve Global South communities (commentary)
- The world’s forests provide essential ecosystem services, capture and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, face enormous pressure, and need sustained economic incentives if they are to survive.
- So why has the voluntary carbon market consistently fallen short of its promise to support forest conservation and communities, a new op-ed asks.
- “The ecosystem services forests provide are worth something, and the people who live in and protect those forests must be the primary beneficiaries of that value. Anything short of that is not conservation but a new form of exploitation,” the author argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Bangladesh shipbreakers push back against stricter environmental standards
- Bangladesh’s shipbreaking industry faces a pivotal treaty dispute. The country’s interim government last year decided that both Basel Convention and the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) will apply simultaneously to the local shipbreaking operations.
- However, shipbreakers say that applying Basel rules would make ship imports more expensive and legally complex, potentially forcing many shipbreaking yards to close due to their inability to meet Basel standards.
- Basel strictly controls transboundary movement of toxic waste, and requires dismantling ships on impermeable surfaces that contain hazardous waste, effectively ruling out the conventional method used in Bangladesh, of grounding a ship onto a beach.
- The Hong Kong Convention permits the beaching method, but environmental activists say it doesn’t provide sufficient environmental protection and reflects shipping industry interests.
Finning the High Seas
This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive […]
Major orangutan study finds Sumatran population fell nearly 20% despite slower forest loss
- A new study estimates the Sumatran orangutan population declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023.
- The researchers found that habitat loss alone cannot explain the declines, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict and habitat fragmentation.
- The study is the first comprehensive reassessment of Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans since a landmark 2016 survey.
- The Forestry Ministry co-authored the study and says it will use the findings to guide conservation policy, marking a contrast with the previous administration’s public claims that orangutan populations were increasing.
Thai MP calls for new committee to scrutinize AI data centers’ environmental impact
- A Thai member of parliament has called for the formation of a new committee to scrutinize the development of new data centers.
- Experts have warned that Thailand needs to find a balance between economic development and the water and energy resources required to fuel data centers.
- Despite these concerns, international tech companies are spending billions of dollars on data centers in Thailand, sparking fears over water scarcity and energy infrastructure.
Khuiusi Khisêtjê helped his people recover their land and future in the Xingu
- Khuiusi Khisêtjê assumed leadership after disease and violence reduced his people to around 50 and killed many of their elders.
- He helped recover the Wawi Indigenous Territory, which contained ancestral villages, sacred places, and the graves of Khisêtjê relatives.
- He worked to preserve Khisêtjê songs, language, oral history, and cultural knowledge while preparing younger leaders to navigate Brazilian institutions.
- As soy farms and pesticide use expanded around the territory, he continued defending the land and, in 2018, led his community deeper into the forest.
Conservationists got delayed access to court-ordered inspection of Nairobi National Park
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has been accused of harassing co-petitioners in a case challenging the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to make it part of the larger Bomas International Conference Complex. The proposal would carve out between 76 and 89 acres inside Nairobi National Park for upgrades to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facilities. […]
New treaty promises safer conditions for Indonesia’s fishing crews
- Indonesia has ratified the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188), committing to stronger protections for fishing crews, including safer working conditions, fairer pay and better access to health care.
- Labor groups say the convention could close long-standing legal gaps that have left many domestic fishing workers vulnerable to poor conditions and weak oversight.
- Experts say stronger labor standards could also help curb illegal fishing and boost the credibility of Indonesian seafood exports in markets with strict sustainability requirements.
- The biggest challenge now is implementation, with the government facing a year to update regulations and improve enforcement, training, and support for the fishing industry.
Ghana’s High Court sentences politician to 20 years in illegal mining case
- A court in Accra has sentenced Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a regional chairman of Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic Party, to 20 years in prison for unlicensed mining in the country’s Samreboi concession.
- In recent years, the area has been massively degraded by illegal mining, known locally as “galamsey,” damaging remaining wildlife habitat, destroying farmland, and altering natural drainage patterns.
- Civil society hopes the conviction of a prominent politician signals that political cover allowing illegal mining will now be reined in.
One scientist’s mission to save Ghana’s disappearing guitarfish
- Fishers from Ghana travel the length of the West African coastline to find the richest fishing grounds, but the availability of this vital source of protein is under threat from a number of sources.
- Declining catches of bony fish like tuna and mackerel have put elasmobranch populations — sharks and rays — under increasing pressure by fishers, who seek them not just to supply local markets for their meat, but to meet lucrative demand for their fins from Asia.
- Sawfish and wedgefish species have now been fished to local extinction in Ghana, and marine biologist Issah Seidu warns guitarfish will be next.
- Earlier this year, Seidu was the recipient of a Whitley Award, which will support the work of his NGO alongside Ghanaian fishing communities to research and protect guitarfish.
Volunteers play crucial role in Bangladesh’s wildlife crime control efforts
- The government in Bangladesh has recognized the collaboration between the wildlife crime control force and volunteers by awarding one of the pioneering volunteers with a national prize.
- Risking their own lives, the volunteers collaborate with the Forest Department by sharing information about poachers and smugglers; often, they help arrest criminals.
- The Forest Department has launched a volunteer registration process, which, however, fails to attract prominent volunteers.
Scientists call on countries to act on ‘forgotten’ sawfish teeth trade
- Teeth of critically endangered sawfish species continue to be used as cockfighting spurs in Latin America despite bans from cockfighting organizations, a new study found.
- Researchers interviewed cockfighting practitioners in Peru, where the sport is widely prevalent, and leaders from cockfighting associations in Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and Puerto Rico to understand the dynamics of this illegal trade.
- The study found sawfish teeth are sold for anywhere between $25 and $400 per pair, making them some of the most valuable wildlife products. Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia supply most of the teeth, while Peru tops the list of consumers.
- All commercial international trade in sawfish is prohibited under CITES, and the fish is a protected species across Latin America. Scientists call on countries to enforce their laws and on CITES to act against hidden illicit trade.
For Brazil’s Xokleng people, saving a sacred tree means saving their culture
- The Zág Institute, an initiative of the Laklãnõ/Xokleng Indigenous people, is restoring the Brazilian pine on their traditional territory in the state of Santa Catarina.
- Sacred to the Indigenous people, the Brazilian pine is a critically endangered species; replanting it is seen as a way of strengthening their identity.
- Nearly 100,000 seedlings have been planted across 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres), in the process restoring water sources and degraded land.
- The reforestation project involves the whole community in planting the seedlings, which is done through collective efforts throughout the year and also by donating them to Indigenous families.
Third year of wildfires threaten isolated Indigenous group in Bolivia
Wildfires have burned thousands of hectares of forest and savanna in the Chacobo-Pacahuara Indigenous territory in the Beni department of northern Bolivia, according to satellite imagery and on-the-ground sources. The fires likely resulted from illegal burns in pastures surrounding the Indigenous territory. The fires hit Chacobo-Pacahuara in September and October 2025, the third consecutive year […]
An Indigenous take on Colombia’s new gov’t: Interview with a Putumayo Indigenous leader
- Mongabay interviewed Marino Peña, a prominent Indigenous leader from Colombia’s Putumayo region, to hear his take on the incoming government’s plans and how it might affect Indigenous communities and forests in Colombia.
- Abelardo de la Espriella, from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party, won Colombia’s runoff election on June 11 and will be inaugurated on Aug. 7.
- De la Espriella says he will expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country and has promised to tackle violence using greater force and militarization.
- In this interview with Mongabay, Peña explains that the atmosphere on the ground is tense, in part because de la Espriella’s policies might exacerbate existing conflicts linked to a controversial copper mine in the region.
Oil has harmed the nature and people of the Niger Delta; human rights may save it
On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, I speak with travel writer Noo Saro-Wiwa. She has documented the violence and natural destruction that the presence of oil companies have brought to the people of the Niger Delta in her latest book, The Burning Ground: Oil and Militancy in Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa is also the daughter […]
‘We couldn’t breathe’: DRC villagers revive protest against Perenco over pollution
- Residents of Kitombe, in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, accuse multinational oil giant Perenco, controlled by the French Perrodo family, of causing severe air and soil pollution linked to oil extraction activities.
- Villagers reported respiratory problems, dizziness, diarrhea and crop failures after a major gas release from a crude oil storage facility in April 2025.
- A parliamentary investigation supported residents’ claims and flagged missing evidence at the site after the incident.
- One year later, communities say they received no medical support or compensation and environmental remediation hasn’t been done. Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities in May, temporarily disrupting oil operations.
Report reveals Cambodia’s appetite for tigers, rhinos and other endangered wildlife
- Illegal wildlife trade, primarily catering to Chinese nationals, is thriving in Cambodia, according to a new undercover investigation by Earth League International, a U.S.-based NGO fighting environmental crime.
- Investigators identified five kingpins allegedly running transnational criminal networks in Cambodia that are involved in wildlife smuggling, human and drug trafficking and operate scam centers that defraud targets of money. ELI also mapped trade networks and gathered information on what species are sold and who buys them.
- The report found many endangered animals and their parts, including tigers, elephants, rhinos and pangolins, openly sold mostly to high-ranking government officials, Chinese expats, wealthy businessmen and Chinese tourists.
- The report urges China to act against Chinese scam center owners and corrupt officials who facilitate illegal activity and wildlife trade, along with reducing demand for endangered species within its borders.
Pangolin DNA study links local wild meat markets to global trafficking networks
Pangolin scales and other body parts trafficked internationally appear to come from the same areas that supply the animals for local wild meat markets, a new study has found. It created a DNA database and location-prediction model for three threatened species: the white-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis), Sunda (Manis javanica) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins. Pangolins are […]
What happened to the vessels Panama busted in 2025 for fishing in its flagship MPA?
- In January 2025, Panama’s government announced it had caught more than a dozen vessels fishing illegally inside the country’s flagship marine protected area, declaring it the largest such enforcement operation in the country’s history. Yet the government has released little information about the case over the past year and a half.
- To find out what happened, Mongabay sought information from Panamanian government agencies and reviewed government files that a local nonprofit obtained in freedom of information requests. Much of the information in this article, including about the number and nature of the vessels involved and the status of legal proceedings, hasn’t previously been reported.
- Two government agencies have issued fines against many of the vessel owners, though certain cases have been dismissed and the fines in other cases were reduced upon appeal. The status of criminal proceedings led by the public prosecutor’s office, a third government authority, isn’t known.
- The fishers involved protested the fines on multiple grounds; for one, they’ve said they weren’t in fact fishing. Meanwhile, a representative of the Panama-based nonprofit said the government hadn’t been strict enough in enforcing the MPA’s rules and hasn’t conducted the cases with full transparency. The agencies have rejected the criticisms.
Activists allege Cambodia has resumed sea sand exports to Singapore
- An environmental group in Cambodia alleges that sea sand exports to Singapore have quietly resumed despite a 2017 government ban, citing new footage of dredging operations and cargo vessels bound for the city-state.
- The allegations by Mother Nature Cambodia revive long-standing concerns over sand mining in Koh Kong province, where dredging has been linked to environmental damage and declining fisheries, and where a previous export scandal prompted the 2017 ban.
- Cambodia’s minister of mines defended sand mining as important for navigation and construction, while acknowledging environmental concerns, but did not address claims that exports to Singapore have resumed.
- The dispute comes as Mother Nature Cambodia continues to face pressure from the government, with several of its members imprisoned on charges widely viewed as retaliation for exposing environmental abuses.
Malaysia clamps down on toxic trade with total e-waste import ban
- In April 2026, Malaysia began enforcing an absolute ban on e-waste imports, having previously been one of the main recipients of imported electrical and electronic waste.
- Enforcing the ban requires customs authorities to discover and turn back cargoes of e-waste falsely declared as industrial metals or other commodities — a daunting task given the volume of containers passing through Malaysia’s ports every day.
- While enforcement efforts are underway, including a joint task force that has already sent thousands of tons of e-waste back to origin countries this year, loopholes remain, such as top exporter the U.S. not being a signatory to the Basel Convention on hazardous waste.
- Meanwhile, local recyclers say the e-waste ban levels the playing field for companies trying to legally recycle domestic e-waste, while residents of areas near ports complain that illegal incineration remains a persistent problem.
WHO evacuated health workers from Ebola treatment center due to armed clashes
On July 15, gunfire erupted between armed groups near an Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Nyankunde (or Nyakunde), located 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Bunia in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following the fighting, medical personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC and the NGO Samaritan’s Purse evacuated from Nyankunde, […]
Tiny trackers reveal where migratory shorebirds need protection across Africa
- For the first time in South Africa, scientists monitored the migrations of 23 small wading birds from the country’s west coast as they embarked on a migration to the Arctic tundra, uncovering stopover sites they say could benefit from protection.
- In February 2026, the researchers captured 23 birds in Western Cape province and tagged them with tiny satellite transmitters to followed their movements, tracing different routes across Africa.
- Six of the birds have since reached their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra, while six stayed in Africa, and eight stopped transmitting.
- The research project, a collaboration between BirdLife South Africa and other partners, is helping to shed light on the routes the birds take, and inform conservation action.
America’s retreat from wildlife protection will be felt far beyond its borders
- The Trump administration has removed habitat destruction from the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act.
- The change could make it easier for farming, drilling, mining, logging, and development to proceed in places where endangered species live.
- Because habitat loss is one of the main drivers of extinction, protecting animals while allowing the destruction of the places they need offers limited protection in practice.
- The decision also weakens the United States’ standing when it asks other countries to conserve forests, wetlands, rivers, and other important habitats.
Conservationists urge caution over Bangladesh’s plan to plant 250 million trees
- Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees across the country over the next five years, including in mangrove forests, in hill forests, along roadsides and riverbanks, and in campuses of educational and government institutions.
- The initiative follows the current government’s election manifesto trees, aiming to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide in the region by creating a nationwide green belt.
- Conservationists have reacted to the initiative with mixed observations since many say they believe it may be wasting resources rather than successfully creating greenery in the country.
- They suggest caution during the planning and implementation stages in order to achieve the best output.
Melanesian nations announce intention to create massive ocean reserve corridor
- Solomon Islands is the latest Pacific island nation to sign on to a new network of marine protected areas (MPAs) known as the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves, or MOCOR, which was announced by Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Fiji at the first Melanesian Ocean Summit in May.
- Located in the southwestern Pacific, Melanesia is a hotspot for marine biodiversity and the discovery of new species.
- While large marine corridors can be more effective than isolated MPAs, researchers caution that robust management and enforcement are necessary to prevent them from becoming so-called “paper parks.”
- Details about MOCOR’s size, configuration, precise location, governance, enforcement mechanisms and community consultation processes are scarce.
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.
‘Chasing Deforestation’ in Liberia: Behind the scenes with Mongabay
- In a new episode of “Chasing Deforestation,” Mongabay investigates the emergence of a cocoa industry in southeastern Liberia that is destroying its forests.
- Mongabay reporters traveled deep into the Liberian rainforest to find illegal cacao farms with the help of forest rangers and eco-guards.
- The investigation was led by Mongabay Africa bureau features writer Ashoka Mukpo.
The vanishing forests on Liberia’s cocoa frontier
- Liberia’s remote southeast, home to some of West Africa’s last remaining rainforests, is facing a deforestation crisis driven by cacao farming.
- Tens of thousands of workers from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire have migrated across the border in recent years, driven by land shortages and a price boom.
- This “cocoa rush” destroyed more forest in Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county last year than in any county on record since 2002.
Amazon deforestation falls to 10-year low in first half of 2026
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in the past 10 years, according to satellite data published by Brazil’s National Space Agency (INPE). Between January and June 2025, a total of 2,090 square kilometers (807 square miles) of deforestation was recorded in the Brazilian Amazon. In the same months of 2026, […]
Indigenous advocates push for rights protections around AI data centers
- At a meeting of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Indigenous advocates called for attention to the need for AI to be developed in ways that align with Indigenous rights and priorities.
- Data centers, the infrastructure that powers AI technology, require large amounts of energy and water to operate, yet many are constructed in water-stressed regions, leading to widespread opposition among local residents.
- Many sources who spoke to Mongabay raised concerns about their land, water and food sovereignty.
- Some said they believe the infrastructure could create opportunities for Indigenous people, so long as it complies with the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and meaningful participation, among other steps.
European Commission excludes leather from landmark deforestation law
The European Union has dropped leather from its final list of products targeted under the bloc’s landmark antideforestation law. Experts say the July 13 decision is the result of industry lobbying rather than a true reflection of leather’s deforestation footprint. The EU deforestation regulation, or EUDR, mandates that companies selling commodities such as cattle, soy, […]
War heightens isolation of Iran’s scientists
The ongoing war in Iran, which began following a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28, has intensified the long-standing isolation of the country’s wildlife conservation community, Mongabay’s John Cannon reports. While the current war has directly hindered research and damaged educational facilities, conservationists and researchers said that decades of international sanctions and political disconnect had […]
No corporation can buy the ‘right to destroy’: Interview with activist Raja Waseem Ahmed
- Raja Waseem Ahmed, a dedicated activist in Pakistan’s Chakwal district, is well-known for his decades-long fight to conserve the natural resources and heritage of the Kahoon Valley.
- Through the Kahoon Protection Committee, he led a legal battle against mega cement factories, ultimately prompting the Supreme Court of Pakistan to issue a historic ruling that banned the corporations from extracting local groundwater.
- His persistent advocacy against unchecked industrial expansion recently earned him the WWF-Pakistan Al-Mizan Award for Environmental Justice.
- Raja Waseem Ahmed spoke to Mongabay about his work and steps needed for using the judicial system to safeguard the region’s environment.
South Africa’s free-roaming cheetahs in steep decline, first national census finds
- The first thorough census of free-roaming cheetahs in South Africa finds less than 100 mature adult individuals, much less than previous estimates.
- The researchers confirmed cheetahs in less than half of what is currently defined as suitable habitat by the IUCN and called for the adjustment of habitat maps based on current field data.
- The biggest threats are habitat fragmentation due to development and infrastructure, and persecution by landowners who perceive cheetahs as threats to their livestock.
Deep sea mining identified as biggest threat to known and unknown deep-sea creatures
In its most recent update to the Red List of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identified deep-sea mining as the biggest threat to a critically endangered deep-sea snail. Discovered in 2021, scientists named the mollusk Lirapex felix — the lucky lirapex — because of the luck it took to find […]
How Brazil’s federal fiscal policy hinders Amazon Rainforest conservation (commentary)
- The three Brazilian states whose territory is mostly Amazon Rainforest — and carry the heaviest share of its conservation burden — are among the poorest and most fiscally dependent in the country.
- Amapá, Acre, and Amazonas operate on budgets so dependent on federal funding that they have almost no ability to act on their own, yet they are also precluded from developing their economies within their vast and federally protected swaths of forest.
- “It is a design flaw in Brazil’s fiscal constitution, and it is getting worse,” a new op-ed argues. “Brazil cannot credibly lead global climate diplomacy while its Amazonian states remain fiscally trapped.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find
- Illegal wildlife shopping sites targeting Chinese tour groups in Laos appear to have expanded despite recent law raids, with investigators identifying up to 35 suspected locations, nearly double the number Mongabay documented in 2025.
- Investigators say the shops, embedded in low-cost package tours, continue to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, while some restaurants are reportedly serving highly threatened pangolins to tour groups.
- Laotian authorities say they’ve seized illegal wildlife products and launched investigations, but conservation groups argue enforcement remains too limited to disrupt the broader network.
- Experts warn the trade could undermine Laos’s efforts to improve its standing under the global wildlife trade convention, and say a coordinated regional response is needed to prevent the business model from spreading elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
The unsung biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea needs urgent protection
The Mediterranean Sea accounts for less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface water, but it contains roughly 18% of global marine biodiversity. It is home to 150 million people along its coastline (roughly equivalent to Russia’s population). And it sequesters 17.2 million metric tons of CO2 each year. Joining the Newscast this week to […]
The US government says habitat destruction no longer counts as ‘harm’ to endangered species
The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently finalized a rule that narrows what qualifies as “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. Under the new definition of harm, only actions that directly harm or kill endangered species will be prohibited. Until recently, the definition of harm also included damaging the habitat endangered wildlife depend on for […]
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 […]
Research offers nature-positive path to end and reverse biodiversity loss
- A recent paper in Frontiers in Science argues that tracking ecosystem health and natural processes — not just counting species numbers — is essential to stop and reverse biodiversity loss.
- The paper promotes the “Three Global Conditions Framework” (3Cs), which categorizes regions by human-impact level to guide targeted conservation efforts ahead of the 2030 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework deadline ending the loss of biodiversity.
- Experts say implementation is a lingering challenge, in part because the Global Biodiversity Framework isn’t legally binding.
- They say real progress depends on the actions of individual countries and addressing who bears the social and economic costs of these solutions.
Why Africa should link nutritional data with fisheries management (commentary)
- The Our Ocean Conference in Kenya last month put Africa’s ocean future in the global spotlight, but the real test now is whether new commitments help countries build the systems needed to manage aquatic foods for people and not just for production, trade and conservation, a new op-ed argues.
- Fisheries ministries count landings, and health ministries count nutritional deficiencies, but rarely do the two talk to each other — a problem which can be addressed when the right data is gathered and communicated.
- “If Africa can pivot to managing fisheries not only for how much is produced, but for what the catch means for its people’s nutrition, the next generation of fisheries management will be able to harness its oceans for greater social impact and inclusive development,” writes Essam Yassin, director general of research organization WorldFish.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Ecuador’s Amazon coffee farmers get ahead of Europe’s deforestation rules
- Since 2019, nearly 400 coffee producers in the Ecuadorian Amazon have adopted a deforestation-free production model that combines traceability, geospatial monitoring, and certification.
- In 2025 alone, the initiative exported as much deforestation-free coffee as it had during the previous three years combined, totaling 172.5 metric tons of coffee between 2022 and 2025.
- The project currently involves 373 producers across nearly 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres), of which more than 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of natural forest remain conserved.
- The model is designed to anticipate the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will require geographic proof that commodities such as coffee aren’t linked to deforestation after 2020.
Small-scale farming, logging eclipse megaprojects as top threats to Tapanuli orangutan habitat
- A new study finds that while large-scale development projects have accelerated forest loss in a key orangutan habitat in Indonesia, small-scale agriculture and logging now account for roughly 70% of direct habitat loss.
- Researchers link the increase in clearing of the Batang Toru ecosystem to changing rural livelihoods, commercial banana farming, and widespread abuse of a legal community logging mechanism.
- The findings raise particular concern for Batang Toru’s eastern forest block, where continued habitat loss threatens one of the smallest and most vulnerable subpopulations of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- The authors say protecting the species will require tackling both large development projects and the cumulative pressures from small-scale forest clearing, while expanding conservation beyond Indonesia’s formal protected areas.
How narcos moved 108 tons of timber infused with drugs from Bolivia to Chile
- Chilean authorities found drug-impregnated wood as part of the country’s largest-ever narcotics seizure, which uncovered 108 tons of cocaine and ketamine in cargoes of timber, according to officials.
- In neighboring Bolivia, the origin of the so-called “narco-timber,” raids were conducted at sawmills in the departments of Santa Cruz, Pando, Beni and La Paz. The investigation is also expected to expand to Cochabamba.
- The method to impregnate drugs in forest-sourced wood is seen as highly sophisticated and makes it difficult for authorities and even trained canines to detect.
- Part of the wood used by criminal networks comes from Amazonian regions in Bolivia, posing risks to tropical forests.
Fossil fuel-based mega projects displace locals in Bangladesh, pushing youth out
- The Bangladesh government has adopted a master plan to develop Maheshkhali sub-district through three industrial zones: An energy hub with 13 gigawatts of LNG and coal power plants, a deep-sea port with container and multipurpose terminals, and a special economic zone.
- The development requires about 37,000 hectares of land across Maheshkhali and Matarbari coastal areas, potentially displacing more than 770,000 residents.
- A coal power plant and deep-sea terminal have already displaced 20,000 people by acquiring 2,820 acres of land used for salt production, fish farming and shrimp cultivation.
- The coal power plant and deep-sea terminal have affected more than 90,000 people, leaving many without livelihoods and pushing some to risk illegal migration to East Asia for work.
Pangolin habitat at risk in Pakistan
The endangered Indian pangolin, already devastated by the illegal wildlife trade, is facing another crisis in Pakistan, one of the four countries where it’s found: rapid habitat loss. Key habitats of the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) have particularly disappeared in Pakistan’s rural, mountainous northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to new research, reports contributor Emma […]
Official tied to commercial breeding to represent US at global wildlife trade meeting
- Jennifer Chatfield, a top regulator at the U.S. Interior Department, will reportedly head the country’s delegation at the upcoming meeting of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, sources told Mongabay.
- The Animals Committee, a scientific body that influences regulations on wildlife trade, is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 13-17. Delegations from 184 signatory nations and the EU will attend, along with NGOs and pro-trade organizations.
- Chatfield, a political appointee, has deep links to the commercial wildlife breeding industry: Her family owns and operates 4J Conservation Center in Florida, a facility that breeds two critically endangered species of lemurs, and she is listed as the facility’s veterinarian in documents obtained by Mongabay.
- The Interior Department’s ethics committee has been asked to investigate Chatfield for potential ethics violations and favoring family business related to permitting and proposed rulemaking that weakens the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Scientists use AI to produce first high-resolution map of global seagrass extent
- Scientists have produced the first high-resolution map of seagrass ecosystems around the world.
- Data from the map reveal that 70% of global seagrass cover is concentrated off the coasts of just five countries.
- The map also found that nearly 80% of seagrass loss happened outside marine protected areas, emphasizing the importance of targeted conservation action.
- Seagrass ecosystems play an important role in protecting coastlines and carbon sequestration; however, they face threats from hurricanes, coastal development, and marine heat waves.
Suspect charged and manhunt continues over Jakarta 3-ton pangolin scales case
- Indonesian authorities have charged one person and are pursuing at least two others, including a Vietnamese national, after customs officials seized 3 metric tons of pangolin scales worth an estimated $10 million at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port in February.
- The goods — one of Indonesia’s largest known wildlife trafficking seizures — were concealed in a shipping container bound for Cambodia and likely comprised around 15,000 dead pangolins, all eight species of which are threatened with extinction.
- Indonesia’s forestry ministry said investigators are continuing to look into the involvement of two companies involved in arranging the customs clearance and export.
- Wildlife conservation nonprofit Geopix said the case should remain open until investigators have established the actors behind the shipment, widely suspected to be the work of a transnational organized trafficking ring.
Bangladesh gets ready for its first release of tiger rescued from poachers’ trap
- In early 2026, the Bangladesh Forest Department rescued an adult female Bengal tiger from the Sundarbans from a poachers’ trap set for deer.
- The critically injured tiger was taken to the Khulna Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. After receiving the treatment, she is now ready to be released back into the mangrove forest.
- Since this is the first release of its kind in the country, the authority is struggling to decide on the best process, including whether the tiger should be fitted with a satellite collar or monitored with camera traps after release.
- Since last year, the Forest Department has taken strict action against deer poachers by conducting raids and seizing large amounts of netting and other traps. The tiger’s rescue from a snare and the increased deer population are results of these efforts.
Ethiopia’s iconic Walia ibex is critically endangered once again
The Walia ibex, a rare species of wild goat found only in northern Ethiopia, is once again considered critically endangered, after recent population estimates showed a sustained decline below a key threshold. The iconic species, largely confined to the remote, steep cliffs of Simien Mountains National Park, was previous listed as vulnerable on the Red […]
Lawmakers seek rights probe into Indigenous conflict at Indonesian timber firm
- Indonesian lawmakers have called for a government fact-finding investigation into alleged human rights abuses linked to a long-running land conflict between the Dayak Kualan Indigenous community and timber company PT Mayawana Persada.
- The community says the company cleared customary forests and sacred sites without its consent, while community leaders have faced criminal charges they describe as retaliation for opposing the project.
- The conflict coincides with one of Indonesia’s largest recent deforestation cases, with more than 42,500 hectares (105,000 acres) of forest, including peatlands and orangutan habitat, cleared inside the company’s concession since 2016.
- Indonesia’s human rights ministry says it will investigate the allegations, while lawmakers have urged police to halt criminal proceedings against community members and review the company’s operating permit.
Seeking swordfish, catching dolphins and whales: EU pushes to rein in driftnets
- Environmental groups continue to allege widespread illegal use of driftnets in the Mediterranean Sea.
- The use of driftnets — fishing nets, sometimes kilometers long, that drift with the ocean currents — is prohibited to catch large pelagic species like swordfish.
- Highlighting that current measures lack adequate definitions and enforcement provisions, the European Union presented a proposal to strengthen international restrictions on driftnet fishing at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas technical meeting in June.
- Morocco, one of the countries most criticized for the use of illegal large driftnets, has emerged as a strong supporter of the proposal.
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.
Ugandan farmers sue TotalEnergies’ oil pipeline project in UK court
Four Ugandan farmers have filed a lawsuit before the High Court in London, U.K., against a contentious oil pipeline under construction in Uganda and Tanzania, human rights group Avaaz announced at a press conference on July 7. The 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will stretch from the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields […]
Clinical trials begin in DRC epicenter of Bundibugyo strain of Ebola
- Clinical trials that aim to establish a standard treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is driving the current outbreak, began on July 2.
- The trials are being conducted in Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak.
- Dr. Placide Mbala of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), is in charge of clinical trials, said the trials could take between three and six months, depending on how the disease evolves on the ground.
Thai rubber smallholders race to meet new EU deforestation rules
Thailand’s natural rubber industry is racing to comply with a new EU anti-deforestation law that will take effect in 2027, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Thailand is the world’s largest producer of natural rubber and relies on approximately 1.7 million small-scale farmers for 90% of its supply. The country exports much of its rubber to China […]
The growing global popularity of wildlife crossings
Nearly three years ago, Newscast guest, author and journalist Ben Goldfarb discussed his book Crossings, which is about wildlife crossings and road ecology. Wildlife crossings help reconnect habitats fragmented by road networks, reducing collisions, helping protect threatened wildlife, and improving genetic diversity. Since that conversation, Goldfarb has documented the growing popularity of wildlife crossings worldwide. […]
‘A targeted, data-driven approach’: Interview with Vietnam’s antipoaching unit
- Members of an antipoaching unit in Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park recently told Mongabay how technology and on-the-ground patrols are combining to reduce poaching pressure in the park.
- Supported by the NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, the APU integrates tools such as SMART data aggregation software and remotely monitored “PoacherCams” to identify trafficking hotspots and guide patrols more strategically.
- Though technologies like AI are highly effective at aggregating data, the team notes these tools have limits in rugged tropical terrain with limited connectivity and ever-shifting conditions.
- Patrol members say they’ve observed signs of wildlife returning to places that were once heavily hunted.
Illegal fishing takes a toll on Australia’s sea cucumbers
- Researchers blame an increase in illegal fishing for the decline of sea cucumbers in a remote Australian marine park and say many other reefs in the country have also been affected.
- The Australian government has launched an operation to crack down on illegal fishing in the country’s Northern Territory where the problem is acute, including for high-value sea cucumbers.
- But as long as the market for sea cucumbers remains strong in China and other East Asian countries, experts say, wild populations of this slow-growing animal could collapse and put the health of reef systems at risk in Australia and beyond.
Roads, loggers close in on an unprotected refuge for isolated Kakataibo
- Isolated peoples and forests in the Kakataibo Extremo Norte area of the Peruvian Amazon are under threat from illegal loggers, drug traffickers, the construction of illegal roads, and multiple forestry concessions.
- Indigenous leaders and organizations have sought formal recognition for the area as an Indigenous reserve since 2021, but the Ministry of Culture rejected the application in 2023 because it relates to isolated Kakataibo people who are already recognized by the Peruvian state and receive protections in a nearby reserve.
- Sources told Mongabay that threats to the area’s isolated groups are increasing, exposing them to significant risk due to their extreme vulnerability.
- To apply for a new reserve, the Ministry of Culture said organizations should carry out a new study on the presence of isolated peoples in the region, but sources say studies have already been done and that they lack the finance to do them again.
In AI race, Indigenous values could guide environmental issues, researchers suggest
- A recent study provides a framework for the integration of Indigenous knowledge and values into AI governance and examines how these ethical principles can translate to practical requirements for individual AI projects.
- The authors say that Indigenous ecological knowledge embodies collective responsibility and could provide an ethical basis for questioning whether the scale of a proposed AI model is justifiable given its environmental cost, prioritizing ecological integrity over unbounded technological expansion.
- Some Indigenous researchers voice skepticism over whether a broad category of ‘Indigenous values’ exists and whether Indigenous knowledge could truly be translated into AI tools.
Belief-based use increasing threat to yellow-billed kite, an important African scavenger
- Yellow-billed kites are widespread across Africa. But conservationists warn that in the absence of heavily-hunted vultures, this bird is now targeted for use in belief-based rituals in West Africa.
- A survey spanning two hunting seasons in southern Benin estimated that more than 20,000 yellow-billed kites were poached for consumption and for sale in fetish markets. Researchers tallied nearly 2,000 birds for sale in markets.
- Poaching is also occurring in neighboring Togo and Nigeria.
- Experts are concerned that at this scale, poaching could quickly lead to population-level declines. They urge action to control hunting and sale of this bird.
‘The only possible transition is a just transition’: Interview with WEF’s Clemence Schmid
- Kenya formally launched the National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) in collaboration with the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), an initiative of the World Economic Forum, at the Our Ocean conference held in Mombasa.
- Plastic pollution is a pressing threat to Kenya’s marine ecosystems, fisheries and coastal livelihoods, driven by poor or non-existent waste management on land, along the coast and at sea.
- The initiative seeks to accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy, which aims to reduce plastic pollution, valorize materials traditionally considered ‘waste’ and generate economic opportunities in the process.
- Mongabay spoke to Clemence Schmid, Director, Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), on the sidelines of the Mombasa conference to understand what the collaborative effort is trying to achieve in Kenya.
NGO support can negatively impact allocation of Amazonian territorial rights, research finds
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a critical role in the fight to secure title to ancestral Indigenous lands in the Amazon. They can provide financial assistance and legal representation in court, but new research shows that for groups that do not benefit from this support, the arrival of NGOs may cause more harm than good. […]
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.
War reveals the isolation of Iran’s scientists
- The war in Iran has hindered scientific research, making the long-running isolation of Iranian scientists more apparent.
- For decades, international sanctions and the war have limited their access to funding, professional development, and global scientific collaboration.
- Beyond potential damage to wildlife populations and ecosystems, conservation efforts are often ignored during wartime.
- Even amid the war, the Iran-based AvayeBoom Bird Conservation Society has continued its work “reconnecting people with wetlands through birds” and protecting critical bird habitats like the Arjan wetland in the country’s southwest.
New data reveals surge in human rights abuses linked to transition minerals mining
New data released by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that, worldwide, South America has the most abuse allegations associated with large-scale mining for transition minerals over the past 15 years. Such minerals are essential for the shift away from fossil fuels and are critical for other industries, such as tech and […]
Running on empty: How the gulf war is threatening Kenya’s food security
- Tensions in the Gulf that have disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, causing fertilizer prices to rise. Despite the Kenyan government’s subsidy program, farmers have to deal with high fuel and other input costs.
- At least 26% of Kenya’s fertilizer supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz. The government has, however, assured its citizens of adequate stocks of fertilizer, with plans to diversify imports.
- Meanwhile, farmers foresee reduced yields, despite government subsidy program, while commercial fertilizer prices continue to soar amid rising fuel costs.
- Kenya has to also deal with land degradation attributed to soil erosion, poor farming practices, overuse of synthetic fertilizers and climate change impacts such as floods.
Zambia’s bumper harvest masks likely food insecurity amid geopolitics and climate threats
- Zambia may seem food-secure now, with recent adequate rains and bumper harvests, but experts say it could be short-lived as global geopolitical tensions drive up fertilizer and fuel costs.
- Experts say the urban populations are the most likely to bear the brunt of the Gulf tensions, as they heavily depend on imported foodstuffs such as wheat.
- There are calls for the country to build long-term resilience through investment in irrigation, climate-smart agriculture, locally produced fertilizer, and diversified food systems.
- Zambia and the rest of Southern Africa is staring at another round of El Niño, which might disrupt rainfall patterns and affect food production.
Can selective logging help the Congo Basin store more carbon?
- A recent study created a machine-learning program that estimated the amount of carbon dioxide already stored, and sequestered annually, by rainforests in Central Africa’s Congo Basin, the planet’s largest forested carbon sink.
- They found that managed logging concessions, which remove a small number of large trees annually and strictly control other human activities, made up more than half of the net carbon removed by Congo Basin rainforests.
- The authors say these results suggest that expanding logging concessions could help the Congo Basin sequester more carbon while also providing locals with a source of income.
- Other experts, however, argue that addressing local conflicts that lead to illegal forest clearing would be a better way to benefit these forests.
Indonesia’s ratification of fishing labor reforms will also boost conservation (commentary)
- Indonesia’s formal ratification of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention is a historic milestone for workers and will boost the sustainability of the fishing industry, the writer argues.
- Such reforms require a broad coalition beyond traditional labor actors and must include fisheries authorities, fishing companies, fishers’ organizations and conservation groups.
- “Fishers working under safer and fairer conditions are more likely to engage in responsible fishing practices and support conservation measures,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Dutch importers linked to suspect Amazon timber, investigation finds
- Wood from a Brazilian logging company banned several times for violating regulations may have ended up in the Netherlands, according to an investigation by campaign group Earthsight.
- The bans on logging company Samise stemmed from suspicions of, among other violations, illegal extraction, and resulted in fines and community service orders for the company.
- Yet Samise’s timber went on to be imported by Dutch companies GWW Houtimport, Van den Berg Hardhout, and Hoogendoorn Hout, via Brazilian exporter Greenex, according to the investigation.
- Earthsight called for rigorous implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is scheduled to go into effect at the end of the year.
UK deforestation rules take step forward after a long delay
The U.K government has announced that it will advance long-delayed regulations on commodities linked to deforestation. On June 23, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued a press release promising to “take forward new rules” that will force companies in Great Britain to carry out due diligence on the products they sell. […]
Santa Marta report by 57 nations defines rapid fossil fuel transition path
- The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, which took place in April 2026, in Colombia, released its final report on June 23 at the London Climate Action Week.
- The so-called Santa Marta Process, arising from a meeting between 57 nations, is not meant to replace the U.N. climate framework consensus process, but rather to complement it. The SMP explores the means for moving beyond decades of diplomatic deadlock.
- The new report offers five practical pathways to a just, orderly, and equitable fossil fuels transition, a process requiring stronger international cooperation and more effective and robust governance frameworks from what currently exist.
- The report’s key findings, including a shift of financing and subsides away from fossil fuels to green energy, was agreed to by 57 countries forming the so-called “Coalition of the Willing.” But Colombia and the Netherlands, which sponsored the April summit, already appear to be realigning their nations with fossil fuels.
Crackdown lets rainforest reclaim illegal road in rare win for the Amazon
- Recent satellite images show forest closing over the path of an illegal road that nearly severed the Xingu Socioenvironmental Corridor in 2022.
- In early 2023, civil society pressure put the road at the top of the government’s agenda, leading to enforcement operations and a sharp decline in new illegal road openings across the Xingu Basin.
- Conservationists warn the gains remain fragile: Invaded Indigenous territories face violent backlash, illegal mining is regrouping, and this year’s elections could redefine Brazil’s environmental policies.
Illegal timber imports from Cambodia, Laos skirt Vietnam safeguards, report reveals
- A new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reveals persistent trafficking of illegal timber from Cambodia and Laos into Vietnam.
- The illegal cross-border trade fuels deforestation and undermines what the report describes as “significant progress” by Vietnam in recent years to clean up its timber supply chains.
- Multiple mechanisms perpetuate the illicit trade, including the falsification of paperwork, manipulation of harvesting quotas and economic land concessions, and the use of intermediary criminal networks to facilitate the trade, the report says.
- The report calls on Vietnam’s timber authorities to close regulatory gaps in its timber verification system and urges regional governments to improve levels of independent oversight.
A possible strong El Niño fuels fears for fires across Indonesian tropical peatlands
- Meteorologists say emergence of a strong El Niño climate phenomenon is increasingly likely this year, as ocean temperatures in June reached a record high.
- Indonesian environmental groups fear the drier El Niño conditions could trigger renewed peatland fires in Borneo and Sumatra, particularly on land converted for rice cultivation under the government food estate projects announced in 2020.
- In the 1990s, President Suharto launched an ambitious scheme to convert vast areas of Borneo’s peatlands into rice fields. The project failed, and much of the drained landscape burned during the strong 1997–98 El Niño.
Sri Lanka intensifies fight against dengue and the mosquitos that cause the infection
- Sri Lanka has recorded more than 56,422 dengue cases from January to July 1, adding pressure to the country’s healthcare system as the caseload continues to increase.
- DENV-2 is the dominant dengue serotype causing a higher number of infections at present, health officials say.
- According to academics, unplanned urbanization and climate change are factors contributing to the spike in dengue cases in South Asia and many other regions.
- Meanwhile, the Aedes vector is evolving and adapting, increasing the mosquito’s ability to survive in constantly changing environmental conditions, researchers say.
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.
Nepal’s new government bets on tax revenue over clean energy push
- Nepal has the world’s second-highest rate of electric vehicle adoption, but a newly proposed government tax hike on EV imports and electricity consumption could undermine this transition.
- The government argues the previous decade of EV tax breaks was fiscally unsustainable and primarily benefited wealthy buyers in a country where most people can’t afford a car of any kind.
- The new tax could also slow households’ switch from gas cooking stoves to electric ones, with critics pointing out that electricity costs are the single strongest predictor for this transition; they also argue the government would save far more by accelerating that switch — and cutting gas subsidies — than it would collect from the new tax.
- The policy has also exposed divisions within the government itself: the energy minister backed a pro-consumption strategy just days before the tax landed; engineers have publicly disputed the prime minister’s warnings about grid overload; and officials are already signaling they may raise the rates from 5% to up to 13%.
Indonesia’s blackouts reignite debate over coal-dependent energy transition
- Recent blackouts in Sumatra and Java exposed vulnerabilities in Indonesia’s electricity system, with PLN saying constrained coal supplies contributed to the Java outage.
- Energy analysts say the outages exposed the risks of Indonesia’s centralized, coal-dependent electricity system and strengthened the case for distributed renewable energy such as rooftop solar.
- A recent study identified six coal plants on Java as priority candidates for early retirement, estimating their closure would eliminate 93.5 million metric tons of annual CO₂ emissions.
- Environmental groups say biomass co-firing allows aging coal plants to keep operating while creating new pressures on forests and rural communities supplying wood fuel.
Foreign nationals attempt to fly to Europe with rare cacti from southern Brazil
- Brazilian authorities detained Czech, German and Russian nationals carrying hundreds of cacti and their seeds, all native to Southern Brazil.
- The species targeted are critically endangered and highly prized by collectors worldwide.
- The foreigners caught by police include amateur botanists who are renowned among the international cactus-loving community.
- Illegal removal from nature harms the preservation of species that can take up to 10 years to become productive.
Bangladesh unveils sweeping EV incentives to cut emissions and pollution
- In the national budget announced on June 11, the Bangladeshi government waived tariffs on the import of electric vehicles (EVs) such as buses and trucks between July 1, 2026, and June 2030, while increasing tariffs on fossil fuel-run vehicles.
- A tariff waiver was also announced for setting up charging stations for EVs.
- The government aims to replace 25% of buses and 30% of trucks with electric alternatives, in line with the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
- Besides adaptation, the South Asian country is now embarking on mitigation to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution that kill hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Human rights abuse allegations continue to rise in the mining sector, report finds
- The U.S. and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. But as investment grows, so does conflict throughout the sector.
- The Business and Human Rights Centre released the 2025 findings for its Transition Mineral Tracker, which monitors allegations of abuse by large-scale mining of bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, iron ore and zinc.
- The NGO reviewed 299 mining operations and their owners, counting 329 allegations of abuse, up from 156 the year before.
- The allegations increased in every region of the world, but nowhere has been worse than in South America, which has seen 447 allegations since 2010.
Women patrol Tanzania’s Pemba waters in a community-led push to protect the sea
- More than 1.8 million people live in Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago that united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form present-day Tanzania.
- Of Zanzibar’s population, roughly 550,000 people live on Pemba Island, one of its two main islands, where many households depend directly on the surrounding marine ecosystem for food, income, and livelihoods.
- Across the island, a community-led approach to marine resource management is taking root. Local communities are organized through Shehia Fisheries Committees and Collaborative Management Groups, which develop and implement rules governing the use of marine resources, including fisheries and locally managed conservation areas.
- Enforcing those rules, however, is not always straightforward. Community patrol teams often lack the legal authority needed to take action against offenders. In a largely Muslim society where marine patrols have traditionally been dominated by men, women are increasingly joining these teams to help monitor fishing activities and encourage compliance.
French court orders TotalEnergies to disclose climate impacts in vigilance plan
A French court has delivered a landmark judgment against oil and gas giant TotalEnergies SE, holding it accountable for the carbon footprint associated with its global operations. On June 25, the Paris Judicial Court ordered the multinational business to revise its vigilance plan in relation to its climate risk assessment. The order requires the company […]
A trailblazing Ugandan championing women in African fisheries: Q&A with Lovin Kobusingye
- In fishing communities along Africa’s coast, women are often the backbone of household economies. They process and sell fish, support households and pay school fees, often while facing significant economic and social challenges.
- Hotels, ports and other developments are reshaping many African coastlines. While they can bring jobs and investment, some women working in fisheries say they are also being pushed away from traditional landing sites and areas they have depended on for generations.
- At a recent gathering of marine organizations in Kenya, one woman stood before the audience to share the realities faced by women fishers, fish traders and others working across the fisheries value chain.
- Uganda’s Lovin Kobusingye knows those realities well. Having overcome numerous obstacles of her own to become a successful entrepreneur, she now advocates on behalf of millions of women working across Africa’s fisheries value chain, many of them women whose contributions to fisheries remain largely unseen and undervalued.
Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach released after 5 years in prison
Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was released from prison on June 24 after serving a full five-year sentence for tax evasion, charges advocates say were a pretext to silence his activism against coal mining. Bach, the founder and former director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center, was arrested in 2021 […]
Asia’s shark and ray hotspots remain poorly protected, study finds
- A new regional assessment has identified 122 important shark and ray areas (ISRAs) across Asia, spanning more than 1 million square kilometers (386,102 square miles) and supporting 121 species, many of them threatened with extinction.
- Despite their ecological importance, only 5.4% of these habitats overlap with existing marine protected areas with only 2.8% falling within fully protected no-take zones, highlighting major conservation gaps.
- Sri Lanka has five identified ISRAs, home to nine species with eight of them threatened with extinction, but only Pigeon Island in the island’s east is formally protected, with most areas still functioning as active fishing grounds.
- The new study underscores an urgent need to move from mapping to management, using ISRAs to guide marine spatial planning, fisheries regulation and habitat protection ahead of global 30×30 ocean targets.
Seizures reveal macabre grey parrot blood trade in Cameroon
- A grim, illicit trade in the blood of endangered African grey parrots is emerging near Cameroon’s Lobéké National Park, a stronghold for the species, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trafficking monitoring NGO.
- This trade first came to light in 2025 when forest authorities apprehended individuals caught illegally trapping grey parrots in the park. During interrogation, the poachers said that blood was extracted from trapped birds and likely used for medicine and religious practices.
- These intelligent birds are in demand as pets worldwide; their skulls and colorful feathers are used in belief-based practices, as a cure for speech problems and as decor. Decades of trade has pushed African grey parrots to the brink of extinction.
- Not a lot is known about this blood trade, but conservationists say it points to a general trend where wildlife traffickers are shifting to hard-to-detect products, making it challenging to combat illegal commerce.
Crackdown on snares in Sumatra as elephant, sun bear and tiger rescued
- In May and June this year, animal rescuers with Indonesia’s state conservation agency, the BKSDA, rescued a Sumatran tiger, a Sumatran elephant and a sun bear in separate incidents after the animals were caught in snares.
- Farmers set snares to catch wild boar, which are regarded as a pest to crops, but tiger poachers are also believed to use them to trap critically endangered Sumatran tigers for the illegal wildlife trade.
- After recent rescues, the conservation agency published a letter stating that authorities consider the snare to be potentially unlawful and telling farmers to remove any existing snares.
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.
Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa
- On June 16, the Marine Conservation Institute recognized six marine protected areas, three in Madagascar and one each in Senegal, Chile and Canada, as Blue Parks.
- The awards, announced at the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, recognize MPAs whose management is “durable, equitable and effective” at protecting marine life.
- Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries agreed to protect 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030, but experts say that protection must be meaningful, not just symbolic.
- One of the common features of the awardees is the existence of some form of co-management with Indigenous peoples and local communities.
Wildlife helps regulate the climate & this belongs in policy discussions (commentary)
- Wildlife shapes how ecosystems store carbon, move nutrients, recover from disturbance, and remain resilient as conditions change, yet this is seldom considered during negotiations over climate change policy.
- A new initiative seeks to bring animals into the climate conversation.
- “If governments are designing climate strategies, conservation plans, ecosystem models, or nature-based solutions, they should account for wildlife and the ecological roles animals play,” argues a biologist who helped draft the new Scientific Consensus on Wildlife and Climate.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Indonesia driver sentenced over organized crime group trafficking live orangutan
- A court in Sumatra’s East Aceh district court sentenced a 41-year-old farmer to three years in prison after he was found guilty in a wildlife trafficking case linked to international organized crime.
- Court documents show the farmer from East Aceh district accepted a delivery job driving a consignment in a small truck, and that he helped another individual transfer the protected wildlife at a meeting point in North Aceh district.
- Customs officials said they initiated an investigation following a tip from a member of the public. The customs office later said they believed the perpetrators intended to smuggle the animals to Thailand by boat from a small coastal village in Aceh.
- The presence of hornbills and numerous other species showed the animals were sourced from as far as eastern Indonesia, investigators said.
Leaked study warns of irreversible damage from iron ore mine in Guinea UNESCO site
- Ivanhoe Atlantic, a U.S. mining company, plans to mine iron ore in Guinea’s UNESCO-protected Nimba Mountains.
- Mongabay has obtained a copy of the confidential environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) currently being reviewed by Guinean authorities, which details extensive and irreversible damage to Nimba’s endemic and endangered species and critical habitats.
- The ESIA concludes that the planned mine risks causing “lasting and significant damage” to the adjacent World Heritage Site.
- The document’s findings also indicate the project might be breaching globally recognized environmental and social safeguards that Ivanhoe has publicly committed to.
Failed promises to clean air in South Africa’s coal belt take toll on public health
- South Africa’s coal belt produces more than half of the country’s electricity, but people who live in the shadow of the power stations and mines suffer from a range of health issues linked to pollution from these facilities.
- Despite being declared a priority area for tackling air pollution nearly 20 years ago, residents and campaigners here say little has improved.
- Research by the South African Medical Research Council linked pollutants like PM 10 and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) to increased mortality risk, sinus problems, tuberculosis, asthma and other lung and respiratory issues among residents of the Highveld Priority Area, named for its high altitude.
- Activists are taking legal action to compel the government and industrial players to improve emission standards, enforce them fully and to do away with exemptions.
Hope for vultures in Nigeria as some belief-based users adopt plant alternatives
Using plants instead of vulture parts for belief-based practices is helping to tackle poaching of the birds in some regions of Nigeria, say conservationists. Vulture populations have collapsed in Nigeria. The country was once home to seven vulture species; recent surveys recorded only two, the critically endangered hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the palm-nut vulture […]
Deforestation is just a symptom. The disease is de-governance (commentary)
- Forests in places like Indonesian Papua do not disappear because trees fall, but because governance fails, a new op-ed argues.
- What’s needed is a rethink of how Indigenous territories have been systematically stripped of effective governance, and what a shift back to local jurisdiction over forests would allow.
- “It’s a shift from protecting forests as external objects to governing territories as living systems, from delivering projects to building institutions, and from treating communities as beneficiaries to recognizing them as decision-makers,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Rodent-killing baits threaten small wild cats and other wildlife
- Anticoagulant rodenticides — used to control rodent populations — pose a little-recognized threat to a host of wildlife species, including wild cats.
- Many small cat species hunt rodents and live in areas where rat poison is commonly used, including agricultural lands. These anticoagulant poisons accumulate in the liver and can prove lethal: It takes days for animals to die from internal bleeding.
- Widespread exposure in bobcats and caracals is well-documented, however research on other small cat species is limited — but concerning.
- Wildlife biologists say that greater controls limiting the use and availability of rodenticides are needed to protect wildlife.
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