topic: Government

topic: Government

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Nepal’s cities must plan for resilience and inclusion for the future & nature (commentary)
- The current growth trajectory of Nepal’s cities appears to be unsustainable and unready for the increasing stresses of climate change, an environmental engineer writes.
- Unplanned expansion and the breakdown of the natural/urban interface are diminishing wildlife in this nation, and women suffer disproportionately from the impacts, with an increase in the time spent on water collection of up to 30%, for example.
- But, as this new op-ed argues, “If cities learn from each other, they will see transformed public open spaces, demonstrating how we can turn a climate liability into a community asset.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Governments must prioritize nature protection, former US senator Russ Feingold says
Bill Gates recently claimed that protecting nature or improving human health is an either-or choice, but former national leaders like Russ Feingold, a retired U.S. senator, and Mary Robinson, former Irish president, disagree. As chair of the Global Steering Committee of the Campaign for Nature, a nonprofit organization uniting prominent politicians in support of nature […]
Across Latin America populist regimes challenge nature conservation goals
- Although in some cases politicians build campaigns on promises around environmental conservation and land rights, once in office, leaders shift direction towards favoring extractive industries and watering down nature protection.
- In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro dismantled the regulatory apparatus created to conserve biodiversity and recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples.
- In Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, administrations have promoted expanding the agricultural frontier and drilling in the Amazon, prioritizing economic growth over sustainability concerns and Indigenous rights.

Filipinos wade through floodwaters due to sinking land, rising sea & corruption
- Rising sea levels and sinking lands are leaving communities in the Philippines with the challenge of adapting to a combination of hazards that are reshaping coastal and island life.
- Globally, around 40% of the population lives in coastal areas, with more than 850 million people in low elevated coastal zones less than 10 meters above sea level, including more than 150 million living less than 5 above sea level.
- Between 2000 and 2019, an estimated 1.6 billion people were affected by different types of flooding, threatening infrastructure and disrupting basic services.
- On July 28, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address ordered an investigation into possible corruption in flood control projects; since then, the scandal has ignited a broader anti-corruption movement among Filipinos.

Brazil votes to allow most projects & farms to skip environmental licensing
Brazil’s lawmakers have voted, by an overwhelming majority, to weaken the nation’s environmental licensing system, overturning key protections that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had vetoed earlier this year. Congress first passed the law, commonly called the “devastation bill” across national media outlets, in July 2025 despite widespread protests. In September, President Lula […]
In Guyana and Suriname, offshore oil and environmental interests clash
- Both in Suriname and in Guyana, the president has a very strong constitutional mandate as head of state and government.
- Although Guyana has been praised for its forest conservation initiatives, its efforts have been clouded by corruption and an increased interest in offshore oil exploration.
- In Suriname, the government has embraced forest conservation as a development principle, while still pushing for offshore oil drilling.

New riverside lake in Nepal wins hearts, but faces government opposition
- The Bagmati Lake (Bharat Taal), constructed recently in Nepal’s southern Sarlahi district, attracts Nepali and Indian tourists with recreational activities, generating revenue, employment and cross-border tourism.
- The lake, which may have helped improve groundwater levels, soil moisture and crop yields in surrounding areas, has provided habitat for migratory birds.
- However, the fate of the lake hangs in the balance as the country’s anti-corruption court looks into alleged corruption and the lack of environmental compliance during its construction.

The roughed-up roughy fish (cartoon)
The orange roughy may be among the oldest living deep-sea fish in the world, with a lifespan of up to 250 years. But bottom trawling practices in Australia and New Zealand might have already decimated their slow-breeding populations beyond recovery.
In the Andes, elections ride on political frustrations and social movements
- The weakness of political parties in Latin America has led to the development of “campaign offices,” particularly in the Andean countries, with the sole objective of winning the presidency. This is how low-profile figures from new parties, created by dissidents eager to compete, have emerged.
- Despite this, some very successful candidates emerged from social movements that channeled popular frustration with inequality, corruption, and institutional collapse. In the case of Venezuela and Bolivia, these leaders motivated a strong and consolidated opposition.
- In Peru and Ecuador, the winning president’s party is not the largest, undermining its ability to push through a legislative agenda and even to protect its leader from impeachment.

‘Forever chemical’ contamination could undermine sea otters’ fragile recovery in Canada
- Sea otters living along the coastline of Canada’s British Columbia province are exposed — and absorb — forever chemicals, a new study shows.
- Each of the 11 sea otters tested carried residues PFAS chemicals, with concentrations higher for those living near dense human populations or shipping lanes.
- The Canadian government released an assessment earlier this year recommending that PFAS be classed as toxic and is moving toward adopting tighter rules for these chemicals. Environmentalists support the initiative.

Brazil’s governance style leads to controversial impacts
- Brazil’s complex governance system creates impacts at all levels across the country, including consequences for environmental policies.
- Although the Brazilian Congress is designed to be the counterweight to the executive branch, presidential power in Brazil is exceptionally strong. This translates into direct influence over budgetary control, the veto of specific items, and the power to initiate legislation by issuing temporary laws.
- Added to this is the role of political parties, which, in their own way, create a balance of power. However vote-buying is perhaps the one that has most characterized the corrupt practices of those in power.

With military backing and oligarch allies, Indonesia pushes controversial food estate
- The Indonesian government is fast-tracking a massive food estate and biofuel push in South Papua, anchored by new plantations, an $8 billion bioethanol supply chain, and major infrastructure projects including a new highway and expanded airport plans.
- The initiative revives decades of state-driven “food estate” ambitions that have repeatedly failed — from Suharto’s peat-wrecking Mega Rice Project to Joko Widodo’s abandoned cassava fields — yet now comes with stronger political will, military backing, and efforts to attract private and international partners, including Brazil.
- Funding and execution remain shaky, with the appointed operator, PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, still unfunded amid competing fiscal pressures as the government pursues costly programs like nationwide free school meals.
- Large-scale land clearing is already underway amid reports of militarized suppression of local resistance, while oligarch allies such as the Jhonlin Group are playing prominent roles, underscoring both the urgency and controversy surrounding Prabowo’s self-sufficiency drive.

Strategic ignorance, climate change and Amazonia (commentary)
- With the support of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, essentially all of Brazil’s government outside of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is promoting actions that push us toward tipping points, both for the Amazon Rainforest and the global climate.
- Crossing any of these tipping points would result in global warming escaping from human control, with devastating consequences for Brazil that include mass mortalities.
- The question of whether Brazil’s leaders understand the consequences of their actions is relevant to how they will be judged by history, but the climatic consequences follow automatically, regardless of how these actions may be judged, a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Embrace ‘blue’ foods as a climate strategy at COP30, fisheries ministers say (commentary)
- The “blue” or aquatic foods sector is often overlooked as a climate strategy, despite its potential to help meet demand for protein with a smaller environmental footprint, fisheries ministers from Brazil and Portugal argue in a new op-ed at Mongabay.
- Many blue foods generate minimal carbon emissions and use modest amounts of feed, land and freshwater, and their increased consumption could cut annual global CO₂ emissions by a gigaton or more.
- “Brazil and Portugal stand ready to champion global efforts to harness and safeguard blue foods for climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, generating multiple benefits across sustainable development goals. We call on more countries to implement measures across the blue food sector that strengthen food security and climate strategies at COP30 and beyond,” the authors write.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

African summit seeks clean energy future to combat climate change impacts
- Nonstate actors have adopted the “Cotonou Declaration” at the Climate Chance Africa 2025 summit.
- The summit featured renewable energy commitments as well as a road map for integrating adaptation as a crucial step in addressing climate change.
- Benin is leading the way on climate resilience by anticipating and addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

Across the Amazon, impunity among politicians remains chronic
- Special protocols for the prosecution of elected officials are used to protect them from trivial or politically motivated proceedings, but they can help them avoid accountability for illegal actions.
- Often, their trials are delayed until the charges are dismissed due to technicalities, to the statute of limitations, or because they have been acquitted by politically influenced judges.
- This type of constitutional impunity has been common in Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela, from the Lava Jato case to Hugo Chavez’s legal warfare on his political opponents.

Drax pellet mill wins appeal to raise pollution limits in small Mississippi town
- Industrial forest biomass wood pellet mills now dot rural areas around the globe, with plants concentrated in the U.S. Southeast, and other major facilities found in Canada, the EU, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia and elsewhere. The EU, Japan and South Korea burn most of the wood pellets currently being produced.
- Pellet mills have increasingly come under fire from rural communities who accuse large-scale manufacturers like the U.K.’s Drax and Enviva in the U.S. of air pollution, dust and noise violations, which harm residents’ health and quality of life. A 2023 study found that pellet mills in the U.S. Southeast release 55 hazardous pollutants.
- In a rare victory last April, the town of Gloster, Mississippi, won a major pollution permitting battle against Drax’s Amite BioEnergy pellet mill — one of the largest in the world. But at an October appeal meeting, the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality reversed itself, giving Drax permission to pollute more today than previously.
- The Drax plant has been fined more than $2.75 million since 2016 for exceeding toxic emissions limits. Drax says it has invested millions in pollution mitigation technology to prevent future pollution. A law firm representing Gloster citizens is filing a federal lawsuit alleging Drax has been violating the Clean Air Act since opening the Gloster plant in 2015.

The rise of anti-corruption prosecutors in the Amazon region
- One of the most critical links in enforcing environmental laws is the public prosecutor’s office. Across the region, its efficiency varies, with the majority of cases still under investigation or dismissed.
- Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru have focused on strengthening anti-corruption prosecutors’ offices. One of the most high-profile cases was Lava Jato, which led to the arrest of officials and businesspeople in different parts of South America.
- However, in countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela, prosecutors have used the judicial system to attack corruption in the political opposition.

Legal actions to protect the Amazon produce mixed results across the region
- Amazon countries employ various civil procedures that empower people to seek legal redress for damage to the environment and its associated consequences.
- Several cases from Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, have set international legal precedents for punishing negligence by both extractive companies and the state.
- Civil lawsuits are not an effective approach when in the case of informal economies, which require more drastic mitigation measures.

New global guidelines needed to rein in the wildlife pet trade (commentary)
- A key motion under consideration at the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress would create guidelines for managing the wildlife pet trade, and that’s key because across the world, millions of live animals — mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians — are taken from the wild every year.
- The illegal and unsustainable wildlife pet trade depends on the appeal of live animals whose capture leaves forests and grasslands silent, stripped of the pollinators, seed dispersers and predators that keep ecosystems functioning.
- “The IUCN congress offers a crucial chance to turn global attention toward the pet trade, and its illegality and unsustainability. If we fail to act, this commerce will continue hollowing out ecosystems, spreading invasive species, and endangering health,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

With red tape, canceled rebates, Indonesia risks missing Chinese renewables investment
- Chinese clean energy firms, including LONGi and Trina Solar, are investing in solar panel manufacturing in Indonesia as competition and policy changes squeeze their domestic market.
- Indonesia is an attractive but underdeveloped renewables market, with just 560 MW of total solar capacity installed, compared to 198 GW added in China in the first five months of 2025.
- Strict quotas set by Indonesia’s state-owned utility PLN limit rooftop solar installations, dampening investor enthusiasm despite the country’s vast potential.
- Since 2022, Chinese firms have pledged about $70 billion in Indonesian renewables, EV and battery ventures, presenting Indonesia with a rare opportunity to build a robust clean energy supply chain.

New deal pushes Amazon’s controversial ‘tipping point road’ ahead
- Brazil’s President Lula has personally cemented his support for the project and set his cabinet to work out a deal to renew the BR-319 highway, which passes through one of the most preserved areas of the Amazon.
- Scientists warn the highway will create a “fishbone effect” of illegal side roads, fueling deforestation that could push the Amazon past a critical tipping point and trigger its irreversible conversion into a savanna.
- A recent congressional reform, labeled the “Devastation Bill” by activists, allows strategic projects like BR-319 to bypass full environmental reviews and shifts approval authority to a politically appointed council.

Rights of nature concept creates room for life, but it’s still ‘fuzzy’: Study
- ‘Rights of nature’ cases are growing worldwide, but perceptions of it as a revolutionary ecocentric movement are too simplistic, according to a recent study that identified nine patterns of its application in Ecuador, India, New Zealand and the U.S.
- The authors found that environmental concerns are not always the common driving force behind rights of nature processes, and Indigenous peoples and local communities are not universally advocates of the legal rights framework.
- At the same time, the interests of traditional communities are most affected by rights of nature reforms, and the rules surrounding the concept have created space to question the way nature is used for short-term human gain.
- Researchers suggest that a successful scenario is one where the rights of nature process align with the local context, addresses local issues, and engages with communities to prevent conflicts.

Indonesia prioritizes gas over renewables to meet power demand surge
- Indonesia’s state electricity company PLN is betting big on natural gas as a “bridging fuel” ahead of a big buildup of renewables.
- But it is at least half again more expensive than coal, and domestic supplies are running low.
- Critics say gas is costly, existing plants are underused, and the policy risks locking Indonesia into fossil fuels while diverting funds from clean energy.
- Domestic gas supply is also declining as wells age, raising fears of shortages by the mid-2030s unless new reserves are tapped.

Leaders pitch homegrown solutions at Africa Climate Summit — and $100b to back them
- A new cooperation framework announced at the Africa Climate Summit aims to raise $100 billion from African development finance institutions and private banks for industrialization powered by renewable energy.
- For this ambition to prompt a structural shift, African and overseas capital will need to be raised without worsening debt and repayment for African governments, researchers and campaigners say.
- Summit host Ethiopia presented domestic tree planting, climate-resilient wheat, and hydropower initiatives as models for the 1,000 homegrown solutions it hopes an African Climate Innovation Compact can produce by 2030.
- Civil society, warning that climate finance for Africa remains loan-heavy, welcomed the push for African ownership and stressed that grants or similarly favorable terms for adaptation and loss-and-damage funding are needed if fairness is to match ambition.

Brazil can green its environmental crime-fighting in the Amazon (commentary)
- Brazil’s special operations unit known as the Grupo de Especialização de Fiscalização (GEF) targets destructive criminal groups involved in illegal gold mining in the Amazon, which encroaches on territories inhabited by Indigenous communities and releases heavy metals such as mercury into the environment.
- While GEF’s strikes against such operations are often effective in disrupting them, their methods can also be destructive, as they typically rely on burning mining equipment and infrastructure.
- A new op-ed argues that GEF should add environmental stewardship to its operations: “Fighting illegal gold mining cannot rely on destruction alone. Protecting the rainforest can mean transforming enforcement into a tool for healing.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Last chance to save Europe’s greatest old-growth forest? (commentary)
- You don’t need to travel to the Amazon to experience the essence of a primeval forest, a new op-ed argues: Poland’s Białowieża Forest harbors the best-preserved fragments of lowland deciduous and mixed forests in the European Lowlands, where natural processes have unfolded undisturbed for more than 12,000 years.
- But the forest’s location on the Polish-Belarusian border, coupled with the ongoing geopolitical crisis and attitudes of populist politicians towards nature conservation, poses a significant threat to its survival.
- The current Polish government has a unique opportunity to place the Białowieża Forest under permanent protection, with consultations now underway regarding an Integrated Management Plan for this UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the key question is whether the government will seize this opportunity or bow to commercial interests, again.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Indonesia’s fish farm expansion to absorb D.C.-sized swath of protected forests
- This year, Indonesia’s government announced the first stage of a five-year plan to expand and intensify aquaculture production on 78,000 hectares (193,000 acres) along the north coast of Java Island.
- The first phase, 20,400 hectares (50,400 acres), will cover four districts in West Java province.
- Civil society leaders in Indonesia point to problematic experiences with similar “strategic” projects administered by the central government, adding that the initial plan in West Java risks further diminishing local fishers’ standing, rather than stimulating the community economy.
- A review of zoning documents by Indonesian environment watchdog Walhi showed the initial stage in West Java would include reclassifying 16,078 hectares (39,730 acres) of protected forests for the project — an area nearly the size of Washington, D.C.

Sustainable biomass certification scheme is flawed, degrades forests, report finds
- The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a private certification scheme developed by the bioenergy industry to assure the sustainability of biomass for fuel. A new report alleges that SBP is certifying biomass whose production has caused forest degradation.
- The NGO-commissioned report raises questions about SBP’s certification process, especially methods for verifying wood pellet producer and supply chain sustainability claims to safeguard against deforestation and forest degradation. SBP certification is used to justify green subsidies to the industry, mostly by European nations, but increasingly in Asia.
- SBP acknowledges the concerns raised by the report and said it is open to dialogue. The organization emphasized that its standards are designed to assess “the sustainability and legality of biomass sourcing at the level of the Biomass Producer, not at the forest management unit level” and that it does not “make overarching climate impact claims.”
- The nonprofit environmental groups that commissioned the report question how SBP can assure sustainability without assessing forest management and climate impacts.

Indonesia’s aquafarm revamp sparks fears for fate of farmers and mangroves
- Indonesia plans to revitalize 78,000 hectares (193,000 acres) of state-owned aquaculture ponds, starting with 20,400 hectares (50,400 acres) in West Java province, aiming to boost yields, create 119,000 jobs and attract investors.
- Small-scale farmers like Warno in Karawang district, who rent and maintain ponds from the state, say they fear losing their livelihoods without compensation if the government takes over their farms.
- NGOs and experts warn the program could fuel mangrove clearing, coastal damage and privatization of coastal areas, while sidelining local communities’ rights and voices.
- Critics also raise concerns over the government’s push for more farming of saltwater tilapia, citing risks from the invasive species and an industrial aquaculture model that could reduce locals to laborers.

Philippines’ new forest policy wins business backing but alarms green groups
- In June, the Philippines launched the Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreement (SFLMA), consolidating seven tenure instruments into a single, renewable 25-year contract.
- The country’s environment department says the policy will boost reforestation, support climate goals and open more than 1.18 million hectares (almost 3 million acres) of land for sustainable uses like agroforestry, ecotourism and conservation.
- Environmental advocates, particularly the national coalition Kalikasan PNE, warn that the SFLMA risks greenwashing, privatization of public lands and increased threats to Indigenous territories, especially in conflict-prone areas like Mindanao.
- Business groups, including members of the CarbonPH Coalition, have expressed strong support, citing reduced red tape and clearer investment pathways for nature-based projects aligned with national climate targets.

US proposes zero new protections for traded wildlife at upcoming CITES CoP
- The 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of signatories to CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement involving 185 nations will be held in late November in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where they will discuss 51 proposals to regulate wildlife trade.
- This year, the U.S. has sponsored only four proposals — the lowest in the last 25 years — with none of them supporting increased protections for unsustainably traded flora or fauna.
- Historically, the U.S. has held a leadership role at CITES discussions backed by strong science, but conservationists expressed disappointment at this missed opportunity to help species that urgently need protection in this year’s conference.
- The hope is that the U.S., under its current administration, leaves politics aside, listens to science and supports efforts put forth by other countries to further regulate trade in threatened and overexploited species.

Strategies against deforestation across the Amazon Basin
- Across the Amazon, governments have tackled deforestation by creating protected areas, formalizing the rights of Indigenous People and by expanding control over how land is used.
- Most Amazon countries have also created policies incentivizing landholders to engage in sustainable forestry and agroforestry practices.
- When these policies fail, coercive measures can be used to tackle deforestation, including law enforcement and police interventions.

Centralized governance in the Guianas and economic legacy
- Investments made in the Guianas, including Venezuela as a bordering and Amazonian country, are not in line with the federal model of countries such as Brazil.
- In Venezuela, which is seen today as a failed state, military rule was declared in several states.
- In Suriname and Guyana, despite centralization in their limited territories, the national government can generate policies and provide basic services through local jurisdictions.

Landmark Indigenous land title in Ecuador protected area still in limbo
- Twenty months after a landmark court ruling granted the Siekopai Nation land rights within a protected Amazon area, the Ecuadorian government has yet to issue the official title, with sources citing legal issues, government hesitancy and intercommunity conflicts.
- Tensions have escalated between the Siekopai and the Kichwa de Zancudo Cocha communities, which both claim ancestral ties to the land, with reported incidents of violence and a lack of compromise.
- Some critics say the conflict stems from improper agreements made by the state without adequate consultation and that or a growing scarcity of land in the Amazon.
- Indigenous leaders and experts call for greater government accountability, improved mediation and potentially a jointly managed protected area to resolve the dispute and prevent similar conflicts in other regions of the country.

Landmark Indigenous land title in Ecuadorian Amazon reserve mired in controversy
- A 2023 court ruling granted land rights in Ecuador’s Cuyabeno Reserve to the Siekopai people, recognizing their ancestral ties and setting a precedent for Indigenous land claims in protected areas.
- The decision has sparked controversy, as it affects the Kichwa de Zancudo Cocha, another Indigenous people with ties to the same land and a government agreement.
- The case has raised broader concerns about inter-Indigenous conflict, the role of NGOs and the limits of state agreements in resolving overlapping land claims.
- Many Indigenous leaders argue that land titling is essential but warn that current legal approaches risk intensifying disputes rather than promoting shared stewardship.

Indigenous groups debate use of land agreements in Ecuador’s protected areas
- The Kichwa de Zancudo Cocha community lost some of the land it had been managing in the Cuyabeno Reserve under an agreement with the Ecuadorian government when the Siekopai Nation was awarded a land title in a 2023 court case.
- While these agreements have allowed Indigenous communities to manage ancestral lands in protected areas, critics argue they offer limited autonomy and can favor the government.
- Land titles provide greater self-determination and legal permanence for Indigenous communities, though some argue they could impact conservation efforts in protected areas.
- Some Indigenous leaders worry that the case could have side effects that aggravate disputes over ancestral land claims and undermine their own agreements, while others highlight that it’s an opportunity for communities to obtain firmer land rights.

Ecuador’s government promised same land in the Amazon to two Indigenous peoples
- A court in Ecuador ordered the delivery of a property title within the Cuyabeno Reserve to the Siekopai Nation, intensifying a long-simmering dispute with the Kichwa de Zancudo Cocha community, which also has claims to the land.
- The ruling challenges an existing 2008 land and conservation agreement between the Kichwa community and the environment ministry, with the former set on armed resistance.
- Some observers argue that the government’s failure to properly consult all affected groups before signing land agreements has fueled this dispute.
- Indigenous people are calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict amid growing concerns that the ruling could impact other land agreements and intensify Indigenous land conflicts in Ecuador’s Amazon.

Brazil’s Arariboia set to be the first Indigenous land with legal cattle
- Spurred by a yearlong investigation by Mongabay, a federal crackdown has removed up to 2,000 illegal cattle from Brazil’s Arariboia Indigenous Territory, but faced unexpected protests from some Indigenous residents claiming ownership.
- The pushback has prompted the government to consider regulating Indigenous-owned cattle, raising fears of setting a precedent and inviting the disguised return of illegal herds.
- Indigenous rights advocates warn that legalizing cattle ranching inside the territory could blur the line between subsistence use and commercial exploitation by outside ranchers.
- Despite ongoing surveillance, signs of illegal cattle and deforestation have reappeared, with critics saying the authorities’ response remains too slow to stop renewed invasions.

U’wa people await implementation of landmark court ruling against Colombian gov’t
- The U’wa Indigenous people have waited almost 27 years for a decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to acknowledge the systematic violation of their rights by the Colombian government.
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled on Dec. 20, 2024 that Colombia violated their rights, including access to a healthy environment and children’s rights.
- Since the 1990s, the U’wa people have reported exploration and drilling for oil and gas in their territory. This activity, which has been done without free, prior and informed consent, has affected the lives of the U’wa people.
- The U’wa territory partially overlaps with El Cocuy National Park and with oil and gas blocks of great interest to Colombia.

Study links surge in lightning disasters in Bangladesh to transboundary air pollution
- Air pollution — especially from transboundary dust and sulfate particles — is intensifying lightning activity in Bangladesh, particularly during the pre-monsoon season. Studies show that these pollutants, mostly coming in from northern and western India, alter cloud dynamics and increase lightning frequency.
- Bangladesh records the highest lightning-related death density in South Asia, with over 4,000 deaths since 2010. Vulnerable rural populations with limited infrastructure and outdoor labor during harvest seasons are victims of these fatalities.
- Experts urge Bangladesh to strengthen early warning systems, improve air quality monitoring, and reduce both domestic and cross-border pollution through coordinated policies targeting traffic emissions, industrial sources and open burning.

How private funding helped one NGO survive the USAID cuts
- After the U.S. government announced large cuts to USAID funding earlier this year, NGOs that relied on it were left in a state of uncertainty, with some needing to suspend activities or lay off staff.
- NGOs like World Neighbors that relied largely on private funding say this focus comes with several advantages and has helped it continue its work with little interruption after the USAID cuts.
- While government funding is often vulnerable to fluctuations in national politics, private funding also comes with its own challenges, such as smaller grants and more competition.
- Experts say a blend of government and private funding could be the best option for international NGOs seeking to support Indigenous peoples and other local communities to conserve or restore their lands.

Why is Lula still silent on Brazil’s ‘Bill of devastation?’ (commentary)
- A bill that would essentially eliminate Brazil’s environmental licensing system is moving rapidly toward approval by a large anti-environmental majority in Congress.
- An amendment has been added to the bill allowing “strategic” projects, such as the mouth-of-the-Amazon oilfields and the BR-319 highway, to get accelerated licensing with a deadline for approval, after which approval would be automatic.
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not supported his environment minister in opposing the bill, and has not mobilized his supporters in Congress to push against it.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

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

With key court verdicts delayed, Nepal pushes infrastructure in protected areas
- Nepal’s Supreme Court struck down a 2024 law permitting infrastructure in protected areas in January 2025, but the government continues to approve such projects as the full ruling remains unpublished.
- Despite the ruling, the government approved the 57.6 billion rupee ($416 million), 81-kilometer (50.3-mile) Muktinath cable car touted as the world’s longest line, which will pass through the Annapurna Conservation Area, raising concerns about environmental and cultural impacts.
- The government has also signaled interest in opening up protected areas to private investment, including commercial extraction of timber, gravel and stones.

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

Some rivers have rights, but author Robert Macfarlane argues they’re also alive
This week on Mongabay’s podcast, celebrated author and repeat Nobel Prize in Literature candidate Robert Macfarlane discusses his fascinating new book, Is a River Alive?, which both asks and provides answers to this compelling question, in his signature flowing prose. Its absorbing narrative takes the reader to the frontlines of some of Earth’s most embattled […]
Vatican-backed report calls for global debt relief amid climate crisis
A commission appointed by the late Pope Francis has released a new report highlighting the urgent need to address global debt, which has hindered sustainable development and climate action. The report was authored by the Jubilee Commission, which includes a group of 30 experts including Nobel laureate and U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz, and Martín Guzmán, […]
Indonesian utility PLN ‘kneecaps renewables’ with embrace of fossil fuels
- Indonesia’s state-owned power utility, PLN, plans to expand fossil fuel generation by more than 20% by the mid-2030s, prioritizing gas and coal plants while delaying large-scale renewable rollouts until the early 2030s.
- PLN’s latest supply blueprint signals a fossil-fuel-heavy strategy, with strict rooftop solar caps, no mention of early coal plant retirements, and ambitious plans for gas expansion despite financing challenges.
- The utility aims to add 69.5 GW of new capacity over the next decade, more than 60% of which will come from renewables, but faces skepticism after consistently underdelivering on past clean energy promises.
- Analysts warn PLN’s plan risks stalling Indonesia’s energy transition, as fossil fuel demand rises and regulatory barriers slow renewables despite their falling costs and investor interest.

In the Brazilian Amazon, decentralization can be a double-edged sword
- The process of decentralization involves a structured transfer of political power from central governments to subnational jurisdictions. This becomes particularly important in the Amazon, rich in resources but still facing chaotic development.
- Negative experiences from centuries of colonization have shown that a more democratic governance system could have avoided some of the injustices that have marked the region’s history.
- In Brazil, despite efforts to decentralize, there are several federal entities that have retained substantial administrative and regulatory powers over the natural resources of the Legal Amazon.

Why Brazil should abandon its plans for oil and gas in Amazonia (commentary)
- The Brazilian government has major plans for oil and gas extraction both in the Amazon Rainforest and offshore — including at the mouth of the Amazon River — with a drilling rights auction scheduled for June 17 for fields both in the forest and offshore.
- Under intense pressure, the head of the federal environmental agency has now overridden his technical staff to allow the proposed mouth-of-the-Amazon project to move forward for approval.
- In addition to the risk of an uncontrollable oil spill, the economics of opening this and other new oilfields implies continued extraction long past the time when burning fossil fuels must cease if a global climate catastrophe is to be avoided.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

After years of silence, Indonesia moves to assess its iconic wildlife
- Indonesia, home to critically endangered orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos, has gone nearly two decades without official updates on the populations of some key species.
- Under the previous forestry minister, population surveys and conservation plans were shelved or retracted, and relationships with conservation organizations were often tense.
- Under new leadership, the ministry has signaled that initiating wildlife surveys and publishing population and habitat viability analyses (PHVAs) are key priorities, and surveys of several key species are already underway.
- While welcoming pro-science statements from environment authorities, conservationists caution that data remain alarmingly deficient for many species, and that updating surveys is time-consuming and expensive — a particular concern given recent cuts to the ministry’s budget.

On Amazon destruction, will Brazil President Lula’s ‘disinformation space’ be penetrated? (commentary)
- Brazil’s President Lula apparently lives in a “disinformation space” surrounded by ministers promoting projects that destroy the Amazon Rainforest and lock in petroleum extraction for decades to come, a new opinion piece argues.
- Among these projects are the BR-319 highway and its associated side roads; the distribution of government land to known deforesters; and opening new oilfields at the mouth of the Amazon River.
- Lula’s support for these proposals is leading Brazil to a climate catastrophe that would devastate the country, the author writes, and the two key ministers who should be the ones to explain to the president the consequences of these projects are apparently not penetrating Lula’s disinformation space.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Wildlife crime crackdown in jeopardy worldwide after US funding cuts
- In 2019, Malawi dismantled the Chinese-led Lin-Zhang wildlife trafficking syndicate, a major win in its fight against the illegal wildlife trade, thanks in part to funding from the U.S. government.
- The Trump administration’s recent slashing of international development funds, however, threatens these gains, leaving frontline enforcers and conservation programs without critical support.
- NGOs across Africa and Southeast Asia, running initiatives from sniffer rat programs to antipoaching patrols, tell Mongabay they’re struggling to fill the funding gap.
- Experts warn that without urgent alternative, and sustainable, sources of funding, heavily trafficked species like elephants, rhinos and tigers could face accelerated declines.

From chickens to cassava, Brazil’s Munduruku seek alternatives to mining
- The Brazilian government has expelled illegal miners from two Munduruku territories in Pará state, but alliances with some Indigenous groups may facilitate their return, local leaders warn.
- According to Munduruku leaders, the absence of income sources and public services makes illegal mining increasingly attractive to young Indigenous people.
- The federal government promised to offer economic alternatives to the communities, but for now, they count just on a few projects like chicken breeding and cassava flour production, Indigenous people say.
- Some leaders see carbon credits as a viable economic alternative, while others denounce unfair contracts and violations of their autonomy.

The world needs a new UN protocol to fight environmental crime (commentary)
- As environmental crime goes global and awareness of its massive scope rises, finding agreement between governments on which illegal trades to target, and how, is not simple and leads to a piecemeal approach, a new op-ed argues.
- The case for international law enforcement cooperation is growing stronger, though, with the U.N. recently launching an intergovernmental process to explore new protocols targeting environmental crime under its existing convention against transnational organized crime, UNTOC.
- “A dedicated UNTOC protocol won’t solve everything, but it would mark a critical step toward harmonizing laws, closing enforcement gaps, and raising the cost for environmental offenders,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Community-led system boosts fisheries in a corner of fast-depleting Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi’s fish stocks are declining, but one community stands apart: around Mbenje Island, a traditional fisheries management plan has ensured thriving fish populations for generations, Mongabay contributor Charles Mpaka reports. Landlocked Malawi is highly dependent on the lake, which supplies 90% of the country’s fish catch; more than 1.6 million people rely directly or […]
Rectifying the damage: environmental fines in the Brazilian Amazon
- Companies and individuals committing environmental crimes will often be requested to pay fines, but critics say that the amounts imposed by authorities often do not reflect the extent of the damage done.
- Many environmental fines remain unpaid or are contested in the courts until the statute of limitations is reached.
- The current administration in Brazil has reversed a decree by the former Bolsonaro regime which pardoned more than 180,000 cases involving environmental fines.

Angling for answers, this saltwater fishing group boosts research for better conservation
- Though anglers aren’t generally thought of as environmentalists, many people who fish are conservation minded, whether because it’s an outdoor pursuit, or because they wish to ensure future harvests.
- Whatever their reasons, there aren’t many groups that help anglers advocate for sustainable fishing regulations based on solid science, nor ones that also work to generate new data that helps them argue for better conservation.
- “Until we came along, there was no voice for those saltwater anglers who cared about conservation, but didn’t have enough time to put into it to really understand it,” says American Saltwater Guides Association vice president Tony Friedrich.
- His team not only helps its members articulate the need for conservation and regulation, they actively participate in developing data that helps managers set better limits, through projects like their GotOne App.

There’s something fishy about ‘blue economy’ proposals for sustainable marine management (commentary)
- Proposals for developing a “blue economy” emerged in the 2010s as a vision for sustainable ocean development, as communities across the world grappled with challenges of declining ocean health, economic crises and stalling development outcomes.
- Central to their appeal is a promise to transform human interactions with the ocean, promoting a shift toward ecological health, improved livelihoods and job creation, but too often these proposals have been driven by large nations and interests, rather than small coastal nations whose prosperity is most heavily linked with marine ecosystems.
- The author of this commentary warns that this sustainable ocean vision may be operating as a tool for pacifying demands for sustainable and equitable ocean relations, rather than as one that advances them.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Wood pellet maker Drax denied pollution permit after small town Mississippi outcry
- Nearly 30 wood pellet mills operate in the southeastern U.S., with more planned. Environmental advocates have long opposed biomass for energy schemes, noting that the burning of wood pellets is a poor replacement for coal because it releases major carbon emissions, while also causing deforestation and biodiversity harm.
- But those arguments have barely moved the dial when it comes to regulating the industry or banning its lucrative green subsidies, so activist wins have been few. But the angry protests of southeastern U.S. citizens — many of them poor and Black —in rural areas where pellet mills are located have raised another big issue: pollution.
- A case in point is Drax’s Amite County plant located in Gloster, Mississippi. Drax is one of the biggest forest biomass producers in the world, but that hasn’t stopped Gloster’s citizens from opposing the company for its impacts on health and quality of life, like toxic air pollution, excessive noise and truck traffic.
- Drax has been fined twice, totaling more than $2.7 million for its pollution, with Gloster citizens recently winning over the state of Mississippi, which for now is refusing to give Drax a permit to legally pollute even more. Pollution is bad near other wood pellet plants, and forest advocates are now allying with irate citizens.

How did Finland lead the pursuit of a circular economy? Mongabay podcast explores
As the first nation to develop a circular economy road map in 2016, Finland has had a head start in trying to develop an economy that’s based on reusing and regenerating materials and products. A lot can be learned from Finland’s experience so far, including challenges and gaps, Mongabay’s Mike DiGirolamo found in an episode of […]
Indigenous nations fought for a new national monument. Will it survive Trump?
- After decades of activism by the Ajumawi–Atsugewi Nation (Pit River Nation) to protect its ancestral homelands from extractive industries, vandalism and looting, President Joe Biden created Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in northern California in 2025.
- Sáttítla’s management plan supports co-stewardship by Indigenous nations with connections to the landscape.
- The Trump administration has sown confusion over Sáttítla’s fate by releasing and then deleting documents and proclamations online that said the monument would be rescinded.

New research finds substantial peat deposits in Colombia’s conflicted Amazon
- A new study of Colombia’s lowland forests and savannas finds that the nation may have extensive peatlands — organic wetland soils formed over thousands of years — holding as much as 70 years’ worth of Colombia’s carbon emissions. Protecting them from agricultural development is essential to preventing greenhouse gas releases.
- Researchers made peatland estimates by taking sediment cores in 100 wetlands, quantifying peat content, then building a model to predict locales for other peat-forming wetlands using satellite imaging. Peat was found in unexpected ecosystems, such as nutrient-poor white-sand forests, widespread in northern South America.
- Sampling in many locations was only possible due to the ongoing but fragile peace process between the Colombian government and armed rebel groups. In some places, security has already deteriorated and further sampling is unsafe, making this study’s scientific estimate a unique snapshot for now.
- Most Colombian peatlands are remote, but deforestation is intensifying along the base of the Andes, putting some wetlands at risk. Colombia’s existing REDD+ projects have been controversial, but opportunities may exist to combine payments for ecosystem services with peacebuilding if governance and security can be improved.

Building environmental laws across Amazon countries
- Some of the first environmental laws passed in Pan Amazon countries established national protected area systems and the entities that would manage them.
- Environmental Impact Assessments have played an increasingly important role in governments’ approving development projects, especially with regard to respecting Indigenous communities’ rights.
- In line with their Paris Agreement commitments, countries in the Amazon Basin still need to develop legislation that regulates carbon markets and offsets.

As big money wavers, Southeast Asia’s green startups fight to stay powered
- Southeast Asia’s clean-energy startups like Vietnam’s SmartSolar and Indonesia’s Swap Energi are expanding but face growing challenges due to waning government support and shifting global investment trends.
- U.S. and regional funding cuts, along with economic uncertainty and geopolitical shifts, are making it harder for renewable startups to secure long-term financing and scale their operations.
- Despite these headwinds, founders say local demand remains strong, and backing from European development agencies is helping maintain momentum — though the path to profitability is getting narrower.

Heat wave scorches parts of India with record temperatures
Several cities across India saw temperatures top 40° Celsius, or 104° Fahrenheit, this past week, with some areas exceeding 46°C (114.8°F). Delhi experienced a heat wave for three consecutive days, recording its warmest April night in three years, with temperatures 5-6°C (9-10.8°F) above normal for the period. Many areas in the country’s northwest remain on […]
What pushes Indigenous Munduruku people to mine their land in Brazil’s Amazon?
- The involvement of Munduruku people in illegal mining inside the Munduruku Indigenous Territory made Brazil’s efforts to stop it more complicated, federal officials said.
- Munduruku sources told Mongabay that deception, abandonment by the state and a lack of alternative income sources are what push some Munduruku people to mine.
- The recruitment of Indigenous peoples is an important mechanism used by miners to secure access to lands and gain support against government crackdowns, researchers said.
- Sources said the government should invest in public policies and alternative income projects to strengthen food security, improve health and the sustainable development of communities.

Belize’s natural heritage deserves even stronger conservation strategies (commentary)
- “Belize has made significant progress in protecting its natural heritage, yet growing environmental and economic pressures demand stronger, long-term conservation strategies,” a new op-ed says.
- The country’s National Protected Areas System draft plan lays important groundwork, but additional policy measures, sustainable funding and community-driven governance will be necessary to secure its forests, wildlife and marine ecosystems for future generations, the writer argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

With Europe’s forests, we can’t manage what we can’t measure (commentary)
- A group of European policymakers are currently trying to derail a law that would harmonize data used to monitor the European Union’s forests.
- The Forest Monitoring Law (FML) was proposed by the European Commission in November 2023, but conservative and far-right members of the European Parliament recently moved to scrap it.
- “We cannot manage what we cannot measure. By ensuring cost efficiency, enhancing competitiveness, transformation to a true bio-economy and responding to the growing demand for forest information, the law positions Europe as a leader in forestry data and management. Let us seize this opportunity,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Australia faces inflation, agriculture losses after Cyclone Alfred
The Australian government has warned of impacts to the country’s economy in the wake of Cyclone Alfred that caused massive losses to infrastructure, agriculture and the dairy industries when it struck in late February. The horticultural industry was among the worst hit, with strong winds toppling and damaging hundreds of orchard trees, and floodwaters inundating […]
Brazil’s crackdown on illegal mining in Munduruku Indigenous land sees success, but fears remain
- Government efforts to evict illegal miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon so far have led to a reduction in illegal mining, according to government officials and Munduruku organizations.
- Since the operation began in November 2024, agents have destroyed 90 camps, 15 vessels and 27 heavy machinery, in addition to handing out 24.2 million Brazilian reais ($4.2 million) in fines.
- While there has been some interruption to mining in the region, Munduruku organizations said the operation has not been completely effective, as there are still some invaders and machinery in certain areas of the territory.
- A Munduruku source told Mongabay they are worried that miners will return once security forces withdraw and also, without alternative income sources, Indigenous people involved in mining will have no option but to continue.

Will Brazil’s President Lula wake up to the climate crisis? (commentary)
- The global climate system is even nearer than we thought to a tipping point where global warming escapes from human control. Emissions from both fossil fuel combustion and the loss and degradation of forests must be drastically reduced, beginning immediately.
- Brazil would be one of the greatest victims if global warming escapes from control, but, excepting the Ministry of Environment and Climate change, virtually the entire Brazilian government is promoting projects that will increase emissions for decades to come.
- Brazil’s President Lula so far shows no signs of waking up to the climate crisis, to its implications for Brazil, and to the climatic consequences of his current policies.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

‘Without us, no scrutiny’: Indonesia’s independent media count cost of US funding cuts
- U.S. funding cuts abruptly ended reporting initiatives on environmental issues in Indonesia, affecting independent journalism outlets like Remotivi, New Naratif and Project Multatuli.
- The loss of nearly $270 million in global journalism support leaves independent media scrambling to cover environmental and human rights issues.
- Shrinking newsroom budgets and government restrictions have already weakened investigative journalism in Indonesia, now worsened by the U.S. aid cuts.
- Facing uncertainty, media groups are pushing to diversify revenue streams and reduce reliance on foreign grants to sustain independent reporting.

COP16 biodiversity summit in Rome OKs finance pathway; big obstacles loom
- When the COP16 U.N. biodiversity summit ended without a final agreement in October 2024 in Cali, Colombia, negotiators agreed to meet in Rome, Italy, in February. There, the parties mapped a sweeping permanent plan on how to raise $200 billion annually by 2030 to reverse global species extinctions and conserve life on Earth.
- In Rome, the parties approved mechanisms for raising, tracking and reporting on that huge sum, with funding potentially coming from nations, philanthropies, banks and even corporations. The Achilles’ heel of this agreement is that no funding commitment made by any party now or in the future is legally binding.
- Even as participants celebrated this funding strategy breakthrough, two major powers dealt blows to finance targets. The U.S. under President Donald Trump abandoned USAID conservation financial commitments abroad, while the U.K. announced a shift in priorities away from climate and biodiversity foreign aid to military spending.
- The final Rome agreement also reduced the likelihood that trillions of dollars paid out by the world’s nations in “perverse subsidies” to industries that do the greatest harm to life on Earth would be redirected in a timely way to global biodiversity goals.

The U.S. terminated its 30×30 conservation plan but this also presents an opportunity (commentary)
- “We should be proud of the progress that was made over the last years, but conservation priorities have always evolved [to] save the whales, save the rainforest, to today’s focus on climate change and area targets,” and the recent U.S. withdrawal from the global 30×30 conservation initiative won’t change that, a new op-ed argues.
- The U.S.’s 30×30 goal was central to President Biden’s America the Beautiful for All initiative and mobilized federal funding, new protections, and an all-of-government approach to conservation.
- “We should not accept these rollbacks as permanent defeat,” the authors say, but rather as “an opportunity to make our efforts sharper and more effective.” The loss of 30×30 should not be seen as a rejection of conservation values, but as a call to reimagine a conservation strategy that works for more people in more places.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Political nepotism and elected clans in the Brazilian Amazon
- The endemic corruption that infests governmental institutions makes political nepotism particularly dangerous. Most political clans operate within local and regional jurisdictions where influential families control important economic entities, media outlets and political parties.
- In Brazil, the most notable example of political nepotism is the clan presided over by Jader Fontenelle Barbalho. His populist rhetoric and skills as a tactician led to his election as governor in 1983, followed by an appointment in 1988 as minister for agricultural development.
- family-based political machines operate in all states of the Legal Amazon and, with few notable exceptions, support conventional development paradigms.

108 federal protected areas in Mexico remain without actual management plans
- A Mongabay analysis has found that almost half of Mexico’s 232 federally protected areas — 108 of them — do not have management plans.
- Among those without plans are protected areas that were decreed more than 50 years ago even though, by law, the environmental ministry has one year to publish plans after a decree is issued.
- Some National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) officials and researchers told Mongabay the backlog is due to funding issues, unrealistic timelines and a fault in the country’s application of international conservation policy.
- Without protected area management plans, park managers, conservationists and communities have no clear roadmap to guide them, and areas can remain vulnerable to threats and overexploitation.

The culture of corruption across the Amazon Basin
- Across countries in the Amazon Basin corruption remains a deeply entrenched phenomenon as society has a higher tolerance of fraudulent behavior.
- Corruption encompasses many types of behavior, which can subvert multiple publicly funded activities, while spanning multiple sectors and jurisdictions (national, regional, local).
- Non-elite corruption is more acute in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador and less in Colombia, Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, while elite corruption is widespread and flagrant, with wrongdoers enjoying high levels of impunity.

Researchers make the case for shift from economic growth to human well-being within planetary limits
- New research concludes that humanity would benefit more if it aims for ecological sustainability and stays within the limits of what Earth can provide, rather than pursuing relentless growth.
- The success of capitalism depends on the push for growth, which requires the use of resources and energy, and comes at the cost of ecological damage.
- Economists have proposed alternatives that focus on staying within a set of planetary boundaries that define the safe operating space for humanity.
- The review, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, draws on more than 200 resources from the scientific literature.

Mother of 2 jailed in Sumatra as wildfires dragnet continues to catch small farmers
- A court in Jambi province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has sentenced a local woman to one year and four months in prison for using fire to clear farmland, a traditional practice among smallholder farmers.
- Indonesia’s laws technically allow small farmers to use controlled burning in certain circumstances, but conflicting regulations and government crackdowns have led to harsh penalties for individuals like Dewita.
- A 2023 Mongabay investigation found that more than 200 farmers across Indonesian Borneo had been convicted for land burning since the country’s 2015 wildfire crisis, highlighting systemic targeting of smallholders.
- While hundreds of small farmers have been prosecuted for land burning, large plantation companies responsible for far more extensive fires rarely face criminal charges.

African nations commit to electricity for 300 million people by 2030
The heads of 30 African nations have endorsed a plan to provide “reliable, affordable and sustainable” electricity to 300 million people across the continent over the next five years. The leaders signed the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration at the “Mission 300” energy summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this week. The mission was […]
DRC orders environmental, operational audits of oil company Perenco
The Democratic Republic of Congo has commissioned year-long audits of French-British multinational Perenco to assess “the reality” of its oil production and environmental impacts. The DRC’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons has appointed U.K.-based Alex Stewart International (ASI) to examine the technical and operational aspects of Perenco’s oil production activities, including a review of the company’s declared […]
Investors wary of Indonesia’s big climate promises amid record of flip-flopping
- Energy industry insiders and experts say they’re skeptical about Indonesia’s lofty climate goals, the latest of which, as announced by the country’s president at last year’s G20 summit, is to shutter all coal-fired power plants over the next 15 years.
- President Prabowo Subianto also pledged to develop 75 gigawatts of cleaner forms of energy during the same period — more than five times the country’s current renewable generation.
- On the solar front, rooftop solar startup Xurya Daya Indonesia points out that ever-changing regulations now ban sales of excess power to the grid, putting off investors looking to set up shop in the country.
- And in EVs, an ambitious program to subsidize the conversion of 50,000 gasoline-powered motorcycles to electric in 2024 saw just 1,500 make the transition.

Mexico misses one-year deadline to submit new protected areas’ management plans
- Exactly one year ago, Mexico announced 20 new protected areas covering roughly 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres) across the country.
- According to Mexican law, the environment ministry has one year to publish a protected area’s management plan after a decree is issued, but Mongabay found that none of the 20 protected areas have management plans yet.
- Scientists, conservationists and communities have been pushing for these plans to be published, concerned that the absence of a roadmap means these areas are still vulnerable to threats and overexploitation.
- Some National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) officials and researchers told Mongabay the delay was due to a change in Mexico’s leadership, funding concerns, a historic backlog and other issues.

Indigenous communities rise up against prison projects in Ecuador
- During his 2023 campaign, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, today the country’s president, promised to build two new maximum-security prisons as a way to tackle rising violence and gang-controlled prisons.
- Both prisons were planned in areas with sensitive ecosystems and claimed by Indigenous communities; yet the state failed to seek the consent of the communities, as required under Ecuador’s Constitution.
- One prison has been under construction in the coastal province of Santa Elena since June 2024, for which 30 hectares (74 acres) of tropical dry forest, one of Ecuador’s most threatened ecosystems, have so far been cleared, triggering local community protests.
- The second prison was planned for the Amazonian community of Archidona in Napo province; but after two weeks of intense protests in December, the government decided to move the project to Santa Elena, just 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the other project.

Brazil’s ‘innovative’ reforestation agenda discussed in Davos (commentary)
- At the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos this week, a coalition of leaders from across Brazilian sectors will discuss the integrated, pre-competitive agenda needed to scale forest restoration.
- Forest restoration is a key part of successful climate action, providing carbon removal, biodiversity protection and sustainable economic growth, but it requires immediate investment and action, the authors of a new op-ed write.
- Brazil’s coordinated approach across business, finance, and conservation sectors has resulted in approximately $528 million in restoration investments in the past 18 months, setting a global example for impactful forest restoration and climate action.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

It’s time for a U.N. ‘universal declaration on nature’ (commentary)
- Nature needs an equivalent to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a new op-ed argues.
- The ‘rights of nature’ is an allied approach, but nature needs something with more and broader teeth, that can elicit a moral and political consensus on the need for nature conservation.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

We need a North Pole Marine Reserve to secure a healthy future for Arctic waters (commentary)
- In 2024, the cod fishing moratorium on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks was lifted, 32 years after a historically significant ecological collapse of the fish’s population was caused by overfishing.
- The Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement signed in 2019 provides an example of how to address the threat from such overfishing by using the precautionary principle, international collaboration and science led evaluations of fish stocks.
- The future health of Arctic marine ecosystems can be secured by establishing a North Pole Marine Reserve, a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

How the U.S. got no old growth forest protections from the Biden Administration (commentary)
- President Biden’s executive order in 2022 directed the U.S. Forest Service to conduct an inventory of mature and old-growth forests on federal lands for “conservation purposes,” but it did nothing to move the needle on old forest protections.
- The national old-growth amendment (NOGA) failed for a variety of reasons, and as a new, anti-conservation administration looms in Washington, not a single acre of old forests was protected by it.
- “I have experienced two Reagan terms, three Bush terms, and a Trump term where conservation groups united in throwing sand in the gears of bad forest policies. And I have lived through two Obama terms and a Biden term where conservation groups could not agree on a unified strategy that has now contributed to the deja vu of having to defend forests all over again, with nothing gained. We must all now unite, put aside our differences, and get ready for the fight of our lives,” an old growth forest expert and conservationist argues in a new op-ed.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Coffee agroforestry promises a path to EUDR compliance, but challenges remain
- Companies in the coffee sector have begun preparing for compliance with the EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR); among them are Nespresso and commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC).
- For both companies, the pathway to regulatory alignment involves previous commitments to eliminating deforestation from their supply chains and sourcing coffee from farms employing agroforestry and regenerative agriculture methods.
- International NGOs such as the Rainforest Alliance are supporting companies and farmers in implementing best practices and meeting EUDR requirements.
- Despite considerable progress in the coffee sector, challenges remain, particularly in enforcing deforestation-free practices within supply chains, overcoming financial constraints, and distinguishing “forest” from “agroforest” through satellite imagery.

Internet crackdown shrinks already constrained room for activism in Vietnam
- Vietnam’s shrinking civil space has gotten even smaller with the issuance of a new decree on online activity, impacting environmental activists among others.
- The decree requires, among other things, that platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok maintain a server in-country that stores user data that the government can inspect whenever it wants.
- Social network users must also verify their accounts with local phone numbers or IDs, making it “impossible to remain anonymous on social media to comment on sensitive political issues,” an activist says.
- The new online restrictions follow a similar real-world tightening of civic space, with nonprofits required to legally register, and public gatherings also constrained.

River dredging in Bangladesh: Investigation shows government claims don’t add up
- A large part of Bangladesh, the country with the highest number of rivers, is a delta formed by sediments carried down by rivers from the Himalayan region. The population’s most significant livelihoods — agriculture, navigation and inland fisheries — depend on these waters.
- These rivers carry about 2.4 billion tons of sediment annually, including sand, clay and silt, a large portion of which needs to be cleared by dredging for navigability.
- As per a 2017 notice by Bangladesh’s water transport authority, the country restored around 547 kilometers (340 miles) of waterways between 2009 and 2017 to the county’s river system. The authority’s 2022-23 annual report says that between 2010 and 2023, the volume of 3,700 km (2,300 mi) of waterways increased.
- However, Mongabay found the authority’s claims of restoring waterways on this large scale is only on papers, as many of the rivers that are recorded as dredged are still not navigable.

Nepal created a forest fund to do everything; five years on it’s done nothing
- Nepal’s Forest Development Fund, established in 2019, was designed to support forest conservation, research and other environmental initiatives, but it has not spent any of the allocated funds in five years.
- The fund is meant to be financed through various sources, including lease fees from developers, compensatory afforestation payments, a percentage of profits from forest land use and revenue from carbon trading.
- Forest user communities, which have successfully increased forest cover in Nepal, continue to face financial difficulties, with illegal logging and wildfires exacerbating the situation, while the FDF remains frozen.

In the Philippines, persecuted Lumads push for Indigenous schools to be reopened
- Five years after government forces began shutting down their schools for alleged links to communist rebels, thousands of Indigenous Lumads remain dispersed and deprived of justice.
- A group of 13 were earlier this year convicted on kidnapping and child trafficking charges after arranging the evacuation of students from a school targeted by paramilitaries, but have mounted an appeal.
- Without the opportunity for an education, many have returned to working the fields with their families, while young women have been married off by their parents to pay off debts.
- In the Lumads’ ancestral home in the country’s south, investors such as miners and property developers are moving in, leading to land grabs.

Hundreds of whales to be harpooned as Iceland issues new hunting licenses
- On Dec. 6, Iceland’s interim government announced it had issued five-year commercial whaling permits to hunt fin and minke whales.
- The permits, issued to domestic whaling companies Hvalur hf and Tjaldtangi, allow the hunting of 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales each year in Icelandic waters.
- The move follows recent government decisions to briefly pause whaling based on welfare concerns about using grenade-tipped harpoons for hunting, and then resume it again.
- Conservationists say the new whaling decision is a blow to marine conservation and question its timing by an interim government that’s soon due to hand over power to a coalition that isn’t pro-whaling.

Environmental journalism as the link between local and global (commentary)
- Journalism is the practical expression of the connection between the local and the global, writes the environmental investigations director of the Pulitzer Center in a new op-ed.
- Looking back on the events of 2024 — with floods, droughts, fires and storms in so many places — he argues that an entire generation of journalists is now talking about climate change and its unprecedented impacts, like never before.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Conservationists see progress for swordfish, problems for sharks at Atlantic fisheries summit
- The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which manages a wide range of fish stocks across the entire Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas, held its annual meeting in Cyprus Nov. 11-18.
- The parties adopted a “harvest strategy” for North Atlantic swordfish and developed harvest strategies for a number of other species that could be adopted in coming years, drawing praise from conservationists.
- They also came to an agreement on tropical tuna management after years of wrangling; the agreement included the loosening of rules governing the use of controversial fish aggregating devices that can lead to overfishing, in a concession to European industry interests.
- Dozens of member nations supported a rule that would have effectively banned shark finning, but Japan and China blocked the effort.

Leaders fail to address overfishing near Europe at ‘fraught’ international meeting
- The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) held its annual meeting in London Nov. 12-15.
- NEAFC is a regional fisheries management organization, a multilateral body that controls fishing in international waters; its remit includes certain fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, near Europe.
- Among these, mackerel and herring have been overfished for years, yet NEAFC member countries did nothing to address the issue at the meeting.
- NGO observers have criticized NEAFC and its members for failing to address governance issues they say led to the overexploitation.

Help farmers adopt agroecology to protect biodiversity and climate (commentary)
- In light of the COP16 biodiversity talks and the COP29 climate negotiations, governments and development partners should incentivize & invest in ways to help farmers scale up agroecological, regenerative and nature-based solutions, a new op-ed argues.
- Agroecology is a key climate solution according to the IPCC, and mobilizing greater investment is necessary to help farmers and Indigenous people to gain the right skills and help cover costs related to the certification and verification of their products.
- “Market-based incentives, such as premium prices for sustainably produced commodities, as well as non-market incentives, such as membership in farmer groups and valuable extension services, are needed to overcome the risk aversion associated with embracing new production systems,” writes the author.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Relief in Sri Lanka as key threat to nonprotected forests is repealed
- A 2020 government decree that transferred administrative control of nonprotected forests in Sri Lanka to local governments has been formally revoked by the country’s new government.
- The move follows its overturning by the country’s Supreme Court, where environmental activists argued it could allow the release of these forests for development projects without proper environmental assessments.
- Known as “other state forests” (OSFs) or “residual forests,” they harbor high levels of biodiversity and serve as crucial connectivity or buffer zones that help reduce human-wildlife conflict.
- They could also play a key role in the government’s commitment to the 30×30 initiative of protecting 30% of land and sea area by 2030.

I’m boycotting COP29 because local Indigenous action matters more (commentary)
- “I’ve decided to boycott COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan — a decision shaped by both the failure of the COP process to deliver tangible support for the most vulnerable communities, and the deeply troubling global events unfolding around us,” writes the author of a new op-ed who’s been to all the recent COPs.
- COPs seem unable to address the needs of small island states and Indigenous communities like her own. Instead of delivering on the promises made at previous summits, the conference has continually sidelined Indigenous voices and funneled financial support for them through national governments.
- “While I will not be at COP29, I believe that by supporting communities like these, we can lay the groundwork for systemic shifts needed to address the climate crisis. The boycott is temporary, but the work continues,” she states.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

U.S. policy experts confident of future climate action despite Trump election
- In 2015, the world came together to achieve the landmark Paris climate agreement. But in 2016, Donald Trump’s ascendency to the U.S. presidency stunned the world, as he promised to withdrew the U.S. from the Paris accord and moved to disrupt action on climate change.
- The Biden administration worked to reverse that damage, with the U.S. again taking a leadership role in global climate summits and passing the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the most ambitious U.S. laws ever to combat global warming and boost the post-carbon economy.
- Now, with Trump elected again, the world stands ready for his climate denialism, and his likely withdrawal of the U.S. for a second time from the Paris Agreement. Global momentum is expected to continue unabated, with alternative energy thriving, Brazil hosting COP30 in 2025, and China and the EU doubling down on climate action.
- In the U.S., “Just as we did during the last Trump administration, we are going to put a focus on our work with cities and with states and many private-sector leaders who stood tall then and stand tall now,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator during Barack Obama’s second term, and managing co-chair of America Is All In, an NGO.

Will ‘Trump Part II’ be the wakeup call needed toward more effective conservation? (commentary)
- Conservation has always been an uphill battle but this has never deterred conservationists from continuing to struggle to make a difference, even if their strategies have not halted the extinction crisis. The momentum coming out of the recent global biodiversity conference in Colombia, despite its shortcomings, was badly needed to push on.
- And then Trump was re-elected as US President. Is this at last the wake-up call the conservation sector needs to realize that radical change is required?
- “Now [we] we can say it even more bluntly: Conservation has never truly addressed the fundamental power structures that lead to biodiversity loss. And it let itself believe that under Biden it could go back to doing what it had always done: expand protected areas and work with business-as-usual economic interests,” a new op-ed says in arguing for a more radical approach.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Will the new EU environment leader change Sweden’s conservation direction? (commentary)
- When the European Union introduces measures to protect forests, Sweden often tries to thwart them. But with opposition to its destructive forestry model growing inside the country, and a Swede about to become the new EU environment chief, things could be changing, a new op-ed states.
- The likely nomination of Sweden’s Jessika Roswall as EU Commissioner for the Environment this month could be a chance to change that narrative.
- “If she sees forests as more than just trees to exploit, Roswall could help instigate the long process of restoring Sweden’s battered reputation,” argues the Head of Conservation for BirdLife Sweden.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Do forest conservation pledges work? (commentary)
- The New York Declaration on Forests was agreed with great hope 10 years ago, but the world missed its 2020 target and is off track to end deforestation by 2030. Does this mean that forest pledges don’t work?
- It would be naive to expect pledges like it to quickly resolve decades long economic and political battles over land: their effect is limited without changes to forest funding, because forest clearance is usually driven by economic calculation.
- “The NYDF has not made history, but it did help redirect attention in a distracted world and create a benchmark for progress. Without it and the Glasgow Declaration, there would be less support for the many communities and institutions who are helping protect the two thirds of remaining tropical forests which are still standing,” a new op-ed states.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Indonesia fisheries minister eyes aquaculture expansion under Prabowo
- Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto, has retained incumbent fisheries minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono to oversee expansion in productivity in captive fisheries over the next five years.
- Sakti has pledged to revive ailing aquaculture ponds, most of which are located on the northern coast of Java, where numerous village fishing economies are struggling amid depleted near-shore fish stocks and coastal development.
- In July, Indonesia’s then-vice president, Ma’ruf Amin, told a fisheries summit that climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental damage had hindered the output of near-shore fisheries in the world’s largest archipelagic country.

Is the delay of Europe’s deforestation regulation a cause for regret, or an opportunity? (commentary)
- In early October, the European Commission proposed a one-year postponement of the EU’s new deforestation regulation (EUDR) in order to assist global stakeholders, member states and other countries in their preparations.
- Is such a delay to be lamented, as many NGOs and commentators say? This is happening in a context of the weakening of many environmental measures, after all.
- “This ambitious regulation, with its undeniable objectives, is ill-conceived – because it ignores the problems of implementation – and is giving rise to unprecedented diplomatic tensions. Shouldn’t we take advantage of this probable postponement to try and correct some of the text’s major flaws?” a new op-ed asks.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Africa needs COP29 funding & international finance reform to manage climate change (commentary)
- From 11 to 22 November, the world will be looking to leaders to ramp up action and financial support for nations on the frontlines of climate change.
- COP29 is billed as the ‘finance COP’ because it is time for countries to set a new global climate finance goal. Will Africa get the support it requires, this time?
- “It is important to acknowledge the significant role that the COPs play in addressing climate change [but] it is equally crucial to prioritize efforts aimed at comprehensively reforming the international financial infrastructure to ensure fair and just treatment of Africa,” writes Mongabay Africa’s program director.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

At least 146 dead in back-to-back tropical cyclones in Philippines
Two tropical cyclones recently struck the Philippines one after the other, leaving at least 146 people dead, according to government reports. The country first felt the peak intensity of Severe Tropical Storm Trami (local name Kristine) on Oct. 24. The storm maintained sustained winds of up to 95 kilometers per hour (59 miles per hour) […]
COP16: ‘A fund unlike any other’ will pay tropical nations to save forests
- For years now, the world’s wealthiest nations have pledged billions to tropical nations to help them afford to conserve their native forests — an effort that benefits the entire world, especially for the carbon storage those tropical forests provide, as the climate crisis deepens.
- But those investment promises by donors have again and again failed to fully materialize. Today, the total funding shortfall for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is in the trillions of dollars.
- This week, a new funding mechanism which is about to launch was greeted with great fanfare at the COP16 biodiversity summit in Colombia. TFFF, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, is designed to be “a fund unlike any other.”
- The fund’s innovative design is structured to deliver $4 billion year-after-year to tropical nations to incentivize those countries to keep their native forests standing. The fund’s manager will be independent of governments and investors, and may involve Indigenous groups and local communities to help manage intact tropical forests

Women-led groups remain ‘severely underfunded’ for climate action: Report
Women-led Indigenous, Afro-descendant and local community grassroots organizations struggle to access global funding to fight climate change impacts due to structural barriers and stereotypes, a recent report shows. Total government aid, or official development assistance (ODA), for NGOs and women’s rights organizations declined from $891 million between 2019-2020 to $631 million between 2021-2022, according to […]
At COP16, the ocean needs action, not more promises (commentary)
- As delegates to COP16 debate conservation measures like 30×30 initiatives, a new op-ed by the environment director of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Antha Williams, and the founder of Pristine Seas, Dr. Enric Sala, says that protecting our ocean is more than a conservation measure — it’s a lifeline.
- Well-managed and highly protected marine areas (MPAs) help restore ecosystems, ensuring food security and livelihoods for the billions who depend on them, but a new analysis shows that only 8.3% of the world’s ocean is protected in this way, and that most MPAs are either protected weakly or in name only.
- “Ocean protection has never been more urgent. As leaders gather in Cali, they must ensure that ‘protecting our ocean’ means truly protecting it. The 30×30 target will only be meaningful if we protect areas effectively — not just on paper,” they argue.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Chilean Indigenous association participates in key study for lawsuit against mining
- In a unique model for Latin America, a council of Lickanantay people in northern Chile created an environmental unit made up of hydrogeologists, engineers and environmental monitors from the territory’s communities to monitor the territory.
- Their study with a national university shows that the La Brava lagoon, located on the edges of the Atacama salt flat, is fed in part by the salt flat’s brine, which makes it vulnerable to mining activities established in the heart of the salt flat.
- Findings from the study were key in a lawsuit brought by the state defense council against three mining companies for irreparable damage to the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer, the main water source for these lagoons.

Global biodiversity financiers strategize at COP16 to end ‘perverse subsidies’
- COP16, the U.N. biodiversity summit in Colombia, is entering its second week. Without the presence of fossil fuel company lobbyists to stall progress, participants are moving fast and developing plans to end “perverse subsidies” gifted by national governments to fossil fuel companies and other sectors to the tune of $1.7 trillion annually.
- Instead, those subsidies would be repurposed to protect nature and the climate. COP16 participants aim to achieve this goal by immediate implementation of Target 18 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework approved by 196 nations at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal in 2022. Target 18 reads:
- “Identify by 2025, and eliminate, phase out and reform incentives, including subsidies, harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least $500 billion per year by 2030… and scale up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.”
- No one at COP16 has illusions about the challenge of shifting the flood of government and banking money away from big oil, gas and coal. But the alternative outlined in a just-released U.N. report offers little choice: Without drastic measures to conserve nature and stop global heating, we’re headed for a disastrous 2.6° Celsius (4.7° Fahrenheit) temperature rise by 2100, or worse.

Debate over Chile’s fisheries law exposes industry influence on fish management
- A new fisheries law is being debated in Chile’s Chamber of Deputies.
- Three members of Congress have recommended more than 200 changes to the proposed law that align with the main arguments put forward by large fishing conglomerates belonging to the country’s main industry group.
- One of these recommendations seeks to remove an article that would limit bottom trawling, a fishing method many scientists criticize due to its impact on marine ecosystems.
- The debate is exposing the industry’s influence on fisheries management in Chile, some experts say.

New survey puts human face on pollution caused by U.S. wood pellet mills
- A new groundbreaking survey highlights the human toll from pollution and other quality of life impacts connected to those living near the forest biomass industry’s wood pellet mills in the U.S Southeast.
- Door-to-door interviews were conducted by a coalition of NGOs, with 312 households surveyed in five mostly poor, rural and minority communities located near pellet mills operated by Drax and Enviva, two of the world’s largest pellet makers.
- In four of the five newly surveyed communities, 86% of households reported at least one family member with diseases or ailments, which they say are related to, or made worse by, pellet mill pollution. 2023 research found that pellet mills emit 55 toxic pollutants that largely impact environmental justice communities.
- The wood pellet industry says the survey was not scientifically rigorous and that its members strive to control pollution and improve the local economies in communities where they work.

Experts map biodiversity richness on Afro-descendent peoples’ lands
- A new atlas by Afro-descendent and conservation groups shows that across 15 countries (not including Brazil), Afro-descendant communities have settled on more than 32.7 million hectares (80.8 million acres) of rural lands.
- These communities have developed traditional fishing and farming practices, which allow them to coexist with surrounding biodiversity and contribute to its protection.
- However, very few lands have been titled, and many communities suffer violence and displacement from the expansion of agro-industrial activities and mineral resource extraction on their lands, which will likely intensify with the rising global demand.
- The researchers faced several challenges in their attempt to locate and measure the size of both titled and non-titled Afro-descendant territories due to a lack of technical data.

Indigenous territories & peoples are key to achieving COP16’s 30×30 target (commentary)
- It is just a few days until the beginning of COP16 when countries worldwide will meet to discuss biodiversity protection in Cali, Colombia.
- These discussions cannot happen without considering the role of Indigenous communities in protecting biodiversity and thriving ecosystems, argues a new op-ed by the Solomon Islands Minister for Environment and Colombia’s Technical Secretary at the National Commission of Indigenous Territories.
- “We Indigenous peoples are the best protectors of the environment, and against all odds, we are resisting colonial processes and threats…The negotiators at COP16 must ensure full, effective, and equitable inclusion of Indigenous peoples,” they argue.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Delay of EU Deforestation Regulation may ‘be excuse to gut law,’ activists fear
- In a surprise move, the European Commission has proposed a 12-month delay in implementation of the EU’s groundbreaking deforestation law, which was slated to go into effect in January 2025.
- The European Parliament still needs to approve the delay, but is expected to do so. The law is meant to regulate global deforestation caused by a range of commodities from soy to coffee, cattle, cocoa, palm oil, rubber and wood products, including industrial-scale wood pellets burned to make energy.
- Commodity companies, including those in the pellet industry, say the law’s certification requirements are onerous and the 2025 start date is too soon for compliance. The industries are supported by commodities-producing nations such as Brazil, Indonesia and the United States (a primary source of wood pellets).
- Forest campaigners, including those opposing tree harvests for wood pellets, fear that delay of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will offer commodity companies and exporting nations time to water down the law meant to protect native forests, carbon storage and biodiversity, and delay the worst climate change impacts.

Brazil elects record-high number of Indigenous mayors, vice mayors & councilors
- In Brazil, 256 Indigenous people were elected mayors, vice mayors and city councilors, the highest in the country’s history and an 8% increase compared with 236 elected in the 2020 ballot.
- With 1,635,530 votes, Indigenous candidates were the only group that recorded growth in votes this year, compared with candidates who self-declared white, pardo (brown), Black and Asian, which saw a reduction of around 20% altogether, according to a survey from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the country’s main Indigenous association, which used data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
- Increasing representation of Indigenous people elected in municipal ballots is a key move to ensure the fulfillment of Indigenous rights and should pave the way to increase the number of Indigenous people elected in the 2026 state and federal ballots, advocates and activists say.
- However, the municipal election results also showed a gender gap: Indigenous women accounted for just one mayor of a total of nine Indigenous mayors elected, four vice mayors of a total of nine, and 36 of a total of 234 councilors.

Act now or lose the Pantanal forever (commentary)
- This year, over two million hectares of the world’s largest wetland, the Pantanal in Brazil, have burned, as agribusiness drains it and climate change dries it, reducing river flows and allowing fires to spread.
- Many species rely on a healthy Pantanal to survive, including 2,000 species of plants, 580 bird species, 271 kinds of fish, and 174 mammal and 57 amphibian species, many of which are endangered or threatened.
- “To truly protect it, we need an immediate halt on further agricultural expansion, major restoration projects for the land which has already burned, and bold global action to slash carbon emissions,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

New tourism restrictions to protect Bangladesh’s unique wetlands and coral-rich island
- Since 1999, Bangladesh has declared 13 biodiversity-rich areas as Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA) under the country’s environment protection act.
- However, the government has failed to conserve the ECAs over the years other than a few project-based protection measures undertaken in some of the areas like Saint Martin’s Island, Tanguar Haor, Hakaluki Haor, Cox’s Bazar Beach and Sonadia Island.
- Now, the current civil society-led government plans to limit tourism in biodiversity hotspots to ensure the health of the ecosystem.
- The coral-rich Saint Martin’s Island and one of the country’s largest wetlands, Tanguar Haor, will see the first through tourism restrictions.

Angkor Plywood, the ‘timber cartel’ shipping Cambodian forests internationally
- A year-long Mongabay investigation shows that one of Cambodia’s most notorious logging companies likely illegally exported rare tree species to Vietnam and China for years.
- We found evidence Angkor Plywood has been illegally logging timber from protected areas and violating various laws by exporting sawn logs — and doing all this with impunity, in part thanks to its well-connected founders.
- Shipping records from 2021-2023 show Angkor Plywood exported a type of timber coveted in the furniture trade from a species it should never have been allowed to log or trade, according to a government source.
- A veteran activist calls Angkor Plywood a cartel and “driving force” behind the extensive logging and forest destruction taking place Cambodia.

With Europe’s move to delay tropical forest protections, everything burns (commentary)
- Last week, the European Commission flip-flopped and announced it wants to delay a new law designed to reduce tropical deforestation (EUDR) for a year, instead of allowing it start in January 2025.
- This decision isn’t just destructive for forests, it’s also bad for business — it flies in the face of hard efforts by thousands of companies who did everything to get into compliance on time — and is also bad for democracy, a new op-ed argues.
- “For the millions of EU citizens who supported the law, here is a message of hope. We lost a battle with the Commission’s effort to delay the EUDR, but the war for our climate still hangs in the balance, and the fight is on. European elected representatives can yet stand firm in support of the global forests and millions of people who depend on them, and reject the Commission’s proposal.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Despite court ruling, Yaqui water rights abuses ignored
- For decades, the Yaqui peoples in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora have been fighting to defend their rights to the Yaqui River, which is sacred to the Indigenous tribe and has been drained of all its water in their territory after decades of overexploitation, unequal water distribution and droughts.
- In 2010, the government approved the construction of an aqueduct, known as the Independencia Aqueduct, to supply water to several cities in the state, which was later found to be a violation of the tribe’s rights.
- Despite a favorable court ruling, which found that the Mexican government did not consult the Yaqui tribe before the aqueduct’s approval, it did not suspend its construction, which was inaugurated in 2012, despite evidence that it would cause irreparable damage to the community.

Nigerian anti-corruption body partners with EIA to combat wildlife crime
Nigeria’s anti-corruption body is partnering with the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) to address wildlife trafficking. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and EIA signed a memorandum of understanding Sept. 20, which will allow the two bodies to work together and develop a strategy to combat environmental crime. “The EIA will […]
In Ecuador, booming profits in small-scale gold mining reveal a tainted industry – investigation
- In 2023, three small gold mining companies in Ecuador exported $268 million in gold to the UAE and India, 20 times more than in 2022, an investigation by Mongabay and Codigo Vidrio has found.
- The amount of gold the companies claim to have processed is highly unrealistic, industry experts say, and checks on their concessions show no indication mining ever took place.
- More than 35% of Ecuador’s gold exports come from small-scale gold mining companies, but irregularities in their sourcing, permits and operations, as well as an ongoing crisis in authorities’ monitoring capacity, suggest that most of these players are trading gold from illegal sources.
- Our investigation shows mining regulators approved export permits mostly without on-site verification; and even the country’s mining registry was suspended in 2018, the agency in charge continued to approve hundreds of mining concessions.

Bangladesh’s new government implements strong measures to eliminate single-use plastic
- Data shows Bangladesh generates around 87,000 tons of single-use plastics annually, of which 96% are directly discarded as garbage.
- Lack of awareness has led to the collection of plastic waste all over the cities, especially near rivers or lakes, where they mix with water and soil, affecting ecosystems and food chains.
- The current government in the country is implementing the existing law by banning single-use plastic, which started on Oct. 1.

Cambodian environment minister bans logging at tycoon’s Cardamoms hydropower project
- Cambodia’s environment minister has ordered a ban on forest clearance at a hydropower project site where activists and media, including Mongabay, previously reported indications of illegal logging.
- The Stung Meteuk hydropower project is being developed by a company under Ly Yong Phat, a ruling party senator notorious for a long history of environmentally and socially destructive businesses.
- In April, Mongabay documented the illegal logging operations at the project site, where logging routes had been cut leading into the nearby Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Activists have welcomed the order to halt forest clearance, but say they’re skeptical the ban will be enforced against such a powerful figure, noting that timber processing continues at the site.

Reporter who revealed deforestation in Cambodia now charged with deforestation
- A journalist who covered the land grab and deforestation of a community forest by a mining company has himself been charged with deforestation.
- Ouk Mao was instrumental in bringing to light the takeover of the Phnom Chum Rok Sat community forest in Stung Treng province by the politically connected company Lin Vatey.
- In mid-September he was charged with deforestation and incitement, for which he faces up to 10 years in jail; while not detained, he’s subject to court-ordered monitoring and cannot leave his village without permission.
- Activists say Cambodia’s courts have been weaponized against critics, with a pattern emerging where “protectors of Cambodia’s remaining forests are accused of perpetrating the very crime they are standing against.”

Influential Vietnamese environmentalist released from prison two years early
- Vietnamese environmental advocate Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng was quietely released from prison Sept. 28, two years ahead of the end of her sentence.
- Hồng was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion, a charge frequently levied against environmental and human rights advocates in Vietnam.
- Her release, which was not publicized in official Vietnamese media, coincides with a trip to the United States by Vietnamese General Secretary and President Tô Lâm.

NGOs raise concerns over oil exploration in Republic of Congo national park
- NGOs are calling on the government of the Republic of Congo to revoke a permit allowing oil exploration in Conkouati-Douli National Park, the country’s most biodiverse area.
- They argue that oil exploration and exploitation will have a catastrophic impact on the park and local communities living in and around it.
- They also argue that the project runs counter to agreements reached with international donors to fund forest protection and breaks the Republic of Congo’s own environmental law.

Indigenous peoples won in court — but in practice, they face a different reality
- State implementation of international court rulings favoring Indigenous peoples and their access to land remain very low, lawyers say; in many cases, information on progress toward rulings is murky.
- Mongabay found that of the 57 rulings by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights mentioned in a 2023 report, 52 of them had no update on implementation.
- States can be unwilling to implement rulings or can run into difficulties putting them into practice due to lack of resources, the need to create new laws or unexpected conflicts created when restituting land.
- Though complicated, international court systems are considered a lifeline for Indigenous communities that face land rights abuses, and better monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are needed to improve the system, advocates and Indigenous leaders say.

Why the EU must stand firm on its plan to help protect the world’s forests (commentary)
- The EU Deforestation Regulation, which was passed in May 2023 and comes into effect at the end of this year, is intended to prevent European consumption driving deforestation and associated illegalities and abuses.
- In the run-up to implementation, a growing chorus of affected governments and culprit industries has been calling for the law to be delayed and weakened.
- This commentary is a response to those calls. It shows how the problems the law is intended to solve have not gone away, that the need to address them grows ever more urgent, and that any delay risks opening the door to the law being gutted. It also points out that many of those calling for the EU to reconsider are deeply self-interested and their concerns should not be taken at face value. It also highlights the human cost of delay.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Record number of Indigenous land titles granted in Peru via innovative process (commentary)
- Land titles have proven to be the most effective way to protect Indigenous peoples’ land from deforestation, with such territories experiencing a 66% decrease in deforestation, and therefore protecting these forests for generations to come.
- Recently, 37 land titles were secured in the Peruvian Amazon in record time, between June 2023 to May 2024, via a partnership between two NGOs and the Peruvian government, using an innovative, low-cost, high-impact model to expedite the process.
- “We believe this model can be replicated in other regions of the Amazon and perhaps even beyond,” the authors of a new op-ed write.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

The ocean ‘belongs to all of us’: Interview with Palau President Whipps
- The President of Palau, Surangel S. Whipps Jr., has been calling for a moratorium — an official pause — on deep-sea mining in international waters for more than two years now, and he continues to reiterate his position.
- Palau has banned deep-sea mining in its national waters, but Whipps says his country is calling for a moratorium, rather than an outright ban, on seabed mining in international waters since the ocean “belongs to all of us.”
- While plans are progressing to allow deep-sea mining to start in international waters — and in some countries’ national waters — Whipps says he believes the world is starting to understand the importance of the deep sea as a growing number of nations call for a moratorium.

Sweden’s ‘nature friendly’ reputation is being shot to pieces (commentary)
- Though Sweden has a reputation as being ecologically-minded and nature-friendly, the nation has also become a ‘trophy hunter’s paradise’ that routinely flouts the European Union’s Habitats Directive, according to a new op-ed.
- The government has allowed a politically powerful hunting lobby to steadily increase pressure on wildlife — such as the current hunt of nearly 500 bears, a fifth of total population — leading to the killing of hundreds of red-listed animals every year, including wolves, bears, wolverines, and lynxes, which are among the nation’s most adored creatures.
- “International support is desperately needed for Sweden’s wildlife, since this dysfunctional system cannot fix itself,” a new op-ed states.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

In Vietnam, environmental defense is increasingly a crime
- In the past two years, six prominent environmental defenders have been imprisoned in Vietnam, sending a chill across civil society in the one-party state.
- In the past, activists in Vietnam were often charged with spreading anti-state propaganda. More recently, ambiguous tax laws have been used against environmental experts and advocates, and 2023 saw the use of a novel charge: misappropriation of state documents.
- Analysts say the moves against environment defenders are part of an effort to clamp down on civil society in general, and environmental activism in particular, due to fears that such movements could serve as an engine for broad-based organizing outside of party control.

How do ‘rights of nature’ and ‘legal personhood’ laws differ, and what’s their conservation potential?
Nations across the globe are trialing “rights of nature” laws and “legal personhood” for various ecosystems and a range of reasons, from Indigenous reconciliation to biodiversity protection. While these two concepts are closely related, they have some key differences. Podcast guest Viktoria Kahui discusses what distinguishes them and how they’ve been used for conservation, while […]
$35m debt-for-nature deal aims to protect Indonesia’s coral reefs
- A $35 million debt-for-nature swap between Indonesia and the U.S. aims to conserve coral reefs in eastern Indonesia over the next nine years, with the funding offset by canceled sovereign debt payable to the U.S.
- Indonesian conservation groups and their international partners will implement ground programs to protect reefs in key areas, strengthen marine protected areas and support community livelihoods under the deal.
- While environmentalists welcomed the funding, some argued debt swaps were insufficient to address the larger environmental and development challenges faced by countries in the global south.

Could the ‘rights of nature’ save Yasuní and keep its oil in the ground? (commentary)
- Nearly 60% of Ecuador’s voters supported a referendum last year to stop oil drilling in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil field, which would protect the nature of Yasuní National Park and its Indigenous communities, while keeping a billion barrels of oil in the ground.
- People worked for a decade to bring this to a popular vote, but the nation’s current crises have shaken the government’s resolve to enforce the rule. Now, advocates are turning to a relatively new legal instrument, the ‘rights of nature,’ to cement the decision.
- “The vote to protect the Yasuní was not based on the rights of nature, but on the right of people to participate in decisions on matters of public interest. The rights of nature, however, provides a path forward to protect the Yasuní,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

As Malawi government struggles to protect a forest, communities show the way
- In Malawi’s Zomba Forest Reserve, a community that once destroyed the forest has become its custodian, protecting a source of streams, which provide water for them to irrigate crops.
- The Department of Forestry, the lead government agency in forest protection in Malawi, is struggling to stem the tide of deforestation on its side of the reserve due to lack of resources.
- Malawi is suffering massive deforestation, with Global Forest Watch figures estimating that the country has lost quarter of a million hectares (617,000 acres) of forest cover between 2001 and 2023.
- Government officials and experts say engagement with communities offers opportunities for effective forest management.

Biden-Harris Administration must strengthen position on plastic reduction treaty (commentary)
- Final negotiations on a global plastics treaty are set to take place later this year, and since plastics manufacturing is a major user of fossil fuels, almost two hundred petrochemical industry lobbyists attended the previous round of negotiations in Ottawa.
- U.S. rhetoric there appeared to follow industry talking points, focusing on waste management and recycling while sidestepping any measures that would actually reduce the production of plastics, a new op-ed states.
- “The world needs U.S. leadership on plastic production reduction and the Biden-Harris Administration looks set to provide it. But it is now time to match these words with actions,” the author argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Biodiversity’s Tower of Babel: The confusion & disorientation of Convention on Biological Diversity Decision 15/9 (commentary)
- Decision 15/9 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was envisioned as a multilateral mechanism to fund conservation via the sharing of benefits arising from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI).
- Hailed as a landmark, what royalties would be paid for this “natural information” and via what means are still unclear as the CBD enters a new round of negotiations soon in Cali, Colombia.
- To make the Decision operational there, delegates met in Montreal this month, and it’s still not certain if biodiversity-rich nations will be fairly compensated, but a new op-ed contends that “The appropriate interpretation of genetic resources as ‘natural information’ would imply economic rents in the benefits to be shared.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

As southern African freshwater fish & fisheries struggle, collaboration is key (commentary)
- Freshwater fish populations in the Kavango and Zambezi (KAZA) river systems of southern Africa are in decline, so many stakeholders met last month in Namibia to share knowledge and suggest ways to address the situation.
- Of the many things shared during the conference, one message was clear: most fish stocks in KAZA are in trouble. Fewer fish means that the people and fish-dependent wildlife are also in trouble.
- “The challenges of fish conservation in KAZA are insurmountable if any of these stakeholders face them alone, but if they work together, it is possible to turn back the tide to restore fish populations and save the lives and livelihoods of our people,” a new op-ed contends.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Luxury hunting firm linked to decades of poaching in Tanzania, whistleblowers say
- Whistleblowers speaking to Mongabay have reported instances of poaching over decades linked to a luxury hunting firm catering to UAE elites and royals.
- The insiders have experience working at Ortello — sometimes spelled Otterlo — Business Corporation (OBC), a UAE-based company that runs shoots in Loliondo, northern Tanzania.
- Tanzanian authorities have served waves of eviction notices affecting Maasai herders in and around Loliondo, as part of efforts to expand hunting and safari tourism.

Indonesian Islamic behemoth’s entry into coal mining sparks youth wing revolt
- In early August, several youth organizations affiliated with Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic organization, released a public petition calling on its leadership to cancel its plans to operate coal mines.
- The decision by the Muhammadiyah leadership board was made in July after Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, amended mining rules to enable religious organizations to enter the mining industry.
- Grassroots activists and some senior member of the organization told Mongabay the move threatens to undermine Muhammadiyah’s extensive charity and advocacy work, in addition to environmental commitments the group made in recent years.

In the DRC, a government commission is taking funds owed to people relocated by mines
- In the DRC, people relocated from mining sites often demand fair compensation for the loss of their property, homes, and other possessions.
- Mining companies do not take responsibility for this process, yet they pay 10% of the compensation funds owed to relocated people into an account owned by a branch of the provincial government, the Relocation Commission, which goes to the commission’s operation.
- According to members of civil society, the commission’s involvement not only deprives relocated people of money but also leaves them without a means of appeal.
- According to Lualaba’s provincial Minister of Mines, Jacques Kaumba, every party should follow the mining code, which he said “is quite clear” and doesn’t permit this to happen.

A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
- Illegal mining continues in the headwaters of the Tuichi River in northwestern Bolivia, with miners encroaching into the strictly protected areas of the Madidi National Park.
- As part of a project backed by La Paz’s government, a road is being built through the middle of the protected area,.
- Madidi’s park rangers are living under constant strain. They are threatened and attacked by miners, and are unable to enter some parts of the protected area to carry out their duties.

Biden Administration mistakenly seeks delay of EU’s new deforestation regulation (commentary)
- “If the Biden Administration is serious about a global zero-deforestation agenda while helping US agribusiness, it should proactively support the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) abroad, and double down at home on support for U.S. soy farmers and cattle ranchers to comply with the EUDR,” a new op-ed argues.
- Rather than support it, the U.S. is demanding that the European Union delay the EUDR, parroting arguments put forth by a small number of the U.S.’s least ethical producers, while ignoring thousands of companies and investors actively supporting the EUDR.
- “The U.S. has such limited deforestation exposure on soy and cattle it exports to the EU that most U.S. soy and cattle exports to Europe will likely benefit from the EUDR. The exact opposite of what Vilsack, Raimundo, and Tai’s letter argues.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Uttarakhand villagers thirst for water as tourism, temps & development rise
- An influx of tourists and new residents to Uttarakhand, driven by heat waves and work-from-home options, is straining local resources, particularly water.
- Nearly 12,000 natural springs reportedly have dried up in recent years, with 90% of Uttarakhand’s population depending on these vital water sources.
- Widespread construction for tourism disrupts aquifers and natural water percolation, exacerbating water scarcity and affecting water quality; water sources are further threatened by changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures.
- Local residents, especially women and marginalized communities, face increased hardships in accessing water amid growing allegations of water diversion by hotels.

Climate change could return a stolen lake to Indigenous people, a century later
- Semá:th Xhotsa, or Sumas Lake, in Canada was the center of First Nations’ food system and culture, before European colonists drained it in 1924 to create farmland.
- Almost 100 years later, catastrophic flooding threatens to refill the lake and displace the farmers.
- First Nations people and university researchers have proposed restoring the lake ecosystem to adapt to climate change-driven flooding, and as a method of reparation, but the local government is pushing back.

Brazil’s Carvalho to lead seabed-mining authority following predecessor’s controversial term
- Brazilian oceanographer Leticia Carvalho will be the next secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-mandated organization that oversees deep-sea mining activities in international waters.
- She won the election with 79 votes, while her predecessor, 64-year-old Michael Lodge, who served as the ISA’s secretary-general for two terms, received only 34 votes.
- Lodge has previously been accused of siding with mining companies, which went against the duty of the ISA secretariat to remain neutral and may have influenced the direction of the prospective deep-sea mining industry.
- Carvalho previously told Mongabay that she would work to make the ISA more transparent and rebuild trust within the organization.

Muhammadiyah latest faith group to join Indonesia religious coal rush
- Indonesia President Joko Widodo has amended mining rules to enable religious organizations to operate coal mines, a decision that has been widely criticized by civil society in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.
- On July 28, the country’s second-largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, announced it would accept government offers to manage a coal concession. The move followed a similar decision by Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization.
- In recent years, Islamic clerics and organizations have won praise for their increased focus on biodiversity and climate issues.
- Grassroots activists within Muhammadiyah told Mongabay that the decision to mine coal introduced reputational risks and threatened to unwind recent progress.

Magnate’s visit to Indonesia’s untouched Aru Islands revives Indigenous concerns
- The arrival of the J7Explorer ship, owned by coal magnate Haji Isam, has sparked renewed concerns in the Aru Islands about plans to convert forests into a 60,000-hectare (150,000-acre) cattle ranch.
- Haji Isam, a well-known tycoon with extensive family ties to the Indonesian government, is understood to have arrived to conduct a survey.
- Previously, the Aru Islands faced a similar threat when former district leader Theddy Tengko signed over land for a sugar plantation. Tengko, later convicted of embezzling nearly $5 million, had removed the conservation status of the rainforests without consulting the Indigenous population.
- Activists, including those behind the internationally known #SaveAru campaign, successfully protested the sugar plantation, leveraging social media and international support to highlight illegalities and public outcry. However, renewed efforts are now focused on preventing the subsequent deforestation plans, with local communities and activists rallying against any moves to clear forests.

Peruvian bills could imperil marine biodiversity & artisanal fishing, experts say
- Two legislative proposals seek to amend a law the Peruvian Congress passed unanimously in 2023 that recognizes artisanal fishers and promotes the protection of the sea within 5 nautical miles of shore, an area crucial for the reproduction of marine species.
- The proposals are being debated in Congress even as approval of the 2023 law’s regulations remains in limbo.
- Proponents of the proposals say they will strengthen fishing law in favor of artisanal fishers.
- But many artisanal fishers and conservation groups oppose the proposals, which would allow fishing boats carrying mechanized and nonselective gear to fish within 3 miles of the coast.

‘Fungibility’ could sink Convention on Biodiversity’s funding mechanism Decision 15/9 (commentary)
- Billions of dollars are needed for biodiversity conservation, which could be funded through the multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism established in Decision 15/9 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
- ‘Fungibility’ means that the mechanism to be developed should not fund projects that would have been funded anyway: instead, incentives should be aligned through rent-rich royalties on biodiversity-derived biotechnologies.
- Billionaires should not be financing discussions that are silent on the question of rents, as such philanthropy does harm, a new op-ed argues: “Fungibility becomes the F-word, as much for the billionaire philanthropist as for the stakeholders plying the ‘policy experiment,’ ‘flagship projects’ or whatever is the euphemism to sell Decision 15/9.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Report reveals widespread use of smuggled mercury in Amazon gold mining
- Enforcement against illegal gold mines in the Brazilian Amazon ramped up in 2023, but the contamination from the mercury used in mining will likely be felt for generations to come.
- According to a report from Brazilian think tank the Escolhas Institute, up to 73% of all mercury used in Brazil’s gold mines is of unknown origin; the country’s environmental agency states practically all mines in Brazil use illegal mercury.
- Mercury affects primarily children, who may be born with severe disabilities and face learning difficulties for the rest of their lives.

Sundarbans fisherfolk are battered by cyclones amid fishing bans
- Fishers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans have been struggling with income due to damage caused to the mangroves by the recent tropical cyclone Remal and also the seasonal ban on resource hunting from June to August.
- In every disaster, poor fisherfolk are entangled more in a complex debt trap for moving on, and this year, the situation is more aggravating as the cyclone hit just before the fishing ban started.
- Nonetheless, the government is adamant on continuing the ban for the sake of forest resource conservation.
- At the same time, the government is still in the planning stage of providing people food support during the ban period, as has been provided to sea-bound fishers during the hilsa harvest ban period.

Jokowi’s religious mining rule divides Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization
- In May 2024, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, signed a new regulation to enable the country’s religious organizations to become mining operators.
- The policy has been criticized extensively by civil society groups, some of which view the move as the result of a political bargain for Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Islamic organization, to deliver votes to Jokowi’s chosen successor in the February 2024 presidential election.
- Young people within Nahdlatul Ulama told Mongabay Indonesia that Indonesia’s largest Islamic group would be reneging on its environmental commitments if it were to follow through on plans to operate coal mining concessions.

Indigenous communities in Sarawak left in the dark about hydropower proposal
- Malaysian officials recently announced new dam projects on three rivers in the Bornean state of Sarawak without the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of local people.
- The managing director of the Sarawak-based NGO SAVE Rivers, Celine Lim, says her community relies on the Tutoh River for food and for transport, so the announcement “definitely threw the community into a frenzy because no one knew of this plan before the announcement.”
- Project opponents have gathered 650 signatures on a petition calling for more information from the government before the project can move forward, after initial requests for information were ignored.
- Lim joins Mongabay’s podcast to share with co-host Rachel Donald how the potential dam projects could impact the rivers and human communities, and reflects on lessons learned from a recent visit with Indigenous communities in California who successfully argued for the removal of dams on the Klamath River and are now restoring its floodplain.

The $91 billion wasted on nuclear weapons last year could transform ecosystem restoration (commentary)
- Nuclear weapons have caused much damage to the environment and are the only devices ever created that have the capacity to destroy all complex life forms on Earth.
- Yet every year, the nine nuclear armed-nations divert vast sums of taxpayers’ money into producing, maintaining and modernizing weapons of mass destruction, approximately $91.4 billion in 2023 alone.
- “One year of nuclear weapons spending could pay for wind power for more than 12 million homes to help combat climate change, plant one million trees a minute, or clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for 187 years in a row,” argues the director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, ICAN.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

History repeats as logging linked to Cambodian hydropower dam in Cardamoms
- Loggers are targeting protected forests in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains using the cover of a new hydropower dam
- The dam is being built by Ly Yong Phat, a wealthy Cambodian tycoon with ties to the top tiers of government and a long history of environmental vandalism in the Cardamoms
- Timber from the Stung Meteuk hydropower dam has already been sold via a government-facilitated auction, but some timber may have been illegally logged
- The dam also overlaps significantly with the Samkos REDD+ project which is still under validation and verification

Bangladesh incinerator project sparks row between government & contractor
- A planned waste incineration project in Dhaka, which has sparked a debate between the government and the contracting company, has raised questions about potential pollution from the facility — and the overriding issue of what Bangladesh should do with its solid waste.
- Bangladesh’s daily per capita generation of solid waste is nearly 35,000 metric tons, with two city corporation areas of Dhaka producing more than 7,000 metric tons of waste per day, which could increase in the coming decades as the economy grows.
- In 1991, more than 43 hectares (106 acres) of landfill was required to dump the solid waste generated in the urban areas every year, while the landfill requirement in 2021 stood at nearly 223 hectares (550 acres), causing pressure on land-scarce Bangladesh.
- Nearly 80% of the solid waste in Bangladesh is organic in nature, and the hot, humid atmosphere is favorable for turning waste into a wealth of raw material for biogas and organic manure.

Environmental protests under attack: Interview with UN special rapporteur Michel Forst
- The repression that environmental activists using peaceful civil disobedience are facing in Europe is a major threat to democracy and human rights, according to U.N. special rapporteur Michel Forst.
- The 2016 Dakota Pipeline protests, led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, not only triggered a major crackdown but also a flood of anti-protest legislation in the U.S.
- Environmental defenders are increasingly stigmatized as criminals or terrorists in the public arena, which may lead to a spike in verbal and even physical violence.
- In Germany, laws of the past that were meant to deal with terrorist outfits such as the Rote Armee Fraktion were used to deal with the environmental group Letzte Generation (Last Generation).

Study: More than half of Australia’s clean energy mines lie on Indigenous land
- The global energy transition has increased demand for the minerals needed in the production of batteries, solar panels and other renewable energy technology.
- In a new study, researchers found that 57.8% of critical mineral projects in Australia lie within formally recognized Indigenous lands, or 79.2% if land subject to claims of native title that haven’t yet been determined are included.
- Historically, Australia’s First Nations haven’t received fair compensation or benefit sharing when investors have found resources in their territories, sources told Mongabay.
- The paper’s authors, Indigenous organizations and environmental campaigners say that critical mineral policies must consider the rights and interests of First Nations peoples throughout a project’s life cycle.

Forced evictions suppress Maasai spirituality & sacred spaces in Tanzania
- In March, the Tanzanian government issued a new round of eviction notices impacting Maasai communities: The first one was issued in Simanjiro district for the expansion of Tarangire National Park while the second was issued to eight villages for the expansion of the Kilimanjaro International Airport.
- Maasai elders and spiritual leaders say they fear and disapprove of the Tanzanian government’s decision of eviction that has disrupted their spiritual connection with their ancestral lands with about 70 sacred sites impacted since 2009.
- Sacred spaces are the pieces of land, rivers, water sources, oreteti trees, mountains and places designated by their ancestors as areas to carry out specific rituals and ceremonies.
- So far, more than 20,000 Maasai have been evicted from their lands, with some resisting and claiming compensation is dissatisfactory.

Caught in the net: Unchecked shrimp farming transforms India’s Sundarbans
- The Sundarbans region of India has experienced a significant shift from traditional agriculture to shrimp aquaculture due to erratic weather and increasing global demand for shrimp.
- This surge in shrimp farming has disrupted local communities, displacing them from their traditional livelihoods.
- The rapid expansion of shrimp farming in the Sundarbans is often conducted without proper scientific knowledge or technical training. Scientists warn that this will have long-term consequences.

UNESCO accused of supporting human rights abuses in African parks
- For years, human rights organizations have accused UNESCO of being either inattentive or complicit in the illegal evictions of communities and allegations of torture, rape and murder in several World Heritage Sites.
- These sites include biodiversity hotspots in Africa, including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania and the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo.
- Although UNESCO is not participating in these human rights abuses itself, organizations say, a few aspects of the agency’s policies and structure allow abuses to happen: lack of solid mechanisms to enforce human rights obligations, its requests for countries to control population growth in heritage sites and the agency’s internal politics.
- UNESCO strongly contests the statements made against the World Heritage Convention and Committee, which has made stronger human rights commitments, and says such multilateral institutions are in fact the best allies to defend human rights.

Nepal’s legal barriers hinder genetic research, forcing scientists to improvise
- Nepali researchers face significant challenges in conducting genetic studies due to lack of legislation to allow the export of biological samples, which hinders the quality and efficiency of their research.
- Researchers are forced to use under-equipped local labs or alternative methods such as museum samples, resulting in delayed and often unsatisfactory results that impact the validity of their studies.
- The government’s restrictions, partly motivated by fears of biopiracy and a lack of regulatory commitment, result in missed opportunities for advancing conservation science and better protecting Nepal’s biodiversity, researchers say.

The harsh, dangerous gig of seizing thousands of illegal cattle in the Amazon
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration has removed thousands of cattle from illegal areas in the Amazon, but the task is far from the end; only in Pará state, more than 217,000 animals have been illegally moved from protected areas in the past four years.
- Raids to remove these cattle herds are logistically challenging, involving long distances, many personnel, life threats and even traps left in the middle of dirt roads.
- Tracking illegal cattle is only possible through the GTA, a document issued by state agencies and overseen by the federal government, but even environmental agencies have trouble accessing this information.

Efforts to save Cambodia’s coast tread water as fish stocks plummet
- Along the coast of Cambodia, illegal fishing is driving fish stocks toward collapse and fishing communities into poverty.
- The Cambodian government’s capacity for and will to counter fisheries problems are minimal, and several government fisheries reform efforts are off track or behind schedule.
- As one multimillion-dollar foreign project to bolster government capacity and revive Cambodian fish stocks comes to an end, another is just kicking off.
- Whether these efforts to salvage Cambodia’s coastal resources will pay off depends on a range of factors and actors, but so far the plans implemented haven’t been enough to stave off the impending collapse of marine fish stocks.

Media must help reduce conflict between tigers and people in the Sundarbans (commentary)
- The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest, supporting millions of people and myriad wildlife, including endangered tigers, which are increasingly killed for the wildlife trade or in retaliation for attacks on humans.
- Media outlets rarely focus on the root causes of this conflict – habitat loss, poaching, and illegal trade – and yet they often sensationalize tiger attacks, painting a picture of bloodthirsty beasts preying on innocent humans.
- “We must learn to live harmoniously with nature, not try to dominate it. This includes recognizing the power of the media to shape our perceptions and using that power responsibly to foster coexistence,” a Bangladeshi journalist argues in a new op-ed.
- This post is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Cambodian companies tied to abuses promoted by UN program, rights group alleges
- The United Nations Development Programme’s internal watchdog is reviewing a complaint that a project led by the agency is platforming companies linked to human and environmental rights abuses.
- Local rights group Licadho had as early as December 2022 flagged the UNDP’s SDG Impact – Private Sector Capital project, which aims to assist in facilitating investment in Cambodian companies.
- Several of the companies promoted as “investment opportunities” by the project are linked to government and business bigwigs with track records of deforestation, illegal logging and forced evictions.
- Licadho said there was “no meaningful due diligence” by the UNDP in selecting the companies to promote, and that the project “lend[s] reputational support to companies with documented involvement” in issues as serious as child labor and trafficking in persons, among others.

Fishers left with no land, no fish, in fire sale of Cambodian coast
- Coastal communities in Cambodia are facing a double threat, from land and sea, as developers evict them from their homes and farms, and trawlers encroach on their nearshore fishing grounds.
- Illegal fishing, chiefly embodied by rampant, unchecked trawling in protected and prohibited waters, has devastated fish stocks, trashed marine ecosystems and left coastal communities in dire poverty.
- At the same time, the land is being sold out from under them: Nearly half of Cambodia’s coast has been privatized since 2000, with a slew of new projects tied to politically connected wealthy investors announced in the last five years, displacing families and closing off access to the sea.
- This is the second part of a Mongabay series about challenges faced by Cambodia’s small-scale fishers along the coast.

How real action on environmental justice comes from Latin America’s community alliances (commentary)
- Despite the regional Escazú Agreement coming into force in 2021 to ensure the protection of the environment and its defenders in Latin America, it is not being enacted and has still not been ratified by countries such as Peru, Brazil and Guatemala.
- Real action for environmental justice is rather coming from self-governed media and activism alliances forged between communities in different regions of Latin America, like the Black and Indigenous Liberation Movement (BILM), an Americas-wide network of grassroots groups working together to fight extractivism.
- “While we wait for states to act on environmental protection and to implement existing mechanisms like the Escazú Agreement and UNPFII goals, regional autonomous alliances like BILM are crucial for pushing this agenda forward and ensuring that strategies come from the grassroots,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Thai plan to relax fishing law stokes fear of return to illegal catches, worker abuse
- Thai lawmakers are discussing fisheries reforms that observers say risk undoing eight years of hard-won progress on human rights and ocean protection.
- Many of the proposed changes would amend reforms introduced nearly a decade ago following investigations that exposed rampant IUU fishing and associated worker abuses among Thailand’s infamous fishing fleets.
- Commercial fisheries representatives say the reforms are necessary to remove bureaucratic complexities and unfair penalties they claim have harmed the industry’s profitability since measures were introduced to address IUU and labor abuses.
- Some artisanal fishers and other observers say the proposed reforms would take Thailand in the wrong direction at a time when policymakers should be bolstering the country’s global reputation as a source of legal and sustainably caught seafood and protecting its resources and communities against the impacts of climate change.

In Belize, flawed conservation measures threaten small-scale fishers’ livelihoods (commentary)
- The Mesoamerican Reef stretches roughly 1,000 kilometers along the coastlines of Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Guatemala, and is an integral part of people’s livelihoods across the region.
- Belize in particular has garnered much praise for its conservation policies on the reef, which often include creation of new marine protected areas, but local fishing communities increasingly feel left out of such decisions.
- “If Belize is to live up to its image of a conservation-forward country and blue economy maven, both fisheries and marine protected areas management decisions must be made based on sound scientific advice and on the feedback of the communities,” a new op-ed says.
- This post is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Trial begins for Mother Nature Cambodia activists on conspiracy charge
- Ten environmental activists face up to a decade in prison as their trial gets underway in Cambodia on charges of plotting against the government.
- The members of Mother Nature Cambodia have long sought to highlight environmental harms being done around the country, including by powerful business and political elites.
- Six of them have already served time behind bars and have denounced what they say is a lack of justice from the state.

Bangladesh to formalize fire mitigation plans for Sundarbans as burning risk rises
- A recent fire in the eastern Sundarbans of Bangladesh has highlighted the rising risk of burning in the world’s biggest mangrove forest.
- The Bangladesh government says it’s drawing up guidelines to address the problem, which is attributed largely to human activity.
- A major factor for the fire risk is the drying out of the creeks and canals that crisscross through the Sundarbans, a consequence of embankments that were built to keep out seawater but that have also led to the buildup of river-borne silt.
- In 2022, Bangladesh began imposing a three-month ban, from June through August, on people entering the Sundarbans, but the policy has been widely criticized as unfair.

Chile to protect some salt flats, but selection lacks data, scientists say
- Ministers overseeing the Chilean government’s sustainability and climate change efforts have proposed a network of protected areas comprising 27 salt flats and lagoons, part of the country’s National Lithium Strategy.
- Another 26 salt flats will be exclusively used for exploration and extraction of lithium by national and international companies; two state-owned mining companies will lead operations in the country’s largest lithium reserves.
- Scientists and experts, however, have criticized the decision for not relying on scientific data.

As miner quells protests in Ecuador, Canadian firms’ rights record faces scrutiny
- In March, violent clashes erupted between Ecuadorian security forces and campesino farmers over prospects for the revival of a mining project that has been rejected by protestors for at least 15 years.
- The company behind the project, Atico Mining, called in hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel to quell the protests, in what critics say is a disturbing pattern of Canadian resource companies running roughshod over human and environmental rights in other countries.
- Human rights advocacy groups and Indigenous organizations say the Canadian government, especially the embassy in Quito, has failed to safeguard human rights and environmental obligations despite its legal duties to do so.
- A spokesperson for the Canadian foreign ministry said the government expects Canadian companies operating abroad to abide by internationally respected guidelines on responsible business conduct — then cited guidelines that aren’t legally binding.

Will a billionaire bankroll biodiversity? CBD Decision 15/9 as potential ‘goldmine’ (commentary)
- Decision 15/9 established a “multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources” during COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) last year.
- Hundreds of billions of dollars are needed to finance biodiversity conservation, especially in mega-diverse nations, and Decision 15/9 could be a goldmine, but for whom?
- “Decision 15/9 can be either a goldmine for the mega-diverse Parties to the CBD or for select stakeholders, but not for both. Fairness and efficiency require that economic rents be vetted,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary, the first in a series of three on this topic by this writer. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Bangladesh island’s switch from solar power to fossil fuels threatens birds
- The Bangladesh government recently converted off-grid Nijhum Dwip Island in the Bay of Bengal into an on-grid locality powered by fossil fuel-fired plants, posing a threat to the country’s second-largest mangrove forest.
- The island’s inhabitants had depended on individual solar-run power, and the government planned to install a mini solar grid for an uninterrupted power supply a few years back.
- Instead, the government has facilitated the construction of a 15 megawatt heavy-fuel-run power plant at Hatiya, the subdistrict headquarters of Nijhum Dwip, under the ‘100% Reliable and Sustainable Electrification Project,’ which seems to be a reverse transition from renewable to fossil fuel-based electrification.
- Nature conservationists believe that due to the connection to the national grid, human activities will increase around the forest and endanger the already cornered wildlife of the national park on the island.

From polling stations to weather stations, the heat is on in India (commentary)
- Parts of India are facing a heatwave, for which the heat in the state of Kerala is a curtain raiser. Kerala experienced its first recorded heatwave amid the ongoing election campaign.
- Heatwaves, droughts and floods do not distinguish along political lines. If the destruction is across board, the mitigating action also has to be across political lines, writes Mongabay-India’s Managing Editor, S. Gopikrishna Warrier, in this commentary.
- Climate change poses economic, social and political challenges, influencing election discourse and policy agendas.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Rights groups call for greater public input in ASEAN environmental rights framework
- Civil society and Indigenous rights groups are calling for greater public participation and transparency in the drafting process of what they say could be a pivotal agreement to protect environmental rights and defenders in Southeast Asia.
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) declaration on environmental rights was initially envisioned as a legally binding framework, but the scaling back of the level of commitment to a nonbinding declaration has raised concerns among observers.
- Groups are calling for an extension of the public consultation period, which lasted for only one month, and greater commitments to address key issues in the region, such as strengthening Indigenous rights, access to environmental information and justice, and clarifying mechanisms for resolving transboundary development impacts.
- If the treaty remains non-legally binding, its ultimate success will depend largely on the political will of each separate ASEAN state and on the continued efforts of civil society to hold their governments accountable.

Is the extractive sector really favorable for the Pan Amazon’s economy?
- The Pan Amazon is an important source for several key industrial raw materials. Although financially, its minerals sector is minor within the world economy, the economy of Amazonian countries is highly dependent on extractive activities.
- Extractive industries in the region play a strategic role. Without them, Brazil would suffer a major economic disruption from mineral revenues, and the impact would be catastrophic for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
- Most other countries in the Pan Amazon region return only a portion of royalties from revenues to local jurisdictions, while corporate income taxes go to the central government. However, despite criticism on lack of investment in Amazonian hinterlands, local governments continue to support extractive industries.
- None of the money from royalties is allocated to conservation, nor is any allocated to the remediation of the environmental impacts linked to its exploitation.

In a Himalayan Eden, a road project promises opportunity, but also loss
- In Nepal’s sacred Tsum Valley, Buddhist community members are conflicted about the ongoing construction of a road that will pass through the region.
- The Tsum Valley is one of the few, if not last, remaining beyul, or sacred valleys, governed by customary and Buddhist laws, where humans and wildlife have lived together in harmony for more than a millennium.
- The valley has maintained its religious and cultural traditions that have conserved biodiversity and its cultural uniqueness due to its remote location.
- The road is part of a government project that aims to connect every town across the country, bringing economic development and government services closer to remote mountainous communities.

Apologies aren’t enough, Indigenous people say of Brazil dictatorship’s crimes
- After the Brazilian state apologized for the crimes perpetrated during the military dictatorship, the Krenak and Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous peoples are demanding the demarcation of their territories.
- The Krenak were tortured during the military regime, while the Guarani-Kaiowá were enslaved by farmers; both were forced from their lands.
- Violations also affected Indigenous peoples such as the Avá-Canoeiro, who were driven to the brink of extinction by years of persecution.

EU law to reduce deforestation is on a knife’s edge, will leaders act? (commentary)
- The landmark law to halt the import of products linked to global deforestation into the European Union is at a crucial stage.
- The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) could stand or fall in the coming days, depending on how the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, acts, and she should listen to the large chorus of corporations — many of whose industries are linked to deforestation — a new op-ed states.
- “It’s not every day that such a broad bench of companies encourages environmental and human rights regulation, and this thousands-strong corporate movement is worth celebrating. Von der Leyen can take heart in knowing she can act courageously for global forest protection, whilst maintaining considerable corporate support.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Uttarakhand limits agricultural land sales amid protests & tourism development
- Following widespread protests, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has issued orders to district magistrates to deny permission to sell agricultural lands to those outside the state.
- With just 14% of its land designated for agriculture and more than 65% of the population relying on agriculture, calls for legislation to safeguard residents’ land rights have intensified.
- With a lack of comprehensive, updated land records, monitoring the usage of farmlands for nonagricultural purposes has become challenging.
- Lack of employment opportunities and resources as well as shifting weather patterns and climate change have pushed numerous farmers to sell their land holdings.

Mexico’s avocado industry harms monarch butterflies, will U.S. officials act? (commentary)
- Every winter, monarch butterflies from across eastern North America migrate to the mountain forests in Mexico, but those forests are threatened by the rapidly expanding avocado industry.
- Avocado production in Mexico is tied to deforestation, water hoarding and violence, and much of the resulting crop is exported to the U.S.
- Conservation groups are urging the U.S. State Department, USDA and USTR to ban imports of avocados from recently deforested lands in Mexico.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Deforestation alerts in the Brazilian Amazon fall to a 5-year low
- Forest clearing detected by Brazil’s deforestation alert system fell to the lowest level in nearly five years.
- According to data released last week by the country’s space agency, INPE, deforestation registered over the past twelve months amounts to 4,816 square kilometers, 53% below the level this time last year.
- The drop in deforestation has occurred despite a severe drought affecting much of the Amazon basin.

UN puts spotlight on attacks against Indigenous land defenders
- At the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, experts called attention to the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples worldwide, exacerbated by intersecting interests in extractive industries, conservation, and climate mitigation.
- While Indigenous peoples are affected by the global trend of using criminal law to dissuade free speech and protests, the bulk of criminalization of Indigenous Peoples happens because of a lack of — or partial implementation of — Indigenous rights in national laws.
- Urgent actions are needed to address systemic issues, including legal reforms, enhanced protections for defenders, and concerted efforts to prevent and reverse the criminalization of Indigenous communities.

It will take 880 years to achieve UN ocean conservation goals, at this rate (commentary)
- Indigenous conservationist Angelo Villagomez will speak at the Our Ocean conference, one of the largest and highest profile conferences of its kind, this week in Athens, Greece.
- He plans to say that ocean conservation has lost momentum toward protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 and that a lot more needs to be done to address the human dimensions of conservation, including guaranteeing access rights, equity, and justice.
- “At this rate, raising the area of global ocean protection from 8% to 30% will take an additional 880 years,” he argues in a new op-ed.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Mato Grosso shelves environmental license application for Amazon dam
- The Mato Grosso government has halted the licensing for the Castanheira hydropower plant, proposed for construction in the Juruena River Basin, which would flood a 95-km2 [37-square-mile] area and directly affect Indigenous and rural communities in northern Mato Grosso state.
- Social movements in the area see this as a victory in a struggle that lasted more than a decade.
- The fact that the project was shelved does not mean it has been put to rest; Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy may still resubmit plans for the construction of the dam.

Land tenure lesson from Laos for forest carbon projects (commentary)
- Laos has lost approximately 4.37 million hectares of tree cover since 2001, and some suggest forest carbon projects could be a solution.
- However, these haven’t had a good track record in the nation, in part due to its land tenure rules — land is owned by the state but largely used by local communities through customary tenure arrangements — leading to misunderstandings between companies, communities, and government agencies.
- “Forest carbon projects should continuously engage in capacity-building for local communities and authorities, thus creating an enabling environment for just benefit-sharing, securing land tenure, and the sustainability of these projects to reduce emissions over the long term,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Expediting environmental policy: Interview with Bangladesh minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury
- Dhaka is considered to have some of the poorest air quality of any city in the world, the result of industrial-scale coal- and wood-burning brick kilns, diesel-powered vehicles, and ongoing construction work.
- At the same time, sea-level rise, shrimp cultivation and reduced water flow in its major rivers leave the southwestern part of the country barren for nearly half of the year due to saltwater intrusion.
- Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s newly appointed minister of environment, forest and climate change, has declared a 100-day baseline program to identify the various environmental issues in the country and possible solutions to overcome them.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Chowdhury emphasizes the need for strong coordination across government, political will and leadership, and increased awareness from the public to protect the environment and meet the country’s clean energy goals.

Agribusiness bill moves to block grassland protections in Brazilian biomes
- The Brazilian Congress is analyzing a bill that would leave all the country’s non-forestry vegetation unprotected, affecting an area twice the size of the United Kingdom.
- Behind the proposal are the interests of economic sectors such as agribusiness and real estate companies.
- The most affected biome would be the Pantanal wetlands, a Natural World Heritage Site known for its highly biodiverse grasslands and flooded fields.

In Nepal, environmental advocates fend off ‘anti-development’ smear
- Nepal’s political focus on large-scale infrastructure development has long raised environmental concerns, with projects like dams and highways lacking adequate safeguards.
- Despite international commitments and constitutional rights to a healthy environment, Nepal’s government faces challenges in implementing effective environmental policies.
- Conservationists advocating for nature and sustainable development say protecting ecosystems is important for both the planet and its people.
- They also rebuff accusations from politicians that they’re “anti-development,” saying supporting nature doesn’t mean being opposed to development.

Impunity for Cambodia’s exotic pet owners as trade outpaces legislation
- High-profile interventions by Cambodia’s former leader and weak legislation have allowed the illegal wildlife trade to persist largely in the open.
- The case of a gas station menagerie in western Cambodia is emblematic of the ease with which even endangered species can be bought and sold.
- The collection, owned by a police officer, includes cockatoos from Indonesia, marmosets and parakeets from South America, and a native gibbon.
- Authorities said they were aware of the collection, but were “following the format” set in the wake of their 2023 seizure of peacocks from a breeder, which culminated in them having to return the birds after then-prime minister Hun Sen criticized their actions.

Sumatra firefighters on alert as burning heralds start of Riau dry season
- On the northeast coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, the first of two annual dry seasons led to a spike in wildfires in some peatland areas in February.
- In the week ending March 2, Indonesian peatland NGO Pantau Gambut said 34 hotspots, possibly fires, were identified by satellite on peatlands in Riau province.
- Emergency services in the province have been concentrated to the east of the port city of Dumai, where a fire started in the concession of a palm oil company, according to local authorities.

Forest and climate scientists fear Biden delay on mature forest protection
- More than 200 forest ecologists and top climate scientists, including Jim Hansen and Michael Mann, have written the Biden administration urging it to quickly move forward on the president’s commitment to protect old-growth and mature forests on federal lands.
- The scientists made an urgent plea for an immediate moratorium on logging federal forests with trees 100 years old or older, many of which remain vulnerable to logging and dozens of timber sales nationally. They also asked for the establishment of substantive federal management standards to protect those forests.
- Federally owned old-growth and mature forests play an outsized role in storing carbon, offering a vital hedge against escalating climate change.
- At stake are 112.8 million acres (45.6 million hectares) of old-growth and mature forest on federal lands, according to a 2023 U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management inventory — an area larger than California. Less than a quarter of those forests are currently protected against logging.

Sumatra community faces up to ‘plasma’ disappointment after palm oil policy shift
- A 2022 investigation by Mongabay, the BBC and The Gecko Project found that hundreds of thousands of hectares of land had not been handed to communities by palm oil companies despite provisions in a 2007 law.
- In 2023, Indonesia’s Directorate-General of Plantations published updated rules stating that companies with licenses issued prior to 2007 would not be required to hand 20% of their concession to local farmers, although companies licensed after 2007 would still be required to do so.
- In Tebing Tinggi Okura on the island of Sumatra, a community is coming to terms with this change after a near two-decade dispute from which they hoped to win rights to farming land for hundreds of families.

As lightning strike fatalities increase, Bangladesh still has no reliable preventive measures
- Between 2011 and 2020, lightning strikes claimed the lives of 2,164 people, or nearly four people every week, in Bangladesh, according to the country’s disaster management department. However, a Bangladeshi NGO reports at least a thousand more lightning related fatalities between 2010 and 2021.
- Researchers linked the increased frequency of lightning with climate change; as for the increased death toll, they blamed the government’s inefficient protection measures, including the lack of tall trees.
- To reduce the number of fatalities, the government has started working on long-term solutions, such as installing lightning arresters and growing palm trees. Nevertheless, a significant sum of money is being squandered and nothing functions as expected, say experts.

New precedent as Afro-Brazilian quilombo community wins historic land claim
- The Afro-Brazilian community of Quilombo de Bombas in São Paulo state has welcomed a court ruling ordering the state to issue it with a land title to its ancestral territory located inside a state park.
- The ruling is historic because it’s the first time this kind of traditional community whose ancestral territory overlaps with a state protected area will receive a title.
- Government agencies involved in the process have acknowledged that quilombo inhabitants, known as quilombolas, have historically tended to be among the best environmental stewards in the country.
- Despite the win, most of the nearly 500 quilombos throughout Brazil remain officially unrecognized, with only one in eight quilombolas living in formally titled territories.

Not waiting for the government, Myanmar’s Karen people register their own lands
- Amid decades-long armed conflict with Myanmar’s central government, Indigenous Karen organizations and leaders are mapping and documenting their ancestral lands in a self-determination effort — without seeking government approval.
- Locals receive land title certificates that provide security to villagers, giving a sense of inheritance rights and protection against land-grabs from the government, megaprojects and extractive industries.
- They use geographic information systems (GIS), computer tools and systems to interpret, document and agree on lands and forest data.
- Participatory methods with local communities and supporting organizations have been used to map more than 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) of land, which includes reserved forests and wildlife sanctuaries.

Landslide in Philippines mining town kills nearly 100, prompts calls for action
- A Feb. 6 landslide in a gold mining village in the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao claimed nearly 100 lives and buried about 55 houses and a government office.
- The mining company was not held liable for the landslide, which occurred inside its concession but away from its mine mining operations; however, activists have called for more accountability by both the mining firm and the government.
- The area has previously been the site of deadly landslides, but neither the local government nor the company issued an evacuation order following landslide and flash flood warnings issued Feb. 4.
- The village that hosts the mine has been declared a “no build zone” since at least 2008, due to the high risk of landslides, but neither the village nor the mining operations have ever been relocated.

In Cambodia, an official’s cashew factory churns out timber from a protected forest
- A senior Cambodian official notorious for illegal logging appears to be carving out a vast swath of forest in what’s supposed to be a protected area in the country’s north.
- Satellite imagery suggests some 3,100 hectares (7,700 acres) of protected forest could be lost in a concession that activists and anonymous officials say has been awarded to a company led by Ouk Kimsan.
- Kimsan, who’s also the deputy governor of Preah Vihear province, denied owning a concession inside Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary — despite his company stating the opposite on its website.
- Community activists, who manage a slice of the protected area, say their complaints about illegal logging have been ignored by the provincial government, and blame a culture of corruption.

Postponement of century-old Indian Science Congress sparks controversy
- Almost every year since 1914, the Indian Science Congress has brought together a wide range of scientists, academics, students and even Nobel laureates in an event that has been central to the development of science throughout India.
- This year, the Indian Science Congress was postponed amid reports of controversy between the organizing body and the Indian government.
- Meanwhile, the Indian Science Congress Association has been accused of politicizing the event in recent years and providing a platform for pseudoscience, sparking protests among many in the scientific community.

Risky development in Uttarakhand: Interview with environmentalist Ravi Chopra
- Ravi Chopra, an esteemed environmentalist based in Uttarakhand, is renowned for his dedicated efforts to preserve natural resources within the Himalayan region.
- In 2019, the Supreme Court appointed Chopra as chair of a committee to review the controversial Char Dham highway construction project; he later resigned after construction proceeded despite the committtee’s findings that the project could pose significant risks to the ecologically fragile region.
- The Char Dham project drew international attention in November 2023, when a segment of a tunnel collapsed, trapping dozens of workers for 17 days.
- In a recent interview with Mongabay, Chopra discussed the environmental risks and hazards of development in Uttarakhand.

Brazil’s environmental David fights Congress’s agribusiness Goliath: Interview with Nilto Tatto
- Nilto Tatto heads the environmental caucus in Brazil’s lower house of Congress, where the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has suffered key legislative setbacks at the hands of the well-funded and organized agribusiness caucus.
- Tatto attributes the challenges to the more conservative candidates voted in at the 2022 elections, and the drop-off in international pressure and civil society scrutiny following Lula’s return to the presidency.
- He acknowledges the uphill task of taking on the powerful agribusiness lobby, saying the administration will never have a majority vote on environmental issues, and adds there needs to be a stronger civil society movement inside Brazil and abroad to put pressure on Congress.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Tatto also refutes the claim that given its weakened position, the administration is using the environmental agenda as a bargaining chip to get its economic plans approved.

Amazon catfish must be protected by the Convention on Migratory Species COP-14 (commentary)
- The latest Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (also known as the Bonn Convention) meeting (COP-14) is taking place in Uzbekistan this month, and the government of Brazil has proposed protections for two catfish species with extraordinary migrations, the dorado and piramutaba (manitoa).
- The dorado’s migratory journey for instance spans a distance of 11,000+ kilometers round trip, from the Andes to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the way it connects multiple ecosystems and feeds local and Indigenous fishing communities, but is under increasing threat.
- “During COP-14, the dorado and piramutaba will take a prominent place thanks to the Brazilian Government’s proposal to include them in CMS Appendix II…It is essential that the governments at the meeting adopt Brazil’s proposal,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

‘Healthy humans without a healthy planet is a logical fallacy’: Interview with Dr. Sakib Burza
- Brought up watching nature’s grandeur in Indian Kashmir, Dr. Sakib Burza’s early inspiration in medicine began at home before he went on to work with Indigenous and local communities in tropical forest regions.
- Having worked in communities responding to the impacts of droughts and climate shocks, he says improved planetary health is crucial for better human health, and that health problems are often the symptoms of climate change or environmental problems.
- At Health In Harmony, he leads medical projects with rainforest communities through the concept of radical listening and supporting their medical needs and livelihoods.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Dr. Burza lays out his argument for how and why the health of people and the planet are connected, and actions that can improve the state of both.

Critics push for more transparency at RFMOs that govern high seas fishing
- Around 17 regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) manage fishing in international waters, or the “high seas.”
- Scientists and civil society members have long criticized these international bodies for failing the high seas; many of the stocks they manage are overfished, research shows.
- Critics cite opaque decision-making as a key reason for conservation failures, and they’re making an increasingly vociferous case for RFMOs to become more transparent, citing their oversight of shared public resources.
- RFMO representatives, while citing internal rules as well as a need for privacy to maintain open negotiations among parties, point to recent steps toward transparency.

Mexico announces 20 new protected areas despite budget cuts
- Mexico recently announced 20 new protected areas covering roughly 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres) across the country.
- The protected areas, which include national parks, sanctuaries and flora and fauna protection areas, are located in the states of Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Chiapas and eight others, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of California.
- Mexico’s environmental agencies under the Obrador administration have been subjected to consistent cuts in funding since 2016, raising concerns among experts that the departments will not have the personnel or resources to protect the country’s 225 protected areas.

Sanctioned timber baron wins new mining concessions in Cambodia’s Prey Lang
- A freeze announced late last year on new mining operations in Cambodia’s Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary comes with a massive loophole that benefits one of the country’s highest-profile deforesters.
- Try Pheap, a powerful tycoon and adviser to the previous prime minister, controls a company that was last year granted 28,000 hectares (69,000 acres) inside the sanctuary to mine iron ore.
- The name Try Pheap is synonymous with illegal logging in Cambodia, including the trafficking of high-value Siamese rosewood trees that drove the species almost to extinction in the country.
- While Try Pheap was hit by U.S. sanctions in 2019, his company that holds the mining concessions in Prey Lang, Global Green, isn’t on the sanctions list and appears to be ramping up its operations.

Guyana Amerindian communities fear Venezuela’s move to annex oil-rich region
- In Decemer, Venezuela’s president announced a series of measures and legislation to formalize the country’s possession of the oil-rich Essequibo region in Guyana, which he argues was stolen from Venezuela when the border was drawn more than a century ago.
- Venezuela has instructed the state’s oil and gas agencies to immediately grant operating licenses to explore and exploit oil, gas and mines in the Essequibo region, giving companies already operating in the area three months to leave.
- Amerindian communities in Guyana have raised concerns that Venezuela’s takeover may threaten decades-long battles for recognition of their customary lands and, in the process, endanger the region’s rich biodiversity.

Outcry over deforestation as Suriname’s agriculture plans come to light
- Government documents, first published by Mongabay last year, showed that hundreds of thousands of hectares of Suriname’s primary forest might be under consideration for agriculture development.
- Indigenous communities, conservation groups and some members of parliament are concerned about deforestation of the Amazon and the fate of ancestral territories.
- Some officials have threatened investigations into the Ministry of Land Policy and Forest Management, while Indigenous groups are looking into legal action.

Spain sanctions fishing vessels for illegally ‘going dark’ near Argentine waters
- The Spanish government sanctioned 25 of its vessels for illegally turning off their satellite tracking devices while fishing off the coast of Argentina between 2018 and 2021.
- Experts say ships that “go dark” by turning off their trackers often do so to partake in illicit behavior, such as crossing into a nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without authorization.
- While some have praised the Spanish government’s actions, one expert says he doesn’t believe the sanctions go far enough.
- Most fishing activity in this region is also unregulated and unmonitored, which raises environmental concerns.

Sumatra coffee farmers brew natural fertilizer as inflation bites
- Farmers in Indonesia’s Lampung province are making their own organic fertilizer in order to lessen reliance on volatile external supply chains.
- They’ve also diversified the number of crops they grow, interspersing avocado and candlenut trees among crops like coffee and vanilla.
- Advocates of organic farming maintain that techniques like those on display in Lampung can boost yields while countering some of the costs and negative impacts of chemical products.

Shrinking civil space and persistent logging: 2023 in review in Southeast Asia
- Home to the third-largest expanse of tropical rainforest and some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Southeast Asia has seen conservation wins and losses over the course of 2023.
- The year was characterized by a rising trend of repression against environmental and Indigenous defenders that cast a shadow of fear over the work of activists in many parts of the region.
- Logging pressure in remaining tracts of forest remained intense, and an El Niño climate pattern brought regional haze crises generated by forest fires and agricultural burning returned.
- But some progress was made on several fronts: Most notably, increasing understanding of the benefits and methods of ecosystem restoration underpinned local, national and regional efforts to bring back forests, mangroves and other crucial sanctuaries of biodiversity.

Reports allege abuses by Glencore in Peru and Colombia, and the banks funding them
- Mining giant Glencore continues to commit serious environmental and human rights violations in its mines in Peru and Colombia despite public promises to respect human rights and the environment, according to three news reports by advocacy organizations.
- The reports document cases of air and water pollution, extensive environmental damage, lack of consultation with communities, and restricting access to land.
- European banks and investors, including Groupe BPCE, HSBC, Abrdn and BNP Paribas, hold the largest investments in Glencore, pumping $44.2 billion into the company between 2016 and 2023.
- Glencore denies the allegations made against it and says it has continued to make progress on its climate targets and remains on track to meet its environmental and human rights commitments.

Conservationists in Nepal say government must step up in coming years
- In 2023, scientists, conservationists and activists in Nepal shared with Mongabay the successes, setbacks and challenges they face working with species ranging from the red panda to the fishing cat.
- Though a diverse group, most highlighted a common theme: urging the government to institutionalize and sustain hard-won conservation gains and emphasizing the need for the benefits of biodiversity to reach local communities for long-lasting impact.
- They spoke of the importance of ramping up community-based conservation efforts, especially in community forests and areas outside protected zones, and raising awareness that conservation isn’t solely about tourism income but also about preserving the environment for future generations.
- Funding for less-prominent species remains an issue, they said, as does the need to balance conservation needs with community interests and the ongoing spate of large-scale infrastructure building and development.

Violent evictions are latest ordeal for Kenya’s Ogiek seeking land rights
- On Nov. 2, a joint force of the police, the Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Wildlife Service moved to evict 700 Ogiek households from the edges of the Maasai Mau Forest.
- But the African Court on Human and People’s Rights had in 2017 ordered the government to recognize the Ogiek claim to the forest, involve them in its management, and pay damages for earlier evictions.
- The government still hasn’t acted on the court’s rulings, instead accusing the Ogiek of responsibility for the destruction of as much as 2,800 hectares (7,000 acres) of forest.
- But the African Court found no evidence the Ogiek are responsible for this damage, and Ogiek leaders want collective titles to the forest to be formally granted, so the group’s members can live in peace on their ancestral land.

New dams in Cambodia pit ‘green’ hydropower against REDD+ project
- The recent approval of two hydropower dams in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains could undermine a REDD+ carbon project in the area.
- The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project relies on keeping the forests in this region standing — a goal researchers say is “completely incompatible” with the forest clearing and flooding necessitated by the new dams.
- The lack of transparency inherent in both the carbon market and the Cambodian government means that the fate of the Cardamoms remains unclear for now.

‘The police are watching’: In Mekong countries, eco defenders face rising risks
- Activists, journalists, environmental lawyers and others who raise attention for environmental issues in the Mekong region say they feel threatened by authoritarian governments.
- Environment defenders say they feel under surveillance and at risk both in their home countries and abroad.
- The risks they face include violence and arrests, as well as state-backed harassment such as asset freezes and smear campaigns.

Suriname preparing to clear Amazon for agriculture, documents suggest
- The government of Suriname is weighing a series of land deals that would allow the Ministry of Agriculture and a group of private entities to carry out agriculture, livestock and aquaculture activities on hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, most of it Amazon Rainforest.
- The Amazon covers 93% of Suriname’s total land area, making agricultural development an especially sensitive issue in the country.
- Five private entities are involved in the deals, with an interest in commodities like soy and cashews.

Germany signals boost in support for Brazil through Amazon Fund
- Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, spoke to Mongabay about new cooperation with the Brazilian government.
- According to him, the COP28 climate summit in Dubai will be an opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries and set targets for reducing deforestation in the Amazon.
- “Once the government is committed to forestry and environmental policy, of course we’ll be ready to support it,” Flasbarth says.

Glencore’s coal expansion plans face shareholder and Indigenous opposition
- Swiss-based mining giant Glencore says it plans to challenge the proposed listing of a heritage site, the Ravensworth Homestead, that could deter the planned expansion of its Glendell coal mine.
- Glencore, the largest coal producer in Australia, faces criticism from shareholders for its lack of transparency on how it plans to meet its climate targets, especially in light of proposed thermal coal mine expansions in the country.
- Listing the homestead, which is a culturally significant site for the Indigenous Wonnarua people, is now being reconsidered by heritage officials after a process that sources say has dragged on.
- The Glendell mine is one of several that could increase their emissions under a loophole in the government’s revised “safeguard mechanism” that’s intended to bind the mining sector to a reduction in emissions.

Indigenous farmers’ hard work protects a Philippine hotspot, but goes overlooked
- A Pala’wan Indigenous community’s organic farming practices, using a mix of traditional, modern and agroforestry techniques, is successfully conserving old-growth forests and watersheds in the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, a biodiversity hotspot.
- However, the farmers face many challenges, including low profits, lack of access to markets, and nearby mining operations, and say they wouldn’t want their children to follow in their footsteps.
- Experts say the government should provide more incentives to these farmers who support conservation in a protected area in the form of direct subsidies, transportation and performance-based rewards for providing the ecosystem services that society depends on.
- Mantalingahan, also a candidate for a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing, is home to 11 out of the 12 forest formations found in the Philippines and hosts 33 watersheds.

Colombian wind farm end-of-life raises circularity and Indigenous questions
- Jepírachi, Colombia’s first wind farm, is waiting to be dismantled after reaching its end of life, but the process itself and the project’s legacy remain uncertain.
- Across the world, first-generation wind projects are becoming obsolete, and disposing of the equipment, especially of the wind blades, is challenging circularity goals; currently, most blades are used in cement factories.
- Three Wayuu communities depend on the desalination plant created by the wind farm company for their clean water, but now the communities question the future of their water security.

Abandoned oil mess still plagues communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon
- The environmental damage caused more than half a century of oil activity in Ecuador’s Amazon are multiplying yearly without effective remediation by the government or the oil companies responsible.
- To date, there are 1,107 recorded “environmental liabilities” and another 3,568 sites in the Ecuadorian Amazon labeled by the environment ministry as “sources of contamination.”
- Although Ecuador has been extracting oil since the 1970s, there is a lack of research, data and statistics on the health conditions of the local populations directly affected by these extractions, who are now calling for an urgent investigation.
- State-owned oil company Petroecuador EP has inherited the responsibility for the environmental waste sites caused by Texaco, now part of U.S. oil major Chevron.

Ahead of COP28, pope spurs policymakers, faith leaders to push climate action
- In his October 4 papal declaration, Pope Francis called unequivocally for climate action in the face of a disastrously warming world.
- The pope’s message comes at a decisive time, as world leaders prepare to meet for the COP28 summit, in a United Nations climate process that many critics say is broken and has largely stalled since the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.
- The pope’s call for action also comes at a time when the world’s faith-based climate movement — which was greatly energized by Paris, and which has had some notable successes since then — is struggling.
- Mongabay spoke with faith leaders, theologians and policymakers to assess the challenges that Francis’ message presents, and whether it can reinvigorate global religious leaders and spur the grassroots faithful to political and social action on the environment. Reportedly, Francis may travel to COP28 to press his message in person.

Oil firm Perenco eyes new blocks in DRC amid criticism of its track record
- Oil multinational Perenco has bid on two new oil blocks being auctioned off by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Perenco operates the country’s only oil production facilities, at Muanda, near the mouth of the Congo River.
- Local and international critics accuse the oil company of polluting the environment, affecting fishing and farming, as well as residents’ health; the company denies this.

Mine in ‘world cobalt capital’ displaces locals and monks under questionable circumstances
- Local residents living in the DRC’s ‘cobalt capital of the world’ are being forced to relocate in order to make way for a mine owned by Chinese company COMMUS (Compagnie miniere de Musonie).
- The relocation process is being done under questionable circumstances, including providing compensation payments under the table which don’t always meet amounts needed to buy a decent home, contradictory statements, lack of consultation, and few traces of written documentation to fact-check claims made by local government officials, the mining company and displaced people.
- The demand for cobalt, a critical mineral for the clean energy transition, is expected to increase and lead to the eviction of communities who find themselves living above their deposits, say energy experts.
- The mining company’s lawyer says the relocation process is happening fairly, payments are calculated alongside officials and civil society groups, and the land and buildings, like schools, rather belong to the company’s owners.

Ken Burns discusses heartbreak & hope of ‘The American Buffalo,’ his new documentary
- Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough spoke with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about his upcoming documentary, “The American Buffalo,” which premieres in mid-October.
- The buffalo was nearly driven to extinction in the late 1800s, with the population declining from more than 30 million to less than 1,000, devastating Native American tribes who depended on the buffalo as their main source of food, shelter, clothing and more.
- The film explores both the tragic near-extinction of the buffalo as well as the story of how conservation efforts brought the species back from the brink.
- Burns sees lessons in the buffalo’s story for current conservation efforts, as we face climate change and a new era of mass extinction.

Indigenous community fighting a mine in Palawan wins a milestone legal verdict
- Following petitions by Indigenous communities in Palawan, the Philippine Supreme Court issued a writ mandating a nickel mining project and associated government agencies respond to the communities’ environmental concerns.
- The issuance of the writ is an initial step in a legal process activists say they hope will result in the permanent suspension of the nickel mine, which is operating within a protected area.
- While the legal process is currently on hold due to a court recess, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples issued the mine a cease-and-desist order the same day the court issued the writ.

São Paulo Indigenous community pins its territorial hopes on a new village
- Members of São Paulo’s Jaraguá Guarani Indigenous community have founded a new village on land they claim is ancestrally theirs.
- The Guarani are seeking recognition from the Brazilian government for a total of 532 hectares (1,315 acres) of land in the São Paulo area that’s home to some 800 Indigenous people.
- But a bill working its way through Congress could nix that claim; if passed, any claims to land occupied after the cutoff date of Oct. 5, 1988, would be rejected.
- Government officials including the minister of Indigenous peoples and the head of the Indigenous affairs agency recently visited the Guarani village to offer support, but said no official demarcation will happen this year.

New concession in Botum Sakor National Park handed to Cambodia’s Royal Group
- Cambodia’s Botum Sakor National Park continues to be carved up and its ostensibly protected land awarded to private developers with close links to the country’s ruling party.
- In the latest development, approved Jan. 25 but only announced Aug. 14, local conglomerate Royal Group was awarded a 9,968-hectare (24,631-acre) concession that adjoins another land parcel it received in the park in 2021.
- This leaves Botum Sakor with 20,000 hectares (less than 50,000 acres) of land that’s not in private hands, or just one-ninth of its original area when it was declared a national park in 1993.
- Civil society groups have expressed concern over the lack of transparency surrounding the new concessions being issued in Cambodia’s protected areas, especially when the recipients are tycoons with reputations for illegal logging, forced evictions and environmental destruction.

From grassroots to government, Singapore takes lead in tackling e-waste
- The disposal and recycling of electrical and electronic waste is a huge problem in land-starved Singapore, which generates an estimated 60,000 metric tons of e-waste annually.
- Innovative legislation enacted by Singapore’s government in 2019 puts the onus on producers to collect used electrical appliances and electronic goods and send them to sorting and recycling facilities.
- At the community level, a volunteer-driven initiative called Repair Kopitiam relies on an army of tech-savvy volunteers who work out of community centers to repair people’s old appliances and electronics.
- E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world; studies estimate e-waste generated annually will increase from 50 million metric tons today to 120 million by 2050, so lessons learned from Singapore’s groundbreaking law could guide other nations and communities around the globe to deal effectively with e-waste.

Sumatra women farmers celebrate court win against China-backed zinc mine
- A court in Indonesia’s capital has ordered the cancellation of an environmental permit for PT Dairi Prima Mineral, an Indonesia-based mining company majority-owned by a Chinese enterprise.
- The July 24 ruling throws new uncertainty over the zinc and lead project, which was first given permission to operate in 1998.
- International scrutiny of the proposed mine has focused on designs for the mine’s tailings pond, which engineers have characterized as a potential disaster.
- The lawsuit, filed by women farmers from Dairi district, was directed at the environment ministry, which can still appeal the ruling.

Can land titles save Madagascar’s embattled biodiversity and people?
- Through its Titre Vert or Green Title initiative, the Malagasy government is opening up a path to land ownership for its most vulnerable citizens in the hopes it will help tackle hunger, internal migration, and forest loss.
- The state is using the initiative to lean on potential migrants to remain in the country’s deep south, where five years of failed rains have left 2 million people hungry, instead of migrating north, where they are often blamed for social tensions and for destroying forests.
- This March, the Malagasy government started work on a Titre Vert enclave in the Menabe region, a popular destination for migrants from the drought-hit south, to dissuade them from clearing unique dry forests to grow crops.
- Critics say the government is holding people back in a rain-starved region without providing enough support; in Menabe, backers of the project hope to provide ample assistance to get migrants out of the forests and onto their feet.

The oil debt: More than 6,000 polluted sites fester across Amazonian countries
- A joint investigation by Mongabay Latam, La Barra Espaciadora, Cuestión Pública and El Deber looked into the impacts of oil industry activity in Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru.
- Although more than 8,000 contaminated sites have been identified by the various governments, most of them have not been cleaned completely.
- Our journalists found forgotten oil pits, contaminated soil, abandoned oil wells, and wetlands covered in crude oil across Amazonian territories.

Macron touts forest conservation while promoting gas project on PNG visit
- During a recent visit to Papua New Guinea, French President Emmanuel Macron spent time with both fossil fuel executives and conservationists.
- Macron attended a presentation on the Managalas Conservation Area, which is supported by France as well as other European countries, and praised Indigenous peoples’ protection of the forest.
- During Macron’s visit, French firm TotalEnergies voted to undertake construction of a $10 billion liquefied natural gas project that will release an estimated 220 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Elephant encounters rattle farmers in Indonesia’s Jambi province
- On the island of Sumatra, oil palm farmers blame a pair of translocated elephants for a rampage they say caused the worst damage to their crops in a decade.
- The two bull elephants were translocated in an effort to get them to breed with local females.
- Only 924-1,359 elephants are thought to remain in the wilds of Sumatra, a decline of more than half over a decade prior.

Cambodia awards swath of national park forest to tycoon Ly Yong Phat’s son
- A Cambodian tycoon notorious for his association with illegal logging has expanded his grip over the country’s largest national park, with a swath of forest awarded to his son’s rubber company.
- This gives Ly Yong Phat, a ruling party senator, and his family members effective control of tens of thousands of hectares of land inside Botum Sakor National Park.
- The carving up of the park, awarded in parcels to politically connected tycoons, has led to widespread deforestation that’s driven both people and wildlife out of Botum Sakor.
- Longtime residents evicted by Ly Yong Phat’s various operations in the park have protested to demand their land back, but to no avail, with many even being jailed for their activism.

Seaweed farmers in eastern Indonesia struggle in a changing climate
- Seaweed farmers in Indonesia are losing out on revenue from their harvests as a result of erratic weather patterns and warming waters — signs of climate change impacts.
- The warming seas encourage the growth of a bacteria that attacks the commercially valuable Eucheuma cottonii species of seaweed.
- To avoid this, farmers are harvesting their crops earlier, before the seaweed grows to the optimal size, giving them a smaller yield and lower revenue at the market.
- The farmers have devised some workarounds to adapt to the situation, but say these solutions can’t be sustained in the face of a changing climate.

Cambodian conglomerate sparks conflict in Botum Sakor National Park
- For decades Cambodia’s Botum Sakor National Park has been carved up and the land handed out to companies as economic concessions, at the expense of the ecosystem and local communities.
- In 2021, a massive swath of the park, including its densest expanse of forest, was handed over to the Royal Group, led by politically connected business tycoon Kith Meng.
- While the companies developing the national park promised jobs, as well as homes with running water and electricity, and access to schools and health centers, none of this has materialized, affected residents say.
- Royal Group’s presence, and the threat of more companies grabbing a piece of the park, has instead sparked disputes that residents acknowledge they’re likely to lose.

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