topic: Green

topic: Green

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Philippines’ newest marine protected area ‘sets inspiring example’ (commentary)
- Nestled in the heart of the Coral Triangle, one of the most biodiverse marine regions on the planet, Panaon Island is a jewel of the Philippines’ natural heritage.
- Despite its biodiversity, Panaon Island faces growing threats, so a broad coalition of community leaders, environmental advocates and government agencies have rallied to designate the waters surrounding it as a new marine protected area (MPA).
- But safeguarding marine habitats requires more than designations and new maps. “Marine protected areas need proper funding, active monitoring and strong enforcement to prevent illegal activities from undermining conservation,” a new op-ed says.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Navigating the complex world of reforestation efforts
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Reforestation has become a feel-good global rallying cry. From corporations touting “net zero” targets to philanthropies seeking visible impact, planting trees has become shorthand for planetary repair. Yet behind the glossy photos of saplings and smiling farmers lies […]
From Kalimantan’s haze to Jakarta’s grit: A journalist’s journey
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Indonesia’s environmental challenges can feel overwhelming when taken as a whole. A country said to contain more than 17,000 islands, it holds the world’s third-largest tropical rainforest and a resource economy that has reshaped much of that landscape. […]
The vanishing pharmacy: How climate change is reshaping traditional medicine
- Climate change is threatening medicinal plants globally, with rising temperatures, shifting rainfall and habitat loss causing species to lose suitable habitats and face extinction, jeopardizing health care for the 80% of the world’s population that relies on traditional medicine.
- Environmental stress from extreme weather is altering the chemical composition of medicinal plants, changing their therapeutic properties and making traditional remedies less predictable or effective.
- The loss of these plants means losing not only potential sources for pharmaceutical development (more than 70% of modern drugs derive from natural compounds) but also millennia of Indigenous and traditional knowledge, cultural practices and spiritual connections to healing.
- Communities worldwide are fighting back through conservation efforts including creating medicinal plant gardens, developing alternative species lists, training new healers, documenting traditional knowledge and combining agroforestry with forest restoration to protect their health care systems.

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.

What would this scientist tell Trump? Interview with Robert Watson, former chair of the IPCC
- This week, the UN Environment Program launched the Global Environment Outlook 7 (GEO-7), a stark assessment that comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s dismissal of climate change as a “con job.”
- In this context, Mongabay interviewed GEO-7 co-chair Sir Robert Watson about what to tell a political leader who rejects the science.
- “The evidence is definitive,” says Watson, who argues that countries must rethink their economic and financial systems and that science must be heard in the rooms where power lies.

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, elephant protector, has died at 83
- Iain Douglas-Hamilton was a pioneering elephant researcher who spent nearly 60 years studying Africa’s elephants, beginning in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park with the first scientific study of elephant behavior in the wild.
- A leading voice against the ivory trade, he helped drive the 1989 global ban after witnessing devastating population declines in the 1970s and 1980s.
- As founder of Save the Elephants, he advanced GPS tracking and new conservation strategies that transformed protection efforts across Africa.
- Also a mentor and advocate, Douglas-Hamilton is celebrated for his communication skills and unwavering belief that protecting elephants is a generational responsibility — a mission that continues through the people and systems he helped build.

Balancing evidence and empathy in an age of doubt
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. People often say that good journalism requires a 30,000-foot view. I’ve found the opposite to be true. The stories that move the world rarely start in boardrooms or at summits; they start with someone standing knee-deep in a […]
A new ‘fairy lantern’ species is found at a Malaysian picnic site
In November 2023, naturalist Gim Siew Tan chanced upon an unusual plant with whitish-peach flowers growing near the buttress of a tree at a popular picnic site in Hulu Langat Forest Reserve in Selangor, Malaysia. Researchers subsequently collected and analyzed specimens of the plant and found that it was a new-to-science species of “fairy lantern” […]
New underwater acoustic camera identifies individual fish sounds, helping track threatened species
- More than 35,000 species of fish are believed to make sounds, but less than 3 percent of species have been recorded.
- A new audio and visual recording device allowed scientists to identify the most extensive collection of fish sounds ever documented under natural conditions.
- Labeling the unique sounds of fish will allow conservationists to better track the behaviors, locations, and populations of threatened fish species.

Reforestation and wild pig decline spark surge in miniature deer in Singapore
- Once thought extinct in Singapore, a little-known species of miniature deer has reemerged in unprecedented numbers on a small island reserve in the Johor Strait.
- Researchers documented the greater mouse-deer thriving on Pulau Ubin at the highest population density recorded anywhere in the species’ range.
- The team put the surge down to increased availability of prime habitat following a decade of forest restoration, as well as reduced competition for food after the collapse of the island’s wild pig population due to African swine fever.
- Experts say the dramatic “ecological cascade” underscores the need for long-term, ecosystem-wide monitoring throughout Southeast Asia, particularly at sites impacted by sudden shifts triggered by disease.

East African court dismisses controversial oil pipeline case in setback to communities
On Nov. 26, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) dismissed an appeal filed by four African NGOs, marking the end of a landmark case against the construction of a contentious oil pipeline. The case against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), expected to become the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world, […]
Lemurs are at risk. So are the people protecting them.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Patricia Wright arrived in Madagascar nearly four decades ago to look for a lemur thought to be extinct. She found it, along with a new species, and then ran headlong into a broader reality: protecting wildlife would depend […]
Another threat to reefs: Microplastic chemicals may harm coral reproduction
- Plastic pollution is a growing problem in many reef ecosystems, and its effects are not well understood.
- Most previous research has focused exclusively on adult corals and their interactions with plastic particles, rather than larval stages of coral or the chemicals from plastic that leach into water.
- In a new study, researchers exposed coral larvae from two different species to four different plastic chemicals and found that they negatively impacted coral larvae settlement.

How dropping ads set us free to focus on impact
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, Mongabay’s senior marketing associate, recently interviewed me about my journey with Mongabay. Here’s my response to his question about pivoting our business model. The transition in 2012 was a turning point. At the time, the advertising […]
Peregrine falcons retain trade protections, despite downlisting bid by Canada and US
The U.S. and Canada have failed in their bid to loosen restrictions on the international trade in peregrine falcons, with delegates to CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, voting against it at an summit underway in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The two countries had submitted a joint proposal to move peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) from CITES Appendix […]
Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died
- After the death of her daughter Karen in 1991 and her dying wish to “do something good for sea turtles,” Jean Beasley committed herself to sea turtle conservation on Topsail Island, North Carolina.
- She founded the state’s first sea turtle rehabilitation center, beginning in a cramped 900-square-foot space and growing it into a respected 13,000-square-foot hospital and public education facility in Surf City.
- Beasley valued both direct action and education, believing that saving one turtle mattered but inspiring others—especially children—to care about the ocean could save many more.
- Her decades of work helped protect more than 3,000 nests and rehabilitate at least 1,600 turtles, while also motivating future conservationists and proving that a daughter’s dying wish could become a movement of hope.

Saving critical winter habitat for monarch butterflies may depend on buy-in from their human neighbors
- Monarch butterflies are in decline largely because of habitat degradation, including in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the forested mountains of Central Mexico.
- Researchers looked at aerial and satellite photography of forest cover in the Reserve over 50 years, assessing the impact of the Reserve’s protective decrees on logging.
- They found that implementation of logging bans worked well when the local community was consulted and compensated, and poorly when done without their involvement.

Unequal access to nature: Few outdoor spaces in Europe and the U.S. accommodate sensory, mental disabilities
- Of the 193 members of the United Nations, 164 signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, agreeing to provide access as a right for all people to effectively participate in society, but many fall short when it comes to outdoor spaces.
- Researchers reviewed accessibility features provided by UNESCO Biosphere Reserves for physical, sensory, mental, and cognitive disabilities.
- They found that while more than half of the Reserves provide access for people with some physical disabilities, most do not appear to accommodate sensory, cognitive, or mental disabilities.

Extinctions ‘already happening’ in Wales as report lists 3,000 at-risk species
Nearly 3,000 species in the country of Wales, in the U.K., are now found in just a handful of locations, according to a recent report. These species include hundreds of plants, fungi and mosses, as well as 25 bird, six mammal, five freshwater fish and one amphibian species. The report, produced by Natural Resources Wales […]
Predators in peril: Protected areas cover just a fraction of global carnivore ranges
- Globally, human impacts threaten the ranges of carnivores that depend on large swaths of natural land to survive.
- A new study found that a majority of the total, combined range of land-dwelling carnivores falls outside of land designated for habitat conservation.
- Researchers determined that Indigenous lands are particularly important for supporting carnivore ranges.

Critical minerals dropped from final text at COP30
Delegates at last month’s U.N. climate change summit, or COP30, adopted a new mechanism to coordinate action on a just energy transition worldwide toward a low-carbon economy, away from fossil fuels. However, a proposal at the conference in Brazil to include language on critical minerals within the mechanism’s scope was scrapped at the last minute […]
Octopuses use their arms to sense and respond to microbiomes on the seafloor
- Octopus suckers can sense and react to microbiomes in their environment.
- Distinct microbial populations on objects relevant to the octopus’s survival, like eggs and prey, inform the animal’s behavior.
- Scientists found that in response to different microbial signals, chemotactile receptors trigger reflexive responses in octopus suckers and arms.

The long life of a Galápagos tortoise
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. She moved slowly, as if time were something best savored. Visitors leaned over railings or knelt at the edge of her enclosure as she stretched her neck toward a leaf of romaine. Children noted she was older than […]
Lemurs are being eaten as an urban delicacy in Madagascar
- Lemur meat has become a discreet urban delicacy in Madagascar, with an estimated 13,000 lemurs sold annually in surveyed cities—mostly through hidden hunter-to-client channels.
- Peri-urban hunters run efficient one-stop operations, earning up to a third of their cash income from lemur sales while traveling long distances to harvest increasingly rare species.
- Wealthier consumers fuel demand based on perceptions of taste, luxury, and health benefits, with little fear of legal consequences and high prices reinforcing the status of lemur dishes.
- The trade targets vulnerable species, peaks during breeding season, and threatens rapid population declines; effective responses require firearm regulation, alternative livelihoods for hunters, and demand-focused strategies.

Indian megacities are sinking putting thousands of buildings at risk: Study
Parts of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, India’s largest cities, are slowly sinking, mainly due to overextraction of groundwater, according to a recent study, reports Mongabay India’s Manish Chandra Mishra. Researchers used eight years of satellite radar data and found that 878 square kilometers (339 square miles) of land across the five megacities show […]
How religious beliefs may help protect Mentawai’s forests
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the Mentawai Islands rise from the Indian Ocean in a patchwork of forests and rivers where macaques, gibbons and hornbills thrive. Among the Indigenous Mentawai, an ancient cosmology called Arat Sabulungan […]
Island-confined reptiles face high extinction risk, but low research interest
Reptile species found only on islands are significantly more vulnerable to extinction than their mainland counterparts, yet remain vastly overlooked by researchers, according to a recent study. “Reptiles, partly due to their ability to endure long periods without food or water, are particularly effective island colonizers,” Ricardo Rocha, study co-author and an associate professor at […]
Chronic diseases prevalent across animals, but understudied: Study
From obesity in cats and dogs and osteoarthritis in pigs, to cancer in whales and high blood glucose in racoons, chronic diseases are increasingly becoming a concern across the animal world, a recent study finds. Most of these ailments can be traced back to human-driven changes, the author says. Antonia Mataragka, the study’s author from […]
Weather disasters are surging in the Amazon. Reporting isn’t.
The Amazon’s climate hazards are growing faster than governments can track.
TotalEnergies faces criminal complaint in France over alleged massacre in Mozambique
As French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies prepares to resume work on its multibillion-dollar offshore gas project in northern Mozambique, it faces a criminal complaint back home over its role in funding an army unit accused of torturing and executing dozens of civilians in 2021. The complaint was filed with France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor by […]
Mongabay Latam wins the Global Shining Light Award for investigative journalism
- Mongabay Latam has won the Global Investigative Journalism Network’s Global Shining Light Award for its investigation into illegal airstrips in the Amazon rainforest.
- Working with its partner Earth Genome, Mongabay Latam combined AI, drone footage, and interviews with more than 60 local sources to uncover a network of drug-trafficking airstrips in Peru. The reporting also documented links to violence and assassinations targeting Indigenous leaders and communities.
- The year-long investigation sparked national and international media coverage, caught the attention of lawmakers and authorities, and equipped Indigenous leaders with evidence to advocate for greater protections.
- The award was presented today at the 14th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC25) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A killing with precedent: Kaiowá man’s murder fits a pattern in Brazil
- Gunmen killed Vicente Kaiowá e Guarani on November 16th during a land-reclamation effort, in an attack his community says was carried out by organized militias rather than internal rivals.
- The Kaiowá of Pyelito Kue and Mbarakay face a long pattern of violence as they try to return to their tekoha, despite their territory being officially recognized but still undemarcated.
- Recent assaults—including multiple attacks in early November and clashes linked to pesticide drift—reflect a recurring cycle in which reoccupations are met with armed reprisals.
- Rights advocates say Vicente’s death underscores a broader failure of the state to enforce constitutional land rights, leaving the Kaiowá exposed to continued killings on territory that legally belongs to them.

Bearing witness to Indonesia’s environmental challenges: Sapariah Saturi
- Sapariah “Arie” Saturi grew up in West Kalimantan amid recurring forest and peatland fires, experiences that shaped her understanding of Indonesia’s environmental crises.
- After beginning her journalism career in Pontianak in the late 1990s, she joined Mongabay Indonesia at its inception and helped build it into a national environmental newsroom.
- As managing editor, she oversees a dispersed team of more than 50 reporters, beginning her days before dawn to edit stories, coordinate coverage, and guide investigations across the archipelago.
- Her commitment is grounded in independence, empathy, and the belief that environmental journalism can help communities, influence policy, and deepen public understanding of Indonesia’s overlapping crises.

Why don’t forest protectors get paid? asks Suriname’s president
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. At the U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP30, in Brazil, Suriname is taking a large step into the spotlight, reports Mongabay’s Max Radwin. With about 93% forest cover and a status as one of only three nations to boast […]
A forest worth more standing: Virgilio Viana on what it will take to protect the Amazon
The first time Virgilio Viana saw the Amazon up close, he was a 16-year-old with a backpack, two school friends and very little sense of what he was walking into. They arrived by land, drifting along dirt roads that had more potholes than surface, then continued by riverboat as the forest thickened around them. Something […]
Game of tiny thrones: Parasitic ants grab power by turning workers against their queen
Queens of some ant species have evolved an unusually hostile mode for colony takeover: they infiltrate colonies of other ant species and manipulate the worker ants into killing their own queen — their mother — then accepting the intruding queen as their new leader, according to a recent study. In the world of ants, where […]
Mongabay journalist Malavika Vyawahare honored with SEAL Award
Mongabay contributing editor Malavika Vyawahare has been awarded a 2025 SEAL environmental journalism award, which recognizes reporters covering the complexities of the environment and climate. “This award is a huge encouragement for me, as a journalist and as an exhausted toddler mom,” Vyawahare said. “It is also a recognition of the kind of work Mongabay […]
A slowdown, not salvation: what new extinction data reveal about the state of life on Earth
- Extinction rates appear to have slowed since their peak in the early 1900s, suggesting not a reprieve for nature but a shift in how and where losses occur. Much of the damage was concentrated on islands, where invasive species drove many native plants and animals to extinction.
- The study challenges the assumption that past extinction patterns predict future ones, highlighting major data gaps—especially for invertebrates—and warning that today’s threats stem mainly from habitat loss and climate change on continents.
- Conservation efforts have shown that targeted actions, such as invasive species removal and habitat restoration, can be highly effective, though success remains uneven and far smaller than the scale of global biodiversity loss.
- Even as outright extinctions slow, ecosystems continue to unravel through declining abundance, lost ecological knowledge, and homogenization of species—signs that life’s diversity is eroding in subtler but equally serious ways.

Gayatri Reksodihardjo-Lilley, who helped Indonesian communities restore their reefs, has died
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the shallows off northern Bali, where the reefs flicker with life and the sea carries the rhythm of work and prayer, a quiet revolution took root. Women who once had few choices began tending tanks of clownfish […]
Saalumarada Thimmakka, mother of trees, has died, aged 114
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Along a dusty road between Hulikal and Kudur in southern India, banyan trees rise like sentinels. Their thick roots grasp the earth, their canopies stretch wide, casting deep shade over the red soil. Travelers who pass beneath them […]
From rock music to rainforests: Akhyari Hananto’s unlikely path to impact
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Before dawn breaks over Surabaya, Indonesia’s “City of Heroes,” Akhyari Hananto is already at work. After morning prayers, he opens Google Analytics to watch the night’s reading patterns unfold — what stories drew attention, which headlines resonated, and […]
TotalEnergies moves to restart Mozambique LNG project despite security, eco concerns
Four years after suspending operations at a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique’s Afungi Peninsula following insurgent attacks in the nearby village of Palma, French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies and its partners have decided to lift their force majeure, local media reported. The company communicated the decision to the Mozambican government on Oct. 24. […]
At her memorial, a call to carry Jane Goodall’s hope forward
- Jane Goodall’s memorial at Washington National Cathedral brought together scientists, diplomats, activists, and children for a service rooted in gratitude rather than grief, reflecting a life that reshaped how the world understands the natural world.
- Speakers described her quiet authority and her belief that conservation depended on relationships, resilience, and collective purpose, with Anna Rathman urging the audience to continue the work Jane had begun.
- Francis Collins and Leonardo DiCaprio offered personal reflections on her blend of scientific rigor, moral clarity, humor, and hope, recalling how she moved through the world with curiosity and purpose, insisting that every individual could make a meaningful difference.
- Her grandson Merlin van Lawick spoke of the wonder she carried through her life and promised to continue her mission, underscoring a service that closed not with finality but with an invitation to carry her light forward and to show, through action, that hope endures.

Donors renew $1.8 billion pledge for Indigenous land rights
The governments of four countries, along with several philanthropies and donors, have renewed a $1.8 billion pledge over the next five years to help recognize, manage and protect Indigenous and other traditional community land. The Forest and Land Tenure Pledge, first made in Glasgow at the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference, provided $1.86 billion in […]
Governments commit to recognizing 160 million hectares of Indigenous land
The governments of nine tropical countries recently made a joint pledge to recognize 160 million hectares, or 395 million acres, of Indigenous and other traditional lands by 2030, according to a Nov. 7 announcement at the World Leaders Summit, an event hosted ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil. The Intergovernmental Land Tenure […]
Iguanas on Mexico’s Clarion Island likely native, not introduced by people: Study
Researchers have long speculated that humans introduced spiny-tailed iguanas to Mexico’s remote Clarion Island about 50 years ago. However, a recent study suggests the Clarion iguanas are likely native to the island, arriving long before human colonization of the Americas. Clarion Island is the westernmost and oldest of a small group of islands in Mexico’s […]
New directory helps donors navigate the complex world of global reforestation
- The Global Reforestation Organization Directory provides standardized information on more than 125 major tree-planting organizations, making it easier for donors to compare groups and find the ones that match their priorities.
- Researchers from the University of California Santa Cruz evaluated groups across four categories: permanence, ecological, social and financial, each backed by scientific literature on best practices.
- Much of the evaluation relies on the organization’s self-reporting through surveys or website statements and, while researchers acknowledge this limitation, they say it still provides a valuable framework and a starting point for donors.
- The directory doesn’t rank organizations but rather shows what organizations publicly share about following scientific best practices, avoiding common mistakes and monitoring their results.

Sierra Leone communities sign carbon agreement based on carbon justice principles
- Hundreds of communities in Sierra Leone’s Bonthe district have signed a benefit-sharing carbon agreement with the Africa Conservation Initiative targeting the protection of mangroves in the Sherbro River Estuary.
- The agreement is based on “carbon justice principles” aimed at making carbon projects fairer for communities, such as a 40-50% gross revenue share; free, prior and informed consent, including transparency of financial information and buyers; and community-led stewardship of the mangroves.
- If implemented correctly, the agreement could address “deep-rooted issues of fairness,” experts say.

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

What does the just energy transition mean for Africa?
- Around 600 million Africans lack even basic access to electricity.
- The challenges this deficit poses have led to a call for a “just” energy transition that brings access to energy from renewable sources without imposing undue costs on individuals, communities and countries.
- The rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are largely the result of fossil fuel burning in industrialized countries, and yet countries in Africa and elsewhere in the Global South are often on the frontlines of the impacts of climate change, including unbearable heat, droughts and flooding.
- The debate about how to facilitate a “just” transition includes questions around the continued use of fossil fuels, nations’ sovereignty, and mobilizing funding to finance the necessary changes.

A blueprint for communicating about the Amazon rainforest (commentary)
- Rhett Ayers Butler contributed a section on communicating about the Amazon to the Amazonia in Danger report, a multilingual collection of 22 essays by 55 authors organized by COICA, the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin.
- His piece suggests that stories of crisis could evolve from despair to agency by pairing truth with tangible examples of progress—verified, replicable actions that show systems can still respond and that hope, grounded in evidence, can be a form of endurance.
- He emphasizes that credibility depends on who delivers the message as much as what is said, calling for communications infrastructure that centers local voices, prioritizes trust, adapts messages to specific audiences, and measures success by lasting outcomes rather than fleeting attention.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Three tracks to rescue 1.5°C: fossil exit, forest protection, and nature’s carbon (commentary)
- Ilona Szabó de Carvalho, co-founder and president of the Igarapé Institute and of the Green Bridge Facility, argues that keeping global warming below 1.5 °C requires action on three simultaneous fronts: phasing out fossil fuels, ending deforestation, and scaling up natural carbon capture in forests and oceans.
- She contends that energy decarbonization alone is insufficient; protecting and restoring ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, and mangroves is essential for both emissions reduction and resilience, and must be backed by transparent finance and accountability.
- With COP30 approaching in Belém, her piece calls for an integrated, finance-backed plan that ties together clean-energy expansion, a time-bound zero-deforestation roadmap, and rigorous safeguards for community-led nature-based solutions.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Europe’s under-pressure bats face ‘astonishing’ threat: Ambush by rats
Researchers have captured video of an unexpected predator at two bat hibernation sites in northern Germany: invasive brown rats that lie in wait to intercept the bats mid-flight. Invasive rodents are known predators of native animals on islands, including bats. However, this is likely the first time invasive brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been recorded […]
Brazil can protect its forests while growing its economy, says Arapyaú’s Renata Piazzon
- Renata Piazzon, CEO of the Instituto Arapyaú, is one of Brazil’s leading voices for aligning conservation with economic development, arguing that protecting forests and improving livelihoods must go hand in hand.
- Under her leadership, Arapyaú has helped catalyze initiatives like MapBiomas and the Forest People Connection, which link data, finance, and connectivity to reduce deforestation and strengthen Amazonian communities.
- As Brazil prepares to host COP30, Piazzon envisions the country shifting from negotiation to implementation—demonstrating global leadership through regenerative agriculture, forest restoration, and a low-carbon economy.
- Piazzon spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in November 2025.

Investing in the next generation of environmental journalists (commentary)
- The accelerating loss of forests, reefs, and rivers is also a failure of information: those closest to the crises often lack the training, mentorship, or editorial support to tell their stories effectively. Structured programs like fellowships bridge that gap, turning local knowledge into credible reporting, argues Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in this commentary.
- Targeted investment in emerging journalists builds both professional capacity and public accountability. Fellows have exposed corruption, documented ecological recovery, and influenced policy, showing how informed reporting can strengthen environmental governance and democratic institutions.
- Empowering local reporters shifts the narrative from victimhood to agency and from crisis to possibility. When journalists are equipped to investigate, explain, and inspire, they help societies make informed choices about the planet’s future—and ensure that stories of loss can also become stories of renewal.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

‘A big no’: Opposition grows to proposed mine in Malawi’s newest UNESCO site
- Malawi’s Mount Mulanje is a biodiversity hotspot, a sacred cultural site, and provides critical resources for the more than 1 million people who live in the surrounding districts.
- In July, Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- In August, senior traditional chiefs held a press conference affirming their support for the UNESCO listing.
- Local leaders and conservationists fear proposed mining projects would threaten the mountain’s natural heritage, and negatively impact tourism and jeopardize gains in sustainable development.

India’s Ganga River drying at unprecedented levels
The Ganga River, which sustains the lives of at least 600 million people, is facing its worst dry spell and lowest streamflow in 1,300 years, according to a recent study, reports Mongabay India’s Simrin Sirur. Researchers extrapolated the Ganga’s water levels going back to the year 700 C.E. using a combination of paleoclimatic and historical […]
Indigenous communities protect Colombia’s uncontacted peoples
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For more than a decade, two Indigenous communities deep in Colombia’s Amazon have been safeguarding those who wish to remain unseen, reports contributor Pilar Puentes for Mongabay. The residents of the Curare-Los Ingleses Indigenous Reserve and the neighboring […]
New arrangements should preserve Nairobi’s much-loved Karura Forest
- In Kenya, an uproar briefly followed the August announcement that the beloved Karura Forest north of Nairobi would no longer be jointly managed by local citizens’ group Friends of Karura Forest and the Kenya Forest Service; the decision has since been reversed.
- The 15-year partnership has restored several indigenous plant species to the Karura Forest, which is also a haven for wildlife such as jackals, bush pigs and small antelopes.
- Previously, the area was threatened by land-grabbers and illegal logging; today, the initiative employs more than 35 staff, who work on forest restoration, security and infrastructure maintenance while some 300 local community members supply thousands of tree seedlings each month for reforestation.

Beyond deforestation: redesigning how we protect and value tropical forests (analysis)
- Following his earlier essay tracing possible futures for the world’s forests, Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler turns from diagnosis to design—asking what concrete interventions could still avert collapse. This piece explores how governance, finance, and stewardship might evolve in a second act for tropical forests.
- The essay argues that lasting protection depends structural reform: securing Indigenous land rights, treating governance as infrastructure, and creating steady finance that outlasts election cycles and aid projects.
- Butler also examines overlooked levers—from restoring degraded lands and valuing forests’ local cooling effects to rethinking “bioeconomies” and building regional cooperation across borders. Each points toward a shift from reactive conservation to deliberate, sustained design.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

One man’s mission to rewild a dying lake
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. From a hillside overlooking Lake Toba, the vast volcanic basin at the heart of Sumatra, Wilmar Eliaser Simandjorang looks down on what he calls both a blessing and a warning, reports Sri Wahyuni for Mongabay. Once the first […]
What might lie ahead for tropical forests (analysis)
- Heading into COP30, where tropical forests are set to be a central theme, Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler offers a thought experiment—tracing today’s trajectories a little further forward to imagine where they might lead. What follows are scenarios, some improbable, others already taking shape.
- The essay envisions a world where deforestation gives way to disorder: weakened governance, runaway fires, and ecological feedback loops eroding forests from within even without the swing of an axe. It explores how technology and biology—AI-driven agriculture, gene-edited trees, and microbial interventions—could either accelerate destruction or redefine restoration, depending on who controls them.
- Across these imagined futures, one pattern recurs: forests thinning, recovering, and thinning again, as human ambition, migration, and climate instability test whether nature will be given the time and space to heal.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Belize’s blue reputation vs. reef reality: Marine conservation wins, and what’s missing (commentary)
- For over a year, journalists from Mongabay and Mongabay Latam have been digging into issues related to the Mesoamerican Reef, the Western Hemisphere’s largest barrier reef system, which runs from Mexico’s Yucatán through Belize and Guatemala to Honduras.
- As part of that effort, which involves exploring both problems and solutions, Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler spoke to experts and reviewed many reports, scientific papers, and stories.
- With its early leadership and significant funding, Belize has emerged as a linchpin in Mesoamerican Reef conservation and fisheries management. This summary brings together what various experts have said—highlighting gaps, issues, and actionable recommendations as they relate to Belize.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Six new tube-nosed bats described from the Philippines
Researchers have recently described six new-to-science species of tube-nosed bats from the Philippines, named after their unique nostrils that protrude from the snout. All the specimens were collected from either primary or secondary forests, currently threatened by mining and shifting agriculture, the authors write in a new study. “These bats are notoriously elusive, so the […]
A fisheries observer disappeared at sea. His family still waits for answers
- Samuel Abayateye, a 38-year-old fisheries observer from Ghana, vanished from the Marine 707 in 2023 while monitoring tuna catches. Six weeks later, a mutilated body washed ashore near his home, but authorities have never released DNA results or an autopsy report.
- Fisheries observers like Abayateye work alone at sea to record catches and report illegal practices, often among the very crews they monitor. Their role is vital to enforcing fishing laws but exposes them to isolation, threats, and violence.
- His disappearance echoes that of Emmanuel Essien, another observer who vanished after documenting illegal fishing on a Chinese-owned trawler. Both cases remain unsolved, part of a global pattern in which at least one observer dies or disappears each year.
- Ghana’s government still mandates observers on every industrial vessel, yet offers them little protection—no insurance, secure contracts, or emergency communication. Abayateye’s family continues to seek answers, while his body, if it is his, remains unburied.

Heading into COP, Brazil’s Amazon deforestation rate is falling. What about fires?
- Brazil’s official data show deforestation in the Amazon fell 11% in the 12 months to July 2025, with independent monitoring by Imazon confirming a similar trend—evidence that policies under President Lula da Silva are reversing the sharp rise seen during Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.
- Even as land clearing slows, fires and forest degradation have become major drivers of loss. Exceptional drought in 2024, record heat, and the spread of roads and logging left large areas of the forest dry and flammable, causing 2.78 million hectares of primary forest loss—roughly 60% from fire.
- Burned areas have dropped by 45% over the past year, suggesting some recovery, yet scientists warn the Amazon is entering a more fragile state shaped by climate extremes and the lingering effects of past destruction.
- As Brazil prepares to host COP30 in Belém, attention will center on sustaining recent gains and advancing initiatives like the proposed $125 billion Tropical Forest Forever Facility, even as new roads, gold mining, and policy uncertainty—such as the wavering soy moratorium—continue to threaten progress.

Filipino survivors of deadly 2021 typhoon planning to sue Shell for damages
Nearly 70 Filipinos affected by a deadly 2021 typhoon are planning to sue oil giant Shell in its home country of the U.K. for the damages they suffered. Typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Odette, was one of the most devastating storms in the Philippines’ recorded history. It killed more than 400 […]
Why facts alone won’t save the planet
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. When I think about what makes someone care about the natural world, it rarely begins with statistics or graphs. It begins with a moment. For me, it was an encounter I had at age 12 with frogs in […]
California’s grand insect census
- Austin Baker and his team at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are leading an ambitious effort to DNA-barcode every insect species in California as part of the statewide CalATBI initiative to “discover it all, protect it forever.”
- The project combines traditional specimen collection with modern genetic sequencing to build a comprehensive biodiversity library, revealing surprising hotspots of insect life—from foggy coasts to the species-rich Mojave Desert.
- By creating a genetic baseline of California’s insect diversity, the team hopes to track future ecological change, inform conservation priorities, and preserve the record of countless species that might otherwise vanish unnoticed.
- Baker was interviewed by Mongabay’s Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025.

Bangladesh to reintroduce captive elephants to the wild
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh has embarked on an ambitious plan to end the centuries-old practice of keeping elephants in captivity. The government has begun retrieving privately owned elephants and aims to rehabilitate them in the wild. The initiative follows a 2024 […]
California learns from its beaver reintroductions
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Tásmam Koyóm, a high Sierra meadow in California, U.S. returned to the Mountain Maidu people in 2019, is once again wet where once it had been dry. Rivulets now snake through hip-high grasses and willow thickets, feeding a […]
Oil and gas giant TotalEnergies found guilty of greenwashing
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies has been found by a Paris court to have deceived consumers by overstating its climate pledges and its role as an active player in the fight against global warming. The court last week ordered TotalEnergies to remove those misleading environmental claims from its website, in a move NGOs say […]
Why independent journalism is a strategic investment for philanthropy (commentary)
- Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler argues that journalism supplies the conditions necessary for effective environmental action—credible, timely, public information that converts private harm into collective accountability and enables governments and communities to act.
- He contends that for philanthropists focused on climate and biodiversity, journalism is a high-leverage investment that strengthens all other interventions by bringing hidden risks to light, creating transparency, and ensuring that resources for conservation and climate solutions are used effectively.
- Evaluations from leading foundations show that journalism funding leads to tangible outcomes such as policy reforms, regulatory reviews, and stronger civic engagement; Butler concludes that supporting independent reporting is not sentimental but strategic—an essential form of infrastructure for democratic and environmental resilience.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

In memory of the Christmas Island shrew
- Once abundant on Christmas Island, the tiny, five-gram shrew (Crocidura trichura) filled the night forest with its high, thin cry before vanishing into silence.
- Introduced black rats and their parasites decimated the island’s native mammals, and by 1908 the shrew was thought extinct, its memory confined to museum drawers and field notes.
- Brief rediscoveries in 1958 and 1984 brought fleeting hope, but the last known individuals died in captivity, and no others have been found despite decades of searching.
- Its loss, now made official, adds to Australia’s grim record of extinctions—a quiet reminder of fragile lives erased by invasion, neglect, and the noise of human expansion.

Reimagining meat: The Good Food Institute’s bid to redesign the global food system
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. After decades spent protecting forests, fighting for human rights and shaping climate policy, Nigel Sizer has turned his attention to what’s on our plates. As the new CEO of the Good Food Institute (GFI), he argues that how […]
‘We are just waiting to die’: Mining activists targeted as South Africa delays energy transition
Environmental justice activists have spoken out against coal and iron mining in South Africa, telling a recent human rights hearing that the industry violently undermines the country’s promised energy transition. They also pointed to the continued threats, displacement and killings faced by community organizers resisting land grabs by mining companies. The fifth Human Rights Defenders […]
Forest Declaration Assessment reveals a forest paradox
- Tropical forests are regenerating across millions of hectares, with Latin America and Asia showing dramatic gains—but this apparent recovery conceals a deeper contradiction: deforestation remains stubbornly high.
- The world continues to clear about 8 million hectares of forest each year, far off the path to meet the 2030 zero-deforestation pledge, as fires, drought, and agriculture erase progress almost as quickly as it appears.
- Primary forests, rich in carbon and biodiversity, are disappearing fastest, driven mainly by agriculture; current funding for forest protection is dwarfed by subsidies for industrial farming.
- Natural regrowth offers hope—young secondary forests sequester carbon efficiently—but without halting new clearings, these green shoots risk becoming temporary pauses in an ongoing cycle of loss.

Chris Allnutt, negotiator who helped protect the Great Bear Rainforest, died on September 21st
- Chris Allnutt, a veteran labor negotiator, brought the same patience and moral clarity that defined his union leadership to the campaign that protected British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest.
- As head of the Hospital Employees’ Union in the 1990s, he led thousands of mostly immigrant women through an illegal strike against government privatization—losing his job but later vindicated by a Supreme Court ruling.
- Afterward, he became project director of the Rainforest Solutions Project, guiding environmental groups, industry, governments, and First Nations toward the landmark 2016 agreement safeguarding 85% of the rainforest’s old growth.
- Friends remembered him as calm, principled, and quietly forceful—a man who believed fairness could be negotiated, that empathy was strength, and that even in the hardest fights, listening was a radical act.

Plastic’s triumph was no accident. It built an economy addicted to throwaway living
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. When Saabira Chaudhuri began covering consumer goods companies for The Wall Street Journal, she expected stories about marketing and product launches. Instead, she uncovered a deeper pattern: industrial ingenuity turned liability. Her new book, Consumed: How Big Brands […]
Rescued African gray parrots return to DRC forests
- In early October, 50 African gray parrots were released into the wild by the Lukuru Foundation, after having been rescued from poachers and undergoing rehabilitation for a year at a refuge run by the foundation.
- The foundation’s two parrot rehabilitation centers have been joined by a third one, at Kisangani Zoo, in April, which has already received 112 African grays.
- As the DRC begins enforcing a July ban on the trade in African grays, authorities will need to raise awareness in communities, dismantle well-established trading networks, and ensure released birds aren’t recaptured, conservationists say.

The slender-billed curlew, a migratory waterbird, is officially extinct: IUCN
The last known photo of the slender-billed curlew, a grayish-brown migratory waterbird, was taken in February 1995 at Merja Zerga, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. There will likely never be another one. The species, Numenius tenuirostris, has officially been declared extinct by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “The extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew is […]
South Africa court halts natural gas power plant project, cites climate commitments
A South African court has nullified the environmental authorization for state-owned electricity utility Eskom’s proposed 3,000-megawatt gas-fired power plant. The court cited multiple reasons for its decision, including the failure to adequately consult local residents and consider the full impacts of the power plant’s entire life cycle on climate change. “This ruling shows that environmental […]
In Nepal’s hills, a fight brews over the country’s biggest iron deposit
- Nepal’s government has granted a mining concession for what it calls the country’s biggest iron deposit in Jhumlabang, a remote farming community that could supply Nepal’s steel demand for years.
- Local residents say they were never properly consulted and fear displacement, water pollution, and destruction of forests and farmlands that sustain their livelihoods and cultural traditions.
- Community groups and Indigenous rights advocates argue the project violates Nepal’s obligations under international law guaranteeing the right to free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous peoples.
- Officials and the mining company insist due process will be followed, but villagers vow to resist the project, saying development should not come at the cost of their land, health and environment.

Green turtle rebounds, moving from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’
The green turtle, found across the world’s oceans, is recovering after decades of decline, according to the latest IUCN Red List assessment. The species has been reclassified from endangered to least concern. “I am delighted,” Brendan Godley, a turtle expert from the University of Exeter, U.K., told Mongabay. “It underlines that marine conservation can work, […]
Chief Kokoi, defender of the Rupununi, died on October 12th
- Tony Rodney James, known as Chief Kokoi, was a Wapichan leader from Guyana’s South Rupununi who devoted his life to defending Indigenous rights, culture, and ancestral lands.
- After leaving politics in the 1970s, he became toshāo (village chief) of Aishalton for six terms and helped establish the Region Nine Toshaos Council, which united Indigenous communities across the Rupununi.
- As president and vice president of the Amerindian Peoples Association, he fought for legal recognition of Indigenous territories and opposed gold mining at Marudi Mountain, despite facing death threats for his stance.
- Decorated with the Golden Arrow of Achievement, he remained a mentor to younger toshaos until his death on October 12th 2025; in Aishalton, he is remembered as a guardian of the land whose spirit still walks the savannas.

20 animal species on the road to recovery: IUCN Red List update
From three species of Arctic seals to more than half of all birds globally, several animals have slipped closer to extinction, according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List. However, 20 species have seen a positive change in their status: they’ve moved farther away from the threat of extinction, thanks to effective conservation […]
‘We can have abundant rivers and wildlife’: Director of ‘The American Southwest’ on new film
- “The American Southwest” is a new film that explores the importance of the Colorado River in western North America to people and to wildlife.
- Part natural history film, part social documentary, it explores the challenges the Colorado faces as its resources are stretched thin by the demands for cities, energy and agriculture.
- Negotiations over the river’s water after a current agreement expires at the end of 2026 offer an opportunity for more equitable sharing that includes the river itself and long-marginalized representation from the Native tribes who live along the river’s length.
- The film appeared in theaters beginning Sept. 5 and on streaming platforms Oct. 10.

Losing Nemo: In the Red Sea, clownfish vanish as anemones bleach
- A 2023 marine heat wave in the central Red Sea caused 100% of monitored sea anemones to bleach, followed by the death of 94-100% of clownfish and 66-94% of the anemones across three surveyed reefs.
- The findings challenge the belief that Red Sea marine life, already adapted to naturally hot water, would be protected from climate change, showing instead that rising temperatures are pushing even these heat-adapted organisms past their survival limits
- While six other Indo-Pacific regions experienced similar bleaching events with anemone deaths below 3%, the Red Sea’s 78% mortality rate reveals that 22 degree heating weeks marks a critical breaking point where these ancient partnerships fall apart.
- Researchers are calling for more monitoring of anemones worldwide while Saudi Arabia responds with expanded conservation efforts, including the world’s largest coral nursery and experimental probiotics to help reef organisms survive heat stress.

World’s 1,500th known bat species confirmed from Equatorial Guinea
From Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, researchers have described what is officially recognized as the 1,500th bat species known to science, according to a recent study. The newly described bat is a species of pipistrelle, a group of tiny insect-eating bats, and scientists have named it Pipistrellus etula, with etula meaning “island” or “nation” in […]
Protecting Earth’s oldest data system: the case for biodiversity
- Razan Al Mubarak, president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, describes biodiversity as the planet’s original information network—an archive of genetic data refined over billions of years that encodes solutions to survival.
- Seeing extinction as data loss reframes the crisis: every vanished species deletes a chapter of evolutionary knowledge, erasing information that could inform medicine, technology, or climate resilience.
- The story of the Gila monster illustrates this vividly—its venom inspired the GLP-1 drugs now treating diabetes and obesity, showing how a single organism’s adaptation can unlock transformative human innovations.
- Al Mubarak argues that safeguarding biodiversity is not just an ethical imperative but an act of preserving intelligence itself; protecting this living knowledge system ensures the continuity of life’s most advanced and irreplaceable code.

Connecting Indonesia’s environmental stories to millions
- Akhyari Hananto, Multimedia Manager for Mongabay Indonesia, combines creativity, data, and strategy to ensure environmental journalism reaches and engages audiences across the archipelago.
- His unconventional path—from musician to banker, humanitarian worker, and economic specialist—eventually led him to journalism after witnessing an orangutan shooting that deeply moved him.
- Since joining Mongabay in 2014, Hananto has helped transform its Indonesian platform into a digital force, using visuals, analytics, and storytelling to connect millions with urgent environmental issues.
- Hananto spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025 about his journey, motivations, and the role of purpose in shaping impactful journalism.

Climate change and aging drains wreak havoc on Kolkata, India
On Sept. 23, the city of Kolkata in eastern India came to a standstill: The capital of West Bengal state received more than 12% of the city’s average annual rainfall in just 24 hours, some 247.5 millimeters (9.7 inches). The subsequent flooding claimed lives and caused extensive property damage. Scientists say climate change has made […]
Supporting frontline leadership in a time of crisis (commentary)
- During Climate Week in New York, Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler joined discussions with grassroots leaders from the Global South that offered a sharper view of how philanthropy meets—and sometimes misses—the realities of frontline work.
- A common theme: philanthropy’s structures often clash with the realities of frontline conservation and climate work, prioritizing short-term, quantifiable outcomes over long-term, relational support that nurtures resilience and agency.
- Leaders noted that true impact often occurs outside traditional metrics—in community empowerment, social cohesion, and local leadership—yet rigid grant cycles and top-down governance continue to stifle this potential. A more durable model of giving would put more emphasis on trust, shared decision-making, mental-health support, and “disciplined optimism,” enabling frontline groups to sustain progress and adapt over decades rather than grant cycles.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

The hidden environmental cost of psychedelics
The world’s appetite for transcendence is endangering the very organisms that once mediated it. From the Sonoran Desert to the Amazon Basin, plants and animals that produce psychedelic compounds—peyote, ayahuasca vine, iboga, and even a toxin-oozing toad—are under pressure. As psychedelic therapies move from ritual to clinic, their biological sources are succumbing to overharvesting, habitat […]
Cameroon inaugurates controversial dam despite local dissent
- The inauguration of Cameroon’s Nachtigal dam has boosted the country’s electricity supply.
- The dam’s construction has also led to loss of livelihoods for fishers and sand miners on the Sanaga River around the dam site.
- In 2022, these workers received compensation from the dam, but as the full dimensions of their losses emerge, they say this was inadequate.

Big Oil isn’t part of the clean energy push, despite its claims, study shows
A new study that mapped the portfolios of the world’s 250 biggest oil and gas companies found their deployment of renewable energy is paltry: they’re responsible for just 1.42% of the global renewable energy capacity in operation. Despite announcing ambitious plans to embrace renewables, a mere 0.1% of the primary energy they produce comes from […]
Study busts big bad myth that wolves are growing fearless of humans
- As wolves return to parts of their historical ranges in Europe and North America, there’s growing concern that the predators are becoming less fearful of people.
- But a recent study from Poland shows that wolves still fully fear people, a finding that extends to other top predators and wildlife elsewhere around the world, where the fear of humans is “ingrained.”
- In May, wolves were moved to a lesser protected status in the EU, partly based on the argument that the canids are becoming fearless of humans.
- However, the study’s authors say that safety from wolves requires behavioral change on the part of humans, including keeping food and livestock secure and away from the canids.

Women in Mexico step up to protect the island farms traditionally inherited by men
- In Mexico, traditionally women did not inherit chinampas, island farms first built by the Aztecs thousands of years ago. The farming on such islands, which sit in Mexico City, has also traditionally been done by men.
- Today, women are buying up chinampas and doing sustainable farming, along the way helping to maintain ecosystems that are threatened by urbanization and water pollution.
- This wetland system is the last remnant of what was once the great Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire built on the lakes that once filled the Valley of Mexico.
- What remains of Xochimilco today represents only 3% of the original extension of those lakes. However, the chinampas are still key to the stability of the city.

Indigenous leaders gather at the IUCN Indigenous Peoples and Nature summit
More than 100 Indigenous leaders from across the world are gathering at the global Indigenous peoples’ summit at the IUCN World Conservation Congress that begins Oct. 8 in Abu Dhabi. The summit aims to set priorities and commitments for the broader conservation community, highlighting Indigenous peoples’ effective participation in environmental negotiations, leadership and action. IUCN […]
Building a global newsroom for a planet in crisis: A conversation with Willie Shubert
- Willie Shubert, Executive Editor and Vice President of Programs at Mongabay, applies a systems-based perspective shaped by his background in geography to lead the organization’s English-language newsroom and global editorial strategy.
- His career began at National Geographic and evolved through the Earth Journalism Network, where he built a worldwide community of environmental reporters and helped launch data-driven platforms such as InfoAmazonia.
- At Mongabay, Shubert has professionalized and specialized the newsroom, fostering trust, independence, and innovation while emphasizing journalism’s power to create transparency and accountability in environmental decision-making.
- Shubert spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025 about journalism’s role in addressing the planetary emergency and the persistence required to drive meaningful impact.

EU to invest $636m in African power projects, including clean energy
The European Union has pledged 545 million euros ($636 million) for projects focused on modernizing power grids, increasing access to renewable energy, and supporting clean energy projects in nine African countries. “The choices Africa makes today are shaping the future of the entire world,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the announcement […]
Massive fungus from India is newly described species
From the forests of northeast India’s Arunachal Pradesh state, researchers have described a new-to-science species of fungus with “exceptionally large” fruiting bodies that can hold the weight of a person. The species is named Bridgeoporus kanadii in honor of Indian mycologist Kanad Das for his contributions to Indian macrofungi. The researchers led by Arvind Parihar, […]
Tony Pritzker’s patient strategy for the planet
- Tony Pritzker, an engineer by training and philanthropist by practice, frames his environmental giving around patience, pragmatism, and clearly defined goals, from cleaning up Santa Monica Bay to fostering early-career innovators.
- He emphasizes local action as the foundation of global change, citing successes such as stormwater treatment infrastructure in Los Angeles and the educational initiatives of Heal the Bay.
- Pritzker blends optimism with realism, believing that consumer demand, science, and efficiency can align business, policy, and philanthropy to address environmental challenges without partisanship.
- He spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025 about his journey in environmental philanthropy, his belief in “patient strategy,” and the need to combine innovation with stewardship.

Jane Goodall quotes: Words from a reluctant global icon
- Primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall died on October 1st, 2025 at the age of 91.
- Over the years, Mongabay staff and contributors have conducted numerous interviews with Goodall.
- The following is a recap of her ideas and reflections, organized by theme.
- A list of the interviews and other pieces appears at the end.

Australia to create a national park for 12,000 koalas
- The New South Wales government has unveiled plans for the Great Koala National Park, a 475,000-hectare reserve that combines existing protected areas with 176,000 hectares of state forest to safeguard an estimated 12,000 koalas and dozens of other threatened species.
- The move comes with a moratorium on native forest logging, $140 million in funding, and promises of new tourism infrastructure, though legislation to finalize the park is not expected until 2026 and is contingent on approval of a carbon credit scheme.
- Supporters hail the plan as a landmark conservation step that could boost biodiversity, generate carbon revenue, and create more sustainable jobs through ecotourism, while critics argue it sacrifices timber workers and delays certainty for communities.
- The decision reflects broader shifts in Australian forest policy, as states retreat from native forest logging, balancing ecological imperatives with political pressures from unions, industry, and rural constituencies.

Protein for a crowded planet: An interview with the Good Food Institute’s Nigel Sizer
- Nigel Sizer has become the CEO of the Good Food Institute, bringing decades of experience in forest conservation, human rights, climate initiatives, and pandemic preparedness to a role focused on transforming global protein production.
- He told Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025 that alternative proteins can relieve pressure on forests, protect wildlife, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve resilience to health and climate shocks.
- Sizer’s early priorities include learning GFI’s global operations, meeting teams across regions, and advocating for increased public investment in plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-enabled proteins to accelerate research, manufacturing, and infrastructure.
- He emphasized building coalitions with farmers, regulators, and stakeholders worldwide and called for development banks and climate-finance agencies to support alternative protein projects, arguing this would unlock new markets, jobs, and environmental benefits.

New conservation panel to focus on microorganisms crucial for human and planet health
The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, has established a new expert group that will help shape conservation priorities for a previously overlooked but vital group of organisms: microbes. In a recent commentary, the Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG), formed in July, announced that it will look at the status and threats to various beneficial […]
Jane Goodall (1934–2025): primatologist, conservationist, and messenger of hope
- Jane Goodall, who began her career in 1960 with little formal training, transformed science’s understanding of chimpanzees and in the process reshaped the boundary between humans and animals. Her discoveries at Gombe forced the recognition of animal minds, emotions, and cultures once thought unique to humanity.
- She built on that science with activism: founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, launching community-centered conservation programs across Africa, and creating sanctuaries for orphaned chimps. In 1991 she established Roots & Shoots, which grew into a vast youth movement spanning more than 100 countries.
- Beyond research and institutions, she became a global messenger, traveling up to 300 days a year to speak with audiences ranging from heads of state to schoolchildren planting trees. She insisted that empathy and objectivity could coexist and called on each person to remember that “every day you live, you make some kind of impact.”
- She described humanity as standing at the mouth of a dark tunnel with a star shining at the end—hope. To reach it, she said, required collective effort. That conviction defined her legacy: a life that reminded the world that hope is not wishful thinking but a discipline, and that every individual makes a difference.

Jane Goodall, primatologist who taught the world to hope, has died at 91
Jane Goodall, who revealed the intimate lives of chimpanzees and gave the modern world a language of hope, has died at the age of 91. When she stepped into the forests of Gombe, Tanzania, in 1960, she carried little more than a notebook, binoculars, and an unlikely determination. She was not a scientist by training, […]
DJs inspired by nature
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The music began long before humans arrived. Rivers carried their basslines downstream, insects beat time in the dusk, and birds poured their arias into the dawn. For Dominik Eulberg, who grew up without radio or television, this was […]
Consider the scorpions
- Scorpions have survived for more than 400 million years and endured five mass extinctions, but habitat destruction, climate change and overharvesting now pose significant threats to their survival.
- Scorpions give birth to live young that cling to their backs, the young of some species live with the mother for years, and only about 25 to 30 out of nearly 2,900 known species have venom potent enough to be dangerous to humans.
- Only five scorpion species have international trade protection, despite 350 being sold in the pet trade.
- Scientists are calling for improved conservation assessments, stricter trade regulations, and increased local community involvement to protect scorpions and harness their potential medical benefits.

To track a unicorn: Laos team goes all out to find the last saolas
- An intensive search is underway in Laos to find perhaps the most threatened large mammal on the planet: the saola ox.
- Sniffer dogs, local and international wildlife tracking experts, and a state-of-the-art DNA kit have all been deployed to try to home in on any unknown individuals of the species so elusive conservationists once dubbed it the “Asian unicorn.”
- Last documented in 2013, when a camera trap photographed an adult in central Vietnam, previous attempts to study the saola have been stymied by a lack of sightings.
- Conservationists are aware of the ever-ticking clock, however, and warn that extinction is “inevitable” without a dedicated and intensive push to study remaining individuals and safely bring them into captivity to start a conservation breeding program to revive the species.

Conservation in a hotter world
- Protected areas designed for yesterday’s climate are losing relevance as species shift habitats, spurring calls for larger, connected, and “climate-smart” reserves that can accommodate ecological change
- Conservationists are adopting once-controversial strategies such as assisted colonization and rewilding to help ecosystems endure hotter, drier, and more chaotic conditions.
- The promise of sustainable livelihoods tied to static ecosystems is fading, and new models will depend on managing shifting resources and co-designing resilience with local communities.
- NOTE: Mongabay recently produced a series of articles and videos on this topic. This post recaps some of the key themes that emerged.

Rare photos capture fishing cat preying on monitor lizard in the Sundarbans
In July, naturalist Soumyadip Santra was on a trip to the Indian Sundarbans, part of the world’s largest mangrove forest, when he witnessed an unusual scene: a fishing cat jumped on an adult monitor lizard and dragged it away toward some bushes. Santra’s photographs of the fishing cat in action captured a rare bit of […]
Counting kings: How annual lion surveys reveal the health of Africa’s protected areas (commentary)
- Lions are more than charismatic megafauna shaping the balance of species in the savannah food web. As such, their presence or absence can tell us a lot about the health of an ecosystem.
- Annual lion surveys offer a disciplined way to pair concern with action, writes Jon Ayers, board chair of wild cat conservation group Panthera and major supporter of lion conservation.
- Such surveys do not guarantee recovery. They make it possible to know, sooner and more accurately, whether recovery is under way.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Arturo Gómez-Pompa, biologist who revealed the human history in “virgin” forests, has died, aged 90
In the steaming lowlands of Veracruz and the Yucatán, where strangler figs knot the canopy and howler monkeys bellow at dawn, a man with a field notebook kept noticing what others overlooked. Arturo Gómez-Pompa believed tropical forests were not untouched wilderness but “landscapes of memory,” shaped for millennia by Indigenous hands. Long before “biodiversity” became […]
Hema Sane, botanist who lived without electricity, died on September 19th
In a crumbling four-story wada in Pune’s old quarter, where temple bells compete with motorbike horns and hawkers press against the walls, an upstairs room stayed stubbornly off the grid. There, surrounded by sparrows and squirrels, a small woman in a plain cotton sari wrote longhand by daylight or by the glow of a kerosene […]
Grue jay or Bleen jay? Researchers confirm hybrid between blue and green jays
Researchers have for the first time confirmed that a blue jay and a green jay have mated in the wild to produce a rare hybrid with mixed features. Spotted by a birder named Donna in her backyard in San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas, this hybrid may have resulted from the two jay […]
Alaskan rivers turn orange as permafrost thaws, threatening fish and communities
- A new study found that 75 streams in Alaska’s Brooks Range have turned orange due to thawing permafrost, which releases metals like iron, aluminum and cadmium that exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency safety thresholds for aquatic life.
- The contamination threatens fish populations, with aluminum concentrations at one location reaching nearly five times the safe limit, and the study suggests this may help explain recent crashes in chum salmon returns that Indigenous communities depend on for food and income.
- The pollution flows hundreds of miles downstream to coastal communities like Kivalina, where residents who rely on traditional fishing face threats to food security as some tributaries of rivers like the Wulik have begun turning orange.
- Scientists warn that this climate change impact is irreversible and spreading across the Arctic, with no cleanup options, as these remote watersheds contain hundreds of contamination sources.

A dancing lemur could help save one of Madagascar’s most endangered ecosystems
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Madagascar’s rainforests often steal the spotlight, with their flamboyant biodiversity and familiar lemur mascots. Less noticed are the country’s dry forests in the west and southwest, which shelter equally remarkable life yet have been steadily eroded by agriculture, […]
World Gorilla Day: What imperils our powerful cousins, and what brings hope
They’re powerful, intelligent and majestic, yet increasingly imperiled. Today, on World Gorilla Day, we recap recent Mongabay reporting that highlights both the threats facing gorillas, our great ape cousins, and some signs of hope. Emerging threats The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) continues to be one of the world’s top 25 most endangered primates, […]
DRC finally moves to protect African gray parrots from unsustainable trade
- Over the past decade, thousands of African gray parrots have been exported from the Democratic Republic of Congo despite a ban on their international trade.
- The endangered species, Psittacus erithacus, was listed under Appendix I of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, in 2016, which would have prohibited its commercial trade, but the DRC government resisted the move.
- Kinshasa was asked to conduct a comprehensive species’ population survey to justify continued trade of the birds, but to date still hasn’t carried one out.
- Meanwhile, the wholesale capture and export of birds has continued, and the DRC government has finally taken action to prohibit the capture and sale of this iconic species.

Harrison Ford says his generation “kicked the can down the road” on the environment
Speaking at the 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit during New York Climate Week on Monday, Harrison Ford, the actor turned outspoken environmental advocate, issued a rebuke of his generation for its lack of progress in addressing environmental problems. Climate change, he argued, is not merely a scientific or economic problem but a moral one. “Everything […]
Global CO2 storage capacity may be drastically overstated, study finds
- The storage available for safe carbon storage could be far lower than current estimates, according to a new study.
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been touted as a viable method for drawing billions of tons of CO2 out of the air, typically securing it in rock formations deep underground.
- However, this new analysis suggests that many locations suitable for carbon storage may also pose risks, such as water contamination or earthquakes.
- That finding led the study authors to conclude that the “prudent” available storage is much less than has been estimated.

The rhinoceros, under siege but not lost
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For millennia, the rhinoceros stood as one of Earth’s great survivors, armored and immense, its bulk anchoring the landscapes of Africa and Asia. Today, it’s perilously close to vanishing. A recent report by wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC and […]
Consumed by convenience: The culture of disposability
When Saabira Chaudhuri began covering consumer-goods companies for The Wall Street Journal, she thought she was writing about marketing campaigns, product launches, and quarterly results. What she found instead was a tale of industrial ingenuity turned liability: a business model built on disposability, dressed up in the rhetoric of sustainability. Her new book, Consumed: How […]
Setting the record straight on Jurisdictional REDD+: The case of Brazil
- Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) has been a climate finance mechanism under the UN for nearly two decades. In Brazil, JREDD+ is a public policy approach developed by Brazilian federal and state governments to promote large-scale forest conservation and climate mitigation.
- Emission reductions are measured at the jurisdictional level—not tied to individual properties or collective territories—and generate carbon credits based on verified drops in deforestation and degradation.
- Participation is voluntary and protected by safeguards and law, ensuring communities, farmers, and local actors can opt in or out while retaining land and resource rights. JREDD+ enables access to climate finance from private and public sources, with benefits distributed to rural sectors and credits issued only after independent verification.
- The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

146 environmental defenders were killed or disappeared last year
The latest tally from Global Witness is a grim ledger. In 2024, at least 146 people were killed or disappeared while defending land, water and forests. That brings the total to at least 2,253 deaths and disappearances since 2012, a steady toll that turns local acts of stewardship into mortal hazards. The organization’s report reads less […]
Satellite images reveal oil project surge in Ugandan park and wetland
New satellite analysis shows that wells and roads for a project in Uganda feeding Africa’s longest heated oil pipeline have progressed significantly within a protected area and near a critical wetland. The Tilenga oil field marks the starting point of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, currently under construction by the French multinational TotalEnergies. The […]
Robert Redford, filmmaker who fought for nature, has died, aged 89
- Robert Redford combined a celebrated career in film with decades of environmental advocacy, treating landscapes as characters in his movies and pushing to protect them in real life.
- From his base in Utah, he founded Sundance to support independent filmmakers and later the Redford Center with his son James, using storytelling as a tool for environmental action.
- He was instrumental in battles such as stopping a coal plant on Utah’s Kaiparowits Plateau, served on the NRDC board for nearly 50 years, and used his public platform to argue that “defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad.”
- At the United Nations in 2015 and elsewhere, he pressed world leaders to act urgently on climate change, while urging younger generations and artists to tell stories that could “wake up the heart.”

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

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

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

The carbon market paradox: Steve Zwick on why financing forests is more complicated than it looks
- Steve Zwick’s career has traced the intersection of climate, finance, and media, from Chicago trading pits to international business reporting, Deutsche Welle, Ecosystem Marketplace, and now his Bionic Planet podcast and Carbon Paradox, where he focuses on clarifying the complexities of carbon markets and REDD+.
- He emphasizes that carbon markets are built on probabilities, not certainties, and criticizes both media and advocacy for flattening nuance into oversimplified verdicts. For him, methods evolve through revision, guardrails, and conservative accounting, with avoidance of deforestation often delivering the greatest climate impact.
- Zwick frames forest carbon as payment for services protecting a global commons, not charity, and insists that best practice must be community-led. He warns that skewed scrutiny and polarized narratives risk sidelining a tool that, while imperfect, can mobilize resources quickly until deeper emissions cuts take hold.
- Zwick was interview by Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025.

Forests on Indigenous lands help protect health in the Amazon
Healthy forests are more than climate shields; in the Amazon, they also serve as public-health infrastructure. A Communications Earth & Environment study spanning two decades across the biome links the extent and legal status of Indigenous Territories to 27 respiratory, cardiovascular, and zoonotic or vector-borne diseases. The findings are complex, but one pattern is clear: […]
More than half the world’s forests fragmented in 20 years — but protection works: Study
- Large intact forests and connected landscapes support biodiversity and ecosystem processes.
- Globally, more than half of the world’s forests became more fragmented between 2000 and 2020, according to a new Science study, with the highest rates in the tropics.
- The study used new measures of fragmentation that more closely align with ecological functions and is higher than previous estimates of fragmentation rates.
- The study also finds that in the tropical forests, protected areas experienced much lower rates of fragmentation than similar unprotected forests.

Tourism surge and climate change threaten Nepal’s Mustang
Since the completion of an all-weather road eight years ago, Nepal’s remote Mustang region has become a mass tourism destination, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi. The surge in tourists, combined with the impacts of climate change, could put the fragile Himalayan region at greater risk of future disasters. Previously, Mustang was a destination for foreign […]
Where life has found its richest expression – Amazon Rainforest Day
Amazon Rainforest Day, first celebrated in 2008, aims to raise awareness about the importance of Earth’s largest rainforest. There is a place where the Amazon meets the Andes, where forests climb the lower slopes of mountains before giving way to the mists of the cloud forests. To stand there is to feel the weight of […]
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.

Why is rainfall declining in the Amazon? New research says deforestation is the leading driver
- Deforestation in the Amazon has been identified as the main driver of declining rainfall, responsible for nearly three-quarters of the drop in dry-season precipitation since the mid-1980s.
- Between 1985 and 2020, dry-season rainfall fell by about 21mm annually, with 15.8mm linked to forest loss, while maximum daily temperatures rose by 2°C, about one-sixth of which was caused by deforestation.
- Amazonian trees generate more than 40% of the region’s rainfall through transpiration, and their removal disrupts local and regional weather, influencing monsoons and increasing drought risk far beyond the basin.
- If current deforestation trends persist, by 2035 the region could lose another 7mm of rainfall in the dry season and heat up by 0.6°C, pushing the Amazon toward a drier climate like the Cerrado or Caatinga.

Marc Stalmans, ecologist who helped restore Gorongosa’s wildlife, dies at 66
- Marc Stalmans, who died on August 30th at 66, was central to Gorongosa National Park’s transformation from a war-ravaged landscape to a thriving ecosystem.
- As science director from 2012, he guided reintroductions, species balance, and land management with data-driven ecological insight.
- His work combined practical field research with academic rigor, emphasizing that science should directly inform conservation action.
- Under his leadership, Gorongosa documented nearly 8,000 species, trained Mozambican scientists, and saw its large animal population grow tenfold in two decades.

Scientists decode the unusual silver-blue color of an ancient South African plant
Most plants get their coloration from pigments, but an endangered South African cycad gets its unique silvery-blue hue from wax crystals and an underlying chlorophyll-rich layer, according to a recent study. Researchers say understanding how such layers work could pave the way for creating materials that protect from UV and water exposure. Cycads, sometimes described […]
Donovan Kirkwood, protector of South Africa’s rarest plants, dies aged 54 in search for one of the world’s most endangered species
In late August, high in South Africa’s Jonkershoek Mountains, a small group of botanists picked their way across steep ground in search of one of the world’s rarest plants. They were surveying Penaea formosa, a critically endangered shrub thought to number fewer than 50 individuals. Donovan Kirkwood, curator of the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, was […]
Brazil’s Atlantic Forest still losing ‘large amounts’ of mature forest, despite legal protection
- Despite a federal protection law, Brazil’s Atlantic Forest lost a Washington, D.C.-sized area of mature forest every year between 2010 and 2020, with most of the deforestation occurring illegally on private lands for agriculture.
- The Atlantic Forest is a critical biodiversity hotspot that supports 70% of Brazil’s GDP while serving nearly three-quarters of the country’s population.
- Major agribusiness companies, including COFCO, Bunge and Cargill, have been identified as exposed to deforestation in their soybean supply chains, with agriculture and livestock farming driving most forest loss.
- Conservation success stories like the black lion tamarin’s recovery from near-extinction demonstrate that restoration is possible, with one project planting millions of seedlings and generating significant local employment.

Small islands offer big hope for conservation of endemic species, study shows
- New research in Indonesia shows that small islands, often considered extinction hotspots, can act as crucial refuges for rare mammals like the anoa and babirusa, which face severe threats from deforestation and poaching on larger land masses.
- Genetic analyses of more than 110 individuals revealed that while small-island populations have lower genetic diversity and higher inbreeding, they also carry fewer harmful mutations — likely because long-term isolation allowed natural selection to purge them.
- Smaller islands were also found to host higher-quality, better-protected forest habitats, suggesting that conserving these areas may be more effective than attempting “genetic rescue” by moving animals from mainland populations, which could introduce harmful mutations.
- The study highlights the need to refine taxonomy, prioritize protection of small-island habitats, and integrate these overlooked areas into conservation planning, as they may hold the key to the long-term survival of iconic and endemic small-island mammals.

Climate change intensified wildfire weather in Greece, Türkiye and Cyprus: Study
Hundreds of wildfires across Europe have burned at least 1 million hectares, or around 2.5 million acres, since the start of the year. That’s made 2025 the worst year for the continent since official wildfire records began in 2006. In Türkiye, Greece and Cyprus, which saw deadly fires peaking since June, weather conditions that drove […]
The slow demise of turtles and tortoises
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Turtles and tortoises have outlived dinosaurs, endured ice ages, and survived the shuffling of continents. Yet despite their evolutionary stamina, these ancient mariners and land dwellers now find themselves in peril. A sweeping global assessment published in Nature […]
In Brazil, invaders set fires in Karipuna Indigenous land, leaders say
Indigenous leaders say land-grabbers are setting fires inside the Karipuna Indigenous Territory in Brazil’s Rondônia state, in the northwest Amazon. The fires come less than one month after Indigenous leaders warned authorities about renewed invasions. Satellite monitoring detected more than 90 fire alerts in the territory between Aug. 14 and Aug. 25, according to an […]
The safari industry’s ‘conservation-washing’ is a growing problem (commentary)
- Though many tour operators focus on protecting the wildlife, environment, and local community their clients are immersed in during safaris, greenwashing — or more accurately, “conservation-washing” — is a growing problem.
- In this commentary, a safari operator with more than 35 years of experience shares his reflections and offers red flags to watch out for before hiring a company.
- “We each hold the power to influence the safari industry by choosing operators that build their tours around true conservation while uplifting local communities. Being vigilant for conservation-washing is ultimately our responsibility, and it’s one we should all take very seriously,” he argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Réunion’s ‘rarest’ gecko vanishing from natural areas but appearing in gardens
The critically endangered Manapany day gecko has long been known only from a small part of Réunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. A recent study finds the bright green lizard no longer appears in 28% of its previous habitat, but has cropped up in newer, more urban areas where it hasn’t been […]
African gray parrots get complete protection in DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has banned the capture and trade of African gray parrots nationally, protecting one of the world’s most trafficked birds, according to a national decree signed Aug. 13. Gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus), known for their intelligence and mimicry skills, are widely trapped from the wild for the international pet trade. This […]
Ecosystems as infrastructure: Tim Christophersen on how to rebuild humanity’s ties to nature
- Tim Christophersen argues that humanity’s crises of climate, biodiversity, and pollution stem from a fractured relationship with nature—one that cannot be abandoned, only repaired.
- He sees restoration as both urgent and possible: ecosystems, once given diversity and space, can recover quickly, offering resilience, carbon storage, and abundance.
- From UN diplomacy to corporate initiatives, he presses for treating ecosystems as essential infrastructure, requiring imagination, investment, and a “century of ecology” to secure civilization’s future.
- Christophersen was interviewed by Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in August 2025.

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

Global South bears growing burden of health threats from plastic burning
Many communities, especially those in the Global South, are increasingly burning plastic as a fuel for stoves or simply to get rid of waste. In the process, they’re releasing toxic chemicals into the environment and raising public health concerns, reports Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray. Roughly 2 billion people globally lack waste collection services, leaving many […]
Can we undo extinction? A growing effort to restore lost sharks
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the turquoise shallows of Raja Ampat, Indonesia, a conservation experiment is attempting the rewilding of an endangered shark. The initiative, known as ReShark, seeks to restore populations of the Indo-Pacific leopard shark (Stegostoma tigrinum), also called the […]
How science links extreme weather disasters to climate change: Interview with WWA’s Clair Barnes
- Scientifically attributing extreme weather events like floods or drought to climate change versus other natural processes or human activities is tricky.
- But since 2014, the World Weather Attribution, an international network of researchers, has pioneered methods that allow them to understand the role of human-induced climate change in current extreme weather events, if at all.
- Mongabay’s Kristine Sabillo recently spoke with WWA researcher and environmental statistician Clair Barnes to learn more about how WWA conducts its rapid analyses.

How can we make nature’s wellbeing impossible to ignore? For Natalie Kyriacou, it is the defining challenge
- Natalie Kyriacou’s path to conservation began not in academia or government, but in childhood curiosity and persistence, leading her to found My Green World, a nonprofit that uses education and technology to engage people in protecting nature.
- From backyard expeditions in Australia to fieldwork in Borneo and Sri Lanka, her experiences shaped both her frustration at nature’s marginal place in politics and her belief that conservation needs new narratives that connect ecological systems to everyday life.
- In her new book, Nature’s Last Dance, Kyriacou blends humor and human-centered stories—from New Zealand’s kākāpō to India’s vanishing vultures—to show that nature is not ornamental but essential, and that collective effort is key to its survival.
- Kyriacou spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in August 2025.

To save a rare South African ecosystem, conservationists bought the land
Three conservation trusts have together purchased an area of a severely threatened vegetation type found in the Overberg region of South Africa’s Western Cape province. Known as the renosterveld, this unique habitat characterized by shrubs and grasses is also a breeding ground for endangered black harriers, the three groups announced in a joint press release. […]
Invasive ants get a warm welcome as global temperatures rise: Study
As people move plants, soil and goods around the world, insects including ants often hitch a ride, making themselves at home in new regions. A recent study finds that some of these nonnative ants, currently restricted to warmer indoor environments like buildings or greenhouses, could easily spread outdoors as global temperatures rise, raising concerns for […]
Indonesia’s idle land problem
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Indonesia is defying the global trend in tropical deforestation. While forest loss in much of the tropics reached record highs in 2024, Indonesia’s rate fell by 14% compared with the previous year. Yet beneath this apparent success lies […]
Philippine fishers struggle as LNG ‘superhighway’ cuts through biodiversity hotspot
Fishers in the Philippines’ Batangas Bay are struggling to make ends meet and feed their families as nearby coastal areas are developed into a natural gas import hub, Mongabay contributor Nick Aspinwall reported in July. Families that have been fishing in Batangas Bay for years have been asked by local officials to leave to make […]
Community efforts yield new marine protected area in the Philippines
The Philippines has officially designated a new marine protected area after an 18-year campaign by local communities, fisher associations, civil society organizations and government agencies, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced Aug. 13. The newly created Bitaug Marine Protected Area (MPA), which covers nearly 150 hectares (about 370 acres), is the largest MPA in Siquijor province […]
Belize project seeks out heat-resilient corals to protect its reefs
- An initiative called the Super Reefs program is setting out to identify the corals in Belize’s waters that have the highest chance of surviving warming waters amid climate change.
- Researchers with the program have discovered that corals that grow in the hottest areas are naturally more heat-resistant.
- Massive starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) tends to be tolerant of warm water, whereas symmetrical brain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa) is more sensitive.
- The team plans to use its findings, which are to be published by 2026, to inform the Belize government which coral communities in the country are best suited for protection and restoration.

World Orangutan Day: Ongoing threats & habitat loss haunt these great apes
Despite years of research into their complex behavior and intelligence, orangutans remain critically endangered on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, where they’re endemic. Mongabay has extensively covered the threats they face from habitat degradation and what studies say about how human activities affect them. This World Orangutan Day, on Aug. 19, we take a […]
Deadly Nordic heat wave made 10 times worse by climate change: Study
A deadly heat wave in July that left people and wildlife struggling in Norway, Sweden and Finland was made at least 10 times more likely because of human-induced climate change, a rapid analysis has found. Scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global research network analyzing extreme weather events, said in their latest analysis […]
Increased construction in the Himalayas risks more deadly flash floods
On Aug. 5, a flash flood devastated much of the Himalayan village of Dharali in India’s Uttarakhand state. As of Aug. 17, six people were confirmed dead, while 60-70 people remained missing. The primary cause of the flash flood is still unconfirmed, but experts say that increased construction in the sensitive Himalayan region, despite a […]
Will we still eat beef in 50 years?
- Beef production contributes to numerous global crises, from climate change to habitat destruction to biodiversity loss.
- Big conservation NGOs have worked fervently to combat these crises, and many also have programs to encourage more sustainable ranching practices.
- Proponents of “regenerative ranching” and similar approaches that involve rotational grazing and other strategies say these practices have benefits for preserving grassland habitats, encouraging the diversity of birds, wildlife and grasses that live on these ranches and sequestering carbon in their soils.
- But many conservationists also contend that the world must reduce the number of cattle on the planet and find other sources of protein.

Seed-dispersing animals are in decline, impacting forests and the climate: Study
A lot of attention has been paid to the decrease in bee populations and other pollinators, but a recent review article makes the case that we should be equally alarmed by the declining numbers of seed-dispersing animals, which are crucial for growing healthy forests. “Both are important and should be taken into account in restoration […]
Goldman Prize winner’s shift from engineer to activist in Tenerife, Canary Islands
Carlos Mallo Molina grew up inspired by his engineer father who led port construction projects across Spain. But while working on a highway project in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, Molina realized that a related plan to build a port in a marine protected area threatened the marine ecosystem that he had come to […]
Cockatoos have at least 30 impressive dance moves: Study
Scroll through social media, and you’re sure to find videos of cockatoos swaying rhythmically to music. Scientists studying these impressive dance moves report in a recent study that at least 10 cockatoo species dance, sharing at least 30 distinct dance moves between them. Cockatoos are a family of parrots, which are highly intelligent birds. Many […]
Unrestricted funding is key for frontline conservation groups: Mongabay podcast
The U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) works to link funders with community-based conservation groups, ensuring that much-needed resources are reaching the frontlines. In a Mongabay Newscast episode in July, Jean-Gaël “JG” Collomb, CEO of WCN, advocates for giving more unrestricted funding to local groups who know the environment best, allowing them to decide how to […]
Dang Dinh Bach: He fought for clean air. Now he breathes through bars.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. It wasn’t the first time the Vietnamese authorities had accused someone of tax evasion. But few such cases have ended in a five-year prison sentence. Fewer still have involved a man whose life was defined by public service: […]
The case for hope in environmental journalism
I often return to this image, which I took in 2022 in Jambi, Indonesia. At first glance, it seems to capture something hopeful: a full-circle rainbow arcing over a lush green landscape. But look closer, and you’ll see what lies beneath the beauty: a vast oil palm plantation, carved out of what was once native […]
Indigenous alliance unveils Brazil’s first Native-led emissions strategy
Brazil’s largest Indigenous organization has launched the country’s first Native-led strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, ahead of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Aug. 9. The idea is for the plan to be incorporated into the Brazilian government’s own emissions reduction plan, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which the country updates and […]
World lion day: Why is the king of the savanna declining?
The lion, with its majestic mane and the loudest growl of all the big cats, is today a vulnerable species with decreasing populations in extremely fragmented habitats. It once ranged widely throughout Africa and Eurasia; today, it’s restricted to parts of sub-Saharan Africa and one small area in western India. For World Lion Day on […]
How a gecko species defied extinction on a Galápagos island
- Mares’s leaf-toed gecko has been rediscovered on Rábida Island in the Galápagos after being thought extinct for more than a century, with only ancient bones as previous evidence of its existence.
- Invasive brown rats introduced by ships in the 17th and 18th centuries caused the gecko’s decline; feeding on their eggs and disrupting their nesting sites.
- A 2011 rat eradication program successfully removed all invasive rodents, and geckos were spotted just one year later — the first living sighting in recorded history.
- Genetic analysis revealed the surviving geckos are genetically distinct from populations on other Galápagos islands, suggesting they survived in hiding during the rat invasion rather than recolonizing from other islands.

What we can learn from the Nuer people and their sacred birds
For the pastoralist Nuer people who migrate with the seasons between western Ethiopia’s Gambella region and Africa’s largest wetland, the Sudd, in South Sudan, birds are gaatkuoth or “sacred children of God.” The community has identified at least 71 bird species that are culturally important to them and useful in traditional medicine, as well as […]
Rex Mann, American chestnut evangelist, died July 2, aged 81
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For most Americans, the loss of a tree might pass unnoticed. For Rex Mann, it changed the course of his life. As a boy growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina, Mann listened to his father […]
How urban greening is helping Singapore bounce back from widespread forest loss
Singapore, the smallest country in Southeast Asia, lost most of its original forest cover in the early 1800s to agriculture. But since the 1960s, when Singapore began pursuing urban greening initiatives, Singapore has greened 47% of its spaces, according to an episode of Mongabay’s podcast published in July. Speaking with host Mike DiGirolamo, Anuj Jain, […]
Deadly monsoon rains in Pakistan made worse by climate change: Study
Unusually heavy monsoon rains that killed more than 300 people across Pakistan since late June were made 15% more intense by human-caused climate change, according to a new analysis. The study, by the international initiative World Weather Attribution (WWA), analyzed rainfall from June 24 to July 3 using observational data and climate models. It found […]
Asia’s longest free-flowing river faces threats of dams and diversions
The Salween River, at around 3,300 kilometers, or 2,000 miles, is Asia’s longest free-flowing river, running from Tibet through Myanmar to the Andaman Sea. But Indigenous groups and communities living along its banks in China, Myanmar and Thailand say they fear hydropower development might cause the river to suffer the same fate as the Mekong […]
Lúcio Flávio Pinto: The Brazilian reporter who wouldn’t be bought or silenced
- For nearly six decades, Lúcio Flávio Pinto has reported fearlessly from the Brazilian Amazon, chronicling land grabs, illegal logging, and environmental destruction while refusing to be silenced or swayed by power or money.
- After leaving Pará’s dominant newspaper in 1987, he launched Jornal Pessoal, a fiercely independent, ad-free newsletter funded solely by subscriptions, modeled after I.F. Stone’s Weekly.
- Pinto has faced physical assaults, death threats, 33 lawsuits, and judicial harassment—including a criminal conviction—yet has remained rooted in Belém, documenting the Amazon’s unraveling when others fled or fell silent.
- Now in his seventies, Pinto’s memoir Como me tornei um amazônida reflects a life devoted not to advocacy, but to truth as a form of reverence—undaunted by the odds, still trying to write a different ending for the forest he loves.

Invasion intensifies on Karipuna Indigenous land in the Brazilian Amazon
Illegal invasions in the Karipuna Indigenous Territory in the northwest of the Brazilian Amazon have started to advance again, Karipuna leaders told Mongabay following an alert by global nonprofit Survival International. “This year has been very difficult because there are a lot of people on our territory,” André Karipuna, the chief of the Karipuna people, […]
She built a newsroom across 7 countries—Here’s how she did it
- Maria Isabel Torres, Program Director of Mongabay Latam, has spent nearly a decade shaping the bureau into a regional leader in environmental journalism, building a cross-border newsroom recognized for investigative depth, collaboration, and a deep commitment to public-interest reporting.
- Drawing from a background in political journalism, anthropology, and environmental policy, Torres has built a multicultural team spanning seven countries, fostering a values-driven culture grounded in empathy, resilience, and shared purpose.
- Under her leadership, Mongabay Latam has become an innovator in using satellite data, AI, and investigative tools to expose environmental threats, while amplifying underrepresented voices—especially women and frontline defenders—with a steadfast focus on impact and integrity.
- Torres spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in July 2025.

Study links long-term exposure to air pollution with increased dementia risk
More than a year of exposure to certain air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to a recently published study. Dementia, a group of diseases including Alzheimer’s, results in the loss of memory and a decline in cognitive abilities like thinking, reasoning and language skills. In 2019, dementia was estimated to […]
Efforts to revive India’s disappearing endangered star anise
The Himalayan star anise is a key source of livelihood for India’s Indigenous Monpa community. But the tree that bears the star anise fruit has greatly declined in number after decades of overharvesting of the fruits and seeds, logging for wood and charcoal and unfair market practices, according to a Mongabay India video published in […]
Global maps reveal where mycorrhizal fungi thrive — and where they’re unprotected
- Scientists made the first detailed global maps of mycorrhizal fungal networks by analyzing DNA from 25,000 soil samples worldwide, showing where these fungi that partner with most plants are most diverse.
- Less than 10% of the areas with the highest fungal diversity are currently protected, leaving important underground ecosystems at risk from farming and development.
- Major hotspots include Ethiopia’s Simien Mountain foothills, Brazil’s Cerrado savanna, West African rainforests and Tasmania’s forests, with different types of fungi thriving in tropical versus temperate regions.
- A new Underground Atlas tool allows users to explore fungal diversity patterns anywhere on Earth, revealing biodiversity hotspots that traditional conservation approaches have overlooked.

Nepal’s forest guardians monitor the elusive red panda
In eastern Nepal, local communities are leading the effort to monitor the elusive and endangered red panda, contributor Deepak Adhikari reports for Mongabay. Fewer than 10,000 red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) now remain in the rapidly disappearing bamboo forests of the eastern Himalayas across India, Bhutan, China and Nepal. To help monitor them in Nepal, the […]
Requiem for the nearly lost
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. They are not yet gone. But for thousands of species, the Earth is already holding its breath. A new review published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment confirms what conservationists have long suspected: more than 10,000 species now […]
Devils Hole pupfish hit by micro-tsunami from 8.8-magnitude Russian earthquake
A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29 sent ripples nearly 4,000 miles across the Pacific, disturbing one of the most fragile ecosystems in the United States: Devils Hole in Nevada’s Mojave Desert, according to park officials. The quake generated 10-inch waves inside the narrow, water-filled cavern—a dramatic but […]
UN meeting closes with no moratorium on deep-sea mining; groups lament
Civil groups expressed dismay as the 30th International Seabed Authority (ISA) session recently ended in Jamaica without a moratorium on deep-sea mining, a process of extracting minerals from the seafloor, which experts say can damage marine ecosystems. The ISA Council finished the second reading of the draft regulations for the commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals. However, the […]
We need a revolution in environmental communications (commentary)
- Despite widespread acknowledgment of climate change, many people still reject the science due to ideological, psychological, or structural barriers. Simply presenting evidence is often ineffective because people absorb facts through the lens of existing beliefs.
- Overused or poorly defined terms like “green” or “rewilding” can confuse or alienate audiences. Emotionally resonant storytelling—especially oral and experiential narratives—activates different parts of the brain and is more likely to influence behavior.
- Rather than relying on fear or blame, environmental messaging should inspire, connect, and engage. Collaborating with cognitive scientists and reframing narratives can help build shared understanding and turn potential adversaries into allies.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Indonesian farmers plant hope for isolated Javan gibbons
In Indonesia’s Central Java province, two groups of Javan gibbons have become isolated in two small forest patches. To help the gibbons make their way to larger forest areas, a local NGO, SwaraOwa, is working with farmers in the region to restore and build “corridors” that would connect the fragmented forest blocks, Mongabay reported in […]
Community patrolling reduced environmental crime by 80% in the Amazon
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Brazilian Amazon, where enforcement agents are spread thin across vast territories, an unlikely success story has emerged — not from drones or satellites, but from flip-flop-wearing locals paddling through forest rivers. A study examining 11 years […]
Drone swarms and AI take aim at stopping wildfires in 10 minutes
Fifteen teams have advanced to the semifinal round of XPRIZE’s $5 million Autonomous Wildfire Response Track, moving one step closer to proving that autonomous systems can detect and extinguish wildfires within 10 minutes across 1,000 square kilometers of challenging terrain. Part of a four-year, $11 million global competition launched in 2023, the initiative seeks to […]
A sales-pitch pivot brings deep-sea mining closer to reality
Early on, Canada-based The Metals Company cast the rocks it seeks to mine from the deep seafloor as a crucial resource for electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, positioning them as a solution to the accelerating climate crisis. However, in 2024, another message overtook the first in TMC’s communications, according to an analysis by […]
Indigenous leadership and science revive Panama’s degraded lands
Two Indigenous groups in Panama are collaborating with researchers in a long-term reforestation project that promises them income in return for growing native trees for carbon sequestration, Mongabay contributor Marlowe Starling reported in May. As part of the project, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have partnered with the local leadership in the […]
First record of Cape clawless otter preying on African penguins: Study
The critically endangered African penguin has several predators to fear, including gulls, seals and sharks at sea, and leopards, caracals, domestic dogs and mongoose on land. A recent study has now documented the first confirmed case of yet another predator: a Cape clawless otter was observed preying on the African penguins of a mainland colony. […]
John Robbins, heir to an ice cream empire who chose a life of principle, dies at 77
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the United States, there are few things more American than ice cream. And few names more synonymous with it than Baskin-Robbins. The company’s pastel storefronts, pink spoons and 31 flavors became part of the cultural wallpaper. John […]
Guarding Mexico’s blue frontiers: A conversation with Alejandro González
- Alejandro González has spent nearly 20 years advancing marine conservation in Mexico, leading efforts in iconic marine protected areas like Cabo Pulmo and Revillagigedo, where he combined fieldwork, enforcement, and diplomacy to protect remote ocean ecosystems.
- Now Director for Global Conservation in Mexico, González focuses on scaling enforcement through technology like Marine Monitor radar systems and strengthening institutional capacity to safeguard no-take zones such as the Islas Marías Biosphere Reserve.
- Grounded in community realities, he emphasizes the need to align conservation with local livelihoods—especially amid growing threats like cartel involvement in fisheries—and is motivated by a vision of protecting the ocean for future generations.
- González spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler aboard a ship off the Revillagigedo Archipelago in June 2025.

Ambitious Denmark project starts farm-to-forest conversion
In December 2024, Denmark embarked on an ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions and restore 250,000 hectares (617,763 acres) or almost 6% of the country into forested area. One local initiative is afforesting agricultural land in Aarhus municipality, home to the country’s second-largest city, where nature is being allowed to take its course — with […]
Domestic cats pose interbreeding threat to little known wildcat ancestor
Domestic cats are hugely popular as pets, yet little is known about their ancestor, the Afro-Asiatic wildcat. This species, Felis lybica, is the most widely distributed wildcat in the world, but experts still don’t know its exact population. The wildcat faces several threats to its survival, including interbreeding with domestic cats and the diseases they […]
Forget decrees; try patience. Martin Goebel plays the long game in conserving Baja California Sur
- Martin Goebel champions a patient, relationship-based approach to conservation, focusing on community trust and long-term collaboration rather than top-down mandates or rapid results.
- Through LegacyWorks and its ResiMar initiative in Baja California Sur, Goebel and partners work to regenerate ecosystems from mountains to sea by aligning environmental goals with local aspirations, emphasizing social legitimacy as a prerequisite for success.
- Drawing from decades of experience, including missteps like the vaquita reserve, Goebel argues that the toughest conservation challenges are social—not ecological—and require humility, listening, and time to build something that truly lasts.
- Goebel spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in Mexico in June 2025.

Golden oyster mushrooms are crowding out native fungi in North America
Golden oyster mushrooms, known for their bright yellow caps and earthy flavors, are native to Asia. However, these prized edible mushrooms have gained popularity throughout North America, where they’re spreading across forests and displacing native fungal species, a recent study has found. Aishwarya Veerabahu, lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, […]
Peruvian rainforest defender shot dead in suspected targeted killing
Environmental activist Hipólito Quispe Huamán was shot and killed Saturday night in the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru, in what authorities suspect was a targeted attack linked to his work defending the Amazon rainforest, AFP reports. Quispe Huamán was driving along the Interoceanic Highway when he was gunned down, according to local prosecutors. […]
Coral restoration after devasting Deepwater Horizon spill shows promise
When BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, it led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, severely damaging marine ecosystems. Part of the settlement money that BP agreed to pay has since been used for a deep-sea restoration project that has achieved significant milestones in spawning corals […]
Two rangers killed in a plane crash in DRC’s Virunga National Park
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo are no strangers to tragedy. Yet the loss of two Virunga National Park rangers in a surveillance plane crash near Ishango on July 23 underscores once again the mortal […]
Reversing damage to the world’s mangrove forests
Mangroves are an important lifeline for biodiversity, climate and coastal communities. Yet they are disappearing 3-5 times faster than total global forest losses, according to UNESCO. On July 26, celebrated as the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, we present recent stories by Mongabay’s journalists on emerging threats to these critical ecosystems […]
Historic court ruling says countries legally bound to prevent climate harm
The world’s top court has issued a landmark advisory opinion saying that countries are legally obligated to protect the environment and present and future generations from the impacts of climate change. This obligation, the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on July 23, is grounded in existing environmental and human rights treaties. It also […]
Sharon Haussmann, guardian of rhinos, died on May 31, aged 51
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the final months of her life, Sharon Haussmann could still be found walking fence lines, coordinating antipoaching patrols, and debating the finer points of dehorning protocol with field rangers and policymakers alike. The work was unrelenting, the […]
From sports desk to nature’s frontlines: David Akana’s unlikely path to lead Mongabay Africa
- David Akana, Director of Programs at Mongabay Africa, leads with a vision of inclusive, long-term environmental journalism, drawing on a career that began in sports reporting and evolved through development communications and conservation storytelling.
- Since taking the helm, Akana has built a diverse, multilingual newsroom and expanded Mongabay’s reach across the continent, with a strategic focus on reporting in local languages like Swahili to deepen engagement and impact.
- Grounded in the belief that journalism can inform, empower, and hold power to account, Akana emphasizes patience, integrity, and a mission-driven approach to storytelling in the face of disinformation and growing environmental threats.
- Akana spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in July 2025.

World’s smallest snake spotted by scientists in Barbados after 20-year absence
- Scientists rediscovered the world’s smallest snake, the Barbados threadsnake, after it had been missing from scientific observation for 20 years.
- The tiny blind snake required microscopic examination to distinguish it from an invasive look-alike species before being confirmed and returned to the wild.
- The finding represents a rare success story on an island where 98% of primary forests have been cleared and many endemic species have gone extinct.
- Researchers plan continued surveys to map the snake’s range and develop habitat protection strategies for this critically endangered species.

Nepal launches action plan to boost endangered dhole conservation
Once widespread throughout much of Asia, the wild dog known as the dhole has disappeared from more than 75% of its historical range, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. In Nepal, there are an estimated 500 dholes (Cuon alpinus) remaining, but recent sightings suggest they may be making a comeback. This has […]
Pasture and agricultural expansion in Gran Chaco drive biodiversity loss: Study
A recent study has identified how cattle pasture and agricultural expansion, driven by global demand for beef and soy, is causing biodiversity loss in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina and Paraguay. The Gran Chaco, the second-largest forested region in South America, after the Amazon, is spread across Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. Over the […]
Blue-and-yellow macaws return to São Paulo skies after 50 years, thanks to flying lessons
Six blue-and-yellow macaws are gracing the skies of São Simão, in Brazil’s southeastern São Paulo state, after more than five decades of local extinction, Mongabay contributor Suzana Camargo reported. Conservationists used a new technique to train captive-born macaw chicks (Ara ararauna), encouraging them to fly in the wild as early as 3 months of age. […]
An aging leopard’s suffering sparks ethical debate in Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the fate of an aging, injured leopard, well-loved by tourists, has triggered a debate. Wildlife enthusiasts are urging authorities to help the leopard, named Neluma, in Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka’s largest protected area. However, wildlife officials and conservationists are against intervening and providing veterinary support, Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo reported in […]
How much does it cost to restore a mangrove forest?
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Mangroves, the amphibious forests that fringe tropical and subtropical coastlines, are ecological powerhouses. They buffer communities against storm surges, support fisheries, and sequester carbon at rates that rival their terrestrial counterparts. Yet despite growing recognition of their value, […]
Africa’s freshwater fish face a crisis — but solutions are within reach
A new WWF report is sounding the alarm on Africa’s freshwater fish: one in four fish species it assessed is at risk of extinction. These declines threaten not only biodiversity, but also the food security, livelihoods and cultural identity of millions of people who depend on inland fisheries across the continent. Released in the lead-up […]
Darkest-ever dwarfgoby fish gets named after Darth Vader
From the volcanic fjords of Tufi in Papua New Guinea, researchers have described a new-to-science species of a coral reef fish called a dwarfgoby with an unusual purplish-black color. The tiny fish is the “darkest of all described dwarfgobies,” the researchers say in the study, naming it Eviota vader after the Star Wars villain Darth […]
Conservation’s silent strain: Nature’s protectors face a mental health crisis
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Amid the calls of gibbons and the whir of drones scanning forest canopies, a quieter crisis is unfolding within the ranks of those trying to save nature. Conservationists, often seen as tireless stewards of the planet’s dwindling biodiversity, […]
From deforestation to renewal: Why reforestation isn’t just about trees
- Sociologist Thomas Rudel explores the social and political forces behind global reforestation, arguing that forest regrowth is rarely automatic and often depends on human decisions and local conditions.
- He critiques top-down climate pledges for failing to engage with smallholder farmers and Indigenous communities, who are frequently the key actors in both forest loss and recovery.
- Rudel highlights the importance of “corporatist coalitions” that link global funders with grassroots actors, enabling more flexible and locally effective forest restoration efforts.
- Rudel spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in July 2025.

Billions spent, biodiversity declines — GEF insists it remains fit for purpose
- Launched in 1990, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established to fund climate change, biodiversity, ozone layer protection and international waters projects in developing countries, based on the idea that local actions would deliver global environmental benefits. Now more than 35 years on, the GEF has evolved into a complex multilateral fund, with a sprawling secretariat and a broadened mandate.
- As of 2024, the GEF has mobilized and invested more than $24.3 billion in grants and concessional finance for environmental programs globally, according to its 2024 financials.
- Africa has received roughly $7.7 billion of that total over three decades. Yet, biodiversity loss across the continent continues at an alarming rate, raising pressing questions about the real-world impact and relevance of GEF funding and the effectiveness of multilateral environmental finance overall.
- Fred Boltz, head of programming at the GEF, insists the fund remains fit for purpose, pointing to country ownership, integrated programming and efforts to fix global environmental market failures as foundations for long-term success.

Bangladesh turns to nature for biodegradable plates to replace plastic ones
In Bangladesh, disposable tableware, including plates made of areca palm leaves, is gaining popularity as a good alternative to single-use plastic during social gatherings and festival celebrations, Mongabay’s Abu Siddique reported in May. A survey from 2018 estimates that Bangladesh used around 250 metric tons of single-use plastic tableware and straws every month. However, since […]
Honey bees in Bangladesh suffer from indiscriminate pesticide use
Experts warn the indiscriminate use of insecticides by farmers in Bangladesh to protect their crops is harming beneficial honey bees, Mongabay contributor Sadiqur Rahman reported in March. Beekeeper Pavel Hossen, who set up an apiary on land next to a black cumin farm, hoped his honey bees (Apis mellifera) would feed on the flowers of the […]
Deadly landslide and flooding in Colombia and Venezuela linked to rapid urbanization
Heavy rainfall in Colombia and Venezuela caused deadly landslides and widespread flooding in June. A new analysis now points to rapid urbanization, deforestation, mining and overgrazing as having reduced the region’s climate resilience. “The rapid growth of population and informal settlements in areas prone to landslides, particularly in Colombia, puts people and infrastructure at risk,” […]
Small Australian carnivorous marsupial reclassified as 3 species: Study
Researchers describe the kultarr as “Australia’s cutest mammal”: It’s eyes are quite large for its mouse-like head, it’s ears are perky and it has long, thin legs that allow it to run so fast that it looks like it’s hopping. A recent study has now confirmed that the insect-eating marsupial is not one, but three […]
Sri Lanka’s plant messiah spreads optimism for biodiversity & conservation
- A young Sri Lankan scientist, Himesh Jayasinghe, has rediscovered more than 100 of 177 possibly extinct species in Sri Lanka as well as three of five extinct species and both species previously considered extinct in the wild.
- Jayasinghe up to now has found some 210 species that have never before been reported from Sri Lanka, with about 50 of them already known from India, while a further 20, though named in the historical literature, can now be added to the national floral inventory of Sri Lanka supported by hard evidence.
- These discoveries hint that unexpectedly high numbers of new plant species may await discovery even in well-explored tropical countries such as Sri Lanka and emphasizes that the process of inventorying biodiversity should not be retarded by the demands of formal taxonomy and informal names backed by georeferenced voucher specimens and photographs being sufficient for conservation purposes.
- Many species thought to be extinct may be rediscovered when targeted searches are conducted using new eyes, experts say.

Sri Lanka grants protection to a rare ecosystem
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a move hailed as a long-overdue conservation victory, Sri Lanka has formally declared Nilgala — a sweeping mosaic of grasslands, forests and sacred sites — as a protected forest reserve, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. Spanning […]
Study finds two-thirds of India’s snow leopards are in Ladakh region
Snow leopards are often called “ghosts of the mountains,” and for good reason: They’re notoriously difficult to spot. But researchers behind a recent study used a comprehensive set of methods — from following the cats’ tracks and droppings, to deploying camera traps over vast areas — to find that the region of Ladakh in the […]
‘Shock and alarm’ as Malawi pardons wildlife trafficker Lin Yunhua
LILONGWE — Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has granted a presidential pardon to Lin Yunhua, a Chinese national sentenced to 14 years in prison for wildlife trafficking. Lin was among 37 inmates who received a presidential pardon as part of Malawi’s 61st independence anniversary celebrations on July 6. Conservationists have since expressed their disappointment, warning that […]
A better brew: How regenerative coffee could root out exploitation
The coffee industry faces many problems, from being the sixth-largest driver of deforestation worldwide to being rife with human rights abuses, including slavery and child labor. But coffee can be made sustainable and ethical, Etelle Higonnet, founder of the NGO Coffee Watch, said in an episode of Mongabay Newscast in June. “To the best of my […]
New global report urges urgent action to save wetlands
A major new report released July 15th warns that wetlands, among the world’s most valuable yet most threatened ecosystems, are vanishing faster than any other natural system. However, it also offers a clear and hopeful road map for reversing the trend. The “Global Wetland Outlook 2025,” published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands […]
To change the environment, change the narrative
Narratives help shape our society, culture and environment, entrenching beliefs that can help — or harm — our planet and human rights. Tsering Yangzom Lama, story manager at Greenpeace International, joins Mongabay’s podcast to explain how dominant narratives — stories shaped by existing power structures and institutions — often undergird destructive industries and favor the […]
Wetlands at risk, but new report offers road map for recovery
A new report finds that up to 20% of the world’s wetlands could be lost in the next 25 years. The “Global Wetland Outlook 2025,” produced under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for wetland conservation, uses satellite imagery, peer-reviewed studies, and economic data to create a complete picture of an ecosystem in peril. It […]
Sheila Colla, advocate for bees, died on July 6th, aged 43
- In 2009, Sheila Colla spotted Canada’s last known rusty-patched bumblebee, a discovery that marked the culmination of years of fieldwork and a lifelong commitment to pollinator conservation.
- A pioneering scientist and professor, Colla warned early about the decline of native bees—long before it became mainstream—and translated complex research into action for policymakers, citizens, and children.
- Through bestselling books and the Bumble Bee Watch citizen-science platform, she mobilized tens of thousands to protect North America’s wild bees, emphasizing their solitary, vital, and often overlooked roles.
- Colla’s legacy lives on not only in ecological science but in the inclusive community she built—opening doors for marginalized voices in science and championing justice until her final days.

‘Hopeful sign’ as Eurasian otter reappears in Malaysia after a decade
Camera traps in Tangkulap Forest Reserve in Malaysia’s Sabah state have photographed a Eurasian otter — a grainy image of an individual ambling next to a waterbody. This is the first confirmed sighting of the species in Malaysia in more than a decade, bringing cheer to conservationists. The last confirmed Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) sighting […]
Vatsala, Asia’s oldest known elephant, died on July 8th, 2025, aged around 100
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For more than a century, Vatsala stood. Through wars and heatwaves, bureaucracies and monsoons, she moved through India’s forests with a gait that outlasted the institutions around her. She died where she had lived for decades, in the […]
‘Revolutionary technology’ uses scanners for easier species detection in the wild
Researchers in Brazil’s Amazonas state are testing easy-to-use scanners that can help them identify animal species they come across in the wild, Mongabay contributor Miguel Monteiro reported in June. The scanners use a technology called near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which currently has many applications, from measuring food quality to monitoring blood oxygen levels in the medical […]
What’s holding back natural climate solutions?
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Natural climate solutions, or NCS, range from reforestation and agroforestry to wetland restoration, and have long been championed as low-cost, high-benefit pathways for reducing greenhouse gases. In theory, they could provide more than a third of the climate […]
Sharks didn’t rebound—so Mark Erdmann is putting them back
- For over 30 years, Mark Erdmann has combined scientific discovery with grassroots conservation in Indonesia, helping communities protect their reefs from destructive practices and documenting more than 220 new species.
- As a leader behind Raja Ampat’s pioneering community-governed marine protected areas, Erdmann has shown how local stewardship can revive ecosystems—bringing back sharks, rays, and sustainable tourism.
- Despite new threats like over-tourism and revived mining, Erdmann remains hopeful, pointing to rising public resistance, tech-enabled rewilding programs like ReShark, and a new generation of Indonesian conservationists.
- Erdmann spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler during a voyage in the Pacific in June 2025.

As exotic pet demands rise, invertebrates need trade protections too: Study
As the demand for butterflies, spiders, ants and other terrestrial invertebrates grows worldwide, researchers in a recent study say better policy and regulation coverage can help ensure sustainability. The researchers reviewed existing scientific studies that mention the trade in terrestrial invertebrates and found that most research focuses on the exotic pet trade, specifically of spiders […]
Locals fear Chile’s new port project for green energy will disrupt ecosystems
- A new private port for public use near Punta Arenas, a city in southern Chile’s Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, has been approved for multipurpose services, such as the development of green hydrogen and salmon industries.
- The region has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its enormous green energy potential.
- The company concerned told Mongabay that this port will reduce the need for developers of green hydrogen and other projects in the region to build their own private ports as there is currently a limited capacity.
- Environmental organizations and local residents fear the port’s construction and operations will impact marine ecosystems and boost industries that will likely cause greater environmental impacts, such as contamination from salmon farms.

Energy transition boom drives rise in lawsuits against alleged rights abuses
A new analysis has found that lawsuits against transition mineral mining firms and renewable energy companies are increasing worldwide. The NGO Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) in its new report published July 1 notes that since 2009, its transition litigation tracking tool has documented 95 legal cases filed against companies linked to the […]
Roberto Zolho, conservationist who helped restore Mozambique’s wildlife following its civil war, has died at 65.
For a man who spent his life studying the movements of wildlife, Roberto Zolho was most at peace when not moving at all—drifting in a kayak down the Guacheni channels, pausing to admire an egret, a kingfisher, or a sunlit curve in the reeds. In these secluded corners of Mozambique’s wetlands, he was not a […]
Inside Panama’s gamble to save the Darién
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the dense, humid expanse of the Darién Gap — a forbidding swath of rainforest bridging Panama and Colombia — a tentative transformation is underway. Once synonymous with lawlessness and unchecked migration, this biologically rich frontier is now […]
Scientists describe three new frog species from Peruvian Andes
Peruvian scientists have identified three new-to-science frog species in the Andes, highlighting the mountains’ wealth of biodiversity, according to a recent study. The three species have been named Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi and P. yonke. “They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” […]
Youth and women find success in taking climate cases to court
Citizens from around the world are increasingly holding governments and businesses accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions by filing lawsuits that frame climate change impacts as human rights violations, according to a recent episode of Mongabay’s Against All Odds video series. César Rodríguez-Garavito, chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New […]
Can conservation go viral in Africa? Peter Knights thinks so.
- Wild Africa aims to “mainstream conservation” across the continent by using local ambassadors, pro bono media, and entertainment-based campaigns to build public and political support for wildlife protection. Peter Knights believes that shifting cultural attitudes is essential to ensure lasting conservation outcomes.
- The organization partners with over 80 media outlets and 200 ambassadors to create and distribute content—from music shows to chatbots—that addresses issues like human-wildlife conflict, illegal bushmeat, and poaching. These efforts are designed to inform, inspire, and empower local communities.
- Knights draws on lessons from his work with WildAid, where he helped slash demand for shark fin and ivory in Asia, to catalyze a pan-African movement. He argues that small, strategic teams can have outsized impact by focusing on communication, awareness, and coalition-building.
- Knights spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in June 2025.

Forest connectivity key to preserving PNG’s spectacular rainforest birds: Study
- Papua New Guinea is a global hotspot of avian biodiversity, home to spectacular and behaviorally complex bird species that occur nowhere else on the planet.
- A new study shows that forest fragmentation reduces unique forest-specialist birds, but boosts generalist species like pigeons, sunbirds and bulbuls.
- Birds suffered greater declines in habitats cut off from the surrounding landscape, compared to degraded habitats that remained connected to nearby intact forests.
- The shift in the bird community in degraded and isolated habitats undermines ecosystem stability and resilience, as birds that once performed vital pollination, seed dispersal and insect control services are lost.

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