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DRC’s Kinshasa could see deadly rain and floods every 2 years: Study
In early April, extreme rainfall and flooding in and around Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killed at least 33 people. Such catastrophic rainfall events are predicted to hit Kinshasa every two years in today’s warming climate, according to a new rapid study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a network of […]
Mexican government looks to correct Tren Maya environmental damages
- Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena said the government is considering ways to correct some of the damage done by Tren Maya to cenotes and rainforests in the Yucatán peninsula.
- Officials want to remove fencing along the tracks, create new protected areas and ban the construction of additional roads connecting the train with harder-to-reach tourism activities in rainforests.
- At the same time, the government plans to expand the Tren Maya route and build several other trains across the country that could threaten protected areas.
In Panama, Indigenous Guna prepare for climate exodus from a second island home
- The island of Uggubseni, located in Panama’s Guna Yala provincial-level Indigenous region, spent the month of February participating in region-wide celebrations to mark the centenary of a revolution in which the Indigenous Guna expelled repressive Panamanian authorities and established their autonomy in the region.
- Though the intervening century has left the Guna’s fierce independence undimmed, new existential threats now face Uggubseni: Accelerating sea level rise due to human-caused climate change and overpopulation.
- A consensus now exists among Uggubseni residents that moving inland is necessary; but it remains unclear whether the government will be able to deliver the necessary funding and support.
- Although 63 communities nationwide are at risk of sinking due to climate change, there’s only one other model for climate relocation: In June 2024 the Panamanian government relocated around 300 families from Gardi Sugdub, another island in Guna Yala, to a new community on the mainland where problems remain rife.
PNG’s Torricelli Mountains teem with life — and the risk of extinction
- The Torricelli Mountain range in northern Papua New Guinea holds a staggering amount of biodiversity in a tiny area.
- A recent analysis suggests that the threat of extinction to species living in the Torricellis if the land were cleared of its forests would be among the highest on Earth.
- A community conservation group called the Tenkile Conservation Alliance has worked to end the hunting of critically endangered tree kangaroos in the Torricellis and has proposed a 1,250-square-kilometer (483-square-mile) protected area to further protect the mountains’ forests and species.
- But the government of Papua New Guinea has stopped short of officially recognizing the conservation area as the threat from industrial logging companies in the region remains.
Brazil plans new Amazon routes linking the Pacific & China’s New Silk Road
- New roads and riverways integrating the Brazilian Amazon and ports on the Pacific coast of South America are expected to be announced in 2025, reducing shipment costs to supply China.
- Brazil’s plans to build ports and roads to help move grains, beef and iron ore from the rainforest echo a development vision that dates back to the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Environmentalists warn the new routes boost deforestation and encourage land-grabbers and ranchers to keep exploring the Amazon as a commodity hub.
Indigenous communities in Indonesia demand halt to land-grabbing government projects
- More than 250 members of Indigenous and local communities gathered in Indonesia’s Merauke district to demand an end to government-backed projects of strategic national importance, or PSN, which they say have displaced them, fueled violence, and stripped them of their rights.
- PSN projects, including food estates, plantations and industrial developments, have triggered land conflicts affecting 103,000 families and 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land, with Indigenous communities reporting forced evictions, violence and deforestation, particularly in the Papua region.
- In Merauke itself, the government plans to clear 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) for rice and sugarcane plantations, despite Indigenous protests; some community members, like Vincen Kwipalo, face threats and violence for refusing to sell their ancestral land, as clan divisions deepen.
- Officials have offered no concrete solutions, with a senior government researcher warning that continued PSN expansion in Papua could escalate socioecological conflicts, further fueling resentment toward Jakarta and potentially leading to large-scale unrest.
Chinese business in the Amazon generates controversy
- In recent years, several corruption scandals emerged, involving Chinese companies and businessmen in the Pan Amazon region.
- In countries like Bolivia, they were found to have bribed authorities to obtain benevolent licenses, including the sale of shares in the state-owned YPFB. In Peru and Ecuador, manipulation of the contracting system to benefit the Chinese company was reported.
- Countries that have been more successful in tackling corruption have in place better governance systems, stronger institutions and judicial systems.
Uncontacted Ayoreo could face health risks as Gran Chaco shrinks, experts warn
- The International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (GTI-PIACI) visited northern Paraguay to better understand the threats against the Indigenous Ayoreo communities living in isolation.
- The Ayoreo live semi-nomadically between the Paraguayan and Bolivian Gran Chaco, where they’re threatened by deforestation from the expanding agricultural frontier.
- GTI-PIACI called on the Paraguayan government and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to develop more thorough measures to protect the groups and stop deforestation.
Planned port project threatens protected Amazonian mangrove biodiversity and local livelihoods
- The proposed Alcântara Port Terminal in Brazil’s northeastern state of Maranhão is set to be constructed within the Reentrâncias Maranhenses, a protected mangrove area and Ramsar site on the Amazonian coast.
- Researchers and local Quilombola residents fear the port will impact the area’s protected wetlands and cause a disturbance to breeding bird colonies and marine species.
- The construction of the port will destroy several freshwater lagoons found within the island, sea turtle nesting grounds, and the fishing areas of the local communities.
Australia faces inflation, agriculture losses after Cyclone Alfred
The Australian government has warned of impacts to the country’s economy in the wake of Cyclone Alfred that caused massive losses to infrastructure, agriculture and the dairy industries when it struck in late February. The horticultural industry was among the worst hit, with strong winds toppling and damaging hundreds of orchard trees, and floodwaters inundating […]
A Cameroon stadium spurs one community’s fight over ancestral lands
- On the outskirts of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, members of the local Yanda community say the construction of a large multisports complex has left them without their traditional forest lands, where their ancestors were buried.
- The forest previously provided Yanda families with trees, plants and animals for their food and medicine.
- The land, they say, was razed for the construction of the Paul Biya Omnisports Complex, which hosted the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations; today, the stadium stands empty.
- The Yanda community is asking the government for compensation, but the people have no formal titles to their ancestral lands — a common problem for traditional communities in similar situations seeking land rights or compensation for their eviction.
With biological and cultural diversity at literal crossroads in the tropics, a new approach is needed (commentary)
- Both biological and linguistic diversity are greatest in tropical regions, and both are endangered by unprecedented rates of road expansion.
- Will current paradigms for language and species protection help to protect this wealth of diversity into the next century, a new op-ed asks.
- While a “no roads” approach is unlikely to work in areas of overlapping cultural and biological richness, a framework of “people with nature” that acknowledges issues of justice and social equity, recognizes that local people have a right to environmental self-determination, understands that people and other-than-human species are intrinsically intertwined, and that solutions must be inclusive, could work, this commentary argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Tragedy haunts community on shore of Sumatra’s largest solar farm
- A joint venture between Indonesia’s state-owned electricity utility PLN and Saudi developer ACWA Power says it remains on track to build Sumatra’s largest floating solar power array on Lake Singkarak by 2027.
- The renewable energy project’s managers face a difficult task on the ground getting local community members on board with the project, given lingering memories of a flash flood 25 years earlier linked to a hydroelectric plant.
- Local fishers told Mongabay Indonesia they also fear the installation of solar panels on the lake’s surface will impact the stocks of the fish they rely on as their primary source of income.
- Indonesia has set ambitious renewable energy goals to meet its international climate change commitments, but several energy transition projects are creating new land conflicts and cases of displacement across the world’s fourth most populous country.
Chitwan city using Indo-Nepal wildlife corridor for waste dump
- Bharatpur Metropolitan City has been dumping waste in the Barandabhar corridor, an international wildlife passage, based on an initial environmental examination (IEE) that falsely claimed the site was barren and ignored the presence of more than 2,000 trees, including ecologically significant species like sal (Shorea robusta), a Mongabay investigation reveals.
- The landfill site disrupts a key corridor for species such as tigers (Panthera tigris) and rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis), jeopardizing their movement and habitat. The federal government’s investment in an elevated road for safe wildlife passage may be undermined by ongoing waste disposal.
- Despite legal requirements for a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) for landfills in forest areas, the city relied on an outdated and misleading initial environmental assessment (IEE). The Department of Forests has not approved tree felling, yet local officials persist in waste dumping, citing lack of alternatives.
Mangroves at risk as El Salvador begins work on new airport
- Officials broke ground last week on the Airport of the Pacific near the coastal town of La Unión, in eastern El Salvador, where mangrove ecosystems support wildlife and prevent coastal erosion.
- While the project could bring thousands of jobs to an undeveloped part of the country, it could also lead to massive development where coastal habitats currently protect drinking water for local communities.
- The airport is part of President Nayib Bukele’s plan to invest over a billion dollars into the eastern side of the country.
Illegal sea fence displaces fishers and sparks land scandal near Jakarta
- A property developer installed 30 kilometers (19 miles) of bamboo fencing in the sea near Jakarta, blocking fishers’ access; an investigation revealed it encompassed 280 ocean plots for which title deeds had been illegally issued.
- The fence has forced many fishers to stop working, while coastal farmers have lost their land to the same luxury development; residents also face eviction with no clear alternatives.
- Authorities have sanctioned a handful of individuals from the public and private sectors and started revoking the illegal deeds, but activists are demanding criminal prosecutions against the companies responsible.
- The case highlights weak oversight of Indonesia’s national strategic projects, raising concerns over environmental destruction, loss of livelihoods, and government favoritism toward big developers.
Baja California tourism poses mounting challenges for conservation, critics say
- Baja California Sur attracts more foreign tourism investment than any other state in Mexico, but the rapid development also poses threats to protected areas, marine habitats and the traditional customs of small communities.
- Numerous hotel projects underway this year could level sand dunes and encroach on protected areas, overwhelming many environmental activists who aren’t sure how to combat the rapid development.
- Some critics question the eco-tourism model that has been applied to coastal fishing villages, many of which regret trading in their customs for tourist businesses.
Illegal seabed dredging surges as Indonesia resumes sand exports
- Reports of unauthorized seabed dredging have surged following Indonesia’s decision to resume sea sand exports in 2023, raising environmental concerns and exposing weak marine law enforcement.
- Officials argue that removing sediment helps ocean health and prevents land buildup, but experts and activists warn the policy contradicts marine conservation efforts and lacks transparency.
- Dredging threatens mangroves, coral reefs, and fish populations, with projected losses to fishing communities far outweighing state revenue and corporate profits.
- Experts urge the government to reinstate the export ban, conduct thorough environmental impact assessments, and allocate funds for ecological restoration and affected communities.
Ecology vs. development in Karachi: Interview with photographer Salman Baloch
- Malir, the largest district in Karachi, has long been home to Indigenous Sindhi and Baloch tribes that lived for centuries as communal agrarian societies, dependent on the environment; now, rapid urbanization and development projects threaten the land, water and wildlife.
- Wildlife photographer, activist and writer Salman Baloch has fought against development projects such as the 39-kilometer (24-mile) Malir Expressway and Bahria Town, a 19,000-hectare (46,000-acre) gated suburb of Karachi, both of which pose dire consequences for the region’s wildlife.
- Baloch is also photographically documenting hundreds of bird species that have historically lived in the area.
- Baloch recently spoke to Mongabay about his activism, photography, fears and hopes for the future of Karachi’s wildlife and ecosystems.
More cable car controversy surfaces in Nepal’s western mountains
- Nepal’s National Planning Commission granted “national priority” status to a controversial cable car project in the Annapurna Conservation Area, despite pending legal challenges and environmental concerns.
- The decision has been criticized for lacking legal grounds and potentially violating a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a law allowing infrastructure projects inside protected areas.
- Legal experts warn that the decision could be in contempt of court, as the full text of the Supreme Court’s ruling on protected area infrastructure is still pending.
Indian villages seek to protect ecosystem by opting out of state’s development push
Residents of two villages in the Indian state of Goa have petitioned the environment ministry for their villages to be recognized as “eco-sensitive areas.” The residents want their villages’ natural resources to be protected from large-scale infrastructure projects and tourism development, reports Mongabay India’s Simrin Sirur. The villages of Loliem and Poingunin are located in […]
Court decision to stop Tren Maya comes too late for ecosystems, critics say
- A court halted the construction of lines 5 and 7 of the Tren Maya project in southern Mexico. But the construction has already finished, drawing criticism from activists who say the court took too long to evaluate environmental risks.
- The nearly $30 billion Tren Maya is divided into seven lines traversing 1,554 kilometers (966 miles) of the Yucatán peninsula, connecting Cancún and Tulum, and Escárcega and Chetumal.
- The court said developers need to comply with numerous environmental conditions to ensure the protection of rainforests and cave ecosystems currently under threat from train construction.
Rail and port project in Amazon wetland stirs angst among Quilombola fishers
- Quilombos, rural settlements and environmental protection areas will be impacted by a new rail and port project in Brazil, according to Quilombola residents and a coalition of civil society organizations.
- They say the company did not consult all affected communities who depend on a wetland for fishing and called into question the validity of its environmental license.
- While some residents reject the project, the plans were approved by an association of residents of the rural Black Quilombola community in Cajual Island following promises of new housing, school and health centre, as well as 6% of profits.
- The project aims to transport iron ore extracted from Pará’s Carajás mine to China and European countries, as well as food and other commodities.
In Panama, major port construction begins at key mangrove site
- The Puerto Barú project, located outside the town of David in the Pacific province of Chiriquí, will be a new industrial port on Panama’s west coast, where channels and lagoons support mangroves, breeding grounds and nurseries for a variety of marine species.
- The project requires dredging a riverbed and increasing maritime traffic of cargo ships, cruise ships and yachts.
- More than 50 conservation groups have organized a “No to Puerto Barú” campaign, but an initial injunction to stop construction was shot down in court.
Indigenous communities rise up against prison projects in Ecuador
- During his 2023 campaign, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, today the country’s president, promised to build two new maximum-security prisons as a way to tackle rising violence and gang-controlled prisons.
- Both prisons were planned in areas with sensitive ecosystems and claimed by Indigenous communities; yet the state failed to seek the consent of the communities, as required under Ecuador’s Constitution.
- One prison has been under construction in the coastal province of Santa Elena since June 2024, for which 30 hectares (74 acres) of tropical dry forest, one of Ecuador’s most threatened ecosystems, have so far been cleared, triggering local community protests.
- The second prison was planned for the Amazonian community of Archidona in Napo province; but after two weeks of intense protests in December, the government decided to move the project to Santa Elena, just 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the other project.
Study shows degradation changes a forest’s tree profile and its carbon storage
- In highly deforested landscapes and degraded forests, large-seeded big trees are losing out to opportunistic, fast-growing species, a recent study has found.
- Having examined 1,207 tree species across 271 forest plots in six Brazilian regions in the Amazon Rainforest and Atlantic Forest, the study shows that tree species normally dominating landscapes with a high forest cover seem to be in decline.
- The researchers suggest this is because the relatively large wildlife needed to disperse large seeds disappear early on from human-modified landscapes, allowing trees with smaller seeds, and thus smaller dispersers like birds, to dominate the forestscape.
- As forests become increasingly degraded, they lose their functional characteristics, as soft-wood, fast-growing trees have less ability to store carbon, are less resistant to fire and drought, and generally die younger.
Vested interests and social tribes in the Pan Amazon
- Local and regional actors, particularly commercial and landowner elites in mid-sized cities, play an important role in the expansion and improvement of road networks. In Brazil, lobbying by private interests played a big role in the development of Rodovia Transamazônica and BR-319.
- In Brazil, agribusinesses exert political power via the Frente Parlamentar da Agropecuária (FPA), often referred to as the Bancada Ruralista, a multi-party congressional voting bloc.
- One of the most significant accomplishment of the ruralistas was their 2012 campaign to modify Brazil’s the Forest Code. Changes included amnesty for property owners who had illegally deforested land before 2008 and adjusted requirements to reforest portions of landholdings that had exceeded legal deforestation limits.
Nepal’s top court strikes down law allowing development in protected areas
- Nepal’s highest court has scrapped a controversial new law that allowed infrastructure development, such as hotels and cable cars, inside protected areas.
- The law, passed in July, threatened to rezone protected areas to facilitate development projects, and its scrapping has been hailed by opponents as a significant victory for conservation efforts.
- A group of lawyers mounted a legal challenge to the law after its issuance, leading to an interim stay until the ruling.
- The court decision, issued Jan. 15, aligns with the court’s strong track record of prioritizing conservation and human rights, activists note.
Nepal PM sums up 2024 shift away from conservation: ‘Fewer tigers, less forest’
- Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli recently made remarks downplaying the significance of conservation efforts, suggesting reduced targets for tiger populations and forest cover, contradicting international commitments and national priorities.
- The comments come on the heels of the government introducing measures allowing large-scale infrastructure, including hydropower projects and hotels, in previously protected areas, raising concerns among conservationists, lawyers and Indigenous communities.
- The Supreme Court is reviewing a petition against these proposed changes, with a final ruling pending due to delays in court proceedings.
Still no sweet spot in 2024 for Nepal in balancing conservation & development
- Nepal faces ongoing challenges in balancing the development of infrastructure such as roads, railways and hydropower dams, with the need to conserve its rich biodiversity, forests and rivers.
- Infrastructure projects continue to raise ecological concerns, including habitat fragmentation, pollution, and risks to wildlife.
- Plans like the rerouting of the East-West Railway and buffer zones around rivers in Kathmandu have sparked protests due to fears of displacement, loss of property and economic hardships.
- These conflicts underline the challenges of aligning development with community and environmental needs.
Brazil’s shipping channel plans in Amazonian rivers will worsen climate change, experts warn
- Dredging and rock-blasting ever-drier rivers for new channels in Brazil might not achieve agribusiness’s goal of cheaper, year-round transport, experts warned, suggesting existing railways as price-comparable and more climate-resilient.
- Though waterway transport is promoted as lowering emissions, in fact proposed new shipping channels on the Tocantins and Madeira rivers increase carbon emissions and deforestation, experts told Mongabay.
- New shipping channel plans used old water data, stopping in 2017 for the Tocantins channel, and didn’t do climate risk projections or climate impact studies. Experts urge these studies must be done, or risk tens of billions of investments in rock-blasting and dredging river beds, leaving “ruins” and “abandoned projects.”
- An August lawsuit by federal prosecutors charges that licensing of rock-blasting and dredging in a 500-km stretch of the Tocantins River in Brazil is an illegal “trick” to circumvent legally required full environmental review of the whole Araguaia-Tocantins channel, for which an economic-technical feasibility study was never done. In March 2022, Ibama’s licensing director determined it was “unviable.”
The fuel that moves people: the Ecuadorian case
- In Ecuador, the main areas of colonization were a north-south corridor along the base of the Andes and the Sucumbíos-Orellana quadrant, the country’s major oil-producing region.
- Since the 1970s, populations in both areas have grown significantly. The Andean zone went from 160,000 inhabitants to more than 520,000 in 2017; in parallel, the population in the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana increased from less than 12,000 to more than 350,000.
- Colonization also led to the invasion of lands of the indigenous Shuar, which prompted an unusual effort on their part to protect their territory. Today, the area specializes in cattle production and seeks to establish a niche market for high-quality beef for the domestic market.
A port is destroying corals to expand. Can an NGO rescue enough to matter?
- The ongoing expansion of the port of Toamasina in eastern Madagascar is set to destroy 25 hectares (62 acres) of coral reefs.
- Tany Ifandovana, a Malagasy NGO, removed a small portion of these corals before construction began, and transplanted them to a coral island several kilometers away, as a way to ecologically compensate for the losses, at least in part.
- The NGO faces major challenges, including a lack of resources, little support from the port, and locals destroying corals around the island transplant site.
- “As an environmentalist, it hurt my heart to know that these corals were just going to be filled in,” Tany Ifandovana’s vice president told Mongabay. “Something had to be done.”
Nepal created a forest fund to do everything; five years on it’s done nothing
- Nepal’s Forest Development Fund, established in 2019, was designed to support forest conservation, research and other environmental initiatives, but it has not spent any of the allocated funds in five years.
- The fund is meant to be financed through various sources, including lease fees from developers, compensatory afforestation payments, a percentage of profits from forest land use and revenue from carbon trading.
- Forest user communities, which have successfully increased forest cover in Nepal, continue to face financial difficulties, with illegal logging and wildfires exacerbating the situation, while the FDF remains frozen.
Thousands feared dead as Cyclone Chido devastates southeast Africa
Intense Tropical Cyclone Chido, which developed in the southwest Indian Ocean, left a trail of destruction in the French island territory Mayotte and nearby countries in southeast Africa like Mozambique, possibly leaving thousands dead and many more without homes and livelihood. “Cyclone Chido underwent rapid intensification before landfall in Mauritius, weakened slightly, and then regained […]
In 2024, Nepal faced old & new challenges after tripling its tiger population
- Nepal successfully increased its wild tiger population, tripling numbers since 2010, but this achievement brings challenges like human-wildlife conflict, habitat loss and balancing conservation with development.
- Growing tiger populations in areas with dense human settlements have intensified conflicts, creating hardships for communities living near protected areas and raising concerns about fair compensation for losses.
- Expanding infrastructure, such as highways through tiger habitats, poses risks like habitat fragmentation and increased wildlife-vehicle collisions, with budget constraints limiting necessary safeguards.
- Local communities relying on forest resources, especially wild edibles, face dangers from tiger encounters, highlighting the need for safer practices and improved community management.
Communities warn of threat to ecosystems from Brazil bridge project
- Islanders and experts have warned of widespread environmental and social impacts from the construction of a bridge linking the Brazilian city of Salvador with the island of Itaparica in Todos os Santos Bay.
- Critics say the project will devastate mangrove forests and coral reefs, leading to environmental imbalance, compromising fishing communities and threatening the survival of many marine species including humpback whales and sea turtles.
- Proponents say the bridge will boost development in the region, in particular transporting agricultural produce, but islanders say the anticipated population surge on Itaparica will create unsustainable pressure on public services as well as drastically change the dynamics of the community living there.
- Experts say the best solution for improving transportation links between Salvador and Itaparica is to invest in the existing ferry system, but this option wasn’t considered by planners.
Construction of Indonesia’s new capital sees port activity crowd out fishers
- Construction of Indonesia’s vast new capital city on the east coast of Borneo has prompted a surge in port traffic in Balikpapan Bay, elevating existing pressures on the belt of mangroves lining the inlet.
- Local villages depend on near-shore fisheries within the inlet, but interviews indicate these communities are struggling to endure the increased port traffic and restrictions to fishing areas.
- District-level officials acknowledged that fishers face diverse challenges as a result of the new capital construction.
- However, they say they will seek redress for the destruction of any of the 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres) of mangroves in the bay area.
Bolivia’s internal colonization and its March to the East
- Bolivia’s current configuration and its final area were consolidated after the Chaco War and after the country ceded Acre to Brazil and its coastal provinces to Chile.
- Since then, the need to occupy vast territories allowed for wide-scale deforestation, especially in the Chapare and the alluvial plain of Santa Cruz.
- In the department of Santa Cruz, population grew from about 300,000 in 1960 to more than three million in 2022. Although 70 % of this growth has been concentrated in the metropolitan area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the urban economy continues to rely heavily on agriculture.
Researchers propose a ‘circular economy’ solution to housing affordability against climate change
A global housing affordability crisis is underway, so when the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University in the U.S. released a report this year highlighting the “disastrous” state of housing affordability for 94 markets — where median home prices far exceed median wages by many times, making housing much more expensive for the […]
Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
- Xingu Indigenous Park and Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory in Brazil cover an area larger than Belgium.
- The Indigenous territories are still largely covered in primary forest, and a haven for wildlife in a region considered an agricultural powerhouse.
- Satellite data show Xingu Indigenous Park lost 15% of its primary forest cover, and Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory lost 8.3% of its forest cover, between 2002 and 2023.
- Indigenous groups fear proposed transportation projects will bring a fresh wave of deforestation and open up their territories to invaders.
Migration opens up new territories in the Brazilian Amazon in the 20th century
- Internal migration in Panamazonia was driven by the gold rush, improved infrastructure, land grabbing and job opportunities in large-scale infrastructure projects such as industrial mines and hydroelectric plants.
- Rondônia’s population grew from 100,000 in 1972 to more than 400,000 in 1982, when it became one of Brazil’s states. By 1990, it had surpassed one million inhabitants.
- Migration within the Brazilian Amazon is now largely internal, as Amazonian residents move to cities. Internal migration is motivated by lack of opportunity in rural communities and the creation of temporary jobs linked to construction sites
New transmission lines cut a Cambodian rainforest sanctuary in half
- Satellite imagery, drone photography and testimony from residents indicate that work has begun on electricity transmission lines that will cut through the heart of Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary in order to connect Cambodia’s energy grid with that of Laos.
- A 5.8-kilometer-long (3.6-mile) strip of land has already been cleared inside Prey Lang, indicating that plans are moving forward to run the transmission lines 65 km (40 mi) through the sanctuary.
- Conservationists, and even the former environment minister, recommended alternate routes avoiding the core of the forest, leading one expert to question whether the lines have been deliberately sited to facilitate access by timber traffickers and land investors.
Nepal’s top court to rule next month on law allowing development in protected areas
- Nepal’s Supreme Court has completed hearings on a petition challenging changes to conservation laws and permitting infrastructure development in protected areas. A ruling is expected by Dec. 20.
- The law being challenged allows the government to designate areas within national parks as falling outside “highly sensitive zones” and thus opening them up to development projects like roads and hydropower.
- Conservationists argue this new definition threatens habitats and undermines decades of conservation progress.
- Conservationists fear that the law could exploit natural resources, displace local communities, and shrink critical habitats, jeopardizing Nepal’s protected area system and wildlife.
Communities band together to save besieged reserve in Bolivia
- Bolivia’s Tucabaca Valley Municipal Wildlife Reserve has been beset by clearing and fires over the past several years.
- Now, mining, infrastructure development and land trafficking are adding to the pressure faced by the reserve.
- Residents of nearby communities have formed an association called Movement in Defense of the Tucabaca Valley.
- In June, a delegation from the Movement visited the Tucabaca reserve to assess the damage.
As nations develop circular economy plans, Finland’s top expert shares how they lead the way
In 2016, Finland became the first nation to design a circular economy roadmap, and has set specific goals to reach “maximum circularity” by 2035. While the nation has made great progress, significant challenges remain. For this second episode of a new series of the Mongabay Explores podcast all about the circular economy — the effort […]
As global fire risk rises, modern homes become toxic plastic traps
- In the 21st century, petrochemical-based building materials and furnishings have replaced traditional wood, fabric and metal materials in homes worldwide. But plastics are more flammable and release persistent toxic chemicals when burned or exposed to high heat.
- Also over the last 25 years, wildfires have multiplied and intensified due to global warming, and often now jump the wildland-urban interface, burning whole neighborhoods and leaving behind a dangerous toxic home legacy.
- Homeowners whose houses survive such wildfires are often stunned to learn that their homes are a toxic health threat, unlivable and a total loss.
- The multibillion-dollar production and wide-ranging export of plastic building materials and home furnishings, and the dramatic surge in wildfires, has made this a global problem impacting communities in the U.S., China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Portugal and beyond.
Court throws out permits for controversial Baja California hotel project
- The Tres Santos hotel project in Baja California Sur will have to conduct new environmental impact studies in order to obtain permits that it failed to comply with when breaking ground nearly a decade ago.
- Over the last decade, residents said the environmental impact became worse than what had originally been described to them. Some wetlands were filled in and rivers and streams were being diverted.
- Earlier this year, a court found that the original environmental impact study didn’t justify the development that was carried out. It should have been rejected and done again before construction even started.
Study shows, via clouded leopards, how to better protect forests
- New research from Borneo suggests we could improve the efficacy of protected areas by better selecting where to locate them.
- A more “assertive” approach to protected area placement that prioritizes protection of high-biodiversity forest areas facing imminent development pressure could significantly improve conservation outcomes for key forest-dependent species, the study says.
- Improving protected area design and management is vital as the urgency of environmental action builds, especially in regions facing escalating development threats, such as Borneo.
- As in many parts of the world, Borneo’s existing network of protected areas are largely located in rugged and remote places that are safeguarded mainly by their inaccessibility to development, rather than by strategic conservation planning.
An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- On the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital city, farming and fishing communities face displacement due to the planned construction of Pantai Indah Kapuk II, a vast complex of commercial property and mid-range apartments on the northeast coast of Jakarta’s metropolitan area.
- Farmers and fishers told Mongabay Indonesia that the developer had restricted their access to the sea, and acquired land without paying fair compensation for the value of productive trees.
- Indonesia’s fast-growing urban population has led to a housing crunch in several cities across the archipelago, with the national backlog estimated at more than 12 million homes.
- The national ombudsman’s office said no local residents had yet filed a report over land acquisition, while the developers did not respond to requests for comment.
Dam terrorism: How mining companies in Brazil scare residents into relocating
- Recent research shows how mining companies in Brazil are artificially inflating risk levels for some dams holding mining waste in an effort to scare residents into moving out of the area.
- This so-called dam terrorism began almost immediately after the deadly collapse in January 2019 of a tailings dam in Brumadinho municipality, Minas Gerais state, with several mining companies suddenly declaring their own dams were no longer certified safe.
- Residents living near these dams have been woken up by emergency sirens in the middle of the night, even though there was no evidence that the dams were about to collapse.
- Daniel Neri, the researcher behind the new study, says these scare tactics exploited “the terror of the tragedy in Brumadinho to make people leave everything behind.”
NGOs urge banks and China to refuse support for Ugandan oil projects
A group of 28 NGOs have written to 34 banks, insurance companies and the Chinese government, urging them to deny financing and other support for oil and gas projects in Uganda. The letters, written by U.S.-based Climate Rights International (CRI) and 27 Africa-based NGOs, follow a report detailing numerous human rights violations and environmental harms […]
Hotel built without permits on disputed land riles neighboring Paracas reserve in Peru
- A controversial hotel opened its doors to the public in 2023 in the Paracas National Reserve’s buffer zone, which acts as a protective strip around the reserve to minimize any impact on the protected area.
- The Hotel Boutique Atenas is owned by a former police officer with a history of land ownership conflicts. The hotel does not appear to have the required permits from Peru’s National Service of Natural Protected Areas, Mongabay Latam found.
- It was also built on a property currently subject to a land dispute. Marine farmers who work there claim to have been forcefully displaced from this area.
Javan fisherwomen lead fight against marine dredging amid fears of damage
- Fisherwomen on the north coast of Java Island are pushing back against plans to dredge sea sand for export, saying they fear it will worsen coastal erosion and harm marine ecosystems.
- Under a 2023 regulation, the government ended a 20-year ban on sea sand exports, sparking backlash despite claims that dredging will occur only in open waters.
- Communities in the north Java districts of Demak and Jepara, where fishing is the primary livelihood, say they are particularly concerned that dredging will severely disrupt their fishing grounds and harm their livelihoods.
- Experts also warn of long-term damage both to marine ecosystems and to the economy, including losses to fishers and the undermining of Indonesia’s marine carbon storage.
Cambodian environment minister bans logging at tycoon’s Cardamoms hydropower project
- Cambodia’s environment minister has ordered a ban on forest clearance at a hydropower project site where activists and media, including Mongabay, previously reported indications of illegal logging.
- The Stung Meteuk hydropower project is being developed by a company under Ly Yong Phat, a ruling party senator notorious for a long history of environmentally and socially destructive businesses.
- In April, Mongabay documented the illegal logging operations at the project site, where logging routes had been cut leading into the nearby Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Activists have welcomed the order to halt forest clearance, but say they’re skeptical the ban will be enforced against such a powerful figure, noting that timber processing continues at the site.
Brazil’s race to approve the end of the Amazon: The BR-319 highway needs a new environmental impact assessment (commentary)
- Brazil’s race to approve “reconstruction” of Highway BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho) is gaining ever more momentum, with President Lula declaring his support for the project on the 10th September, a moment that could not be more ironic amid the country’s dramatic fire crisis, argues researcher Philip M. Fearnside in this commentary.
- The impact of BR-319 extends far beyond the roadside strip to which the EIA and licensing discussion is limited. Planned side roads such as AM-366 would open the vast rainforest area west of the highway to the entry of deforesters, loggers and others. The rainforest in this area is also at risk of collapse from climate change, and this risk would be further increased by the deforestation and forest degradation provoked by the planned roads linked to BR-319. Loss of this forest would be catastrophic both for global climate and for water supply to other parts of Brazil, including São Paulo.
- The area at risk is both the most critical and the easiest to avoid deforesting. All that needs to be done is to not build the highways that would provide access, while in other parts of Amazonia stopping deforestation requires changing the behavior of hundreds of thousands of individual actors. A new EIA is needed that includes all areas receiving impacts from BR-319 in the northern and western parts of Brazilian Amazonia. The EIA cannot be a mere bureaucratic step after which the project is automatically approved – the rational decision is to reject the project, writes Fearnside.
- This text is a commentary and does not necessarily represent the views of Mongabay.
As MotoGP heads to Indonesia, Indigenous Sasak brace for another weekend of repression
- Motorcycle racing’s biggest show, the MotoGP championship, is on the Indonesian island of Lombok this weekend, where top racers will battle it out on a track built on land taken by force from Indigenous Sasak communities.
- Experts from the United Nations have called on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the single biggest lender to the Mandalika development where the race will be held, to suspend its funding for an assessment of the impact to the local communities.
- Since the track was completed in late 2021, the Sasak communities have been subjected to repressive security measures by Indonesian security forces, including threats of criminal charges for staging any kind of protest.
- Legal advocates for the Sasak say the communities continue to be denied fair compensation for their land, which developers appropriated through the use of eminent domain — essentially a land grab under the pretext of development.
SE Asia renewables firms fall short on policies to protect environmental defenders
- Southeast Asia is in the midst of a drive to derive 35% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.
- However, a new report warns that wind and solar firms operating in the region lack policies to protect environmental defenders and internationally recognized human rights standards.
- The findings indicate firms are particularly deficient in pledges to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, a finding of concern given the intensity of pressure on IP lands for extraction of transition minerals.
- Environmental defenders, climate activists and vulnerable communities are increasingly experiencing threats, attacks and judicial harassment in the region.
Record-breaking floods in northern Thailand intensify scrutiny of Mekong dam project
- Major flooding along Mekong tributaries in northern Thailand has heightened scrutiny of plans to build a major hydropower dam spanning the pivotal watercourse over the border in Laos.
- Experts say the Pak Beng Dam would worsen severe seasonal flooding by elevating water levels upstream into the stretch of the Mekong that flows through northern Thailand.
- In 2023, Thailand’s national electricity authority signed an agreement to purchase electricity from the controversial scheme, essentially greenlighting the next phase of development.
- This week, farmers, activists and policymakers met in the flood-prone province of Chiang Rai to discuss the potential cross-border impacts of the dam, with many speakers urging the Thai government and Thailand-based investors to reconsider their support of the scheme due to the risks of the dam exacerbating devastating floods.
Brazil’s BR-319 highway disaster: Yet another maneuver (commentary)
- Brazil’s “reconstruction” project for the BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho) highway and associated side roads would open vast areas of Amazon forest to the entry of deforesters and loggers, writes Philip M. Fearnside in this commentary.
- A “preliminary license” for the project that was granted in 2022 by the anti-environmental Bolsonaro presidential administration was suspended in July 2024 by judicial order but is being appealed by the highway department.
- The highway department has submitted to the courts a consultant report it contracted claiming that the highway project is “environmentally viable” and the department’s press release claiming this as “proof” of viability is being touted by pro-BR-319 media and politicians. The highway project continues as a major threat to the Amazon forest, and pressure is mounting to force its approval, writes Fearnside.
- This text is a commentary and does not necessarily represent the views of Mongabay.
Aluminum and steel vital to energy transition, but need circular solutions
- Aluminum and steel are in high demand today and increased volumes will be needed to achieve the energy transition and future infrastructure development.
- But mining, outdated production methods, and waste generation are putting significant pressures on several planetary boundaries — fueling climate change, impacting biodiversity, generating vast amounts of mining and other waste, using large quantities of water, and affecting human health.
- Moving away from a linear model of steel and aluminum production and consumption toward a closed-loop circular economy model could rein in some of these negative impacts and clean up these metals’ supply chains.
- Industry proponents note that circularity already occurs in both industries via recycling, but there is vast room for improvement to achieve circularity goals. This requires redesigning materials for longevity and reuse, modernizing manufacturing methods, and slashing primary raw material consumption.
In Chile, a copper mining project tainted by environmental damage sues 32 locals
- In 2023, the Los Pelambres Mining Company’s “Operational Adaptation” project was unanimously approved. The project will allow for the relocation of pipelines that transport copper concentrate, the extension of the mining project’s lifetime, and the construction of a desalination plant.
- The mining company’s extensive history of environmental damage — which includes oil, copper concentrate and industrial water spills — has residents of Pupío concerned, especially because the new pipelines will be installed only 100 meters (330 feet) from their homes.
- However, the opposition of many residents to the new pipelines caused the mining company to bring a lawsuit against them. The 27 defendants are in addition to another five people from Choapa Viejo who are also facing a legal process after protesting for solutions to the environmental damage caused by the company.
- However, in response to the residents’ opposition, the mining company has sued 27 locals. Another five people from Choapa Viejo are also facing legal proceedings after they protested, demanding solutions for the environmental damage caused by the company.
Ugandan oil project linked with massive human rights abuses: Report
The Kingfisher oil project in Uganda operated by a Chinese company has resulted in numerous human rights violations, including forced evictions, inadequate compensation, threats, violence and loss of livelihoods, a new report says. Climate Rights International (CRI), a U.S.-based nonprofit, published the report on Sept. 2. “Our findings substantiate that this project is not for […]
In Nepal, conservation battles head to Supreme Court amid civil society silence
- Nepal’s Supreme Court is becoming a battleground for conservationists due to the absence of civil society voices.
- Civil society’s silence contrasts with past protests over cultural and environmental issues, which led to policy reversals without court intervention.
- The court has historically supported sustainable development but it lacks a dedicated green tribunal, making it vulnerable to accusations of being “anti-development.”
Wildlife-rich mangroves suffer as Indonesia ramps up construction of new capital
- The development of Indonesia’s new capital city on the island of Borneo has resulted in clearing of mangrove forests that are home to threatened wildlife such as proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins.
- The government has repeatedly claimed that the Nusantara project will be “green,” but experts attribute the ongoing deforestation to a lack of planning by the developers.
- With around 3,900 proboscis monkeys, Balikpapan Bay is a stronghold for the endangered species; but the new capital city’s footprint overlaps with 41% of their habitat.
- The government agency overseeing the project insists it’s doing what it can to mitigate the impacts on wildlife and ecosystems through planning, as well as cracking down on contractors destroying the mangroves.
Indonesia’s Farwiza Farhan among Ramon Magsaysay awardees for protecting Leuser Ecosystem
- Indonesian conservationist Farwiza Farhan says she was moved to tears upon learning she’d been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership, recognizing her work in protecting the Leuser Ecosystem.
- As the founder of the conservation NGO HAkA, she was instrumental in securing a $26 million court fine against a palm oil company and halting a dam project threatening the Leuser Ecosystem, a key biodiversity hotspot in northern Sumatra.
- The award also highlights her efforts to overcome gender-based discrimination and involve women in conservation activities in the most staunchly conservative province in Indonesia.
- Farwiza said she plans to continue her work by developing a conservation school in Leuser.
UK aid agency investing $35m in controversial DRC port
British International Investment (BII), the U.K.’s development finance institution and impact investor, recently announced that it will invest up to $35 million in a controversial deepwater port project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This project, conservationists have previously warned, could damage Congo’s critical coastal habitats and sea turtle nesting areas. The Banana port […]
Indonesia’s new ‘green’ capital drives environmental damage far and wide
- The design and development of Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, is nowhere near as “green” or as “smart” as the government repeatedly claims it is, experts say.
- The government has certified the new presidential palace as meeting green building standards — which it defined itself — but its use of materials and energy indicate the opposite.
- Experts cite the “excessive” use of copper and brass for the main decorative element of the palace, noting the large carbon and pollution footprints associated with mining and processing this much metal.
- A report also identifies the obliteration of forested mountains on the island of Sulawesi to supply rocks for Nusantara on the island of Borneo, as well as the impacts of dust on communities living near the quarries.
Budget constraints limit wildlife protection in major Nepali road project
- Nepal is expanding a 115-kilometer (71-mile) section of its East-West Highway from two to four lanes, aiming to improve travel times and connectivity.
- The expanded highway passes through 11 forest patches near Chitwan National Park, raising concerns about wildlife safety and mobility.
- Budget constraints prevented the construction of wildlife overpasses and limited modifications to 12 key structures for animal crossings.
- Conservationists worry that without proper safeguards, the expanded highway could lead to increased wildlife-vehicle collisions and habitat fragmentation, potentially undermining conservation efforts in the region.
China accepts U.N. recommendations to improve environmental conflicts in Latin America
- China was up for a Universal Periodic Review with the U.N. Human Rights Council, in which other member countries analyzed its actions abroad and provided recommendations to improve.
- Some of the most popular concerns were connected to the environmental and social conflicts affecting Latin America, including violence against activists, rushed impact studies and weak oversight of projects ranging from dams and highways to mines and bridges.
- China accepted a record ten out of 11 recommendations, giving hope to some that the country will change how it handles future projects in the region. But some critics are concerned that the country won’t keep its word.
A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
- Illegal mining continues in the headwaters of the Tuichi River in northwestern Bolivia, with miners encroaching into the strictly protected areas of the Madidi National Park.
- As part of a project backed by La Paz’s government, a road is being built through the middle of the protected area,.
- Madidi’s park rangers are living under constant strain. They are threatened and attacked by miners, and are unable to enter some parts of the protected area to carry out their duties.
Reporting confirms alleged Indigenous rights violations in Nepal hydropower project
- Tucked between mountains sacred to Indigenous peoples in eastern Nepal, a conflict is brewing between Sangrila Urja Pvt. Ltd., a hydropower company, and yak herders who say the company violated the law by lying in government reports.
- The tug-of-war between the hydropower company and the Bhote Singsa communities is taking place in the Lungbasamba landscape, a biocultural heritage home to endangered flora and fauna and that communities have preserved for generations.
- Mongabay was able to verify most of the communities’ claims and confirm fabricated information in the environmental impact assessment, forged signatures during a public hearing and a lack of proper consultation with the community.
- The company director refutes the allegations and evidence and says it awaits the resumption of its activities once a lawsuit filed by civil society organizations confirms they can move forward with the project.
Uttarakhand villagers thirst for water as tourism, temps & development rise
- An influx of tourists and new residents to Uttarakhand, driven by heat waves and work-from-home options, is straining local resources, particularly water.
- Nearly 12,000 natural springs reportedly have dried up in recent years, with 90% of Uttarakhand’s population depending on these vital water sources.
- Widespread construction for tourism disrupts aquifers and natural water percolation, exacerbating water scarcity and affecting water quality; water sources are further threatened by changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures.
- Local residents, especially women and marginalized communities, face increased hardships in accessing water amid growing allegations of water diversion by hotels.
In Nepal, a cable car in a sacred forest sparks swift, and controversial, direct action
- In Nepal, a recent push to build cable cars to boost tourism in natural beauty spots carries significant environmental costs.
- A controversial cable car project has been proposed in Mukkumlung, far-eastern Nepal, a site revered by the Indigenous Yakthung (Limbu) community.
- After thousands of trees were felled by contractors to begin the construction in mid-May, Indigenous protesters organized a total shutdown of services in the town of Phungling and closed the major transport corridors in the region.
- Their efforts resulted in a temporary stalling of the construction process, but the project is unlikely to be postponed indefinitely.
Advocacy group links Uganda oil infrastructure to human-elephant conflict
- Environmental advocacy group AFIEGO has published a briefing saying the development of oil infrastructure in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park is disturbing wildlife and causing increased human-wildlife conflict in areas surrounding the park.
- The group spoke to biodiversity experts and residents of surrounding communities to assess changes in the behavior of elephants and other species in the park since TotalEnergies began building out infrastructure last year.
- TotalEnergies has previously insisted it is developing the oil fields here in line with domestic and international standards to protect the environment and nearby communities.
- The Uganda Wildlife Authority, which manages the park, rejects AFIEGO’s findings, but has not provided an alternative assessment of the impacts of construction on the park and its wildlife.
Nepal’s railway rerouting plan to avoid Chitwan park sparks fiery backlash
- On July 14, residents of Bharatpur on the fringes of Chitwan National Park burned a vehicle of a survey team, mistaking them for officials planning a controversial railway project reroute.
- The government’s decision to reroute the railway through Bharatpur to avoid Chitwan National Park has sparked local protests due to fears of displacement and inadequate compensation.
- Bharatpur’s rapid development and population growth have heightened tensions, with residents demanding the railway be rerouted farther north to avoid their homes. But doing so may not be technically and financially possible.
Conservationists look for new ways to fight oil pipelines in southern Mexico
- Pipelines currently under construction in southern Mexico have become controversial because of threats of chemical spills, their contribution to climate change and the alleged lack of consultation with local communities.
- The projects include the Southeast Gateway Gas pipeline and Tuxpan-Tula pipeline, both constructed by the Federal Electricity Commission and the Canadian company TC Energy.
- A 2018 injunction against the Southeast Gateway Gas Pipeline was struck down after a court ruled the project was a matter of national security. Now, local communities and conservation groups are working to develop alliances with international groups to come up with a different legal strategy.
On heavily dammed Mekong, tracking study tries to find where the fish are going
- Despite the huge environmental and economic importance of migratory fish in the Mekong River, there’s been little empirical data documenting where and how fish travel within the Lower Mekong Basin.
- For a recent study, researchers teamed up with fishers in Laos to tag hundreds of fish with transponders before releasing them to continue their migrations.
- The study found that these fish travel hundreds of miles along the river, including through several active and planned hydropower projects in Laos.
- It also found that at least a portion of the fish were able to traverse a fish ladder on an existing dam.
Nepal’s youngest national park looks to elevated lanes to prevent roadkill
- The Amlekhgunj-Pathlaiya section of Nepal’s East-West Highway, a major trade route to India, cuts through Parsa National Park, leading to frequent wildlife roadkill incidents, including of endangered species such as tigers.
- Plans are underway to expand the highway to four lanes, which could exacerbate the issue; to address this, officials are considering building elevated sections to allow safe wildlife crossings.
- The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation has proposed two elevated roads around Parsa National Park, and negotiations are ongoing with the Asian Development Bank for funding.
- Nepal introduced guidelines on wildlife-friendly infrastructure in 2022, which mandate safeguard measures for development projects; the proposed elevated roads in Parsa and Chitwan could set a precedent for future conservation efforts.
Thai plan to redraw boundaries of tiger reserve sparks concern and criticism
- Government-led proposals to issue land title deeds within Thailand’s Thap Lan National Park have met with heavy criticism from conservation groups and national park management.
- The plans could set a dangerous precedent for similar action in other protected areas in Thailand and might undermine the status of a flagship UNESCO World Heritage Site, critics say.
- The government says the process is necessary to settle historical boundary disputes with local communities who were living in the area long before it was established as a national park in 1981.
- While there is broad agreement that longtime residents have legitimate claims to land within the park boundaries, sections of land included in the government scheme have been encroached on by commercial developers in recent years, with critics saying the initiative risks legitimizing such illegal developments.
Garifuna land rights abuses persist in Honduras, despite court ruling
- On the northern Caribbean coast of Honduras, Garifuna Afro-Indigenous peoples seeking to reclaim their ancestral lands have been subjected to threats and violence by private developers, drug traffickers and state forces.
- For more than two decades, the territory has been threatened by the expansion of palm oil, tourist developments, mining projects and drug traffickers.
- In 2015, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared Honduras responsible for violating the Garifuna peoples’ territorial rights and ordered the government to return the respective lands to its peoples.
- The state has still not complied with the ruling; meanwhile, Garifuna residents and human rights organizations say threats, criminalization and violence against them have increased.
Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal project: A catalog of worries (analysis)
- Cambodia plans to build a 180-km (110-mi) canal from its capital to its coast on the Gulf of Thailand, a $1.7 billion project aimed at reducing its dependence on moving cargo through ports in neighboring Vietnam.
- But this analysis concludes that the plan is financially unfeasible, would have severe environmental impacts, and would exacerbate water scarcity in a region already suffering from critically low levels in the Mekong.
- The Cambodian government’s argument that the canal would make freight transport cheaper falls apart under cursory calculations, which show shipping costs will be even higher than via the Vietnamese ports.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Panama’s ‘Caribbean Corridor’ highway threatens three protected areas, critics say
- Several legal challenges have temporarily stalled construction on a new, controversial highway project in north-central Panama, which allegedly bypassed environmental regulations and could damage several protected areas along the Caribbean coast.
- The highway, known as the “Caribbean Corridor,” is supposed to travel 28.4 kilometers (17.6 miles) from the towns of Quebrada Ancha to María Chiquita, with the goal of increasing tourism and local commerce on the coast of Colón province.
- The $91-million project could endanger Portobelo National Park, Chagres National Park, Sierra Llorona Private Reserve and the Panama Canal watershed that includes Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal.
Across Mexico, World Cup infrastructure threatens biodiversity and communities
- With Mexico co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026, major infrastructure works in the country’s three host cities could have negative impacts on local biodiversity, activists say.
- In Guadalajara, conservationists express concern that new developments might undermine the local puma population, which has seen a comeback in the last seven years.
- In Mexico City, locals say they haven’t been consulted about new roads and building projects that could threaten their water resources as well as tree cover.
- In Monterrey, works planned near a protected area threatens fauna and flora conservation, experts say.
Sweeping reform package threatens environmental protections in Argentina, critics say
- Lawmakers in Argentina passed a massive reform package to overhaul the economy, but many of its policies weaken protections for local communities and encourage accelerated investment in projects with a record of deforestation and pollution.
- With over 230 articles, the controversial bill was approved by the senate earlier this month then sent back to the lower house for a final vote.
- One article in the reform streamlines the development of large investment in infrastructure, oil and gas and the mining of copper and lithium, among other things. It could let companies off the hook for endangering the environment, critics say.
- Another article modifies an administrative law on public hearings that could make it harder for local communities to contest new projects.
China-backed mine in Sumatran seismic hotspot rings safety alarms
- Communities in Indonesia’s Dairi district continue to protest a zinc and lead mine being developed by a Chinese-backed company.
- They warn the PT Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM) mine poses unacceptable risks to human life and the environment, given the potential for its waste dam to collapse in the earthquake-prone region.
- These concerns are borne out in a series of independent analyses of the project’s environmental impact assessment, which experts say fails to live up to the standards the developers claim to follow.
- Despite the questions over the assessment, the Indonesian government has issued environmental approval for the project, which local communities are now challenging at the Supreme Court.
Bali’s rapid coastal erosion threatens island’s ecosystems & communities: Study
- A recent study revealed that Bali’s coastline shrank from 668.64 kilometers (415.47 miles) to 662.59 km (411.71 mi) between 2016 and 2021 due to human activities and wave circulation, at an average rate of -1.21 meters (3.97 feet) annually.
- The erosion, combined with rising sea levels, threatens the island’s ecosystems, infrastructure and communities, which are economically and culturally significant.
- Despite the erosion, there was a net land increase of 1.25 km2 (0.48 mi2) due to land reclamation and infrastructure development, though these efforts also posed environmental risks.
- The study highlights the need for integrated coastal management to balance environmental protection with the needs of coastal communities.
Indigenous people in the Amazon are helping to build bridges & save primates
- Working together, the Reconecta Project and the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous people build bridges that connect the forest canopy over the BR-174 road, which crosses the states of Amazonas and Roraima.
- Brazil has the world’s fourth-largest road network, while 40% of its primate species are threatened with extinction; being run over on roads such as BR-174 is a leading cause of death.
- The project was created by biologist Fernanda Abra, who recently won a Whitley Award, which is considered the “Oscar of nature conservation.”
Nepal’s top engineering, forestry colleges to align on development and conservation
- Nepal’s leading civil engineering and forestry institutions are collaborating for the first time to develop new courses for their students to bridge the gap between infrastructure development and biodiversity conservation.
- Rapid infrastructure development over the past decade threatens Nepal’s forests, crucial habitats for wildlife like Bengal tigers and greater one-horned rhinos, posing risks like road kill and habitat fragmentation.
- Officials from the Ministry of Forest and Environment and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, most of whom are graduates of the two institutions, often clash over development priorities, leading to back-and-forth accusations of “anti-development” and “anti-nature.”
Brazil’s BR-319 Highway: The latest maneuver to obtain approval for an environmental disaster (commentary)
- Plans for “reconstructing” Brazil’s formerly abandoned BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho) highway would facilitate access to vast areas of Amazon forest from the AMACRO deforestation hotspot in southern Amazonia, argues Philip M. Fearnside.
- The researcher says Brazil’s federal environmental agency is under intense pressure to grant a license to allow the reconstruction to begin. This pressure has reached a new high due to a report just released by a Ministry of Transportation working group claiming the highway project is “environmentally viable.”
- The report ignores almost all of the project’s impacts and presents essentially no evidence that the highway would be “environmentally viable.” Extensive evidence to the contrary is ignored. The report’s deficiencies in no way diminish its effectiveness as a lever to force approval of this disastrous project.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Activists decry latest arrests of East African oil pipeline opponents
- On June 2, police arrested four villagers in a northwestern district of Tanzania, along the route of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
- The men had all spoken out against the pipeline at a May 25 event organized by civil society groups from Uganda and Tanzania, who say the arrests are part of a pattern of harassment of the project’s opponents.
- Activists and other people affected by the pipeline have been arrested in the past, then released without charge, but sometimes compelled to report regularly to the police.
- The villagers arrested were detained overnight without explanation, and then released without being charged with any crime.
Nepal court rules protected areas and forests off-limits for land distribution
- Nepal’s government can’t distribute land in national parks and forest areas to landless individuals, the country’s Supreme Court has ruled, emphasizing the protection of natural resources.
- Land ownership in Nepal has historically been concentrated among the powerful, leaving marginalized communities without land titles — a key grievance during the country’s Maoist-led rebellion from 1996-2006.
- The Forest Act and other regulations prevent the use of forest and public lands for settlement, complicating the government’s efforts to provide land to the landless without violating conservation laws.
Yucatán Peninsula’s hidden underground life tracks changes at the surface
- Scientists from Northwestern University in the U.S. led a series of underwater expeditions collecting water samples from the deep web of caves and sinkholes in the Yucatán Peninsula.
- The southeastern region of Mexico is crisscrossed by numerous flooded and interconnected tunnels, functioning as subterranean rivers — crucial arteries that maintain ecosystems and support millions of people, and connecting directly to the sea.
- Any disruptions to the microbial communities in these waters could have significant consequences for both humans and marine ecosystems.
- This research is crucial for assessing the potential environmental impacts of large-scale agriculture or major projects like the building of the Tren Maya railway line.
Innovative Nepali PSA seeks emotional connection to save red pandas
- A public service announcement video featuring actors in costumes resembling red pandas uses a poem and theatrical performance to create an emotional connection with the audience, rather than preaching at them.
- Red pandas, found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and China, are endangered by habitat loss, poaching and accidental snaring.
- The PSA highlights the interconnectedness of human survival and red panda conservation, aiming to foster a deeper understanding and lasting impact on younger generations, the producers say.
Will the Mekong and Salween pay the price of China’s energy transition?
- Proposals by some of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters to transition their energy sectors away from fossil fuels and toward renewables have generally been welcomed by the scientific community as progress in the right direction.
- However, while acknowledging the energy transition as essential, energy experts caution policymakers to also consider the unintended social and ecological consequences of scaling up renewable infrastructure, such as large-scale hydropower dams and wind and solar farms.
- A new study finds that China’s plans to decarbonize its energy sector by 2060 could have inadvertent but severe impacts on local farmland and transboundary river basins, including the regionally significant Mekong and Salween.
- The authors say that strategies to reduce electricity demand combined with increased investment in emerging energy technologies could curb the need for further hydropower expansion in the upper stretches of the pivotal rivers, thereby reducing cascading downstream impacts.
Guyana road projects spark concerns for future development on wetlands
- A series of ongoing road projects traveling over 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital of Georgetown to the city of Lethem, in the south, are supposed to improve access to more rural parts of Guyana while facilitating international trade, most notably with Brazil.
- But the project also crosses sensitive wetlands and Indigenous communities, raising concerns about how the government will manage future development there.
- Some of the roads cross through the Rupununi wetlands and Iwokrama Rainforest, where a unique watershed connects the Amazon River and Essequibo River basins.
Critics see payback in Indonesia’s plan to grant mining permits to religious groups
- Indonesia’s investment minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, has presented a government plan to give mining licenses to the country’s religious communities.
- Civil society groups have responded to the proposal by highlighting the lack of relevant expertise, as well as legal clauses that would currently preclude such a policy shift.
- The policy idea follows a move in 2022 to revoke operating permits over millions of hectares of land that were originally awarded to companies, but had sat undeveloped for years.
Banks backing Mekong hydropower failing on due diligence, report reveals
- A new report shows that major banks operating in Southeast Asia are failing to address the environmental and human rights consequences of their investments in large-scale hydropower dams along the Mekong River.
- The report from sustainable finance watchdogs reveals regulatory shortcomings at regional and national levels that it says fail to hold banks accountable for their investments.
- Riverside communities and rights groups have long questioned why banks operating in Mekong countries continue to fund environmentally damaging hydropower projects in neighboring countries, despite the high costs and consequences for communities in their own country.
- The report calls on financial institutions to adopt more sustainable banking policies and practices when deciding which projects to support.
Bangladesh island’s switch from solar power to fossil fuels threatens birds
- The Bangladesh government recently converted off-grid Nijhum Dwip Island in the Bay of Bengal into an on-grid locality powered by fossil fuel-fired plants, posing a threat to the country’s second-largest mangrove forest.
- The island’s inhabitants had depended on individual solar-run power, and the government planned to install a mini solar grid for an uninterrupted power supply a few years back.
- Instead, the government has facilitated the construction of a 15 megawatt heavy-fuel-run power plant at Hatiya, the subdistrict headquarters of Nijhum Dwip, under the ‘100% Reliable and Sustainable Electrification Project,’ which seems to be a reverse transition from renewable to fossil fuel-based electrification.
- Nature conservationists believe that due to the connection to the national grid, human activities will increase around the forest and endanger the already cornered wildlife of the national park on the island.
Is the extractive sector really favorable for the Pan Amazon’s economy?
- The Pan Amazon is an important source for several key industrial raw materials. Although financially, its minerals sector is minor within the world economy, the economy of Amazonian countries is highly dependent on extractive activities.
- Extractive industries in the region play a strategic role. Without them, Brazil would suffer a major economic disruption from mineral revenues, and the impact would be catastrophic for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
- Most other countries in the Pan Amazon region return only a portion of royalties from revenues to local jurisdictions, while corporate income taxes go to the central government. However, despite criticism on lack of investment in Amazonian hinterlands, local governments continue to support extractive industries.
- None of the money from royalties is allocated to conservation, nor is any allocated to the remediation of the environmental impacts linked to its exploitation.
In a Himalayan Eden, a road project promises opportunity, but also loss
- In Nepal’s sacred Tsum Valley, Buddhist community members are conflicted about the ongoing construction of a road that will pass through the region.
- The Tsum Valley is one of the few, if not last, remaining beyul, or sacred valleys, governed by customary and Buddhist laws, where humans and wildlife have lived together in harmony for more than a millennium.
- The valley has maintained its religious and cultural traditions that have conserved biodiversity and its cultural uniqueness due to its remote location.
- The road is part of a government project that aims to connect every town across the country, bringing economic development and government services closer to remote mountainous communities.
In Brazil, half a century of salt mining sinks a city, displacing thousands
- Decades of salt mining in Maceió, in northeastern Brazil, have led to earthquakes and cracks in several of the city’s neighborhoods, making buildings there unhabitable. As a result, about 60,000 people have been displaced.
- Braskem, the chemical giant that acquired the original salt mining company, has agreed with authorities to clean up the affected neighborhoods and compensate locals. But those affected complain that Braskem has offered them meager amounts, with no negotiation; the sums don’t cover the value of their properties, while compensation for moral damage is also extremely low.
- Locals indirectly affected do not receive compensation and continue to suffer losses, as properties within a 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) radius around the disaster zone can no longer be insured and lose value; businesses adjacent to the now unhabitable neighborhoods have also lost customers.
Nepal govt bypasses parliament to allow commercial projects in protected areas
- Nepal’s government has issued a controversial ordinance bypassing parliament to enable foreign investment in various sectors, including protected areas.
- The ordinance coincides with Nepal’s Investment Summit, facilitating projects like cable car routes and hotels within national parks.
- Details of the ordinance remain undisclosed, but it reportedly amends laws governing protected areas, allowing construction in previously restricted zones.
- Critics have expressed concern over the potential long-term consequences, questioning the impact on conservation efforts and local communities.
Borneo and Sumatra megaprojects are carving up clouded leopard forests
- Massive infrastructure projects currently underway on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra are set to severely erode forest connectivity across key habitats of the Sunda clouded leopard.
- Two major highway networks and the relocation of Indonesia’s capital city to Borneo will further fragment the domain of the arboreal predator that has already experienced steep population declines in recent decades due to the expansion of oil palm and poaching.
- Experts say the findings will help to target conservation actions, but they add that road design standards and development planning processes remain woefully inadequate in the region.
- The authors call for improved development strategies that seriously consider sustainability and include data-based environmental assessments and mitigation measures, such as wildlife crossings and avoidance of sensitive ecosystems.
Deforestation haunts top Peruvian reserve and its Indigenous communities
- Peru’s Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, considered one of the best-protected nature reserves in the world, has seen a spike in deforestation on its fringes from the expansion of illegal coca cultivation and mining, and new road construction.
- The forest loss appears to be affecting the ancestral lands of several Indigenous communities, including the Harakbut, Yine and Matsiguenka peoples, according to a new report by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP).
- The report found that 19,978 hectares (49,367 acres) of forest have been cleared in the buffer of the reserve over the past two decades.
- According to Indigenous leaders, the state is doing “practically nothing” to address deforestation drivers in the buffer zone, and they warn that if left unchecked, the activity will spread into the protected area itself.
All aboard Tren Maya: Here’s what we found riding Mexico’s controversial railway
- Mongabay sent a team to the Yucatán Peninsula to ride the Tren Maya, a multibillion-dollar train that’s become controversial for its environmental impacts.
- Reporter Maxwell Radwin and videographer Caitlin Cooper set out to ride the train from Cancún toward Palenque and back, with a stop in Playa del Carmen.
- On their journey, they looked for evidence of deforestation, the relocation of local and Indigenous communities, and the pollution of waterbodies — all part of multiple injunctions filed by communities and activist groups.
- In addition to deforestation, one of the major concerns is that pilings under line 5 are penetrating cave systems along the Caribbean coast, threatening freshwater and subterranean habitats.
Uttarakhand limits agricultural land sales amid protests & tourism development
- Following widespread protests, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has issued orders to district magistrates to deny permission to sell agricultural lands to those outside the state.
- With just 14% of its land designated for agriculture and more than 65% of the population relying on agriculture, calls for legislation to safeguard residents’ land rights have intensified.
- With a lack of comprehensive, updated land records, monitoring the usage of farmlands for nonagricultural purposes has become challenging.
- Lack of employment opportunities and resources as well as shifting weather patterns and climate change have pushed numerous farmers to sell their land holdings.
Circular solutions vital to curb enviro harm from cement and concrete
- Concrete is ubiquitous in the modern world, but building cities, roads and other infrastructure and more comes with an environmental cost. Cement and concrete production is responsible for significant pollution, human health impacts and vast amounts of climate-fueling emissions.
- Manufacturing cement is particularly problematic as the chemical process used to make it produces nearly 8% of global carbon emissions. Experts also underline that demand for the mined and quarried aggregate materials used to make concrete, such as sand, is responsible for biodiversity and ecosystem harm.
- Demand for cement and concrete is set to grow, especially in developing countries to improve infrastructure and living standards. Experts say that solutions reigning in the sector’s environmental footprint are vital, especially curbing greenhouse gas emissions that could absorb a major chunk of our remaining carbon budget.
- Solutions to address these challenges include a suite of technological advances, material changes, improved resource efficiency, and circular economy approaches. Some specifics: electrifying cement kilns, low-carbon concrete, carbon capture, and bio-architecture utilizing natural building materials.
Panama delays promised relocation of sinking island community
- The government of Panama continues to delay the process of relocating almost 1,300 Indigenous Guna inhabitants from an island experiencing rising sea levels due to climate change.
- The lack of space on the tiny Caribbean island of Gardi Sugdub means there’s no room to relocate, and a new site on the mainland for the community has been in the works since 2019.
- But plans for the relocation have been repeatedly delayed due to administrative issues, previous COVID-19 restrictions and poor budgeting, leaving residents skeptical that government promises will be upheld.
- Members of this fishing community have also expressed concern about the relocation site, which is a 30-minute walk from the coast, and about the design of the new homes, for which the government didn’t seek Guna input.
Conservationists welcome new PNG Protected Areas Act — but questions remain
- In February 2024, Papua New Guinea’s parliament passed the Protected Areas Bill, first introduced two decades ago, into an act, which aims to establish a national system of protected areas to achieve the conservation target of protecting 30% of PNG’s territory by 2030.
- The act lays out a legal framework for working with customary landowners in the country to earmark protected areas, establishes regulations to manage these areas and provides provisions for alternative livelihoods to forest-dependent communities.
- The act also mandates the establishment of a long-term Biodiversity and Climate Task Fund, which communities can access to implement their management plans and conservation objectives.
- While conservationists say the act is a good step toward protecting biodiversity, they raise concerns about its implementation and whether the promised benefits of protected areas will reach landowning communities.
Unseen and unregulated: ‘Ghost’ roads carve up Asia-Pacific tropical forests
- A new study indicates that significant networks of informal, unmapped and unregulated roads sprawl into forest-rich regions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
- Slipping beneath the purview of environmental governance, construction of these “ghost roads” typically precede sharp spikes in deforestation and represent blind spots in zoning and law enforcement, the study says.
- The authors underscore that the relentless proliferation of ghost roads ranks among the gravest of threats facing the world’s remaining tropical forests.
- The findings bolster a growing momentum toward the development of AI-based road-mapping systems to help conservation biologists and resource managers better keep track of informal and illegal road networks and curb associated deforestation rates.
Costa Rican community struggles to stop an airport ‘destroying our country’
- Some 350 families in Palmar Sur, in southeastern Costa Rica, face eviction over the construction of a new international airport designed to serve the country’s growing tourism industry.
- The project, endorsed by the country’s president, also threatens a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Terraba Sierpe National Wetlands, a large mangrove ecosystem that provides habitat for scores of bird species.
- Since its approval in 2010, the airport project has faced opposition from local communities, who fear the loss of their land, for which they lack property titles.
- Now, locals are considering taking legal action against the state, and are pinning their hopes on pre-Columbian archaeological finds on their land putting an end to the airport project.
Mato Grosso shelves environmental license application for Amazon dam
- The Mato Grosso government has halted the licensing for the Castanheira hydropower plant, proposed for construction in the Juruena River Basin, which would flood a 95-km2 [37-square-mile] area and directly affect Indigenous and rural communities in northern Mato Grosso state.
- Social movements in the area see this as a victory in a struggle that lasted more than a decade.
- The fact that the project was shelved does not mean it has been put to rest; Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy may still resubmit plans for the construction of the dam.
Adventure tours with tigers? Nepal’s proposed policy changes raise alarm
- Nepal’s government is proposing zoning changes to allow adventure tourism activities such as canyoning, mountain biking and motorboating inside protected areas.
- The proposed changes are part of a wider push, which includes allowing the operation of hotels and cable cars inside protected areas, to commercialize the country’s globally acclaimed conservation sector.
- Critics argue that the proposed changes could potentially jeopardize hard-won achievements in biodiversity preservation and land restoration.
Cable car proposal is Nepal’s latest plan to commercialize national parks
- Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment is considering allowing the construction of ropeways to carry cable cars within protected areas, according to a draft regulation seen by Mongabay.
- The proposed regulation aims to permit ropeway construction if it facilitates transportation to religious or tourist sites, provided no alternative transport options exist or if cable cars are deemed more environmentally friendly.
- The draft regulation suggests criteria for ropeway construction, including locating base or final stations outside protected areas and minimal infrastructure within, along with proposed fees based on the length of the ropeway.
- The plan comes on the heels of similar moves to open up Nepal’s protected areas to hydropower development and to hotels.
Road paving in a Peruvian bird paradise threatens wildlife and ecotourism
- In the Manu Biosphere Reserve of Southeastern Peru, one of the world’s most biodiverse protected areas, a winding dirt road has historically been the only route from the Andes into the Amazon. Now that road has been paved from top to bottom.
- The resulting increase in vehicle speed is causing concerns among conservationists about road-killed wildlife and damage to eco-tourism, while raising the specter of expanding extractive industries in the region.
- However, poor construction may have ensured that any impacts are short-lived; the thin asphalt is expected to erode quickly and may leave the road worse than it was before.
- Critics say such shoddy construction is a consequence of endemic corruption in the Peruvian road-building sector, which fuels an unsustainable development model that fails to meet local people’s needs.
Irrawaddy dolphin death in Thailand’s Songkhla Lake underscores conservation needs
- As few as 14 critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins remain in the world’s smallest freshwater population of the species, in southern Thailand’s Songkhla Lake.
- The recent death of one of the remaining few raised the alarm among cetacean specialists, who say more must be done to save the imperiled population.
- Teetering on the brink of extinction, the dolphins face a slew of threats from entanglement in fishing nets, depletion of fish populations, and deteriorating lake conditions due to increasing pressures from agriculture, industry and infrastructure development.
- Experts say a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to reverse the dolphin’s trajectory of decline is on the horizon in the form of major funding for dolphin conservation linked to a road bridge megaproject, but they warn it will only be successful if government agencies can put aside their competing agendas.
Projected Pantanal waterway threatens protected areas, may render navigation impossible
- Construction of a waterway on the Paraguay River could accelerate a dehydration process already underway in Brazil’s Pantanal, impacting priority conservation areas and quality of life in local communities.
- Licenses for new fluvial ports are already being issued along the river and a contract signed by the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva makes way for dredging needed for barges loaded with ore and grains to pass.
- The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation has published a resolution asking that the project not move forward because of the risks it poses to the Pantanal biome.
Surprise discovery of wind farm project in Philippine reserve prompts alarm
- In late 2023, conservationists monitoring the Philippine’s Masungi Georeserve were surprised to encounter four drilling rigs operating within the ostensibly protected wildlife sanctuary.
- The construction equipment belongs to a company building a wind farm within the reserve, which claims to have received the necessary permits despite the area’s protected status.
- Masungi Georeserve Foundation, Inc. (MGFI), the nonprofit organization managing the site, has launched a petition calling for the project to be canceled, saying that renewable energy generation should not be pursued at the expense of the environment.
To save topsoil & reduce pollution, Bangladesh moves toward alternative bricks
- Bangladesh plans to move from traditional fuel-burned bricks to alternative bricks to save agricultural topsoil and reduce air pollution.
- As part of the initiative, the government has already set a target to use alternative bricks made from concrete blocks for all government works starting this year.
- The environment department estimates that the nation’s 7,000 or so brickfields currently use 3,350 million cubic feet of topsoil or clay annually as a raw material to produce around 23 billion bricks.
- Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) demonstrates through its research and development how the nation could save an enormous amount of topsoil by utilizing alternative building materials and bricks in place of the conventional bricks made from agricultural topsoil, which is necessary to maintain soil fertility.
Indonesians uprooted by mining industry call for a fairer future amid presidential vote
- Ahead of Indonesia’s presidential election on Feb. 14, people from across the country affected by extractive industries gathered at the site of a notorious mudflow disaster in East Java province.
- The Lapindo mudflow continues to impact thousands of residents with diverse social repercussions, including displacement, environmental pollution, and obstructed access to education and health care.
- The gathering attracted participants from various regions across Indonesia to raise awareness of the impact of mining and extractive industries on affected communities.
U.S. natural gas expansion would surrender world to fatal warming, experts say
- The United States is planning a major expansion of its export infrastructure for liquified natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel mostly containing methane. Public outcry in the U.S. over the risk to the global climate forced U.S. President Joe Biden to pause the LNG permitting process for reconsideration in January.
- However, the U.S. continues investing billions in new LNG infrastructure abroad. Scientists and climate activists around the globe are warning that LNG expansion renders U.S. climate commitments unreachable, locks in fossil fuel emissions for decades and could trigger catastrophic warming.
- LNG emits more than coal when exported due to massive leaks of methane into the atmosphere during oceanic transport, a preprint study has found. Another report estimates that emissions from planned U.S. LNG exports, if all 12 facilities are approved, would total 10% of the world’s current greenhouse gas emissions.
- Climate impacts around the world would be severe, scientists say. Drought in Europe, for example, is already leading to higher food and energy prices, creating conditions for poverty even in developed nations, while a tipping point in the Amazon Rainforest could lead to mass deaths due to extreme heat and humidity.
Scientists now know how the Brumadinho dam disaster happened, and the lessons to learn
- In 2019, the collapse of an iron-ore tailings dam in Brumadinho, southeastern Brazil, killed 272 people, flattened entire villages, and caused widespread environmental damage.
- Since then, engineers have tried to understand the mechanics of how a dam that hadn’t been in use in three years, and of which there are tens of thousands around the world, could have failed so suddenly and catastrophically.
- A newly published study by researchers at the Swiss institute ETH Zurich proposes a model for the mechanism that caused the collapse and the main causes behind the delayed failure.
- They posit that this model could be useful to help facilitate future risk assessment for other decommissioned tailings dams.
Hydropower in doubt as climate impacts Mekong Basin water availability
- Warmer and drier wet seasons in the upper basin of the Mekong River are affecting the availability of water for hydropower generation along the major watercourse, according to a new analysis.
- At a recent online discussion, regional experts questioned the viability of hydropower on the Mekong as a long-term, sustainable energy solution, given the increasing presence of climate risks.
- With large-scale dams in upper parts of the basin failing to fill their reservoirs, panelists at the event asked whether they are truly worth their documented impacts on downstream ecosystems, livelihoods and communities.
- Panelists recommended continued information sharing and improved coordination of dam operations to preserve the river’s crucial flood pulse that triggers the seasonal expansion of Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, and also highlighted the conservation importance of the Tonle Sap watershed, including tributaries in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains.
Brazil’s BR-319 highway: The danger reaches a critical moment (commentary)
- A project to rebuild Brazil’s notorious BR-319 highway is quickly moving closer to becoming a fait accompli. Together with planned side roads, BR-319 would open vast areas of Amazon rainforest to the entry of deforesters. A working group convened by the Ministry of Transportation will soon release a report intended to justify approval of the project’s environmental license. Congressional approval of legislation to force granting the license is also looming.
- Despite a constant political discourse claiming that governance will contain deforestation and tourists will admire the forest from their cars as they drive on a “park road,” the reality on an Amazon frontier is very different. Most of what happens once access is provided by road is outside of the government’s control.
- The consequences of unleashing deforestation in the last great block of Amazon forest would be catastrophic for Brazil, threatening the water carried to São Paulo by the winds known as “flying rivers” and pushing global warming past a tipping point.
- An earlier version of this text was published in Portuguese by Amazônia Real. It is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.
A highway project in Chile threatens one of the world’s longest-living tree species
- The Chilean government’s intention to build a final section of a highway through a national park has caused concern among scientists and environmentalists.
- In a letter published in the scientific journal Science, scientists warn that the road will destroy hundreds of the longest-living trees in the world.
- Scientists are also concerned that the road, which may allow large trucks, would impact numerous other endangered species in the park, including a rare canine and small wild cat.
No sea change on marine policy from candidates as Indonesia heads to polls
- None of the three candidates running in Indonesia’s Feb. 14 presidential election have presented meaningful policy changes for the country’s coastal communities and marine resources, observers say.
- Indonesians are voting in the biggest single-day election in the world, but the failure by candidates to prioritize maritime issues is a major omission for the world’s biggest archipelagic country.
- Observers say the interests of fishing communities continue to be subordinated to those of industry and developers when it comes to competition for space and resources, and that none of this looks set to change under any of the three candidates.
- They also note that issues such as poverty in coastal areas, threats to marine ecosystems, and the marginalization of coastal communities persist despite the significant role these communities play in Indonesia’s fisheries sector.
Risky development in Uttarakhand: Interview with environmentalist Ravi Chopra
- Ravi Chopra, an esteemed environmentalist based in Uttarakhand, is renowned for his dedicated efforts to preserve natural resources within the Himalayan region.
- In 2019, the Supreme Court appointed Chopra as chair of a committee to review the controversial Char Dham highway construction project; he later resigned after construction proceeded despite the committtee’s findings that the project could pose significant risks to the ecologically fragile region.
- The Char Dham project drew international attention in November 2023, when a segment of a tunnel collapsed, trapping dozens of workers for 17 days.
- In a recent interview with Mongabay, Chopra discussed the environmental risks and hazards of development in Uttarakhand.
Ecuador government weighs delaying closure of controversial ITT oil block
- The government in Ecuador is considering ways to avoid closing the 43-ITT oil block, located inside Yasuní National Park in the eastern Amazon, despite the results of a national referendum last year to halt drilling.
- Since opening in 2016, the operation has led to numerous oil spills and the construction of a road through the 82,000-hectare (202,626 acre) reserve, threatening biodiversity as well as Indigenous groups, many of them living in voluntary isolation.
- But some officials have said closing the oil block needs to be delayed by at least one year to allow the national economy to respond to what could amount to billions of dollars in losses.
Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- A recent study warns that the ongoing construction of Indonesia’s new capital city on the island of Borneo could destabilize the population of endangered proboscis monkeys currently thriving in the area.
- President Joko Widodo has characterized the development as green and with a minimal environmental impact, but concerns have arisen over the potential threat to the nearby Balikpapan Bay mangrove ecosystem that’s home to proboscis monkeys and other threatened wildlife.
- Scientists have advocated for sustainable development practices and emphasized the importance of respecting local biodiversity while constructing the new city, Nusantara.
- Their recommendations include legal protection for affected areas, habitat restoration, and collaboration with local stakeholders to mitigate the environmental impact.
Nepal’s gharial population rises, but threats to the crocs persist
- The population of critically endangered gharials in Chitwan National Park, Nepal’s stronghold for these crocodiles, increased by around 11% as of the start of 2024, totaling 265 individuals compared to 239 the previous year.
- While the increase is positive, a recently published study shows the critically endangered crocs are unevenly distributed throughout their range, with threats from fishing, changes in river flow, and infrastructure development deterring them from certain prime habitats.
- The study also flagged the low success rate of a raise-and-release program for captive-bred gharials: 404 gharials have been released under the program, but the overall population has increased by just 80.
- Juveniles released under the captive-breeding program are likely suffering high mortality rates in the wild or getting washed downstream to India; experts say a possible solution is to release them as far upstream as possible.
Lessons from Finland’s attempt to transition to a circular economy
- Eight years ago, Finland became the first country to adopt a national circular economy road map to reduce the material footprint of its national economy.
- But implementing the actions called for ahead of the 2035 deadline remains a huge challenge, experts say, as the country has one of the largest material consumption footprints per capita in Europe.
- Since its inception, the road map has driven innovation at multiple levels, including in governments, research institutions and companies, to implement circular solutions; yet these efforts have not led to a decline in material usage.
- Finland’s circular economy venture provides valuable lessons, experts say, notably the importance of widespread inclusion of stakeholders and collaboration, innovation, education, and science-based target setting.
A rush for ‘green’ iron is on in Guinea. Will chimpanzees be a casualty?
- In December, Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto announced plans to sink $6.2 billion into a long-delayed iron ore mine in Guinea’s Simandou mountain range.
- Simandou contains the largest undeveloped high-grade iron deposits on earth, certain to be in high demand due to their suitability for low-emissions steel production.
- In the nearby Nimba mountains, another major iron deposit is moving closer to production, as a World Bank-backed project run by a subsidiary of HPX moves forward with feasibility studies.
- Both the Simandou and Nimba mountain ranges are home to critically endangered western chimpanzees, and conservationists say that mining operations there could pose a major threat to them.
Conservation ‘setback’ looms as Nepal opens protected areas to hydropower projects
- Nepal’s government has approved a controversial new proposal allowing the development of large-scale hydropower plants within protected areas, prompting concerns about conservation setbacks.
- The “Construction of Physical Infrastructure Inside Protected Areas” procedures was officially approved Jan. 4, permitting hydropower developers to build projects entirely within protected areas, release minimal water during the dry season, and acquire land more easily.
- Conservationists, lawyers and Indigenous communities have opposed the policy, calling it legally flawed and warning that it threatens conservation achievements in the face of climate change.
- More than two dozen conservationists submitted feedback during the policy’s public consultation phase, but these weren’t accommodated to any significant degree in the final document.
Nepal’s birds pay cost for country’s infrastructure development
- Nepal’s pursuit of development for the welfare of its citizens has made striking a balance between progress and environmental protection more challenging, especially in the context of bird conservation, experts say.
- Throughout 2023, Mongabay reported on various issues related to Nepal’s avian diversity, highlighting the threats they face and the glimmers of hope that community-led conservation efforts have offered.
- A building spree of hydropower plants and their associated power lines is among the chief threats taking a toll on both common and threatened species.
- Despite the challenges, the past year also brought some good news about vultures and sarus cranes, thanks to community ownership and engagement.
In 2023, Nepal’s ‘uncelebrated’ wildlife continued wait for attention
- From hispid hares to otters and a critically endangered lizard, Nepal’s lesser-known wild animals live under the shadow of the iconic tiger.
- Officials and conservation stakeholders are yet to come up with concrete plans to save many of these species even as they face the threat of extinction due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
- Other flora and fauna deserve the government’s attention amid these myriad growing threats, researchers told Mongabay in 2023.
Study: Singapore biodiversity loss is bad — but not as bad as previous estimate
- A recent study concludes that Singapore has lost 37% of its species since the construction of the city began in 1819.
- While high, the figure is significantly lower than a 2003 estimate of 73% species loss during the same period, a difference the authors of both the current study and the 2003 estimate attribute to more advanced statistical modeling.
- Although 99% of Singapore’s forests have been wiped out, extinction rates have leveled off and all remaining primary forest is protected, which researchers say presents an opportunity to conserve remaining species and work to reintroduce animals that have gone locally extinct.
For Nepal, 2023 changed course of tiger conservation efforts
- In 2023, Nepali conservation officials and stakeholders shifted their focus from shoring up numbers to human-tiger coexistence and development of corridors to enhance movement of the animal between different habitats.
- Although the problem of poaching has largely been addressed, negative human-tiger interactions and development of infrastructure pose significant challenges in achieving the goals.
- Also in 2023, the country’s environment minister proposed allowing sport hunting to control the tiger population, but that didn’t go down well with the conservationists.
Causeway threatens mangroves that Philippine fishers planted as typhoon shield
- The city of Tacloban in the central Philippines was ground zero for Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded and the deadliest in the Philippines’ modern record.
- A decade after the storm, the city is moving forward with controversial plans to build a road embankment and land reclamation project that proponents say will help protect the city from storm surges.
- Opponents of the plan say it threatens local fisheries, will disrupt natural storm protection measures like mangroves, and is poorly designed as a barrier against storms.
- The plan will also result in the relocation of a coastal village of 500 households, who have been active stewards of the bay’s mangrove forests.
Race to destroy the Amazon forest: Brazil’s National Congress set to force construction of Highway BR-319 (commentary)
- Highway BR-319 and planned connecting roads would bring deforesters to much of what remains of Brazil’s Amazon forest. BR-319 would connect the notorious “arc of deforestation” in southern Amazonia to Manaus, in central Amazonia.
- From Manaus, existing roads would provide access to northern Amazonia, while roads planned to branch off BR-319 would open the western half of Brazil’s State of Amazonas to deforestation. BR-319 is now on a fast track for approval by Brazil’s ruralist-controlled National Congress.
- The proposed law interferes with decisions to be made by Brazil’s licensing system and by the Amazon Fund. While these are not in purview of the National Congress, such things can happen in practice in Brazil.
- An earlier version of this text was published in Portuguese by Amazônia Real. This is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.
Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
- Papua New Guinea boasts the third largest rainforest in the world and houses about 7% of the planet’s biodiversity, including threatened species found nowhere else in the world.
- In recent years, fraudulent practices in the logging and agriculture industry have resulted in massive forest loss across the country while road network expansion plans threaten to further fragment forests and open them up for resource exploitation.
- Satellite data and imagery show logging activity on the rise in PNG, particularly in the province of Oro.
- Conservationists and officials say forest laws must be tightened in PNG and local communities included in decision-making to reduce forest loss, while incentivizing communities to conserve the remaining forests.
Kenyan pastoralists fight for a future adapted to climate change (commentary)
- Pastoralism provides much of the milk and protein consumed in Kenya, but it faces a perilous future especially from climate change but also a lack of infrastructure and land rights.
- Recent droughts have exacerbated the challenges, leading to conflict between pastoralist communities struggling to find enough forage and water for livestock.
- Fresh ideas and new programs are arising to help ease the situation in areas of northern Kenya, from where this dispatch originates.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Texas ocelot breeding and reintroduction may offer new route to recovery
- A public-private partnership aims to establish a new ocelot population in Texas to ensure survival and recovery of the species in the U.S. Current ocelot populations at the East Foundation’s El Sauz Ranch and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge are small, isolated and inbred. The nearest Mexican ocelots are 100 miles to the south.
- The new Texas population can offer insurance against accidental extirpation due to a hurricane or disease and give access to now inaccessible habitat and dispersal corridors. Captive-bred ocelots, with a mix of genes from Texas and elsewhere, will be released on East Foundation’s San Antonio Viejo Ranch, west of the current range.
- The effort represents the world’s second-ever attempt to release small wildcats via a captive breeding program. Without a suitable federal or state wildlife refuge for release, the Texas program will rely on a Safe Harbor Agreement to ensure buy-in from nearby landowners. Ranches in the region have a deep culture of wildlife management.
- Distance, development and the border wall all make connectivity between U.S. and Mexican ocelots difficult — especially in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The new release site represents the best possibility for connectivity, but continued border wall development could threaten movement of ocelots and other recolonizing species.
Disturbing graves is latest violation attributed to East African oil pipeline
- Faith-based climate justice organization GreenFaith says the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), will disturb at least 2,000 graves along its 1,441-kilometer (895-mile) route from Uganda’s Lake Albert to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.
- Surveys in affected communities found numerous cases where residents said TotalEnergies, the French oil giant leading the project, had disturbed and disrespected the graves of their families and ancestors, despite their best efforts to alert the company to their presence.
- TotalEnergies says the process of identifying and relocating burial sites, and paying compensation to affected people, has been carried out in line with international standards.
- Since its inception in 2017, the EACOP project has been dogged by criticism over its environmental, social and climate change impacts.
Cerro de Pasco: The massive mine poisoning an entire city in Peru
Cerro de Pasco, a city in Peru, has a mining history that dates back almost 400 years to the early Spanish colonial era. In recent decades, the extensive extraction of metals like lead, zinc, and silver has transformed the landscape, with a massive open-pit mine, around 300 meters deep, now overshadowing this city of 80,000 […]
‘We just want to be left in peace’: In Brazil’s Amazon, soy ambitions loom over Indigenous land
- Deforestation is surging around Indigenous reserves in Brazil’s agricultural heartland, threatening one of the last stretches of preserved rainforest in the region.
- The destruction is trickling into protected areas too, including Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory, home to Brazil’s most famous Indigenous leader.
- Indigenous advocates blame land speculation on the back of plans to pave a stretch of the MT-322 highway, which runs across the Capoto/Jarina and Xingu Indigenous Park.
- Indigenous people worry the road will ease access into their territories, opening them up to land-grabbers, wildcat miners and organized crime groups.
Dam-building on Mekong poses risk to regional industries, report says
- A new report from WWF highlights how vital regional supply chains that rely on a healthy and connected Mekong River are undermined by hydropower development.
- Recent decades have seen scores of hydropower dams built on the Mekong River system, including 13 large-scale projects spanning the river’s mainstream channel, with hundreds more either planned or under construction.
- The report looks at how the economic value of hydropower in the Lower Mekong Basin measures up against its high economic trade-offs for five key sectors that underpin regional economies.
- The report provides recommendations for governments, investors and businesses to understand the true cost of hydropower and mitigate the inevitable risks they face over the decades to come.
In Sonora, Mexico, railway project flouts public consultation, threatening fragile ecosystems
- Construction of an additional freight railway linking the Sonoran town of Imurís to the border city of Nogales is already underway in northwestern Mexico by the Army, despite no public information about its environmental licensing.
- Residents of the town of Imurís, where the tracks would cross through about 200 properties, learnt about the project from a radio show; but despite the lack of public consultation, authorities tell locals opposing the tracks that there’s nothing to be done.
- According to the Army, the project needs to be completed by the time President Andrés Manuel López Obrador leaves office in 2024.
- The project would affect the Cocóspera River Valley, a key water source for local communities and wildlife, and an important north-south migration corridor for threatened species like jaguars and ocelots.
Australia crackdown on climate protesters grows amid fight against gas project
- The Indigenous ancestral land of Murujuga in Western Australia is home to the world’s oldest and largest collection of petroglyphs, which would be partially destroyed by the country’s biggest fossil fuel project, the Burrup Hub, owned by Woodside Energy.
- As the company argues more gas is needed, direct action tactics by protesters, like releasing non-toxic stench gas or painting on art, have erupted across the state, as well as crackdowns by the police who have begun imposing the strongest form of charges on activists — some facing up to 20 years in prison.
- This is on trend with a general increasing intolerance toward environmental protesters in Australia and an uptick in the use of direct action by protesters who feel the time is running out to meet climate targets and protect endangered species.
- Environmentalists and researchers worry the project will endanger marine life through seismic blasting and say studies show it is not necessary to meet the country’s energy needs.
World Heritage Site listing for Ethiopian park leads to eviction of farming community
- The new designation of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ethiopia will also come with the relocation of the more than 20,000 people living inside Bale Mountains National Park, say park officials.
- Home to a wealth of biodiversity, the park has experienced a dramatic increase in illegal human settlements, which park officials and conservationists say threatens its natural resources, forest cover, and habitat for rare and endemic species.
- Community members have mixed feelings about the planned relocation, with longtime residents mostly opposing it due to attachment to the land and fear over their livelihoods, and others open to receiving fair compensation in exchange.
- The relocation strategy is still in its initial stages and hasn’t officially been shared with communities, though UNESCO and Ethiopian officials underline the importance of consulting the locals and supporting their livelihoods.
What’s old is new again: Bioarchitects plot route to circular economy
- The modern construction industry is built on cement, with factories and public buildings, commercial space and apartment buildings, and homes fashioned out of it. But cement production is helping destabilize the climate, and has poor durability. Bioarchitects in Mexico think they have a solution.
- They’re reviving traditional clay adobe building techniques used since the 16th and 17th centuries in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest, to give birth to a new cutting-edge school of bioconstruction aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of the cement-hungry construction sector.
- Bio-buildings are built from natural materials, are long-lasting, energy-efficient, healthier, and often with better earthquake resistance. Built with local materials by locally trained workers, with their walls easily recycled at the end of a building’s life, bio-buildings can be part of a circular economy, benefiting humanity and nature.
- Bioconstruction could radically cut construction sector carbon emissions by curbing cement production. But bioconstruction faces an uphill battle against outdated building codes, and a huge, well-entrenched cement and construction industry, whose companies are often large contributors to political campaigns in Mexico and other countries.
Sustainable infrastructure in the Pan Amazon: In search of an oxymoron
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Indonesian islanders draw line in sand as Dubai-style reclamation nears
- Residents of the island of Lae-Lae off the Makassar seafront in eastern Indonesia are stepping up their opposition to a major reclamation project conceived in 2009.
- The community has staged seven demonstrations this year to press their opposition to the ongoing development, which they warn will decimate their near-shore fisheries.
- The provincial government has previously said the island’s population will not be required to move, and that Lae-Lae will derive economic benefits from the development.
Defending a forest for tree kangaroos and people: Q&A with Fidelis Nick
- The Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) has worked for more than two decades now with communities in the Torricelli Mountains of northwestern Papua New Guinea to benefit the three species of tree kangaroo that reside in the region.
- Several dozen communities signed on to a moratorium on hunting tree kangaroos, and today, species numbers are substantially higher than they were before the TCA’s work began.
- The communities have also benefited from the TCA’s economic development projects, which have included rabbit rearing, rainwater catchment systems, and solar-powered lighting installations.
- The TCA has also been working toward official government recognition of the proposed Torricelli Mountain Range Conservation Area. However, progress toward gazetting the protected area appears to have stalled, and mostly foreign logging companies continue to operate in the area, putting pressure on the forests of the Torricellis.
Investing in the Pan Amazon: How China’s investment operates
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Indonesia’s Mandalika project a litany of violations for Indigenous Sasak
- A new investigation has revealed myriad problems plaguing the resettlement and compensation process for Indigenous Sasak families affected by a tourism development project on the Indonesian island of Lombok.
- According to the report by local and international NGOs, the project has impoverished the communities, who have been forced to resettle far from their coastal homes without being properly consulted from the beginning.
- Despite the numerous human rights violations, the project’s main funder, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the project’s developer, the state-owned Indonesian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), insist to conclude the resettlement process in September.
- Activists have called on the AIIB and ITDC to not rush the process without properly consulting with affected communities and remedying the rights violations they’ve suffered and continue to suffer.
Infrastructure in the Pan Amazon: Public-private partnerships
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Tien Hai Nature Reserve latest battleground in Vietnam’s push for development
- In April, the government of Vietnam’s Thai Binh province quietly issued a decision to remove protection from 90% of Tien Hai Nature Reserve, which forms an integral part of the UNESCO-recognized Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve.
- After environment activists publicized the decision last month, public backlash prompted officials to pause plans to develop a resort in the degazetted area — at least for now.
- The project is just one of several recent cases in which the country’s protected wetlands and forests have been threatened by development projects.
Infrastructure in the Pan Amazon: Railroad development
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Investors over islanders as Indonesia uses force to push development project
- A plan to build the world’s second-largest glass and solar panel factory on an Indonesian island has met with protests from locals set to be evicted for the multibillion-dollar project.
- Security forces have cracked down hard on the protesters, raising concerns about human rights violations, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas at a middle school.
- The government has justified its response and its insistence on pushing the project through, saying it’s of strategic national importance and that the investors must be accommodated.
- Critics have pointed out that the government previously championed local residents’ rights when it came to disputes like these, and that the U-turn shows preferential treatment for “big capital” over local communities.
Infrastructure in the Pan Amazon: Waterway options
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Can ‘road ecology’ save millions of animals?
- About a million animals are killed on roads every day in the U.S., and globally that number is much higher.
- One of the most ubiquitous features of human societies, roads are only projected to increase, with 25 million more miles predicted to be built by 2050.
- Author Ben Goldfarb’s latest book, “Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of our Planet,” details the problem of roads and he joins Mongabay's podcast to discuss the havoc they have wreaked upon the natural world and the wildlife-friendly solutions that are now emerging.
- “If we want to show empathy and compassion and love to other beings, well, one way to do that is to design roads that don’t kill them,” he says on this episode.
Mexico groups say Maya Train construction has caused significant deforestation
- An analysis of satellite images by the NGO CartoCrítica shows that 10,831 hectares (26,764 acres) are currently being used for the Maya Train project, with 61% of the area deforested.
- The organization’s survey also reveals that in 87% of the deforested lands, clearing or logging was carried out without a change of land use approval, as required by environmental legislation.
- Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) has issued a statement saying the figures presented contain “inconsistencies.” But the organizations that carried out the analysis point out that their deforestation data is supported by satellite evidence.
The struggle to deter mining operations in a little-known biodiversity sanctuary in Brazil
- The unprotected southern portion of the Chapada Diamantina mountain range, in the state of Bahia, is in the crosshairs of mining operations, remaining vulnerable to land-grabbing and deforestation.
- This place, known as Serra da Chapadinha, houses threatened species, water reservoirs and an endless supply of scenic beauty.
- There are more than 14,000 hectares (34,600 acres) of areas authorized for mining prospecting in the region, according to open data from the Brazilian Mining Agency.
- The creation of a protected area was recommended to the governor of the state of Bahia.
Indonesian voters want a clean energy plan, but candidates haven’t delivered
- Candidates running in Indonesia’s presidential election next year must make clear their plans for transition the country away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, policy experts say.
- A survey shows young Indonesians, who make up the majority of potential voters, view environmental issues in general, and a just energy transition in particular, as crucial issues for a new president to tackle.
- However, none of the three hopefuls who have declared their candidacies to date have addressed these issues, with the survey reflecting a sense of pessimism among respondents.
- Indonesia, a top greenhouse gas emitter, has said it aims to hit net-zero emissions by 2060 and retire its existing fleet of coal-fired power plants, but continues to build more coal plants to serve its growing metal-processing sector.
In Mexico’s Holbox, a natural paradise suffers from its own popularity
- The island of Holbox is part of the protected nature reserve of Yum Balam, whose lagoons, mangroves and dunes are home to threatened species such as manatees, whale sharks, turtles and horseshoe crabs.
- National and international investors have converted the white sand beaches into a tourism hotspot, with the island experiencing an unchecked construction boom in recent years, driven and protected by politicians and a legal vacuum.
- Infrastructure hasn’t kept up with the tourism development; garbage, noise and sewage have turned into environmental problems, angering locals and tourists alike, and threatening local fauna and flora.
- Scientists and activists are trying to stop the destruction but are largely ignored by both the local press and the government.
Road upgrade through remote Tanzanian park threatens wildlife (commentary)
- After a pause of more than 10 years, road upgrading through Katavi National Park has restarted.
- Critics worry about the possible effects on long term conservation of protected wildlife populations in the park, the loss of thousands of trees, and a decline in tourist revenue.
- “Once the road is paved, it will never be unpaved. Instead, a compromise solution lies in sensitive thinking of where the large mammals collect,” a wildlife biologist argues in this commentary.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Hydropower in the Pan Amazon: Bolivia seeks an energy export model
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Hydropower in the Pan Amazon: Río Trombetas and Calha Norte
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Activists slam coal pollution from Indonesia’s production of ‘clean’ batteries
- Indonesia’s electric vehicle ambitions have seen it ramp up refining of nickel, a key component in EV batteries, at industrial estates springing up across the country.
- However, these smelters are powered by purpose-built coal-fired plants, which environmental activists say are causing illness, killing crops and polluting fish farms.
- Among the coal plants that activists say are polluting local villages are those that power the nickel smelters owned by Chinese companies PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) and PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS).
- While Indonesia has stated its commitment to transitioning away from coal in powering its grid, these industry-exclusive “captive” plants aren’t subject to any kind of phaseout, and are in fact encouraged by regulation.
Expected ship traffic to LNG Canada port could see whale deaths also rise
- The nutrient-rich ancestral waters of the Gitga’at First Nation in northern British Columbia are a critical habitat for fin, humpback and killer whales.
- The development of a $35.5 billion LNG terminal threatens these whales, as shipping traffic in the region is projected to surge, leading to more frequent encounters between whales and ships, a recent study warns.
- It uses whale movement data and predicted ship traffic modeling to conclude that two fin whales and 18 humpback whales could be killed each year in ship strikes in Gitga’at territorial waters.
- Researchers suggest mitigation measures like reducing ship speeds in whale hotspots and restricting ship traffic during August, when whales are most abundant in these waters.
Offshore drilling faces backlash in Argentina after skirting environmental regulations
- Argentina granted permits to a dozen major oil companies to develop new offshore drilling projects near the Atlantic coast. But some of them may have disregarded policies meant to protect surrounding marine ecosystems.
- A court filing by the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN) argues that offshore drilling exploration could disorient, injure and even kill marine life and disrupt feeding and migratory areas.
- The companies that received permits include Equinor, Exxon Mobil, Qatar Petroleum Pluspetrol, Shell, Tullow, Total Austral and Shell, among others.
Hydropower in the Pan Amazon: The Madeira Hydropower Complex
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Hydropower in the Pan Amazon: Tucuruí and the Tocantins Cascade
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Can upcoming referendum in Ecuador stop oil drilling in Yasuní National Park?
- On Aug. 20, Ecuadorians will vote in a binding referendum on whether they want oil drilling to continue in Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet.
- Environmentalists have been fighting for this referendum for nearly 10 years; meanwhile, drilling in ITT began in 2016, and today 225 wells produce 54,800 barrels of oil per day.
- But the decision won’t be easy for Ecuadorians, as oil has been a major driver of economic growth for the country since the 1970s. Exports today account for more than 10% of the country’s GDP.
- In August, Ecuadorians will also vote on whether or not to allow mining to continue in the Andean Choco forest. This is not the first time a referendum has been used in an attempt to control large-scale extractive projects in the country, and it likely won’t be the last.
Hydropower in the Pan Amazon: The Guri complex and the Caroni Cascade
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Hydropower in the Pan Amazon: A shift toward reduced impact facilities, but the controversy continues
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Infrastructure in the Pan Amazon: The Guiana Shield and the Coastal Plain
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Infrastructure in the Andean Amazon: The Carretera Marginal de la Selva
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Nepal’s BP Highway threatens endemic, critically endangered lizard
- The dark sitana, a lizard endemic to a town in Nepal, is critically endangered by the loss and degradation of its habitat due to the BP Highway and unplanned urban development.
- Researchers are studying the ecology and threats of the dark sitana and conducting conservation outreach to raise awareness and support for its protection among local communities and stakeholders.
- The dark sitana is understudied and neglected by the government and needs more research and conservation efforts to prevent its extinction, researchers say.
The Andean republics of the Pan Amazon
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
The Human-Modified Landscapes (HML) and the Brazilian highway network
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Offshore oil plans in Brazil threaten South America’s largest coral reef
- The Parcel de Manuel Luís coral reef, off the coast of northeastern Brazil, is a vital habitat for several species, including 53 at risk of extinction.
- Despite vetoes from Brazil’s environmental regulator, the local government is seeking to give the go-ahead to oil drilling projects in this part of the Pará-Maranhão Basin.
- Oil drilling in the region also poses a threat to the longest continuous stretch of mangrove in the world, which runs from the Maranhão coastline to the northern state of Amapá, in the Amazon.
Airport proposal for Malaysian island doesn’t fly with conservationists
- A proposal to build an international airport on Tioman Island in Malaysia would destroy coral reefs in the heart of one of the country’s most biodiverse marine parks and have wide-ranging impacts on local communities and biodiversity.
- Plans for the airport were rejected by authorities in 2018 due to the scale of the environmental impacts it would cause, but government officials are again considering an environmental impact assessment for the development.
- Many of the island’s 3,000 residents have been left in the dark about the plans, which could wipe out livelihoods in two of the island’s seven villages.
- Critics of the project recommend authorities focus on upgrading an existing airstrip on the island to accept larger aircraft and in the meantime invest in sustainable, meaningful, nature-based tourism.
Roads are primary vectors of deforestation in the Pan Amazon
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Infrastructure defines the future: Chapter 2 of “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon”
- Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023.
Divided by mining: Vale’s new rail track fractures an Amazon Indigenous group
- In 1985, mining giant Vale opened a railroad that cuts through the Mãe Maria Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Since being built, the railroad has driven away game, cut off access to important water bodies and disrupted the Indigenous peoples’ way of life by introducing compensation money paid by Vale into the daily life of the villages.
- Now, the mining giant has secured permission to build a second railroad track.
- Indigenous leaders say that not only will the railroad extension cause greater environmental damage, but also that the company reached the agreement by using “divide and conquer” tactics over the years and by applying other maneuvers they consider unethical.
Indigenous villagers still lack safe land, water & food after 2019 dam burst
- In January 2019, a burst tailings dam in Brumadinho Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil, devastated the territory surrounding the Paraopeba River, including the land inhabited by the Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe Indigenous groups.
- Part of the community remained in the original village of Naõ Xohã, where today the river remains unfishable and the soil is contaminated by heavy metals. Changes in eating habits have led to an epidemic of diabetes, intoxication and allergies in the community.
- As Vale did not fund a relocation program, other Indigenous families moved to slums on the outskirts of the city of Belo Horizonte, where they lived in precarious structures and underwent racial discrimination by people in the city.
- In 2021, a local Japanese-Brazilian association donated land to build a new village called Katurãma, where the Indigenous people in Belo Horizonte were able to move; still, they have dealt with lacking resources and threats from land-grabbers and wildcat miners.
Opposition grows to Indonesia’s resumption of sea sand exports
- Marine conservation and fisheries activists in Indonesia are pushing for exports of sea sand to be scrapped, saying the activity harms the environment and community livelihoods.
- Indonesia imposed a ban on exports of dredged sea sand in 2003, but reversed the policy through a regulation issued in May this year.
- Activists say the policy directly threatens the future of Indonesian fishing and coastal communities in the world’s largest archipelagic nation, where millions of people are dependent on fishing for their livelihoods.
- Others say the resumption of exports will benefit foreign interests, including Singapore, which has expanded its land area by 20% thanks largely to Indonesian sand, and China, which is building artificial islands to shore up its claims to parts of the South China Sea.
Indonesian architect presses vision for low-cost homes from nature
- Architect Yu Sing is among a number of notable Indonesian architects prizing natural materials and traditional techniques as part of contemporary design.
- For more than a decade, Yu Sing’s Bandung-based Studio Akanoma has built projects great and small, from showpiece convention spaces to communal bamboo kitchens for women farmers.
- In 2009, Yu Sing published a book, Mimpi Rumah Murah, setting out his vision for affordable homes using locally available natural materials.
Why did the orangutan cross the toll road to Indonesia’s new capital city?
- The sighting of a Bornean orangutan crossing the sight of an under-construction toll road to Indonesia’s new capital city has renewed questions about the government’s claims about how “green” the $32 billion project really is.
- It’s not the first wildlife sighting in the construction area; there have already been five instances of clouded leopards seen in the area.
- Activists say these sightings indicate that the development of the new capital and its supporting infrastructure is being carried out without proper planning and thus will threaten the region’s ecosystem and wildlife.
- The toll road project has cleared hundreds of hectares of forests that serve as a buffer zone to a protected forest area that’s a habitat for threatened species such as orangutans, sun bears, proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins.
Dam-building spree pushes Amazon Basin’s aquatic life closer to extinction
- A recent study looking at 343,000 kilometers of waterways along 6,000 rivers across the Amazon Basin highlights the importance of free-flowing rivers to migratory species of fish and turtles, as well as river dolphins.
- More than 20 species are threatened by the construction of hydroelectric dams on long-distance rivers, considered to be key corridors for biodiversity.
- The study’s researchers identified 434 dams that have either been built or are currently under construction across the whole of the Amazon Basin, and a further 463 proposed dams that are in various stages of planning.
- One of the proposed dams on the Tapajós River would leave at least four pods of river dolphins isolated from one another, leaving them facing a similar fate to the tucuxi river dolphins impacted by similar projects on the Madeira River and today threatened with extinction.
Chile government faces backlash after U-turn on copper mine
- In April 2023, Chile’s government approved the extension of Los Bronces, a major copper mine near the capital, Santiago, after having rejected it last year over environmental concerns.
- As part of the approved plan, Anglo American, the majority owner of Los Bronces, has committed to replacing 70,000 wood-burning stoves used in households across Santiago with electric burners — but critics say this is unrealistic.
- The mine extension project faces a backlash from environmental activists and local and regional authorities, who say they plan to take the matter to court.
- They cite potential impacts to air quality, as well as dust pollution that would darken glaciers in the region and speed up their melting, thus threatening a key water supply for Santiago residents.
Indonesia’s Mandalika megaproject still trampling on Indigenous community’s rights: Report
- U.N. human rights experts have raised concerns about the Mandalika tourism development megaproject in Indonesia for a third year running, a record number for a project of this scale funded by a multilateral development bank.
- The concerns revolve around alleged violations by the security forces against local and Indigenous communities in the Mandalika region of the island of Lombok, which the government plans to turn into a “New Bali” with resorts, hotels and a racetrack.
- The U.N. experts say reports of intimidation, impoverishment and disenfranchisement of the Indigenous communities in Mandalika continue to flood in, despite the U.N. having flagged the project since 2021.
- NGOs have called on the $3 billion Mandalika project’s main funder, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to suspend its financing and launch an independent investigation into the alleged human rights violations.
Venezuela’s environmental crisis is getting worse. Here are seven things to know.
- A new report from the Venezuelan Observatory for Political Ecology (OEP) details the most pressing environmental issues facing Venezuela.
- They include oil spills, illegal mining, deforestation, tourism, poor waste management, water shortages and climate change.
- The Venezuelan government has done very little to address these problems, the report said, and has even turned a blind eye to them in order to improve the country’s economy.
Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area brings Indigenous communities into the fold
- Indigenous communities in the Lower Omo River Valley of southwestern Ethiopia have taken ownership and management responsibilities of the Tama Wildlife Reserve through the creation of the Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA).
- The TCCA, spanning 197,000 hectares (486,000 acres), is Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area.
- The area is home to diverse wildlife, including the endemic black-winged lovebird, and is inhabited by the Mursi, Bodi, Northern Kwegu and Ari communities.
- The TCCA will be managed by a community council; however, guidelines on farming activities, natural resource use and preventing human-wildlife conflict have not yet been established.
Landfill in Colombia continues to pollute protected wetlands despite court-ordered clean-up
- A landfill near Barrancabermeja, in Santander, Colombia, has been leaking heavy metals and other pollutants into the water since 2015, according to a report from Global Witness.
- The landfill sits in the middle of the San Silvestre wetlands, a 69,959-hectare (172,872-acre) protected area that serves as part of a regional jaguar corridor.
- French utilities company Veolia took over the site in 2019 but has continued to store contaminated chemicals irresponsibly and operate heavy machinery in a buffer zone meant to prevent leakage into water sources, according to a Global Witness report.
Fishers confirm scientists’ warning: Brazil’s Belo Monte dam killed off the river
- Seven years after the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant went into operation, fishers confirm what scientists have been verifying in studies: the fish have disappeared from this stretch of the Xingu River.
- According to Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, the construction of the dam caused the direct deaths of more than 85,000 fish, equivalent to 30 metric tons, between 2015 and 2019.
- The loss of fish has reverberated up the food chain, with local fishing communities no longer able to make a living that generations before them took for granted.
A mega-highway threatens South America’s vulnerable Gran Chaco
- Dubbed the new Panama Canal, the 2,290-kilometer (1,423-mile) Bioceanic Corridor will connect Chile to Brazil via Argentina and Paraguay and aim to reduce freight transport costs.
- The highway crosses the Gran Chaco, one of the world’s most threatened biomes, which has already lost a fifth of its forest since 1985 due to agricultural expansion.
- Conservationists warn that the highway will lead to a surge in deforestation and an increase in the number of vehicle collisions, putting both people and wildlife at risk.
- Mitigating the environmental and social risks associated with the highway requires stronger political will and more robust implementation of protective regulations, experts say.
Experts, activists unite to blast Indonesia’s U-turn on sea sand exports
- Indonesia will resume exporting sand dredged from the sea, commonly used in reclamation projects, ending a 20-year ban.
- Environmental activists and marine experts have criticized the policy, saying the resumption caters only to business interests and fails to consider the damage to marine ecosystems and fishing communities.
- The government says it will only allow dredging on seabed areas where sediment from land runoff has accumulated, adding that this will also help ease ship traffic.
- But critics say these arguments are meaningless and a form of greenwashing, and have called for widespread public opposition to the policy.
Indonesia eyes enrolling more ports in fight against illegal fishing
- Only four of Indonesia’s nearly 2,500 ports implement the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), an international treaty that targets illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by denying access to vessels engaged in that practice.
- With neighboring Thailand having 26 ports that implement PSMA, the Indonesian government says it’s considering expanding coverage to more of its ports.
- The PSMA is part of a set of tools to improve fisheries transparency and traceability, which in turn would increase global trust in fish products coming from Indonesia, one of the world’s top producers of seafood.
- Indonesia’s estimated fish stock is 12 million metric tons, down almost 4% from 2017, while 53% of its fisheries management zones are considered “fully exploited,” up from 44% in 2017.
Strong like an oak tree: Guardians of the Juanacatlán forest in Mexico
- More than two decades ago, a group of teachers, farmers, homemakers, car mechanics and other residents of Juanacatlán, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, created a civil association called “El Roble,” which gave them more tools to guard the forests and mountains that surround their community.
- Nothing has impeded the mission of those who make up El Roble — not even threats, harassment, impunity or the ineffectiveness of authorities.
- Thanks to this association and its alliances with other associations, its members have managed to confront fires, poaching and illegal logging. They have also stopped the installation of megaprojects in their territory.
Nepal’s hydropower boom is killing birds via power lines
- High-voltage power lines are emerging as one of the main killers of birds in Nepal, affecting common species such as crows all the way to critically endangered vultures.
- The country is crisscrossed by power lines that bring electricity to towns and cities from the more than 100 hydropower projects nationwide.
- But planning of the lines is haphazard, and the required environmental impact assessments are shoddy and tend to ignore birds, conservationists say.
- The problem may get even worse as Nepal continues to significantly ramp up hydropower projects and the associated power lines.
Flooding for hydropower dams hits forest-reliant bats hard, study shows
- Researchers have found that bats specialized to feed on insects within the dense canopy of tropical forests are disproportionately affected by hydropower development.
- The study in Peninsular Malaysia adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating how hydropower developments impoverish tropical ecosystems.
- Although forest-specialist bats were lost from the flooded landscape, bats that forage along forest edges and in open space were still present.
- To minimize localized extinctions, the researchers advocate a preventive rather than mitigative approach to hydropower planning that prioritizes habitat connectivity and avoids creating isolated forest patches.
Forest behind bars: Logging network operating out of Cambodian prison in the Cardamoms
- A Mongabay investigation has uncovered a logging operation being run out of Koh Kong provincial prison that gets its timber from the site of a new hydropower dam being built in Thma Bang.
- Old-growth forest in Central Cardamom Mountains National Park is being cleared to make way for the Stung Tatai Leu hydropower dam, but the environmental impacts remain opaque.
- NGOs and the Ministry of Environment provide minimal oversight to prevent illegal loggers from exploiting the project site, and former loggers detailed how bribes facilitate the illicit timber trade.
- Prison officials maintained that the timber is used in a skills development program, but former inmates alleged that officials have been exploiting prison labor to craft luxury furniture.
As tourism booms in India’s Western Ghats, habitat loss pushes endangered frogs to the edge
- India’s Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, is home to many endemic and endangered species of amphibians, some of which are new to science and others suspected of lying in wait of discovery.
- Deforestation due to infrastructure and plantation expansion in the southern Western Ghats threaten the region’s amphibian species, many of which have highly restricted habitats.
- Adding to their woes is an increased risk of landslides in parts of Kerala due to erratic, heavy monsoon rains and erosion due to loss of forest.
- To save them, experts are calling for a systematic taxonomic survey of amphibians in the region and for legal protection of endangered species.
Dams and plantations upend livelihoods in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo River Valley
- Food insecurity, famine and malnutrition have blighted the agropastoralist communities of the Lower Omo River Valley in southwestern Ethiopia.
- A government source blames a long-term drought for the recent suffering and, in some cases, the deaths of people in this part of the country.
- But researchers and human rights advocates say the drought has only exacerbated fundamental changes to the cultures of these peoples brought on by the construction of a dam and the establishment of sugarcane plantations in the region.
- They say such “economic development” projects have dispossessed the Lower Omo’s peoples of their farming and grazing lands and irreversibly altered the natural cycles of the Omo River that was once the mainstay of their livelihoods.
‘It gives life’: Philippine tribe fights to save a sacred river from a dam
- Each year, members of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe gather at the Tinipak River to observe an Indigenous ritual to honor their supreme being and pray for healing and protection.
- This year, the rite had an additional intention: to ward off an impending dam project they fear will inundate the site of the ritual.
- The Kaliwa Dam, part of a program aimed at securing a clean water supply for the Manila metropolitan region, is already under construction and scheduled to go online in 2027.
- The project has faced resistance from civil society groups as well as many of the Dumagat-Remontado, who say they fear it will cause both environmental and cultural damage.
Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- The ongoing development of an entirely new capital city from the ground up in Indonesia has alarmed environmental and Indigenous rights activists, who have warned of both deep ecosystem and social impacts.
- The government has justified the plan to move the nation’s capital from Jakarta, on the island of Java, to Indonesia Borneo as a way of ensuring a greater share of development beyond the country’s western islands.
- Mongabay has already reported on the risks to the wider Bornean region and the additional pressures on marine ecosystems that are a biodiversity haven.
- In response, Myrna Asnawati Safitri, the deputy for environment and natural resources at the government agency overseeing the development, reached out for an exclusive interview where these and other thorny questions were addressed.
Mouth of the Amazon oil exploration clashes with Lula’s climate promises
- State-owned Petrobras has requested a license to investigate an oil site in a region in the north of Brazil where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean.
- The region is home to swathes of mangroves and coral reefs that environmentalists say are highly biodiverse and fundamental to local communities.
- Experts demand that Brazil’s environmental agency reject the license, saying the government hasn’t conducted the required detailed studies to assess the potential impact.
- Critics warn that pursuing fossil fuels contradicts President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s vows to adopt a renewable energy strategy and clashes with global climate change guidelines.
World’s newest great ape faces habitat loss, multiple threats: Will it survive?
- Scientists designated the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) as a new species in 2017, and it was immediately noted as being the rarest and most threatened great ape with fewer than 800 individuals in western Indonesia.
- The IUCN estimated the apes’ population fell by 83% in recent decades, and the species continues to face grave threats due to habitat loss, a gold mine, a hydroelectric plant and the expansion of croplands.
- While some conservation efforts offer hope, researchers say a coordinated plan is needed to ensure the species survives.
Saving the last Tapanuli orangutans
- The Tapanuli orangutan was described in 2017 as a new great ape species, and with a population of less than 800, is the most endangered great ape on the planet.
- Its habitat has been drastically reduced by deforestation driven by mining, agriculture and logging.
- A Chinese-backed hydropower dam project, under construction since 2015, is cutting across the forests where the orangutans live, increasing their risk of extinction.
- People living in surrounding areas have opposed the dam project over fears of losing their homes and livelihoods, but have faced attempts to silence their resistance.
To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
- A new toll road in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province is under construction to improve access to the interior of Borneo, including to the nation’s new capital city, Nusantara.
- Construction of the road, however, poses immediate environmental risks, as the route cuts through a forested area with high conservation value that connects the Sungai Wain protected forest, coastal mangroves, and Balikpapan Bay.
- Prior to road construction, the integrated forest and coastal ecosystem supported populations of orangutans, sun bears, proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins.
- Conservationists say the construction of this toll road belies the Indonesian government’s claims that the development of the new capital will be green and sustainable.
Robust river governance key to restoring Mekong River vitality in face of dams
- Billions of cubic meters of Mekong River water are now harnessed behind dams in the interests of power generation, severely affecting crucial physical and biological processes that sustain the river’s capacity to support life.
- As the pace of hydropower development continues to pick up across the river basin, cracks in the region’s dated and limited river governance systems are increasingly exposed.
- Major challenges include the lack of formal, legally binding regulations that govern development projects with transboundary impacts, and a legacy of poor engagement with riverside communities who stand to lose the most due to the effects of dams.
- Experts say that open and honest dialogue between dam developers and operators is needed to restore the river’s natural seasonal flow and ensure the river’s vitality and capacity to support biodiversity and natural resources is sustained.
As hydropower dams quell the Mekong’s life force, what are the costs?
- The Mekong River is one of Asia’s longest and most influential waterways, sustaining extraordinary species and biodiverse ecosystems and providing nutrition for millions via its fertile floodplains and unparalleled fisheries.
- But over the past few decades, the construction of hydropower dams has undermined the river’s capacity to support life: more than 160 dams operate throughout the Mekong Basin, including 13 on the river’s mainstream, with hundreds more either planned or under construction.
- Besides severing fish migration routes and natural sediment transport throughout the river system, the dams affect the river’s natural seasonal ebb and flow, an ancient rhythm alongside which ecosystems have evolved.
- Communities, scientists and decision-makers now face unprecedented challenges as fish catches dwindle, riverbanks erode, ecosystems collapse and the delta inexorably sinks.
Mexico’s Tren Maya hotel construction clears forest reserve without permits
- The construction of a hotel in Mexico’s Calakmul Biosphere Reserve took many residents by surprise when bulldozers started clearing the forest in January.
- The hotel is part of the Tren Maya project, a controversial railway line that will move tourists and cargo throughout the Yucatán Peninsula and southern Mexico.
- Residents said they weren’t consulted and that the location of the project is dangerously close to Maya ruins and important sources of freshwater.
Sea level rise looms, even for the best-prepared country on Earth
- The Netherlands, a low-lying European country with more than a quarter of its land below sea level, has been going to great lengths to protect itself from the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and extreme weather events like heavy rain.
- But even for the Netherlands, a country with the wealth and experience to address these issues, the future remains uncertain, mainly because a range of possible scenarios could play out after 2050.
- According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a low-emissions scenario for the greenhouse gases that amplify global warming could elevate sea levels about half a meter (1.6 feet) above present levels by 2100; a higher-emissions scenario could lead to a 2-m (6.6-ft) rise by 2100 and a 5-m (16.4-ft) rise by 2150.
- Experts say that most other countries need to take the threat of sea level rise more seriously, and that engineering challenges, a lack of awareness and education, sociocultural concerns, and financial constraints are hampering their preparation.
In South Texas, watch out for ocelots crossing roads (commentary)
- A recent sighting of an ocelot mother and kitten crossing a South Texas road was both heartwarming and worrying, since they’re rare and need more ways to cross roadways safely.
- Most documented ocelot deaths have occurred on Texas roadways — between 2015-2016, eight were killed by vehicles in under a year — with only 60 to 80 ocelots left in the state, such losses are unsustainable.
- Texas has constructed 27 wildlife crossings, many in ocelot-occupied areas, but more are needed, and drivers in those places should also slow down, a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Struggles loom as Bolivia prepares new plan to clean up its mercury problem
- Bolivia’s failure to combat illegal gold mining led to international outcry last year, as deforestation and mercury pollution continued to run rampant.
- Earlier this month, the government announced two plans to formalize small-scale and illegal gold mining operations and introduce technology that could help replace mercury.
- However, some critics say the government has a bad track record for implementing sweeping industry regulations, which might look good on paper but fall flat in practice.
- Major road investments in mining areas could also increase illegal activity at the same time the government is implementing regulations, as it will be easier for heavy machinery to access rural areas.
As Indonesia’s new capital takes shape, risks to wider Borneo come into focus
- Indonesia’s plan to build its new capital city on an expiring logging concession in eastern Borneo has sparked concerns among environmental and human rights observers about the larger eco-social impacts to the rest of the island.
- The administration of President Joko Widodo, who made the decision and will leave office next year, has made glowing promises of a green and sustainable development: claiming minimal forest clearance, respect for Indigenous and local communities’ rights, and a net-zero carbon emission design.
- Mongabay visited the site of the project last October to see its progress, observe firsthand some of the earliest impacts from the construction of the city and supporting infrastructure, and speak with the people most likely to be affected.
- Clearing of mangroves and high-conservation forest areas, land conflicts with Indigenous communities, and potentially large-scale displacements are already happening, calling into question whether the $34 billion project’s benefits will outweigh its downsides.
Brazil’s Indigenous groups demand a voice in new soybean railway project
- The Ferrogrão railway project was conceived with a view to reducing transportation costs between the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará, where soybeans are one of the main export products.
- The railway has been met with resistance from the region’s Indigenous peoples, who will be impacted by the socio-environmental risks associated with the project.
- A study by the Federal University of Minas Gerais highlighted that the Ferrogrão railway line will cross several Indigenous territories in the Xingu River Basin, something that could see more than 230,000 hectares (568,000 acres) of rainforest lost to deforestation in Indigenous territories in the state of Mato Grosso by 2035; more than half of this would be in the Xingu Indigenous Park alone.
- After the project was suspended by Brazil’s Supreme Court in 2021, it has since been marked as a priority by the current government and its future will be decided by the Court’s plenary session in May this year.
China-funded bridge threatens Paradise Reef in southern Philippines
- Samal Island, a popular tourist destination near Davao City in the southern Philippines, is fringed by a 300-meter (980-foot) coral system known as Paradise Reef, which hosts more than 100 coral species.
- A plan to build a bridge linking Davao to Samal threatens to destroy the reef, scientists and conservationists warn.
- Campaigners in the area are calling on the Philippine government to reroute the bridge to minimize damage to the ecosystem.
‘Brought down by gold’: Communities and nature suffer amid Nigerian bonanza
- Commercial-scale gold miners are wreaking havoc in southwestern Nigeria’s Atorin-Ijesha region.
- Local officials largely condone these often illegal activities, while the federal authorities have been slow to crack down.
- Affected community members say the miners are destroying their crops, polluting their land, and contaminating their water sources with mercury and lead.
- The gold rush is profiting a small handful of local elites and their Chinese partners, at the expense of local communities and the environment.
Chinese investment continues to hurt Latin American ecosystems, report says
- China has taken a special interest in deepening ties with Latin America over the last twenty years, providing billion in loans for mines, electric grids, trains and roads. But many of the country’s projects ignore regulations protecting the environment and local and Indigenous peoples.
- A report delivered this month to the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights explores 14 cases from nine Latin American countries in which there was some example of an environmental or human rights violation.
- The cases include mines, hydroelectric dams, oil fields, trains and animal processing plants across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
As livelihoods clash with development, Vietnam’s Cần Giờ mangroves are at risk
- Cần Giờ, a coastal district of Ho Chi Minh City, is home to a 75,740-hectare (187,158-acre) mangrove forest, planted and maintained as part of post-war reforestation efforts.
- The district’s residents largely depend on aquaculture, shellfish gathering and small-scale ecotourism for their livelihoods.
- The government and developers hope to market the area as an ecotourism city based on its natural beauty and post-war success story, but major projects could disrupt Cần Giờ’s precarious balance between ecosystems and livelihoods.
- All names of sources in Cần Giờ have been changed so people could speak freely without fearing repercussions from authorities.
For tigers in Nepal, highways are a giant roadblock best avoided
- A new study indicates that the presence of roads, and vehicle traffic, in tiger habitats could take a toll on the big cats’ behavior and long-term fitness and survival.
- A tiger fitted with a GPS collar in Nepal’s Parsa National Park was found to avoid crossing roads by day, but to cross more often during the country’s 2021 COVID-19 lockdown.
- This suggests the animals can adapt quickly when traffic volume eases, pointing to measures that can be taken to mitigate road impacts not just on tigers, but on wildlife in general.
- Researchers say the findings should give planners in Nepal something to consider as they look to double the number of lanes on the East-West Highway that runs through both Parsa and Bardiya national parks.
‘Development’ projects in Ethiopia leave starvation, disease in wake: Report
- Indigenous groups in southwestern Ethiopia are suffering from starvation and disease after being displaced from their land for construction of a dam and the installation of large-scale sugarcane plantations, according to a report from the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank.
- These projects have deprived the communities living in the Lower Omo Valley of their ability to farm and maintain their livestock herds, but this “catastrophe” has gone largely unnoticed in the shadow of even wider hunger and displacement due to civil war in the northern Tigray region, the report says.
- Humanitarian NGO World Vision International delivered some food aid to the region in November 2022.
- But the Oakland Institute said more food and medical care is urgently needed, along with the return of the land back to the Indigenous groups who have lived in this region for centuries, and is urging the government and the humanitarian community to respond immediately.
Tide Island: seven decades of environmental racism in Salvador
- Since the 1950s, an area with one of the largest Black populations in the state capital of Bahia has suffered damages to the health of its people and ecosystem as a result of nearby operations of a port, an industrial complex and an oil refinery.
- Many of the approximately 4,000 residents make their living from fishing and shellfish gathering — activities directly affected by contamination of waters and destruction of mangroves.
- Recent research has detected levels of heavy metals such as cadmium and lead in the children from Ilha de Maré, or Tide Island, four times higher than World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
Illegal road found in Yanomami land accelerates destruction
- In December, Greenpeace and the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) discovered a 150-kilometer- (93-mile-) long illegal road, as well as four hydraulic excavators in the Yanomami Territory, in Brazil’s northern Amazon region.
- While small-scale illegal miners have been active in the area for the past 50 years, the road and the use of heavy machinery could make mining activities 10-15 times more destructive.
- Currently, about 20,000 illegal miners operate across the Yanomami Territory, causing violence, health issues and child malnutrition for the region’s 27,000 Yanomami inhabitants.
- Newly elected President Lula has issued several decrees to protect Indigenous lands and the environment, most recently declaring a state of emergency in the Yanomami Territory.
Logging threats loom over tree kangaroo refuge in Papua New Guinea
- Logging is threatening the Torricelli Mountains, a biodiversity-rich forested range in Papua New Guinea known for its tree kangaroos and other threatened species of birds and mammals.
- Community conservation efforts have helped to increase the numbers of tree kangaroos, once nearly pushed to extinction by hunting and logging, in conjunction with development projects for the people of the Torricellis.
- The Tenkile Conservation Alliance, a Papua New Guinean NGO, has led an effort to protect the area, but the government has yet to officially designate what would be the Torricelli Mountain Range Conservation Area.
- Satellite imagery shows the loss of forest and an increase in roadbuilding over the past two years. And residents of the Torricellis say that representatives of logging companies have been trying to secure permission to log the region’s forests.
Chile’s denial of Dominga port project is a just energy transition victory and lesson (commentary)
- Last week, Chile rejected the Dominga copper and iron mining project and its port, proposed for a location near the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve.
- Dominga’s estimated 20 to 30 years of operation would have jeopardized a marine biodiversity hotspot, along with human livelihoods and communities’ access to basic resources.
- “Dominga’s rejection is a victory for environmental justice and a lesson about the underlying tensions in the energy transition,” writes the author of a new op-ed.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
FOIA lawsuit suggests Indonesian nickel miners lack environmental licenses
- A freedom-of-information ruling in Indonesia has indicated that two nickel miners suspected of polluting a river on the island of Sulawesi may not have all the required permits.
- The ruling, in a case filed by environmental journalists, ordered authorities in East Luwu district to publish the licensing documents for the two companies, but the authorities said some of the papers were still being processed.
- A lawyer for the environmental journalists points out that the companies should have already secured the licenses prior to operating, and that this revelation strongly points to them not having the licenses.
- The Indonesian government is pushing a massive expansion of the nickel mining and processing industries to feed the demand for electric vehicle batteries, but nickel mining in the country has long been associated with pollution and community conflicts.
Venezuela’s oil spill crisis reached new heights in 2022: report
- There were 86 oil spills and gas leaks in Venezuela last year, according to a report published by the Observatory of Political Ecology of Venezuela.
- The states of Zulia and Falcón had the most spills, with 31 and 29, respectfully. In both areas, the spills threatened marine ecosystems in the Caribbean and Lake Maracaibo.
- The spills are a result of aging infrastructure and a lack of regulations needed to maintain the country’s massive oil industry, the report said.
Bird strike warnings resurface amid probe into deadly Nepal plane crash
- A bird strike by a plane approaching Nepal’s Pokhara International Airport the day after the deadly Yeti Airlines crash has focused attention on the possible cause of the accident.
- Mongabay has previously reported about conservationists’ concerns over the large number of birds, especially vultures, that frequent the area near the airport, and the risks posed to both aviation safety and wildlife conservation.
- Pilots familiar with the route have highlighted the last-minute change of approach by the pilot of Flight 691, suggesting it may have been prompted by a bird strike.
- A nearby landfill site that attracted birds was relocated before the airport’s opening, but a polluted river close by still draws scavenging birds, and will continue to do so in ever larger numbers, a conservationist warns.
El Salvador poised for big year of roadbuilding, despite environmental concerns
- El Salvador has prioritized refurbishing and expanding its road system, in many cases destroying habitats for vulnerable species.
- 2023 looks to be yet another ambitious year for roadbuilding, with the government announcing several “large-scale” infrastructure projects throughout the country.
- One of the biggest projects, the Los Chorros Highway, requires removing thousands of trees in an area frequented by migratory birds and several endangered species. It would also relocate nearly 199 families.
Dammed, now mined: Indigenous Brazilians fight for the Xingu River’s future
- Canadian mining company Belo Sun wants to build a huge gold mine in the Big Bend of the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon, but faces opposition from Indigenous communities.
- In addition to the environmental impacts, experts warn of the risk of the proposed tailings dam rupturing, which could flood the area with 9 million cubic meters (2.4 billion gallons) of toxic waste.
- The same region is already suffering the impacts of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, which diverts up to 85% of the flow of the Xingu River, leading to a mass decline in fish that traditional riverside dwellers and Indigenous people rely on.
- The Belo Sun project was legally challenged last year, prompting supporters to harass and intimidate those who oppose the mine’s construction; tensions in the region remain high.
Weakening of agrarian reform program increases violence against settlers in Brazilian Amazon
- Residents of a landless workers’ settlement in Anapu, Pará state, in Brazil’s Amazon region, accuse the federal government of favoring large landowners, land-grabbers and corporations at the expense of poor and landless peasants.
- This year, the settlers have already suffered three attacks by landowners, with houses set on fire and a school destroyed.
- In 2021, Incra, the Brazilian federal agency responsible for addressing the country’s deep inequalities in rural land use and ownership, made an agreement with the mining company Belo Sun, which ceded 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres) of an area reserved for agrarian reform for gold exploration in exchange for equipment and a percentage of mining profits.
- In protest, landless peasants occupied one of the areas included in the agreement; since then, they have been threatened and intimidated by Belo Sun supporters and armed security guards hired by the mining company.
Element Africa: Deadly violence and massive graft at Tanzania and DRC mines
- Environmental concerns are mounting as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company begins drilling for oil in a new field in the north of the country.
- Video testimony has emerged about alleged police killings of five villagers near Canadian miner Barrick Gold’s mine in Tanzania.
- A local official has absconded with $14.5 million in mining royalties intended to fund community development in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lualaba province.
- Element Africa is Mongabay’s bi-weekly bulletin rounding up brief stories from the commodities industry in Africa.
Mongabay’s top Amazon stories from 2022
- Violence against activists and Indigenous people in the Amazon has made world headlines, with little progress on tackling impunity.
- The victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil’s presidential race and a more prominent role in the government for Indigenous representatives have brought more hope around slashing deforestation and preventing the Amazon from reaching a point of no return.
- Infrastructure and mining projects have continued sprouting across the Amazon basin, threatening the livelihoods of Indigenous people and driving more forest loss.
- Deforestation rates in Brazil dropped by about 11% in 2022, but an overview of President Jair Bolsonaro’s term shows the worst forest loss in decades.
Wildlife at risk in Bangladesh as roads run rampant through protected forests
- Mongabay has identified 1,618 kilometers (1,005 miles) of roads in 38 restricted forests in Bangladesh using remote sensing data, with many of these routes passing through important national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
- Unlike in neighboring India, where the formal guidelines ensure the environment ministry has a say in infrastructure projects running through forested areas, Bangladesh lacks such provisions, allowing for the proliferation of roads, railways and power lines.
- In addition to killing animals, this linear infrastructure also encouraged illegal logging, mining, hunting and poaching, the introduction of exotic species, pollution, and illegal settlements.
- Experts say it should be “common sense” to account for the needs of wildlife when planning infrastructure, and recent projects are starting to incorporate canopy bridges and over- and underpasses to accommodate animal movement.
Sulawesi hydropower dam could flood important archaeological sites
- A Jakarta-based hydropower company aims to dam the Karama River in western Sulawesi as part of a clean energy project to help wean the country off of coal.
- An inundation map shows that the dam could raise the river’s water level to 62 meters (203 feet) above sea level, potentially damaging important archaeological sites in the Karama valley.
- In 2020, archaeologists announced they had found Indonesia’s oldest-known rice strain in the Karama valley, an important region in the Austronesian expansion, thought to be one of the most expansive prehistoric human migrations.
Bill threatens more oil extraction, roads in Guatemala’s protected forests
- A bill in Guatemala’s congress would renew a contract for the current oil and gas pipeline in Laguna del Tigre National Park and make it easier to contract future drilling.
- The region’s largest oil reserves pass from southern Mexico through the Petén department and into Belize, making Laguna del Tigre National Park an ideal focus of development, some environmentalists warn.
- Additional development could lead to the creation of roads, making it easier for illegal loggers, drug traffickers and land grabbers to move into the park, as happened when the original oil field was created in the 1980s.
Work on cable car line to Indonesian volcano to begin despite concerns
- Construction will begin this month on a cable car line to Mount Rinjani on the Indonesian island of Lombok, a UNESCO-listed geopark.
- Environmental activists have expressed concern about the project, noting that local authorities have still not published the environmental impact analysis and feasibility study for public review.
- Authorities insist the cable car line won’t cross into Mount Rinjani National Park, and have touted a series of measures to minimize the environmental impact.
In Brazilian Amazon, mining harm comes from beyond just the mines, study shows
- A new land-use-change model suggests that the indirect impacts of mining operations in the Brazilian Amazon have been grossly underestimated.
- Impacts include not only deforestation but also loss of biodiversity, contamination of water sources, and health hazards for the Indigenous peoples living in the area.
- The calculation comes after years of government attempts to change existing regulations on protected areas and open them up to exploration.
- New roads opened for mining could cause 40 times more deforestation than the mines themselves, wiping out an area almost the size of Puerto Rico in the RENCA protected area in the northern Amazon.
Tunnel collapse at dam project in orangutan habitat claims yet another life
- A tunnel collapse, the second this year, at the site of a planned hydroelectric dam in Sumatra has killed another Chinese construction worker.
- The latest incident brings the death toll at the project site to 17 in the space of less than two years.
- The police have declared the death to be accidental, but the string of incidents has raised concerns over the safety of the project, which is already controversial because it threatens to fragment the only known habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
Wildlife crossings built with tribal knowledge drastically reduce collisions
- The Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes collaborated with the Montana Department of Transportation to design and build one of the largest networks of wildlife highway crossings in the U.S.
- Previously known as one of Montana’s most dangerous roads, Highway 93 was upgraded to include 42 wildlife crossings that were built based on Indigenous traditional knowledge and values.
- According to a 2015 study, animal collisions declined by 71%.
- Today, more than 22,000 animals use these wildlife crossings annually, camera traps show.
Sulawesi nickel plant coats nearby homes in toxic dust
- The Bantaeng Industrial Estate is a 3,000-hectare ore processing zone in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province.
- President Joko Widodo has banned exports of raw mineral ores to compel companies to construct smelters to produce value-added nickel.
- But South Sulawesi communities living alongside the smelters report health impacts from pollution generated on site. Relocation plans have yet to be enacted.
‘They paid for it with misery’: Q&A with Chile dam critic Jose Marihuan Ancanao
- Jose Marihuan Ancanao, president of the Ayin Mapu La Peña community, spoke to Mongabay’s Maxwell Radwin about the impact of hydropower plants in parts of the Chilean Andes that are home to Indigenous people with a spiritual connection to rivers and the surrounding mountains.
- Marihuan was relocated in the early 2000s by a different hydropower plant and, although relocation isn’t a threat this time around, is witnessing the construction of another mega dam near his community.
- The 90-megawatt Rucalhue power plant has resulted in the felling of nationally protected trees sacred to the Pehuenche and, once finished, would flood some ancestral land.
Dam construction ignites Indigenous youth movement in southern Chile
- Dam construction on the Bío Bío watershed has plagued Indigenous Mapuche-Pehuenche communities in south-central Chile for decades, with many families having to relocate due to flooding of ancestral lands.
- The 90-megawatt Rucalhue hydropower plant, located near the town of Santa Bárbara, is the latest project causing controversy among local communities, who say they’re sick of battling infrastructure projects that disrespect their culture and traditions.
- Young people have been particularly outspoken against the project, staging sit-ins at the work site, sending petitions to government agencies, and helping organize a local plebiscite.
- Hydropower plants, while less polluting than many other forms of energy generation, still require the clearing of trees and the disrupting of river flows, which can have a significant impact on surrounding ecosystems.
Critics cite threats to communities, mangroves from El Salvador airport plans
- The Airport of the Pacific threatens to destroy mangroves and relocate local farming and fishing communities in a rural part of El Salvador.
- The project is part of President Nayib Bukele’s plan to develop the harder-to-reach eastern regions of the country through infrastructure projects.
- Residents say they feel pressured by government officials, who they accuse of failing to act in good faith to ensure families are fairly compensated for being relocated.
- The mangroves are important for preventing flooding and erosion, and serve as breeding sites for fish and crustaceans.
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