topic: Land Conflict

topic: Land Conflict

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Invaders storm Indigenous Amazon land, threatening isolated people
- About 200 people have invaded the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Land in Brazil’s Pará state since August 13, breaking through Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) gates, removing signs and establishing camps.
- The invasion followed the creation of the Bacajaí Environmental Protection Area that completely overlaps with the federally protected Indigenous Land — creating legal confusion which authorities say has been exploited by individuals who wish to occupy the area.
- Federal authorities have warned of an imminent risk of confrontation and potentially genocide against Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation and have called for the urgent deployment of the National Force and Federal Police.
- On August 26, a federal court ordered the Union and Funai to send teams from the Public Security Force within 48 hours to contain the invasion but the deadline has passed and the teams have not yet arrived.

Philippines fast-tracks critical minerals, raising Indigenous, environmental concerns
- The Philippines’ new critical-minerals policy targets at least 9 million hectares (22 million acres) of prospective mineral areas, more than 11 times the land currently covered by approved mining projects, according to an environmental legal group.
- Environmental and Indigenous rights advocates warn that expanded mineral development could increase pressure on forests and ancestral domains.
- Critics say that by rolling out the simultaneous processing of mining permits and clearances, the new policy could undermine meaningful free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) if Indigenous communities are pushed to make decisions without adequate time and information.
- The mining industry has welcomed faster and more predictable permitting, while advocates are calling for stronger community participation and safeguards for Indigenous rights and ecosystem health before large-scale critical-mineral development proceeds.

Indonesia integrates Indigenous data in bid to put customary lands on map
- The Indonesian government has integrated data from its Ministry of Culture, the Ancestral Domain Registration Agency and AMAN, the country’s largest Indigenous peoples’ alliance, to build a new dataset covering 3,857 Indigenous communities.
- The database will document and register customary territories and capture cultural aspects as well, including Indigenous languages, local foods and traditional knowledge.
- It is hoped that the database will provide greater visibility of Indigenous territories and enable them to be incorporated into permitting, development planning and spatial planning, but it does not grant legal recognition to Indigenous communities or customary territories.

Indonesia leads global tally of abuses linked to Chinese transition-mineral investments
- Indonesia recorded 96 allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals from 2023 to 2025, the most of any country, with 90 involving nickel, according to a new report.
- Water, soil, and air pollution were among the main environmental concerns, while Indonesian nickel processors accounted for 57% of work-related deaths and 68% of injury allegations documented globally.
- The report also documented allegations involving Indigenous rights violations, intimidation of environmental defenders, and failures to obtain free, prior, and informed consent around nickel projects in Indonesia.
- The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, which compiled the report, says Chinese companies need stronger human rights and environmental due diligence, as gaps between corporate commitments and practices could create growing risks for workers, communities, and supply chains.

Suriname moves to evict Mennonites and illegal Amazon settlers
- The government in Suriname has created a task force to crack down on land developers who illegally clear the Amazon Rainforest for agriculture and cattle ranching.
- Many areas under development are connected to Mennonites who migrated to the country from other parts of the region to help meet a domestic demand for food production.
- Conservationists warn that the group’s history of industrial-scale clearing and unauthorized ranching in other nations puts the rainforest at risk.
- Some Mennonites have received a deurwaardersexploot, a written notice delivered by a bailiff to appear in court, according to Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons.

Palm oil expansion reignites decade-old Indigenous land conflict in Indonesia
- Two palm oil companies have resumed clearing forest in a long-disputed Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo, more than a decade after international pressure halted operations.
- The Dayak Benuaq community of Muara Tae says the companies are clearing its ancestral land without its consent, while the companies maintain they legally acquired the land from a neighboring village.
- Community members say the renewed clearing is destroying regenerating forest and farms central to their livelihoods, despite years of advocacy, international recognition, and an unresolved complaint to the RSPO, the top certifier of sustainable palm oil.
- Advocates say the dispute exposes persistent weaknesses in Indonesia’s recognition of Indigenous land rights, allowing companies to rely on administrative boundaries that communities say override customary ownership.

Indigenous Parakanã fear election U-turn may spark new invasions in Brazil
- The Parakanã Indigenous people are reoccupying their territory in Pará state after the eviction of around 3,000 invaders by federal forces.
- The intruders, however, are ready to come back if Brazil’s next administration carries a new anti-environmental agenda in 2027.
- Experts compare illegal activities such as gold mining to powerful bacteria that may return even stronger if you don’t use the proper antibiotic.
- Also in Pará, the state administration has the challenge of keeping deforestation under control after a successful operation in the Triunfo do Xingu Environmental Protection Area.

‘The shape of the land will change:’ South African villages resist heavy sands mine
- Communities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape are opposing a proposed heavy mineral sands mine that a South African company wants permission to operate day and night for 30 years on their communal land.
- They say the land targeted for mining is far from unused, supporting more than a 1,000 cattle, traditional medicine gathering, tourism and facilitates access to the coast and fishing.
- The villagers say that if the mine goes ahead, it will damage livelihoods, ancestral graves, biodiversity and water resources.
- The planned mine could also impact their long-running campaign to acquire commercial seaweed harvesting permits and an existing small-scale sand mining business run by a village committee.

Conservationists got delayed access to court-ordered inspection of Nairobi National Park
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has been accused of harassing co-petitioners in a case challenging the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to make it part of the larger Bomas International Conference Complex. The proposal would carve out between 76 and 89 acres inside Nairobi National Park for upgrades to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facilities. […]
Lawmakers seek rights probe into Indigenous conflict at Indonesian timber firm
- Indonesian lawmakers have called for a government fact-finding investigation into alleged human rights abuses linked to a long-running land conflict between the Dayak Kualan Indigenous community and timber company PT Mayawana Persada.
- The community says the company cleared customary forests and sacred sites without its consent, while community leaders have faced criminal charges they describe as retaliation for opposing the project.
- The conflict coincides with one of Indonesia’s largest recent deforestation cases, with more than 42,500 hectares (105,000 acres) of forest, including peatlands and orangutan habitat, cleared inside the company’s concession since 2016.
- Indonesia’s human rights ministry says it will investigate the allegations, while lawmakers have urged police to halt criminal proceedings against community members and review the company’s operating permit.

NGO support can negatively impact allocation of Amazonian territorial rights, research finds
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a critical role in the fight to secure title to ancestral Indigenous lands in the Amazon. They can provide financial assistance and legal representation in court, but new research shows that for groups that do not benefit from this support, the arrival of NGOs may cause more harm than good. […]
New data reveals surge in human rights abuses linked to transition minerals mining
New data released by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that, worldwide, South America has the most abuse allegations associated with large-scale mining for transition minerals over the past 15 years. Such minerals are essential for the shift away from fossil fuels and are critical for other industries, such as tech and […]
Brazil curbs Amazon deforestation in Piripkura, but ranchers’ cattle linger
- A crackdown by the Brazilian government on land-grabbers who establish cattle ranches and other agricultural activities in the Piripkura Indigenous Territory, home to the last two known isolated Piripkura people, have seen some success with tree cover loss in 2025 down.
- While there was very little deforestation from 2024-2025, authorities told Mongabay that 1,000 cattle left by the invaders still remain in the territory, and they have still not received authorization from the federal government to remove them.
- The presence of cattle encourages ranchers to enter the land to care for them, said sources, though some remain there legitimately.
- Authorities have implemented a succession of land use restriction orders since 2008 to prevent the entry of land grabbers, though a recent court decision has provisionally allowed some ranchers to remain in the Indigenous land until the conclusion of the demarcation process.

Death and exile: A war plagues Indigenous Jiw and Nukak in the Colombian Amazon
- By late May, at least 48 people were killed in rural areas of Colombia following clashes between the FARC guerrilla dissident groups controlled by the aliases “Calarcá” and “Iván Mordisco.”
- Conflicts have displaced 10 Indigenous Jiw families from the municipality of Mapiripán, Meta department. They had to reach the urban area of San José del Guaviare for protection.
- The clashes occurred near the Tomachipán-Cumare road, an illegal trail used by dissident armed cells as a strategic corridor to mobilize and transport drug trafficking supplies in the Guaviare department.
- Experts warn that controlling this disputed area is important for armed groups, as it means dominating strategic zones in the department and also being closer to the Venezuelan border.

What’s at stake for the environment in Colombia’s upcoming election?
- Colombia will hold its runoff presidential elections on June 21, with left-wing Iván Cepeda from the current governing Historical Pact party facing Abelardo de la Espriella from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party.
- The future of the Colombian Amazon, fossil fuel phaseout and the rights of traditional communities are all at stake, with both candidates proposing dramatically different approaches to tackle environmental issues.
- Cepeda’s program, analyzed by Mongabay, promises to halt oil and gas and protect territories and communities; de la Espriella has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining.
- Both have very different approaches to ending violence, which is linked to deforestation and environmental degradation, with Cepeda focusing on total peace and large-scale land redistribution and de la Espriella on greater force and militarization.

Kenya’s former Chief Justice David Maraga arrested at protest of national park construction
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s former Chief Justice David Maraga said he was arrested Monday alongside other activists protesting planned construction inside Nairobi National Park. Police fired tear gas canisters at the protesters who were marching outside the park while carrying banners with messages denouncing land grabs. Maraga was detained and later released while staging […]
It’s time to engage Mennonite communities in reducing deforestation across Latin America (analysis)
- Across 50 years and multiple countries, it’s clear that Mennonite colonies are systematic agents of deforestation in Latin America, yet they are seldom engaged by policymakers or NGOs seeking to reduce forest loss.
- In part this is due to the colonies’ closed nature but also because their habit of buying in frontier regions is effectively banned by law in Brazil — a nation which dominates the Amazon policy sphere — but a new analysis posits that engagement with these groups is necessary and potentially fruitful.
- “Mennonite pioneers have transformed the South American forest frontier with remarkable, and unfortunate, efficiency. The question now is whether the legal, regulatory, and civil society frameworks of the countries where they now reside can engage them as partners in a different kind of transformation,” the author argues.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Brooklyn Rivera, defender of Nicaragua’s Indigenous lands, dies in detention
- Brooklyn Rivera Bryan, known as Taupla Brooklyn, died on May 30th in the custody of Daniel Ortega’s government after being detained since September 2023.
- For more than five decades, he fought for the land rights, autonomy, and political representation of Nicaragua’s Miskitu and other Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.
- His work centered on La Moskitia, where illegal settlement, logging, mining, cattle ranching, and state-backed projects threatened Indigenous territories and forests.
- Rivera moved between resistance, negotiation, electoral politics, and uneasy alliances, remaining fixed on the claim that Indigenous peoples had rights that preceded the Nicaraguan state.

‘Same dangerous project’: Fury after Indonesia revives disputed mine
- Indonesia’s environment ministry has reapproved a controversial zinc and lead mine in North Sumatra, less than a year after the Supreme Court forced it to revoke the project’s earlier environmental approval over disaster-risk concerns.
- The revised environmental assessment replaces a proposed tailings dam with a plan to bury mining waste underground, but critics and independent experts say the mining company cannot realistically bury all of its waste and will still require a dangerous aboveground storage facility.
- Residents, activists and legal advocates argue the new approval is legally flawed because it relies on a framework already annulled by the Supreme Court, and say the company failed to conduct meaningful public consultation or provide key documents to affected communities.
- Communities opposing the mine say previous company activities have already caused environmental damage, flooding and water disruptions, and vow to continue fighting a project they fear could threaten lives and farmland in the earthquake-prone region.

Organized crime adds to environmental destruction in the Amazon, report finds
A new report by the International Crisis Group finds that organized crime has become a “major obstacle” to protecting the Amazon. Criminal groups often operate across borders and are expanding control over huge swathes of land, which undermines state efforts to combat environmental crimes such as drug trafficking, deforestation and illegal mining. “In Colombia, park […]
Tensions rise in DRC mining region as community leaders arrested over protest
Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities. Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and […]
New data platform aims to reduce conflicts between First Nations and businesses in Canada
- Mongabay spoke with Robert Jago, founder of a comprehensive Indigenous-led data platform compiling information on every First Nation in Canada.
- The platform organizes and verifies contact information, territory maps, governance background and more, to facilitate collaboration between Indigenous communities, business and government.
- A goal of the platform, Jago said, is to reduce conflicts between extractive industries and Indigenous peoples, given that lack of access to accurate information is at the root of many such conflicts.
- Canada has plans to expand extractive, energy and infrastructure projects across the country, including on Indigenous lands and in the Arctic region.

Paraguay expanded a reserve in the Gran Chaco. Why is deforestation still rising there?
- Approximately 2.78 million hectares (6.87 million acres) were added to Paraguay’s Chaco Biosphere Reserve in 2011, yet the area continues to be one of the country’s worst hit by forest loss.
- Regulations are only selectively enforced by the government, if not entirely ignored, critics say.
- Property owners often exceed how much native vegetation they can legally clear on their land to make room for cattle pasture and agriculture.
- As the forest shrinks, Indigenous Ayoreo-Totobiegosode living in that part of the reserve have struggled to maintain voluntary isolation; they rely on the forest for food, shelter and medicine, and don’t have immunity to many outside diseases.

Killings related to land conflicts double in Brazil, most in the Amazon region
On June 12, 2025, Everton Lopes Rodrigues was found beheaded in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. An Indigenous Avá Guarani, Rodrigues was the 21-year-old son of the chief of the Yvyju Avary Indigenous village, and next to his body was a letter, left by his killers, containing “serious threats” against Indigenous communities. Marcelo […]
As Ghana eyes lithium future, affected communities face uncertainty
- After more than two years of delays, Ghana’s parliament has ratified a deal with a subsidiary of Australian miner Atlantic Lithium to develop the country’s first lithium mine.
- The company received permission to develop a mining concession in Ewoyaa in 2023, and under Ghanaian laws restrictions were put in place on agricultural and other economic activities in that area.
- But delays in parliamentary ratification as a result of renegotiating the deal have meant that around 1,500 farmers are still awaiting compensation for loss of access to their land and livelihoods.
- Advocates warn the project could now be fast-tracked at the expense of community rights, citing Ghana’s past experience with industrial mining and the environmental, social and governance challenges associated with lithium mining in other parts of the world.

Venezuela’s new mining law could spell disaster for the Amazon, critics warn
- Venezuela passed a law to update the country’s mining regulations and attract international investment in gold, silver, coltan and other minerals.
- While some environmental protections are included in the bill, critics say they’re not rigorous enough to stop the deforestation or human rights abuses already happening in the Venezuelan Amazon.
- The law describes a commitment to “ecological mining development” that critics call a dangerous attempt at greenwashing.

Behind the scenes of the Amazon’s gold rush: Director Richard Ladkani on the making of ‘Yanuni’
- A new documentary film, “Yanuni,” highlights the journey of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon, as she moves between two worlds: Brazil’s capital, Brasília, and a remote village in the Xipaia Indigenous Territory.
- The film focuses on her ongoing battle to protect the Amazon, alongside her husband, Hugo Loss, the head of Special Operations at Brazil’s environmental protection agency (Ibama), who leads dangerous operations to crack down on illegal mining deep in the Amazon.
- In an interview with Mongabay, director Richard Ladkani shares behind-the-scenes insights into the filming process, important conversations and actions that helped shape the narrative and more details about some of the critical moments and events it covers.

Upemba National Park staff recount assault that left seven dead
- On March 3, a group of militants attacked the headquarters of Upemba National Park in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The attack left seven people dead and caused severe damage to facilities at the headquarters.
- A group claiming responsibility for the assault said it was part of an effort to achieve independence for the mineral-rich region of Katanga, of which Upemba is a part.
- Upemba National Parks staff members spoke to Mongabay from the DRC about the attack and its aftermath.

How foreign investor lawsuits stymie environmental protection
- New data reveal that lawsuits filed by corporations against Latin American and Caribbean countries are increasing, undermining government efforts to implement policies that could benefit the energy transition, human rights and the environment.
- Between 2014 and 2024, 212 lawsuits were registered, a 133% increase from previous decades.
- Across 419 known cases filed by mid-October 2025, countries in the region are facing a total of $36.6 billion in lawsuits from corporations, with 23% of claims coming from the mining, oil and gas sector, making it the second-most sued region globally by foreign investors.

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

Growing number of Indigenous Twa forced out of DRC’s forests and into towns
- In the last decade, there has been a steady increase in the number of Indigenous Twa families leaving forests their ancestors relied on in the Congo Basin for urban centers in northern North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
- According to reports seen by Mongabay, the number of Indigenous peoples climbed by 5,000 in some small towns.
- For some Twa people, moving to the city is not only a consequence of expulsion from protected areas, but also a choice motivated by insecurity, trying to escape land conflicts with Bantu communities and finding alternative livelihoods as extractive activities take up forests.
- These displacements have profound social, cultural, and environmental consequences, say environmental activists, as Twa people severe ties with the forest, and traditional ecological knowledge built over millennia declines.

Brazil Supreme Court opens path to mining in Indigenous land for first time
- Last month, the Brazilian Supreme Court authorized the possibility of mining exploration and exploitation inside an Indigenous territory for the first time, at the request of an Indigenous Cinta Larga association in the southwestern Amazon.
- While the decision does not automatically authorize mining within Cinta Larga land, it has set a deadline for Congress to regulate mining in Indigenous lands and has established provisional rules in case mining authorization is approved by Congress, such as allowing mining on only 1% of the territory.
- A representative of the Cinta Larga Patjamaaj Association told Mongabay that the absence of such a law has prevented them from being able to benefit economically from mining on their land, leading to a lack of income for health, education and sustainability projects.
- Brazil’s Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), several public prosecutors and other Indigenous peoples and organizations have raised concerns about the precedent this could set, and say that by establishing these rules, it can be interpreted as opening the door to future exploration requests while on-site environmental compliance inspections in Brazil remain rare.

Mining rush for critical minerals threatens Amazon land reform settlements
- A survey of mining records found dozens of requests for copper, manganese and nickel targeting land reform settlements in northern Brazil’s Carajás region in the last five years.
- The rush for critical minerals is creating potential “sacrifice zones” of contaminated waterways and declining fish populations in the Amazonian settlements.
- These minerals are vital for cars, batteries and war industries, linking increasing global demand to local Amazon conflicts and poverty, despite a local tax boost.

Indonesian communities push to reclaim lands following company permit revocations
- In January, the Indonesian government ordered the revocation of PT TPL’s forest utilization permit, along with those of 27 other companies, for allegedly violating environmental and forestry regulations that contributed to deadly floods and landslides in November 2025.
- Twenty-nine communities whose customary lands overlap with the pulpwood company’s concession are demanding the return of 37,219 hectares after decades of conflict with the enterprise. Some people have reoccupied lands.
- According to officials, the state-owned investment agency Danantara will take over the companies’ concessions, but community leaders say the legal status of customary lands and forests is still unclear after meetings with government officials.
- Community leaders and NGOs have drafted next steps for the lands, including reforestation following decades of eucalyptus plantations and land titling.

Concern among Indigenous leaders, relief for a few, as Amazon Soy Moratorium falters
- Mongabay spoke with various stakeholders across Brazil’s political spectrum on what the possible unraveling of the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a key zero-deforestation agreement, may mean for Indigenous peoples and their lands.
- Most Indigenous leaders say a weakening or end to the moratorium will increase deforestation, pollution and invasions of their lands — as satellite imagery points to advancing forest loss near one territory — while a few leaders see this as an economic opportunity that will allow them to sell soy farmed on their lands without any penalties.
- As cracks form in the 20-year-old moratorium, the environment ministry says existing deforestation policies still stand and that given potential impacts on Indigenous lands, environmental enforcement and control mechanisms remain active and strengthened.
- The government of the state of Mato Grosso says the moratorium created an unfair legal framework, while soy industry association Abiove said Brazil can still maintain high socioenvironmental standards without it. Both did not address whether there are potential impacts on Indigenous lands.

Indigenous communities oppose Papua forest rezoning for palm oil
- Indigenous communities in Indonesian Papua have filed an administrative objection against forestry ministry decrees that reclassify more than a million acres as nonforest land, clearing the way for oil palm development under the government’s food estate program.
- The rezoning last September was carried out without the communities’ knowledge or consent, and the affected areas include swaths of forest that they have proposed as customary forests.
- The communities only learned of the decision months later, after NGOs obtained the decree. If the ministry fails to respond to their objection, they plan to sue in the State Administrative Court.
- The expansion aligns with the government’s drive to boost food and biofuel production, but Indigenous rights advocates warn the plan could cost communities their forests, livelihoods and cultural ties to the land.

In Ecuador’s Chocó, roads shape the fate of the rainforest
- The Chocó rainforest in northwestern Ecuador has experienced some of the worst deforestation in the world, with only around 3% tree cover remaining in the western lowlands.
- A lot of the deforestation can be traced to an influx of loggers in the 1990s and the many roads and trails that they created in the process, which are now being used by new settlers.
- In an effort to save a part of the Chocó, the Jocotoco Conservation Foundation has been building a reserve by buying up parcels of land, one at a time. Its Canandé Reserve has grown to roughly 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) but still faces pressure from roads and trails built by expanding communities.
- Residents respect the need to conserve the forest but also express a desire to improve connectivity, with the ability to travel within the area and to nearby cities.

Farmers fear displacement, drought, flooding tied to Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal
- The Cambodian government is set to begin construction of the Funan Techo Canal, a nearly $1.2 billion, 180-kilometer (112-mile) waterway navigation project that will cut across four provinces to connect the Mekong River to the sea.
- The primary rationale for building the canal is to reduce Cambodia’s shipping costs, as well as to generate jobs and economic development.
- Mongabay has followed this mega-project’s development for more than a year, speaking with more than 50 people living along the canal’s proposed route. Virtually everyone we spoke with noted that the government has provided very little information about the project, and amid the uncertainty, fear has taken root.
- In inland communities in the rich floodplains of the Mekong River, farmers we spoke with said they worried they’d lose their homes or land, and that construction would disrupt the annual months-long inundation of the wetlands they rely on for planting rice as well as for fishing, crabbing and raising livestock.

Another controversial land deal in Suriname threatens the Amazon Rainforest
- Critics in Suriname are speaking out against plans to develop 113,465 hectares (280,378 acres) of rainforest for industrial agriculture in the district of Nickerie.
- The plans come from a 2024 public-private partnership between the agriculture ministry and Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V., a private company working in agriculture and bioenergy.
- The partnership was inherited from the previous government and allegedly went forward without environmental permits, causing frustration and confusion across several regulatory agencies.
- If the entire 113,465-hectare block is cleared, Suriname could lose its negative carbon emission status and fail to qualify for certain carbon credit programs, experts said.

Cambodia’s canal mega-project threatens coastal communities and marine life
- The Cambodian government is set to begin construction of the Funan Techo Canal, a nearly $1.2 billion, 180-kilometer (112-mile) waterway navigation project that will cut across four provinces to connect the Mekong River to the sea.
- The primary rationale for building the canal is to reduce Cambodia’s shipping costs as well as to generate jobs and economic development.
- Mongabay has followed this mega-project’s development for more than a year, speaking with more than 50 people living along the canal’s proposed route. Virtually everyone we spoke with noted that the government has provided very little information about the project, and amid the uncertainty, fear has taken root.
- In coastal communities in Kep province, where the canal will meet the sea and a new port and deepwater shipping lanes will be built, fishers we spoke with said they worried they’d lose their homes and that construction would render their already meager fishing grounds barren and inaccessible.

Amazon deforestation may rise 30% as major traders exit historic soy pact
- Major soy traders like Cargill, ADM and Bunge announced their withdrawal from the Amazon soy moratorium, a move that could increase deforestation in the biome by 30% by 2045.
- Behind the exodus are farmers and ranchers’ associations and local politicians linked to agribusiness.
- Their abandonment of the agreement signals a “green light” for land speculators to clear rainforest for new soy crops, observers warn.
- Advancing deforestation may lead companies to lose market share and intensify agricultural failures due to the lack of rain.

Worries grow for Sulawesi farmers as nickel mining company plans expansion
- PT Vale Indonesia, which runs the longest-operating nickel mining concession in Indonesia, is looking to expand its operations amid an explosion of global demand for nickel used in electric vehicle batteries.
- The company’s concession encompasses local farmlands and forestlands rich in plant and animal life found only in Sulawesi.
- Farmers worry the company’s expansion plans will mean the annexation and destruction of their forest and farms.

Indonesia fast-tracks final permit for Papua rice megaproject without Indigenous consent
- Indigenous rights activists in Indonesia’s Papua region are condemning the government’s rapid approval of a massive rice plantation, arguing the government fast-tracked a key land permit without proper consultation or consent from Indigenous landowners.
- The activists say the process ignored Indigenous communities’ free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and reflects a broader pattern under the food estate program that sidelines Indigenous rights and environmental safeguards in the name of national food security.
- Critics warn of widespread deforestation, land dispossession and social conflict, echoing past failures of similar schemes elsewhere in Indonesia.
- The government claims that procedures were followed, but Indigenous representatives and civil society groups say consultations were minimal, protests were ignored and the project amounts to forced land appropriation.

In the race for DRC’s critical minerals, community forests are on the frontline
- In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s copper-cobalt belt, a region rich in critical minerals, villagers are turning to local community forest concessions (CFCLs) to prevent their eviction and conserve the remaining savanna forests in the face of mining expansion.
- This is an area where miners from the DRC, China, the U.S. and elsewhere are searching for the minerals powering the high-tech, weapons and clean energy industries.
- Community forest concessions offer communities land titles in perpetuity and have environmental management plans led by Indigenous and local communities with the support of environmental NGOs and donors.
- But these concessions are not a perfect solution against deforestation or eviction for mining, as communities often complain companies still obtain mining licenses on secured lands even without receiving consent or reaching benefit-sharing agreements. The concessions also suffer from a lack of funding to support all their environmental efforts.

Involuntary parks: Human conflict is creating unintended refuges for wildlife
- Involuntary parks — areas made largely untenable for human habitation due to environmental contamination, war, border disputes or other forms of conflict and violence — have often unintentionally benefited nature, with flora and fauna sometimes thriving in the absence of people.
- In some cases, these unanticipated refugia have been formalized as wildlife preserves. Hanford Reach National Monument in the U.S. state of Washington is one example. Though the land of this conserved area surrounds a Cold War site contaminated by chemical and radioactive waste, hundreds of species thrive there.
- The southern Kuril Islands — territory disputed by Russia and Japan — offer another example. Russia has set up preserves within the long-contested area, while Japan has declared a national park just outside it. But attempts at creating a permanent border peace park or resolving tensions have failed, and future conservation is uncertain.
- With the world now rocked by geopolitical conflict and by worsening environmental disasters (due to pollution, climate change and land-use change), nations need to assess how places that become unhealthy to humanity — turning them into involuntary parks — can be healed, and what role conservation can play in recovery.

Indonesia says 4 million hectares of plantation, mining lands reclaimed in crackdown
- The Indonesian government says it has reclaimed more than 4 million hectares of land used for plantations, mining and other activities inside officially designated forest areas.
- This is part of a sweeping crackdown on illegal activities in forest areas, carried out by a year-old task force formed by President Prabowo Subianto.
- Land seizures have exceeded the initial target by 400%, officials say, and the scale of the enforcement raises questions about how many oil palm plantations in the country are actually illegal.
- The task force has recovered about 2.3 trillion rupiah (about $136 million) in administrative fines, collected from 20 oil palm companies and one nickel mining company; it remains unclear what the money will be used for — and what will happen to the seized plantations and mines.

Canceled tourism project still threatens local communities in Tanzania
Roughly one year ago, the Tanzanian government canceled a multimillion-dollar tourism project funded by the World Bank, citing concerns over human rights violations. However, community members near the project in Ruaha National Park report that they continue to face violence by park guards. Civil society groups say the government threatens people with eviction. Local residents […]
Guatemala’s eco defenders reel from surge in killings and persecution
- In 2023, there were four recorded killings of environmental defenders in connection to their work; in 2024, this figure shot up to at least 20, according to advocacy group Global Witness.
- An ongoing political crisis, persistent criminalization, and the spread of organized crime have all fed the rise in violence against Indigenous and campesino communities and defenders.
- This is happening despite a change of government, led by President Bernardo Arévalo, whose movement was backed by Indigenous communities.
- Land grabbing, mass arrest warrants and judicial persecution are increasingly common, together with the use of force, say human rights defenders and activists.

Brickmaking keeps eating farmland as Bangladesh misses clean-build goal
- Despite a 2019 mandate to switch to concrete blocks and other alternatives by June 2025, most government projects continued using clay-fired bricks, with only the Ministry of Housing and Public Works fully complying.
- About 7,000 brickfields strip an estimated 9.5 million cubic meters (3.35 billion cubic feet) of topsoil each year, rendering farmland uncultivable for years, while the sector accounts for roughly 3% of Bangladesh’s greenhouse gas emissions due to coal- and wood-fired kilns.
- Concrete alternatives are available, along with government-developed lower-cost options such as compressed stabilized earth blocks made from dredged river sediment, which can cut costs and conserve topsoil, yet their adoption remains limited.
- A 15% VAT on alternative building materials has made them less competitive than traditional bricks, discouraging investment and demand, even as officials plan a new deadline and stricter enforcement to revive the stalled transition.

A nuclear power plan exposes Kenya’s deeper land rights issues
- Across Kenya, millions of people living on community land remain legally vulnerable, as complex, costly and often obstructive processes prevent them from securing collective land titles under the Community Land Act.
- Because untitled community land is treated as state property, county governments can lease or allocate it for large infrastructure and commercial projects, creating power imbalances and exposing communities to displacement with little say or legal protection.
- In Uyombo, on Kenya’s southern coast, this systemic problem has resurfaced amid plans for the country’s first nuclear power plant, which residents say threaten their land, livelihoods and access to coastal ecosystems, and has proceeded without meaningful consultation.
- The lack of formal land ownership also leaves communities uncertain about compensation, reinforcing fears that development projects can override local land rights — a pattern researchers say is rooted in colonial land policies and persists nationwide.

Top 10 Indigenous news stories that marked 2025
- Lack of progress on direct funding for Indigenous land rights, poor representation at climate talks, and intensifying mining pressure were central issues that affected Indigenous peoples in 2025 covered by Mongabay.
- Our investigations revealed how communities were persuaded to sign over land rights for shady carbon deals, and how a high-profile operation to clear out illegal miners from Amazonian territories has barely made a dent.
- We also covered more hopeful stories, highlighting the communities putting forward their own solutions, including women forest guardians in the Amazon, and micro-hydro development in mountainous Philippine villages unreached by the grid.
- To end the year, here are Mongabay’s top 10 stories on Indigenous communities that marked 2025.

The Amazon in 2026: A challenging year ahead, now off the center stage
- As Belém’s COP30 ended in compromise, political forces moved swiftly to accelerate destruction far from the global spotlight.
- New infrastructure projects, critical minerals, fires and novel threats to the Amazon remain looming for 2026 after a year in the spotlight preparing for COP30.
- In 2025, the rainforest saw illegal miners finding new smuggling routes and an increasing backlog of families waiting for settlement in Brazil.
- As carbon credit schemes and violence against environmental defenders continue to loom, products made from Amazon raw materials renew hope for the value of a standing forest.

Mongabay contributor Glòria Pallarès wins top anti-corruption reporting award
Journalist Glòria Pallarès won the Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award for her investigation into corrupt forest finance schemes published in collaboration with Mongabay. The award ceremony was held in Doha, Qatar, on Dec. 16. The investigation, published in January 2024, exposed a scheme in which companies registered in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were using false claims […]
East African court dismisses controversial oil pipeline case in setback to communities
On Nov. 26, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) dismissed an appeal filed by four African NGOs, marking the end of a landmark case against the construction of a contentious oil pipeline. The case against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), expected to become the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world, […]
An Empire of Nature: African Parks and Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest
- In 2020, South Africa-based NGO African Parks signed a 20-year deal to manage Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park, one of the largest montane rainforests in Africa.
- Nyungwe is one of 24 protected areas managed by African Parks in 13 countries.
- Founded by a Dutch industrialist, African Parks is a pioneer of the “public-private” conservation model in Africa.
- Mongabay visited Nyungwe to look at African Parks and its approach to conservation.

Respecting uncontacted peoples can protect biodiversity and our humanity (commentary)
- Protecting regions inhabited by uncontacted Indigenous peoples is vital from both a human rights and environmental perspective; these territories represent some of the planet’s last intact ecosystems, and are also rich carbon sinks.
- But in recent years, these communities that choose to live in isolation have been seen and contacted more frequently by outsiders like illegal miners and loggers, and the results have at times been violent, with reports about these incidents going viral.
- “Some argue that isolation is no longer possible, that climate change, deforestation and economic pressure will make contact inevitable. I believe that argument is defeatist and ethically indefensible. It assumes that outsiders know what is best for these communities, repeating the same paternalism that has caused centuries of harm,” the writer of a new op-ed states.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Forest loss, fires and invasions soar in Nicaraguan wildlife refuge, watchdog warns
- The Rio San Juan Wildlife Refuge in southern Nicaragua is part of the best-preserved humid forest in Central America, but illegal invasions, deforestation and mining have destroyed nearly a third of this protected area in less than 10 years, according to an NGO.
- In a report, Fundación del Río alleges the invasions are encouraged by officials linked to the country’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front, as well as people close to President Daniel Ortega and his wife.
- The report warns of an increase in the trafficking of mercury and cyanide, typically used in illegal gold mining, which it says endangers the rivers in the region.
- It also says the invasions are displacing the Indigenous Rama people and Afro-descendant Kriol people who have long helped preserved the wildlife refuge.

Brazil aims for alternative route to fossil fuel road map after COP30 failure
- Brazil will collaborate with the Colombian and Dutch delegations to develop the road map outside the formal U.N. process, with the goal of bringing it back for discussion at COP31.
- Experts say the Belém summit showed disappointing deals after ambitious promises, failing to address the environmental and economic needs of climate change.
- The turbulent final plenary exposed deeper diplomatic rifts, with one delegate accusing Colombian counterparts of behaving “like children” amid high tensions.

Brazil’s forest fund faces a slow takeoff at COP30 despite initial support
- The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) secured $6.7 billion in sponsor capital at COP30, representing less than a quarter of the $25 billion initially required for a full-scale rollout.
- Policy analysts warn that a smaller fund could likely lose the capacity to outpace deforestation drivers in tropical forests — key in the race to avoid climate disaster.
- Rich nations blamed operational rifts and budget constraints to hold off funding TFFF, a struggle that reflects a worldwide crisis in climate finance; nearly one-third of the funds raised by global forest mechanisms remain undisbursed.

Toxic runoff from politically linked gold mine poisons Cambodian rivers, communities
- Communities along Cambodia’s O’Ta Bouk River are experiencing severe water contamination, skin ailments and the collapse of fish stocks, which they blame on an unregulated gold mine operating upstream inside Virachey National Park.
- Satellite imagery analysis shows more than 2,400 mining sites across Mekong river basins — including alluvial and heap-leach gold mines — whose toxic runoff threatens rivers, floodplains, farmland, wildlife and millions of downstream residents.
- Communities downstream of the gold mine told Mongabay that authorities have failed to act on the problem, despite multiple indicators suggesting the pollution of the river is linked to mining activity.
- Documents show that a company linked to tycoon Try Pheap controlled the mining area at the time when communities reported pollution that’s left them fearful for their health, livelihoods and food security.

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

Reporting from a land war
Mongabay investigative reporter Fernanda Wenzel tells us all about her reporting on the Amazon’s land war. She went to one of the most dangerous spots in the rainforest, a place where a battle between land grabbers, settlers and landless families are driving deforestation and claiming many lives. In 2024 alone, Brazil registered more than 1,700 […]
Amazon Indigenous groups fight soy waterway as Brazil fast-tracks dredging
- Brazil is pushing the Tapajós River waterway as one of the main Amazon shipping corridors and preparing it for privatization, which will enable regular dredging and maintenance to improve its capacity.
- Traditional communities and environmental groups warn that dredging and heavy vessel traffic threaten fish stocks, turtle nesting areas and other wildlife.
- The Tapajós waterway is a central component of the new Amazonian logistics plans to move commodities such as soy and beef, including the contested Ferrogrão railway.

On the frontline of the Amazon land war
TERRA NOSSA, Brazil — In 2024, Mongabay investigative reporter Fernanda Wenzel traveled to one of the most dangerous spots in the Brazilian Amazon — a region where a silent land war is destroying the forest and costing lives. Her goal: to understand why three groups are locked in conflict here — land grabbers, settlers, and […]
How a ‘green gold rush’ in the Amazon led to dubious carbon deals on Indigenous lands
- A Mongabay investigation has found that companies without the financial or technical expertise signed deals with Indigenous communities in Brazil and Bolivia, covering millions of hectares of forest, for carbon and biodiversity credits.
- Many of the communities involved say they were rushed into signing, never had the chance to give consent, and didn’t understand what they were signing up to or even who with.
- Brazil’s Indigenous affairs agency has warned of legal insecurity and lack of standards in carbon credit initiatives, and an inquiry is underway — even as the businessmen involved target more than 1.7 million hectares in the tri-border area between Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.
- Two and a half years since the deals were made, Brazil’s Public Ministry has called for them to be annulled, following Mongabay’s repeated requests to the ministry for updates.

Brazil hosts COP30 with high ambitions — and scaling environmental ambiguities
- Three environmental moves in Brazil are drawing criticism as the country hosts COP30: a green light for exploratory oil drilling on the Amazon coast, an end to the Soy Moratorium and a push for looser environmental licensing.
- Experts fear the plans could risk a lack of global accountability, watering down COP30’s outcome to vague promises and softer language.
- Following COPs held by petrostates, the summit in Belém comes with recent decisions from Norway, Australia and China to support new fossil fuel projects, illustrating a global trend that jeopardizes bolder deals at COP30.

New pledge, old problems as Indonesia’s latest Indigenous forest promise draws skepticism
- Indonesia has pledged to recognize 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of Indigenous and customary forests by 2029, a move the government says will curb deforestation and advance Indigenous rights.
- Advocates call the pledge another empty promise, citing years of stalled reforms, including a long-delayed Indigenous Rights Bill and a slow, bureaucratic process that has recognized less than 2% of mapped customary forests.
- Rights groups say state-backed development continues to drive land grabs and forest loss, with a quarter of Indigenous territories overlapping extractive concessions and widespread conflicts linked to the government’s strategic national projects (PSN).
- Critics urge the government to enact legal reforms and recognize Indigenous land beyond the 1.4-million-hectare target, warning that without real action, the pledge will be symbolic rather than transformative.

In Honduras, local communities miss out on benefits of large-scale renewables
- About 1.4 million Hondurans still lack access to electricity, energy demand is increasing and climate change is intensifying, while the country continues to rely on fossil fuels. Yet, in southern Honduras, large-scale renewable energy projects have sparked sharp criticism from local communities.
- Community members complain of unbearable heat, water scarcity and deforestation. They say they feel the impacts of large renewable energy projects, but not the benefits, noting that they still lack access to the electricity grid and face some of the highest electricity prices in the region.
- Community leaders who resist renewable energy projects report being threatened. Experts, activists and community members say better protection for community leaders is urgently needed.
- Despite Honduras’s need for an energy transition, the government and companies involved in these projects have failed to secure community support. Instead, locals call for a “just transition” that ensures affordable energy.

Suriname’s plan to capitalize on carbon: Q&A with President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons
- Suriname’s first female president, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, sat down with Mongabay to discuss her goals for the U.N. Climate Change Conference taking place next week in neighboring Brazil.
- She’s been a vocal proponent of climate financing for countries meeting their emission targets and conserving the rainforest.
- At the same time, Geerlings-Simons is grappling with Suriname’s deep-seated mining industry, which often skirts regulations and destroys natural ecosystems with mercury and cyanide.
- Geerlings-Simons said she recognizes the importance of extractive industries for funding the country’s infrastructure, law enforcement and the agencies that provide environmental oversight.

Lithium mining may threaten a precious resource — water: Voices from the land (commentary)
- Large-scale lithium mining may impact scarce and precious water resources and balance in Argentina’s arid ecosystems, says Clemente Flores, president of the El Angosto Indigenous community.
- Flores says Indigenous communities manage water communally and this regulates how much they can grow, how many animals they can have, and it shapes their way of life and customs.
- Companies are mining “to save the world from the impacts of climate change by using the minerals for renewable technologies,” he says in this opinion piece. “But we want to be included among those who will be saved — not sacrificed to save others.”
- This commentary is part of the Voices from the Land series, a compilation of Indigenous-led opinion pieces. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Deforestation and disease spread as Nicaragua ignores illegal cattle ranching
- Illegal cattle ranching has torn through Nicaragua’s rainforests in recent years, supplying a growing international market for meat despite calls for better oversight of the industry.
- The practice has led to a spike in cases of New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax), a parasitic fly that feeds on warm-blooded animals
- A new investigation by conservation group Re:wild found that years of industry reforms still haven’t prevented cattle ranchers from deforesting protected areas and Indigenous territories.

Indigenous women and the path to a just energy transition: Voices from the land (commentary)
- The implementation of the energy transition is unfolding at the expense of biodiversity and communities — particularly Indigenous women, says Galina Angarova and Daniela De León, members of the SIRGE Coalition.
- They say Indigenous women stand at the frontlines of the energy transition as defenders of their lands and waters and as visionaries shaping alternative pathways rooted in balance, reciprocity and care.
- “A just and sustainable future cannot be achieved without the full participation, leadership and consent of Indigenous women,” they write in this opinion piece.
- This commentary is part of the Voices from the Land series, a compilation of Indigenous-led opinion pieces. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Indigenous monitoring project helps protect isolated peoples in Colombia’s Amazon
- Indigenous communities neighboring the peoples living in isolation in Colombian Amazon have spent more than a decade helping the latter remain separate from the outside world.
- Members of the Curare-Los Ingleses Indigenous Reserve and of the community of Manacaro use traditional knowledge and technology alike to monitor threats to their territory and to protect nearby communities living in isolation.
- In Manacaro, women take on traditionally masculine roles by patrolling the rivers, collecting data, and safeguarding their neighbors’ lives amid the advance of armed actors and illegal mining.
- Surveillance work has provided evidence of uncontacted peoples, such as the Yuri and Passé ethnic groups, which was fundamental in the federal government’s decision to formally recognize them.

Mamai Lucille Williams, a quiet symbol of dignity amid destruction, has died, aged about 93
- Mamai Lucille Williams, a Patamona elder from Karisparu in Guyana’s North Pakaraimas, was forcibly evicted in 2018 when miners—accompanied by police and a mining officer—destroyed her home and farm to clear land for gold extraction.
- Her case, raised by local Indigenous councils, became emblematic of the wider struggle against illegal and unsafe mining that continues to displace Amerindian communities across Guyana and the Amazon.
- Despite government promises of compensation, Mamai spent her final years away from her ancestral land, which she had occupied since childhood, symbolizing the precariousness of Indigenous tenure amid extractive expansion.
- She died in September 2025, remembered by her community as a “living symbol of courage, resilience, and dignity” and honored for preserving the Patamona language through her contribution to the first Patamona Learning Handbook.

Voices from the Land
Indigenous peoples are experiencing firsthand the impacts of the environmental and climate crises on their lands and communities. This commentary series, produced by the collective Passu Creativa with the support of Earth Alliance, is written by Indigenous leaders from around the world, including Goldman Prize winners, political officials, and representatives of grassroots movements. These leaders […]
Copper rush pushes Vale to ramp up mining near Amazonian protected areas
- Mining giant Vale has obtained a preliminary license for its Bacaba project, the first step toward doubling its copper production in the Brazilian Amazon over the next decade.
- Experts warn the expansion, near several conservation areas, will worsen deforestation, increase water stress and raise the risk of pollution.
- The global demand for copper is expected to rise by more than 40% by 2040, and almost all of Brazil’s known reserves are in the Amazon.

Peru considers stripping protections for Indigenous people and their territories
- Several bills working their way through Peru’s Congress would loosen restrictions for oil and gas drilling, and make it harder for Indigenous people to obtain protected status for their land.
- One of the laws gives Congress the power to reevaluate the legal categorization and reserve status of Indigenous peoples living in isolation and initial contact, or PIACI.
- Some advocacy groups called for the suspension of international climate financing to several parts of the Peruvian government until they implement concrete PIACI protections.

Indigenous consent isn’t a ‘box-ticking’ exercise: Voices from the land (commentary)
- Government officials and companies in South Africa seem to be increasingly using free, prior and informed consent as a box-ticking exercise, says Sinegugu Zukulu, an Indigenous activist and Goldman Prize Winner.
- He underlines that the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires States to consult and cooperate in good faith with communities, allowing them the right to say “No” to a project.
- “The distant planning that goes on in ivory towers without our representation ends up going against our wishes,” Zukulu writes in this opinion piece. “The aspirations of Indigenous communities should always be respected.”
- This commentary is part of the Voices from the Land series, a compilation of Indigenous-led opinion pieces. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Peru court upholds 28 years in prison for loggers in Indigenous murders
- Eleven years after the murders of four Indigenous leaders of the Alto Tamaya Saweto community, an appeals court ratified the sentences for four loggers.
- The judges upheld the initial sentence of 28 years and three months in prison for loggers José Estrada and Hugo Soria, as well as brothers Josimar and Segundo Atachi.
- Meanwhile, Eurico Mapes Gómez, accused by the Public Ministry of being a third material author of the murders, was not sentenced, having been a fugitive of justice since 2022, when the first trial took place.
- The defendants failed to attend the hearing, and an arrest warrant was issued for the four loggers.

Brazil’s first private Amazon road paves new trade route to China
- Brazil’s government has signed a 30-year contract to privatize a section of the BR-364 highway, a key part of its plan to create an overland corridor to Peru to streamline commodity exports to China.
- Critics warn that expanding the highway into well-preserved rainforest risks repeating its history by attracting illegal loggers and land grabbers, a pattern that previously cleared vast areas for agriculture.
- The road is key to a new infrastructure initiative aimed at streamlining South American trade routes to China by creating a direct link between Brazil’s agribusiness heartland and Pacific ports in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

Europe’s competition over Indigenous Sámi resources: Voices from the land (commentary)
- In northern Europe, Indigenous Sámi people continue to compete with neighboring nations for the same resources and lands, says Áslat Holmberg, former president of the Saami Council, political leader and advocate for Indigenous rights.
- He argues that this is part of continual colonial control, taking shape in the form of mines, energy projects, top-down conservation efforts and politics taking more land from Sámi reindeer herders and fishers or overriding Sámi rights in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
- “Our lands are seen as a storeroom of resources, just waiting to be plundered,” Holmberg writes in this opinion piece. “We are told that we must contribute and give more of our lands for the sake of the planet. But we have already given so much. Many of our communities are stretched to their limits.”
- This commentary is part of the Voices from the Land series, a compilation of Indigenous-led opinion pieces. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Protecting Indigenous Amazon lands may also protect public health, study says
- Healthy forests in protected Indigenous territories could help reduce the risk of certain illnesses for humans, a new study shows.
- Different factors influence how effective Indigenous territories are at protecting health, including whether a territory has legal protected status and the type of landscape surrounding it.
- Researchers found that Indigenous territories can effectively reduce the risk of vector-borne or zoonotic diseases if they’re located in municipalities with at least 40% forest cover.
- The study used a data set of respiratory, cardiovascular, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases recorded across the Amazon region between 2001 and 2019 to understand how pollution from forest fires, forest cover and fragmentation, and Indigenous territories impacted the risk from 21 different diseases.

Norway fund drops Eramet over Indonesia mine threatening forests, Indigenous tribe
- Norway’s $1.6 trillion government pension fund is divesting its $6.8 million stake in French miner Eramet after its ethics council found “unacceptable risk” of severe environmental damage and human rights violations at the PT Weda Bay Nickel mine the company operates in Halmahera, Indonesia.
- Weda Bay Nickel sits in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot and has already cleared about 2,700 hectares (6,700 acres) of rainforest since 2019, far exceeding its plan, threatening endemic species and risking extinctions before they’re documented.
- Weda Bay Nickel sits in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot and has already cleared about 2,700 hectares (6,700 acres) of rainforest since 2019, far exceeding its plan, threatening endemic species and risking extinctions before they’re documented.
- The case highlights growing investor scrutiny over whether nickel for electric vehicle batteries and other clean-energy technologies can be sourced without destroying tropical forests or violating Indigenous rights.

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

Maluku coconut growers cry crisis as Indonesia land-grabs feed energy transition
- Numerous villages in Indonesia’s Halmahera Island face extensive compulsory purchase actions for farming land by mining companies with extraction permits issued by the government.
- One farmer said he faced sustained pressure from local authorities to accept offers of $1.22 per square meter of land, which did not account for the recurring revenues earned from multiple coconut harvests per year.
- The South Wasile’s police chief sent an emphatic denial to Mongabay Indonesia when asked whether local police were involved in company efforts to persuade farmers to sign contracts of sale.
- Mongabay has reported this year from Halmahera on a rise in respiratory disease and high levels of mercury present in blood samples in communities living alongside Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), the giant nickel smelting center on Halmahera.

Colombia’s Siona Indigenous guard faces landmines, violence around territory
- In the Buenavista and Santa Cruz de Piñuña Blanco reserves, two Indigenous leaders guard an ancestral legacy that armed conflict, landmines and the state’s uneven support threaten to erase.
- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted protective measures in favor of the Indigenous Siona reserves of Buenavista and Piñuña Blanco. But seven years later, their leaders report noncompliance, militarization and ongoing threats in their territory.
- Widespread landmines have caused mass displacement, robbed people of their freedoms, and confined the Siona to their own forest.
- Siona communities are demanding the legal expansion of their ancestral territory, approximately 52,000 hectares (nearly 130,000 acres), as a guarantee of their physical, cultural and spiritual survival in the face of slow government support.

Palm oil giant Socapalm still planting on disputed land in Cameroon as villagers seek redress
A land dispute between residents of a Cameroonian village and a major palm oil company remains unresolved despite protests and requests for meetings with authorities, NGOs and community members say. Residents of Apouh village in the country’s Littoral region have long accused Socapalm, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based multinational Socfin, of encroaching on their ancestral land […]
‘Independent’ auditors overvalue credits of carbon projects, study finds
- A recent study reviewed 95 flawed carbon credit projects registered under Verra, the world’s largest voluntary carbon credit registry, and found signs of systematic flaws with the auditing process.
- These issues suggest that carbon credits often fail to accurately represent actual emission reductions, thereby undermining global climate mitigation efforts.
- The findings further erode trust in the carbon market, with specialists warning that its entire credibility relies on independent verifiers; “The voluntary carbon market is broken,” an expert said.

Isolated tribes under threat as Peru votes down Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve
- The proposed Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve would have protected an area a fifth the size of Ireland in the Peruvian Amazon, home to several Indigenous communities living in isolation.
- Last week, a government commission voted 8-5 against the proposal, despite ongoing threats against the Matsés, Matis, Korubo, Kulina-Pano and Flecheiro Indigenous peoples.
- A new study will have to be developed and proposed to the commission, which could take several more years, critics of the outcome said.
- In the meantime, they warned, forest concessions in the area could expand and groups tied to mining, logging and drug trafficking could force the isolated groups off the land.

Guatemala closes oil field, increases security in Maya Biosphere Reserve
- Guatemala is converting the Xan oil field inside Laguna del Tigre National Park into a base for military and law enforcement operations, with special focus on protecting the rainforest from illegal activity.
- The oil field, operated by Anglo-French firm Perenco since 2001, produced between 5,000 and 7,000 barrels of crude oil a day, accounting for around 90% of national output.
- The government did not renew the concession, which ended in August, but Perenco will continue to operate a pipeline until 2044.
- Officials said they want to devote more funding and personnel to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, of which Laguna del Tigre is a part, and which loses thousands of hectares of rainforest every year to cattle ranching, agriculture and logging.

Report sees $20B in revenue for Amazon REDD+ projects despite unmet promises
- A recent report by the Earth Innovation Institute (EII) estimates jurisdictional REDD+ projects in the Brazilian Amazon could generate between $10 billion and $20 billion in revenue.
- The authors suggest that this funding could also scale up forest protection strategies, potentially reducing deforestation by up to 90% by 2030.
- However, experts are skeptical that these programs can ultimately address the root causes of deforestation and comply with proper consultation with local communities.
- Recent studies and investigations have revealed that many carbon credits do not represent real emissions reductions, are intertwined with environmental offenders and fail to include Indigenous peoples.

Officials struggle with land invasions in Mexico’s Balam Kú Biosphere Reserve
- Around 450 people have crossed into Balam Kú Biosphere Reserve this year in Mexico’s southern state of Campeche, deforesting hundreds of hectares of dry tropical forest.
- The group is made up of people who relocated from the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Veracruz and other parts of Campeche, according to officials.
- Authorities want to remove the temporary settlements before illegal agriculture and cattle ranching spread into other parts of the reserve. So far, they’ve been unsuccessful.

Development banks under fire for backing disputed Nepal hydropower project
- Civil society leaders in Nepal continue to raise concerns about the in-development Tanahu hydropower project in Gandaki province, citing a lack of proper consultation, inadequate compensation for displacement, and environmental impacts.
- Project developer Tanahu Hydropower Limited (THL), a subsidiary of the national electricity utility, says it has completed the consultation process.
- Half of the complaints against hydropower projects in Nepal documented by a rights watchdog are related to the Tanahu project, which receives funding from the Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank and World Bank.
- Most of Nepal’s electricity is generated through hydropower, and the government plans to expand the country’s generating capacity nearly eightfold to 28,500 megawatts by 2035.

Indonesia’s Bajau fishers lament nickel mining’s marine pollution
For many members of the nomadic Bajau sea tribe on Indonesia’s Kabaena Island, growing up meant swimming and fishing in clear waters, just outside their homes built on stilts. However, in 2010, the water turned red, which the villagers blame on runoff from nearby nickel mining, Mongabay’s Hans Nicholas Jong reported in July. “Now, I […]
Pulp and paper giant APP moves closer to regaining FSC stamp despite pending review
- The Forest Stewardship Council has allowed Asia Pulp & Paper — “one of the world’s most destructive forestry companies” — to resume its remedy process toward regaining certification it lost in 2007 for deforestation and land conflicts.
- Watchdog groups say the decision is premature because a legal review of APP’s links to Paper Excellence/Domtar, the biggest pulp and paper company in North America, is still unfinished.
- Critics warn the move could erode trust, enable greenwashing, and expose communities in conflict with APP-linked companies to further harm.
- NGOs are calling for the remedy process to be paused until the review is completed and for full transparency on corporate ownership and compliance.

Indigenous alliance unveils Brazil’s first Native-led emissions strategy
Brazil’s largest Indigenous organization has launched the country’s first Native-led strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, ahead of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Aug. 9. The idea is for the plan to be incorporated into the Brazilian government’s own emissions reduction plan, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which the country updates and […]
Who is clearing Indonesia’s forests — and why?
- Most tropical countries are experiencing record-high deforestation rates, but in Indonesia, forest loss is slowing.
- But nearly half of the forest cleared in 2024 can’t be linked to an identifiable driver, raising red flags about speculative land clearing, regulatory blind spots and delayed environmental harm.
- Land is often cleared but not immediately used; research shows that nearly half of deforested lands in Indonesia remain idle for more than five years.
- Experts say these trends signal regulatory failure, as the government issues permits widely and concession holders face few consequences for clearing forest and abandoning the land, creating a cycle of destruction without accountability.

Surge in critical minerals claims puts Brazil’s land reform communities at risk
- The greed for critical minerals is invading land reform settlements in Brazil, threatening food production and environmental protection.
- An analysis has identified 3,391 mining processes overlapping with 1,432 areas demarcated by the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), covering 25 Brazilian states.
- Almost half of the mining projects impacting rural settlements are in the Brazilian Amazon, which concentrates 52% of the mining areas in settlements; the northeast region accounts for 40% of the occurrences.
- The interest in critical minerals in rural settlements in Pará tends to exacerbate conflicts in an area historically marked by land ownership disputes.

Soy crops squeeze Amazon park with 11,000-year-old rock paintings in Brazil
- Remarkable discoveries in an Amazon cave rewrote human history, but it remains largely unknown as farmers advance closely.
- Boasting hundreds of ancient rock paintings, Monte Alegre State Park (PEMA) in northern Brazil is a natural and cultural marvel, yet it barely attracts 4,000 visitors a year.
- Deforestation is accelerating around Monte Alegre, with 11,000 hectares (27,180 acres) of forest lost in 2024, largely to soy farming.
- A new report revealed a worrying pattern: By 2023, more than half of Brazil’s archaeological sites were located close to recent human activity, largely due to the expansion of farming.

As Indonesia reclaims forests from palm oil, smallholders bear brunt of enforcement
- Indonesian authorities have reclaimed 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forest from illegal oil palm plantations under a militarized crackdown, but critics say it disproportionately targets Indigenous communities and smallholders while sparing large corporations, deepening land inequality.
- Much of the reclaimed land is being handed over to state-owned plantation company PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara, raising concerns that private monopolies are being replaced by a state one, with some communities pushed into profit-sharing schemes critics call exploitative.
- In biodiversity-rich Tesso Nilo National Park, thousands of families are being forcibly evicted, while powerful figures like a local legislator evade sanctions, highlighting a two-tiered policing system.
- Activists are calling for a new forestry law to address outdated legislation, protect Indigenous land rights, mandate ecological restoration, and close legal loopholes that allow corporate violators to avoid accountability.

Civil society challenges Indonesian deregulation law over rights and environment
- Indonesia’s controversial Job Creation Law is facing new legal challenges from civil society groups who say it weakens environmental protections and human rights.
- One lawsuit targets provisions that restrict public involvement in environmental impact assessments and remove key legal tools for opposing harmful projects.
- A second lawsuit challenges special privileges granted to large-scale infrastructure projects, accusing the law of facilitating forced evictions and land grabs.
- A case study cited in the legal battle is the Rempang Eco City project, which residents say has displaced Indigenous communities without their consent and through the use of violence.

Mounting corporate pressure on Honduras threatens community rights
- New data on foreign arbitration claims in Honduras reveal that the lawsuits filed by corporations against the country now total $19.4 billion in legal claims, equivalent to roughly 53% of Honduras’ GDP in 2024.
- The lawsuits, many of which are tied to controversial investments made after the 2009 coup, undermine government efforts to implement reforms that could benefit human rights and the environment.
- Seven claims amounting to more than $1.6 billion are from the electricity sector alone, including from renewable energy.

Ecuador’s new protected areas law sparks debate over security, development
- A new law on protected areas in Ecuador is designed to improve security, funding and economic development in the country’s 78 protected areas.
- It creates a new service to oversee management decisions and a trust to generate funding for protected areas, while mandating increased technical training for park rangers.
- It also strengthens partnerships with law enforcement and the military.
- Critics of the law say it militarizes the country’s protected areas and erodes the autonomy of local and Indigenous communities.

Nickel boom on an Indonesian island brings toxic seas, lost incomes, report says
- Nickel mining on Indonesia’s Kabaena Island has polluted the sea, degraded forests and disrupted the lives of Indigenous Bajau fishers and farmers, who have reported severe drops in income, fish catches and seaweed quality.
- The mining has harmed biodiversity, threatening leatherback turtle nesting sites and the island’s unique long-tailed macaques, while also causing health issues among locals, including skin and respiratory problems, according to a report by NGOs.
- Affected communities report land seizures without proper consultation or compensation, limited public participation, and criminalization of protests, all in violation of Indigenous rights and national laws.
- The report ties the mining firms to political elites and global EV supply chains, including alleged links to Tesla and Ford, and calls for mining permit audits, stronger protections for affected communities and full accountability from companies.

Strengthening global forest certification and delivering remedy: Interview with FSC’s Subhra Bhattacharjee
- The Forestry Stewardship Council, a voluntary global certification was established in 1993 by environmentalists, Indigenous groups, human rights advocates and the timber industry to help ensure sustainable forestry practices.
- A recent report has raised alarm over the implementation of the remedy framework, which allows companies to reclaim certification if they redress past environmental and social harms.
- Mongabay interviewed FSC’s new director-general, Subhra Bhattacharjee, who stressed Indonesia’s role in how the remedy framework will be implemented worldwide.
- “When you think of Indonesia, you think of these lush natural tropical forests. You think of the breadth of the biodiversity … sometimes it takes my breath away, the kind of biodiversity we have. The world depends on these natural tropical forests,” she says.

Brazil’s Congress passes ‘devastation bill’ in major environmental setback
- Lawmakers approved a bill that weakens Brazil’s environmental licensing framework, which creates self-approving licensing and hands decisions to local politicians.
- The new law eases critical impact studies for large-scale enterprises such as mining dams and threatens hundreds of Indigenous and Quilombola communities.
- The bill’s approval occurred amid an ongoing political crisis between President Lula and the right-wing-led Congress.

Now on Wall Street, JBS eyes growth amid scrutiny on deforestation & graft
- The world’s largest meatpacker had a long journey to the U.S. stock market, one full of reports of greenwashing and corruption.
- After debuting on the NYSE, the company plans to use its new access to Wall Street capital to expand operations in the United States, Brazil and Australia.
- Recently, it’s broadening its global footprint, with new plants in Nigeria, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
- Critics warn of environmental risks with JBS’ expansion and say the new listing could lead to more scrutiny from the U.S. Congress and courts.

Amazon deforestation spikes as Brazil blames criminal fires
- A new and alarming pattern of destruction is emerging in the rainforest, challenging Brazilian authorities ahead of COP30.
- After plunging in 2023 and 2024, deforestation in the Amazon surged 92% in May and is up 27% in 2025, half of it in recently burned land — an all-time high.
- The biome’s increased susceptibility to fire makes it a more attractive and less risky method for criminals seeking illegal deforestation, according to experts.
- This dramatic increase in forest loss presents a major challenge for Brazil’s government, which aims to lead conservation talks, ahead of COP30, in November.

Attack on Indigenous land defenders in Peru reveals snags in protection system
- In April 2025, members of the community forest monitoring committee from the Kakataibo Indigenous community in Peru’s Mariscal Cáceres province were attacked while patrolling their ancestral territory.
- Organizations that support environmental defenders have criticized the slow response and lack of action from the Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.
- For several months, emails and formal requests for meetings and other forms of support have gone unanswered.
- According to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, between April 2021 and April 2025, the Intersectoral Mechanism registered 706 human rights defenders and 64 of their family members.

Amazon’s ‘tipping point road’ gets new push with ease on licensing rules
- As a controversial bill passes in Brazil, environmentalists prepare for the “last stand” to save the Amazon.
- Brazil’s Congress approved a sweeping reform of environmental licensing laws aimed at accelerating projects, such as the BR-319 highway renewal.
- The highway cuts through one of the most preserved regions of the Amazon, and its restoration is likely to lead to widespread deforestation, as happened with other roads.
- Infrastructure projects such as the Ferrogrão railway, oil prospecting on the Amazon coast and routes linking the Amazon to the Pacific benefit from the new bill, with support from President Lula.

Rising heat and falling yields plague an Amazon island near COP30 host
- Combu Island is already warmer and drier than 40 years ago, leading to declining yields in açaí crops.
- The Guamá River surrounding Combu is now experiencing unusual and prolonged periods of rising salinity, which impacts water quality and affects local aquatic life.
- Local islanders expect COP30 to move beyond rhetorical discussions on measures to mitigate the damage that has already been done to places like Combu.

In Latin America, energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
- A new report from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Almost half of all cases were filed by Indigenous peoples; 70% of cases globally and 76% of those filed in Latin America and the Caribbean concerned mining for transition minerals.
- The report urges governments, companies and investors to conduct robust human and environmental due diligence across the entire renewable energy value chain and to adopt a human rights-centered approach throughout project life cycles.

African Parks earns over $7 million from carbon credit sales in Benin and CAR
African Parks has generated $7.35 million in carbon credit sales from Chinko National Park in the Central African Republic, Helge Mahne, global funding director for African Parks, confirmed to Mongabay in an email. An unspecified sum was also raised via sales from a similar project in Benin’s Pendjari and W national parks, although the nonprofit […]
104 companies linked to 20% of global environmental conflicts, study finds
A recent study has found that just 104 companies, mostly multinational corporations from high-income countries, are involved in a fifth of the more than 3,000 environmental conflicts it analyzed. The study examined 3,388 conflicts, involving 5,589 companies, recorded in the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) as of October 2024. The atlas is the world’s […]
Indigenous guards: The shield of Colombia’s Amazon
- For years, using organization and collaboration, unarmed guards in Colombia have acted as protective barriers of territories, the environment and communities.
- These days, the guards combine their traditional knowledge with monitoring technology, such as GPS and satellite imagery, so the data can be used by government entities.
- Working to protect their territory has put them in danger: Between 2014 and 2024, at least 70 Indigenous guardians have been killed in Colombia.
- A team of journalists tracked five cases in the Colombian departments of Amazonas, Putumayo and Guainía to get a firsthand look at these defense processes and the risks Indigenous guardians face.

Nicaragua government tied to illegal land invasions in wildlife refuge, documents suggest
- Río San Juan Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Nicaragua has suffered a wave of deforestation in recent years, fueled by land deals that allow settlers to clear the rainforest for farming, mining and cattle ranching.
- Without government support, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities have patrolled the forests on their own but are overwhelmed by the number of people settling in the area.
- Some residents have crossed the border into Costa Rica due to security concerns.
- Recently, the government also authorized more dredging on the San Juan River, despite losing a previous case about dredging at the International Court of Justice.

Organized crime & gold trade are increasingly connected, report shows
- Latin American cartels once were masters of the drug trade, but spikes in prices led them into controlling a new venture.
- Criminals also took advantage of poor control over the mining sector and used it to launder money, a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found.
- Drug trafficking groups may control the logistics and the equipment supply in gold mining sites or charge miners for the right to use a specific area.
- In the Tapajós River Basin, in the Brazilian Amazon, gold mining is also closely connected with crimes like sexual abuse and human trafficking.

Brazil’s Indigenous Akroá Gamella reclaim and restore their land, one patch at a time
- After decades of invasions, pollution and state neglect, the Akroá Gamella Indigenous people have reclaimed part of their ancestral land in the Taquaritiua Indigenous Territory, in Brazil’s Maranhão state, and shut down illegal landfills maintained by local governments.
- For more than 12 years, hospital and urban waste has been illegally dumped in springs at the Tabarelzinho Indigenous village, in a region that’s also supposed to be an environmental protection area of internationally recognized ecological importance.
- The Akroá Gamella’s so-called retomadas (recapturing) of land aims to restore the territory through agroecological practices, reforesting it with native species and recovering its springs; meanwhile, they continue to face ongoing violence by invaders.

Panama boosts protections in the Darién Gap, but deforestation threats still loom
- Panama is pouring new resources into protecting Darién, a remote province where the rugged, nearly impenetrable jungle provides cover for migrants, drug traffickers, illegal loggers, miners and cattle ranchers.
- Dozens of park guards have been hired and trained with new technology, and officials are working on implementing stricter regulations for logging and agribusiness.
- New roads and bridges will bring investment, access to education and health care to hard-to-reach communities, but they could also attract an influx of people ready to cut down the forest.
- As more people arrive to the region, the agricultural frontier pushes closer to the limits of the park, raising concerns among rangers about how they will defend it in years to come.

UN calls out Indonesia’s Merauke food estate for displacing Indigenous communities
- U.N. special rapporteurs have raised concerns that Indonesia’s food estate project in Merauke district is displacing Indigenous communities, clearing forests without consent, and using military forces to suppress dissent, threatening more than 50,000 Indigenous people.
- They point to deforestation of more than 109,000 hectares (269,000 acres), loss of biodiversity, and violations of Indigenous rights, including lack of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and intimidation by military forces.
- The Indonesian government has rejected the allegations, claiming compliance with national laws, and saying the project boosts food security and that Indigenous rights and environmental safeguards are respected — despite civil society calling these claims misleading.
- NGOs are urging stronger U.N. monitoring, a fact-finding mission, and genuine FPIC processes, warning that the project risks erasing Papuan Indigenous culture while facilitating corporate land grabs.

In the Brazilian Amazon, sustainability policies clash with development goals
- Authorities in the Brazilian authorities have proven to be ambivalent when it comes to the environment. They generally adhere to discourses of environmental protection, but also support infrastructure programs that promote deforestation.
- Some officials across the Brazilian Amazon have vested interests in development projects, promoting those over environmental policies.
- Several infrastructure projects, such as the repaving of the BR-319 highway, are promoted as green, but pose serious environmental concerns.

‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal under fire as Amazon prosecutors seek repeal
- A Brazilian state was set to close a massive $180 million carbon credit deal, but now faces an escalating legal battle, accused of violating national laws and Indigenous rights, potentially ruining the project.
- Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to nullify the 2024 contract, which sells 12 million carbon credits from Pará to companies like Amazon, Bayer, H&M Group and Walmart.
- Indigenous and Quilombola leaders voice concerns that the program could restrict their access to their land and interaction with nature, undermining inherent rights and deep spiritual connection to the rainforest.
- Widespread accusations over the failure of free, prior, and informed consent for the project highlight ongoing criticism of carbon credit initiatives in Brazil and globally, after scandals involving unapproved use of traditional territories and a loss of confidence in REDD+ projects.

Unnoticed oil & gas threat looms for Indigenous people near Amazon blocks
- While oil prospects in the Amazon north shore attract international attention, the offer of exploration blocks around Indigenous territories goes unnoticed in Mato Grosso state.
- Brazil will auction 21 blocks in the Parecis Basin, an area with dense Indigenous activity, yet none of these communities have been consulted, as leaders struggle to handle existing threats such as ranchers and miners.
- Impacts on Indigenous territories include the influx of workers and machinery during research and the risk of toxic gas emissions and water pollution if projects move forward.
- The rainforest is the most promising frontier for the oil industry, with one-fifth of the world’s newly discovered reserves from 2022-24.

Police in Indonesia’s Halmahera Island charge 11 farmers in latest nickel flashpoint
- Officers with North Maluku province police arrested 27 people from the coastal village of Maba Sangaji in late May, and later charged 11 of the detained men with weapons and public order offenses.
- A lawyer for the 11 facing prosecution said the bladed instruments seized from them were farming tools, and did not reflect any criminal intent in demonstrating against a mining company.
- The villagers accuse nickel-mining company PT Position of quarrying their customary forest, causing damage to local crops and pollution of a river flowing through the area.
- Maba Sangaji is around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Weda Bay Industrial Estate, a vast minerals processing site established in 2018 by China mining conglomerates Huayou, Tsingshan and Zhenshi.

Ahead of hosting COP30, Brazil is set to weaken environmental licensing
- A new bill may dismantle Brazil’s environmental license framework, easing the way for infrastructure projects such as oil exploration on the Amazon coast and paving the BR-319 road, in one of the rainforest’s most preserved areas.
- The new rules, considered unconstitutional by experts, would benefit around 80% of the ventures with a self-licensing process that exempts environmental impact studies and mitigation measures.
- More than 1,800 Indigenous lands and Quilombola territories not fully demarcated would be ignored in the licensing process.
- The bill is still pending approval by the Chamber of Deputies, but experts say they believe the measure will be challenged in the Brazilian Supreme Court.

Amazon illegal gold mines drive sex trafficking in the Brazil-Guyana border
- Poverty and poor border controls have allowed young women to be trafficked into the sex trade catering to illegal gold miners in Brazil’s border areas with countries like Guyana and Venezuela.
- Research by the Federal University of Roraima identified 309 people who were victims of human trafficking between 2022 and 2024.
- In the Guyanese border town of Lethem, young women, mostly from Venezuela but also from Brazil, are trafficked into bars from across the border in Brazil, seemingly without restriction.
- Organized crime networks associated with illegal mining use elaborate recruiting tactics and exploit the vulnerability of victims, who often don’t recognize themselves as trafficked or are afraid to speak out.

Deforestation and fires persist in Indonesia’s pulpwood and biomass plantations
- NGOs in Indonesia have documented widespread environmental and social violations across 33 industrial tree plantations since 2023, including deforestation, peatland destruction, fires, and land conflicts with Indigenous communities.
- Major corporations APP and APRIL, despite sustainability pledges, were linked to illegal deforestation, peatland drainage, and failure to follow proper consent procedures, potentially violating both Indonesian laws and international standards.
- Key case studies include endangered rainforest clearance in West Sumatra’s Mentawai Islands, unauthorized forest clearance in Riau, peatland burning in South Sumatra, and land disputes in West Kalimantan.
- The NGOs are urging stronger law enforcement and reforms, warning that current violations undermine Indonesia’s climate goals and could threaten market access under the EU Deforestation Regulation.

Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push
- Nickel mining on Kabaena Island has caused severe environmental degradation, threatening the health, livelihoods and cultural identity of the Indigenous Bajo people and resulting in child deaths due to toxic sludge.
- Investigations by environmental groups revealed dangerous heavy metal contamination, deforestation and violations of environmental laws, linking the mining operations to politically exposed persons and global electric vehicle supply chains.
- Indonesia’s Environment Ministry has acknowledged the crisis, pledged enforcement and is developing restoration plans but has so far avoided criminal charges.
- Local activists and experts call for a moratorium on mining permits and stronger law enforcement, stressing that temporary fixes and economic gains must not come at the cost of human lives and ecological collapse.

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

Delay in land reform fuels new wave of settlers and violence in the Amazon
- Grassroots organizations are settling new areas in the Brazilian Amazon amid disappointment that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been slow to jump-start the stalled land reform agenda.
- According to the federal land agency, Incra, about 145,000 people are inhabiting camps all over Brazil, waiting for a plot of land.
- In one of the Amazon’s deadliest regions, a group fighting for land was besieged by a dozen armed men hired by ranchers; even in established settlements, harassment by land grabbers and lack of government support drive settlers out of their plots.
- The stalling of the land reform agenda pushes Amazonian people further into the forest, driving the cycle of deforestation, or else to the outskirts of cities, where many struggle to make a living.

New forest loss data beef up Amazon deforestation case against Casino Group
- A new report by Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV) states that Casino Group’s beef supply chain could be linked to up to 526,459 hectares (about 1.3 million acres) of deforestation in Brazil between 2018 and 2023.
- The data are being used in a $64.1 million lawsuit filed in 2021 by environmental and Indigenous groups that accuse the French retailer of contributing to illegal deforestation.
- Among the plaintiffs are Indigenous communities from the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau territory in the Brazilian Amazon that have faced decades of land invasions by illegal cattle ranchers.

German supermarket palm oil linked to Indigenous rights abuses in Guatemala
- Since 2019, human rights groups have filed numerous complaints against German supermarket chain Edeka and palm oil supplier NaturAceites, alleging the companies failed to respond to concerns from Indigenous communities in the municipality in El Estor, Guatemala, about land grabs, worker mistreatment, and water pollution.
- When residents complained, law enforcement allegedly used force to quiet protests — including firing tear gas into crowds that included women, children and elderly people.
- Last year, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil terminated certification for three of NaturAceites’ palm oil mills.

Bolivia expels members of fake nation Kailasa over Indigenous land lease scandal
- A Hindu religious sect tried to enter Ecuador, Paraguay and Bolivia by lying to authorities and Indigenous leaders.
- The self-proclaimed nation, the United States of Kailasa, operates from different parts of the world and offered high sums of money to Indigenous leaders in exchange for lands to exploit or conserve for carbon credit projects, say legal experts.
- One contract was a lease for 1,000 years, to be renewed perpetually, allowing the self-proclaimed nation to exploit the natural resources in the leased territory.
- Authorities announced the beginning of an investigation into land trafficking and criminal organization against the people involved in the contracts of the perpetual leasing of Bolivian land in favor of the self-proclaimed nation of Kailasa.

Malaysian timber company accused of abuse & rights violations: Report
A new Human Rights Watch report alleges abuse and human rights violations in an Indigenous community in Malaysia’s Sarawak state. The report finds Malaysian timber company Zedtee Sdn Bhd (Zedtee) destroyed culturally valuable forests without the consent of Indigenous people, who are facing an eviction notice from their land. The HRW report says the Sarawak […]
Lack of funds, cattle ranchers challenge Brazil’s sustainable farmers
In 2005, the Brazilian government created PDS Brasília, a sustainable settlement in the state of Pará. The settlement was designed to encourage 500 families to practice small-scale family farming, while also collectively using a standing forest to harvest its fruits and nuts, Mongabay’s Fernanda Wenzel reported in March. The 19,800-hectare (49,000-acre) settlement was created following the […]
‘We can’t talk solutions without understanding complexities: Kari Guajajara on Brazil’s Amazon
- Mongabay interviewed Kari Guajajara, a lawyer and the first Indigenous person to obtain a law degree in Brazil’s state of Maranhão, to hear her take on some of the latest and biggest events affecting Indigenous communities and forests Brazilian Amazon.
- These events include a government operation to evict illegal miners from a Munduruku territory, threats to the lives of Indigenous land defenders, the influence of the agribusiness lobby, and President Lula’s drop in popularity.
- Kari Guajajara and other Indigenous delegates came to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City to spotlight issues they face in their country.
- Kari Guajajara is a lawyer at Amazonia Alerta and a legal advisor for COIAB, a Brazilian Amazon Indigenous network.

At the U.N., mining groups tout protections for Indigenous peoples
- At the U.N., international mining organizations committed to consulting with Indigenous people.
- The reality on the ground looks different in the U.S., say Indigenous activists. Projects like Oak Flat in Arizona are continuing to move ahead over Indigenous objections.
- Mining industry groups have released voluntary rules for getting consent from Indigenous people — with stronger requirements than the U.S. has. Legal experts say it could goad governments into action.

Amazon people brace for a drier future along the endangered Madeira River
- The Madeira River, the largest tributary of the Amazon, has been losing water flow over the last 20 years while facing severe droughts.
- The water drop is worrying the local population, whose livelihoods depend on balanced water bodies for small-scale agriculture, wild fruit extractives, fishing and transportation.
- The Madeira is particularly vulnerable to hydrological extremes and reached its lowest level ever recorded in September 2024.
- The Amazon has been warming since the 1980s, suffering 15 extreme droughts so far.

‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- Mongabay interviewed José Homero Mutumbajoy, an experienced Indigenous rights defender in Colombia, to hear his take on some of the latest and biggest events affecting Indigenous communities and forests in the country’s Amazon.
- Events include protests against Libero Cobre’s copper mine, the impacts of armed groups, protections of forests for isolated peoples and plans for the upcoming U.N. climate conference.
- Homero Mutumbajoy and other Indigenous delegates came to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City to spotlight issues they face in their country.
- Homero Mutumbajoy is the human rights and peace coordinator for OPIAC, the national organization for Colombia’s Amazon peoples.

Military-backed plantation project in Indonesian Papua triggers rights concerns
- Indonesia’s human rights commission has found serious rights and environmental violations in a government-backed plantation project in Papua, including land grabbing, lack of Indigenous consent, and militarization that has created fear among local communities.
- The project, aiming to clear 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) for sugarcane and rice plantations, threatens biodiverse forests and Indigenous livelihoods, violating national and international protections for land rights, food security and environmental health.
- Five key rights were found to be violated: rights to land, environment, food, participation in decision-making, and security — all guaranteed by Indonesian law and international norms.
- The rights commission, Komnas HAM, recommended legal recognition of Indigenous lands, fair participation, and restoration of rights, but civil society groups are calling for a complete halt to the project and demilitarization, warning of systematic harm if it continues.

Eucalyptus for Brazil’s steelmaking dries out communities in Minas Gerais
- Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil’s Alto Jequitinhonha Valley, grown to make charcoal for the steel industry, have drastically reduced local water resources, harming rural communities, locals and experts warn.
- Despite years of complaints by a local NGO, Aperam, the steelmaking company that owns the plantations, continues to hold FSC certification for sustainable forestry. A recent audit, however, has flagged problems in its most recent assessment for certification.
- Studies show that eucalyptus plantations in the region have lowered groundwater levels by 4.5 meters (nearly 15 feet) since the mid-1970s, jeopardizing the water supply for local communities and their livelihood.
- Aperam also profits from its plantations by producing biochar from eucalyptus waste, which it uses to boost soil carbon sequestration, and selling the concept as a form of carbon removal to companies looking to offset their own emissions.

In Borneo village, Indigenous Dayaks leave farming amid stricter fire rules
- Rice growers from an Indigenous Dayak community in Central Kalimantan province say stricter rules enacted to prevent wildfires have contributed to a decline in the number of farmers growing rice, potentially elevating risks of food insecurity among rural communities on Indonesian Borneo.
- Remie, a 46-year-old from Mantangai subdistrict, said higher input costs have also worsened the business case for growing rice. Many Dayak farmers have migrated in search of alternative work, local officials said.
- “We don’t burn the forest,” the kepala adat, the customary law authority, in Mantangai Hulu village told Mongabay Indonesia.

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.

Amazon illegal miners bypass enforcement by smuggling gold into Venezuela
- Criminal groups are operating to smuggle illegal gold from the Brazilian Amazon into Venezuela, where the metal is laundered and exported overseas.
- Illegal gold traders adopted this new strategy after Brazil’s administration increased control over the metal’s commerce.
- Mongabay followed the steps of Adriano Aguiar de Castro, who, according to authorities, jumped from one gold laundering scheme to another and now is also involved with gold smuggling into Venezuela.
- The need to cross national borders brings gold trading groups closer to organized crime and poses new challenges to authorities.

Ecuador communities resist Canada-backed gold mine in sacred highlands
- Indigenous and local communities in southern Ecuador are struggling to stop a Canadian gold-and-copper mining project that many community members say will largely impact the Quimsacocha páramo ecosystem while violating their rights to self-determination.
- Despite legal rulings to suspend mining operations, and referendums in which communities voted overwhelmingly against the mining project, critics say Dundee Precious Metals Inc. continues to initiate consultation with a limited number of people in favor of mining.
- According to its technical report, the Loma Larga mining project approved by the Ecuadorian government will provide jobs for locals and ensure the protection of water sources and the environment. The company also says the environmental consultation process was completed, with local communities voting overall in favor of the development of the project.
- Although community leaders seek to uphold their rights defending their land and waters, they say plans to sign free-trade agreement between Canada and Ecuador is yet another blow to their hopes.

Bolivian communities push back against foreign-backed lithium projects
- In 2024, Bolivia’s state-owned lithium company, signed contracts worth a combined $2 billion with Russian and Chinese companies to mine lithium from Salar de Uyuni in the country’s southwest.
- Local communities already experiencing water shortages say they’re concerned the projects will divert large amounts of freshwater from agricultural lands.
- Experts have pointed out inconsistencies with the contracts, including the lack of environmental impact assessments required under Bolivian law, and the lack of community consultation.
- Bolivia holds an estimated 23 million metric tons of lithium reserves, or about a fifth of the global total, which is in growing demand for production of electric vehicle batteries.

Illegal gold mining creeps within a kilometer of Amazon’s second-tallest tree
- Prosecutors in Brazil’s Amapá state have warned of an illegal gold mine operating just 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from second-highest known tree in the Brazilian Amazon — an 85-meter (279-foot) red angelim.
- Illegal gold miners have been moving into Amapá in the wake of federal raids on mining hotspots in other parts of the Brazilian Amazon, including the Yanomami and Munduruku Indigenous territories.
- A surge in the gold price has fueled the miners’ destructive potential and their capacity to open new areas in highly isolated places.

Mongabay investigation spurs Brazil crackdown on illegal cattle in Amazon’s Arariboia territory
- An ongoing Brazilian government operation launched in February has removed between 1,000 and 2,000 illegal head of cattle from the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in the Amazon Rainforest.
- In June 2024, Mongabay published the results of a yearlong investigation, revealing that large portions of the Arariboia territory have been taken over for commercial cattle ranching, in violation of the Constitution; the project received funding and editorial support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network.
- “Your report is very similar to what we’re actually finding in the field. It showed an accurate reality and this helped us a lot in practical terms,” Marcos Kaingang, national secretary for Indigenous territorial rights at the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, told Mongabay in a video interview.
- The investigation also revealed details that authorities said they hadn’t been aware of, including the illegal shifting of the territory’s border markers, Kaingang said: “We brought it up as an important point in our discussions and we verified that the [markers] had in fact been changed.”

After decade of delays, pressure mounts on Indonesia to pass Indigenous rights bill
- Indonesia’s Indigenous rights bill has been stalled in parliament for more than a decade despite repeated promises to pass it.
- Activists say the delay reflects a lack of political will and a reluctance on the part of lawmakers and government officials to cede power to Indigenous communities.
- The bill would secure legal recognition of Indigenous land, culture and self-governance, reducing conflict and criminalization.
- Civil society groups plan to mobilize thousands of protesters if the bill isn’t passed by August this year.

For scandal-ridden carbon credit industry, Amazon restoration offers redemption
- As REDD projects around the world face setbacks, restoration projects in the Amazon are flourishing as a means of reviving market confidence in forest-based carbon credits.
- In Brazil, the golden goose for restoration, this business model has attracted companies from the mining and beef industries, banks, startups, and big tech.
- Federal and state governments are granting public lands to restoration companies to recover degraded areas.
- Restoration projects require substantial investments and long-term commitment, face challenges such as increasingly severe fire seasons, and deal with uncertainty over the future of the carbon market.

What pushes Indigenous Munduruku people to mine their land in Brazil’s Amazon?
- The involvement of Munduruku people in illegal mining inside the Munduruku Indigenous Territory made Brazil’s efforts to stop it more complicated, federal officials said.
- Munduruku sources told Mongabay that deception, abandonment by the state and a lack of alternative income sources are what push some Munduruku people to mine.
- The recruitment of Indigenous peoples is an important mechanism used by miners to secure access to lands and gain support against government crackdowns, researchers said.
- Sources said the government should invest in public policies and alternative income projects to strengthen food security, improve health and the sustainable development of communities.

Colombia’s green transition should be inclusive: Interview with Susana Muhamad, former environment minister
- Colombia’s first leftist government “has been successful in some aspects” of its environmental agenda, but needs more economic diversification and cohesion between economic actors and the government, former environment minister and COP16 president Susana Muhamad tells Mongabay.
- In an interview shortly after her resignation in March, Muhamad calls for legalizing coca, ending some harmful subsidies for fossil fuels and agriculture, and applying a stricter regime for approving environmental licenses.
- She also celebrates the establishment of the Cali Fund and the empowerment of Indigenous peoples at COP16, saying the next steps should be to launch a global campaign to encourage private companies to contribute more toward biodiversity goals.
- Muhamad also praises the 22-year record-low deforestation rate in 2022, which was followed by a subsequent increase as armed groups continue to drive forest loss; she says the Amazon should be a key focus for the new environment minister and that Colombia “should have zero deforestation.”

Palm oil company uses armed forces, tear gas against protesting villagers in Cameroon
- Cameroonian villagers protesting on March 25 against plantation company Socapalm’s replanting of oil palm trees on disputed land were dispersed with tear gas by local law enforcement.
- Socapalm rejects the villagers’ claim that the company was supposed to return this land following an amendment to its lease, explaining that this part of the plantation is not leased.
- Gendarmes escorted Socapalm workers despite a local official’s previous statement that replanting required an agreement with villagers.
- Socfin, Socapalm’s parent company, has been accused of land grabbing and human rights abuses, with investigators confirming many community grievances at its Cameroon plantations.

After outcry, Brazil Supreme Court nixes proposal for mining on Indigenous lands
- Brazil’s Supreme Court backed down and withdrew its proposal to open up Indigenous territories to mining and economic activities from a controversial bill that critics say violates the Constitution.
- On the same day, the Federal Attorney General’s Office presented a draft presidential decree also excluding mining activities on Indigenous territories but allowing tourism and other activities led by Indigenous communities.
- Both drafts would keep contentious articles regarding compensation for non-Indigenous settlers, which could make the land demarcation process unfeasible, critics say.
- The proposals are the outcome of a yearslong legal battle centered in the highly controversial time frame thesis, aiming to nullify any Indigenous land demarcation claims to areas that weren’t physically occupied before the 1988 Constitution.

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.

Colombia creates landmark territory to protect uncontacted Indigenous groups
- Colombia has created a first-of-its-kind territory meant to protect a group of Indigenous people living between the Caquetá and Putumayo Rivers in the Amazon Rainforest.
- The 2.7-million-acre (1,092,849-hectare) territory is the first in the country specifically designed for people living in isolation.
- The Yuri-Passé people have faced increasing pressure from illegal mining and organized crime groups, forcing neighboring Indigenous communities to reach out to the government on their behalf.

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.

In ‘The Battle for Laikipia,’ the human face of resource conflict in Kenya
- During Kenya’s colonial era, Maasai, Samburu and other pastoralist communities were evicted from what is now Laikipia county to make way for British settler farms.
- Today, much of that land is still concentrated in the hands of British descendants, as well as other Kenyans and foreign investors who own large ranches and wildlife conservancies.
- Over the past decade, some of these ranches have been embroiled in conflicts with Laikipia’s pastoralist communities over access to water and forage for their herds.
- These conflicts are the subject of “The Battle for Laikipia,” a documentary film shot over seven years and to be screened at the 2025 D.C. Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner. Mongabay spoke to Daphne Matziaraki, one of the filmmakers.

Indonesia’s Indigenous Akit community faces exploitation & land loss (commentary)
- For the Akit tribe of Sumatra and countless other Indigenous communities, their land is more than what provides their livelihoods. Rather, it is their past, present, and future, and more than that, it is like their body, a new op-ed explains.
- But the Akit community has steadily seen rights to its territory eroded, as the land continues to fall into the possession of private companies.
- “Respecting Indigenous self-determination is not just a matter of justice, but a journey to a more resilient future,” the authors argue.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Pressure bears down around uncontacted tribes at the edge of Brazil’s arc of deforestation
- A family of three isolated Indigenous people got separated from their group and ended up contacting non-Indigenous society in one of the best-preserved areas of the Brazilian Amazon.
- For more than a month, agents with Funai, Brazil’s federal agency for Indigenous affairs, have been camping near the family, helping them hunt and fish.
- The group lives on the edge of the so-called arc of deforestation, in a mosaic of conservation areas and Indigenous territories that form a green barrier to oncoming pressure from land grabbers and cattle ranchers who want the land to increase their wealth.
- Besides the impact on isolated Indigenous communities, the destruction of this part of the Amazon would affect Brazil’s rain cycle and potentially unleash new viruses and bacteria, researchers warn.

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.

Ecuador must improve conditions for uncontacted Indigenous communities, human rights court rules
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that Ecuador violated numerous rights of the Tagaeri and Taromenane Indigenous peoples and failed to protect them from violent attacks.
- The nomadic Tagaeri and Taromenane rely on hunting and gathering in the Amazon Rainforest, but the area has also been an attractive location for oil development and logging.
- The court ruled that Ecuador must expand protection zones where the uncontacted Indigenous communities live and improve monitoring of threats in those areas.

‘Unprecedented’ Supreme Court bill threatens Indigenous rights in Brazil
- Presented in February by Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, a draft bill violates Indigenous people’s constitutional rights by stripping their veto power against impactful activities on their ancestral lands and adding further obstacles to an already long land demarcation process.
- Critics say the Supreme Federal Court’s act is “unprecedented” in Brazil’s history by an institution that’s entitled to protect Indigenous and minorities’ rights — as dictated by the Constitution.
- The move comes months after the same court decided those Indigenous rights couldn’t be stripped by a legislative bill, with the support of Mendes.
- Critics say the bill “brings together the main threats to Indigenous peoples” and “directly contradicts the Brazilian Constitution, the decisions of the Supreme Court itself and international human rights law.”

The rough road to sustainable farming in an Amazon deforestation hotspot
- Far from international forums and economical centers, locals in one of the Amazon deforestation hotspots seek alternatives to agribusiness and gold mines.
- Mongabay went to Pará state’s southwest and found examples of people struggling to keep sustainable initiatives in a region dominated by soy, cattle, gold and logging.
- Despite the bioeconomy buzz, people working on the ground say they miss support from banks and public administrations.

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.

Brazil’s crackdown on illegal mining in Munduruku Indigenous land sees success, but fears remain
- Government efforts to evict illegal miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon so far have led to a reduction in illegal mining, according to government officials and Munduruku organizations.
- Since the operation began in November 2024, agents have destroyed 90 camps, 15 vessels and 27 heavy machinery, in addition to handing out 24.2 million Brazilian reais ($4.2 million) in fines.
- While there has been some interruption to mining in the region, Munduruku organizations said the operation has not been completely effective, as there are still some invaders and machinery in certain areas of the territory.
- A Munduruku source told Mongabay they are worried that miners will return once security forces withdraw and also, without alternative income sources, Indigenous people involved in mining will have no option but to continue.

Forest management ambitions in Brazilian Amazon aim to make up for lost time
- In 2006, Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s government passed the Public Forest Management Law, implementing a forest concession scheme designed to regulate and legalize logging activities in Brazil’s forest — in particular, the Amazon.
- Forest management consists of removing a small number of trees whose species are valued in the market. After that, the area can only be explored again in 30 to 40 years, following its regeneration cycle.
- Behind on its concessions targets, the current government wants to almost quadruple the current area of federal concessions by 2026.
- Even though it is different from deforestation, timber management has never been seen as a way to conserve the forest by traditional peoples.

Nickel miners dig up Indonesia’s Gebe Island despite Indigenous and legal opposition
- Gebe Island in eastern Indonesia is the site of seven nickel mining concessions.
- Local Indigenous communities say the mining sites have put their food security at risk, with pollution affecting fruit trees and root vegetables as well as depletion of local fisheries.
- Forestry campaigners say the mining clashes with a 2007 law on small islands designed to prevent large-scale environmental destruction in these fragile ecosystems.
- Gene’s nickel ore is shipped to the Weda Bay Industrial Park on the mainland of North Maluku province, Halmahera, where Mongabay has reported on rising incidences of disease among communities living alongside the vast smelting estate.

Indigenous community calls out Cambodian REDD+ project as tensions simmer in the Cardamoms
- Indigenous Chorng communities in Cambodia allege continued land restrictions and rights violations by Wildlife Alliance, the U.S.-based NGO running the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project that includes swaths of their farmlands and forest.
- The project was reinstated last September after a 14-month suspension to review the allegations, but concerns persist over unresolved land claims, restricted access to land, and lack of financial transparency.
- Locals have complained of intimidation, threats and economic hardship after losing access to their traditional farmland and struggling to sustain their livelihoods.
- The Cambodian government and Wildlife Alliance have denied the allegations yet continue to benefit from carbon credit sales, even as Indigenous communities are left without sufficient land or decision-making power.

Brazil communities accuse companies of ‘green grabbing’ for wind energy
- In Brazil, community residents say the Italian energy company Enel and the Brazilian Maestro Holding de Energia have stripped them of their territory in order to pursue renewable energy projects.
- Experts call this trend “green grabbing,” a process by which energy companies obtain access to large swaths of common land to produce clean renewable energy.
- A months long investigation uncovered multiple potential cases involving land-grabbing by companies that acquire public land used by residents, exploiting the fact that many people in these areas don’t have documents to prove they own a piece of land and don’t officially register the geographical boundaries of the territories they occupy or own.
- While no source interviewed by this investigation contested the importance of renewable energies, experts, Indigenous and traditional communities, policymakers and government officials all agreed that doing so must account for the social and political realities of local residents.

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

Indonesian court blocks palm oil expansion, but leaves Indigenous land rights in limbo
- Indonesia’s Supreme Court has upheld the government’s decision to block further expansion of the Tanah Merah oil palm project in Papua, preserving a Jakarta-sized swath of primary rainforest.
- The ruling strengthens the forestry ministry’s authority to halt deforestation and was influenced by testimonies from the Indigenous Awyu tribe, who rely on the forest for survival.
- While the decision prevents further clearing, it doesn’t grant Indigenous land rights to the Awyu, leaving the tribe vulnerable to future displacement.
- Other companies are vying for control over concessions within the Tanah Merah project, fueling further conflicts and prompting Indigenous groups to seek formal land rights recognition.

Clash of worlds for the Amazon’s Cinta Larga: Interview with author Alex Cuadros
- Journalist Alex Cuadros’s latest book, “When We Sold God’s Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon” tells the story of how an Indigenous group in Brazil was forced to reckon with Western culture.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Cuadros says the Cinta Larga group were introduced to Western tools and concepts by the Brazilian state, ultimately eroding part of their lifestyle.
- In a short period of time, the group began to experience money, violence, illegal logging, and mining, while some members of the Cinta Larga profited from these activities.
- “When prospectors started moving into their territory, the Cinta Larga sought them out because they were curious and wanted metal tools,” Cuadros said when explaining the complex relationship with invaders and the “outside” world.

Gaza and West Bank farmers salvage olive harvest amid displacement, destruction and Israeli settler violence
- The recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire prompted Gazan farmers to salvage what remained of their 2024 olive harvest two months late.
- However, Israeli settlers tripled their attacks on West Bank olive farmers during the 2024 harvest, destroying 3,100 trees and injuring dozens. Restricted access to their land cost Palestinian farmers 1,365 tons of oil, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
- Despite violence and restrictions, the West Bank produced 27,300 tons of olive oil — far exceeding forecasts.
- Israeli settlers have degraded Palestinian agricultural areas through arson, wastewater pollution and trash dumping as the Israeli state exploits Ottoman-era laws to seize land.

UN accuses Indonesia’s No. 2 palm oil firm of rights & environmental abuses
- United Nations special rapporteurs have singled out Indonesia’s second-largest palm oil company, PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), for alleged human rights violations and environmental degradation, marking the first time they’ve targeted a specific company rather than the industry as a whole.
- AAL and its subsidiaries are accused of operating without proper permits, seizing Indigenous and farming communities’ lands without consent, and suppressing protests with violence, intimidation and arrests, often with support from police and security forces.
- The Indonesian government has largely backed AAL’s operations, claiming compliance with legal standards, despite evidence that several subsidiaries lack necessary permits and continue operating illegally on disputed lands.
- Major brands like Kellogg’s, Hershey’s and Mondelēz have stopped sourcing palm oil from AAL, while global agribusiness giants like ADM, Bunge and Cargill still source from mills linked to the company, despite the ongoing allegations of rights abuses.

Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems
- Contrary to popular conception, Lake Chad is not shrinking; new research shows that the volume of water in the lake has increased since its low point in the 1980s.
- However, more intense rain in the region, coupled with the impacts of historic drought, increases the risk of flooding.
- The region is also plagued by continuing conflict and insecurity, making to harder for people to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- A Lutheran World Federation project is working with communities in the Lake Chad Basin on sustainable agriculture and fisheries, land restoration, conflict resolution and more.

Land distribution in the Pan Amazon is tainted by corruption
- Small family farmers waiting for years to obtain documents validating their land claims often need to pay a small bribe to speed up bureaucracy. More flagrant abuses of the land tenure system are perpetuated by land grabbers who manufacture property deeds using several well-known fraudulent schemes.
- Land fraud is very common in jurisdictions where local elected officials collude with their constituents to expedite land grabbing.
- According to an investigation into the Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária,1,000 politicians and 140,000 civil servants had improperly received public lands, while more than 37,000 parcels were awarded to individuals who were dead at the time of their application.

Land rights bill in Suriname sparks outrage in Indigenous communities
- Indigenous and Tribal communities are upset about legislation to establish their collective land rights, saying it still gives the government too much power.
- The law would remove communities’ ability to reject development projects on their land, including infrastructure, agribusiness and logging and mining concessions.
- The government would be allowed to continue developing on ancestral land if deemed in the “public interest” of the country, according to the bill.
- Activists said they could mount a legal challenge through the UN, but haven’t formalized a plan.

Funerary practices in Fiji protect marine areas while honoring the deceased
- Indigenous (iTaukei) people across Fiji have historically protected their freshwater and marine areas in memory of chiefs and community members who have passed away. These are called aquatic funerary protected areas (FPAs).
- Researchers published a study to shine a light on this sustainable resource management practice, which they say could present a community marine conservation solution in the region but is largely absent from scientific literature and rarely implemented as a strategy.
- FPAs differ in size and practice but can stretch from shoreline to fringing reefs and tend to ban fishing and harvesting of many species for 100 nights after they are declared.
- From 1960 to 2019, communities established a total of 188 FPAs where 44% of FPAs were protected for 100 nights, and 47% protected all resources and associated ecosystems form fishing and harvesting.

Yanomami youth turn to drones to watch their Amazon territory
- In the Yanomami Indigenous Land, the largest in Brazil, leaders believe in their youths’ skills to maintain their ancestors’ legacy and safeguard the future of a sprawling territory covering almost the size of Portugal.
- Located in the Brazilian Amazon between the states of Roraima and Amazonas, the Indigenous territory faced a severe humanitarian and environmental crisis with the invasion of around 20,000 illegal miners in search of gold and cassiterite.
- Trained youths can now act as multipliers of drone monitoring and watch the land against new invasions.

Colombia’s cattle traceability bill awaits approval as deforestation spikes
- Lawmakers in Colombia are considering a bill that would create an improved traceability system for monitoring the movement of cattle, with the goal of controlling illegal deforestation connected to grazeland.
- This would be the fourth attempt at passing such a law, after previous efforts in 2021, 2022 and 2023 came up short.
- There are an estimated 30 million head of cattle in the country, requiring significant amounts of pasture, one of the main factors in the rise in deforestation last year.
- If passed, the law would integrate multiple monitoring systems to improve communication between officials and their ability to identify where cattle are being raised, and would establish “high-surveillance zones” in deforested areas, requiring ranchers to share cattle registration information and install identification devices like ear tags.

Indonesia signs agrarian reform commitment amid rising land equity woes
- The Indonesian government and civil society groups signed a joint statement on the first day of the Asia Land Forum marking a shared commitment to fast-track agrarian reform aimed at alleviating poverty and achieving food self-sufficiency.
- This comes amid increasing land ownership inequality, land-grabbing, and agrarian conflicts in Indonesia, where up to 68% of lands are controlled by 1% of the population.
- President Prabowo Subianto has prioritized food and energy self-sufficiency and aims to expand harvestable lands, but critics worry about an increase in corporate-led agricultural projects.

Endemic fish wiped out in Brazilian Amazon hydroelectric dam area, study finds
- The construction of the Balbina hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon led to the loss of seven endemic fish species in the Uatumã River, researchers have found.
- The hydroelectric dam has transformed the Uatumã River’s fast-flowing habitats into static environments, making them unsuitable for certain fish species.
- Researchers call for the investigation of unaffected tributaries, such as the Jatapu River, as possible refuges for the missing species and future conservation efforts.
- The study underscores the broader threat of hydropower dams and other environmental stressors, like industrial fishing and climate change, to Amazonian fish populations.

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.

As the rainforest gets drier, Amazon Indigenous groups thirst for clean water
- The 2024 extreme and historical drought that hit the Amazon exposed a chronic problem: access to drinking water and sanitation in Indigenous lands, where only a third of households have proper water supply systems.
- In some Amazon rivers in Brazil, cases of diseases related to inadequate basic sanitation, such as malaria and acute diarrhea, have been increasing amid climate change and population growth.
- Indigenous organizations have been demanding the implementation of adapted infrastructures in the villages, such as water tanks, wells, cesspools and septic tanks.
- The Brazilian federal government already has resources and plans to begin addressing these issues.

Indonesia’s militarized crackdown on illegal forest use sparks human rights concerns
- Indonesia’s president has tasked the military with combating illegal forest activities, raising concerns about human rights violations and evictions of Indigenous and local communities.
- The regulation risks criminalizing Indigenous communities while favoring large-scale corporations that exploit forests.
- Activists warn of systemic corruption allowing corporations to evade penalties while smaller actors face harsher consequences.
- The militarized approach marks a regression to authoritarian-era practices, undermining democracy and environmental justice, activists say.

Mining dredges return to Amazon River’s main tributary, months after crackdown
- Five months after a major operation by federal forces, illegal mining dredges are back on the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon.
- The return of the floating structures shows the resilience of illegal gold mining in the Amazon, which destroys the riverbeds and contaminates the water with mercury.
- As the federal administration closes miners’ siege of Indigenous territories, the illegal miners are migrating to less-monitored areas, experts says.

Handcrafted woodwork helps save an Amazonian reserve, one tree at a time
- A community in the Brazilian Amazon is transforming fallen trunks and dead trees into everyday items and art pieces.
- Household utensils, furniture, miniature trees and jewelry made with forest seeds are some items being produced by women and youth in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve.
- The woodshop sits in a region where rubber tappers have fought for environmental and labor rights for ago, and which still faces deforestation pressure.

Amazon states lead rebellion on environmental enforcement
- Brazilian Amazon states are leading an offensive against environmental regulations in the Amazon and beyond.
- The movement gained momentum in October when Brazil’s granary, Mato Grosso state, approved a bill undermining a voluntary agreement to protect the Amazon from soy expansion.
- Before Mato Grosso, other Amazon states like Acre and Rondônia had already approved bills reducing protected areas and weakening the fight against illegal mining.
- With its economy highly reliant on agribusiness, Mato Grosso is considered a successful model for other parts of the Amazon.

As the gold rush surges in Nicaragua, Indigenous communities pay the price
- Nicaragua has experienced a boom in gold mining over the last few years, with concessions covering millions of hectares of land — often near protected areas and on Indigenous territory.
- The government doesn’t require environmental impact studies and pushes through consultations with local communities as quickly as one day, allowing mining projects to move forward at an unprecedented pace.
- Mining companies from China, Canada, the U.K. and Colombia often find loopholes that allow them to avoid international sanctions, according to one study.

Collective action, civil disobedience and blockades in the Amazon
- Rebellion by Indigenous people and centuries-long resistance to domination by European and Creole elites inspired more frequent protests against inequality and working conditions across the Amazon Basin.
- Non-violent resistance tactics in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and less in Colombia – which included blocking highways, disrupting commerce and threatening the survival of governments – were pioneered by campesino organizations protesting the unequal distribution of land.
- In Brazil, unequal land distribution is the main feature of an inequitable economic system that has driven tens of thousands of landless peasants to invade the properties of absent landholders.

In Honduras, communities race to establish reserve as La Mosquitia forest disappears
- Several Indigenous communities in Honduras are trying to set up the Warunta Indigenous Anthropological Reserve, which will allow them to continue traditional hunting and fishing practices while co-managing the forest with the government.
- The reserve will cover 65,369 hectares (161,530 acres) in the department of Gracias a Dios, near the border with Nicaragua.
- Global Forest Watch data show that around 13% of the area’s forest was cleared between 2002 and 2023.
- The reserve has already gone through the consultation process with residents, but needs to complete technical studies by the government, which could take the rest of the year.

On a São Paulo eco-farm, Brazil’s landless movement makes its case for occupation
- Founded by peasants and progressive members of the Catholic Church, the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) advocates for a fair distribution of land ownership, agrarian reform and agroecological practices in Brazil.
- To achieve its goals, MST occupies rural lands lying idle to force the Brazilian state to implement its constitutional duty to expropriate and redistribute such lands if they aren’t serving the public good.
- On May 21, 2024, Brazil’s lower House of Congress passed a bill that would penalize people occupying public or private land by excluding them from receiving any public benefits, including those related to agrarian reform programs.

Yanomami sees success two years into Amazon miner evictions, but fears remain
- Brazil’s federal government celebrated a decrease in deaths and the decline in gold mining two years after agents started to evict invaders on the Yanomami Indigenous territory in the Amazon.
- The Yanomami report that rivers are cleaner, and people are finally healthy enough to work in fields and resume rituals.
- Once estimated as 20,000 in the territory, hundreds of illegal miners still remain and may expand business at the slightest sign of the security forces withdrawing.

What does an NGO do when its funds are tied to human rights abuses? Interview with John Knox
- Conservation organizations supporting critical habitats and sustainable community initiatives can sometimes find themselves financially tied to serious human rights abuses.
- However, the path forward in terms of their funding, and that of the government agencies or private funders that financially support them, can be unclear.
- Mongabay speaks to John Knox, human rights expert and former U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, about how organizations and donors should navigate funding issues when they learn about human rights abuses, as well as the specific approaches they can take in different situations.
- Completely pulling out all funding from a protected area is a last resort, said Knox, but if proactive steps to address human rights abuses or using leverage with government partners fail, NGOs and funders directly causing violations should consider disengaging completely.

‘We’re getting back on track’: Interview with IBAMA head Rodrigo Agostinho
- Rodrigo Agostinho, head of IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environmental agency, for two years now, spoke with Mongabay about the progress of his agency and the challenges it faces in protecting the country’s biomes after four years of regression under former president Jair Bolsonaro.
- Agostinho revealed plans to strengthen the agency and try to reach the 2030 zero-deforestation goal before the deadline, with investments in cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence: “IBAMA went four years without using satellite images for embargoes. We’ve taken that up again with full force”.
- Agostinho also detailed IBAMA’s restructuring plans, with the opening of offices in the Amazon and support from financial authorities to cut off funding for embargoed areas: “We embargo them due to deforestation, and then that person can’t get agricultural financing anymore.”

World Bank cancels $150m tourism project in Tanzania after abuse claims
The World Bank has cancelled a $150 million project to boost tourism to Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, following allegations of human rights abuses by park authorities. Under the Tanzanian government’s plans to expand Ruaha, 21,000 local people could be displaced. The Oakland Institute, a U.S.-based advocacy group, called the decision to cancel the project a […]
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.

Probe details the playbook of one of Amazon’s top land grabbers
- Professional land grabbers operating in the Brazilian Amazon have sophisticated strategies to steal and deforest public lands and get away with it.
- According to the Federal Police, Bruno Heller is one of Amazon’s largest deforesters and relied on legal and technical advice, including a fake contract, bribing police officers, and near-real-time monitoring of deforestation work through satellite imagery, investigators said.
- Low penalties and hurdles faced by federal bodies in seizing back stolen lands from criminals have spurred the land-grabbing industry in Brazil.

Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Irresponsible mining for critical minerals, like those used in renewable technologies, can threaten the existence of Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, who are amongst the world’s most vulnerable populations.
- Companies like Tesla are considering no-go zones where uncontacted people live. While the idea of establishing these zones is increasingly pragmatic, the author says the most crucial thing for companies to do is conduct rigorous human rights due diligence from the initial stages of mine development right through to closure.
- Danielle Martin from the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) says this approach relies on the meaningful and inclusive engagement and the participation of affected Indigenous peoples. But for Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, engagement and participation may not be possible and agreement may not be attainable.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Krahô women lead Indigenous guard to protect territory in Brazil
- Indigenous women from Krahô communities in Brazil’s Tocantins state have formed a surveillance group to protect their ancestral territory from invaders.
- The thirteen Krahô Warriors received training in surveillance and carry out operations for 15 days each month.
- They plan and implement territorial protection actions based on Krahô traditions and ways of life.
- The Kraolândia Indigenous Land (TI) is under pressure from loggers, hunters, charcoal factories, and agribusinesses that surround the territory.

NGOs raise concerns over Borneo pilot of ‘jurisdictional’ certification for palm oil
- A new report by a coalition of Indonesian environmental groups reiterates concerns over a long-running trial of “jurisdictional” certification conducted by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
- The trial underway in Seruyan district, Central Kalimantan province, intends to apply the RSPO standards to the entire district, rather than the more costly, but more specific, vetting of individual plantations or corporate entities.
- A 2017 investigation by Mongabay and The Gecko Project documented how former Seruyan leader Darwan Ali blanketed the district in oil palm plantation concessions beginning in the mid-2000s, issuing licenses to many companies set up in the name of his relatives and cronies.
- Civil society researchers say they worry that a jurisdictional certificate for Seruyan could gloss over long-standing and ongoing land conflicts, and that the palm oil produced from such plantations could enter “green” supply chains.

After a searing Amazon fire season, experts warn of more in 2025
- South America recorded the highest number of fire outbreaks in 14 years in 2024, with Brazil at the epicenter of the crisis.
- In the Amazon, fire outbreaks grew out of control even amid a sharp reduction in deforestation rates, indicating deforesters are relying on fire as a new technique to clear land.
- Experts are urging more investment in fire prevention since the rainforest may face another intense fire season in 2025.

Indonesian president says palm oil expansion won’t deforest because ‘oil palms have leaves’
- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has called for the expansion of oil palm plantations, saying any criticism that this will cause deforestation is nonsense because oil palms are trees too.
- The remarks have prompted criticism that they go against the established science showing how plantations have driven deforestation, biodiversity loss and carbon emissions.
- Experts have long called for the palm oil industry to improve yields at existing plantations rather than expand into forests and other ecosystems.
- But the main industry association has welcomed the president’s call, and even the Ministry of Forestry under Prabowo has changed its logo from a forest tree to something that resembles oil palm.

The Amazon in 2025: Challenges and hopes as the rainforest takes center stage
- The Amazon Rainforest, where next year’s COP30 climate summit will be hosted, is reeling from two consecutive years of severe drought, with major rivers at record lows, leading to water shortages and transportation disruptions for local communities.
- While deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon plunged during that period, the rainforest remains under threat from land grabbing, illegal gold mining, diminishing rainfall, and outbreaks of fire, many of them ignited by criminals.
- The world’s greatest tropical rainforest has also drawn the interest of carbon traders, but evidence of fraud within some carbon credit projects unearthed by Mongabay highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the carbon market.
- Amid all these threats, reforestation and restoration projects led by Indigenous communities and conservation organizations offer hope for a sustainable future for the Amazon.

Southeast Asia in review: 2024
- 2024 was a grim year for conservation and its champions across Southeast Asia, as deforestation surged due to infrastructure, agriculture, logging and mining, threatening critical ecosystems and protected areas.
- Environmental activists and journalists also faced increasing risks, including detentions, harassment and violence, highlighting a growing climate of repression by governments across the region.
- Despite this, there were some conservation successes of note, including wildlife population recoveries, biodiversity discoveries, and Indigenous community victories against harmful development projects.
- Grassroots and nature-based initiatives, like mangrove restoration and sustainable agriculture, showcased effective approaches to enhancing biodiversity and resilience while also improving community livelihood.

Farmers cleave to sago as mining industry digs deeper in Indonesia’s Maluku
- Many farmers on the coast of East Halmahera district in Indonesia’s Maluku region continue to rely on processing flour from sago trees as a food staple, rather than the ubiquitous white rice consumed by most families in the world’s fourth-most populous country.
- However, expansion of nickel and other mining concessions in the Maluku region threatens much of this traditional foodstuff, a trend Mongabay has documented extensively previously in the eastern Papua region.
- Lily Ishak, the dean of the agriculture faculty at North Maluku’s Khairun University, believes the history of traditional sago consumption could be erased within a century if the government does not expand protection efforts.

Indonesia risks carbon ‘backfire’ with massive deforestation for sugarcane
- A plan to clear 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forest in Indonesian Papua for sugarcane plantations would nearly double Indonesia’s total greenhouse gas emissions, a new report warns.
- It says the project, affecting an area half the size of Switzerland, would worsen the global climate crisis and impact Indigenous communities in Papua.
- Local communities have long protested the project, but the government has persisted undeterred, razing their farming plots and hunting grounds in the pursuit of what it says is food security.
- However, Indigenous rights and agrarian activists have called for the project to be replaced with a restorative economic model, one that empowers local farmers and communities through sustainable livelihoods that keep the forests standing.

The 10 Indigenous news stories that marked 2024
- Land was a central issue for Indigenous peoples in 2024, whether it was in the form of land rights gains, land grabbing, restoring spiritual connections to land or analysis of how these lands support biodiversity.
- Investigations revealed how companies or armed groups illegally got a hold of Indigenous lands in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
- Stories also dealt with how Indigenous communities confronted environmental challenges on their lands while trying to juggle conservation and their economic needs.
- Here are Mongabay’s top 10 news stories that marked 2024, including one bonus story and a featured documentary.

Brazil’s Lula approves 13 Indigenous lands after much delay, promises more to come
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took almost two years to formalize the demarcation of 13 new Indigenous territories, a goal he was expected to complete within his first 100 days, much to the frustration of traditional communities who also await the promised demarcation of the Xukuru-Kariri Indigenous Territory.
- Demarcation processes in Brazil depend on the willingness of the federal administration and often take more than 30 years to complete; none were completed under Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
- For traditional communities, this long wait is often marked by violence and prejudice, as outsiders coveting their land and resources mount invasions and land grabs.
- Lula blamed the delay on a controversial bill passed by pro-agribusiness legislators, designed to make it harder for Indigenous communities to claim territory, but has promised to speed up demarcations over the next two years.

Brazil’s illegal gold miners carve out new Amazon hotspots in conservation units
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration reduced the expansion of illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon, but miners keep finding new sites.
- In 15 conservation units, illegal gold miners destroyed 330 hectares (815 acres) in only two months.
- According to experts, gold miners expelled from Indigenous territories may be migrating to conservation units.
- Alliances with narco mafias and the rise in gold prices are obstacles to fighting illegal mining.

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

On Indonesia’s unique Enggano Island, palm oil takes root in an Indigenous society
- Formed millions of years ago in the Indian Ocean by a process independent of tectonic collision, Indonesia’s Enggano Island is now home to many unique species and a diverse Indigenous society of subsistence farmers.
- Since the early 1990s, developers have sought to obtain control over large parts of the island, but encountered staunch opposition from its six Indigenous tribes.
- Today, PT Sumber Enggano Tabarak, which has been linked to the billionaire-owned London Sumatra group, is seeking to establish an oil palm plantation over 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres).
- Civil society researchers and Indigenous elders say the island lacks sufficient freshwater to provide irrigation to both the community and an industrial oil palm plantation, and that a plantation at scale risks catalyzing an ecological crisis.

Illegal timber from Amazon carbon credit projects reached Europe, U.S.
- Amazon timber from carbon credit projects targeted by the Brazilian Federal Police was sold to companies in Europe and the United States.
- The group is suspected of land-grabbing and laundering timber from Indigenous territories and protected areas.
- Most of the exported timber belongs to the almost-extinct ipê species and was sent to a company in Portugal.
- The group is also suspected of using fake documents to launder cattle raised in illegally deforested areas.

Recycling gold can tackle illegal mining in the Amazon, but is no silver bullet
- Artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Brazil’s Tapajós River Basin emits 16 metric tons of CO2 per kilo of gold produced, and 2.5 metric tons of mercury annually, a study has found.
- Researchers suggest that recycling gold could dramatically reduce harmful emissions, along with other solutions such as formalizing mining, adopting clean technologies, and improving gold supply chain transparency.
- Economic dependence, mercury accessibility, and a demand for gold sustain small-scale gold mining, while enforcement risks pushing miners into ecologically sensitive areas.
- In November, Brazil launched a federal operation in the Tapajós Basin to expel illegal gold miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory, imposing millions of reais in fines to curb the damage caused by gold mining.

Loggers and carbon projects forge odd partnerships in the Brazilian Amazon
- Mongabay examined four REDD+ projects in Pará state and found that all were developed in partnership with sawmill owners with a long history of environmental fines.
- The projects were developed by Brazil’s largest carbon credit generator, Carbonext, a company linked to a major fraud involving REDD+ projects and illegal loggers in Amazonas state.
- According to experts, REDD+ projects may have become a new business opportunity for individuals who have profited from deforestation for decades.

Gaps in Peru’s peatland policies harm conservation and Indigenous Shipibo: Study
- Significant inconsistencies and gaps in science and policies for peatland protection in Peru’s Imiría Regional Conservation Area have led to long-standing conflicts with Indigenous Shipibo residents who argue the regulations restrict their livelihoods.
- According to researchers, the current local conservation policies inadvertently impose adverse effects on Indigenous livelihoods and negatively impact Indigenous sovereignty, therefore exacerbating existing tensions and mistrust between conservation authorities and communities.
- The absence of scientific data and lack of mention of peatlands in the area’s master plan means locals and policymakers are unaware of the importance of the critical ecosystem and policies aren’t well-informed, the researchers warn.
- Researchers and the conservation area’s management underline the importance of scientific support and the creation of participatory and effective governance frameworks that incorporate Indigenous perspectives and a more strategic approach to conservation.

Photos: The lives and forests bound to Indonesia’s nickel dreams
- Many lives are intertwined with nickel mining on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island: Indigenous peoples, mining employees, smelter workers, fishers, farmers, and health care workers.
- Indonesia, the world’s largest supplier of nickel, is on a quest for an industrial economic boom linked to the mineral, which is in high demand to make electric vehicle batteries.
- Indigenous people on Halmahera say they worry for their forests and survival of isolated tribal members, while workers at a sprawling industrial park withstand tough working conditions in a bid to materially improve their lives.
- Nickel mining in the region has led to the deforestation of 5,331 hectares (13,173 acres) of tropical forest that held 2.04 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

In Brazil’s ‘water tank’, communities resist mining to preserve their water and livelihoods
- For more than fifteen years, traditional communities in Serro, Minas Gerais, have resisted the entry of iron ore mining on their territories.
- Serro is located in a region where several major rivers meet; the integrity of ecosystems is vital for people’s water resources and food security.
- Activists fear that, if approved, iron ore projects will not only cause irreversible socioenvironmental impacts but set a precedent for a dangerous iron ore race in Serro. Besides iron ore, the area concentrates deposits of bauxite, manganese, quartzite, and other minerals – many located next to traditional communities.
- The two companies pursuing mining in the area have had their licensing processes suspended in October 2023 after a community appeal to the Federal Court of Minas Gerais. The entities are required to carry out consultations with communities, respecting the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

How German government funds are used to dispossess Tanzania’s Maasai in Serengeti land grab
- The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), a conservation NGO that receives funding from the German government, funded and equipped Tanzanian authorities who violently evicted Maasai pastoralists from the eastern outskirts of Serengeti National Park in 2017 and 2022.
- The NGO provided equipment, including vehicles and airplanes, to the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) authority; supported a plan to relocate Maasai residents; and funded TANAPA rangers whom the Maasai accuse of unfairly seizing their cattle.
- Conservation authorities and researchers say the growing human and livestock populations on the fringes of the park are putting dramatic pressure on wildlife in the iconic Serengeti, though conservationists say there are also additional factors impacting wildlife.
- FZS said it has supported TANAPA since 2015 to the tune of 18.6 million euros ($19.7 million), but that it’s “not involved, directly or indirectly, in any resettlement activities.”

Legal battle against controversial oil pipeline faces another setback
A critical legal case filed by four East African NGOs against a controversial oil pipeline is facing yet another delay, but the NGOs say they remain hopeful. “What we need is for the court to hear the case on its merit, and we believe we have presented good evidence,” Dickens Kamugisha, CEO of the Africa […]
Women in Putumayo turn to fish farming and away from the coca industry
- A women-led fish farming initiative in Colombia’s Putumayo department offers an alternative to the coca economy, challenging both environmental damage and traditional gender roles.
- Wedged between the Ecuadorian border and the fringes of the Amazon, Putumayo has long been heavily affected by armed conflict and coca cultivation, resulting in high levels of violence and human rights abuses.
- The initiative empowers women, challenging traditional gender roles in rural Colombia by providing stable, legal income and reducing dependency on the dangerous coca economy.
- Financial constraints, limited government support, lack of infrastructure, as well as persistent threats from armed groups hinder the development of alternatives to coca farming.

Brazil plans new reserves to curb deforestation near contested Amazon roads
- Unallocated public areas account for 28% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, and the destruction of these lands keeps rising even as rates plummet across other parts of the rainforest.
- To tackle the problem, Brazil’s federal government plans to convert lands around controversial Amazonian highways into protected areas.
- One of the priority areas is along the BR-319 highway, where experts warn deforestation may increase fourfold under another government plan to pave the highway.
- Despite the advances in comparison with former President Jair Bolsonaro, Indigenous and land reform movements are unhappy with the pace of land designation under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Kenya blames and evicts Ogiek people for deforestation, but forest loss persists
- Long-running evictions of Indigenous Ogiek communities from Kenya’s Mau Forest, whom the government blames for deforestation, haven’t led to any letup in rates of forest loss, satellite data show.
- A human rights court ruling in 2017 recognized the Ogiek as ancestral owners of the Mau Forest and ordered the Kenyan government to compensate them, but it’s done little since then.
- Preliminary satellite data and imagery for 2024 indicate the Mau Forest will suffer extensive losses this year, even after the government evicted more than 700 Ogiek in November 2023.
- The country’s chief conservator of forests has cast doubt on the findings of increased deforestation, while a top official responsible for minorities and marginalized peoples says forest communities can be destructive.

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

Western Kenya’s most important water-capturing forest is disappearing, satellites show
- Mau Forest is one of the largest forests in East Africa, and the most important water catchment in western Kenya, providing water for millions of people.
- Mau is also home to a plethora of wildlife, including endangered species such as African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana), African golden cats (Caracal aurata) and bongo antelopes (Tragelaphus eurycerus).
- But Mau lost some 25% of its tree cover between 1984 and 2020, and satellites show continuing loss.
- The primary drivers of deforestation are agricultural expansion, including slash-and-burn farming for cattle grazing and crop cultivation.

Researchers find high levels of mercury in Amazon’s Madeira River water & fish
- In a groundbreaking expedition, researchers from Harvard and Amazonas State University began monitoring water quality and mercury contamination in the Amazon Basin’s largest tributary.
- The Madeira River Basin has been heavily impacted by human actions, such as hydropower plants, deforestation and illegal gold mining, which degrade its ecosystems.
- Initial results from Harvard reveal high levels of mercury in the Madeira, although still below the limit recommended by Brazil’s authorities.
- Predatory fish species showed mercury levels above the recommended limit, while scalefish traditionally consumed by riverine populations were below.

Prosecutors urge suspension of Amazon carbon projects, citing Mongabay investigation
- Brazilian prosecutors asked the Amazonas state government to suspend carbon projects in 21 conservation units.
- According to the lawsuit, the government had failed to consult local communities.
- The filing mentioned Mongabay’s investigation linking some of Amazon’s largest REDD+ projects to an illegal logging scheme.

The effects of mass migration in Brazil in the second half of the twentieth century
- The latest wave of migration to the Amazon countries was sustained by a new process of colonization. In Brazil, Operação Amazônia used land grants, tax exemptions and a progressive land tax that encouraged forest to cropland or pasture conversion in order to occupy areas bordering neighboring countries.
- In 1972, the federal government launched POLAMAZÔNIA, which designated fifteen landscapes as priority areas for expanding mineral, livestock and agro-industrial production.
- In 1981 the POLONOROESTE programme – which included infrastructure development, agricultural extension, land title administration and healthcare – has been criticized for unleashing deforestation and harming Indigenous communities.

Hopes and fears for the Amazon: Interview with botanist Hans ter Steege
- Dutch researcher and tree expert Hans ter Steege is the founder of the Amazon Tree Diversity Network, which brings together hundreds of scientists studying the rainforest to map and understand the region’s biodiversity.
- Ter Steege says the rainforest is in danger of collapse: If the deforestation in Brazil’s Pará state continues at the rate of the year 2000, he warns, “then our models show there will be hardly anything left by 2050.”
- Large trees are dying faster in the Amazon, he said, as they face a greater evaporation demand, which they can no longer meet with the water they extract from the soil, as there are more droughts and less rainfall.
- If the forest collapses, Brazil’s aerial water supply system — and its agriculture — will collapse, Ter Steege says.

Locals in a Brazilian valley report health issues after arrival of lithium mine
- With annual output of 270,000 tons per year, Sigma Lithium has been increasing its lithium mining in the Jequitinhonha Valley; its pile of waste rock already covers 560,000 square meters (6 million square feet) of land and is encroaching on homes in the neighboring community.
- Residents of the region say that the dust released by the mines has been causing respiratory illnesses and psychiatric disorders, as well as silting up the rivers.
- The communities also say that explosions from the mine cause cracks in their houses — the company disputes these allegations.
- Other traditional communities in the Jequitinhonha Valley, including quilombolas and indigenous people, are also affected by lithium mining; in some municipalities there are already land conflicts.

Controversial study finds cattle and wildlife can co-exist in Kenya’s Maasai Mara
A new study conducted in Kenya is challenging the conventional wisdom that cattle are inherently bad for wildlife, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. In contrast to previous research, the recent study found that a limited number of cattle — grazing illegally in one portion of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) — had a negligible effect […]
‘Five years and no justice’ as trial over Indigenous forest guardian’s killing faces delays
- Nov. 1 marked the five-year anniversary of the killing of Indigenous forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara and the attempted killing of fellow guardian Laércio Guajajara in an alleged ambush by loggers in the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon; the suspects haven’t been tried yet.
- Between 1991 and 2023, 38 Indigenous Guajajara were killed in Arariboia; none of the perpetrators have been brought to trial.
- Paulo’s case will be a legal landmark as the first killing of an Indigenous leader to go before a federal jury; as Mongabay reported a year ago, the start of the trial was contingent on an anthropological report of the collective damages to the Indigenous community as a result of the crimes.
- However, the report has yet to be made, given several issues that delayed the trial, including the change of judge, the long time to choose the expert to prepare the report and get the expert’s quote, and the reluctance from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) to pay for the report.

A deadly fly is spreading through Central America. Experts blame illegal cattle ranching
- An outbreak of screwworm — a fly that infects the open wounds of warm-blooded animals — is the direct result of cattle smuggling through protected areas across Central America, conservation groups said.
- The fly appeared in Panama last year and quickly traveled north to Guatemala. Now, officials are concerned it will spread uncontrollably into Mexico and the US.
- Eradicating the fly could cost millions of dollars and prove disastrous for agribusiness and countries that rely on beef exports.
- Conservation groups are arguing for border shutdowns and increased regulation of the cattle industry, especially around protected areas where smuggling routes have cleared forests.

Brazil police identify fish trader behind Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira killings
Brazil’s Federal Police say they have identified the mastermind behind the 2022 double homicide of The Guardian journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. The police released their finding Nov. 1, following a two-year investigation. Phillips and Pereira were shot to death June 5, 2022, in Javari Valley, a remote area of Brazil’s Amazonas […]
Long-running tropical forest research stalls amid Venezuelan crisis
- Venezuela’s economic, institutional and economic collapse has put at risk a long-standing forest plot research network.
- With highly biodiverse forests covering about half of Venezuela’s total area, the country has some of the longest-running forest monitoring projects in the tropics, which represented a pioneering effort in understanding old-growth forest dynamics in the Amazon Basin.
- Falling budgets, a humanitarian crisis affecting personnel and logistics, the rise of armed gangs, and encroachment of logging and agriculture are some of the key factors threatening to halt research in the field.
- 2016 was the last year with still significant measurements in the field; today, projects lack permits to apply for international funding, but scientists continue to advocate for keeping efforts ongoing.

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.

Brazil calls for ambition at COP but struggles over its own climate policy
- Brazil is trying to resume its role as a protagonist in the environmental arena by hosting COP30 in 2025 and urging other countries to present ambitious targets to cut emissions.
- However, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration failed to openly discuss the country’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) and allocated small budgets for climate transition.
- Experts state that zeroing out deforestation, recovering thousands of hectares of native vegetation and stepping back from oil expansion plans are crucial to meeting Brazil’s commitments.
- UPDATE (11/11/2024): The Brazilian government released its NDC on the evening of Nov. 8, hours after the publication of this story.

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.

New Canadian-backed potash mine under fire from Amazon Indigenous groups
- For more than a decade, Potássio do Brasil, a Canadian-backed mining company, has tried to exploit the Brazilian Amazon’s potash reserves, despite legal challenges.
- In April, the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (IPAAM) granted the company several installation licenses, which authorized the project’s implementation as well as the construction of a road and shipping port.
- According to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) and Funai, the issuance of these licenses by the Amazonas government was illegal, as the project overlaps with Indigenous lands and many communities were not consulted.
- Many Mura residents, most of whom are concerned about the impact the project will have on the environment and their livelihoods, say the company did not consult them and instead co-opted leaders and falsified documents.

The underreported killing of Colombia’s Indigenous land guardian, ‘The Wolf’ (Photos)
- Carlos Andrés Ascué Tumbo, a 30-year-old Indigenous land guardian and educator, was the 115th social leader killed in Colombia this year.
- He served as a member of the Kiwe Thegnas (or Indigenous Guard of Cauca) and protected the communities’ forests, land and youth from illegal armed groups and coca cultivation.
- The Indigenous territory and land surrounding it has become a hub for drug trafficking causing deforestation and land degradation.
- Mongabay spoke with members of Carlos’ family and community to gather more information on the underreported details of his life and killing.

Can cattle and wildlife co-exist in the Maasai Mara? A controversial study says yes
- Conventional conservation wisdom has held that cattle herds managed by Indigenous Maasai in East Africa compete with wildlife for grazing land and degrade protected areas like Kenya’s Maasai Mara and Tanzania’s Ngorongoro.
- But a new research study shows that, in a small study patch of the Maasai Mara, cattle herds didn’t cause a decline in forage quantity or quality, nor did wildlife steer away from areas where cattle had grazed.
- The finding has drawn criticism from other researchers, who question its methodology and say the overwhelming evidence points to the need for restrictions on cattle grazing inside these protected areas.
- The study authors say they hope their findings spark new thinking about how pastoralists like the Maasai can be seen as potential conservation partners rather than excluded as they’ve been for decades.

Brazil researchers boost timber traceability with new chemical analysis
- Brazilian researchers have opened a new front in the search for a reliable timber tracking system by using chemical analysis to determine where a tree was grown.
- The technique relies on identifying a wood sample’s chemical signature, which can then be matched against various known soil profiles to narrow down its origin.
- As the technology evolves, the researchers say they hope to combine it with stable isotope analysis to increase the precision of timber tracking.
- Most timber provenance inspections in Brazil rely on public documents whose information can easily be faked by illegal loggers.

Evolution of the Pan Amazon in the post-Jesuit era
- Once the economy fostered by the Jesuits withered away, the population, now much diminished, reverted to the subsistence livelihoods that had always been a mainstay of the region.
- The pace of colonization in the Portuguese Amazon accelerated following the Jesuits’ expulsion. The Companhia de Comércio do Grão-Pará e Maranhão’s primary business model was to accelerate the African slave trade in the coastal provinces of Maranhão, but it also radically changed the economics and demographics of the Amazon floodplain.
- In the case of Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana, after the abolition of slavery, the countries imported labor from India (under the rule of the British Empire) and from the Dutch East Indies. Their shared history is more similar to that of the Caribbean than that of the Amazon.

In Colombia, guerrilla groups decide the fate of the Amazon
- One of Colombia’s biggest active FARC dissident groups is the Central Armed Command (EMC), controlling much of the Amazon rainforest in the departments of Guaviare, Meta and Caquetá.
- Some experts argue that there’s a direct correlation between the EMC’s actions and deforestation trends in the Amazon. Between 2022 and 2023, deforestation dropped by 51% when the group was cooperating with government peace talks.
- With those peace talks breaking down, deforestation is on the rise again. Critics are calling on the government to prioritize the environment in future negotiations.

JBS broke its own rules while buying cattle from deforested areas in Pantanal
- JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, has over the last five years been buying cattle from farms that were caught illegally deforesting Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands despite the company’s claims of environmental responsibility.
- An Unearthed investigation found that JBS suppliers cleared vast areas of the Pantanal wetlands in the past five years, with Fazenda Querência being the largest deforester, having cleared an area half the size of Paris.
- JBS has repeatedly violated its own zero-deforestation policies by continuing to purchase cattle from farms under embargo for illegal deforestation.
- The expansion of agribusiness, especially the demand for cattle and the introduction of invasive species like brachiaria grass, is threatening the Pantanal’s unique biodiversity and its ability to recover naturally from drought and wildfires.

Colombia decree recognizes Indigenous people as environmental authorities
- The Colombian government has issued a decree that recognizes Indigenous peoples as environmental authorities in their territories.
- The decree gives new powers to Indigenous peoples to protect ecosystems, manage and conserve their territories and resources, plan budgets and make decisions about land use.
- Indigenous peoples have welcomed the decree, which they told Mongabay is a key step toward historical justice.
- The government has received some pushback from peasant farmers who feel ignored and government agencies that argue this could negatively impact environmental management in the country.

Indigenous advocates lament decade of failures by Indonesia’s Jokowi
- Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president for the past decade, failed to make good on his promises to recognize and protect Indigenous people’s rights, Indigenous rights groups says.
- With Jokowi, as he’s commonly known, leaving office on Oct. 20, the advocacy group GERAK MASA compiled a list of 11 policy actions that it said had harmed Indigenous peoples and their rights over the last 10 years.
- These include pro-investor policies that sideline local communities and make it easy to expropriate their land without their consent or participation.
- AMAN, the country’s main Indigenous alliance, says there’s little hope of improvement under the new president, Prabowo Subianto, given that he’s pledged to continue Jokowi’s legacy — even taking on Jokowi’s son to be his vice president.

Deforestation plunges but environmental threats remain as Colombia hosts COP16
- As global leaders, experts, activists and Indigenous voices meet this October in the Colombian city of Cali at the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, COP16, missteps and successes within President Gustavo Petro’s environment agenda are watched closely.
- COP16 occurs two years after the country’s first-ever left-wing president was sworn in, pledging to turn Colombia into “a leader in the protection of life,” as his four-year plan centers on energy transition, Indigenous causes and tackling climate change.
- But while praised internationally for his efforts to promote conservation, shift away from fossil fuels and surround himself with green-abiding authorities, Petro remains under pressure, as many of his environmental proposals are still on paper, upholding Colombia’s long-lasting socioenvironmental struggles.
- Experts attribute a lack of sufficient environmental resolutions to various factors, including a Congress resistant to government initiatives, challenges in curbing deforestation and Colombia’s status as the most dangerous country for environmental defenders, as highlighted by recent reports.

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

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