topic: Public Health

topic: Public Health

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Brazilian government agencies bulk-buying shark meat to serve to infants, prisoners and more: How Mongabay broke the story
Mongabay senior editor Philip Jacobson joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss a two-part investigation published this year in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center about how state governments in Brazil have been procuring shark meat — which is high in mercury and arsenic — served to potentially millions of schoolchildren and thousands of public institutions. With Mongabay’s […]
Boom in burning waste for fuel could put human health and environment at risk
- Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) — conglomerated waste often composed of up to 50% plastic — is being burned globally in waste-to-energy incinerators, cement kilns, paper mills, and by other industries.
- Proponents say RDF reduces fossil fuel use and produces cleaner energy, while diverting waste from landfills.
- Critics say a lack of monitoring often hides RDF’s true environmental and human health footprint, and that when burned alongside fossil fuels, the technology can significantly worsen pollution. Health issues potentially connected to RDF contaminants range from cancer to hormone disruption.
- That’s a major concern as RDF ramps up, with countries in the Global South especially starting to use and dispose of waste in this way. Burning RDF and the incineration of plastic waste has been linked to greenhouse gas emissions and also extremely toxic pollutants such as dioxins.

New mapping reveals hidden mining boom in Laos that threatens the Mekong
- Satellite analysis has identified 517 suspected riverbank mines in Laos, many likely illegal, with clusters along key Mekong tributaries, raising fears of widespread, unmonitored contamination.
- Officials in Attapeu province confirmed illegal mining remains pervasive despite crackdowns, with most operations missing from official records and many linked to Vietnamese or Chinese supply chains.
- The mining surge, including gold and rare earth extraction, poses major risks to ecosystems and communities in the Mekong Basin, where water testing capacity is weak and signs of declining fish populations and polluted rivers are emerging.
- Researchers say Mekong countries must coordinate regionally and engage China, the main importer of the region’s mining output, while strengthening enforcement and environmental oversight to address a rapidly expanding, largely unregulated mining sector.

Lemurs are at risk. So are the people protecting them.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Patricia Wright arrived in Madagascar nearly four decades ago to look for a lemur thought to be extinct. She found it, along with a new species, and then ran headlong into a broader reality: protecting wildlife would depend […]
Can two Amazons survive? Invisible e-waste is poisoning the world
- E-waste, which refers to discarded electrical or electronic devices, is the fastest growing domestic waste stream in the world, and it is highly toxic, threatening public health. Much of this e-waste, largely produced by rich countries, is dumped in poor countries, with Asia and Africa major destinations.
- Because poor countries mostly lack the highly sophisticated equipment and processes needed to dismantle and recycle these complex composite products safely, unskilled scrap workers, including children, plunder them for resalable components, often with a disastrous impact on their health and the environment.
- Increasingly, the torrent of discarded cell phones and obsolete computers is greatly exacerbated by invisible e-waste: a vast, varied plethora of microchip-containing products, ranging from vaping devices to e-readers, toys, smoke detectors, e-tire pressure gauges and chip-containing shoes and apparel.
- Invisible e-waste greatly adds to developing world recycling challenges. The U.N. Environment Programme warns that “the increasing proliferation of technological devices has skyrocketed the amount of electronic waste worldwide” with nations now facing “an environmental challenge of enormous dimensions.”

‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists
- An international team of 43 scientists has called for a “paradigm shift” in toxicology and chemical regulation globally after having found severe lapses in current regulatory systems for evaluating the safety of pesticides and plastics derived from petrochemical byproducts.
- The researchers note that the full commercial formulations of common petrochemical-based pesticides and plasticizers have never been subjected to long-term tests on mammals. Only the active ingredients declared by chemical companies have been assessed for human health risks, while other ingredients have not.
- The scientists found that synthesized pesticides and plasticizers contain petroleum-based waste and heavy metals such as arsenic that can make them “at least 1,000 times more toxic” than the active ingredients alone, posing chronic disease and health threats, especially to children — claims that the chemical industry denies.
- Researchers urge lowering the admissible daily intake, or toxicity threshold, for already approved chemical compounds; long-term testing on the full formulations of new pesticides and new plasticizers; and requiring all toxicological data and experimental protocols for approved commercial compounds be made public.

A ‘Life After Cars’ can provide huge human health and environmental benefits
Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon and Aaron Naparstek realized that no one was discussing the many cultural factors that have played a role in humanity’s car dependency, or the negative impacts this reliance on motor vehicles has on human health and the planet. So they started their own show to do exactly that, The War on […]
Conservation can emphasize human well-being to navigate its current funding crisis (commentary)
- Cuts in funding, weakening support from governments, and disinformation are all driving a current crisis for conservation.
- But these challenges need not hold conservation programs back, the authors of a new op-ed with decades of experience at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other development programs argue, and suggest three strategies that can work.
- “Leaning into the human well-being outcomes of conservation can also shift the pervasive and harmful view that conserving nature is primarily an environmental undertaking rather than a cornerstone of sustainable development,” they write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

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.
- Evidence points to mining operations linked to tycoon Try Pheap, allegedly operating illegally and with political protection, leaving communities fearful for their health, livelihoods and food security as contamination spreads through the Mekong Basin.

Gold mining exposes Indigenous women in Nicaragua to high mercury levels
Indigenous women of childbearing age from Nicaragua’s Waspam municipality have been exposed to toxic levels of mercury, according to a new report by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN). The researchers took hair samples from 50 women between 18 and 44 years old. The women live in the Indigenous communities of Li Auhbra and Li […]
Karen community fighting corn and coal for clean air in northern Thailand
- Northern Thailand is trapped in a cycle of air pollution driven by maize cultivation for the animal feed industry, with field burning each year choking the region in hazardous haze.
- Government crackdowns and “zero-burn” policies have failed because impoverished farmers see no viable alternative to burning amid falling yields and mounting debt.
- Deforestation, soil erosion and flooding linked to maize farming have devastated ecosystems and rural livelihoods across Chiang Mai province.
- Even as some communities ban maize cultivation to fight haze, new coal projects threaten to undo their gains, revealing Thailand’s conflicting approach to environmental governance.

Report finds dangerous mercury levels, highlights mislabeling in shark meat sold in EU
- Nearly a third of shark meat samples taken from products sold in Europe contained dangerously high methylmercury levels, with all tope shark and almost a quarter of blue shark samples exceeding EU safety limits, a new study finds.
- Much shark meat is mislabeled under names like rock salmon, huss or veau de mer, leaving consumers unaware they’re eating shark and could be ingesting a potent neurotoxin.
- Methylmercury can’t be cooked out, builds up in human tissue and can cause lasting neurological harm. Meanwhile, shark populations are declining, threatening marine ecosystem stability.
- The study’s authors urge stricter labeling laws, tighter food monitoring and consumer education, arguing that eating apex predators is both ecologically and medically unsustainable.

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

Supercharged dust storms are exposing millions to deadly air pollution
More people are getting sick due to sand and dust storms that are now more intense and frequent, contributor Sean Mowbray reported for Mongabay. The intensifying storms have exposed many millions more people to dangerous levels of particulate pollution across the world. In some regions, it has also triggered outbreaks of respiratory and infectious diseases. […]
Radioactive leak in Banten exposes workers to danger & reveals regulatory failures
- A radioactive contamination scandal in Banten, Indonesia, has left local workers like Sakinah and Roni jobless and exposed to health risks after Cesium-137 was traced to factories in the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate.
- Government investigations revealed widespread contamination across 22 companies, prompting cleanup operations and health checks for more than 1,500 residents living near the exposure zone.
- Authorities have struggled to find secure storage for the contaminated materials while admitting regulatory lapses that allowed radioactive scrap metal to enter the country unchecked.
- Experts and environmental groups are now urging tighter import controls, improved radioactive waste management and stronger coordination among ministries to prevent another silent disaster.

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.

Nepal seeks World Bank loan to fight air pollution despite hefty taxes to do so
- Nepal is negotiating $155 million in loans and grants from the World Bank for the Nepal Clean Air and Prosperity Project to reduce industrial emissions, strengthen pollution control and build government capacity.
- The government collected roughly 22.4 billion rupees ($160 million) in pollution control taxes since 2008-09, including 2.8 billion rupees ($20 million) in the most recent fiscal year.
- Auditors, lawmakers and courts have questioned transparency and directed that pollution tax funds be used specifically for pollution control.
- Air pollution remains a major public health risk, especially in Kathmandu Valley and the Terai, with little improvement over the last decade. Officials emphasize the urgency of action and say World Bank funding provides an opportunity to strengthen Nepal’s pollution control efforts despite existing tax revenues.

Feel the heat: New app maps heat stress anywhere on Earth, 1940 to now
- The new Thermal Trace app allows users to explore thermal stress and related data from 1940 until five days before present, for anywhere in the world. The app, free for users, was developed by the European Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
- Thermal Trace combines a range of metrics including ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed and more to come up with a “feels like” temperature that reflects the impact of heat and cold on the human body.
- Both heat and cold are physiologically stressful, and prolonged exposure can cause short- and long-term health impacts. Building up a greater awareness and understanding of heat stress and the harm it can do is especially important in our globally warmed world.
- Researchers warn that as climate change impacts accelerate, heat-related health impacts will become more serious and of especially grave concern to the parts of the world that reach the limits to human heat stress adaptation.

‘Alarming’ levels of toxins found in free-range eggs near dumpsites globally
- A recent review paper identifies toxic chemicals, including dioxin, in free-range eggs on five continents — likely the result of nearby open burning and incineration of plastic and e-waste containing legacy and banned chemicals, as well as unregulated toxins.
- Researchers tested eggs produced near e-waste sites, dumpsites, and waste incinerators and found high levels of globally banned flame retardant chemicals, including brominated dioxins which are toxic and pose a serious risk to human health and the environment.
- Experts note that while some brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are regulated and banned, others haven’t been. Critics also note that the chemical industry often replaces individual banned chemicals with other unregulated but still potentially toxic chemicals in the same family, a process known as “regrettable substitutions.”
- Experts are calling for stronger regulation to prevent release of known toxins, not by banning one chemical at a time, but by addressing entire classes of chemicals. But a just completed UN Stockholm Convention meeting deferred listing and monitoring brominated and mixed brominated-chlorinated dioxins.

In Kenya, a search for links between a changing climate and mental health
KILIFI, Kenya (AP) — Finding enough food to feed families can be stressful. A changing climate can bring more stress. One project in rural Kenya has been studying the possible effects of climate change on mental health. A survey of nearly 15,000 women produced some concerning signs. They say it appears that droughts and heat […]
Climate change is messing with global wind speeds, impacting planetary health
- Climate change is affecting global wind patterns in multiple ways, many of which have direct implications for human health.
- Worsening sand and dust storms, wildfires intensified by record-setting winds, and increasingly severe hurricanes, derechos, short-lived convective storms, and other extreme weather events are impacting people’s lives, health and property around the world.
- Conversely, some studies suggest escalating climate change will contribute to global declines in average wind speed and intensify “wind droughts” in some locales, which could concentrate toxic atmospheric pollutants, intensify heat domes, and have implications for renewable energy systems.
- Alterations to Earth’s high-altitude jet stream is making it “wavier,” and more likely to stall in place, contributing to longer and more severe droughts and destructive storms. In polar regions, changes in wind and storm patterns are affecting ice melt, with potentially troubling consequences for global weather.

Anguish for residents as Thailand’s most polluting coal plant gets new lease of life
- Thailand has pushed back retiring several coal-fired units at the 2,400-MW Mae Moh power plant, keeping some units running until at least 2031 and refurbishing others to 2048, despite earlier closure plans.
- Mae Moh is Thailand’s biggest CO2 polluter, and also emits high levels of other air pollutants, which nearby communities have for decades blamed for respiratory and other illnesses.
- Extending the plant’s lifespan undercuts Thailand’s clean-air pledges and Paris Agreement targets as fossil fuels still dominate the power mix, while renewable growth remains slow.
- Residents are skeptical the plant will be shut as planned by 2050, and are demanding stronger mitigation, cleanup and health care as coal jobs remain a major part of the local economy.

Every stage of fossil fuel life cycle harms people & the environment: Report
A new report traces the life cycle of fossil fuels — from exploration and extraction to combustion and decommissioning — and found stark consequences at each stage for the health of people and the planet alike. “By examining fossil fuels’ health hazards across their entire life cycle, this report makes an important addition to our current understanding […]
How we probed a maze of websites to tally Brazilian government shark meat orders
- A recent Mongabay investigation found widespread government purchases of shark meat in Brazil to serve in thousands of public institutions.
- The series has generated public debate, with a lawmaker calling for a parliamentary hearing to discuss the findings.
- Here, Mongabay’s Philip Jacobson and the Pulitzer Center’s Kuang Keng Kuek Ser explain how we built a database of shark meat procurements.

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.

Growing trees on farms boosts nutrition in rural Malawi
- Malawian households with fruit trees on their farms consumed more vegetables, and each additional tree species increased fruit consumption by 5% over a 10-year study period.
- Trees improve nutrition through direct consumption of fruits, ecosystem services that boost other crop production and potential income from sales, and they provide cooking fuel.
- Despite trees’ benefits, fruit and vegetable intake dropped 42% and 25%, respectively, due to rising food prices, currency devaluation and climate change.
- Researchers recommend including food-producing trees in Africa’s reforestation programs and shifting agricultural policies from focusing solely on staple grains to supporting diverse, nutritious crops.

Forests on Indigenous lands help protect health in the Amazon
Healthy forests are more than climate shields; in the Amazon, they also serve as public-health infrastructure. A Communications Earth & Environment study spanning two decades across the biome links the extent and legal status of Indigenous Territories to 27 respiratory, cardiovascular, and zoonotic or vector-borne diseases. The findings are complex, but one pattern is clear: […]
Yellow fever deaths reported among threatened captive monkeys in Colombia
An ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Colombia is sickening and killing rare and threatened monkey species in captivity, a new study shows. Between February and May 2025, authorities reported eight deaths among four monkey species in southern Colombia’s Putumayo department, researchers note. Six of the individuals were in captivity: one white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons), […]
Censured Sumatra coal plant blamed for sickening children in Indonesia’s Bengkulu
- A 2×100 megawatt coal power plant established by Chinese state-owned enterprise, Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), incurred environmental penalties in 2023 from Indonesia’s environment ministry for dumping fly ash into a protected marine area off the city of Bengkulu in Sumatra.
- Residents of Teluk Sepang in 2019 formed a grassroots organization to advocate for clean air while holding to account PowerChina’s Indonesian affiliate, PT Tenaga Listrik Bengkulu.
- Data from a local clinic in Teluk Sepang showed a large share of young people living in the shadow of the coal plant suffer from respiratory diseases.

Mongabay shark meat exposé sparks call for hearing and industry debate
- A Brazilian lawmaker said he would call for a parliamentary hearing after Mongabay’s shark meat investigation.
- Experts reacted to the investigation, saying the uncovered public tenders show greater extinction risk for sharks and urging stronger global protection.
- Industry groups called Mongabay’s investigation “alarmist,” defending shark meat’s safety and sustainability, despite warnings from scientists.

Sunscreens protect us but also pose real planetary health concerns
- Sunscreens have become an important part of people’s sun management routine, protecting skin from harmful solar UV radiation. But many of these products contain chemicals that can be harmful to saltwater and freshwater ecosystems, while preliminary findings indicate some ingredients can have health effects.
- Ultraviolet filter chemicals and mineral components found in sunscreens can harm marine species such as corals and help trigger bleaching. In recent years, numerous studies have shown that many of these chemicals persist in the environment and can impact seagrass, fish and other marine life.
- More research is needed to understand the full environmental and health impacts of chemicals used in sunscreens. New formulations using ingredients proven to be safe are required, say analysts, and makers should improve product labelling to better inform consumers, with government regulation potentially necessary.
- Experts also urge caution, noting that while there are environmental concerns surrounding sunscreen chemicals, this should not be understood as a call not to use these products.

Global South bears growing burden of health threats from plastic burning
Many communities, especially those in the Global South, are increasingly burning plastic as a fuel for stoves or simply to get rid of waste. In the process, they’re releasing toxic chemicals into the environment and raising public health concerns, reports Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray. Roughly 2 billion people globally lack waste collection services, leaving many […]
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 […]
Climate change tests the resilience of people and desert-adapted wildlife in Namibia
- Since Namibia’s independence in 1990, the country has become a model of wildlife recovery, and is now famed for its free-roaming herds of megafauna and emblematic national parks.
- A key to this recovery is the model of community-based natural resource management, which places much of the responsibility and benefits of wildlife conservation in the hands of rural communities, enabling people to earn income from small-scale hunting and tourism and thus motivating them to conserve wildlife.
- A recent 11-year dry spell has tested the resilience of the model and the people and natural systems that depend on it — but it also serves as an opportunity to build a more climate-resilient future for desert-adapted megafauna in habitats projected to become hotter and drier.
- Namibian conservation experts maintain that the key to wildlife survival is to cement their economic value in policies: if the people in the areas they roam can benefit from wildlife, they will stand a better chance in a more inhospitable future.

As climate change burdens grow, community mental health alarm bells ring
- People worldwide are struggling emotionally with the relentless escalation of the climate crisis, and reports show that climate change-related threats to mental health and well-being are increasing. But this story goes beyond statistics to look at the impacts on communities, families and individuals in the developing world.
- Stories presented here tell of anxiety, depression, anger and sadness in the face of large-scale changes to communities and personal lives, mostly due to factors out of people’s hands, which leave them feeling powerless. The problem is especially acute in poorer vulnerable communities lacking sufficient mental health services.
- The current global capacity to deal with a climate change-induced mental health emergency is inadequate, say experts who are calling for the prioritization of mental health support as an integral part of climate change interventions and mitigation.
- Some local stories offer hope. Examples show how caring, engaged communities and individuals, plus government support, can help create resilience and hope. Coping strategies include culturally sensitive interventions, mentorship, ongoing mental health assistance and honest recognition of humanity’s climate change plight.

Participants in the negotiations on plastic pollution are determined to finalize a treaty
- Despite some progress, negotiations on a binding global treaty to deal with plastic pollution has yet to be finalized.
- The reliance on consensus is slowing down negotiations, as disagreements remain between states in favor of reducing the production of virgin plastic and those prioritizing waste management.
- Countries from the Global South and NGOs such as GRID-Arendal are advocating for the adoption of an ambitious, legally binding treaty that accounts for the full life cycle of plastics.

As Africa pays the price for rich world’s fast fashion fix, new French bill targets brands
- Kenya and other African nations are being overwhelmed by imported textile waste. Synthetic textiles are largely made up of plastic fibers and can contain toxins ranging from PFAS to phthalates. They don’t biodegrade, instead clogging up vast open-air landfills and leaching toxins into the soil, water and air, and posing a human health threat.
- This fashion waste crisis is fueled by the explosion of fast fashion, and now ultra-fast fashion (brands releasing thousands of cheap new items daily), meant to be worn and quickly thrown away.
- France’s Senate recently approved groundbreaking legislation to fight the fast-fashion phenomena, aiming to curb overconsumption and inform consumers.
- While welcoming France’s move, activists say the law doesn’t go far enough and are calling for broader measures.

Study links long-term exposure to air pollution with increased dementia risk
More than a year of exposure to certain air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to a recently published study. Dementia, a group of diseases including Alzheimer’s, results in the loss of memory and a decline in cognitive abilities like thinking, reasoning and language skills. In 2019, dementia was estimated to […]
That ‘fish’ on the menu? In Brazil’s schools and prisons, it’s often shark
Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients, military staff, public workers and more via government procurements, Mongabay has found. This influx of shark meat into public buildings is exposing infants and other vulnerable groups to high levels of heavy metals like mercury and arsenic, which […]
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.

Open burning of plastic is an escalating public health threat, say experts
- Plastic waste is an exploding global problem, with minimal recycling resulting in incineration as a common disposal practice. Shipments of plastic products and plastic waste from the Global North to the Global South are contributing to a flood of plastics that are not recycled and often burned.
- In the developing world, plastics are frequently burned in the open in landfills or in communities with no access to waste disposal services. This practice is a growing public health concern, say experts, as are reports of marginalized poor communities resorting to burning plastics in households as a fuel source.
- When burned without pollution controls, plastics can release a range of toxic chemicals that are seriously harmful to human health and the environment. Experts warn that addressing the open burning of plastic must be considered at upcoming global plastic treaty negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 5–14.
- Dozens of nations in the High Ambition Coalition — including many EU countries and the U.K. — now support curbs on virgin plastic production and bans on the worst toxic chemicals in plastics. But the U.S., Russia, Iran, China and other nations have been resisting a strong binding plastics treaty.

The world’s children suffer brunt of wildfire smoke health impacts
- Around 270,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from breathing wildfire smoke, with 99% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to scientists.
- Despite a lack of extensive research on how wildfire smoke affects children’s health, recent studies have found a range of physical and mental impacts, starting in utero and continuing through adolescence. This research offers valuable evidence of a worsening global public health crisis driven by climate change-intensified wildfires.
- Researchers emphasize that children are especially susceptible to harm from wildfire smoke due to their physiology and tendency to spend more time outdoors. Also, not all smoke is the same. Combustion of different materials, ranging from plants to plastics, creates a complex mix of pollutants whose health impacts vary.
- Health experts stress that while smoke crosses borders, protections often don’t. More global research, better monitoring and action are urgently needed to protect children and other vulnerable populations from wildfire smoke.

Indonesia tests shows blood mercury rising at ground zero of world energy transition
- Pathology results from a sample size of 46 people living near Indonesia’s Weda Bay Industrial Estate (IWIP) showed a large share in the community around the nickel-processing center had unsafe levels of arsenic and mercury in blood samples.
- The precise cause of these elevated levels of a heavy metal is difficult to determine, but researchers suspect the health effects could be due to IWIP’s coal-fired power sources, pollution from the smelting process, and other environmental factors, such as accumulation in the food chain.
- Globally, research has shown links between heavy metals in the blood of people living alongside mining operations and elevated risks of chronic health conditions, as well as impairment of cognitive development in children.

South Africa to ban highly toxic pesticide Terbufos
In a decision welcomed by advocacy groups and researchers, South Africa’s Cabinet has approved a ban on the import of Terbufos, a highly toxic pesticide linked to the deaths of six children in a South African township in October 2024. On June 12, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Presidency, said the ban will be accompanied by […]
Climate futures: What’s ahead for our world beyond 1.5°C of warming?
- This two-part Mongabay mini-series examines the current status of the climate emergency, how the global community is likely to respond and what lies ahead for Earth systems and humanity as the planet almost inevitably warms beyond the crucial 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) goal established in the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.
- For global average temperatures to stabilize at less than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, humanity likely needs to achieve 43% greenhouse gas emissions cuts by 2030. But progress on climate action has stagnated in recent years, global GHG emissions are yet to peak and our remaining carbon budget is dwindling.
- Above 1.5°C of warming, we risk passing critical tipping points in natural Earth systems, triggering self-perpetuating changes that could shift the planet out of the habitable zone for humanity and life as we know it. Even with rapid, large-scale action on climate change, crossing some tipping points may now be unavoidable.
- However, analysts have identified positive social, technological and economic tipping points we can nurture to decarbonize far more rapidly. These include the decreasing cost of renewable energy, the rise of circular economy principles to reduce waste in industry and a societal shift to more plant-based diets.

Climate futures: World leaders’ failure to act is pushing Earth past 1.5°C
- This two-part Mongabay mini-series examines the current status of the climate emergency; how world leaders, scientists and the global community are responding; and what may lie ahead as the world warms beyond the crucial 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) limit established in the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.
- The unprecedented warming that began in 2023, continued through 2024 and extended into 2025 has caused surprise and alarm. Scientists still don’t fully understand the cause, but some fear it signals the global climate is transitioning into a new state of accelerated warming.
- 2024 was the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. A recent projection finds it likely Earth will see a 20-year average warming of 1.5°C by as early as 2029, exceeding a key Paris accord goal and which could trigger self-perpetuating changes pushing Earth’s climate into a less habitable state.
- In January, President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement, signaling that the U.S. will not lead on climate action. To date, nearly all the world’s nations have fallen far short of what is needed to stay within 1.5°C. As countries submit new U.N. carbon commitments, some fear the U.S. reversal will ripple around the world.

Rare earth rush in Myanmar blamed for toxic river spillover into Thailand
- Water tests from the Kok and Sai rivers near Thailand’s border with Myanmar have revealed elevated arsenic levels, leading Thai officials to warn citizens to avoid contact with river water.
- The pollution is widely believed to be linked to unregulated mining in Myanmar’s Shan state.
- Extraction of gold in Shan State has surged in the years since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar; more recently, mounting evidence suggests rare earth mining is also expanding across the state.
- Elevated arsenic levels have also been found at testing points in the Mekong, which is fed by both the Kok and Sai rivers.

In Yaoundé, fecal sludge flows through ‘Caca Junction’ streets
- In Yaoundé, fecal sludge contaminates neighborhoods where locals say the combination of insufficient sanitation and the costs of septic tank service lead to dumping in the streets.
- The city has just one fecal sludge treatment plant that receives up to double its capacity every day.
- City residents pinch their noses at the smells, while water contamination poses disease risks to local residents.
- Similar situations occur in other African cities that lack sanitation facilities capable of handling the needs of growing urban populations.

Mining company returns to haunt Thailand’s Karen communities as resistance mounts
- A long-dormant fluorite mine is being reopened in northern Thailand, but the ethnically Karen communities that live in Mae Hong Son province’s Mae La Noi district are staunchly resisting the return of the mining company.
- Universal Mining, a Thai company, aimed to reopen its fluorite mine in 2021 following an injection of Chinese investments, but so far has failed to secure the environmental impact assessment needed to recommence mining operations in Mae La Noi.
- Experts warn that Universal Mining may be able to find a way around the environmental regulations as the Thai government has earmarked parts of Mae La Noi for extraction in its national mining strategy.
- According to rights advocates, the conflict brewing between the mining company and the Karen communities is a reflection of limited rights Thailand gives its Indigenous People.

Antibiotic pollution widespread in world’s rivers, study finds
Nearly a third of all antibiotics that people consume end up in the world’s rivers, a new study finds. This could potentially harm aquatic life and impact human health by promoting drug resistance, researchers say. Antibiotics, critical for treating various bacterial infections, are widely consumed by people, livestock and aquaculture fish, but the drugs are […]
Wood pellet maker Drax denied pollution permit after small town Mississippi outcry
- Nearly 30 wood pellet mills operate in the southeastern U.S., with more planned. Environmental advocates have long opposed biomass for energy schemes, noting that the burning of wood pellets is a poor replacement for coal because it releases major carbon emissions, while also causing deforestation and biodiversity harm.
- But those arguments have barely moved the dial when it comes to regulating the industry or banning its lucrative green subsidies, so activist wins have been few. But the angry protests of southeastern U.S. citizens — many of them poor and Black —in rural areas where pellet mills are located have raised another big issue: pollution.
- A case in point is Drax’s Amite County plant located in Gloster, Mississippi. Drax is one of the biggest forest biomass producers in the world, but that hasn’t stopped Gloster’s citizens from opposing the company for its impacts on health and quality of life, like toxic air pollution, excessive noise and truck traffic.
- Drax has been fined twice, totaling more than $2.7 million for its pollution, with Gloster citizens recently winning over the state of Mississippi, which for now is refusing to give Drax a permit to legally pollute even more. Pollution is bad near other wood pellet plants, and forest advocates are now allying with irate citizens.

Cement factory approved inside Cambodia’s Prey Lang sanctuary despite mining ban
- Cambodian authorities have approved a new cement factory inside Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, despite a 2023 moratorium on new mining licenses, raising concerns about enforcement and conservation integrity.
- Factory developer KP Cement, a politically connected firm previously linked to deforestation, was awarded a 50-year lease on 99 hectares (245 acres) within the ostensibly protected sanctuary and is already clearing forest near a planned limestone mine.
- Local communities have expressed alarm over environmental degradation, health risks from limestone dust, and being excluded from decision-making, saying the development benefits only elites.
- The project reflects a broader pattern of politically tied companies exploiting Prey Lang’s resources despite its protected status, with critics accusing the government of favoring industry over conservation.

Global warming hits hardest for those who can’t escape it
- The world’s most vulnerable people, including refugees, migrants and the poor, increasingly face threats related to climate change.
- Many lack the ability to move away from impacts like heat, flooding and landslides.
- A new study reveals a lack of data showing the causes of this involuntary immobility.
- Experts say governments and organizations can invest in low-cost interventions aimed at reducing suffering.

‘Plastic People’ documentary exposes the human health threats from plastic
Microplastics are a growing ecological and human health crisis: Scientist have found the tiny plastic particles everywhere they’ve looked for them, including human placentas and brains. In a new documentary, Plastic People, filmmakers Rick Smith and Peter Raymont delve into the plastic pollution that contaminates people from before birth and can bring about early death. […]
Ground-level ozone pollution poses growing threat to planetary health
- In the stratosphere, ozone acts as a protective layer. But in the troposphere, at ground level, this colorless gas is incredibly harmful to human health and the environment in ways scientists are still working to fully understand. The problem exists worldwide, but may become especially bad in tropical nations this century.
- Ground-level ozone is a major air pollutant that shortens human lives and kills thousands each year, resulting in major economic impacts. It is formed when methane, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (released from vehicles, industry, power plants and crops) react in the presence of sunlight.
- Climate change worsens tropospheric ozone, with higher temperatures accelerating the chemical reaction that creates it, and because stalled weather systems (especially heat domes) allow buildup of ozone in stagnant polluted air. Ozone pollution not only impacts urban area, but also rural agricultural areas.
- Ozone impacts on biodiversity are significant and growing — harming pollinators, reducing crop yields and limiting forest growth, with global implications for food security and humanity’s reliance on forests as carbon sinks. Effectively tackling climate change and reducing ozone precursors are major solutions.

Drowned lands and poisoned waters threaten Peru’s campesinos and their livestock
- Peru’s Lake Chinchaycocha, also known as Lake Junín, and its endemic species are under threat in part due to environmental problems caused by mining activities, hydroelectric power operations, the discharge of urban wastewater and the overexploitation of resources.
- Campesino communities nearby have lived for decades with this contamination, which they blame for killing so much livestock that one community had to open a cemetery specifically for animals.
- For several months a year, due to the flooding by the nearby dam, homes and pastures are inundated with contaminated water, forcing residents to migrate to higher ground.
- Studies have confirmed the presence of heavy metals in the water exceeding environmental quality standards, but there haven’t been any studies yet linking this to human and livestock health impacts in the region.

Hotter weather threatens heart health, Australian study warns
Extreme heat is putting people in Australia at serious risk of heart problems and premature deaths, according to new research. As the climate warms, rising temperatures could more than double Australia’s burden of cardiovascular diseases by 2050, unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, and people take measures to adapt to the heat, researchers found. Cardiovascular […]
With climate change, cryosphere melt scales up as a threat to planetary health
- Earth’s cryosphere — comprised of ice sheets, glaciers, permafrost and snowfall — is in a rapid state of flux due to escalating climate change, with numerous studies underlining the grave risks posed by the thaw.
- Today, that worldwide meltdown poses new threats to human lives — endangering freshwater supplies and food security while increasing the risks of natural disasters and disease outbreaks. Cryosphere loss poses immense dangers to the environment, agriculture, economy and society according to a new report.
- If emissions continue unabated, these problems will only worsen. Scientists warn of compounding risks as cryosphere melt escalates, including sea level rise, the slowing of ocean currents, and the triggering of feedbacks that will add to climate change.
- 2025 is designated the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Experts are calling for drastic cuts to carbon emissions because each fraction of a degree of warming avoided counts toward the preservation of the cryosphere along with the ecosystem services that ice, snow and permafrost provide.

Microplastic within humans now a health crisis: Interview with ‘Plastic People’ filmmakers
- The documentary ‘Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics’ reveals microplastics have been found in human brains, placentas, and virtually every organ, highlighting a global environmental and health crisis.
- Executive producers Rick Smith and Peter Raymont explore how humans are becoming “plastic people” with microplastic contamination beginning before birth and persisting after death.
- Nations are negotiating a UN treaty on plastic pollution to address the estimated 400 million tons produced annually, with experts calling for eliminating unnecessary plastic use and banning toxic formulations.
- The film will be screened in Washington, DC, on March 29 at the 2025 DC Environmental Film Festival, where Mongabay is a media partner.

Breast milk contamination exposes Africa’s ‘forever chemicals’ problem
- Researchers warn that synthetic chemicals in various products, including carpets, clothes, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, and nonstick cookware, pose a significant threat to infants in Africa.
- Over the past two decades, the chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” have become a significant public health concern in Europe and North America. Emerging data from African countries point to the pervasive nature of the problem in the continent.
- PFAS exposure is linked to liver damage, thyroid diseases, cancer, and reproductive health problems, and can be especially dangerous for infants and children, experts say.
- Countries like the U.S. are beginning to pass laws to control PFAS levels in drinking water systems. Still, regulations that target PFAS are “rare across African countries,” a recent study notes.

Dry season predictability and temperature drive dengue cases: Study
What’s new: Rising temperatures and variation in the length of dry seasons appear to influence the prevalence of dengue fever, according to a recent study conducted in the Philippines. What the study says: Cases of dengue fever are rising globally; in the Americas, they more than doubled from 4.6 million cases in 2023 to 10.6 […]
Yet another abandoned mine erodes — this time, in a Panamanian protected area
- After the Cobre Panamá copper mine shut down in 2023, the mine’s infrastructure was left to waste away by the company in a biodiverse jungle area on Panama’s Atlantic coast.
- A new report by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) has found that the mine’s tailings dam is at a very serious and imminent risk of failure due to poor monitoring and internal erosion.
- Indigenous communities nearby have reported even more contamination in the water sources that run through their communities, leading to the disappearance of key species, the destruction of wetlands and health issues among residents.
- Experts said current mine closure regulations in Latin America are insufficient and the planning and development of responsible closure plans should focus on managing both social and environmental impacts.

Short-term air pollution exposure impairs focus & cognitive function: Study
A growing body of research suggests that air pollution affects our brains. Lifetime exposure to poor air quality has been associated with disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. A new study finds even short-term exposure to polluted air can cause challenges for cognitive functioning, including selective attention and emotional regulation. Specifically, researchers […]
Science aside, we need art & philosophy for global change: Epidemiologist
With deforestation and declining biodiversity linked to emerging infectious diseases, one would think the world should look to science for answers. But Dr. Neil Vora, a former epidemic intelligence service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says art and philosophy are just as important. In an episode of Mongabay’s weekly […]
Declining biodiversity and emerging diseases are entwined, more study needed
- A new review study traces the complex links between biodiversity loss and emerging infectious diseases — though one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other.
- Instead, complex interactions between factors (including climate change, habitat loss, agricultural practices, and closer contact between wildlife, livestock and people) can contribute to emergent infectious diseases and new pandemics.
- It’s now well understood that human actions are causing a major increase in pandemics. To stave off future global outbreaks, researchers say we need to better understand the shared upstream drivers of both biodiversity loss and emerging disease.
- The study highlights significant gaps in the monitoring and surveillance of wildlife pathogens worldwide. It suggests that prevention and early interventions targeting locales and situations where emergent disease spillover is likely are important to avoiding future human pandemics.

Tourists are back at this Instaworthy Philippine town, but can its sewage system keep up?
- The town of El Nido on the Philippine island of Palawan, known for its stunning limestone cliffs and azure waters, has become a popular tourist destination due to heavy social media promotion.
- But tourism has caused severe coastal contamination, with consistently high fecal coliform levels in the sea off El Nido, despite efforts like a new sewage treatment plant.
- Policies like tourist caps and subsidies for sewage connections have been introduced, but the system’s pipeline network remains insufficient, with only 3.3% of households in the town center connected to the system.
- Experts blame poor planning, overpromotion on social media, and prioritization of economic gains over environmental health, and urge stronger waste management, regulatory enforcement, and social media campaigns promoting responsible tourism.

A dramatic rise in microplastics found in human brains, study finds
A new study has found a dramatic increase in levels of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human brains in recent years. MNPs have previously been detected in human lungs, intestine, bone marrow and placenta. In the new study, researchers took one tissue sample from the brain, kidney and liver of 80 people autopsied in 2016 […]
Disease surges in Indonesia community on frontline of world energy transition
- Residential areas next to a major nickel processing site on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island recorded exponential increases in diagnoses of respiratory infections between 2020 and 2023.
- During that same period, the value of nickel exports from Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of the metal, increased from around $800 million to $6.8 billion.
- Interviews by Mongabay with residents of one village in the area indicate health conditions there have deteriorated rapidly.

LA wildfires release toxic chemicals that threaten wildlife, experts say
The ongoing Los Angeles fires have burned more than 16,000 structures, many of them full of synthetic materials that, when burned, release chemicals toxic to both humans and wildlife. When things like furniture, electronics, flooring, paint, insulation and water pipes burn, they can release a toxic cocktail of chemicals, such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) […]
Surviving fire but not the toxins as modern homes, full of plastic, burn
The ongoing fires ravaging Los Angeles, U.S., have killed at least 25 people and burned more than 12,000 buildings. Many of the structures destroyed were homes, mansions of the rich and famous and middle-class homes alike. Irrespective of the wealth of their owners, most homes destroyed likely had one thing in common: plastic. As Mongabay […]
World’s record heat is worsening air pollution and health in Global South
- 2024 was the hottest year on record, producing intense, long-lasting heat waves. Climate change-intensified extreme events last year included the formation of vast heat domes — areas of high pressure that stalled and persisted above continental land masses in Asia, Africa, South and North America, and Europe.
- Heat domes intensify unhealthy air pollution from vehicles, industry, wildfires and dust storms. When a heat wave gripped New Delhi, India, last summer, temperatures soared, resulting in unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone — pollutants especially unhealthy for outdoor workers.
- When climate change-driven heat, drought and record wildfires occurred in the Brazilian Amazon last year, the fires produced massive amounts of wood smoke containing dangerous levels of toxic particulates that cause respiratory disease. Indigenous people living in remote areas had little defense against the smoke.
- Intense heat also impacted Nigeria in 2024, where major dust storms and rising temperatures created conditions that helped increased cases of meningitis — a sometimes deadly disease, especially in poor areas. Escalating climate change is expected to exacerbate pollution and worsen public health in the future.

U.S. reports first human death from H5N1 bird flu
A person in the state of Louisiana has died from avian influenza or bird flu, also known as H5N1, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) reported on Jan. 6, marking the first recorded human fatality from H5N1 in the U.S. “The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and […]
Shipbreaking pollutes Türkiye’s coast despite European cleanup efforts
- Over the past decade, more than 2,000 ships have been dismantled at shipyards in Türkiye’s coastal town of Aliağa, one of the world’s main destinations for decommissioned vessels.
- Locals and environmentalists alike complain of rampant water and air pollution linked to shipbreaking, among other industrial activities.
- Workers’ unions and activists have also called out substandard working conditions at the yards, recording 11 deadly accidents between 2018 and 2024.
- Efforts by the European Union to promote better practices in some yards by allowing them to dismantle European ships have had a mixed effect, according to workers and experts Mongabay interviewed, encouraging some yards to improve practices without solving the pollution problem.

Wildlife and humans face shared health risks from plastic pollution
Humans are surrounded by plastic. So are animals. While numerous studies have shown the wide-ranging health effects in humans linked to plastic, very few have looked at how plastic, especially microplastic, impacts wildlife. That’s beginning to change, contributor Sharon Guynup reports for Mongabay. “Plastic pollution has been found on every continent and in every ocean, […]
No deal to curb plastic production as latest negotiations fizzle
Negotiations for a global plastics treaty ended on Dec. 2, without a consensus on how to curb plastic pollution despite its increasing negative impacts on people and nature. The fifth meeting of the U.N. Environment Programme’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea was expected to produce a legally binding global treaty covering the […]
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.

Biden administration doesn’t support a cap on plastic production
The Biden administration recently clarified its position on a global treaty calling for a reduction in the amount of new plastic produced: It no longer supports production caps. Previously, the U.S. said it recognized the need to regulate plastic over its entire life cycle, including limiting its production. “So, the U.S. has been very vague,” […]
Studies link stronger dengue outbreak in Bangladesh to climate change
- A typical consequence of climate change, drier monsoons with sudden bursts of heavy rain has led to days of inundation and long periods of standing water, creating an ideal situation for breeding mosquitoes, which may be linked to the stronger outbreak of dengue.
- Bangladesh has experienced noticeable changes in the timing and characteristics of its monsoon season. Traditionally occurring from June to August, the monsoon now extends from July to early October.
- Dengue cases have risen dramatically worldwide, with Asia responsible for 70% of reported instances, according to WHO. Researchers indicate that temperatures between 27 and 32 degrees Celsius are optimal for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, the vectors of the viral disease.
- As of Nov. 18, the death toll from the dengue outbreak in Bangladesh is 415, with around 80,000 infected, while the country recorded 1,705 dengue-related deaths in 2023.

Overuse of antibiotics in Bangladesh aquaculture raises health concerns
- A recent study in Bangladesh reveals high rates of antibiotic resistance in pabda fish (Ompok pabda) bred by farmers through aquaculture.
- Consumption of antibiotic-resistant pabda fish may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance in humans as it exposes the food chain to multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria.
- Pabda aquaculture in Bangladesh produces around 20,000 metric tons annually, some of which is exported.
- Researchers are advocating educating farmers on the correct usage of antibiotics with the intervention of fisheries experts.

The plastics crisis is now a global human health crisis, experts say
- Plastics can contain thousands of different chemicals, many of them linked to cancer and reproductive harm, and many never tested for safety.
- Multiple studies are now finding these chemicals, along with microplastics, throughout the human body, raising alarm among scientists about widespread health effects, including reduced fertility and increased obesity.
- Research points to a correlation between the presence of microplastics and endocrine disrupting plasticizers in the human body and a variety of serious maladies, but tracing a direct causal line is very difficult given the complexity and number of plastics and the industry’s lack of transparency regarding its products.
- Many scientists and nations are calling for a binding plastics treaty to limit global plastic production. But this week the U.S. took a weaker position; it now supports a policy in which nations set their own voluntary targets for reducing production. Negotiations to determine the final treaty language begin at a UN summit in Busan, Korea, running Nov. 25 – Dec. 1.

Locals in Jequitinhonha 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.

DRC mines might be poisoning pregnant women
KOLWEZI, Democratic Republic of the Congo – A Mongabay investigation found that industrial and artisanal mining of cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo could pose risks to women’s reproductive health. Both cobalt and copper are critical minerals in demand for their essential role in battery-powered technologies, including renewable energy technologies. We collected […]
Cobalt mining for green energy risks women’s reproductive health in DRC
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, industrial and artisanal mining of cobalt and copper, essential for battery-powered technologies, poses risks to the reproductive health of women, preliminary research suggests.
- Sources in the Golf Musonoie region of Kolwezi, the “world’s cobalt capital,” highlight a rising number of cases involving birth defects , stillbirths, infant deaths shortly after birth, and infections.
- The scientific community doesn’t yet know to what extent the extraction process affects reproductive health, but suspects include the radioactive uranium found in ores, as well as the pollution from mining waste and chemicals in the water.
- This report was produced in partnership with the Environmental Reporting Collective, a network of newsrooms and journalists committed to cross-border investigations on environmental crimes. It is part of the collaboraive investigation: Greed of Green: The Dark Side of Green Energy.

As global fire risk rises, modern homes become toxic plastic traps
- In the 21st century, petrochemical-based building materials and furnishings have replaced traditional wood, fabric and metal materials in homes worldwide. But plastics are more flammable and release persistent toxic chemicals when burned or exposed to high heat.
- Also over the last 25 years, wildfires have multiplied and intensified due to global warming, and often now jump the wildland-urban interface, burning whole neighborhoods and leaving behind a dangerous toxic home legacy.
- Homeowners whose houses survive such wildfires are often stunned to learn that their homes are a toxic health threat, unlivable and a total loss.
- The multibillion-dollar production and wide-ranging export of plastic building materials and home furnishings, and the dramatic surge in wildfires, has made this a global problem impacting communities in the U.S., China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Portugal and beyond.

Bobcats are back, and they’re helping protect people from zoonotic disease
- In the last 125 years, bobcats have recovered significantly from extremely low numbers, with several million individuals found throughout North America today.
- Living at the interface of urban and rural environments, bobcats face many human-caused dangers, including loss of habitat to roam, automobiles, and rodent poisons.
- Bobcats help reduce the spread of diseases from animals to humans partly because they and other large mammals are poor disease vectors. Bobcats also prey on the small rodents that easily transmit pathogens.
- It’s legal to hunt bobcats in most of the United States. California, which has for five years closed the bobcat season, may reinstate hunting in 2025. Some researchers suggest that regulators should more carefully consider the role thriving wildcat populations play in protecting human communities from zoonotic diseases before expanding hunting.

Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- There’s a planned start date to remove illegal gold miners from the Munduruku Indigenous territory, where they have long decimated the Munduruku people’s health and the Amazon ecosystem with mercury contamination, prosecutors share with Mongabay.
- The date and removal operation remains confidential, with government sources gathering data on the areas most affected in the region. The government may share more information during a press briefing in early November, while some news sites suggest the operation will begin in a few days and involve the defense ministry.
- The Supreme Court and Indigenous peoples have called for the removal of the miners from the region for years, to little avail. Meanwhile, other sources say the government had to prioritize crises in other Indigenous lands like the Yanomami territory.
- According to a researcher, the expulsion of gold miners from another Munduruku territory, the Sawré Muybu Indigenous land, cannot begin until the president recognizes the territory.

Alan Dangour on reframing climate change as a health crisis
- Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at Wellcome, is working to highlight the profound links between climate change and human health, moving beyond traditional climate metrics to focus on lives at risk.
- Wellcome’s Climate and Health program aims to strengthen the evidence base on climate-sensitive health issues, such as heatwaves and the spread of infectious diseases, while translating research into practical, policy-driven solutions.
- Dangour emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and communities to develop real-world interventions, such as cooling strategies during extreme heat and addressing maternal health risks.
- Wellcome seeks to leverage technology, such as AI, to enhance research dissemination and build a thriving, global field of climate and health research, ensuring health is central to climate action policies.

Aluminum and steel vital to energy transition, but need circular solutions
- Aluminum and steel are in high demand today and increased volumes will be needed to achieve the energy transition and future infrastructure development.
- But mining, outdated production methods, and waste generation are putting significant pressures on several planetary boundaries — fueling climate change, impacting biodiversity, generating vast amounts of mining and other waste, using large quantities of water, and affecting human health.
- Moving away from a linear model of steel and aluminum production and consumption toward a closed-loop circular economy model could rein in some of these negative impacts and clean up these metals’ supply chains.
- Industry proponents note that circularity already occurs in both industries via recycling, but there is vast room for improvement to achieve circularity goals. This requires redesigning materials for longevity and reuse, modernizing manufacturing methods, and slashing primary raw material consumption.

Aluminum and steel take environment and health toll, even as demand grows
- Steel and aluminum are two of the world’s most in-demand materials, feeding numerous sectors — including construction and transportation — with demand forecast to grow in the coming decades.
- Aluminum in particular will see a major surge in demand to supply the clean energy transition, with the metal used in lightweight electric vehicles and renewable infrastructure.
- But both these metals already carry a heavy environmental burden. Mining causes deforestation and toxic pollution with serious human health and social impacts, while refining generates major emissions contributing significantly to the climate crisis.
- Cleaning up these industries and practices is essential, say analysts. A circular economy approach holds promise but comes riddled with challenges and uncertainties.

25-fold surge in malaria at Indonesia gold frontier raises deforestation questions
- Diagnoses of malaria in Pohuwato district on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi soared by more than an order of magnitude in 2023, a health department official told Mongabay Indonesia.
- The rise in the disease has been linked to deforestation in the district as well as its large trade in alluvial gold.
- Global incidences of malaria have declined markedly since the 1990s after the Gates Foundation and other donors poured money into prevention programs, but progress in eradicating the disease has slowed in recent years.

As bird flu outbreak kills myriad wildlife species, virologists eye threat to humans
The current outbreak of H5N1, as reported by Sharon Guynup for Mongabay, is the “fastest spreading” and “largest ever” outbreak of the disease better known as “bird flu.” It’s what experts refer to as a panzootic — a widespread outbreak of a zoonotic disease affecting a broad swath of species. It has already spread across […]
Climate change threatens public health, raising the spread of food-borne diseases
- A new study finds that climate change is affecting the distribution and spread of food-borne diseases.
- An increase in the number and severity of heatwaves, droughts, and heavy precipitation events are all expected to lead to a rise in food-borne diseases, hitting Africa and Asia particularly hard.
- Investing in research and innovation can provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of climate change-pathogen interactions and novel solutions for mitigating effects.
- For example, the Cameroon National Climate Observatory, ONACC, already provides national sectors, such as agriculture, livestock, and health with forecast climate information translated into local languages to facilitate monitoring in the context of global warming.

‘Polycrisis’ threatens planetary health; UN calls for innovative solutions
- Rapidly converging environmental, technological and social changes at the global level indicate the world has entered a “polycrisis,” according to a new U.N. Environmental Programme (UNEP) report. The polycrisis has major implications for Earth’s climate, biodiversity, pollution and health, according to the authors.
- Eight major shifts — including competition for natural resources, the rapid advance of new technologies such as AI, mass forced displacement and growing inequalities — are overlapping and synchronizing, intensifying the polycrisis.
- The U.N. report also identifies 18 “signals of change” on the near horizon that need to be monitored closely, many of which could cause major disruptions that would impact planetary health.
- These looming issues include new infectious diseases linked to climate change, deployment of climate-altering geoengineering technologies and an increase in “uninhabitable places.” The report underlines the need for monitoring, rapid response and inclusive decision-making to deploy a range of innovative solutions.

As climate change shakes up global map of venomous snakes, health risks abound
- Researchers assessed the impacts of climate change on 209 species of venomous snakes from now until 2070, and concluded that while some may disappear from their range, others are likely to expand to new areas.
- Venomous snakes are among the most dangerous animals on the planet, responsible for at least 80,000 deaths a year, mostly in low-income countries with limited access to antivenom.
- Another impact on public health is the reduction in drug development: snake venom has great pharmacological potential, contributing to the production of medicines used to treat illnesses ranging from cancer to heart failure.
- Ecosystems will also face an imbalance as new species move in and existing ones go extinct, since snakes play a critical role in controlling the population of other animals such as rodents, which are also disease vectors.

In the wake of Bangladesh’s deadliest dengue outbreak, researchers respond
- In 2023, Bangladesh experienced the deadliest outbreak of dengue fever in the country’s history.
- Climate change will likely make severe disease outbreaks more common.
- Common prevention strategies, like insecticides, are becoming less effective as mosquitoes gain resistance and the nature of disease changes.
- In response, researchers, nonprofits and Bangladeshi residents are searching for ways to protect their communities and families.

Animal welfare advocacy must include wildlife & invertebrates (commentary)
- Broadening the scope of animal advocacy to include wild and intelligent animals, as well as invertebrates, is more than an ethical imperative, it is a practical necessity.
- “The interconnectedness of all life forms means that these animals’ well-being directly impacts the health of all beings, including humans, as well as ecosystems,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Ugandan chimps are eating bat guano, raising concerns over human epidemics
- Wildlife like chimpanzees have started consuming bat excrement — guano — in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. After analyzing samples, scientists found that the guano not only held high concentrations of minerals but was also full of viruses, including a cousin to SARS-CoV-2.
- Researchers say the weird feeding behavior may be because the animals have lost a primary source of dietary minerals from native trees to tobacco farming.
- Worryingly, some of these viruses can be transmitted to humans, meaning that if wild animals become more exposed to bat-borne viruses, so could humans.
- The scientists underline that social forces like the market and resource extraction can lead to such unintended consequences.

‘Right to roam’ movement fights to give the commons back to the public
- The “right to roam” movement in England seeks to reclaim common rights to access, use and enjoy both private and public land, since citizens only have access to 8% of their nation’s land currently.
- Campaigner and activist Jon Moses joins the Mongabay podcast to discuss the history of land ownership change in England with co-host Rachel Donald, and why reestablishing a common “freedom to roam” — a right observed in places like the Czech Republic and Norway — is necessary to reestablishing human connection with nature and repairing damaged landscapes.
- At least 2,500 landscapes are cut off from public access in England, requiring one to trespass to reach them.
- “There needs to be a kind of rethinking really of [what] people's place is in the landscape and how that intersects with a kind of [new] relationship between people and nature as well,” Moses says on this episode.

Impunity and pollution abound in DRC mining along the road to the energy transition
- In the DRC’s copper belt, pollution from the mining of cobalt and copper, critical minerals for the energy transition, is on the rise and polluters are ignoring their legal obligations to clean it up.
- Cases of pollution have caused deaths, health problems in babies, the destruction of crops, contaminated water and the relocation of homes or an entire village, residents and community organizations say.
- Mining is the economic lifeblood of the region and the state-owned mining company, Gécamines, is a shareholder in several other companies — some accused of these same rights abuses.
- Mongabay visited several villages in Lualaba province affected by pollution and human rights violations to assess the state of the unresolved damage — and whether companies are meeting their legal obligations.

Warming climate threatens to worsen air quality in already polluted Kathmandu
- In the period between winter and spring each year, Kathmandu faces severe air pollution that affects thousands of residents with health problems like burning eyes, respiratory discomfort, and even death.
- Local sources like vehicle emissions and construction dust, compounded by Kathmandu’s geography, are the main drivers of the pollution, and rising global temperatures threaten to worsen the situation.
- Changes in weather patterns, including reduced rainfall and prolonged dry periods are among the changes that could make air pollution an even more severe problem than it already is.
- Wildfires, both natural and human-induced, contribute significantly to air pollution in Kathmandu, especially during the transition period between weather systems, which could become longer due to rising temperatures.

Rainwater reserves a tenuous lifeline for Sumatran community amid punishing dry season
- Kuala Selat village lies on the coast of Indragiri Hilir district on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
- In the first half of the year, residents of the village arrange buckets and drums to collect rainwater to meet their daily needs.
- They will then stockpile water to last through the dry months from June-September, but a longer dry spell has led to an acute shortage of water.
- Residents say they believe the water crisis in the village was linked to bouts of diarrhea, and that many fled the village during an outbreak.

Research links deforestation in Cambodia to stunting in kids, anemia in women
- An analysis of public health data in Cambodia has found increased rates of malnutrition among children born in areas where deforestation had recently occurred.
- It also found that pregnant women in these areas were more likely to suffer from anemia, a condition that often correlates with incidences of malaria.
- Cambodia has lost nearly 30% of its forest cover this century, while more than 30% of its children under 5 have stunted growth due to malnutrition.
- The study illustrates how deforestation and the ecological disruptions it causes can compound previously existing rural health issues.

Beneath the surface, a toxic tide threatens Bangladesh’s water lifeline
- Despite widespread water access, millions in Bangladesh lack safe drinking water due to contamination by arsenic, salinity and heavy metals as unveiled by the nation’s first comprehensive report on groundwater quality assessment.
- Depletion of groundwater, driven by irrigation and exacerbated by climate change, intensifies contamination, particularly affecting coastal areas with saltwater intrusion and surpassing safe limits in certain regions.
- Freshwater pockets and deep aquifers provide temporary relief, but experts emphasize that long-term strategies are imperative to address the problem in coastal districts.
- The Bangladeshi government’s commitment to water issues is evident, but urgent global cooperation, improved infrastructure and data-driven solutions are essential for ensuring safe water access nationwide.

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

Scientists and doctors raise global alarm over hormone-disrupting chemicals
- Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which harm the human body’s regulation of hormones, have become ubiquitous in consumer products, food, water, and soil, says a new report, leading to serious global health impacts.
- There are some 350,000 synthetic chemicals and polymers used worldwide, and thousands may be endocrine disruptors. Most were not studied for their human health effects before being marketed. Known and suspected endocrine disruptors are found in pesticides, plastic additives, cosmetics, and waterproofing finishes.
- The new report examines four sources of endocrine-disrupting chemicals: plastics, pesticides, consumer products, and PFAS. Rising rates of cancer, infertility, and obesity are suspected to be at least partially attributable to the presence of endocrine disruptors in the human body.
- The Endocrine Society and International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), which co-authored the new report, are calling for legally binding global treaties to restrict and ban endocrine disruptor production and use.

Cornell receives $35m gift for research at nexus of wildlife and health
- Our newfound global awareness that human health, animal health and the health of the planet are inextricably linked has underscored the importance of research at the interface of wildlife and health.
- Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has announced a donation of $35 million to support its work in this burgeoning field of research.
- The Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health aims to use the funds to further its research on how disease interactions affect wildlife, domestic animal and human health, and translate its findings into policy and action to protect wildlife and wild places.

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

Fashioning a circular future for traditional and alternative leather
- Crafting leather from animal hides is an age-old industry, but its production today continues to mostly follow a linear model often mired in a range of environmental problems, including pollution, the creation of huge amounts of waste, high water use, and climate change-causing emissions.
- Applying cleaner and circular economy-based solutions to the leather industry is needed to change this paradigm and make the supply chain more environmentally friendly, say experts. Some companies are heading down this path, but efforts to roll out such solutions globally to all producer nations face a host of barriers.
- Some companies see the future of a sustainable leather industry in synthetic and biobased alternatives, using a smorgasbord of waste agricultural materials and more in the place of animal hides and plastics. But these alternatives, too, come with their own sustainability challenges or questions of scalability.
- Above all, experts say, achieving viable long-term circular solutions for the leather industry will require a diverse range of sustainable supply chain and production innovations, including the use of alternative materials.

Indonesian utility PLN ordered to disclose coal plants’ emissions data
- Indonesia’s Public Information Commission (KIP) has ordered state-owned utility PLN to disclose emissions data for some of the country’s biggest coal-fired power plants.
- Civil society groups have hailed the decision as a victory against government opacity and a major step toward accountability for public health.
- The KIP’s decision isn’t the end of the story, however; there’s a long history of various government ministries simply refusing to comply with its orders for data disclosure, and it’s not clear whether PLN will buck that trend.

Civil-backed proposal seeks to address root causes of Thailand’s choking haze
- Policymakers in Thailand have begun proceedings on a new Clean Air Act to address seasonal air pollution that blankets parts of the country every dry season, presenting what experts describe as severe health risks for citizens.
- Agricultural burning and industrial emissions, both locally and in neighboring countries, are the main sources of air pollution levels that annually exceed WHO safe limits, often making Thailand among the most polluted places in the world.
- Several draft versions of clean air legislation have been presented for parliamentary approval, including a citizen-backed proposal that focuses on empowering local action and addressing the root causes of the choking haze.

Amazonia in flames: Unlearned lessons from the 2023 Manaus smoke crisis (commentary)
- In 2023 the city of Manaus, in central Amazonia, found itself covered in dense smoke from burning rainforest, with levels of toxic PM 2.5 particulates even higher than those experienced that year during the pollution crisis in New Delhi, India.
- The governor of Brazil’s state of Amazonas, where Manaus is located, blamed the neighboring state of Pará for the smoke, a politically convenient theory we show to be false.
- The fires responsible for the smoke were south of Manaus in an area of Amazonas impacted by the notorious BR-319 highway, where a proposed “reconstruction” project would have disastrous environmental consequences by opening vast areas of rainforest to the entry of deforesters.The BR-319 highway project is a top priority for politicians in Amazonas, who take pains not to admit to the project’s impacts. The project’s environmental license is not yet approved, and the Manaus smoke crisis should serve as a warning as to how serious those impacts would be.
- This text is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

U.S. mining companies leave lasting trail of contamination across Peru
- Mines operated by U.S. companies in Peru have for decades caused pollution that has affected local communities and ecosystems.
- In the Tacna and Moquegua regions, Southern Copper dumped 785 million metric tons of mining waste in Ite Bay, damaging a critical fishing area.
- In Arequipa, a surge in output at Freeport-McMoRan’s Cerro Verde copper mine has been accompanied by dozens of fines, mostly for dust in the air that has sickened nearby communities.
- Dust is also a persistent problem at The Mosaic Company’s Miski Mayo phosphate mine, where it’s been blamed for killing off livestock pasture and native carob trees.

As the world swims in plastic, some offer an answer: Ban the toxic two
- Anti-plastic campaigners have achieved limited initial success in passing bans based on the toxic health effects of some plastic types, especially those that contain known carcinogens and hormone-disrupting chemicals.
- Some activists say that two of the most toxic types of plastic, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) should be completely banned. But so far, bans of polystyrene in Zimbabwe, Scotland and elsewhere have focused only on certain products, such as takeout containers.
- PVC is used in medical devices and children’s products, despite its well-known toxicity. PVC and polystyrene are both used in consumer construction, where they can leach chemicals into water or home air, or release particles into the wider environment.
- The U.S. EPA is reviewing vinyl chloride, PVC’s main ingredient and a known carcinogen, but the outcome won’t be known for several years and may only affect U.S. production, not imported products made of PVC. More than 60 nations want a ban on “problematic plastics” by the global plastics treaty now being negotiated.

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran & petrochemical industry stall plastics treaty: Critics
- In March 2022, the world’s nations met to launch negotiations for a global plastic treaty with the goal of achieving final treaty language by 2025. That effort came as the planet drowns in a tidal wave of plastic waste, polluting oceans, air and land.
- That treaty goal and deadline may have been put at risk this month as the United Nations Environment Programme’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) met in Nairobi, Kenya for its third session.
- There, three of the world’s biggest petrostates — Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran — began obstructing the process in an attempt to stall the negotiations, according to environmental NGOs that attended the meeting. More than 140 lobbyists at the November conference represented the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries.
- While a coalition of more than 60 high-ambition nations is seeking a binding international treaty that regulates cradle-to-grave plastics production, the resisters argued for treaty language that would focus on recycling rather than production, would not regulate plastic toxins and would allow nations to set individual goals for plastics regulation.

Cerro de Pasco: The massive mine poisoning an entire city in Peru
Cerro de Pasco, a city in Peru, has a mining history that dates back almost 400 years to the early Spanish colonial era. In recent decades, the extensive extraction of metals like lead, zinc, and silver has transformed the landscape, with a massive open-pit mine, around 300 meters deep, now overshadowing this city of 80,000 […]
Study links pesticides to child cancer deaths in Brazilian Amazon & Cerrado
- According to new research, for every 5 tons of soy per hectare produced in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado, an equivalent of one out of 10,000 children under 10 succumbed to acute lymphoblastic leukemia five years later.
- The researchers estimate that 123 childhood deaths during the 2008-19 period are associated with exposure to pesticides from the soy fields, amounting to half the deaths of children under 10 from lymphoblastic leukemia in the region.
- Experts say that the research is just the tip of the iceberg, and many other diseases and deaths may be associated with chemicals used in crops; further studies are needed.

Poisoned for decades by a Peruvian mine, communities say they feel forgotten
- Communities in Cerro de Pasco, Peru, have been living for decades with contamination from mining activities, which has had serious health consequences, ranging from chronic to fatal diseases.
- Repeated environmental samplings have shown that heavy metal levels surpass by hundreds of times national and World Health Organization safe limits; the most recent research by the NGO Source International reveals persistently high levels of contamination in Cerro de Pasco’s waters and soils.
- IQ levels in children living in Cerro de Pasco have been significantly impacted by exposure to heavy metals.
- Both the Peruvian government and Volcan, the mining company operating in Cerro de Pasco, have done little to nothing to remediate contamination and respond to the communities’ pleas for help.

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

Microplastics pose risk to ocean plankton, climate, other key Earth systems
- Trillions of microplastic particles in the ocean threaten marine life, from huge filter-feeders to tiny plankton. Although not lethal in the short term, the long-term impacts of microplastics on plankton and marine microbes could disrupt key Earth systems such as ocean carbon storage and nitrogen cycling.
- Oceans represent Earth’s largest natural carbon store and are crucial to mitigate atmospheric CO2 increase. Carbon taken up by plankton and stored in the deep ocean — known as the biological carbon pump — is a major process in ocean carbon storage. Microplastics may “clog” this pump and slow ocean carbon uptake.
- Microplastics in marine sediments alter microbial communities and disrupt nitrogen cycling, potentially magnifying human-caused problems like toxic algal blooms. Changes in plankton communities at the ocean surface could exacerbate deoxygenation driven by climate change, starving marine organisms of oxygen.
- Small plastic particles are impossible to remove from the oceans with current technology, so stopping pollution is a priority. Plastic production continues to soar year-on-year, but a U.N. treaty to address plastic pollution could offer a glimmer of hope that the international community is ready to take action.

Indonesian children locked out of school as El Niño haze chokes parts of Sumatra & Kalimantan
- Poor air quality over several Indonesian cities and outlying rural areas has forced local authorities to cut class times or close schools altogether.
- Air pollution on Oct. 5 in one area of Palangkaraya far exceeded the level at which air quality is classified dangerous to human health.
- The government of Jambi province has closed schools until Oct. 7, after which it will review whether to reopen for in-person teaching.

Zika, dengue transmission expected to rise with climate change
- A new study foresees a 20% increase in cases of viruses like dengue, Zika and chikungunya over the next 30 years due to climate change.
- Higher temperatures are already causing the diseases carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito to spread in cooler regions like southern Brazil and southern Europe.
- Deforestation also favors the spread of these illnesses because biodiversity-rich forests with more predators tend to inhibit mosquito populations.
- Brazil set a historic record in 2022, when more than 1,000 deaths resulting from the dengue virus were reported.

International community calls for release of El Salvador antimining activists
- Calls from the international community are growing for the release of five environmental activists fighting water pollution and mining in El Salvador who were arrested in January.
- A lack of evidence behind the allegation that they were involved in a civil war-era kidnapping and murder has raised questions from U.S. officials and the U.N. about the legitimacy of the charges.
- A group of 17 U.S. members of Congress is the latest to call for their release and a closer look at the steps the government is taking to renew a defunct mining sector.
- The five “water defenders” say there’s insufficient evidence in the case and that they’re protected from prosecution by a post-war reconciliation law.

Muslim women’s group to reopen oxygen homes if Indonesia wildfires intensify
- In 2019, volunteers with the environmental wing of Indonesia’s largest Islamic women’s organization, ‘Aisyiyiah, operated “Rumah Oksigen,” homes equipped with air purifiers and first aid.
- This year as El Niño strengthens, ‘Aisyiyah will advise members to reopen the facilities for the young, old and those most susceptible to air pollution generated by wildfires.
- The volunteers will also work to raise awareness in the community on how families can best protect themselves.

Palm oil company in Ecuador operates illegally on ancestral land, community says
- The community of Barranquilla de San Javier, located near the northern border with Colombia, is trying to reclaim ancestral land that’s being used for palm oil cultivation by a company called Energy & Palma.
- Since entering the area in 2006, Energy & Palma’s plantations have diminished the quality of the land residents rely on for subsistence farming and polluted local rivers and sources of drinking water with agrochemicals, according to community leaders.
- Faced with a peaceful sit-in by the community, Energy & Palma sued seven residents for negatively impacting their profits. The community has also started a case to reclaim the ancestral land taken by the company.

Not so fast, experts warn as Dhaka tries to clear the air with car tax and bus ban
- With one motor vehicle for every one of its more than 20 million inhabitants, Dhaka has grown into one of the most polluted and congested cities in the world.
- Policymakers want to change this with a pair of proposals: Slapping a carbon tax on multiple car ownership, and removing aging buses and trucks from the city’s roads.
- However, experts and studies point out that the biggest contributor to the city’s dire air quality isn’t vehicle emissions, but the burning of straw for brick kilns.
- They also warn that abruptly slashing the city’s bus fleet would severely impact residents, for whom the bus network is the main mode of transportation.

Landfill in Colombia continues to pollute protected wetlands despite court-ordered clean-up
- A landfill near Barrancabermeja, in Santander, Colombia, has been leaking heavy metals and other pollutants into the water since 2015, according to a report from Global Witness.
- The landfill sits in the middle of the San Silvestre wetlands, a 69,959-hectare (172,872-acre) protected area that serves as part of a regional jaguar corridor.
- French utilities company Veolia took over the site in 2019 but has continued to store contaminated chemicals irresponsibly and operate heavy machinery in a buffer zone meant to prevent leakage into water sources, according to a Global Witness report.

UN Paris meeting presses ahead with binding plastics treaty — U.S. resists
- At a May-June meeting in Paris, the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) agreed to create, and submit by November, a first draft of an international plan to end plastic pollution by 2040.
- The United States declined to join the 58-nation “High Ambition Coalition” to create a legally-binding cradle-to-grave plan to address plastic production and use. The U.S. continues to hold out for a volunteer agreement that would focus on recycling.
- Delaying tactics by Saudi Arabia and other oil and plastics producing nations used up much time at this second international plastics treaty meeting, but these efforts were beaten back at least temporarily. The next international plastics treaty meeting will be in Kenya this November.
- Some activists pointed to the imbalanced representation at the Paris meeting, where about 190 industry lobbyists were allowed to attend, while communities, waste pickers, Indigenous peoples, youth and other members of civil society most impacted by plastic pollution had very limited opportunities to be heard.

Citizens demand sustainable solution to haze crisis in northern Thailand
- Citizens in northern Thailand have mounted a legal challenge against the prime minister and several government departments for inaction to tackle air pollution that experts say reduces people’s life expectancy and violates basic human rights.
- Air pollution levels in the northern city of Chiang Mai exceeded WHO guideline standards more than twentyfold earlier this year, ranking it among the most polluted places in the world.
- The sources of pollution are mainly from agricultural burning, both locally and in neighboring countries, a practice that coincides each year with the dry season. Air quality is also affected by forest fires that have taken a toll on the region’s landscapes and wildlife in recent years.
- Observers say the legal challenge is an example of civil society’s growing awareness of the right to use litigation avenues to hold companies and government departments accountable to their environmental commitments.

Crud-to-crude: The global potential of biofuels made from human waste
- Creating liquid biofuels from human waste shows promise as a way to meet one of alternative energy’s greatest challenges: reducing the transportation sector’s heavy carbon footprint. The good news is there is a steady supply stream where waste is treated.
- Humanity produces millions of tons of sewage sludge annually via wastewater treatment. Existing disposal methods include landfilling, application on agricultural land, and incineration; each with social and environmental consequences.
- Harnessing the carbon-rich potential of sludge as a transportation fuel for planes, ships and trucks is part of a drive toward zero waste and creating a circular economy, say experts. A host of projects are underway to prove the effectiveness of various methods of turning all this crud into biocrude.
- Some techniques show promise in lab and pilot tests, but large-scale industrial plants have yet to be built. Using pollutant-laden sewage sludge as a biofuel comes with its own environmental concerns, but lacking a silver-bullet solution to the human waste problem, it could be part of a suite of best alternatives.

Ecuador banned gas flaring over a year ago. Why is it still happening?
- In September 2021, a provincial court gave oil companies 18 months to eliminate gas flaring in the Amazon because of its role in spiking cancer rates among local residents.
- That deadline expired in March, but today oil companies continue to use gas flares more than ever. Before the court ruling, there were an estimated 447 gas flares in the country. Today, there are 475.
- Activists say they still have some legal avenues for pressuring the government to enforce the ban, including impeaching ministers that fail to comply with the court’s order.

Indigenous Amazon forests absorb noxious fumes and prevent diseases from wildfires, study suggests
- A new decade-long study estimates forests in Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon can potentially prevent about 15 million cases of respiratory and cardiovascular infections each year by absorbing thousands of tons of dangerous pollutants emitted by forest fires.
- Forest fires are mainly caused by deforestation to clear the land, releasing noxious fumes which contain carbonaceous aerosol, the main component of fine particulate matter which enters the bloodstream and can cause heart disease and lung cancer.
- Health impacts from forest fires are not only restricted to nearby populations. Intense smoke can travel hundreds of kilometers away from the point of origin.
- The researchers say the study’s findings demonstrate the need for Brazil’s government to resume Indigenous territories’ demarcations and public policies.

Lula government scrambles to overcome Yanomami crisis, but hurdles remain
- Within weeks of taking office, the new Brazilian government began an emergency operation to provide health care assistance to Indigenous people in the Yanomami territory and remove the 20,000 illegal gold miners there who have sparked a humanitarian and environmental crisis.
- So far, over 6,200 Yanomami people have been treated and more than 100 health care personnel have been recruited. However, a lack of health care workers, deteriorating infrastructure and minimal support from the military is preventing access to communities most in need.
- As miners have begun to flee the area and environmental authorities seize and destroy their equipment, some Indigenous leaders say important progress is underway but more remains to be done.

Pollution and climate change set stage for rise in antimicrobial resistance
- A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme illustrates the role that pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss can play in the development of antimicrobial resistance.
- The compounds used to treat bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infections have saved countless lives, but their overuse and their presence in the environment from human waste, agriculture and effluent from the pharmaceutical industry and places like hospitals has given rise to resistance to these chemicals in potentially harmful microbes.
- If this resistance continues to increase, experts warn that an additional 10 million people may lose their lives by 2050 — about the same number who died of cancer in 2020.
- The report’s authors recommend stronger safeguards around industrial runoff, better sanitation and more judicious use of antimicrobials to address this potential crisis.

Australian niobium mining project instills 16 years of anxiety for Malawi communities
- In 2006, Australian mining firm Globe Metals & Mining began exploring for rare earth metals niobium and tantalum in Malawi’s Kanyika hills, confirming in 2012 its intention to begin commercial mining.
- The metals will be used in the manufacture of high-tech equipment like electric vehicle batteries and gas and wind turbines.
- For villagers being relocated for the mine, these high-tech goods hold little appeal when compared with the loss of their land, and with the 16 years they have been living in limbo while awaiting relocation.

Poisoned by pesticides: Health crisis deepens in Brazil’s Indigenous communities
- A recent report reveals communities in Brazil’s Mato Grosso region are contaminated by the agriculture industry’s increasing use of pesticides. About 88% of the plants collected, including medicinal herbs and fruits, on Indigenous lands have pesticide residue.
- Samples discovered high levels of pesticides in ecosystems and waters far from crop fields, including carbofuran — a highly toxic substance which is banned in Brazil, Europe and the U.S.
- Experts blame the lack of control by government officials for widespread environmental damage and an escalating health crisis among Indigenous populations, as communities report growing numbers of respiratory problems, acute poisonings and cancers.
- A spokesperson for the biggest agrochemical companies operating in Brazil disputes the findings of the report and numbers of people far from crop regions affected by pesticide usage.

Shadows of oil in Peru: Shipibo people denounce damage, contamination left by company
- Community members guided a team of journalists to the creeks and land of Canaán de Cachiyacu and Nuevo Sucre, in the district of Contamana in Peru’s Loreto region, to demonstrate how they have been affected by the various spills attributed to the Maple Gas oil company for over 25 years.
- Shipibo community members say that due to contaminated water, they still suffer from illnesses and their farms no longer produce crops. The contract established that the company must comply with environmental protection laws, but Perupetro confirmed that it simply abandoned its operations.
- Mongabay Latam traveled to two Indigenous communities on the banks of the Ucayali River and listened to the concerns of their residents regarding the serious environmental impact that they claim was caused by the operations in Block 31-B and Block 31-E.

Tobacco: Vaping and smoking drive environmental harm from farm to fingertip
- Electronic cigarettes heavily marketed via single-use flavored products are increasingly popular. These products require disposal of large amounts of hazardous waste, including huge quantities of lithium, a resource in demand for electric car batteries and rechargeable electronics for laptops and mobile phones.
- Even as vaping use grows, an estimated 6 trillion “traditional” cigarettes are still smoked annually; 4.5 trillion are thought to be discarded into the environment each year. Researchers and activists emphasize that the tobacco industry is responsible for considerable harm to nature and human health.
- Traveling along the supply chain, tobacco production and consumption has consequences for forests, oceans, the climate, and for farmers and their families who produce the crop — all to an extent not yet fully known or understood.
- Efforts are underway to rein in some of these negative impacts against the backdrop of an industry accused of consistently greenwashing to conceal an environmental footprint that is harming both nature and public health.

“Sinchiurco is coated with oil”: The Kichwa people going up against Petroecuador
- In 1985, a road opened through the Kichwa community of Sinchiruco, in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. With it came the Guanta 1 oil platform, which would lead to repeated complaints of human and environmental rights violations.
- Until 1990, Guanta 1 was operated by Texaco. Texaco and the companies that came later have been accused of oil and diesel spills, creating crude oil pools, and accidents that led to the death of a child and the loss of one girl’s sight.
- The platform was later managed by Petroamazonas and PDVSA. Now run by Petroecuador, the surrounding communities are still demanding compensation for previous spills and repairs to partially fixed pipelines that, they claim, continue to cause spills. After 37 years, the community is saying that enough is enough.

Dhaka’s ailing sewage system threatens human and environmental health
- Existing sewage treatment plants in Dhaka treat only 30% of all sewage waste.
- Emerging pollutants such as antibiotics, microplastics, detergents, toothpastes, shampoos and lotion are found in Dhaka’s urban rivers and lakes.
- Microplastics are also found in fish, snails, crabs and sediments of the Buriganga River in Dhaka.
- City authorities suggest installing small treatment plants in residential buildings.

In Bangladesh, popular eggplant comes with a side of lead. And cadmium
- New studies have highlighted potentially cancer-causing levels of chemicals such as lead and cadmium in food crops grown across Bangladesh, and in particular in eggplants, one of the most widely consumed vegetables in the country.
- Researchers attribute the contamination to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by farmers, as well as industrial pollution.
- Also affected are fish caught in the Buriganga River in the capital, Dhaka, and cow’s milk sold in the city.
- Regulators have acknowledged the problem, and say they’re working on efforts to reduce agrochemical use across the country and crack down on industrial pollution.

Probe finds Vietnam faltering in bid to curb wildlife trade, animal suffering
- In recent years, authorities in Vietnam have made a series of pledges to curb illegal wildlife trade and the sale and consumption of dog meat.
- However, a new investigation by animal rights groups reveals that protected wildlife species are still being sold at wet markets, where animal suffering and public health risks are rife.
- The findings also indicate the dog meat industry shows few signs of abating, with slaughterhouses and restaurants still doing business despite calls to phase out the industry in major cities.
- Experts say sustained and coordinated efforts from provincial authorities, enforcement agencies and the public will be needed to fully curb the practices throughout the country.

Another winter of discontent as Kathmandu braces for deadly air pollution
- As winter sets in, residents of Kathmandu are bracing for worsening air pollution levels that can exceed by a hundredfold the safe limit prescribed by the WHO.
- The sources of the pollution are both local — vehicle exhaust fumes and burning of garbage — and from further afield, including firecracker residue from festivities in neighboring India.
- A recent study says these combine to give Nepal the highest death rate from chronic lung disease of any country — a problem that experts say the government has repeatedly failed to recognize.

In temperate Nepal, climate change paves way for tropical dengue fever
- Nepal is experiencing its worst outbreak of dengue fever in recorded history, which health experts attribute in part to a changing climate.
- Wetter monsoons and warmer temperatures have made for ideal breeding conditions for the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
- Poor water and waste management are also factors, allowing for water to stagnate for long periods and giving the mosquitoes a place to lay their larvae.
- Experts say it will take a combination of personal responsibility — to eradicate mosquito-breeding grounds — and government leadership — to coordinate the public health response — if dengue is to be eradicated in Nepal.

Bangladesh e-waste rules hang in limbo as electrical goods companies ask for delay
- The Bangladesh government has failed to implement electronic waste management regulations a year after introducing a new rule that was a decade in the making.
- Countries with large stakes in Bangladesh’s electrical goods market are reportedly lobbying the World Trade Organization for a one-year delay in the implementation of e-waste regulations; meanwhile, the WTO has raised several issues with the new rule, including a reduction in the standard for lead.
- As the process stalls, e-waste continues to pile up, as the Bangladesh electrical market experiences a massive boom.
- According to a 2010 report of the Environment and Social Development Organization, more than 15% of child recycling workers in Bangladesh die during and after the effects of handling e-waste each year, and more than 83% are exposed to toxic substances.

Thailand bets on coal despite long losing streak for communities
- Despite its declaration of ambitious emissions reductions targets, Thailand is on track to build four new coal-fired power generators by 2034.
- Two of the generators will add to an existing plant in Mae Moh, which is powered by coal from an adjacent mine.
- Residents say the Mae Moh power station and mine have caused illness and pollution, with the country’s Supreme Court ruling in their favor in 2015 and ordering the state-owned utility to pay compensation.
- Two other generators are planned for as-yet-unnamed locations in the country’s east and south.

Cambodia’s elites swallow up Phnom Penh’s lakes, leaving the poor marooned
- Lakes in Phnom Penh are fast being filled in and parceled off as prime real estate to wealthy and politically connected individuals.
- Families who have for generations fished and practiced aquaculture on the lakes and surrounding wetlands face eviction and the loss of livelihoods.
- At the same time, experts warn that filling in these natural rainwater reservoirs risks exacerbating flood intensity and damage in the Cambodian capital.
- This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network where Gerald Flynn is a fellow.

Element Africa: Diamonds, oil, coltan, and more diamonds
- Offshore diamond prospecting threatens a fishing community in South Africa, while un-checked mining for the precious stones on land is silting up rivers in Zimbabwe.
- In Nigeria, serial polluter Shell is accused of not cleaning up a spill from a pipeline two months ago; the company says the spill was mostly water from flushing out the pipeline.
- Also in Nigeria, mining for coltan, the source of niobium and tantalum, important metals in electronics applications, continues to destroy farms and nature even as the government acknowledges it’s being done illegally.
- Element Africa is Mongabay’s bi-weekly bulletin rounding up brief stories from the commodities industry in Africa.

Is having fewer kids the answer to the climate question? | Problem Solved
- The human population is expected to reach 8 billion literally any day now, and nearly 10 billion people some time this century.
- With the planet also swiftly approaching 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) of warming above pre-industrial levels, activists and scientists are urging any solution to keep temperatures from shooting higher into the danger zone.
- Research suggests that the single biggest thing anyone can do to reduce their impact on the environment, and the climate, is to choose to have one less child. But that simple solution is complicated by thorny economic, ethical, social and political issues.
- On this episode of Problem Solved, we unpack the research, and examine this sensitive and controversial question: Is choosing collectively to have fewer children really a viable solution to our climate change and/or resource overuse crises?

Chinese companies criticized for mercury pollution in Cameroon
- Civil society groups have raised the alarm over pollution of rivers in eastern and northern Cameroon by gold mining companies.
- The Centre for Environment and Development says two Chinese companies, Mencheng Mining and Zinquo Mining, are allowing significant amounts of mercury and cyanide to spill into watercourses in the East Region.
- Amalgamation, the process of using mercury to separate gold from the alluvial mud it’s found in here, is commonplace in Cameroon and elsewhere, despite the extreme toxicity of this chemical.
- CED says the run-off from gold-washing is putting the health of miners, including many young children, as well as local residents at risk.

Weak waste management leaves Dhaka communities at risk from landfill sites
- The four major waste landfills in Dhaka have left a serious environmental impact on the soil and groundwater of surrounding areas through leachate pollution, a study shows.
- It found levels of toxic metals in the surface and groundwater and in vegetable and rice crops in the vicinity of the landfill sites that were higher than prescribed safe limits.
- Experts have called on the authorities to improve waste management, including better coordination between municipal and national authorities, as well as better-engineered landfill sites that minimize the chances of leaching hazardous waste.
- Municipal authorities deny the pollution near the landfills is due to the waste leakage alone, and say they plan to expand the city’s largest landfill site, both aboveground and underground.

Drought-beset South African city taps aquifer, shirks long-term solutions: Critics
- A major coastal city located in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province is facing a total water cutoff for about 500,000 residents, almost half its population, following a prolonged drought.
- Disaster relief hydrologists have begun drilling boreholes to access groundwater so that hospitals and schools can stay open during the emergency in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.
- But critics say the city administration has failed to develop a long-term plan to support water harvesting from intermittent rains and construction of desalination plants.
- They also point out that overreliance on boreholes drilled near the sea could lead to saline water intrusion into the aquifer, contaminating groundwater and rendering borehole water undrinkable.

For residents of Jakarta’s port district, coal is the neighbor no one wants
- Residents, officials and experts blame dust from a coal storage facility in Jakarta’s port district for a spate of health problems in a neighboring community.
- Children in Marunda ward have been hit particularly hard, suffering from eye and skin problems and respiratory infections, in a city already notorious for its dirty air.
- City authorities inspecting the facility run by KCN, a public-private joint venture, have found several violations and revoked the company’s environmental permit.
- While KCN has offered to provide residents with free medical checkups, it has not acknowledged a link between its operation and residents’ health problems.

For women on Bangladesh’s coast, rising seas pose a reproductive health dilemma
- In coastal areas of Bangladesh, where poor families often can’t afford menstrual pads, women and adolescent girls are compelled to use cloth rags that they wash in water that’s becoming increasingly saline.
- This has led to a spate of uterine diseases, prompting many women and girls to misuse birth control pills in an effort to stop their menstrual cycles altogether.
- Health experts say this practice, carried out without medical advice, poses both short- and long-term risks to their reproductive and mental health.
- The root of the problem is the ever-worsening intrusion of saltwater into the water table, driven by a combination of rising sea levels, seepage from shrimp farms, and falling levels of the Ganges River.

As Jakarta chokes on toxic air, Indonesian government stalls on taking action
- Jakarta’s air pollution has been worsening recently, with the Indonesian capital routinely ranked top of the list of the world’s most polluted major cities.
- Much of the pollution is generated outside the city, in the industrial estates and coal-fired power plants in neighboring provinces, but there’s been no effort by the national government to coordinate action on this transboundary pollution.
- Activists say the national government hasn’t done much at all to address the problem, instead opting to appeal against a court ruling ordering it to tackle the air pollution.

World’s worst air pollution slashes 7 years off life expectancy in Bangladesh
- Air pollution in Bangladesh is the worst in the world, a new study shows, reducing the average Bangladeshi’s life expectancy by 6.7 years.
- Another study estimates there were 24,000 premature deaths as a result of air pollution in the country’s capital, Dhaka, from 2005 to 2018.
- Brick-burning kilns, vehicle exhausts, various industries, open waste burning, and large-scale construction work are key sources of air pollution, according to the Department of Environment.
- The draft Clean Air Act 2019 has yet to be enacted into law, which proponents say is needed to boost institutional action to tackle the air pollution problem.

9m deaths a year from pollution, the ‘largest existential threat’ to humans
- A new report has found that pollution is responsible for 9 million premature deaths per year, the majority of them caused by air pollution.
- While deaths associated with household pollution and water quality have decreased, deaths related to industrialization and urbanization have increased.
- It’s estimated that lead and other chemical pollutants are responsible for about 1.8 million deaths, but the authors say this is likely to be an undercount.
- The authors argue that more needs to be done to address the issue of pollution, which would also help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Thai gold mine blamed for sickening local villagers is set to reopen
- The Chatree mining complex, owned by a subsidiary of Australia’s Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd., began operations in 2001 and was closed by Thailand’s ruling junta in 2017.
- Villagers say the environment and their health has suffered as a result of the operations; mass blood tests found that the majority of children and adults tested exhibited elevated levels of heavy metals, including arsenic, manganese and cyanide.
- The mining company denies allegations that its operations have caused health problems, and in 2017 sued the Thai government for shutting down the mine, seeking “very substantial damages.”
- In January 2022, the government gave permission for the mine to reopen.

New report pieces together toll of environmental damage in Venezuela in 2021
- A report from the Political Ecology Observatory of Venezuela (OEP) lays out the worst environmental conflicts that the South American country faced in 2021.
- Among them are oil spills, deforestation, mining, and a lack of clean water in areas with degraded watersheds.
- The report notes the continuing difficulty of tracking environmental parameters in Venezuela, due to the lack of transparency by government at all levels.
- Regardless, it notes that last year’s events contributed to numerous public health crises.

Indonesia’s Riau province declares state of emergency ahead of fire season
- Almost every year vast swaths of Southeast Asia are covered in toxic haze, which causes air quality to reach hazardous levels and creates major health, environmental and economic problems.
- Recorded since the early ’70s, the smoke is almost entirely a result of large forest and peatland fires in Indonesia that are often illegally started to clear land for oil palm plantations.
- The governor of Indonesia’s Riau province in Sumatra, which, along with Borneo, is a primary location of the fires, has declared an emergency alert status to increase and expedite prevention and extinguishing efforts ahead of this year’s fire season.
- A national environmental NGO says the alert status shows the government has again failed to prevent the fires, and that the existing mitigation efforts fail to tackle the root of the problem.

Chemical recycling: ‘Green’ plastics solution makes more pollution, says report
- The plastics industry claims that ‘chemical recycling’ or ‘advanced recycling’ technologies, which use heat or solvents to convert waste plastic into chemical feedstocks that can potentially be further processed into new plastics, are a green alternative to mechanical recycling.
- But according to a new report, five out of eight U.S. facilities assessed use chemical processes to produce combustible fuel, not new plastics. In addition, facilities are disposing of large amounts of hazardous waste which in some cases includes benzene — a known carcinogen — lead, cadmium and chromium.
- Critics say the chemical recycling industry’s multi-step incineration processes are polluting and generating greenhouse gases without alleviating virgin plastic demand. Environmental permits for six U.S. facilities allow release of hazardous air pollutants that can cause cancer or birth defects.
- A new UN framework to fight global plastic pollution could offer nations flexibility over how they meet recycling targets, potentially allowing the industry to lobby for policy incentives and regulatory exemptions for plastic-to-fuel techniques — policies that may threaten the environment and public health, say experts.

Pharmaceutical water pollution detected deep in the Brazilian Amazon
- Major rivers in the Amazon Basin of Brazil are contaminated with a wide range of pharmaceuticals as well as with sewage and wastewater, largely coming from urban centers in the region, according to recent research.
- Water samples taken along the Amazon, Negro, Tapajós and Tocantins rivers, and small urban tributaries that pass through the region’s cities, including Manaus, Santarém, Belém and Macapá contained 40 pharmaceuticals out of 43 in concentrations that have the potential to affect 50-80% of the local aquatic species.
- Experts explain that a major cause of freshwater contamination is the Amazon Basin’s rapidly growing population along with the government’s failure to provide adequate sanitation infrastructure — even though that has long been promised. Most of the region’s sewage is untreated, a solvable problem if properly funded.

WWF report calls forests a vital public health solution
- A new report from WWF lays out the evidence for how forests directly impact public health.
- Forests not only act as reservoirs for potentially contagious diseases, but also filter water and air pollution that can otherwise lead to illnesses like cancer and diabetes.
- The report makes a case that forests also help alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition while improving mental health, among other benefits.
- It calls on conservationists and public health experts to work more closely and view forests as a public health tool.

The world says yes to a cradle to grave plastics treaty: Now the work begins
- 175 countries unanimously agreed last week on a United Nations framework to fight global plastic pollution from cradle to grave. Reluctant nations, including India and Japan, sought a far more limited agreement only dealing with ocean plastic pollution. But they acquiesced in the end.
- A committee will shortly begin work on drafting the treaty, determining global rules, and financing and enforcement mechanisms, with a goal of finishing by the end of 2024.
- While many crucial details remain to be worked out over the next two years, the UN resolution calls for a combination of required and “voluntary actions” to address the cradle to grave plastics crisis. The document even addresses the extraction of chemicals used in production, meaning the final treaty could seriously impact the oil industry.
- Also, wealthier nations may be called on to provide assistance to less developed ones. Environmental groups are pleased with the agreement, though caution that much work lies ahead. The plastics industry had hoped for a far more limited agreement and it is expected to offer input on the final shape of the treaty.

Campaigners against dog meat trade take on one Indonesian city at a time
- An estimated 7% of Indonesia’s 270 million people eat dog meat, a practice the World Health Organization has linked to the spread of rabies.
- Dog Meat Free Indonesia, an advocacy group, is campaigning city by city to get authorities to crack down on the trade, appealing to animal welfare, public health, and religious sensibilities.
- Authorities at the national and subnational levels have in recent years responded by issuing regulations effectively banning the sale of dog meat for human consumption.

Microplastics plus organic pollutants equals 10 times the toxicity, study finds
- A new study has found that interactions between microplastics and organic pollutants in aquatic environments can increase the toxicity of microplastics by a factor of 10.
- The researchers found that some “weathered” microplastics tended to absorb and release more contaminants than pristine microplastics, posing a threat to human health if these microplastics are ingested.
- Nations this week agreed to negotiate a global treaty that addresses the entire life cycle of plastics in an effort to suppress the harm it does to the environment and human health.

Aerosol pollution: Destabilizing Earth’s climate and a threat to health
- Aerosols are fine particulates that float in the atmosphere. Many are natural, but those haven’t increased or decreased much over the centuries. But human-caused aerosols — emitted from smokestacks, car exhausts, wildfires, and even clothes dryers — have increased rapidly, largely in step with greenhouse gases responsible for climate change.
- Aerosol pollution kills 4.2 million people annually, 200,000 in the U.S. alone. So curbing them rapidly makes sense. However, there’s a problem with that: The aerosols humanity sends into the atmosphere presently help cool the climate. So they protect us from some of the warming that is being produced by continually emitted greenhouse gases.
- But scientists still don’t know how big this cooling effect is, or whether rapidly reducing aerosols would lead to a disastrous increase in warming. That uncertainty is caused by aerosol complexity. Atmospheric particulates vary in size, shape and color, in their interactions with other particles, and most importantly, in their impacts.
- Scientists say that accurately modeling the intensity of aerosol effects on climate change is vital to humanity’s future. But aerosols are very difficult to model, and so are likely the least understood of the nine planetary boundaries whose destabilization could threaten Earth’s operating systems.

Caffeine: Emerging contaminant of global rivers and coastal waters
- Caffeine is the most consumed psychostimulant in the world, and a regular part of many daily lives, whether contained in coffee, chocolate, energy drinks, or pharmaceuticals.
- Partially excreted in urine, it is now ubiquitous in rivers and coastal waters. So much so that its detection is used to trace wastewater and sewage pollution. A new study found it to be in more than 50% of 1,052 sampling sites on 258 rivers around the globe. Another new study enumerates caffeine harm in coastal and marine environments.
- This continual flow of caffeine into aquatic ecosystems is causing concern among scientists due to its already identified impacts on a wide range of aquatic life including microalgae, corals, bivalves, sponges, marine worms, and ﬁsh. Most environmental impacts — especially wider effects within ecosystems — have not been studied.
- Soaring global use of products containing caffeine means the problem will worsen with time. Untreated sewage is a major source. And while some sewage treatment facilities can remove caffeine, many currently can’t. Far more study is needed to determine the full scope and biological impacts of the problem.

Brazil agrochemical bill nears passage in Bolsonaro’s ‘agenda of death’
- A bill loosening regulations on agrochemicals has been approved by Brazil’s lower house of congress and now goes before the Senate, prompting concerns that it will unleash environmental destruction and threaten consumer health.
- The bill is one of several in the list of priority legislation for 2022 that environmentalists and Indigenous groups say underscore President Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-environmental and anti-Indigenous agenda.
- If approved, the slate of proposed bills would allow companies to exploit Indigenous territories for resources and further impede Indigenous people from staking a claim to their traditional lands.
- Other bills in the works include one that would effectively facilitate land grabbing, and another that would do away with environmental licenses. Bolsonaro has already issued a decree encouraging small-scale gold mining, raising further concerns for the Amazon and its Indigenous inhabitants.

Sierra Leone lawsuit against diamond mine runs up against corporate opacity
- Residents of Koidu, in eastern Sierra Leone, are suing the operators of a diamond mine they say has polluted the environment, damaged homes, and cost many their livelihoods.
- The mine’s owners, Octea Ltd., say their contracts and obligations are to the Sierra Leonean government and the case should be dismissed.
- Further complicating matters, Octea is part of a complex web of companies ultimately owned by the troubled mining giant BSG Resources, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

Preventing the next pandemic is vastly cheaper than reacting to it: Study
- A new study emphasizes the need to stop pandemics before they start, stepping beyond the quest for new vaccines and treatments for zoonotic diseases to also aggressively fund interventions that prevent them from happening in the first place.
- Researchers estimated that based on Earth’s current population and on past pandemics, we can expect 3.3 million deaths from zoonotic diseases each year in future. COVID-19 pushed numbers in 2020-21 even higher. These outbreaks are now happening more frequently, and their cost is calculated in trillions of dollars.
- Addressing the main drivers — deforestation, the wildlife trade and burgeoning agriculture, especially in the tropics — could prevent future pandemics, save lives and catastrophic societal disruptions.

As world drowns in plastic waste, U.N. to hammer out global treaty
- After years of largely neglecting the buildup of plastic waste in Earth’s environment, the U.N. Environment Assembly will meet in February and March in the hopes of drafting the first international treaty controlling global plastics pollution.
- Discarded plastic is currently killing marine life, threatening food security, contributing to climate change, damaging economies, and dissolving into microplastics that contaminate land, water, the atmosphere and even the human bloodstream.
- The U.N. parties will debate how comprehensive the treaty they write will be: Should it, for example, protect just the oceans or the whole planet? Should it focus mainly on reuse/recycling, or control plastics manufacture and every step of the supply chain and waste stream?
- The U.S. has changed its position from opposition to such a treaty under President Donald Trump, to support under President Joe Biden, but has yet to articulate exactly what it wants in an agreement. While environmental NGOs are pushing for a comprehensive treaty, plastics companies, who say they support regulation, likely will want to limit the treaty’s scope.

Innovative sewage solutions: Tackling the global human waste problem
- The scale of the world’s human waste problem is vast, impacting human health, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, and even climate change. Solving the problem requires working with communities to develop solutions that suit them, providing access to adequate sanitation and adapting aging sewage systems to a rapidly changing world.
- Decentralized and nature-based solutions are considered key to cleaning up urban wastewater issues and reducing pressure on, or providing affordable and effective alternatives to, centralized sewage systems.
- Seeing sewage and wastewater — which both contain valuable nutrients and freshwater — as a resource rather than as pollutants, is vital to achieving a sustainable “circular economy.” Technology alone can only get us so far, say experts. If society is to fully embrace the suite of solutions required, a sweeping mindset change will be needed.

The thick of it: Delving into the neglected global impacts of human waste
- Though little talked about, our species has a monumental problem disposing of its human waste. A recent modeling study finds that wastewater adds around 6.2 million tons of nitrogen to coastal waters worldwide per year, contributing significantly to harmful algal blooms, eutrophication and ocean dead zones.
- The study mapped 135,000 watersheds planetwide and found that just 25 of them account for almost half the nitrogen pollution contributed by human waste. Those 25 were pinpointed in both the developing world and developed world, and include the vast Mississippi River watershed in the United States.
- Human waste — including pharmaceuticals and even microplastics contained in feces and urine — is a major public health hazard, causing disease outbreaks, and putting biodiversity at risk. Sewage is impacting estuary fish nurseries, coral reefs, and seagrasses, a habitat that stores CO2, acting as a buffer against climate change.
- Waste is often perceived as mostly a developing world problem, but the developed world is as responsible — largely due to antiquated municipal sewage systems that combine rainwater and wastewater in the same pipes. As a result, intense precipitation events regularly flush raw sewage into waterways in the U.S., U.K. and EU.

Mongabay’s top Amazon stories from 2021
- The world’s largest rainforest continued to come under pressure in 2021, due largely to the policies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
- Deforestation rates hit a 15-year-high, while fires flared up again, combining to turn Brazil’s portion of the Amazon into a net carbon source for the first time ever.
- The rainforest as a whole remains a net carbon sink, thanks to conservation areas and Indigenous territories, where deforestation rates remained low.
- Indigenous communities continued to be hit by a barrage of outside pressure, from COVID-19 to illegal miners and land grabbers, while community members living in Brazil’s cities dealt with persistent prejudice.

As the Amazon burns, its Indigenous inhabitants choke on the haze
- Forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon increased this year, with much of the smoke generated concentrating in the state of Acre and disproportionately affecting the health of Indigenous people.
- At the peak of the fires, in July and August, a total of 88,400 hectares (218,400 acres) of land burned, a 20% increase from the 76,400 hectares (188,800 acres) burned in the same period in 2020.
- Recorded cases of respiratory disease increased by almost 8% from June to September 2021 over the previous year, according to data from the Acre state health department.
- Indigenous people, who have lower immunity and a higher incidence of pre-existing medical conditions, are among the most at-risk groups to the smoke pollution, compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Primary-colored poison: Lead paint still a major threat to Indonesian kids
- Nearly 70% of commercially available paints in Indonesia contain levels of lead higher than the regulatory safe limit of 600 parts per million (ppm).
- That’s the finding from an analysis of solvent-based paints in 10 Indonesian cities, which also estimates that 33 million children are exposed to lead paint on a daily basis.
- The association of paint manufacturers says it may consider adopting a safe limit of 90 ppm, the same as the World Health Organization prescribes, but that many of the small manufacturers that still use lead aren’t part of the association.
- Advocates have called for stronger regulations governing sales of lead-based paints, including lead content information to be published on paint cans.

Poisoned city: The story of Brazil’s forgotten environmental disaster
- Hundreds of tons of carcinogenic agrochemicals, including DDT, were abandoned by the Brazilian government at a factory near an orphanage on the outskirts or Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s.
- The factory had produced the pesticides as part of the government’s push to eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
- After it shut down, the residents, unaware of the dangers of the chemicals, continued to use them, even applying the dust directly to their children’s hair to kill head lice.
- More than half a century later, residents continue to suffer from the impact on their health, with 73% of those tested having high levels of contamination in their bodies.

Supporting more holistic approaches to conservation: an interview with Kai Carter
- For at least the past 20 years, there has been regular talk about the need to break down silos in conservation. But in practice, the conservation sector as a whole has been slow to bring the necessary voices and expertise into the conversation. That hesitancy, or inertia, can mean missed opportunities to connect conservation with other positive outcomes, from health to livelihoods.
- Kai Carter understands this well: As a program officer at the Packard Foundation’s Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation (ALC) strategy, her work focuses on supporting organizations that work at the intersection of local communities, rights, health, and the environment.
- “Local agriculture, economic development, and conservation are interwoven in people’s lives; they don’t view them as separate,” Carter told Mongabay. “We’ve been exploring how our grantmaking can be more effective by approaching environmental sustainability, livelihoods, community resilience, and health holistically and with the intention of centering the needs and aspirations of smallholder farming communities.”
- Carter spoke about the Packard Foundation’s ALC strategy, equity and inclusion in conservation, and a range of other issues during a recent conversation with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

In harm’s way: Our actions put people and wildlife at risk of disease
- While global attention is currently focused on COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases that jump from animals to humans, diseases that breach the species barrier also pass from people and domestic animals to wild species.
- Human alteration of the planet — the felling of forests, the legal and illegal wildlife trade, climate change, and other disruptions — is driving escalating unnatural interactions between species, allowing diseases to mutate and infect new hosts.
- Infectious disease poses a serious threat to tigers, chimpanzees, Ethiopian wolves, African wild dogs and a host of other threatened species. Viral diseases spread by humans, livestock and other domestic animals could serve as the knockout punch to endangered species already teetering on the edge of extinction.
- There’s growing support for a One Health strategy, which recognizes that human health, animal health and the health of the planet are inextricably linked — that protecting the planet is crucial to the health of all.

Tanzanian gold miners ten times more likely to die from road injuries, study finds
- Miners were 10 times more likely to die of traffic-related injuries than people who did not work in mining, a study that looked at Tanzania’s two biggest gold mines found.
- Africa has a third of the global stock of metals and minerals and hosts around 700 active large-scale mining sites, with more in the pipeline as the world’s appetite for these resources grows.
- Of the 186 people of working age who died in five wards around the two mines in a year, about half were miners, reflecting the higher risks miners faced, especially men.
- The study authors say that interventions should be designed to prevent road injuries in the wider community, not just at the mine sites, and the definition of safety in mining areas needs to be broader.

Biosurveillance of markets and legal wildlife trade needed to curb pandemic risk: Experts
- Almost 90% of the 180 recognized RNA viruses that can harm humans are zoonotic in origin. But disease biosurveillance of the world’s wildlife markets and legal trade is largely absent, putting humanity at significant risk.
- The world needs a decentralized disease biosurveillance system, experts say, that would allow public health professionals and wildlife scientists in remote areas to test for pathogens year-round, at source, with modern mobile technologies in order to help facilitate a rapid response to emerging zoonotic disease outbreaks.
- Though conservation advocates have long argued for an end to the illegal wildlife trade (which does pose zoonotic disease risk), but the legal trade poses a much greater threat to human health, say experts.
- Governments around the world are calling for the World Health Organization to create a pandemic treaty. Wildlife groups are pushing for such an agreement to include greater at-source protections to prevent zoonotic spillover.

For some Indigenous, COVID presents possibility of cultural extinction, says Myrna Cunningham
- COVID-19 has devastated communities around the world, but for some Indigenous groups, the pandemic posed an existential threat.
- Few people are better placed to speak to the impact COVID is having on Indigenous communities than Myrna Cunningham, a Miskitu physician from the Wangki river region of Nicaragua who has spent 50 years advocating for the rights of women and Indigenous peoples at local, regional, national, and international levels.
- Cunningham’s many achievements and accolades include: First Miskito doctor in Nicaragua; first woman governor of the Waspam autonomous region; Chairperson of the PAWANKA Fund; President of the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC); Advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly during the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples; member of the Board of Directors of the Global Fund for Women; Deputy of the Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua’s National Assembly; president of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development; and the first Honoris Causa Doctorate granted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México to an indigenous woman, among others.
- Cunningham spoke about a range of issues in a recent interview with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Extreme heat exposure in cities tripled in less than 35 years, study finds
- Exposure to dangerously high temperatures in cities nearly tripled between 1983 and 2016, according to a study that considered both warming and population growth.
- Cities are hotter than their surrounding areas because they are densely populated and tend to generate and trap more heat.
- The decade starting 2011 was the warmest in recorded history, and the proportion of the global population exposed to extreme heat is expected to multiply in the coming decades.
- Excessive warming of urbanized areas and the relentless influx of people points to an urgent need for policies that protect city residents, especially in developing countries.

Rio Tinto-owned mine is polluting Malagasy water with uranium and lead, NGOs say
- Some sites near a Rio Tinto-owned mine in Madagascar have recorded uranium and lead levels 52 and 40 times in excess of WHO safe drinking water standards, a recent analysis found.
- Around 15,000 people in Madagascar’s Anosy region depend on these water sources, including for drinking, a coalition of NGOs in the U.K. and Madagascar, pointed out, calling on the company to provide safe drinking water to the communities.
- Mine operator QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), which is 80% owned by Rio Tinto, extracts ilmenite at the mine, a process that generates wastewater rich in minerals like uranium and lead, according to a report commissioned by the Andrew Lees Trust UK.
- QMM in its response to the NGOs indicated that the high concentrations were naturally occurring and denied that it was polluting the water.

In Brazil’s Acre, smoke from fires threatens health, could worsen COVID-19
- Fires are gaining momentum in Acre, a state in southwesten Brazil 80% covered in old-growth Amazon rainforest, where a historic drought and high levels of deforestation have experts worried that this will be a bad year for fires
- Wildfires generate small particulate matter which, when inhaled, can travel into the lungs, bloodstream, and vital organs, causing serious damage, akin to cigarette smoke.
- Data from Acre’s air-quality monitoring network, the largest in the Amazon, show that during the peak burning seasons in 2019 and 2020, the rates of particulate matter hovered well above the level recognized by the World Health Organization as clean and safe for breathing
- Wildfire smoke has been linked to higher COVID-19 mortality rates, threatening to compound what is already one of the worst burdens of coronavirus infections and deaths in the world. At particular risk are Indigenous populations, who suffer mortality rates 1.5 times the average in Brazil.

Black Death aside, we know surprisingly little about rodents and disease
- Rodents make up 40% of all mammal species on the planet, and an estimated 10.7% of them are known hosts of zoonotic diseases, such as cat scratch disease, bartonella, hantavirus, Lyme disease, leishmaniasis, leptospirosis, and the plague.
- A recent letter in the journal Conservation Biology calls for more attention and funding to be directed toward studying small rodents, “the wildlife species most likely to be abundant, come into contact with humans, and be potential reservoirs in future zoonotic outbreaks.”
- Controlling and mitigating the risk of zoonotic diseases through rodent control is another area that lacks research, with the current approach of killing and poisoning rodents in urban areas actually posing the risk of causing more disease.
- Experts call for evidence-based, whole-system approaches to control rodents and champion the One Health approach to address zoonotic disease, acknowledging that human, environmental, and animal health are all interconnected.

Address risky human activities now or face new pandemics, scientists warn
- The new, highly-contagious Delta variant — spread with the ease of chickenpox — is causing COVID-19 cases to skyrocket across the globe as health officials respond with alarm. “The war has changed,” said a recent internal U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) document.
- Globally, numerous infectious diseases are being transmitted between wildlife, livestock and humans at escalating rates, including outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, dengue, HIV and others, as the threat of new emergent zoonotic diseases grows ever greater. The cost is huge in lives lost and ruined economies.
- The driver: human activities, particularly intrusion into wild landscapes and eating and trading wild animals. Bringing people, domestic and wild animals into unnatural proximity exposes all to pathogens for which they lack immunity. International travel and a booming global wildlife trade quickly spread viruses.
- Experts say that a “One Health” approach is urgently needed to prevent future pandemics — simultaneously addressing human, animal and ecosystem health, protecting humanity and nature, and incorporating disease risk into decision-making.

Ethnic communities in Myanmar opposing a coal plant see their fight get harder
- In Myanmar’s ethnic areas, Indigenous people have faced the loss of their lands, community forests, and deteriorating health conditions.
- In Tigyit in Shan state, Indigenous communities have never seen any compensation for land confiscated on the order of the ruling generals two decades ago to build a coal-fired power plant and nearby coal mine.
- Reforestation plans, although welcomed by the Indigenous people, have not proved to be successful, as the mine continues to expand.
- In the face of the political crisis unleashed through the military power grab of February 2021, civil society organizations have become fearful of arrests over their environmental activism.

Eight of the 10 nations most at risk from climate and toxic pollution in Africa: study
- Of 176 nations considered, the top 10 found to be most vulnerable to both climate change impacts and environmental pollution are in Africa and South Asia, with the Democratic Republic of Congo being the worst off, according to a new study.
- Toxic pollution in the environment, be it dirty air, contaminated water or unhealthy soils, and climatic shifts resulting in warmer temperatures, extreme weather or land degradation, can all endanger human health.
- The study shows that tackling both kinds of risk together might be a good strategy for some countries like Singapore, Rwanda, China and India.
- It also highlighted the unequal toll of environmental destruction among nations: the 60 most vulnerable countries are home to two-thirds of the planet’s population.

For Malaysia’s Indigenous Penan, vaccine doubt is part of historic govt distrust
- Decades of marginalization and dislocation have made many of Malaysia’s indigenous Penan people mistrustful of both state and federal officials.
- This mistrust, along with anti-vaccination propaganda and structural issues like lack of identity cards, have led to vaccine hesitancy in Penan communities on the island of Borneo.
- Penan leaders say many in their communities are more concerned with long-term issues, like forest loss and lack of identity cards, than they are with COVID-19.

Connecting kids and ourselves to nature
- On today's episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we discuss the latest research showing how important it is to connect kids to nature and educate them about the environment.
- We're joined by author and journalist Richard Louv, who created the 'nature deficit disorder' concept in 2005 to facilitate discussion of the impacts our disconnectedness from nature has on human health and wellbeing. His latest book is Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives — and Save Theirs.
- We're also joined by Megan Strauss, an editor with Mongabay Kids, who tells us about how the site delivers the news and inspiration from nature's frontline for young readers and discusses the importance of environmental education.

Brazil continues to lose an entire generation of Indigenous leaders to COVID-19
- With scant support from the federal government, Indigenous Brazilians are taking matters in their own hands when it comes to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- For many of these communities, however, decimated by centuries of massacre and disease, the avoidable deaths of the few remaining elders mean an incalculable loss of culture and cultural memory.
- Aruká Juma, the last elder of his Juma people, died from COVID-19 in February after being treated with a cocktail of drugs promoted by the president but not proven to be effective against the illness.
- Decades of inadequate health care for Indigenous communities have also left them with comorbidities that make them particularly susceptible to death from COVID-19.

Amazon dams: No clean water, fish dying, then the pandemic came
- Villagers living near the Teles Pires and São Manoel dams in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state — including the Apiaká, Kayabí and Munduruku peoples — attest to poor water quality, lack of potable water, increased malaria and rashes since the dams were built on their river. They also say there has been little response from the dam companies.
- Indigenous peoples say the Brazilian hydroelectric projects have altered river ecology along with thousands of years of cultural practice, especially their fishing livelihood. Migratory fish and other game fish have been greatly diminished, so residents must now resort to fishing at night.
- Once the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the region, lack of clean water for bathing became even more urgent, while disappearing fish in daily diets made it harder to get food or isolate in riverside villages. Only under judicial order did dam companies recently improve water supply infrastructure.
- Experts trace these adverse impacts back to the dams’ planning stages: with the construction companies skipping legally mandated steps, not consulting Indigenous peoples as required, and failing to calculate cumulative impacts of multiple dam projects. Villagers are now monitoring impacts — and some are studying the law.

Cleaning up Cambodia’s kitchens could curb deforestation, climate change
- NGOs and companies across Cambodia are taking action in response to the mass use of charcoal and forest biomass in household and restaurant kitchens countrywide. The shift away from these polluting fuel sources to cleaner energy alternatives is being sparked by health and environmental concerns.
- Education is a key strategy for implementing the shift away from charcoal and wood, as their use is ingrained in the culture, with many Cambodians saying food doesn’t taste as good when cooked with other fuels.
- One innovative solution is turning the country’s coconut husks into “green charcoal,” which is already earning the nation recognition for being a global leader within the sustainable charcoal sector.
- Cambodia’s farmers are also moving away from using forest biomass for energy, and are instead utilizing biodigesters to turn household and farm waste into biogas for cooking and to make organic fertilizer.

Rush to turn ‘black diamonds’ into cash eats up Uganda’s forests, fruits
- As recently as 2018, only a little over 42% of Ugandans had access to electricity — many were too poor to afford it. As of 2016-17, 90% of all households burned wood fuel for cooking, with just 15.5% using charcoal in rural areas, but 66.4% of urban households using it.
- Those using charcoal account for roughly 23% of the country’s total population, which means that some 10.7 million citizens in a nation of 46.8 million rely on charcoal to cook their meals, based on recent U.N. data.
- Charcoal producers are working hard to meet this exploding demand, degrading and depleting the nation’s forest reserves, and now buying up fruit trees on private lands to make into briquettes. Many charcoal producers lack the licenses required by the government, so are cutting trees and making charcoal illegally.
- The surging charcoal industry is destroying Uganda’s forests and biodiversity, while briquette burning is also causing respiratory and other health problems, and its carbon emissions are adding significantly to global climate change.

Talks break down over crumbling Yemeni tanker threatening massive oil spill
- The FSO Safer, an oil supertanker anchored for decades off Yemen, risks a catastrophic humanitarian and environmental disaster in the Red Sea.
- The civil war in Yemen has suspended essential maintenance on the increasingly fragile vessel with more than 1 million barrels of oil in its hold and hindered disaster preparedness.
- On June 1, talks appeared to break down between the U.N. and the Houthi administration, which controls the vessel. The two sides had spent months negotiating access for a U.N. team to investigate and stabilize the vessel.
- A spill would jeopardize corals with the best-known chance of surviving predicted global climate change.

We can prevent the next pandemic (commentary)
- Research has shown that agriculture, urbanization, and other human activities that degrade forests and other ecosystems can trigger viruses to jump from other species into humans, a process known as “spillover.”
- In this commentary, Prevent Pandemics at the Source co-founders Sonila Cook and Nigel Sizer argue that “it’s only when we prevent new diseases before they start — at the source, where humans and animals come into close contact – that we will become less vulnerable to pathogens.”
- Cook and Sizer say that prevention is much less costly than fighting pandemics once they start. “We can protect forests, clean up and reduce wildlife trade, improve farming practices and expand surveillance to detect spillovers as they are occurring for about $10 billion per year,” they write. “Compared with the massive human and economic cost of another pandemic, this price tag is tiny.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

South Korea faces a public reckoning for financing coal plants in Indonesia
- The coastal town of Suralaya in Indonesia’s West Java province has eight coal-fired power generating units in its vicinity, which residents blame for respiratory ailments and declining fish catches.
- South Korean public financial institutions are financing the expansion of the Suralaya facility through the construction of two new units that will be built by South Korean firm Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and operated by a power company partly owned by a South Korean public utility.
- Support for the project is ongoing, despite South Korea’s own domestic transition away from coal power and attempts by some lawmakers to bar public funds from being directed to the coal industry.
- Activists view the South Korean government’s support for the project as an attempt to prop up the ailing Doosan, and to boost its ties with countries in Southeast and South Asia amid tensions with China.

As climate change brings more floods, mosquito numbers could swell: Study
- Flooding boosts Aedes aegypti mosquito populations, a new study from Kenya has found.
- With a changing climate and extreme weather like floods expected to become more frequent and intense, this could mean more outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease such as dengue in the coming years.
- Dengue already afflicts millions of people every year, almost all of them in tropical countries, where the A. aegypti mosquito thrives.
- Though the new paper did not find a greater abundance of mosquitos leading to greater infection risk, the link between larger mosquito populations and disease outbreaks warrants further investigation, the authors said.

Never mind the mercury: Indonesia says coal ash isn’t hazardous
- The Indonesian government has taken fly ash and bottom ash from coal burning out of its list of hazardous waste.
- The distinction is crucial as the handling of “hazardous” waste is subject to different and far more stringent regulations than non-hazardous waste.
- The delisting comes in response to lobbying efforts by industry groups, which want to be allowed to sell coal ash to the construction industry.
- Indonesia is one of the world’s top coal producers, and the fossil fuel accounts for the majority of the country’s power generation.

Amid pollution and COVID-19, a quilombolas’ Amazon sanctuary turns hostile
- COVID-19 has ravaged the Afro-descendant quilombo communities throughout the Brazilian Amazon, amplifying the impacts of pollution, encroachment and lack of health care that they have long struggled with.
- In the Jambuaçu Territory, home to some 700 quilombolas, pollution of waterways from oil palm plantations may leave the communities lacking the clean water that’s essential to keeping infection at bay.
- Official data on COVID-19 infections and deaths among quilombolas are scant, as are most other statistics on this historically marginalized population group; one estimate suggests the mortality rate may be four times higher than the national average.
- The quilombolas’ fight for adequate health care and prioritization in Brazil’s vaccination drive is part of a larger struggle for official recognition of their land rights, advocates say.

Ending tropical deforestation is vital to public health, scientists say
- As tropical forests are destroyed and fragmented, mostly by agriculture, wildlife is forced into closer, more frequent, and novel contact with humans.
- This increased contact, especially with animals whose health and behavior have been altered by human pressures, means a greater risk of zoonotic diseases spilling over from animals to humans.
- The majority of global forest loss is caused by just four commodities — beef, soy, palm oil, and wood products — so the demand and incentives for these products needs to be addressed.
- Slowing deforestation will require major reforms of global agricultural and financial systems, as well as policies and commitments directly aimed at conserving ecosystems.

In ‘dire’ plea, Brazil’s Amazonas state appeals for global COVID assistance
- In a letter describing pandemic conditions as “dire,” the government of Brazil’s Amazonas state is pleading for urgent medical assistance from the international community. The authenticated letter apparently bypassed the Bolsonaro administration which critics say has been ineffectual in dealing with COVID-19.
- Manaus, the Amazonas state capital, was overwhelmed by the coronavirus last April, but this second wave, according to state authorities is far worse, impacting not only the city, but increasingly, the state’s rainforest interior. The soaring number of cases and deaths statewide is yet to be fully tallied.
- According to authorities, medical facilities in Manaus and Amazonas are presently being utterly overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, with hospitals and clinics lacking beds, oxygen and other vital resources, resulting in deaths. The disease’s rapid spread may be the result of the P.I. viral lineage variant newly detected in Brazil.
- “The situation is dire, and our fear is that the same situation we are seeing in the capital Manaus will reach the inland of Amazonas, the traditional and indigenous populations that are in situation of greater vulnerability,” said the letter sent to international NGOs. The international response isn’t yet known.

Brazil’s collapsing health service, new COVID variant, raise Indigenous risk
- The city of Manaus made world headlines last April when a first wave of the coronavirus swept through the city. Now that city, and the entire state of Amazonas, is being swept by a second wave of the pandemic, which is shaping up to be far worse than the first.
- Indigenous people are especially vulnerable, with their mortality rate from COVID-19 at least 16% higher than the Brazilian average. Now, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, located 852 kilometers (529 miles) from Manaus, near the Colombia-Venezuela frontier, is being heavily impacted.
- São Gabriel has a large Indigenous population, and while it escaped the worst of the first wave of the pandemic, its meagre health system resources are now being overwhelmed. The state of Amazonas lacks sufficient hospital beds, its ICUs are overrun, and medical facilities lack sufficient oxygen.
- Of extreme concern is a new Brazilian coronavirus variant called P.1, which recently appeared in Amazonas state. While more research is needed, one possibility is that P.I. is bypassing the human immune response triggered by the initial coronavirus lineage that ravaged Manaus last year. This means people could be reinfected.

Brazilians impacted by mining assert: ‘Genocide legalized by the state’
- Residents of traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon municipality of Barcarena, near the mouth of the Amazon River, say that their subsistence and commercial livelihoods, and their health, have been destroyed by an invasion of mining companies which began in the mid-1980’s.
- Among the gigantic companies moving into the region were Brazil’s Vale, Norwegian-Japanese Albrás, Norway’s Norsk Hydro, and France’s Imerys Rio Capim Caulim. Community complaints say that the firms allegedly stole community land and polluted land, water and air.
- Meanwhile, according to residents, the government rewarded the companies with subsidies, looked the other way when community lands were appropriated and pollution occurred, and paid for mining firm infrastructure, including the Tucurui mega-dam; port of Vila do Conde, and a network of new roads.
- Also, a string of mining disasters punctuated the years, with the worst by Norsk Hydro in 2018 at the Hydro Alunorte facility. Though local waters, blood and hair have proven to be contaminated with mining-related toxins, the companies defend themselves by saying no particular firm can be pinpointed with the harm.

Dogs in Brazil are being trained to sniff out COVID-19 in humans
A Brazilian study turns dogs into advanced students in training to identify people infected with the coronavirus
Coronavirus risk grows as animals move through wildlife trade
- Animals consumed by people in Vietnam are increasingly likely to carry coronavirus as they move from the wild to markets to restaurants, a new study shows.
- The animals with the highest rates of infection are most likely to come into contact with humans.
- When animals are confined in crowded and stressful conditions, it makes it even easier for the virus to spread.

Coal stockpiles threaten public health, ancient temple, in Indonesian village
- For years, the residents of Muara Jambi village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have had to breathe air polluted with coal dust from nearby storage facilities.
- The residents have complained of acute respiratory infections, and some have had coughs for months and have not yet recovered.
- The coal dust also threatens the Muaro Jambi temple complex, a Hindu-Buddhist compound constructed from the 7th-14th centuries and vulnerable to premature weathering because of the dust.
- To reduce the impact of coal dust, coal piles should not exceed 7 meters (23 feet) in height, but some piles in the area exceed 10 meters (33 feet). The local government says it is monitoring the situation.

One Health: A necessary blend of biodiversity and human health goals (commentary)
- This week, the German Federal Foreign Office & WCS will co-host “One Planet, One Health, One Future: Moving forward in a post-COVID19 world.”
- The One Health approach acknowledges the interconnectedness of human, animal, and ecosystem health.
- COVID-19 provides an unfortunate but essential opportunity to demonstrate the fundamental importance of the One Health approach, and make connections with important biodiversity targets.
- This article is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

For European chemical giants, Brazil is an open market for toxic pesticides banned at home
- In 2018, Brazil used more than 60,000 tonnes of highly hazardous pesticides banned in the European Union.
- Three Europe-based multibillion-dollar companies control 54% of the world market.
- They include German agrochemical giants BASF and Bayer, as well as Swiss company Syngenta, one of whose pesticides still being sold in Brazil has been banned in its home country for more than 30 years.

Around the world, a fire crisis flares up, fueled by human actions
- An increase in fire alerts this year compared to last year could have dire consequences for health, biodiversity and the economy, according to a newly released report by WWF and Boston Consulting Group.
- Though some wildfires are triggered naturally, humans are responsible for an estimated 75% of all wildfires.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, this is attributed to negligence, while in the tropics, fires are often set intentionally to clear land for agriculture.
- The report suggests several urgent actions to address fires, including investing in fire prevention, halting deforestation, raising national goals for emission reductions, bringing fire back to fire-dependent landscapes, clarifying governance and coordinating policies, bringing the private sector on board, and relying on science.

Survival of Indigenous communities at risk as Amazon fire season advances
- The number of major Amazon fires this year has more than doubled since August 13, with most of those fires being illegal. 674 major fires were detected between May 28 and September 2, with a sharp increase inside Indigenous territories in the last two weeks, raising concerns among Indigenous leaders.
- Indigenous groups are being left to fight the fires on their own, without support from government institutions. IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental agency has been largely stripped of funds and lacks adequate equipment to fight the blazes, while the Army, sent to the Amazon in May, is reportedly failing to suppress most fires.
- Combined with COVID-19, smoke from fires poses a serious threat to Indigenous health. Native peoples have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and have weaker immune systems for respiratory disease. A recent study shows that Indigenous hospitalizations for respiratory disease coincide with deforestation rates year-by-year.
- Isolated Indigenous groups are especially under threat as fires put their food sources at risk. Experts say that isolated and uncontacted groups, to fend off hunger, are sighted more often roaming during Amazon fires, potentially risking exposure to Western diseases.

Communities, conservation, and development in the age of COVID: Time for rethinking approaches (commentary)
- In this commentary, Michael Brown of Satya Development International, Beth Allgood of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and a number of co-authors (see the full list at bottom) argue that the Covid-19 pandemic affords an opportunity for conservation to evolve away from underperforming business-as-usual approaches.
- Such a shift, they write, should “focus on careful situational analysis and addressing underlying causes, rather than proposing reactionary solutions that are oversimplified, overgeneralized, and infeasible.”
- For example, they argue that an overzealous focus on crime can exacerbate existing social inequities and undermine conservation outcomes. “The ongoing reckoning in the United States on systemic racism is especially pertinent for conservation given its uncomfortable history embedded in systems of colonialism and oppression,” they write. “In parallel with the environmental justice and intersectional environmental movement, conservation must also recognize that achieving sustainability will require centering frontline communities as equal and meaningful leaders in developing and implementing conservation actions.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Lockdown should have cleared up Jakarta’s air. Coal plants kept it dirty
- Cities around the world have seen an improvement in air quality as a result of lockdowns and restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Jakarta has been a notable exception.
- A new study shows that persistently high levels of PM2.5 air pollutant in the Indonesian capital come from coal-fired power plants within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the city.
- Indonesia is set to build more coal-fired power plants in the vicinity of Jakarta in the coming years while maintaining emissions standards that are much laxer than regional or global standards.
- Air pollution has a significant impact on public health and the economy, with studies linking it to higher rates of COVID-19 infection.

Favoring ayahuasca over hospitals, Indigenous Kokama see COVID-19 deaths drop in the Amazon
- The Kokama were the first Indigenous group in Brazil to be infected with COVID-19, and to date there have been more than a thousand confirmed cases and 60 deaths within the community.
- Wary of Western medicine and of the prejudice and neglect they say they suffer at hospitals, the community decided to turn to traditional healing practices, administered by shamans. Their weapon in the fight against the coronavirus is the ayahuasca ritual, considered by the Kokama their most powerful cure.
- In the past six weeks, the community has recorded just four deaths from COVID-19, compared to 56 during the previous two months, when they were still seeking hospital treatment.
- The reduction in the death rate is the result they say they expected when they shunned regional hospitals, many of which have struggled to treat patients in the midst of the pandemic and where indigenous peoples have fared particularly poorly, in favor of their traditional medicines combined with hygiene practices and social distancing.

Mining industry releases first standard to improve safety of waste storage
- On Aug. 5, spurred by a deadly Brazilian dam disaster in early 2019, a partnership between the U.N. and industry leaders released new guidance for companies to manage their mining waste safely.
- The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management “strives to achieve … zero harm to people and the environment with zero tolerance for human fatality,” according to its preamble.
- However, some environmental and human rights groups say the measures in the standard don’t go far enough.

Deaths of Yanomami babies from COVID-19 bring anguish to mothers
- Three indigenous babies from the Yanomami Indigenous group who died with suspected COVID-19 infection were buried in a cemetery in the city of Boa Vista, in Brazil’s Roraima state, far from their villages.
- Their mothers don’t speak Portuguese and likely had no understanding of what would happen to their children’s bodies.
- It is a Yanomami tradition to cremate their dead, and the ritual can take more than a year to complete.
- Indigenous people are now reluctant to seek medical treatment for fear that their bodies will not be returned to the community if they die. A local NGO says the handling of the case shows continued disrespect for Indigenous culture.

Life as an Amazon activist: ‘I don’t want to be the next Dorothy Stang’
- Socio-environmental activists are an endangered species in the Brazilian Amazon, with regularly occurring assassination-style killings like those of activists Chico Mendes in 1988 and Sister Dorothy Stang in 2005 creating an ongoing climate of fear.
- According to human rights watchdog Global Witness, Brazil in 2017 was the world’s most dangerous country for environmental acivists: 57 out of 201 deaths worldwide occurred in Brazil. Intimidation and murder of activists continues into the present.
- Activist Juma Xipaya saw the village she grew up in fundamentally changed by the building of the Belo Monte mega-dam. When she later exposed corruption and incompetence she faced death threats and now lives perpetually on guard.
- In recent years, Xipaya has been repeatedly pursued by a white pickup driven by two armed thugs, but police fail to respond to her pleas for help. The men eventually made an attempt on her life — a close call that almost killed her and her children.

Traditional villages dread living in shadow of Amazon tailings dams
- Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN), the world’s fourth largest bauxite producer, encroached on riverine communities beside the Trombetas River in the Brazilian Amazon in the 1970s. Over the years, MRN became notorious for its contamination of local waters with bauxite mining waste, residents say.
- To resolve that problem, the company built 26 tailings dams. The largest of these waste-holding impoundments covers 110 hectares (270 acres). The entire system for managing mining waste encompasses 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) and is located within a national protected area.
- Brazil has suffered two catastrophic mining tailings dam collapses since 2015, leaving Trombetas riverine community residents concerned about the 26 MRN dams.
- Brazil’s National Agency of Mining has rated one of MRN’s dams as “high risk.” Fourteen more, should they fail, possess “social, environmental, economic and mortality risk.” MRN says its dams are safe. Locals are also worried over possible water contamination and loss of traditional livelihoods

Court forces Ecuador government to protect Indigenous Waorani during COVID-19
- A provincial court ruled that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Inclusion must better communicate and coordinate with Waorani leaders to get more COVID-19 tests, food and other necessities to communities.
- It also ordered the Ministry of Environment and Water to send a report detailing how it is monitoring illegal mining, logging and drug trafficking activities in the region, and to provide information on COVID-19 protocols for oil companies operating there.
- The lawyer for the Waorani called these industries “vectors of contagion” in the Amazon, as they never stopped during quarantine.

Brazil’s indigenous hit especially hard by COVID-19: why so vulnerable?
- At least 78 indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon are infected by COVID-19, with 3,662 individuals testing positive and 249 dead among 45 of those peoples. Detailed data is lacking for the other 33 peoples. Experts say poverty, poor resistance to Western diseases, and lack of medical facilities may explain high vulnerability.
- The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), which gathered and tallied this data, expects cases and deaths are underreported. Many leaders and elders continue dying among indigenous people, including elders of the Munduruku, Kayapó, Arara, Macuxi, and Tuyuka peoples.
- COVID-19 has now penetrated the Xingu river basin, a vast area south of the Amazon River in Pará and Mato Grosso states. The Arara people there were devastated by disease and violence in the 1980s. Now, of 121 remaining Arara, almost half have tested positive for the coronavirus.
- Of the 1,818 Xicrin in southwest Pará state, 270 (15%) have tested positive, with seven deaths. Analysts speculate this high infection and death rate (higher than Brazil’s general populace, and even many other indigenous groups), may be due to poor underlying health due to water allegedly polluted by a Vale nickel mine.

COVID-19 and rainforest fires set up potential public health crisis
- Peaking fires in the world’s rainforests combined with the global COVID-19 pandemic threaten to create a devastating public health crisis, experts warn.
- The fires typically follow recent deforestation, as farmers and ranchers burn brush and trees to make way for crops and livestock.
- Soot from the fires causes severe respiratory problems and exacerbates existing conditions, health researchers say. The uptick in the need for treatment could overwhelm already-strained hospitals in the Amazon and Southeast Asia.
- Researchers say that solutions exist, involving government enforcement, consumer demand for deforestation-free products, and company commitments to halt the destruction of forests. Now what’s needed is political will.

Amazon poor go hungry as Brazil slashes social safety net, cuts forests: Study
- Living along the rivers of the Amazon rainforest, many imagine, would make for a sustainable diet packed full of freshwater fish. But a recent study finds this is not the case. A combination of interacting factors is now causing many poor families in riverine communities to go hungry.
- Researchers found that Amazon fish catch rates are naturally 73% lower in the highwater season. In the past, this lull was supplemented by hunting. But Brazilian deforestation, increased under former Pres. Michel Temer and now under Pres. Jair Bolsonaro, has replaced biodiverse forests with soy and other kinds of plantations.
- Add to this Bolsonaro’s and Temer’s rapid deconstruction of internationally-lauded social welfare programs, implemented by Presidents Lula and Rousseff and their Workers’ Party, which fed many riverine families when fish catches dropped.
- Figure in climate change too: its deep droughts harm forest and river diversity, while extreme floods keep stream levels high and fish catches low, and for longer. Now, COVID-19 has come to the Amazon, with food shopping trips made from rural riverine settlements to cities now requiring a serious element of risk.

‘Every time an elder dies, a library is burnt’: Amazon COVID-19 toll grows
- COVID-19 kills the elderly, those with underlying health conditions, the poor and vulnerable. It is now doing so in the Brazilian Amazon where the virus killed nine Munduruku indigenous elders in just a few days. Forest people elders are typically leaders and keepers of culture, so their loss is especially destabilizing.
- Officially, 218 indigenous people had died of COVID-19 and 2,642 were infected as of 7 June. But experts say that the numbers are at least three times higher, with poor government recordkeeping and Amazon community remoteness resulting in a severe undercount.
- The Munduruku, Kokama, and Xavante groups are already seeing cases, with the virus now threatening Brazil’s two largest indigenous territories: Yanomami Park and Javari Valley Indigenous Territory. These two reserves are home to most of Brazil’s uncontacted peoples. COVID-19 spread there would be a disaster.
- Indigenous groups are pursuing independent efforts, such as setting up COVID-19 communication websites, to protect their communities. In response to what they call government inaction, indifference and blundering, advocates remind the Brazilian government and the world that “indigenous lives matter.”

MRN bauxite mine leaves legacy of pollution, poverty in Brazilian Amazon
- Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN) arrived in the Trombetas River basin in the 1970s with plans to mine bauxite on a gigantic scale. Today, MRN is the fourth largest producer of bauxite in the world, providing the valuable aluminum ore to nations and manufacturers around the planet.
- On arriving in the Amazon, MRN immediately annexed lands from the traditional riverine community of Boa Vista, reportedly displacing 90 families to build its port company town. Boa Vista is a quilombo, a community of Afro-Brazilians (known as quilombolas), the descendants of runaway slaves.
- While MRN says it provided jobs, education and health services, quilombo residents report a decade of horrendous water pollution from mine waste — never cleaned up — the loss of fisheries and hunting grounds, rampant poverty, a lack of electricity, health services, and proper sanitation.
- The harm done by industrial mining to Boa Vista, and lessons learned, and not learned, over the last 40+ years, are especially relevant today, as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro aggressively pushes forward his agenda to open indigenous reserves and other Amazon conserved lands to industrial mining.

For Amazon indigenous facing COVID-19, distance to ICU beds poses dire threat
- Remote indigenous communities deep in the Brazilian Amazon lack access to the ICU beds and pulmonary ventilators that have become essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new mapping initiative shows.
- More than half of the 3,141 villages analyzed are more than 200 kilometers (120 miles) from an ICU bed, and 10% of these villages are more than 700 km (435 mi) away.
- A case in point: The Yanomami people of Maturacá village would need to travel three hours by plane to a health facility that has a ventilator; in some of the most distant villages, travel by river can take more than a week.
- Even when they reach a health facility, there are fewer than 5,000 ventilators across Brazil’s entire Amazon region, and more than half of municipalities — home to more than 8 million inhabitants, including 203,000 indigenous people — don’t have one at all.

Coronavirus puts Brazil’s quilombos at risk; will assistance come?
- The Boa Vista Quilombo in Oriximiná, Pará state, is like many Brazilian quilombola communities. Quilombolas are Afro-Brazilian runaway slave descendants, and point to centuries of inequality and neglect by the government. Quilombos often lack running water, basic sanitation and health services.
- In the 1970s, Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN) annexed much of Boa Vista’s land and established the world’s fourth largest bauxite mine, along with a company town, Porto Trombetas, built on the former quilombo property; MRN also polluted local fisheries and provided mostly badly paid menial jobs to residents.
- Now, the pandemic is exacerbating fundamental governmental and corporate inequalities, say residents. MRN, for example, asked Boa Vista residents to clean a quarantine facility used by new arrivals. The residents refused. Meanwhile, the mine is fully operational, with planes and ships coming and going regularly.
- MRN says it has implemented strong preventative measures against the virus. But residents point out that the company’s hospital has just six intensive care beds; they fear, in keeping with past inequities, these beds would be reserved for MRN employees, leaving infected quilombolas without care.

Get sick or go hungry? Workers face dilemma at Freeport’s Grasberg mine
- U.S.-based miner Freeport McMoRan is continuing operations at its Grasberg mine in the Indonesian province of Papua, despite 56 of its employees testing positive for COVID-19.
- Workers say that if they opt to leave the site over health concerns, they won’t get paid and risk losing their job.
- The company says it has redoubled health protocols at the mine to a level that its CEO says is “more advanced” than in many communities in the U.S.
- The Papua deputy governor says the province may consider ordering a halt to operations if the trend worsens over the next three weeks.

Jane Goodall: COVID-19 is a product of our unhealthy relationship with animals and the environment (commentary)
- Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a U.N. Messenger of Peace.
- In this commentary Goodall argues that our exploitation of animals and the environment has contributed to pandemics, including the current COVID-19 crisis.
- Goodall says that wildlife trafficking, the production of animal-based medicines, factory farming, and the destruction of critical habitats all can create enabling conditions for viruses to spill over from their animal hosts into humans.
- This post is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

From writing to VR, finding ways to connect to nature during isolation
- Therapists, scientists and creative workers are finding ways to tap into the positive mental health benefits of being in green spaces.
- From mindful bird listening to virtual reality interactions, they’re showing that staying in doesn’t have to mean shutting off.

COVID underscores the urgency of holistic community-based approaches to conservation (commentary)
- The Covid-19 pandemic throws existing environmental crises into even sharper relief, and highlights the critical importance of agile, human-centered approaches to conservation that bolster the resilience of vulnerable populations.
- In this commentary, Alasdair Harris, Executive Director of Blue Ventures, explains how his organization and its partners are mobilizing to respond to the looming public health emergency in these remote, under-served communities.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Madagascar’s president promotes unproven herbal cure for COVID-19
- Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina, unveiled an unproven cure for COVID-19 that is derived from a plant, Artemisia annua.
- His comments at a launch of the herbal remedy on April 20 suggested that the remedy, called COVID-ORGANICS, would act both as a cure and a vaccine.
- No evidence from any clinical trials was shared to back up the claims.
- The World Health Organization did not respond to Mongabay’s questions about COVID-ORGANICS, but the agency has warned against the spread of misinformation and purported miracle cures.

Decade after BP Deepwater Horizon spill, oil drilling is as dangerous as ever
- Ten years ago, the BP Deepwater Horizon exploratory rig exploded, killing 11 people and initiating the largest oil spill in the history of the United States.
- Nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, causing catastrophic damage to the ecosystem and economy of the region.
- A newly published report by the nonprofit Oceana looks back at how this spill happened, the resulting ecological and economic impacts, and if this catastrophe has changed government or oil industry approaches to offshore drilling.
- Poor government oversight and inadequate safety culture paved the way for the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion. Now, a decade later, it appears these conditions, the prerequisites for disaster, have not improved.

How to prevent the next COVID-19? Conservationists weigh in
- As the death toll from COVID-19 crosses 140,000 and cases surpass the 2 million mark there are growing calls for a permanent ban on trade in wild animals for human consumption.
- The available evidence suggests that a wet market in Wuhan, China, where live animals were bought and sold, was the site where the novel coronavirus jumped to human hosts from animals.
- Conservationists, however, are urging for a broader examination of the factors that led to the emergence of COVID-19 and a careful evaluation of measures that could prevent the next zoonotic pandemic.
- One Health, the idea that the well-being of humans is inextricably linked to the health of the planet, is gaining currency and could emerge as the guiding principle for international agencies and national governments in their fight to avert another COVID-19-like crisis.

Celebrating the 50th Earth Day amidst a global pandemic
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we discuss what it means to be celebrating the 50th Earth Day amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
- How have Earth Day celebrations changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? How do we keep attention focused on environmental issues during such a widespread health crisis — a health crisis born of our mistreatment of the environment? How do we push back on attempts to use the crisis as cover for pushing through environmentally damaging projects and policies?
- To help answer these questions, we’re bringing two guests onto the show today. Trammell Crow is a Dallas, Texas-based businessman and the founder of EarthX, which is billed as the largest Earth Day event in the world. We also welcome to the program Ginger Cassady, executive director of the Rainforest Action Network, an environmental advocacy group that targets the companies driving deforestation and the climate crisis.

Tax exemptions on pesticides in Brazil add up to US$ 2.2 billion per year
- Aside from saving from generous discounts or total exemptions on taxes, multinational giants in the pesticides sector also receive millions in public resources to fund research through the BNDES [Brazil’s National Development Bank]
- The amount that the Brazilian government fails to collect because of tax exemptions on pesticides is nearly four times as much as the Ministry of the Environment’s total budget this year (US$ 600 million) and more than double what the nation’s national health system [SUS] spent to treat cancer patients in 2017 (US$ 1 billion).
- Tax exemptions related to pesticides are upheld by laws passed decades ago, which view these products as fundamental for the nation’s development and that, because of this, need stimulus—like what happens with the national cesta básica [basket of basics] food distribution program.
- The scenario that benefits pesticide companies could change, as the Federal Supreme Court [STF] is expected to soon judge a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality comparing pesticides to categories like cigarettes, harmful to health and which generate costs that are paid by the entire population—and for which reason are subject to extra taxes instead of tax breaks.

Ending illegal deforestation is good for our health (commentary)
- The threat of COVID-19 has led humanity to curl up into a little ball, blind to the continued ravaging of what’s left of the planet’s tropical forests—and the resulting surge in contact between people and animals that leads to new viruses, from avian bird flu to zika, when the trees are gone.
- Without forests as a buffer, hunting, mining, and logging exposes people to animals. These interactions lead to the spread of animal diseases to humans, known as “zoonotic diseases.” We’ve seen this with Zika, Avian Bird Flu, Ebola, and SARS, as well as Nipah, which leads to respiratory problems similar to those from COVID-19, and Kyasanur Forest Disease, spread by ticks.
- Ending illegal deforestation offers a solution for safeguarding forests for the sake of human health. Countries that both supply and import products stemming from unlawful forest loss—whether it’s beef, soy, palm oil, or wood products—must act to end this trade. Producers, traders, and sellers of illicit products also have a role to play.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Chinese government reportedly recommending bear bile injections to treat coronavirus
- The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reported today that a list of recommended treatments for the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 published by the Chinese government earlier this month includes injections of a traditional medicine called “Tan Re Qing,” which contains bear bile.
- Last month, China adopted a comprehensive ban on trade and consumption of wildlife in response to the growing COVID-19 outbreak, which scientists believe originated in a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan where wild animals and bushmeat are sold. But the ban does not prohibit the use of wildlife products in traditional Chinese medicine or as ornamental items.
- EIA wildlife campaigner and China specialist Aron White noted the irony in the country recommending a treatment that relies on trade in wildlife in response to a global disease pandemic born from the wildlife trade.

Amazon indigenous put at risk by Brazil’s feeble Covid-19 response: Critics
- Brazil’s indigenous movement is vigorously reorganizing its tactics in response to what it sees as the government’s ineffective response to the coronavirus. Indigenous leaders have also been forced to cancel the April Free Land Encampment in Brasília, at which they annually publicize their grievances to a large international audience.
- The cancelation was carried out to prevent activists from contracting Covid-19 in the city and carrying it back to Brazil’s remote Amazon indigenous communities. Indigenous peoples in Brazil historically have little resistance to new infectious diseases, and particularly respiratory diseases.
- Especially now at risk are isolated peoples in the western Amazon. Such groups are extremely susceptible to disease, but analysts fear that Bolsonaro will end the government’s “no contact” rule, practiced successfully for the past thirty years. If contacted, isolated groups could easily be infected and decimated by Covid-19.
- The indigenous movement is swiftly adopting new communication strategies, utilizing technology and social media to press forward with online meetings and awareness campaigns. There are grave disease concerns in Amazonas and Mato Grosso do Sul states, which have the biggest indigenous populations in Brazil.

Response to one pandemic, COVID-19, has helped ease another: Air pollution
- Air pollution has significantly decreased over China amid the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, signaling unanticipated implications for human health.
- It is estimated that air pollution caused an extra 8.8 million premature deaths globally in 2015 alone, representing an average of a three-year shortening of life expectancy across the human population, and shortening lives on a scale greater than malaria, war and violence, HIV/AIDS, and smoking.
- The two-month drop in pollution may have saved the lives of 4,000 children under the age of 5 and 73,000 adults over the age of 70 in China, according to environmental resource economist Marshall Burke — significantly more than the global death toll from the COVID-19 virus at the time of calculation.
- Burke says we should not think of this as a “silver lining” or a “benefit” of the pandemic, given that COVID-19’s impact on public health and the broader disruption it is causing — lost incomes, inability to receive care for non-COVID-19 illnesses and injuries, etc. — could have far-reaching implications.

Peruvian women unite against toxic metals pollution (commentary)
- In Peru, communities in the Andes and the Amazon have come together to defend the health of people and families affected by pollution from toxic metals. To achieve this, they have formed the National Platform of People Affected by Toxic Metals, which was recently awarded Peru’s National Human Rights Prize.
- Indigenous, rural and urban women are especially affected by this daily struggle and are now determined to end the contamination affecting their bodies, their rivers, and their land. They demand that the state determine responsibility and provide immediate solutions.
- The National Platform of People Affected by Toxic Metals represents affected people from 12 regions of Peru and demands effective implementation of a national policy and plan to address human and environmental health problems caused by toxic metals. The Platform also urgently demands the creation of a high-level multisector commission that prioritizes this serious problem.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Complaint alleges oil company left Peru communities’ environment in ruins
- Indigenous communities and human rights NGOs contend that Pluspetrol violated a set of business standards issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
- The complaint, delivered March 11 in the Netherlands, says the company has avoided paying taxes and has failed to address damage to the environment in the Peruvian Amazon caused by its oil-drilling activities through 2015.
- The groups allege that the release of toxic heavy metals into the water supply have caused numerous health problems for community members.

Coronavirus outbreak hits Vietnam’s timber sector
- Vietnam exported nearly $1 billion worth of timber products to China in 2019, but the trade faces a steep decline as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
- There were 93 Chinese-owned companies operating in Vietnam’s timber product export sector in 2019.
- Only 16 confirmed COVID-19 infections have been reported in Vietnam, but the economic fallout of the outbreak will be immense.

Indonesia probes suspected nuclear waste dumping at housing estate
- Indonesian authorities have launched an investigation into radioactive contamination at a housing estate near a nuclear research reactor outside Jakarta.
- Officials first discovered elevated radiation levels at the site in late January during a routine check, and suspect the caesium-137 was dumped there from the nearby reactor.
- Authorities say a cleanup of soil and vegetation from the site has brought radiation levels down; they are also carrying out medical exams of residents living in the area.
- Environmental activists have renewed their calls for the Indonesian government to refrain from developing nuclear power in the country, given the inability of regulators to police even a research facility.

When disinformation is a bigger threat than the coronavirus (commentary)
- With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the world is experiencing a parallel outbreak of an “infodemic,” with misinformation adding to global panic and fueling conspiracy theories.
- Some conservationists have speculatively linked environmental concerns to the new virus, raising a serious risk of hurting the environmental cause by straying into speculation without evidence.
- Countering the disinformation requires concerted efforts by governments, academia, civil society and all others keen to sustain evidence-based public discourse and action.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Illegal pangolin trade may have played a part in coronavirus outbreak
- Findings reported in the Chinese media suggest that the novel coronavirus that has led to more than 1,000 deaths could have been transmitted to humans from bats via pangolins.
- These shy nocturnal animals, found in Asia and Africa, are considered the most trafficked mammals in the world.
- Despite a global trade ban, China remains a major destination for pangolins, which are killed for their meat and because their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
- If pangolins did act as an intermediary host, a link that researchers insist hasn’t been firmly established, the illegal trade in pangolins could have heightened the risk of the outbreak and would make it trickier for researchers and officials to nail down how it started.

As pesticide approvals soar, Brazil’s tapirs, bees, other wildlife suffer
- Brazil has been recognized as the world’s largest pesticide consumer since 2008, which has resulted in widespread application and in significant environmental contamination. Since then there has been an explosion of new pesticide registrations, first under President Michel Temer, now under Jair Bolsonaro.
- While research is scant, evidence points toward pesticide harm to Brazil’s wildlife, including the death of 500 million bees in four Brazilian states between December 2018 and February 2019. Another report found that 40 percent of samples collected from 116 tapirs were contaminated with insecticides, herbicides and heavy metals.
- High concentrations of the insecticide carbamate aldicarb were detected in 10 of 26 stomach content samples. Because the animals much prefer native vegetation to crops, this suggests that aerial spraying — with residue carried by wind — may be resulting in the spread of the pesticide from croplands into unsprayed natural areas.
- The Bolsonaro administration and bancada ruralista agribusiness lobby in Congress are moving rapidly to deregulate pesticides, especially pushing for passage of amendment 6299/2002, dubbed “The Poison Bill” by critics. It would transfer pesticide regulation to the Agriculture Ministry, a move that analysts decry as a serious conflict of interest.

UK supermarkets criticized over pesticide use, lack of transparency
- New research suggests UK supermarkets are not doing enough to protect human health and the environment from the most hazardous pesticides in their supply chain.
- An analysis of the top 10 retailers in the UK by the Pesticide Action Network UK criticized many supermarket chains for failing to be transparent about their use of pesticides.
- Pesticides found in supermarkets’ supply chains include carcinogens, reproductive toxins and endocrine disruptors that interfere with hormones.

Healthy ecosystems, healthy humans: ‘One Health’ broadens its scope
- At an Oct. 25 conference in Berlin, conservation and public health leaders issued 10 principles aimed at encouraging cross-disciplinary research and efforts to address both human health and environmental problems.
- The principles, part of the One Health movement, grew out of the Manhattan Principles introduced in 2004.
- The declaration acknowledges that the world’s poor often suffer the most as a result of environmental degradation.
- However, the conference organizers point out that climate change has global reach and must be addressed from both the environmental and health perspectives.

Malaria surges in deforested parts of the Amazon, study finds
- A recent study found that deforestation significantly increases the transmission of malaria, about three times more than previously thought.
- The analysis showed that a 10 percent increase in deforestation caused a 3.3 percent rise in malaria cases.
- The study’s authors analyzed more than a decade of data showing the occurrences of malaria in nearly 800 villages, towns and cities across the Brazilian Amazon.
- They also controlled for the “feedback” from malaria, by which a rise in the incidence of the disease actually slows deforestation down.

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