topic: Tourism

topic: Tourism

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Dragonflies help protect water and ancestral Indigenous languages in Colombia
- Researchers investigating Colombia’s remote region of Guainía have identified nearly 120 dragonfly and damselfly species, uncovering a biodiversity hotspot for these insects.
- Dragonflies rely on pristine freshwater ecosystems, but their aquatic habitats face growing pressure from regional deforestation, unmanaged waste and exponential tourism.
- By naming in their ancestral languages and monitoring local dragonflies, communities are deepening their understanding of ecosystem health and connecting biodiversity and ancestral wisdom with water protection.

Egypt’s deserts show why ecological knowledge matters in conservation (commentary)
- Egypt is famous for ancient ruins but its protected areas and biosphere reserves contain another kind of heritage: Fossil valleys, desert plants, coral-linked coastal systems, migration routes, geological formations and human knowledge shaped by arid environments.
- Desert expanses are not empty — or merely open spaces between archaeological monuments — but rather are places full of life, and this point matters urgently, a new op-ed argues.
- “If conservation is to work in these landscapes, it must listen more carefully. It must see local ecological knowledge not as anecdote, and interpretation not as decoration, but as tools for making protection more grounded, more understandable and more just,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Wildfire ravages Indonesia’s Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park
A massive wildfire within a national park in Indonesia has forced a total closure of one of the country’s best-known tourist destinations. Some 899 hectares (2,222 acres) of savanna and forest within Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) in East Java province have been destroyed by fire as of the morning of Aug. 11, the […]
Uzbekistan’s houbara releases serve hunting, not conservation, expert says
There’s no conservation motive or benefit behind the Uzbekistan government’s recent releases of more than 2,000 captive-bred Asian houbara bustards across its desert regions, according to an expert on the threatened species. The government has touted the releases over the past three months as a wildlife restoration effort, but Nigel Collar, a conservation biologist at […]
Central African Republic’s Dzanga-Sangha tests the promise of wildlife tourism
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around […]
International Tiger Day: A complex landscape of recovery, conflict, and empty forests
July 29 is International Tiger Day. Few species have benefitted from global conservation attention and funding like the tiger. Its numbers have seen a hopeful increase in recent years, yet the big cat continues to face localized pressures. Recent Mongabay coverage highlights three starkly different realities for tigers (Panthera tigris) across Asia. India’s corridors under […]
‘The shape of the land will change:’ South African villages resist heavy sands mine
- Communities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape are opposing a proposed heavy mineral sands mine that a South African company wants permission to operate day and night for 30 years on their communal land.
- They say the land targeted for mining is far from unused, supporting more than a 1,000 cattle, traditional medicine gathering, tourism and facilitates access to the coast and fishing.
- The villagers say that if the mine goes ahead, it will damage livelihoods, ancestral graves, biodiversity and water resources.
- The planned mine could also impact their long-running campaign to acquire commercial seaweed harvesting permits and an existing small-scale sand mining business run by a village committee.

Tourism and infrastructure threaten habitat of India’s Himalayan salamanders
Every monsoon season, in the misty hills of Darjeeling, in West Bengal, eastern India, the elusive Himalayan salamander emerges from beneath the forest floor. The ancient amphibians (Tylototriton himalayanus) engage in a delicate dance, a mating ritual that lasts up to 90 minutes before they attach their eggs to semi-submerged vegetation, such as denseflower knotweed […]
Nepal’s birdwatchers can fill gaps in conservation data
Nepal’s expanding birdwatching community offers a vital lifeline for both biodiversity monitoring and ecotourism, reports contributor Bibek Bhandari for Mongabay. According to a recent study, a growing interest in birdwatching, particularly among younger generations, is helping bridge gaps in ecological data while promoting Nepal as a birdwatching destination. Nepal is home to more than 900 […]
Ronald Sanabria sought to make tourism more sustainable
- Ronald Sanabria helped turn sustainable tourism from a set of good intentions into a discipline of standards, training, certification, and market access.
- His work at the Rainforest Alliance focused on making tourism useful to the places it depended on, especially small businesses and community-based enterprises.
- He understood that tourism could protect forests and support local livelihoods only if hotels, tour operators, governments, and buyers changed how they worked.
- His influence endured less through public recognition than through the institutions he helped build and the many people he helped make sustainability usable.

Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find
- Illegal wildlife shopping sites targeting Chinese tour groups in Laos appear to have expanded despite recent law raids, with investigators identifying up to 35 suspected locations, nearly double the number Mongabay documented in 2025.
- Investigators say the shops, embedded in low-cost package tours, continue to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, while some restaurants are reportedly serving highly threatened pangolins to tour groups.
- Laotian authorities say they’ve seized illegal wildlife products and launched investigations, but conservation groups argue enforcement remains too limited to disrupt the broader network.
- Experts warn the trade could undermine Laos’s efforts to improve its standing under the global wildlife trade convention, and say a coordinated regional response is needed to prevent the business model from spreading elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Nepal’s birdwatchers help monitor wildlife and promote tourism
- Birdwatching is becoming increasingly popular in Nepal, contributing to biodiversity conservation through public engagement and ecological data collection.
- Despite its popularity, a lack of public participation and data-sharing practices affect record-keeping.
- Researchers say documentation provided by birdwatchers helps fulfill data gaps related to bird population and habitat.
- Birdwatching helps promote local destinations and generate economic activity, though Nepal as a birdwatching destination remains largely untapped.

Kenya’s overcrowded safaris: Wildlife for who?
Thinking of going on safari? You’re not alone. The popularity of African safaris has led to a boom in safari companies, and scenes of overcrowded wildlife sightings and new tourism developments are becoming increasingly common in places like Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Recently, a Kenyan court dismissed a legal challenge against The Ritz-Carlton, Masai Mara Safari […]
Before tourists can see bonobos, trackers must earn their trust
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, researchers and trackers are working to habituate a group of about 60 bonobos. The aim is to help the great apes accept a limited human presence, first for […]
‘Rare animals, photography and Instagram’ could help an Ivorian rainforest
- In late May, Mongabay accompanied a group of conservationists and scientists to Taï National Park — a large rainforest in Côte d’Ivoire famous for its habituated western chimpanzees.
- Despite the presence of these charismatic apes, the park gets relatively few visitors, whose presence could help to support conservation efforts and deter poachers.
- Conservationists are now planning to promote niche tourism in the park and support work by the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR) to protect Taï’s stunning biodiversity.
- Chimpanzee sightings are a major attraction for any visitor to the park, but other animals, including one of the world’s largest scorpions and Africa’s largest and rarest owl, could also prove to be a draw for those looking for an adventure-filled experience.

Power lines threaten Sri Lanka’s iconic migrant flamingos
The lagoons of Mannar in northern Sri Lanka attract large flocks of pink and white greater flamingos every year, which drive a vital tourism industry in the region. However, recent fatalities of the migratory birds from collisions with power cables there have sparked urgent concerns regarding the impact of power infrastructure in the wetlands, reports […]
Antarctica’s first plant risk assessment raises concerns for a rare moss
In Antarctica’s extreme cold, plants blanket small ice-free areas in bursts of green. These include two native species of flowering plants, 116 moss species, and several liverworts and lichens. Until now, however, none had been assessed for their extinction risk in Antarctica. For the first time, researchers have evaluated the conservation status of an Antarctic […]
In search of the ‘rare and beautiful’ in an Ivorian rainforest
- In late May, Mongabay visited the Taï National Park in southwestern Cote d’Ivoire.
- The park protects the largest remnant of Upper Guinean forests in West Africa, which is itself home to unique animals.
- One of these is the white-necked picathartes, a bird that builds its mud-cup nests on rock walls deep inside the rainforest.
- A Mongabay correspondent accompanied a member of the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves to visit a rare nesting site in the hope of spotting its elusive occupants.

How a popular spaghetti dish is threatening Italy’s marine ecosystem
- In the waters off Naples, Italy, a single 75-minute raid by poachers can net nearly 1,000 sea urchins, an in-demand ingredient in a dish popular with tourists. A haul like that can deal a significant blow to the local urchin population.
- In a healthy marine ecosystem, fish like sea bream feed on urchins, keeping populations in check. When poachers decimate sea urchin colonies, commercial fish move elsewhere to find food, threatening legal fishers’ livelihoods.
- Experts say Italy’s marine protected areas are particularly vulnerable. Although they have criminal penalties to deter poachers, the surrounding waters have been completely stripped bare of urchins, making them attractive targets.
- Now, scientists are collecting data from law enforcement operations to raise awareness and drive regulatory changes.

‘Flamingo Revolution’ aims to stop Kushner-backed resort on protected Albanian delta
- In April, Albanian authorities allowed bulldozers to tear through the protected Vjosa-Narta delta — home to flamingos, loggerhead sea turtles and the endangered Mediterranean monk seal — without permits or environmental review, sparking mass protests that have shaken the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
- The construction is linked to a luxury resort backed by Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, targeting one of the last intact river-delta wildernesses in the Mediterranean, where only 4% of deltas remain undisturbed.
- As Albania’s anti-corruption authority investigates and the EU warns the development could jeopardize the country’s 2030 membership bid, conservationists say the crisis exposes a pattern of broken promises around the celebrated Vjosa Wild River National Park.

Nepal’s tourism growth sparks unchecked liquor concerns involving national flower
Every April, eastern Nepal’s Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale region sees a rush of tourists, arriving for the vibrant spring bloom of rhododendrons, the country’s national flower. The flowers have now become more than a photo backdrop; they’re part of a new, unregulated market for a “souvenir:” Unlicensed rhododendron liquor. Sold openly in reused bottles with handwritten labels, the […]
Four years to earn their trust: Habituating bonobos in DRC’s Salonga National Park
- In the heart of Salonga National Park, one of Africa’s largest protected areas, researchers are trying to earn the trust of wild bonobos, one of the continent’s most endangered great apes.
- Conservationists say that habituation is a critical tool for protecting the species, allowing scientists to monitor their health, behavior and populations while strengthening long-term conservation efforts.
- As the Democratic Republic of Congo confronts a renewed Ebola outbreak in its eastern region, park officials acknowledge the ever-present risk of zoonotic disease transmission. However, when conducted under strict biosecurity protocols, bonobo habituation offers significant conservation, scientific and ecotourism benefits that outweigh the risks.

Sri Lanka flamingo deaths raise concerns over power infrastructure in wetlands
- Three flamingos were recently killed following a collision with overhead power lines in Mannar, in northern Sri Lanka, highlighting the threat posed by wind power structures to migratory birds.
- Flamingos also disappeared from Bundala, a popular Ramsar wetland in the island’s south, after irrigation-driven freshwater changes reduced salinity and eliminated their food base.
- Globally, flamingos face threats from habitat loss, collisions due to infrastructure, and wetland degradation, despite their ecological and ecotourism importance.
- Meanwhile, International Flamingo Day is observed on April 26 to honor U.S. ornithologist John James Audubon, whose iconic “American Flamingo” painting helped popularize the bird and has highlighted its global cultural and conservation significance.

Nepal’s rhododendron tourism sparks unchecked liquor trade concerns
- Mongabay found unlicensed rhododendron liquor being sold openly in tourist shops across eastern Nepal’s Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which is home to at least 26 rhododendron species, with no official labeling, no health testing and no tracking of sources.
- Nepal’s conservation laws prohibit commercial harvesting of rhododendrons from community forests without approval, but legal ambiguity over privately cultivated flowers has left officials uncertain about how to enforce existing rules.
- Some rhododendron species contain grayanotoxins that can be toxic, even fatal in rare cases. Yet none of the bottles being sold in the TMJ region have been tested for safety, according to local officials and vendors.
- Local residents say the practice emerged roughly three years ago alongside a post-pandemic tourism rebound; some producers say it gives them extra income.

Mexico rejects ‘Perfect Day’ waterpark on Caribbean coast, citing environmental risks
Environmental authorities in Mexico have rejected the proposal for a large waterpark in the southern state of Quintana Roo, citing risks for coastal ecosystems and local communities. Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico would have covered more than 80 hectares (200 acres) in the village of Mahahual with the “ultimate vacation for families,” including pools, restaurants […]
Indonesia should avoid controversial programs to fund conservation (commentary)
- Protecting nature is often a struggle due to funding gaps, which governments across developing countries are struggling to close.
- While officials may pursue plans to fund conservation with programs like carbon credits, as in the case of Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia, these may ironically impact critical habitats for threatened species.
- “Indonesia should not be overconfident that it can close the gap by using controversial programs,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Overtourism threatens Sri Lanka’s leopards
Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s most famous wildlife destination, is facing a conservation crisis as overcrowding and speeding safari jeeps increasingly threaten its wildlife, particularly its famed leopards, reports Mongabay contributor Kamanthi Wickramasinghe. Block I of the park, which boasts of one of the world’s highest leopard densities at one animal per square kilometer (2.6 […]
The value of South Africa’s wildlife shouldn’t be in the hands of wealthy foreign hunters (commentary)
- The latest statistics on South Africa’s professional (“trophy”) hunting industry reveal a large increase in animals hunted, with numbers set to rise in coming years, under the logic that the revenue generated is necessary for managing wildlife.
- But should the conservation of the nation’s wildlife, which have their own roles in natural ecosystems, depend on their ability to generate an enormous income for a select group of wealthy farmers and professional hunters, a new op-ed asks.
- “When conservation is built on the premise that wildlife must pay its way to exist, we should ask not only who benefits, but what is being lost, and at whose expense,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

In Sri Lanka, animals pay the price for overcrowding and speeding jeeps
- Yala National Park in southern Sri Lanka attracted more than 380,000 visitors in the first half of 2025, generating an income of more than $5 million.
- Among the most popular national parks, overcrowding at Yala Block I is a recurring problem, intensified since the social media boom, conservationists say.
- Most leopards at Block I have become acclimatized to humans and safari jeeps, creating more interest among visitors.
- Despite regular training programs, speeding jeeps have become a serious challenge to animals there, and authorities now plan to limit the number of jeeps and open other blocks to reduce the pressure on Block I.

A reforestation corridor in Madagascar offers a future for lemurs and locals
- A reforestation corridor project aims to reconnect 150 hectares of fragmented forest between Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and the Analamazoatra Special Reserve, home to a dozen lemur species and many other animals and plants that are found nowhere else on Earth.
- Led by the Mad Dog Initiative in partnership with The Dr. Abigail Ross Foundation for Applied Conservation, Association Mitsinjo and Ecovision Village, the project represents a unique convergence of science, private investment and community action.
- The project has already planted more than 100 native tree species across 70 hectares, a portion of which were grown in soil inoculated with mycorrhiza, with seedlings showing high survival and growth rates. Even in its early stages, lemurs are using the corridor.
- To address local challenges and increase the chances of long-term restoration success, project partners are investing in ecotourism, health care and education, among other strategies.

On the shores of Lake Victoria, a youth-led campaign to revive a wetland
- In 2002, Dunga Beach, located within the larger Dunga wetland in the Kenyan county of Kisumu, which sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, was being choked by plastic waste.
- Members of the nonprofit Dunga Ecotourism and Environmental Association (DECTTA) decided to build on the tourism potential of the area and get rid of the heaps of waste that had become an eyesore.
- The Dunga wetland is listed as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), but is under threat from pollution as well as the unsustainable harvesting of papyrus reeds.
- A campaign is underway to have the wetland officially recognized as a protected area by the government to bring lasting protection.

The little-known story of emerging ecotourism in the Central African Republic
- Though conflict and instability have shaped much of the Central African Republic’s recent history, Dzanga-Sangha in the country’s southwest is experiencing a modest rise in ecotourism centered on forest elephants, western lowland gorillas and the dense Congo Basin rainforest.
- Officials say about 800 tourists visited Dzanga-Sangha in 2025, generating roughly $1 million in revenue, with local guides and lodge workers reporting gradual growth linked to improved stability.
- Tourism is bringing some benefits, including income sharing, cultural tourism and small economic opportunities, though some involved in the country’s ecotourism ecosystem say job creation remains limited and uneven.
- While optimism is growing, challenges such as poor infrastructure, limited access and questions about equitable benefits mean Dzanga-Sangha’s ecotourism remains a work in progress.

Wildlife concerns remain after Kenya court ruling over luxury safari camp
- A luxury Ritz-Carlton safari camp built along the Sand River has triggered legal action over its location within a key wildlife migration corridor in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
- Conservationists and Maasai leaders warn the project could disrupt the Great Migration and erode traditional ecological knowledge and livelihoods.
- The Environment and Land Court at Narok dismissed the complaint, ruling that the plaintiff had not used all existing complaint mechanisms before bringing the issue before the court. However, the court did not rule on the substance of the case.
- Kenyan authorities say monitoring shows no impact on migration routes so far, though an independent scientist calls for long-term, data-driven studies.

Indonesian geothermal projects stall amid Indigenous concerns over justice
An island in eastern Indonesia was meant to lead the country’s transition into renewable energy. But nearly a decade later, the “geothermal island” has suspended projects due to local resistance and concerns for justice and safety. Mongabay’s Basten Gokkon reports that, back in 2017, up to 21 geothermal sites were identified on the island of […]
How wild cattle recovery is transforming local livelihoods near key Thai reserve
- Banteng, a species of wild cattle, have suffered an 80% population decline across their range in recent decades. But in Thailand, populations are rebounding strongly in well-protected areas.
- Decades of strict habitat protection and ranger patrols have reduced poaching and recovered numbers to such an extent that several herds have spread outside of protected sites into surrounding buffer areas, where enforcement of wildlife laws is limited.
- In an effort to protect the growing herds, villagers living in the buffer area of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, who once experienced conflict with the banteng, have set up a community-led ecotourism initiative based on banteng-watching.
- The wildlife tours are creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching, and the banteng are proving to be a key species around which to rally local support for conservation.

Indonesia plan to rezone elephant reserve for carbon trading and tourism sparks backlash
- Indonesia plans to rezone large parts of Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra for carbon trading and luxury tourism to raise conservation funds.
- Critics warn the move could fragment core habitat and harm critically endangered species like Sumatran elephants, tigers and rhinos.
- Experts say carbon projects and reforestation could reduce elephant food sources and worsen human-wildlife conflict.
- Concerns are mounting over transparency, governance and whether revenues will truly support conservation and local communities.

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

The dark side of smiling sloths
The apparent friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs. In their home range of South and Central America, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals across country borders. The rise in sloth trafficking has […]
In Myanmar’s limestone hills, people and bats are often too close for comfort
- A recent census of cave-dwelling bats in northeastern Myanmar found many karst caverns are increasingly inhospitable for the winged mammals due to human disturbance, posing risks to both bats and people.
- Bats are natural reservoirs for many viruses, researchers say, which means managing the ways humans interact with them is vital to managing potential disease spillover, researchers say.
- The main sources of disturbance are limestone quarrying, tourism and religious activities, hunting of bats for food, and guano harvesting.
- To manage the ecological threats and disease risk, the researchers recommend better conservation protections, improved land-use planning, and dedicated cave management plans that include public education programs on cave hygiene and zoonotic disease risk.

Malaysia lost 20% of its coral reefs in three years
Malaysia’s coral reefs are shrinking at a pace that is hard to ignore. According to the latest national survey by Reef Check Malaysia, about one-fifth of the country’s coral cover has been lost since 2022, a decline compressed into just three years. What had been gradual erosion now looks more like a slide. The 2025 […]
Predators of the Great Wildebeest Migration: Then and now (cartoon)
While ecotourism has contributed both to wildlife conservation and community welfare in Kenya, over-tourism and the corporatization of ecotourism are now proving to be literal impediments in the ecological webs of the Kenyan wilderness. A Maasai leader recently took legal action against luxury chain Ritz-Carlton, claiming that its new lodge in Kenya’s Maasai Mara Reserve […]
Mike Heusner, steward of Belize’s waters, has died, aged 86
For a small country, Belize has long carried an outsized reputation among people who care about water. Its flats and mangroves, its reef and river systems, have drawn anglers and naturalists who come for beauty but stay, if they are paying attention, for the fragile bargain that keeps such places alive. Tourism can finance protection. […]
Cyclone Ditwah exposes climate risks to nature-based tourism in Sri Lanka
- In late November, Cyclone Ditwah triggered landslides and flooding across Sri Lanka’s biodiversity-rich hill country, disrupting nature-based tourism during the peak travel season.
- UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Knuckles Conservation Forest, Horton Plains and Peak Wilderness, faced trail closures, access restrictions and infrastructure damage.
- Popular destinations faced cancellations and closures, hitting local families who depend on tourism for their livelihoods, though they remain hopeful of a swift recovery.
- Experts warn that reopening of these sites should not be unnecessarily rushed, emphasizing safety, environmental protection and long-term sustainability to preserve both livelihoods and biodiversity.

Photos: Tourism ambitions clash with local livelihoods on Indonesia’s Lombok Island
- Residents of Tanjung Aan Beach on the Indonesian island of Lombok say they were evicted with little notice or compensation as the Mandalika tourism project advances, leaving many without livelihoods or alternatives.
- The government-controlled developer has defended its process, citing compensation paid in a different land zone, but locals say support didn’t reach the coastal community now being cleared.
- Perspectives diverge sharply: locals describe loss, fear and declining income, while some foreigners and investors argue the development is legal, overdue and ultimately beneficial.
- Younger Lombok residents highlight deeper systemic issues — weak regulation, rising costs and limited opportunities — saying tourism growth increasingly serves visitors, not locals.

In Peru, community-led camera trapping boosts conservation and ecotourism
- Community members in Alto Mayo, Peru, are protecting 4,000 hectares (nearly 10,000 acres) of unique wetland forest by combining sustainable ecotourism, scientific research and participatory management of the territory.
- In the Tingana Conservation Concession, visitors explore the flooded forests by canoe and learn about sustainable agriculture and local species, while contributing revenue to the community’s economy.
- Since 2023, community members have installed eight camera traps to monitor biodiversity and strengthen surveillance against encroachers.
- The cameras have captured species like jaguarundis, margays, neotropical otters and razor-billed curassows, providing valuable scientific information that has been integrated into local environmental education programs.

Small cat conservationists hail Uganda’s new Echuya Forest National Park
- Uganda’s Echuya Forest Reserve will become a national park, alongside five other forest areas. That news is being heralded by small cat conservationists as a win for the threatened African golden cat (Caracal aurata) and other wildlife that dwell in the forest.
- African golden cats are forest dependent and considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. They’re especially threatened by snaring across their range. It’s unknown exactly how Echuya’s population is faring, but camera-trapping efforts in 2015 required 90 days to record just one of these elusive cats.
- Data coming out of Uganda suggest that national parks can act as strongholds for the felid, raising hopes that Echuya’s population can recover and possibly thrive.
- Wildcat conservationists have also developed programs to build engagement and benefit communities near the new park, initiating goat and sheep “seed banks” as alternatives to bushmeat, setting up savings and loan associations to improve quality of life, and arranging community soccer matches to build goodwill.

Unregulated tourism risks disrupting Timor-Leste’s whale migration
- 2025 has been a big whale tourism season in Timor-Leste; operators were fully booked during the peak season of September to December.
- But increasingly aggressive practices fueled by competition between tour operators could mean “another Sri Lanka,” where whales already stressed by climate-induced food scarcity are disappearing from the area.
- East Timorese are mostly excluded from the sector, which is controlled by expats and foreign tour operators raking in thousands from “bucket listers” and social media “influencers.”
- Whale tourism in Timor-Leste needs regulation, enforcement and legal compliance to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth, experts say.

An Empire of Nature: African Parks and Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest
- In 2020, South Africa-based NGO African Parks signed a 20-year deal to manage Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park, one of the largest montane rainforests in Africa.
- Nyungwe is one of 24 protected areas managed by African Parks in 13 countries.
- Founded by a Dutch industrialist, African Parks is a pioneer of the “public-private” conservation model in Africa.
- Mongabay visited Nyungwe to look at African Parks and its approach to conservation.

Sloth selfies are feeding a booming wildlife trafficking trade
- The apparent docility and friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs.
- The rise in trafficking of these animals led the governments of Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama to propose stricter rules for the international trade of two sloth species; the goal is to prevent them from becoming threatened with extinction.
- Cruel practices used by traders condemn most animals to death, with sloth babies separated from their mothers and subjected to unbearable levels of stress.
- In the Brazilian Amazon, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals to neighboring countries.

Protecting Vietnam’s vast caves may have sparked a wildlife comeback
- Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in Vietnam is billed as a successful example of sustainable tourism, with efforts to conserve the area’s unique caves and wildlife.
- The park’s management has implemented measures to limit tourism’s impact, such as restricting visitor numbers and offering guided tours, which has helped curb illegal hunting and logging.
- Local communities have benefited from tourism, with many former hunters and loggers now working as guides and porters, and wildlife populations are showing signs of recovery.
- The success of conservation efforts in the park has led to plans to expand protection to the Laotian side of the border, creating a transboundary UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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

‘A very successful story’: An Egypt tribe welcomes tourists & protects its coast
- Al-Qula’an is an “eco-village” in the Wadi El Gemal protected area in Egypt that environmentalists say is an example of how eco-tourism, along with traditional knowledge and practices, can help protect sensitive ecosystems.
- The mangroves of Al-Qula’an provide nursery grounds for marine species, and the coastal habitats serve as nesting sites for endangered sea turtles.
- The village has transformed from a subsistence fishing community to a low-impact eco-tourism destination while upholding principles of the Ababda tribe, like the importance of preserving mangroves.

Zanzibar must act to conserve its natural & cultural heritage for the future (commentary)
- The popular Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar is further expanding its already extensive tourism footprint to outlying islands like Pemba without considering the environment, a new op-ed argues.
- Major conservation problems include demolition of small islands for resort construction, destruction of nearly a quarter of Pemba Island’s flagship protected area to build an “eco-resort,” and plans to develop the ecologically important islet of Misali.
- “Now is the time for Zanzibar’s government to reexamine past and future investment decisions to ensure they respect Zanzibar’s natural heritage and conserve it for future generations,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Egyptian activists rally to halt hotel project at pristine protected beach
- The Egyptian government opened up Ras Hankorab, a near-pristine beach inside a protected area along Egypt’s Red Sea coastline, to an investor to develop tourism facilities.
- Environmentalists launched a campaign to “save Ras Hankorab,” which succeeded in temporarily halting development activities at the site, and which critics say is aimed at foreign tourists.
- The beach is a nesting ground for endangered turtles, and the waters are home to a variety of coral and fish species and seagrass meadows.
- Ras Hankorab is one of several sites in Egypt where the government’s push to develop tourism in protected areas is facing opposition.

Study spotlights West Papua habitat as whale sharks face increased pressures
- A new study shows the Bird’s Head Seascape in West Papua is a crucial nursery for juvenile whale sharks, where most sightings involved young males feeding around fishing platforms.
- Researchers documented 268 individuals over 13 years, with more than half showing injuries tied to human activity, raising concerns about fisheries, tourism and emerging mining pressures.
- Scientists warn that protecting these habitats with stricter rules and better management is essential for the survival and recovery of the endangered species.

Funding is needed to save Samoa’s ‘little dodo’ from extinction (commentary)
- Since 2014, Samoa’s “little dodo” has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List: related to the extinct dodo, an adult manumea, as it’s called locally, has not been photographed well in the wild, and its song has rarely been recorded.
- But an underfunded conservation effort led by the Samoa Conservation Society and the nation’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) could still snatch this fascinating species from the extinction list, a new commentary argues.
- “In my view, a large-scale, multiyear forest conservation project funded by the Global Environment Facility and led by the MNRE is essential,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Uruguay’s green hydrogen plans raise ecological concerns in Argentina & at home
- Communities in the Argentinian town of Colón worry that an upcoming major green hydrogen project on the Uruguay River will affect local ecosystems, as well as local tourism.
- The Paysandú e-fuels facility is one of Uruguay’s major hydrogen projects, as the country is pushing to further decarbonize its economy and boost hydrogen exports. The plant will produce green hydrogen using renewable energy to then produce e-methanol for exporting.
- Argentinian activists fear potential pollution from the plant and criticize the project for lack of transparency over its environmental impacts. Opposition is also growing on the Uruguayan side of the river.
- Another green hydrogen project in the town of Tambores is also being denounced for its impact on water resources, as the plant will withdraw large amounts of water from some of the country’s largest aquifers.

Tourism surge and climate change threaten Nepal’s Mustang
Since the completion of an all-weather road eight years ago, Nepal’s remote Mustang region has become a mass tourism destination, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi. The surge in tourists, combined with the impacts of climate change, could put the fragile Himalayan region at greater risk of future disasters. Previously, Mustang was a destination for foreign […]
In Brazil’s Pantanal, too many tourists may be the jaguar’s new predator
- Once rare, jaguar sightings in the Pantanal now number more than 1,000 a year, drawing tourists from around the world.
- Ecotourism has transformed jaguars from hunted predators into valuable attractions, boosting local livelihoods.
- But overcrowding, with up to 30 boats surrounding a single animal, risks stressing wildlife and eroding visitor experiences.
- As safaris become increasingly popular, jaguars are getting more habituated to humans, drawing them closer to ranches, where conflicts arise.

Cruise industry expansion collides with Cozumel’s coral reef
- Mexico’s Cozumel Island is one of the most popular cruise ship destinations in the world, hosting more than 4.5 million tourists every year.
- A plan to build a new pier for cruise ships has attracted concern from Cozumel residents and conservationists, who say it will damage the surrounding reef and block public access to the sea.
- The company behind the project, Muelles del Caribe, maintains the pier will bring financial benefits to the community.
- Conservationists assert that the project’s environmental impact assessment was insufficient; in July, a court ordered a temporary suspension of the project to allow for a more thorough environmental assessment.

Rewilding project aims to restore resilience to fire-prone Spain via wildlife
- A project in Spain is bringing Przewalski’s horse to a sparsely populated region to help stem out-of-control fires and boost the local economy.
- Rewilding Spain is attempting to rebuild ecological roles in the region to boost biodiversity and mitigate fire outbreaks.
- The project is helping the local economy by employing locals and working with tourist operators.

The safari industry’s ‘conservation-washing’ is a growing problem (commentary)
- Though many tour operators focus on protecting the wildlife, environment, and local community their clients are immersed in during safaris, greenwashing — or more accurately, “conservation-washing” — is a growing problem.
- In this commentary, a safari operator with more than 35 years of experience shares his reflections and offers red flags to watch out for before hiring a company.
- “We each hold the power to influence the safari industry by choosing operators that build their tours around true conservation while uplifting local communities. Being vigilant for conservation-washing is ultimately our responsibility, and it’s one we should all take very seriously,” he argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Escalation in tourism, climate change leaves Nepal’s Mustang in fragile state
- The completion of an all-weather road has transformed ‘lower’ Mustang, shifting from a remote trekking hub to a mass tourism destination. Visitor numbers has surged nearly 50% in one year, fueled largely by domestic and Indian Hindu pilgrims.
- Hotels and lodges have mushroomed along fragile riverbanks with weak zoning enforcement. Tourism water demands and usage have led to untreated sewage entering the Kali Gandaki River.
- Once arid, Mustang is now facing monsoon rains as Arabian Sea warming has started to push rain clouds farther north. The August 2023 flood devastated Kagbeni village, highlighting rising risks of flash floods and landslides.
- While tourism provides livelihoods and the energy is largely renewable, locals remain in the flux of economic opportunity and growing climate risks. Researchers call for urgent data, early warning systems and relocation from high-risk zones.

Rapid development, legal changes put pressure on Vietnam’s forestland
- A planned tourism and residential development on Vietnam’s Phú Quốc Island, has led to the forced relocation of 508 households and the clearing of 57.7 hectares (142.5 acres) of forest within Phú Quốc National Park.
- The project is just one of 286 development projects planned for the island. Since July 2024, authorities there have authorized the conversion of more than 180 hectares (445 acres) of forest, the majority of which is “special use” forest, meaning it is deemed to be of particular ecological or scientific importance.
- The island has seen a spike in forest conversion approvals following legal changes in 2024 that reduced central-government oversight of forest-conversion approvals, and that expanded the list of project types for which natural forest can be converted.

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

Large-scale illegal wildlife shops in Laos found scamming Chinese tourists
- Secretive shops posing as cafés, museums and cultural experiences are selling illegal wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn, bear bile, pangolin scales and tiger bones in Laos, often at inflated prices, specifically targeting elderly Chinese tourists.
- Since 2024, these shops have proliferated across the cities of Luang Prabang and Vientiane, many are guarded by armed men in military uniform, but access is reserved for Chinese tourists on pre-arranged package tours.
- This new business model for the illegal wildlife trade in Laos is estimated to be making tens of millions of dollars from the sale of products made from endangered species, but following Mongabay and NGO GI-TOC’s investigation, Laotian authorities have agreed to inspect.

In Nepal’s Pokhara, a lone rooftop vigil helps keep vultures and planes safe from harm
- Hemanta Dhakal, an ornithologist based in the Nepali town of Pokhara, monitors vultures daily from his rooftop near Nepal’s new international airport, documenting bird movements and aircraft interactions.
- Pokhara, known as both Nepal’s tourism capital and vulture capital, hosts nine vulture species whose flight paths intersect with the airport’s runway and nearby rivers, cliffs, and former landfill sites.
- A past bird strike and frequent flights heighten safety concerns, while waste management issues and thermal currents continue to draw birds dangerously close to aircraft.
- Despite limited support from authorities, Dhakal trains airport staff, advocates for better management such as drones to shoo away the birds, and warns that unplanned infrastructure could undo decades of vulture conservation gains.

Sharks didn’t rebound—so Mark Erdmann is putting them back
- For over 30 years, Mark Erdmann has combined scientific discovery with grassroots conservation in Indonesia, helping communities protect their reefs from destructive practices and documenting more than 220 new species.
- As a leader behind Raja Ampat’s pioneering community-governed marine protected areas, Erdmann has shown how local stewardship can revive ecosystems—bringing back sharks, rays, and sustainable tourism.
- Despite new threats like over-tourism and revived mining, Erdmann remains hopeful, pointing to rising public resistance, tech-enabled rewilding programs like ReShark, and a new generation of Indonesian conservationists.
- Erdmann spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler during a voyage in the Pacific in June 2025.

Antarctic coalition wins €1m prize for safeguarding a fragile frontier
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), an advocacy group focused on the world’s coldest and most remote region, has received the 2025 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The 1 million euro ($1.17 million) award, presented by the Portugal-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, recognizes the coalition’s decades-long efforts to preserve Antarctica’s ecological integrity and protect the Southern […]
Listings of Indonesian islands renew fears of privatization for coastal communities
- Listings of Indonesian islands on a foreign real estate site have sparked concerns about privatization, prompting the government to block the site domestically and clarify that islands cannot be sold to foreign entities under national law.
- Officials said the listings were likely aimed at attracting investment, not outright sales, but critics warn such practices enable control over island and offshore areas, often displacing fishers and triggering land conflicts.
- A 2021 regulation allows foreign investors to lease small islands for up to $1,900 per km² per year, and a government portal launched in 2024 streamlines permits for islands smaller than 2,000 km², accelerating commercialization.
- Watchdogs say 254 small islands have already been privatized, often without adequate oversight, and warn that unchecked investment could jeopardize fisher livelihoods and national sovereignty over maritime territories.

As Thailand’s fishing cats face habitat loss & conflict, experts seek resolution
- Fishing cats have lost vast swathes of their former range in Thailand, where decades of wetland conversion to fish farms, shrimp ponds and plantations have decimated their numbers.
- With habitats shrinking, these wild cats have been driven to living in human-dominated landscapes, where conflicts often arise.
- Fishing cats perceived as competing with farmers for fish and chickens are sometimes killed in retaliation.
- Activists and NGOs are working to reduce these conflicts and encourage landowners to preserve patches of remaining habitat suitable for the cats.

Communities and ecosystems in Venezuela learn to adapt to life after glaciers
- In 2023, La Corona, Venezuela’s last standing glacier in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida National Park, was reclassified as an ice field, having shrunk to the size of barely two football fields.
- The country is now the first tropical nation to lose all of its glaciers, which melted rapidly due to a combination of warming temperatures, reduced rainfall and ineffective policies since early signs of melting appeared in the late 19th century.
- As Venezuela’s symbolic glaciers began melting one after another, a team of researchers started studying not only their disappearance, but the emerging ecosystems that were taking over the formerly icy areas.
- With the ice gone, the city of Mérida, advertised for decades as the “city of eternal snow,” is now having to reinvent its identity and its tourism industry.

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

In Colombia, bird-watching brings tourism and a love for conservation
- Every year, on the Global Big Day, thousands of bird-watchers across the world compete to record as many species of birds as possible.
- In Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, bird-watching is central to the conservation movement that has emerged in recent decades.
- Though the region has some of the richest bird life of any place on Earth, bird-watchers note that some species have become harder to come by.
- Birds in the Sierra Nevada are threatened by habitat loss as a result of encroaching agriculture, livestock ranching and deforestation, as well as wildlife trafficking and introduction of predators like feral cats.

Major coral loss in Vietnam’s first marine protected area: Study
- Vietnam’s first marine protected area (MPA), Nha Trang Bay, has lost nearly 200 hectares (494 acres) of coral reef since it was established in 2002, according to a new study.
- Major drivers of the coral decline include coastal development, warming sea temperatures and devastating crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) outbreaks worsened by overfishing and nutrient pollution.
- The study calls for stronger conservation measures inside Nha Trang Bay and other MPAs, including pollution control, active reef restoration and inclusive community governance.
- Experts say Nha Trang Bay offers lessons for other MPAs in Southeast Asia facing similar threats.

Indonesian women sustain seaweed traditions in a changing climate
- The women of Indonesia’s Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan islands have harvested seaweed for generations.
- Climate change and tourism development now threaten seaweed cultivators’ centuries-old practices.
- In the face of these changes, seaweed cultivators are working with tourism operators and coral-conservation groups to preserve, and adapt, their traditional practices.

Green groups oppose Qatari luxury resort near pristine world heritage site
- Construction has begun on a Qatari-backed project to build 37 luxury villas on Assomption Island, the gateway to Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Seychelles that is home to one of the last remaining populations of giant tortoises.
- The resort threatens the entire cluster of islands and atolls (Aldabra, Assomption, Cosmoledo and Astove — known collectively as the Aldabra Group), according to activists, who cite the risk of invasive species.
- Activists say the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was rushed, does not meet global standards, and is marred by conflicts of interest.
- An official at the Seychellois government-owned enterprise responsible for developments on islands like Assomption and Aldabra, which aims to turn the island into a “vibrant revenue-generating asset,” said the resort will increase activities on the islands and possibly attract more Seychellois to these remote islands.

Manage people more and bears less, say Indigenous elders in world’s ‘polar bear capital’
- Indigenous residents of Churchill in Canada’s Manitoba province have coexisted with polar bears for thousands of years, emphasizing respect for the animals and staying out of their way.
- The province-run Polar Bear Alert Program also aims to keep the community safe from overly curious or dangerous bears, but some of its practices have been called into question by locals.
- Churchill’s tourism industry drives the local economy and is also the source of most problematic human-bear interactions.
- As climate change causes bears to spend more time on land, Churchill leaders are working with local and regional stakeholders to improve human-polar bear coexistence.

In Nepal, confrontation looms over controversial cable car project as court lifts stay order
- Nepal’s Supreme Court recently discontinued its interim order that had earlier halted the construction of a cable car project opposed by Indigenous Limbu communities over its potential cultural and environmental impacts.
- Community members against the private project say in addition to undermining their rights, the project is based on a flawed environmental impact review.
- While lawyers say the final judgment in the case will determine the fate of the project, the developer says it plans to resume construction work.

Cruise ships and intensified tourism in Mexico threaten whale shark habitat
- In Baja California Sur, Mexico, a private tourism company, Aquamayan Adventures, and the port administration have reached an agreement that allows mega cruise ships to enter Bahía de La Paz. Environmental organizations are urging the government to cancel the agreement.
- The agreement allows at least 150,000 annual visitors, a figure four times that of cruise passengers received in 2023 and equivalent to 60% of the resident population of the city of La Paz, the state’s capital.
- In addition, the company intends to build a large tourism and commercial complex that could have serious environmental, social and economic impacts on the city and surrounding area, according to organizations concerned about the project.
- Bahía de La Paz is a critical location for marine species like the whale shark, which was affected by the presence of a high number of mega cruise ships in 2020, and which could now be the victim of collisions with vessels arriving to port.

Viral standoff at Philippines’ Mt. Pinatubo exposes decades of Indigenous exclusion
- On April 18, Indigenous Aeta protesters blockaded the trail to the Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo, a popular tourist attraction in an area recognized as Aeta ancestral land.
- Aeta leaders say their communities have been deprived of their rightful share of tourism revenues.
- While businesses and tours catering to travelers have flourished and the local government collects fees, Indigenous locals are engaged as freelance guides for less than minimum wage.

Kumana, a historic national park in eastern Sri Lanka, emerges as leopard stronghold
- A new study reports a notably high density of Sri Lankan leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) in eastern Sri Lanka’s Kumana National Park, highlighting the park as a significant habitat for the leopards.
- Using camera traps, the study recorded more than 90 leopard encounters, including 34 identified individual leopards, captured on film across a 16-month survey period.
- Since 2017, a citizen science program also has recorded 80 individual leopards in Kumana, using a naming system to identify each individual.
- Kumana, famed for its wetland birdlife, is now emerging as a key leopard habitat, offering potential for leopard tourism and easing visitor pressure in congested parks like Yala in the island’s south.

Cable car project in Nepal under fire for flawed environmental review
- Nepal’s Pathibhara cable car project faces increased backlash after its environmental assessment was found to omit key species and understate its forest impact, bypassing the need for a full environmental impact assessment.
- The project, in a sacred site for Indigenous Yakthung (Limbu) communities, threatens biodiversity and spiritual heritage, with critics alleging more than 40,000 trees may have been cut, far exceeding the figures stated in the assessment report.
- Protests over the development have turned violent, and Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered a halt to construction pending a review of alleged regulatory violations and community exclusion.
- While developers and some local officials argue the project boosts tourism and access, conservationists and many Indigenous residents continue to call for its cancellation and a full ecological audit.

Bangladesh witnesses coastal erosion, salinization as tourism crushes a flowering creeper
- Bangladesh’s sandy beaches have been witnessing the disappearance of a once-common flowering vine, the beach morning glory, especially on Cox’s Bazar beach.
- Seashore erosion is now increasing in the region as this plant is supposed to retain soil and protect the beach from erosion.
- Experts and studies indicate the excessive and unchecked tourism in the coastal district as one of the major reasons for this loss.

A Kichwa women’s collective uses ecotourism to safeguard Ecuador’s Amazon
- Sani Warmi is a women’s collective that runs ecotourism activities and practices agroecology to generate income and conserve the Ecuadorian Amazon.
- Its members guide tourists around the traditional chacra — a diversified agroecological system — and introduce them to their traditional foods and practices.
- The group produces organic chocolate with cacao grown on a community plot and on their smallholdings and has a fish-farming project.
- These initiatives reduce the need to extract resources from the forest, protecting this area which is home to approximately 600 bird species.

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

The vanishing trail of Sri Lanka’s iconic tuskers calls for urgent action
- Among Asian elephants, only a fraction of males bear tusks, and Sri Lanka holds the lowest percentage, with just 7% of its total elephant population being tuskers.
- Tuskers are culturally significant and attract tourists to Sri Lanka, with each wild tusker named after an ancient king.
- However, one by one, these iconic giants are falling victim not only to unmitigated human-elephant conflict, but also to opportunistic, targeted poaching.
- A study has estimated the value of a single elephant in Minneriya to be around 10 million Sri Lankan rupees ($40,000), based on the revenue generated through nature-based tourism, while rare tuskers are valued at a much higher rate.

In a land where monkeys are seen as pests, Sri Lanka’s white langurs are winning hearts
- A rare population of leucistic, or partially white, purple-faced langurs near Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja Forest Reserve has attracted ecotourism interest, even as monkeys in general are perceived by farmers as crop-raiding pests.
- Unlike albinism, leucism causes a partial loss of pigmentation, and researchers have documented around 30 white langurs in the area.
- The unique langurs have helped transform the village of Lankagama into an ecotourism hub, benefiting the local community and conservation efforts.
- The presence of white monkeys across Sri Lanka, including rare cases of albino primates, highlights the island’s rich biodiversity and the need for further research and protection.

Financing conservation of Central Asia’s endangered mammals on World Wildlife Day and every day (commentary)
- Central Asia’s fragile ecosystems, home to species like snow leopards and saiga antelopes, face growing threats from habitat loss, climate change and hunting, yet conservation remains critically underfunded.
- But financing mechanisms like payment for ecosystem services, ecotourism and even carbon markets could provide much-needed investment, though these require careful regulation and local adaptation.
- Public-private partnerships, standardized biodiversity metrics, and community-led conservation efforts are essential to attract funding, ensure accountability, and secure long-term ecological and economic benefits.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

How a Philippine town is dealing with the fallout of its own popularity
El Nido in the Philippines was once a small fishing town, but promotion on social media over the last decade led to a dramatic influx of tourists. Tourism has helped the local economy, but also resulted in coastal water contamination, Mongabay’s Keith Anthony Fabro reports. Home to 50,000 residents, El Nido welcomed 10 times that […]
Sun, sand and skulls: Bali tourism trade peddles threatened primate skulls
- Indonesia’s Bali, with its beautiful beaches and ancient temples, is a tourist hotspot where many businesses cater to foreign travelers, including those that sell art and curios.
- A new study finds that primate skulls, including those from threatened species such as orangutans, gibbons and proboscis monkeys, are openly sold in these shops, despite the trade being illegal.
- Between 2013 and 2024, researchers recorded more than 750 carved and uncarved primate skulls sold to mainly foreign tourists, with sales increasing over time.
- Conservationists say this illegal, barely monitored international trade poses an additional threat to already threatened primates in Indonesia, and call for stricter law enforcement and monitoring to shut down the trade.

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.

In Ecuador, a mountain shrub could hold the key to restoring a precious ecosystem
- The spread of agriculture, including the use of fires to clear native vegetation, have devastated Ecuador’s páramo, a high-altitude ecosystem that represents a critical source of drinking water for local communities.
- Reforestation of frailejones, a rare shrub species that helps trap humidity from the air and filter water to the ground, may prove key to restoring the ecosystem.
- A privately financed initiative in Ecuador is researching how to grow the shrub at scale in a nursery for mass replanting, but faces teething challenges in this first-of-its-kind initiative for the country.

Indian villages seek to protect ecosystem by opting out of state’s development push
Residents of two villages in the Indian state of Goa have petitioned the environment ministry for their villages to be recognized as “eco-sensitive areas.” The residents want their villages’ natural resources to be protected from large-scale infrastructure projects and tourism development, reports Mongabay India’s Simrin Sirur. The villages of Loliem and Poingunin are located in […]
As Gálapagos ecotourism booms, top naturalist guide urges sustainability
- Galápagos National Park and the marine reserve protecting the islands’ surrounding waters welcome 300,000 visitors a year and support sustainable fisheries and tourism jobs for about 30,000 residents.
- The Ecuadorian government restricts the number of visitors accessing each island or dive site daily, and requires each tourist or group to hire a guide to accompany them, ensuring that maximum ecological information is shared and that park rules aimed at protecting the unique flora and fauna are followed.
- Many hundreds of Galápagos residents work year-round in this capacity, like veteran guide Marco Andres Vizcaino Garcia, who Mongabay interviewed about the challenges and opportunities he sees for ecotourism, conservation and research across these iconic islands he calls home.

Helicopters slash the trek to Earth’s highest peak, but leave Sherpas grounded
- “Helicopter tourism” that brings trekkers to Base Camp of Sagarmatha (Everest) in Nepal and bypasses the long trek there is taking a toll on local Sherpa communities.
- By cutting short visitors’ time in the region, it reduces the earnings of porters, lodge owners and other small local businesses, as well as diminishes bonds with the community, according to residents living in the lap of Earth’s tallest mountain.
- Increasingly frequent helicopter flights have also brought noise pollution that impacts both wildlife and domestic livestock, while potentially exacerbating environmental risks like avalanches, landslides and glacial floods in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
- Local leaders and youth groups are advocating for stricter regulations to limit helicopter flights, reroute them from sensitive areas, and promote ecotourism practices that balance development with conservation.

The paradox of balancing conservation efforts for Himalayan wolves and snow leopards (commentary)
- Although snow leopards cause greater livestock losses than Himalayan wolves, human communities generally show greater tolerance and acceptance toward snow leopards.
- This ‘predator paradox,’ where the more damaging predator is more tolerated, leads to less conservation support for wolves and more for snow leopards.
- “Both snow leopards and wolves are crucial to the Himalayan ecosystem, but conservation has overwhelmingly favored snow leopards. This disparity in attention and resources amplifies the challenges faced by wolves, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to conserve both species effectively,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Sani Isla: A Kichwa community that found alternatives to oil in conservation and tourism
- The oil industry has attempted several times to enter the Kichwa commune of Sani Isla in northern Ecuador’s Amazon, but the community has found alternatives for development through conservation and tourism.
- The community receives incentives for conserving nearly 10,000 hectares through the state-run Socio Bosque program. Additionally, they independently protect 16,577 hectares to sustain their way of life, safeguard the environment, and showcase the area’s biodiversity to tourists.
- The main challenges facing Sani Isla are environmental disasters caused by the regressive erosion of the Coca River—which also affects the Napo River—and the lack of basic services. Its residents demand that authorities provide essential services without harming the region’s biodiversity.

Nepal’s rhino translocations to continue amid concerns over effectiveness
- Nepal’s government will continue the translocation of greater one-horned rhinos within Chitwan National Park to address overpopulation in the western sector, despite opposition from local tourism entrepreneurs citing potential economic impacts.
- The translocation aims to ensure a sustainable and evenly distributed rhino population, mitigate non-poaching-related deaths, and reduce risks from flooding and poaching in the western region, officials say.
- Tourism entrepreneurs in the western sector, however, argue that the relocation lacks adequate research, will harm local tourism-dependent economies, and say the western region remains the most suitable habitat for rhinos.

Controversial study finds cattle and wildlife can co-exist in Kenya’s Maasai Mara
A new study conducted in Kenya is challenging the conventional wisdom that cattle are inherently bad for wildlife, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. In contrast to previous research, the recent study found that a limited number of cattle — grazing illegally in one portion of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) — had a negligible effect […]
Can cattle and wildlife co-exist in the Maasai Mara? A controversial study says yes
- Conventional conservation wisdom has held that cattle herds managed by Indigenous Maasai in East Africa compete with wildlife for grazing land and degrade protected areas like Kenya’s Maasai Mara and Tanzania’s Ngorongoro.
- But a new research study shows that, in a small study patch of the Maasai Mara, cattle herds didn’t cause a decline in forage quantity or quality, nor did wildlife steer away from areas where cattle had grazed.
- The finding has drawn criticism from other researchers, who question its methodology and say the overwhelming evidence points to the need for restrictions on cattle grazing inside these protected areas.
- The study authors say they hope their findings spark new thinking about how pastoralists like the Maasai can be seen as potential conservation partners rather than excluded as they’ve been for decades.

With rare mammal tourism, observing means conserving (commentary)
- Mammal-watching tourism has traditionally focused on large, charismatic species, such as the African ‘big five’ (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo) or humpback whales in California and New England.
- But this is changing in recent years as some big cat species once considered impossible to see in the wild — like jaguars — have become major tourist draws, contributing to their conservation. “It comes as little surprise that people will pay to see big cats, but will they pay to see smaller, less well-known mammal species? Yes, it turns out.”
- As interest in mammal-watching grows, can any of the 6,500 other less iconic global mammal species also benefit? The authors of a new op-ed think so, especially when the tourism benefits are captured by local communities and private land-owners, providing direct incentives for them to conserve mammals, big and small, on their lands.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

The disappearing red ghost crabs of Cox’s Bazar, a conservation crisis in Bangladesh
- Cox’s Bazar Beach in southeast Bangladesh is known for its vibrant red crab population, which creates a stunning spectacle in the early mornings and late afternoons. However, this natural wonder is now threatened by human activities and environmental degradation.
- Red ghost crabs benefit coastal ecosystems by aerating sand and improving water infiltration, and also as prey species. Their decline threatens the ecosystem health.
- Researchers say a beach management plan is crucial for their protection and restoration. Protected areas like in Kuakata have shown effectiveness in conserving ghost crabs. Raising awareness among local communities is also crucial for successful conservation efforts in Bangladesh.

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

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

Amid haze of war, Lebanese activists helped turtle hatchlings journey to sea
- The sandy beaches of South Lebanon are a crucial nesting ground for sea turtles.
- This year, 2,500 sea turtle hatchlings safely reached the Mediterranean from Al-Mansouri Beach, a key nesting site near the city of Tyre, according to a volunteer group that has been tending the beach and its turtles for two decades.
- Despite the escalating conflict with Israel and the prevailing climate of fear, the volunteers continued their efforts to protect both the animals and the beach.
- On Sept. 23, the leader of the volunteer group told Mongabay she had to flee her home in Tyre after surviving several Israeli air strikes.

Community forest or corporate fortune? How public land became a mine in Cambodia
Mongabay features writer Gerry Flynn joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss a new investigation he published with freelance journalist Nehru Pry looking at how mining company Lin Vatey acquired thousands of hectares of a public forest, essentially kicking local people, including the Kuy Indigenous community, off public lands that they previously relied on. In this conversation, […]
Ecotourism offers new hopes for Bhutanese youth — and local environments
- In Bhutan, local communities are increasingly turning to ecotourism as a way to both revive their economies — and help protect the surrounding environment and endangered species.
- Roughly half of Bhutan’s population is under 25; ecotourism is offering a potentially viable future for the younger generations as well as women.
- However, the increase in visitors brings added challenges of waste management, particularly with plastics, which often are burned in fires that release toxic chemicals; an increase in flooding is also an issue for ecotourism businesses.

Mining company tied to Cambodian military officials grabs community forest
- A mining company affiliated with powerful Cambodian officials and their families has carved out a chunk of a community forest in the country’s northeast to be privatized.
- Community members say the company, Lin Vatey, is logging the forest, while community members who have complained or resisted have faced persecution by the authorities.
- Phnom Chum Rok Sat community forest, officially recognized in 2017, spans 4,153 hectares (10,262 acres); Lin Vatey has laid claim to 2,447 hectares (6,047 acres) of it.
- When questioned by Mongabay, officials at various levels of government initially denied there was anything going on in the community forest, before conceding that some complaints had been lodged.

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

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

In Nepal, a cable car in a sacred forest sparks swift, and controversial, direct action
- In Nepal, a recent push to build cable cars to boost tourism in natural beauty spots carries significant environmental costs.
- A controversial cable car project has been proposed in Mukkumlung, far-eastern Nepal, a site revered by the Indigenous Yakthung (Limbu) community.
- After thousands of trees were felled by contractors to begin the construction in mid-May, Indigenous protesters organized a total shutdown of services in the town of Phungling and closed the major transport corridors in the region.
- Their efforts resulted in a temporary stalling of the construction process, but the project is unlikely to be postponed indefinitely.

Thai plan to redraw boundaries of tiger reserve sparks concern and criticism
- Government-led proposals to issue land title deeds within Thailand’s Thap Lan National Park have met with heavy criticism from conservation groups and national park management.
- The plans could set a dangerous precedent for similar action in other protected areas in Thailand and might undermine the status of a flagship UNESCO World Heritage Site, critics say.
- The government says the process is necessary to settle historical boundary disputes with local communities who were living in the area long before it was established as a national park in 1981.
- While there is broad agreement that longtime residents have legitimate claims to land within the park boundaries, sections of land included in the government scheme have been encroached on by commercial developers in recent years, with critics saying the initiative risks legitimizing such illegal developments.

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

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

In Indonesia’s Aceh, a once-isolated forest hosts local travelers on bamboo rafts
- In the semiautonomous region of Aceh, an Indigenous community has repurposed the bamboo rafts they use to commute downriver to sell tourism services to nearby urban settlements.
- The forests of Samar Kilang were once out of reach of Indonesia’s economy, until road access enabled local people to travel into the highlands.
- The nonprofit Katahati Institute has been working with women in Samar Kilang to market nontimber forest products and support the community’s ecotourism venture.

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

Messengers of the gods: Nara’s ‘sacred’ deer at a conservation crossroads
- Japan’s Nara city is famous for its sacred deer, protected for a millennium as “messengers of the gods” according to Shinto religious tradition, and today also a valuable tourism resource.
- In recent years, genetic analysis by Japanese researchers has found that Nara’s protected deer population has become genetically isolated over its history. But a nationwide deer population boom now threatens to end the Nara deer’s long isolation, potentially bringing diseases transmissible to humans, the scientists warn.
- In addition, deer overpopulation can harm farmers’ livelihoods and upset the balance of ecosystems. The Nara prefectural government is leading efforts to minimize community conflicts and ecological damage from both protected and “ordinary” deer.
- However, the researchers warn that even stronger deer management measures, including installing more deer-proof fences and expanded culling, may be necessary to address conservation and community conflict issues.

Nepal govt bypasses parliament to allow commercial projects in protected areas
- Nepal’s government has issued a controversial ordinance bypassing parliament to enable foreign investment in various sectors, including protected areas.
- The ordinance coincides with Nepal’s Investment Summit, facilitating projects like cable car routes and hotels within national parks.
- Details of the ordinance remain undisclosed, but it reportedly amends laws governing protected areas, allowing construction in previously restricted zones.
- Critics have expressed concern over the potential long-term consequences, questioning the impact on conservation efforts and local communities.

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

Costa Rican community struggles to stop an airport ‘destroying our country’
- Some 350 families in Palmar Sur, in southeastern Costa Rica, face eviction over the construction of a new international airport designed to serve the country’s growing tourism industry.
- The project, endorsed by the country’s president, also threatens a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Terraba Sierpe National Wetlands, a large mangrove ecosystem that provides habitat for scores of bird species.
- Since its approval in 2010, the airport project has faced opposition from local communities, who fear the loss of their land, for which they lack property titles.
- Now, locals are considering taking legal action against the state, and are pinning their hopes on pre-Columbian archaeological finds on their land putting an end to the airport project.

Resort in Philippines’ protected Chocolate Hills sparks uproar, probes
- A video of a resort cut into the Philippines’ Chocolate Hills, a protected area, has caused public outrage in the island nation.
- The public outcry has prompted government investigations into the resort, which received approval at the local level but failed to obtain environmental permits required by national law.
- The controversy comes as tourism makes a post-pandemic comeback in the Philippines, prompting questions about how the industry can be managed more sustainably.

Adventure tours with tigers? Nepal’s proposed policy changes raise alarm
- Nepal’s government is proposing zoning changes to allow adventure tourism activities such as canyoning, mountain biking and motorboating inside protected areas.
- The proposed changes are part of a wider push, which includes allowing the operation of hotels and cable cars inside protected areas, to commercialize the country’s globally acclaimed conservation sector.
- Critics argue that the proposed changes could potentially jeopardize hard-won achievements in biodiversity preservation and land restoration.

Cable car proposal is Nepal’s latest plan to commercialize national parks
- Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment is considering allowing the construction of ropeways to carry cable cars within protected areas, according to a draft regulation seen by Mongabay.
- The proposed regulation aims to permit ropeway construction if it facilitates transportation to religious or tourist sites, provided no alternative transport options exist or if cable cars are deemed more environmentally friendly.
- The draft regulation suggests criteria for ropeway construction, including locating base or final stations outside protected areas and minimal infrastructure within, along with proposed fees based on the length of the ropeway.
- The plan comes on the heels of similar moves to open up Nepal’s protected areas to hydropower development and to hotels.

Nepal mulls policy shift to allow hotels back into tiger strongholds
- Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment is working new regulations to permit hotels to operate within national parks like Chitwan, a draft of the document seen by Mongabay suggests.
- The decision follows the closure of seven hotels in Chitwan National Park in 2009 due to ecological concerns and alleged involvement in poaching, with the last of them shutting down in 2012.
- Despite opposition from conservationists and local communities, the government has shown interest in allowing commercial activities, including large-scale hydropower plants, within national parks, raising concerns about environmental degradation.

Oman’s mountain oases offer ancient farming lessons for a warming future
- Traditional oasis agriculture in Oman’s northern mountains is an outstanding example of sustainable land-use in dryland ecosystems.
- But major socioeconomic development throughout Oman over the past 50 years means that traditional agricultural practices, more than a millennium old, are changing too.
- Climate change is also affecting the types of crops that can be grown, particularly at higher altitudes.
- The high value of traditional agricultural products, agritourism, and new cash crops offer ideas on how to sustain the economic viability of these mountain oases.

Can ecotourism protect Raja Ampat, the ‘Crown Jewel’ of New Guinea?
- The world’s most biodiverse marine environment, Raja Ampat in Indonesia, is often seen as a conservation success story.
- With more than 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) of marine protected areas, the archipelago is famous for its government-supported conservation efforts, ecotourism, sapphire-blue waters, and stunning geography.
- On this episode of Mongabay’s podcast, host Mike DiGirolamo travels to several islands in the area to speak with local communities about the benefits and challenges of ecotourism and to catch a glimpse of some amazing endemic species.

African Parks vows to investigate allegations of abuse at Congolese park
- In late January, the Daily Mail published allegations that rangers working with African Parks at Odzala-Kokoua park in the Republic of Congo had beaten and raped Baka community members.
- In a statement, African Parks said it had hired the U.K.-based law firm Omnia Strategy to investigate the allegations, which were raised in a letter sent to a board member by the advocacy group Survival International last year.
- African Parks said it became aware of the allegations through that letter, but in 2022, a local civil society group in the Republic of Congo released a statement accusing rangers of committing “acts of torture.”

Cambodia sea turtle nests spark hope amid coastal development & species decline
- Conservationists in Cambodia have found nine sea turtle nests on a remote island off the country’s southwest coast, sparking hopes for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas).
- It’s the first time sea turtle nests have been spotted in the country in a decade of species decline.
- Two nests have been excavated to assess hatching success; conservationists estimate the nests could hold as many as 1,000 eggs.
- Globally, sea turtle populations are declining, largely due to hunting for food and the animals’ shells, used in jewelry; other threats to sea turtles include tourism development, pollution and climate change.

In Nepal’s Chitwan, tourist pools spell possible trouble for environment & wildlife
- Hoteliers say they believe there’s a growing demand for swimming pools in Nepal’s Sauraha tourist town due to a domestic tourism surge.
- However, unregulated proliferation of pools raises ecological concerns for Chitwan National Park and its diverse wildlife.
- Potential environmental threats include chlorine impact, disinfectant by-products and heavy metal contamination, prompting calls for sustainable tourism practices.

Bird-watching offers potential for conservation & economy in Colombia’s Guaviare
- Bird-watching has become one of the world’s fastest-growing tourist activities in recent years, and efforts are being made in Colombia, home to the highest number of species of any country in the world as of 2023, to set up new bird-watching trails in the hopes of attracting visitors from across the country and abroad.
- One study estimates that tourism activities related to bird-watching could generate 7,500 jobs and contribute $9 million to the economy.
- Catering to bird-watchers offers rural communities in Colombian departments such as Guaviare — which have long suffered from the effects of conflict and state neglect — a way to develop and grow while maintaining the forest intact.

How creative & emotive communication conserved 55,000 acres of Peru’s Amazon
- Protecting the Peruvian Amazon is dangerous work, but conservationist Paul Rosolie and his nonprofit Junglekeepers team have attracted millions of dollars in funding to protect 55,000 acres of rainforest in the country’s Madre de Dios region.
- Rosolie first received international recognition via his 2014 memoir, “Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey in the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon.”
- Today, he runs both a nonprofit and an ecotourism service that employs and is co-led by local and Indigenous people.
- In this podcast episode, Rosolie reflects on his decade-plus journey to today and shares his recipe for conservation success.

A mobile solution for Kenyan pastoralists’ livestock is a plus for wildlife, too
- The use of mobile bomas, or corrals, to keep livestock safe from predators has shown a wide range of benefits for both pastoral communities and wildlife in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
- The bomas reduce the risk of disease and predation among livestock, while allowing for the regeneration of degraded grazing land, which in turn draws in more wild herbivores to the area.
- The increased wildlife presence has led to a rise in wildlife tourism, valued at $7.5 million annually in the 2,400-hectare (6,000-acre) Enonkishu Conservancy.
- Observers warn of potential downsides, however, including food insecurity as community members abandon farming in favor of more lucrative tourism work, and a rise in human-wildlife conflict as the area’s wildlife population grows.

In Venezuela, a mysterious fire sparks concerns for rare mountain wildlife
- A fire on the top of Mount Roraima in Venezuela has baffled scientists, park guards and local community leaders, who have never seen a fire in the area and worry that the rare mountain ecosystem could face increasing threats.
- A photography expedition encountered a mysterious fire that may have been manmade, a lightning strike — or something much more spectacular.
- More resources are needed to educate tourists and locals about the tepuy ecosystem, as well as to monitor human behavior there, experts said.

Conservationists look to defy gloomy outlook for Borneo’s sun bears
- Sun bears are keystone species, helping sustain healthy tropical forests. Yet they’re facing relentless challenges to their survival from deforestation, habitat degradation, poaching and indiscriminate snaring; fewer than 10,000 are thought to remain across the species’ entire global range.
- A bear rehabilitation program in Malaysian Borneo cares for 44 sun bears rescued from captivity and the pet trade and has been releasing bears back into the wild since 2015. But with threats in the wild continuing unabated, success has been mixed.
- A recent study indicates that as few as half of the released bears are still alive, demonstrating that rehabilitation alone will never be enough to tackle the enormous threats and conservation issues facing the bears in the wild.
- Preventing bears from being poached from the wild in the first place should be the top priority, experts say, calling for a holistic approach centered on livelihood support for local communities through ecotourism to encourage lifestyles that don’t involve setting snares that can kill bears.

Gorilla permit fraud dents community-led conservation efforts in Uganda
- Foreign tourists pay $600-$700 per person for gorilla-tracking permits issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which allow them to track and spend an hour with human-habituated mountain gorilla families.
- A recent audit at the UWA showed that some corrupt officials were issuing fake permits, diverting revenue away from the agency and impacting its conservation work, including project funding for communities at the frontline of gorilla conservation.
- In response, the agency suspended 14 staff members suspected of fraud, initiated a thorough probe, and rolled out a new system for issuing permits and collecting revenue.
- Communities living near the gorilla parks, many of whom have faced restrictions on traditional rights to the forests as a result of their protected status, say they’re aware of the scandal and that it’s only the latest in their litany of grievances against the UWA.

Indonesia’s Mandalika project a litany of violations for Indigenous Sasak
- A new investigation has revealed myriad problems plaguing the resettlement and compensation process for Indigenous Sasak families affected by a tourism development project on the Indonesian island of Lombok.
- According to the report by local and international NGOs, the project has impoverished the communities, who have been forced to resettle far from their coastal homes without being properly consulted from the beginning.
- Despite the numerous human rights violations, the project’s main funder, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the project’s developer, the state-owned Indonesian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), insist to conclude the resettlement process in September.
- Activists have called on the AIIB and ITDC to not rush the process without properly consulting with affected communities and remedying the rights violations they’ve suffered and continue to suffer.

Tien Hai Nature Reserve latest battleground in Vietnam’s push for development
- In April, the government of Vietnam’s Thai Binh province quietly issued a decision to remove protection from 90% of Tien Hai Nature Reserve, which forms an integral part of the UNESCO-recognized Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve.
- After environment activists publicized the decision last month, public backlash prompted officials to pause plans to develop a resort in the degazetted area — at least for now.
- The project is just one of several recent cases in which the country’s protected wetlands and forests have been threatened by development projects.

Road upgrade through remote Tanzanian park threatens wildlife (commentary)
- After a pause of more than 10 years, road upgrading through Katavi National Park has restarted.
- Critics worry about the possible effects on long term conservation of protected wildlife populations in the park, the loss of thousands of trees, and a decline in tourist revenue.
- “Once the road is paved, it will never be unpaved. Instead, a compromise solution lies in sensitive thinking of where the large mammals collect,” a wildlife biologist argues in this commentary.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Airport proposal for Malaysian island doesn’t fly with conservationists
- A proposal to build an international airport on Tioman Island in Malaysia would destroy coral reefs in the heart of one of the country’s most biodiverse marine parks and have wide-ranging impacts on local communities and biodiversity.
- Plans for the airport were rejected by authorities in 2018 due to the scale of the environmental impacts it would cause, but government officials are again considering an environmental impact assessment for the development.
- Many of the island’s 3,000 residents have been left in the dark about the plans, which could wipe out livelihoods in two of the island’s seven villages.
- Critics of the project recommend authorities focus on upgrading an existing airstrip on the island to accept larger aircraft and in the meantime invest in sustainable, meaningful, nature-based tourism.

Forests in the furnace: Cambodia’s garment sector is fueled by illegal logging
- An investigation has found factories in Cambodia’s garment sector are fueling their boilers with wood logged illegally from protected areas.
- A Mongabay team traced the network all the way from the impoverished villagers risking their lives to find increasingly scarce trees, to the traders and middlemen contending with slim margins, up to the factories with massive lots for timber supplies.
- The garment industry association denies that any of its members uses forest wood, but the informal and opaque nature of the supply chain means it’s virtually impossible to guarantee this.
- This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network where Gerald Flynn was a fellow. *Names have been changed to protect sources who said they feared reprisals from the authorities.

Tested by COVID and war, an Indigenous conservation system in Ethiopia prevails
- For more than 400 years, communities in the Guassa grasslands of Ethiopia’s central highlands have practiced a sustainable system for managing the area’s natural resources.
- The system’s robustness was severely tested from 2020 with the one-two punch of COVID-19 and the Tigray war, but held strong.
- Threats to the grassland persist, however, from a growing population and road projects, which the community hopes to address through ecotourism initiatives as an alternative source of income.
- The Guassa Community Conservation Area is home to rare plant and wildlife species such as gelada baboons, Ethiopian wolves, and the versatile guassa grass that’s a central part of community life.

Big potential and immense challenges for great ape conservation in the Congo Basin, experts say
- Great apes are on track to lose 94% of their range to climate change by 2050 if humans do nothing to address the problem, according to research.
- In the great apes stronghold of the Congo Basin, national interests in natural resource exploitation, a lack of security in areas like the Albertine Rift, hunting, and the illegal wildlife trade all greatly impact populations of bonobos and mountain gorillas.
- In this episode of Mongabay Explores, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Kirsty Graham, Terese Hart, and Sally Coxe speak with Mongabay about the threats to bonobos and mountain gorillas, the lessons learned from decades of conservation efforts, the importance of great apes for the protection of Congo Basin rainforest, and ways forward for conservation as well as livelihoods for Indigenous and local communities.

Indonesia’s Mandalika megaproject still trampling on Indigenous community’s rights: Report
- U.N. human rights experts have raised concerns about the Mandalika tourism development megaproject in Indonesia for a third year running, a record number for a project of this scale funded by a multilateral development bank.
- The concerns revolve around alleged violations by the security forces against local and Indigenous communities in the Mandalika region of the island of Lombok, which the government plans to turn into a “New Bali” with resorts, hotels and a racetrack.
- The U.N. experts say reports of intimidation, impoverishment and disenfranchisement of the Indigenous communities in Mandalika continue to flood in, despite the U.N. having flagged the project since 2021.
- NGOs have called on the $3 billion Mandalika project’s main funder, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to suspend its financing and launch an independent investigation into the alleged human rights violations.

Tap African knowledge and culture for Congo Basin forest conservation (commentary)
- The Congo Basin is home to the world’s second largest rainforest, but it is under increasing strain from development, logging, mining, and other pressures.
- One of the key ways to slow the loss of forest is to engage local communities which live in the area, whose cultures are deeply rooted in stewardship the land, and have a strong connection to the forest.
- “By tapping into African culture and engaging local communities, the conservation of the Congo Basin forest can be achieved in a sustainable and effective manner,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

As tourism booms in India’s Western Ghats, habitat loss pushes endangered frogs to the edge
- India’s Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, is home to many endemic and endangered species of amphibians, some of which are new to science and others suspected of lying in wait of discovery.
- Deforestation due to infrastructure and plantation expansion in the southern Western Ghats threaten the region’s amphibian species, many of which have highly restricted habitats.
- Adding to their woes is an increased risk of landslides in parts of Kerala due to erratic, heavy monsoon rains and erosion due to loss of forest.
- To save them, experts are calling for a systematic taxonomic survey of amphibians in the region and for legal protection of endangered species.

Honey production sweetens snow leopard conservation in Kyrgyzstan
- Kyrgyzstan is one of a dozen countries where snow leopards live, but its population of 300-400 of the big cats living along its highest peaks is stressed by climate change, mining, road construction, and conflict with herders, whose livestock can be tempting prey.
- A new program by two snow leopard conservation NGOs is helping herders diversify away from livestock toward beekeeping, agroecology, ecotourism and handicrafts.
- Participants receive beehives and training, and help with education and research into the local snow leopard population via deployment of many camera traps, which so far suggest that the local populations of leopards and a favorite prey species, ibex, are stable or increasing.
- Half of the honey profits are invested back into the program to improve beekeeping education, purchase supplies, and to fund environmental projects chosen by the participants.

Indigenous Maasai ask the United Nations to intervene on reported human rights abuses
- Maasai delegates at the United Nations conference on Indigenous people are calling on the forum to increase pressure on the Tanzanian government to address evictions, forced displacement and thousands of seized cattle in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Loliondo.
- Land disputes at both sites have been grinding on for years after the government revealed plans to lease the land to a UAE-based company to create a wildlife corridor for trophy hunting and elite tourism.
- Last year, the dispute reached a boiling point when Tanzanian police officers and authorities shot and beat dozens of Maasai villagers who protested the demarcation of their ancestral land. One Maasai man and one police officer have been killed.
- At the United Nations forum, a Tanzanian government representative rejected accusations brought against it, pointing to a recent court ruling in its favor and a visit by an African human rights commission.

New zipline on Rio’s Sugarloaf raises outcry from conservationists
- Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Sugarloaf stands shrouded in controversy as construction of a 755-meter (2,477-foot) zipline begins from the monolith monument.
- The zipline is the tip of the iceberg, say critics who warn its construction could prompt the approval of other disputed development plans in the region.
- Environmentalists warn the increase in tourism and noise from zipline riders as they descend will disturb nesting birds and other wildlife in the surrounding vegetation.
- Authorities assure the construction will have minimal effects on surrounding nature, but critics say detailed environmental impact reports were not carried out.

Mexico’s Tren Maya hotel construction clears forest reserve without permits
- The construction of a hotel in Mexico’s Calakmul Biosphere Reserve took many residents by surprise when bulldozers started clearing the forest in January.
- The hotel is part of the Tren Maya project, a controversial railway line that will move tourists and cargo throughout the Yucatán Peninsula and southern Mexico.
- Residents said they weren’t consulted and that the location of the project is dangerously close to Maya ruins and important sources of freshwater.

As livelihoods clash with development, Vietnam’s Cần Giờ mangroves are at risk
- Cần Giờ, a coastal district of Ho Chi Minh City, is home to a 75,740-hectare (187,158-acre) mangrove forest, planted and maintained as part of post-war reforestation efforts.
- The district’s residents largely depend on aquaculture, shellfish gathering and small-scale ecotourism for their livelihoods.
- The government and developers hope to market the area as an ecotourism city based on its natural beauty and post-war success story, but major projects could disrupt Cần Giờ’s precarious balance between ecosystems and livelihoods.
- All names of sources in Cần Giờ have been changed so people could speak freely without fearing repercussions from authorities.

Four-day music festival in Sri Lanka elephant territory set to continue, despite protests
HABARANA, Sri Lanka — As a four-day reggae, rock and hip hop music fiesta got underway Feb. 17, putting many wild animals inhabiting a forest reserve in Habarana in Sri Lanka’s North Central province at risk, authorities have chosen to look the other way. The Deep Jungle Music and Cultural Festival 2023 is organized by […]
Saving Masungi, a last green corridor of the Philippines: Q&A with Ann Dumaliang
- The Masungi Georeserve is an important geological region about 30 miles from Manila, within a watershed and conservation area that is home to more than 400 species of flora and fauna, several of which are rare and threatened.
- Ann Dumaliang is a co-founder of the foundation that manages conservation and geotourism in the reserve, which is threatened by illegal quarrying, logging and development.
- Masungi’s rangers have faced violent attacks in recent months, but Dumaliang, her family and colleagues are working with numerous organizations and individuals to reforest and preserve the area.

Ecotourism and education: Win-win solution for Pantanal jaguars and ranchers
- Conflicts between cattle ranchers and jaguars are among the biggest threats to the big cat population in the Brazilian Pantanal, experts warn.
- Studies reveal that nearly a third of jaguars’ diets are cattle, causing economic losses to ranchers and consequent retaliatory killings.
- Conservationists are using new solutions, such as ecotourism, tourism fees and education, to protect both jaguars and the livelihoods of cattle ranchers.
- Empirical evidence suggests that jaguar populations in the Pantanal are now recovering, thanks to shifting perceptions of the wetland’s famous big cat.

In Ecuador, communities protecting a ‘terrestrial coral reef’ face a mining giant
- For nearly 30 years, communities have worked to conserve, restore and defend the cloud forests of the Intag Valley in Ecuador, in what locals say is the longest continuous resistance movement against mining in Latin America.
- The Tropical Andes are considered the world’s most biodiverse hotspot, ranking first in plant, bird, mammal and amphibian diversity; however, less than 15% of Ecuador’s original cloud forests and only 4% of all forests in northwestern Ecuador remain.
- Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer from Chile, plans to open a mine in the Intag Valley that would destroy primary forest and lie within the buffer area of Cotacachi Cayapas National Park — a plan that experts say would be ecologically devastating and not worth the cost.
- Communities are using the presence of two threatened frog species — previously thought to be extinct — at the mining site to challenge the project under the “rights of nature,” Ecuador’s constitutional guarantee that natural ecosystems have the right to exist, thrive, and evolve.

Indonesian ‘island auction’ to go ahead despite concerns over permits
- Shares of a private company with the rights to develop tourism facilities within a marine reserve in Indonesia have reappeared for auction later this month despite the government’s plan to annul an agreement with the firm.
- The government plans to revoke developer PT LII’s 2015 memorandum of understanding with local authorities, including the rights to develop the Widi Islands for 35 years with a possible extension of another 20 years.
- The company’s plan has met mounting concerns in Indonesia, with experts saying it would be essentially selling the islands off to foreigners and cutting off local fishing communities from a key source of livelihood.
- The Widi Islands are also part of a marine reserve in the Pacific Coral Triangle, a region that’s home to the highest diversity of corals and reef fishes in the world.

In Vietnam, a forest grown from the ashes of war falls to a resort project
- Planted in the 1970s as part of Vietnam’s post-war reforestation program, the Dak Doa forest has become both a burgeoning tourist attraction and a lifeline for ethnic minority farmers living in the district.
- The forest is under threat due to a planned tourism, housing and golf complex slated to cover 517 of the forest’s 601 hectares (1,278 of 1,485 acres).
- Work on the project is currently suspended due to the death of more than 4,500 trees in a botched relocation operation, as well as sanctions imposed on local leaders by central party leadership, which found local officials to have committed a series of violations related to land management.
- While currently suspended, the project could still be revitalized if a new investor takes over.

Island shopping: Cambodian officials buy up the Cardamoms’ coast
- A buying spree by Cambodia’s wealthy and politically connected elites has put the fate of a string of small islands in the balance, affecting the livelihoods of local fishers.
- Resort developments threaten the Koh S’dach archipelago’s seagrass and coral ecosystems, which harbor rare and threatened marine life.
- Local fishers have also found themselves locked out of their traditional fishing grounds by the developers, leading to a loss of earnings.
- This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network where Gerald Flynn is a fellow.

Indonesian authorities nip island auction in marine reserve in the bud
- Indonesian officials have sought to neuter an apparent bid to auction off private tourism enclaves to foreign investors in a marine reserve in the country’s east.
- Shares of Bali-based developer PT Leadership Islands Indonesia (LII) had been up for bidding via Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions in New York from Dec. 8-14, but the deputy environment minister said this had now been annulled.
- LII holds the rights to develop tourism facilities in the Widi Islands, but not to sell off individual islands to foreign investors, which is against Indonesian law.
- The Widi Islands are part of a marine reserve in the Pacific Coral Triangle, and while most of the islands are uninhabited, they hold high social, cultural and livelihood importance for local fishing communities.

Work on cable car line to Indonesian volcano to begin despite concerns
- Construction will begin this month on a cable car line to Mount Rinjani on the Indonesian island of Lombok, a UNESCO-listed geopark.
- Environmental activists have expressed concern about the project, noting that local authorities have still not published the environmental impact analysis and feasibility study for public review.
- Authorities insist the cable car line won’t cross into Mount Rinjani National Park, and have touted a series of measures to minimize the environmental impact.

In Nepal, a turtle that rose from the dead makes another grand entrance
- Researchers have discovered a population of black softshell turtles in a wetland in southern Nepal, raising hopes for its conservation.
- The critically endangered species was previously thought to occur in only a handful of ponds in Bangladesh and India, and was so rare that it was briefly declared extinct in the wild in 2002.
- The new discovery adds to other recent findings of the black softshell turtle in the Brahmaputra River that runs through India and Bangladesh.
- Experts say the wetland and river populations are less prone than the pond-confined ones to the threats of fungal infection and inbreeding, and can form the basis of an ecotourism industry benefiting locals.

In Kenya, a Maasai community burned by ecotourism gives it another shot
- Shompole Lodge in southern Kenya opened at the start of the millennium as a radical model of what community-based ecotourism could be, promising jobs, livelihoods and full ownership for the area’s Maasai community.
- But the partnership between the private investor and the community soured over accusations that the former was depriving the latter of their rightful dividends, with the dispute eventually turning deadly after another investor got involved.
- Eight years later, learning from the lessons of that experience, the Shompole community has signed a 35-year lease with Great Plains Conservation to develop a safari camp in the conservation area where the famed Shompole Lodge once stood.

To save threatened Amazon primates in Brazil, turn them into the main attraction
- Primates along the southern portion of Brazil’s Amazon frontier, a region known as the Arc of Deforestation, are being pushed to the brink of extinction as vast swaths of their habitats are cleared.
- A recent assessment places the Vieira’s titi monkey, whose conservation status was previously unknown, now as critically endangered; researchers say other primates face a similarly perilous situation.
- Conservationists say investing in primate-based ecotourism, based on the established model of the bird-watching industry and making use of the existing agroindustry infrastructure, could provide an effective conservation solution.
- Some point to the city of Sinop, in the state of Mato Grosso, as a potential “hotspot” for primate-watching ecotourism.

Thai zoos come under scrutiny again as tourism rebounds from COVID-19
- The welfare of rare and often threatened species in Thailand’s tourism and pet trades has long been a concern for animal rights activists.
- The conditions in which many of the animals are kept became even direr during the COVID-19 pandemic, when border shutdowns meant no visitor revenue to care for the animals.
- NGOs are working to rescue and rehabilitate some of the animals from zoos and private owners, but acknowledge that few, if any, of the animals can ever be released back into the wild.
- They add that rescue and rehabilitation is only part of the solution, and that more focus should go on protecting the natural environment and habitats of these animals over the long term.

Maasai villages lose important court case as wildlife game reserve trudges on
- The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has ruled in favor of the Tanzanian government after a five-year legal battle between Maasai communities and the state over evictions that took place in 2017.
- The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) says Maasai communities did not provide sufficient evidence that evictions were done violently and that they occurred on legally registered land.
- The court case is part of a larger battle between Maasai communities and the state over the creation of a wildlife reserve on disputed lands near Serengeti National Park.
- According to Maasai villagers and their attorneys, the court omitted important evidence and they plan to appeal the EACJ’s decision.

In Belize, a proposed limestone mine threatens conservation legacy (commentary)
- Southern Lagoon lies on Belize’s central coast and sustains a large breeding population of manatees, fish, birds and other wildlife that supports the local community and attracts tourists.
- The limestone hills adjacent to it have also drawn the attention of Vulcan Materials, an Alabama-based company that wants to mine the hills for limestone to ship to the U.S., after its mine in Quintana Roo was shuttered by the Mexican Government for environmental degradation.
- Community resistance to the planned mine and its likely negative effects on the area’s natural beauty and tourism economy has been increasing: the nation’s Prime Minister and three members of the House of Representatives also oppose it, yet the company continues to pursue it.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Debunking the colonial myth of the ‘African Eden’: Q&A with author Guillaume Blanc
- In debunking persistent myths like that of an “African Eden,” Guillaume Blanc, author of “The Invention of Green Colonialism,” lays bare contradictions in the European project to secure and simultaneously exploit Africa’s land during direct colonial rule and after.
- “The more the destruction was happening in Northern [Hemisphere] countries, the more we wanted to save it in Africa,” he told Mongabay in an interview, describing how the campaign to preserve pristine wilderness in Africa has led to the casting of its inhabitants as destructive invaders.
- Blanc argues that the organizations that evolved out of colonial arrangements for colonial aims must acknowledge and apologize for the harm inflicted, dig deeper when seeking change, and cast a wider net for more meaningful solutions that treat citizens of African countries as collaborators not encroachers on their own lands.
- Organizations with a global presence must work with residents of places where they operate and focus on localized research and solutions to remain relevant, Blanc said.

In Indonesia’s West Sumbawa, tide turns on taste for turtle eggs
- Consumption of turtle eggs is widespread in Indonesia’s West Sumbawa district, where they’re served to guests of honor such as local government officials.
- All seven species of sea turtle are listed as threatened worldwide, with egg poaching a key cause of endangerment.
- West Sumbawa officials have pledged to stamp out poaching and consumption of sea turtle eggs.

Engineers bet on a miracle to bring Nepal’s holy river back to life
- Officials in Nepal hope to start reviving the sacred Bagmati River that runs through Kathmandu with the help of a rainwater reservoir.
- The Dhap Dam is expected to go into operation in October, when it will start providing water for the Bagmati during the dry season — a period when the river can shrink to just 3% of its monsoon peak.
- Unlike most other rivers in Nepal, the Bagmati doesn’t flow from the Himalayan icepack, and instead is fed by springs that, in recent decades, have dried up as a result of urbanization.
- But with the river so polluted that a study declared it “not suitable for aquatic life,” even those behind the project acknowledge that the best they can hope for is to improve its condition, not bring it back to life.

No time to keep vultures out of danger as new Nepal airport set to open
- With Nepal’s newest international airport set to open at the start of 2023, there’s still no concrete plan to relocate a nearby waste landfill site.
- The site attracts a host of birds, including several threatened vulture species, and conservationists warn there’s a high risk of bird strikes once flights begin.
- They also say it’s too late to relocate the landfill now, with the vultures expected to continue returning to the site for months or even years to come.
- The civil aviation authority says it will take measures to keep the birds away from the airport and out of danger, including with the use of lasers, reflectors and loud noises.

Mexico’s Maya Train chugs forward, but at what cost to habitats and communities?
- On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast we discuss a massive new railway project, the Maya Train, in Mexico.
- Stretching 1,525 kilometers (958 miles) across five states in the Yucatán peninsula, the project has faced dozens of legal roadblocks for its alleged impact on the environment and lack of thorough, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from local and Indigenous communities.
- Mongabay's Mexico City-based staff writer Max Radwin joins the podcast to discuss the current status of this project, its environmental and social impacts, and the president’s overall approach to infrastructure planning for Mexico.

Traditional communities rally behind ecotourism to conserve their forests
- In the Amanalco-Valle de Bravo region of central Mexico, Indigenous and local communities responsible for more than 8,000 hectares (19,700 acres) of forests have banded together to develop and promote ecotourism projects.
- They offer a wide range of activities and workshops to both generate revenue for the community and to educate visitors on their way of life and the importance of nature.
- On top of creating jobs, the communities want to encourage a type of tourism that combines conservation of their forests, lakes and waterfalls.

Parrots of the Caribbean: Birding tourism offers hope for threatened species
- Four species of parrots endemic to Caribbean islands in the Lesser Antilles — St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Dominica — are clinging to existence amid a volley of hurricanes and volcanic eruptions that have decimated their populations and habitats.
- Efforts by state agencies, NGOs, volunteers and entrepreneurs are trying to ensure that none of them slips into extinction.
- Ecotourism is seen by most people directly involved as being the best route forward for the parrots’ protection and for sustainable community development.

Maasai protesters shot, beaten as Tanzania moves forward with wildlife game reserve
- Tanzanian police officers and authorities have shot and beaten about 31 Maasai villagers, including children, during early June protests over the demarcation of ancestral land for a trophy hunting and safari game reserve. One Maasai man and one police officer have been killed.
- At least 700 Maasai villagers from Tanzania’s Loliondo division of Ngorongoro have fled across the border to Kenya, seeking humanitarian and medical aid.
- According to government spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa, authorities were sent to demarcate the land, not pursue evictions. The government will take legal action against people who interfere with the demarcation process or incite hostility between pastoralists and security forces, he says.
- Human rights groups say the Tanzanian government and authorities are violating a 2018 East African Court of Justice (EACJ) injunction on the land dispute by intimidating, harassing and attacking villagers.

Ray care center: Indonesia’s Raja Ampat a key nursery for young reef mantas
- Scientists have published new evidence confirming that Wayag Lagoon in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago is a globally rare nursery for juvenile reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi).
- Visual observations from 2013 to 2021 show that juvenile reef manta rays are repeatedly encountered in the small, shallow and sheltered lagoon, without the presence of adult individuals; the young rays spend months at a time inside the lagoon, never venturing out.
- The findings have prompted marine authorities in Indonesia to start revising the management of the lagoon to safeguard the manta nursery zone, with regulations being drawn up to limit disturbances to the young rays.
- Both oceanic and reef manta rays are protected species under Indonesian law, which prohibits their catch and the trade of any of their body parts.

Riders of the lost waves: Surfing, and saving, Brazil’s pororocas
- Surfers and volunteers are mapping out tidal bores — spectacular waves that travel dozens of kilometers upriver from Brazil’s Atlantic coast — in an effort to preserve the phenomenon and build a tourism industry around it.
- The best-known pororocas in Brazil are in the states of Amapá, Maranhão and Pará, and once included the Araguari River, site of the 2006 world record for the longest distance surfed (nearly 12 kilometers, or 7.5 miles).
- But the Araguari pororoca disappeared in 2014 when the river’s mouth silted over, the result of development upriver that included livestock ranching and dam building.
- Enthusiasts of the phenomenon now want to develop a Pororoca Park that they say will boost tourism on the Amazon coast, providing income for the Indigenous and traditional communities where many of the remaining pororoca sites are found.

U.N., rights groups flag potential violations in $3b Indonesian tourism project
- The U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has again raised concerns about alleged violations against local and Indigenous communities who are being moved for a tourism development project in Indonesia.
- The Indonesian government envisions building a “New Bali” in the Mandalika region of the island of Lombok, including resorts, hotels and a racetrack, for which it is relocating 121 households.
- Special rapporteur Olivier De Schutter says there are concerns around four issues: the conditions under which the community members are being moved; whether they’ve even consented to doing so; the amount of compensation the government is offering; and the conditions of their resettlement.
- NGOs have called for the $3 billion Mandalika project’s main funder, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to stop financing the project in light of these allegations of rights violations.

For reef mantas, Indonesia’s Komodo National Park is a ray of hope
- A new study has found that Komodo National Park in Indonesia has an aggregation of 1,085 reef manta rays, currently classified as a vulnerable species.
- Experts say that locations such as Komodo will play an important role in safeguarding the species from extinction.
- Manta rays are under pressure from fishing activity, including targeted fishing and bycatch.
- However, experts say the species is also impacted by tourism and the changing dynamics of the ocean.

Ecotours aimed at saving monkeys are likely stressing them out, study finds
- A recent study reveals that tourist boats approaching troops of proboscis monkeys in Malaysian Borneo cause the animals stress, even when the boats travel at slow speeds.
- The research reveals something of a universal response, closely tracking similar findings from ecotourism operations focused on other animals such as birds and whales.
- Wildlife tourism is increasingly seen as a way to raise awareness around conservation issues and provide local communities with a source of income that’s contingent on the protection of ecosystems.
- Scientists say this type of research can form the basis for guidelines aimed at minimizing the effects of ecotourism on animals, especially as its role in conservation grows.

Reframing trophy hunting’s socio-economic benefits in Namibia (commentary)
- Namibia is often cited as a case study to make arguments for trophy hunting, a morally contentious practice that has been adapted into a conservation strategy there by various stakeholders including community-based conservancies.
- But a 2016 study of the total revenue generated by trophy hunting revealed that 92% went to ‘freehold’ landowners, over 70% of whom are white, while less than 8% went to communal conservancies.
- If we are sincere about aligning environmental and social justice, then centering trophy hunting related debates in Namibia around racial inequalities would be an essential and meaningful step, a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Iwan Dento, ‘hero’ of South Sulawesi’s karst mountains
- For more than a decade, environmental activist Iwan Dento has opposed the mining of the limestone karst formations in his homeland of Maros, Indonesia.
- Until 2013, the karst mountain area of Rammang-rammang was mined for marble and limestone, but local resistance led to protective regulations and the establishment of an ecotourism area.
- For his dedication to defending the karst and establishing ecotourism, Iwan Dento has been nominated for several top honors for environmental preservation by both the government and the private sector, and is seen as the “hero” of Rammang-rammang.

Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul mobilizes to reduce wildlife massacre on its roads
- More than 12,000 wild animals were killed on the roads in Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state between 2017 and 2020, including threatened species such as tapirs and giant anteaters.
- The real death toll is likely much higher, conservation groups say, as that number is based only on the carcasses found on the road; in many cases, the animals survive the initial collision but die elsewhere, or else the carcass is dragged away by scavengers.
- The deadliest stretches are on three roads: BR-262, BR-267 and MS-040, the main links between Mato Grosso do Sul’s capital, Campo Grande, and the state of São Paulo.
- In Bonito, a popular ecotourism destination in the state, NGOs are working with the government on measures such as speed bumps and suspended crossings that they hope can be replicated throughout Mato Grosso do Sul.

‘No’ to corporate-driven tourism development in Komodo National Park (commentary)
- Plans to build tourism resorts inside Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, home to the world’s biggest lizard, have for years faced pushback from local communities.
- Opponents of the projects point to the potential for ecological and social disruptions.
- Instead of tourism based on corporate investment, the government should develop a model of community-based tourism, argues Venansius Haryanto, a researcher at Sunspirit for Justice and Peace, an advocacy group based in Labuan Bajo.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Death of last river dolphin in Laos rings alarm bells for Mekong population
- Earlier this year, the last Irrawaddy river dolphin in a transboundary pool between Cambodia and Laos became entangled in fishing gear and died, signifying the extinction of the species in Laos.
- The transboundary subpopulation had dwindled from 17 individuals in 1993, with experts blaming a range of factors — from the use of gill nets and other illegal fishing practices, to overfishing, genetic isolation, and the effects of upstream dams on river flow and prey availability.
- With the loss, there are now just an estimated 89 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the Mekong River, all within a 180-km (110-mi) stretch in Cambodia, where they face the same range of threats that wiped out the transboundary group.
- Authorities and conservationists say they are now resolved to strengthen protections and improve public awareness of the dolphins’ vulnerability to ensure the species has a future in the Mekong.

‘Sharing the air’ proves a challenge for new Nepal airport in bird paradise
- Conservationists and aviation officials have raised concerns about the potential for bird strikes at a new international airport set to open in Pokhara, Nepal, later this year.
- The flight path to the Chinese-funded airport crosses the habitat of vultures and eagles.
- A landfill site close to the airport also draw these birds of prey, increasing the risk of bird strikes.
- Municipality authorities tasked with relocating the landfill site have still not done so, even as construction of airport nears completion by July.

On a Honduran island, a community effort grows to protect its precious reefs
- On the tourism-reliant island of Roatán in Honduras, a homegrown environmental organization has allied with local communities to ensure the natural beauty that draws visitors remains safe.
- Roatán sits along the Mesoamerican Reef, and is home to rich corals and lush mangroves, which face threats from the tourism boom.
- The Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA) takes a three-pronged approach to its work, focusing on science, institutional support for the authorities, and community work.
- The group’s success over the years is unusual in Honduras, which routinely ranks among the most dangerous countries for environmental activists.

Thai tourism elephants are ‘far better off’ in forests: Q&A with photographer Adam Oswell
- Following the collapse of tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of Thailand’s 2,700 captive elephants used for tourism trekked back to rural villages alongside their keepers, where it was hoped they could forage naturally.
- Two years later, international visitors are beginning to return to the country and a new tourism model is emerging in locations where community-managed forests are available to the elephants.
- Under the new model, elephants are granted access to community forests, where they can forage and explore their natural behaviors. Meanwhile, tourists keen to learn about elephants in a natural setting are beginning to visit, enabling people in the villages to generate income.
- Adam Oswell, a photographer who has been documenting wildlife trade and protection in Asia for more than 20 years, spoke with Mongabay recently about his work documenting these projects and the fate of Thailand’s tourism elephants.

Tiger and bear rescue spotlights captive wildlife tourism woes in Thailand
- After two years of closed borders and little tourism revenue, many captive wildlife facilities around the world are struggling.
- Phuket Zoo in Thailand recently closed down permanently, but rehoming its 11 tigers and two bears has proved a challenge.
- A local nonprofit, Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, has stepped in to undertake the largest single rescue of tigers in the country’s history, and has so far transferred one female tiger to its rescue center.
- Animal welfare experts say the situation highlights the perils of overreliance on tourism and are calling on the government to place better controls on breeding animals in captivity.

Thai authorities demolish resorts in parks, but struggle to prosecute encroachers
- More than a twenty luxury resorts and mansions illegally built in national parks in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex have been demolished or ordered to be demolished since October 2020.
- Officials say prosecutions for encroachment rarely succeed, due to legal ambiguities created by legislation that allows people to remain on land they owned prior the declaration as a national park.
- Under the law, residents allowed to remain on park land cannot transfer land outside of their families, but one park official estimates that close to 20% of this land has, in fact, been sold.
- The owners of the newly demolished buildings include retired military generals and prominent businesspeople.

Call for COVID rules that reduced infections in gorilla parks to remain
- Respiratory infections recorded among mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park dropped from a pre-pandemic average of 5.4 outbreaks among family groups to just 1.6 per year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
- Conservation group Gorilla Doctors, whose Rwanda team recorded the decrease in infections, says the decline correlates with lower visitor numbers to the park as well as masking requirements and an increase in the distance tourists must stay from habituated apes.
- In a recent letter in the journal Nature, Gorilla Doctors and the park’s chief warden called for these stricter measures to be kept in place permanently.

Tanzania, siding with UAE firm, plans to evict Maasai from ancestral lands
- In northern Tanzania, more than 70,000 Indigenous Maasai residents are once again facing eviction from ancestral lands as the government reveals plans to lease the land to a UAE-based company to create a wildlife corridor for trophy hunting and elite tourism.
- Maasai leaders have filed an appeal at a regional court, seeking a halt to all plans for the area and calling the renewed attempt to seize the land a blatant violation of an injunction that barred the government from evicting Maasai communities in a case that involved violent evictions.
- According to sources, the regional commissioner of the region told Maasai leaders that the leasing of the land is in the national interest to increase the country’s tourism revenue and was a tough decision for the government to make.
- The timeline for the displacement of Maasai is still developing, while plans for the relocation of another group of Maasai in a UNESCO World Heritage Site will begin at the end of February.

Protecting New Guinea’s forests with birds-of-paradise and ecotourism
- The island of New Guinea is home to 44 species of unique birds-of-paradise that are found nowhere else on Earth.
- The EcoNusa Foundation in Indonesia and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have partnered on a campaign called “defending paradise,” using the birds as ambassadors for the island’s biodiversity and communities.
- Home to the third-largest tract of tropical rainforest in the world, of which 80% is still intact, New Guinea is in a unique position to conserve its forest cover as part of an economy that serves its local inhabitants, rather than extracting from and deforesting these communities.
- For this episode of Mongabay Explores, we interview Bustar Maitar, founder and CEO of the EcoNusa Foundation, and Edwin Scholes, head of the Birds-of-Paradise Project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Grounded by conflict and COVID, Colombia’s bird tourism struggles to soar
- In Colombia, the landmark 2016 peace accords with the FARC heralded hopes of ushering in bird-watching tourism in previously inaccessible, biodiverse regions.
- Birding tourism has unique advantages, including dedicated bird-watchers who will pay good money to go to remote locations.
- But the pandemic, protests, and the persistent perception of insecurity has stymied the country’s bird tourism industry from reaching its full potential.

Exploring New Guinea’s extraordinary natural and cultural richness
- New Guinea is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Making up less than 0.5% of the world’s landmass, it is estimated to contain as much as 10% of global biodiversity.
- The dense mountainous region creates barriers to development and conservation alike, but has contributed to preserving 80% of the island’s forest cover which still remains intact.
- However, experts are worried that extractive industries threaten not just its vast biodiversity but the human knowledge, culture, and livelihood of its original inhabitants, which represent more than 1,000 different languages across the island.
- Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series exploring unique people, places, and stories from around the globe in-depth. You may be familiar with our previous seasons on “The Great Salamander Pandemic,” and “Sumatra.”

Agricultural frontier advances in Nicaraguan biosphere reserve
- The Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve in Nicaragua encompasses some 1.8 million hectares, as well as smaller protected areas such as Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge, the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, Bartola Nature Reserve, and the Solentiname Islands.
- The Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve lost around 600,000 hectares of forest between 2011 and 2018.
- Satellite data show forest loss has intensified in the northern and central parts of the reserve since 2018, and only fragmented portions of primary forest remain.
- Sources said that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the National Forestry Institute are responsible for ensuring the effective conservation of the country’s protected areas, but that they are not currently fulfilling their monitoring duties.

Mongabay’s Top 10 Indigenous News Stories of 2021
- To date, 2021 has proved to be one of the most consequential years for Indigenous rights and participation in global climate and conservation efforts.
- In some parts of the world, Indigenous communities saw support for their rights increase, while in others, threats to their land rights by extractive industries continued unabated.
- To end the year, Mongabay rounds up the top 10 Indigenous news stories of 2021.

As its glaciers melt, Nepal is forced into an adaptation not of its choosing
- Climate change is causing the glaciers in Nepal’s Himalayan region to melt at an alarming rate, threatening fragile ecosystems, vulnerable communities, and billions of people downstream who rely on the rivers fed by the ice pack.
- If global greenhouse gas emissions continue on a business-as-usual trajectory and average global temperatures rise by more than 4°C (7.2°F) by 2100, the Himalayan region could lose up to two-thirds of its glaciers, a study shows.
- For farming communities, this means water shortages, less feed for their livestock, and increased risks of natural disasters such as landslides and glacial lake flash floods.
- The Himalayas are, at present, heating up at rates up to 0.7°C (1.3°F) higher than the global average, and poor communities are already feeling the impacts.

Lockdown underscores Uganda’s overreliance on tourism to fund conservation
- When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March 2020, Uganda quickly shut down parks like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to protect the gorillas and chimpanzees from getting infected.
- Tourism provides up to 60% of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s operating revenue and is also an important source of income for communities living around Bwindi.
- Poaching in Bwindi rose sharply during lockdown in 2020 as some villagers entered the park to hunt for food or an income.
- One NGO reinforced its programs supporting public health and livelihoods in an attempt to reduce this pressure.

Insects and other invertebrates on tropical islands face challenges as development and tourism expand
- Oceanic islands host 50 percent of the world’s endangered species, but human activities can greatly disturb these isolated ecosystems.
- The number and diversity of insects and other invertebrate species decrease on islands dedicated to urban development or tourism, according to a new study in the Maldives.
- Fragmented habitats take a toll on these species on urban islands, while pesticides are the suspected culprits on tourist islands.

In Indonesia, a coastal town rejects ‘metropolitan’ model for mangroves
- Sofifi, the tiny capital of one of Indonesia’s remotest provinces, has made mangrove conservation and ecotourism a central part of its development.
- The town recently inaugurated the Guraping Mangrove Tourism Forest, which officials hope will draw tourists to the town and help it develop into something greater than an administrative hub.
- Indonesia is home to nearly a quarter of the world’s mangrove forests, an important ecosystem that sequesters carbon, blunt the impact of storm surges, and harbour a rich array of marine life.

Local communities saved Cabo Pulmo with a national park. Then came the tourists.
- A well-known conservation success story in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, involves a local community that lobbied the government to establish a marine park and no-take zone that would save its coral reefs.
- Decades later, the area is now an extremely popular vacation destination, with more tourists entering the area than the local community can handle.
- Residents feel overwhelmed by the growth and popularity of the area. They are calling for new regulations to be put in place.

Indigenous group faces eviction for ‘New Bali’ tourism project in Sumatra
- The volcanic crater lake of Toba in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province is the site of what the government is touting as a new tourism hub.
- The area has for generations been home to the Indigenous Pomparan Ompu Ondol Butarbutar, who now face eviction and have seen their farms razed to make way for the tourism resort.
- The group is filing lawsuits to prevent its eviction from what it considers its ancestral land, but faces obstacles because its customary land rights aren’t recognized by the government.
- The tourism project is one of several large ventures underway in this region; there are also power plant projects and a planned zinc mine near Lake Toba, some of them funded by Chinese investment.

Light exhibits at Indonesian botanic garden spark commercialization concerns
- Established by the Dutch colonial government in the late 19th century, Indonesia’s Bogor Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest and largest in the world.
- As one of the nation’s most important scientific institutions, its formal functions are plant conservation, research, education, scientific tourism, and environmental services.
- To attract a wider range of visitors, decorative lighting installations and projections on trees have been installed as part of a new after-dark attraction.
- Several groups have criticized the lighting exhibits, including four former heads of the garden, who say they commercialize the site and detract from its scientific and educational mission in favor of profit and recreation.

For World Gorilla Day 2021, a conservation success story
- The NGO that helped establish World Gorilla Day — the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund — has learned a few important lessons for the conservation of gorillas and other species over the years.
- Firstly, conservation can’t happen without local support: when community members they work with come to understand the importance of the habitat that surrounds them, the project can succeed. Another lesson is that conservation takes time, money and diversification.
- “By engaging rather than excluding communities and ensuring that local people benefit from conservation, we have found that we can protect wildlife with a footprint that is 15 times smaller than that for mountain gorillas.”
- This article is an analysis for World Gorilla Day 2021 by the chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

‘Conservation should be seen as what communities have always done’, says John Kamanga
- Efforts to protect wildlife and landscapes have generally been shifting away from “fortress conservation” toward more inclusive approaches. Among these latter approaches are community conservancies, which have been expanding around the world, but have especially gained traction in East Africa.
- According to John Kamanga, the founder and director of SORALO, community-based conservation initiatives in East Africa got a boost in the mid-1990s when Kenya Wildlife Service launched its “Parks beyond Parks” program and international donors started channeling more funds toward communities.
- Over that 25-year timeframe, Kamanga said that local peoples’ interest in conservation has grown, while the international community has become more cognizant of the role communities play in protecting and managing wildlife and natural lands.
- Still, the resources allocated to community conservation have not reached a level commensurate with their impact, the conservation leader told Mongabay during a September 2021 interview.

Saving sea turtles in the ‘Anthropause’: Successes and challenges on the beach
- The COVID-19 pandemic has posed tough challenges for sea turtle conservation projects across the planet.
- Conservationists describe how economic issues have put turtles and themselves at risk from poachers, while travel restrictions have crippled operations in Costa Rica and Malaysia.
- The lull in human seashore activities also revealed that tourism pressure affects nesting turtle behavior in the Mediterranean, a study shows.
- In Lebanon, raising awareness has been key to turtle conservation successes despite the country’s economic collapse, conservationists said.

Conservation after coronavirus: We need to diversify and innovate (commentary)
- Protected areas, the ecotourism industry, and many conservation initiatives and communities, which depend on international tourism, took a financial hit as COVID-19 lockdowns started. As poverty swelled in these regions, there’s been an increase in poaching in Africa’s protected areas, including Zambia’s Kafue National Park.
- Long before the emergence of COVID-19, the conservation community has suffered from a chronic dearth of resources; with the pandemic, protected areas and related communities experienced a sharp retraction in investment.
- With examples from across the world, philanthropist Jon Ayers and Panthera CEO Frederic Launay call for diversified and innovative steps to increase funding and support for conservation communities.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Fires rage in Bolivia’s Chiquitania region
- Authorities are battling an outbreak of wildfires in eastern Bolivia’s Chiquitania region.
- Satellite data show fires have intensified over the past two weeks and are invading protected areas.
- The fires are destroying habitat spared by Bolivia’s extreme fire season of 2019.
- Wildfires in Bolivia are often associated with burning for agriculture, and satellite data and imagery show recent fires on agricultural land that directly preceded nearby blazes that have spread into protected forest.

They safeguarded nature, but now Malaysia’s Mah Meri face eviction for an eco-resort
- Members of the Mah Meri Indigenous community in Malaysia are fighting an attempt to evict them to make way for the expansion of a beach resort.
- The notice, served by the Selangor state government, says the land in question belongs to the government, and has threatened legal action if the Mah Meri settlement is not cleared.
- In a countersuit, the Mah Meri say the land should have been legally recognized as Indigenous territory long before this dispute developed.

Loss of mangroves dims the light on firefly populations in Malaysia
- Firefly populations along the banks of the Rembau River in Malaysia have declined drastically in the past decade due to habitat loss, a new study has found.
- Researchers, who used satellite imagery to monitor changes in land use, found that conversion of Rembau’s mangroves to oil palm plantations and dryland forests were the top two factors behind the loss.
- Remote-sensing technology could help locals better understand the impact of various land use types on mangrove ecosystems and more efficiently prioritize areas for conservation.

Green peafowl flourish in Thailand’s northern forests, but conflict looms
- Green peafowl (Pavo muticus) are thought to occur across 16% of their former range in mainland Southeast Asia, confined to a handful of isolated forests by a legacy of forest habitat loss, overhunting, and conflict with humans.
- A new study documents a thriving population in a network of four protected areas in Phayao province in northern Thailand; it is the largest population yet recorded in mainland Southeast Asia.
- While the green peafowl population in Phayao’s protected forests appears to be thriving, the new study spotlights growing conflict with farmers as peafowl venture into adjacent cropland to raid rice and maize.
- Local partners are leveraging the green peafowl’s popularity with bird-watchers to improve local perceptions of the birds.

Overcoming community-conservation conflict: Q&A with Dominique Bikaba
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is renowned for its biodiversity. The area is also home to the Batwa people, who are highly dependent on its forests for their livelihoods and cultural traditions.
- Efforts to protect these forests are challenged by conservation’s mixed record: Kahuzi-Biega’s expansion in the 1970s forced the displacement of thousands of local people, turning them into conservation refugees and sowing distrust in conservation initiatives.
- One of the local organizations leading efforts to overcome these challenges is Strong Roots Congo, which was co-founded by Dominique Bikaba in 2009. Strong Roots Congo puts the needs of local people at the center of its strategy to protect endangered forests and wildlife in eastern DRC.
- “Strong Roots’ approach to conservation is bottom-up, collaborative, and inclusive,” Bikaba said during a recent conversation with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Reckoning with elitism and racism in conservation: Q&A with Colleen Begg
- Long-running concerns about discrimination, colonial legacy, privilege, and power dynamics in conservation have come to the forefront with the recent resurgence of the social justice movement. But will this movement lead to lasting change in the sector?
- South African conservationist Colleen Begg says that meaningful transformation will require dedicated and sustained efforts to drive real change in conservation.
- Begg, who co-founded both the Niassa Carnivore Project in Mozambique and Women for the Environment, Africa, says that conservationists in positions of power need to open themselves to criticism and change, while creating pathways for new leaders and ideas to come forward.
- Begg spoke about these issues and more in a recent conversation with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Private investors look to high-end tourism to fund conservation in Mozambique
- Karingani Game Reserve is a 150,000-hectare (371,000-acre) private nature reserve being developed in southwestern Mozambique that intends to rehabilitate the landscape and boost wildlife populations inside its borders.
- Operators of Karingani say the reserve will finance itself by attracting high-end tourism and measures its progress through a novel set of conservation indicators.
- Attracting private capital into conservation projects has long been proposed as a way to cover shortfalls from public and philanthropic funding sources, with Karingani being a recent example of this approach.
- But local communities have complained in recent years that the land Karingani is being developed on was signed over to government officials under false pretenses, raising questions about power imbalances in the model.

Researchers look to locals to fill knowledge gap on Philippine tarsier
- Philippine tarsiers (Carlito syrichta) are the poster child of the country’s burgeoning ecotourism industry, but little is known about their taxonomy, population size and conservation status.
- The findings of a new study suggest that tarsiers are being captured from the wild to supply tourism venues and the local pet trade, presenting a major threat to the species’ survival.
- Researchers say they hope educational programs that focus on changing local people’s perceptions of tarsiers and encouraging ecotourism in tarsiers’ natural habitat could help protect them.

Conservation solutions in paradise: Jamaica’s Oracabessa Bay Fishing Sanctuary
- A group of local fishermen and tourism industry stakeholders established a fishing sanctuary several years ago in Oracabessa Bay in response to a decline in vital Jamaican coastal life like coral and herbivorous fish.
- Surveys indicate an increase in reef health due to the efforts despite challenges, and the conservation model is set to be replicated at multiple other sites in Jamaica.

For Africa’s great apes, a post-pandemic future looks beyond tourism
- From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, primatologists assumed great apes would be susceptible to the virus and took measures to avoid transmission to captive and wild populations.
- Precautionary measures like closing parks and sanctuaries to visitors have so far prevented an outbreak in wild apes, but have had a massive impact on the ability of conservation groups and government agencies to fund themselves via tourism.
- A year into the pandemic, the revenue shortfall is prompting a serious rethink of funding models for ape conservation that don’t rely on tourism.

An engaged society is key for the future of African conservation, says WWF Africa’s Alice Ruhweza
- Protecting Africa’s charismatic megafauna often come first to mind when Westerners think about conservation in Africa, but this is a narrow view that doesn’t capture the range of issues involved in conservation efforts across the continent.
- Alice Ruhweza, the regional director for Africa for WWF, says conservation in Africa is about about ecosystems and people: “As the home of humankind, Africa and its ecosystems have evolved together with people. When we talk about conservation in Africa we are really talking about people and nature.”
- Ruhweza says that growing recognition of this connection is driving “a shift to a more people-centered and rights-based conservation,” including within WWF.
- Ruhweza spoke about these issues and more during a recent interview with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Popular opposition halts a bridge project in a Philippine coral haven
- The Philippine government has suspended work on a bridge that would connect the islands of Coron and Culion in the coral rich region of Palawan.
- Activists, Indigenous groups and marine experts say the project would threaten the rich coral biodiversity in the area as well as the historical shipwrecks that have made the area a prime dive site.
- The Indigenous Tagbanua community, who successfully fought against an earlier project to build a theme park, say they were not consulted about the bridge project.
- Preliminary construction began in November 2020 despite a lack of government-required consultations and permits, and was ordered suspended in April this year following the public outcry.

Sea turtles under threat as Indian government weighs development in Andaman Islands
- Little Andaman Island is part of a rainforested archipelago far off India’s eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal.
- An Indian government think tank has proposed developing the island along with another in the archipelago. If implemented, experts say the plan would pose a threat to nesting sites of leatherback sea turtles, whose population globally is declining.
- The leatherback is the largest of all living turtles, and India and Sri Lanka are the only places in South Asia with large nesting populations.
- The island is also home to the Onge Indigenous tribe.

Philippine province builds on lessons learned to grow ecotourism industry
- Antique province in the central Philippines is looking to boost local revenues through ecotourism, after the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on a thriving tourism industry.
- The province is home to a rich biodiversity, including the critically endangered writhed-billed hornbill, giant rafflesia “corpse flower,” and rare bowl corals.
- Taking a leaf from the experience of nearby Boracay, the resort island where a tourism boom led to severe environmental damage, local officials face the challenge of balancing tourism-driven development and environmental protection.
- A prominent lawmaker is pushing for seascapes and coastal zones in the province to be given national protection.

Helping Papuans protect Indonesia’s last frontier: Q&A with Bustar Maitar
- Bustar Maitar’s storied career in environmental activism began in the Indonesian region of Papua, the land of his birth and today the coveted target of extractives and industrial agriculture companies.
- In his time at Greenpeace International, Maitar led a forest conservation campaign that pressured major corporations like Nestlé and Unilever to commit to zero deforestation in their supply chains.
- Maitar’s new venture, the EcoNusa Foundation, brings him back to Papua, where it all began, to push for protecting the forests, waters and other ecosystems of this last pristine frontier in Indonesia.
- In an interview with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler, Maitar talks about bridging international NGOs with local communities, ecotourism as a development model for eastern Indonesia, and the revival of the kewang system of traditional environmental stewardship in the Maluku Islands.

Mixed fates for captive elephants sent back to villages amid Thai tourism collapse
- With tourism collapsing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2,700 captive elephants used for tourism purposes in Thailand faced a crisis.
- Many elephants and their keepers trekked back to their owners’ native villages, where it was hoped they could forage naturally. Others remained in camps, often in chains and with fewer staff to care for them.
- The welfare of elephants in villages depends greatly on the amount of intact forest available to them. But experts say welfare monitoring is difficult.
- Campaigners are calling on the Thai government and tourism industry to make systemic changes to improve conditions and reduce the number of elephants used for tourism.

Turtle conservation hits the SPOT in North Cyprus
- Green and loggerhead turtle nest counts have increased by 162% and 46% respectively in less than two decades on North Cyprus in the Mediterranean.
- The increase has been achieved through preventing nests being raided by dogs and foxes, and protecting the beaches from tourism development.
- Conservation begun by enthusiasts in 1983 is now organized by a local NGO, the Society for the Protection of Turtles (SPOT), in collaboration with scientists from the University of Exeter in the U.K. and the local Department of Environmental Protection.
- Many issues still impact the recovery of turtle populations: loggerheads are killed in fishing nets, while both species are affected by plastic pollution in a variety of ways.

Dying of curiosity: Why people shoot harpy eagles
- A recent study in the Journal of Raptor Research collected records of harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) persecution across Central and South America.
- They found 132 documented cases of people killing the birds in 11 of the 18 countries in the species’ range.
- Researchers say that curiosity and a desire to see the birds up close is a major reason that people shoot the birds, followed by fears that they may threaten livestock, hunting of the eagles for meat, and capturing them for the illegal wildlife trade.
- Conservationists have established programs trying to protect the birds in several countries across the harpy’s range, but these projects often suffer from a lack of funds.

The Kalunga digitally map traditional lands to save Cerrado way of life
- The Kalunga represents a grouping of 39 traditional quilombola communities — the descendants of runaway slaves — living on a territory covering 262,000 hectares (647,000 acres) in Goiás state in central Brazil, within the Cerrado savanna biome.
- This territory has been under heavy assault by illegal invaders, including small-scale wildcat gold miners, and large-scale mining operations, as well as land grabbers who have destroyed native vegetation to grow soy and other agribusiness crops.
- To defend their lands, the Kalunga received a grant from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), supported by Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, EU, the Global Environment Facility, Japan and the World Bank. With their funding, the Kalunga georeferenced the territory, pinpointing homes, crops, soils, 879 springs, and vital natural resources.
- In February 2020, the U.N. Environment Programme and World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) recognized the Kalunga Historical and Cultural Heritage Site as the first TICCA (Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous and Local Communities) in Brazil, making it what UNEP-WCMC calls a “Territory for Life.”

How the pandemic impacted rainforests in 2020: a year in review
- 2020 was supposed to be a make-or-break year for tropical forests. It was the year when global leaders were scheduled to come together to assess the past decade’s progress and set the climate and biodiversity agendas for the next decade. These included emissions reductions targets, government procurement policies and corporate zero-deforestation commitments, and goals to set aside protected areas and restore degraded lands.
- COVID-19 upended everything: Nowhere — not even tropical rainforests — escaped the effects of the global pandemic. Conservation was particularly hard in tropical countries.
- 2019’s worst trends for forests mostly continued through the pandemic including widespread forest fires, rising commodity prices, increasing repression and violence against environmental defenders, and new laws and policies in Brazil and Indonesia that undermine forest conservation.
- We don’t yet have numbers on the degree to which the pandemic affected deforestation, because it generally takes several months to process that data. That being said, there are reasons to suspect that 2020’s forest loss will again be substantial.

Activists in Malaysia call on road planners to learn the lessons of history
- To its proponents, the 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) Pan Borneo Highway holds the promise of economic development for the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo.
- But activists in Sabah say that poor planning and an emphasis on extracting resources mean that the highway could harm communities and ecosystems in Sabah’s forests and along its coastlines.
- A new film captures the perspectives of people living closest to the highway’s proposed path and reveals the struggles that some have faced as the road closed in on their homes.
- Meanwhile, an environmental historian argues that Pan Borneo Highway planners are repeating the same mistakes British colonists made in focusing on extraction, rather than trying to find ways to benefit Sabah’s communities.

Conservation must be primary goal of great ape tourism, despite COVID-driven recessions (commentary)
- The months-long closure of national parks and continued travel restrictions due to COVID-19 has disrupted a critical revenue source for great ape conservation: sustainable tourism.
- Countries which rely on tourism as a significant source of their GDP must continue to place biodiversity principles at the heart of recovery efforts, and explore alternative livelihood options for local communities.
- Where great ape tourism is concerned, conservation must always be the primary goal of any endeavor.
- This article is a commentary, the views expressed are not necessarily those of Mongabay.

Philippine resort owner hit with environmental charges as Boracay cleans up
- The owner of two resorts on the Philippine holiday island of Boracay has been arrested for alleged violations of the country’s environmental laws.
- The owner was previously given leeway to self-demolish establishments encroaching on the easement zone along the shore, but failed to do so, leading to the arrest, the National Bureau of Investigation said.
- Boracay has been under a massive rehabilitation effort since 2018, when President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the island shut. It has since been reopened for limited numbers of tourists, while rehabilitation is ongoing.
- Twenty-one other resorts charged with similar violations will be subjected to the same action should they refuse to follow environmental laws, the investigations bureau said.

On a Philippine mountain, researchers describe a ‘fire flower’ orchid species
- A new wild orchid species, Dendrochilum ignisiflorum, has been described in the Philippine province of Benguet in the northern Cordilleras mountain range.
- This fiery orange orchid belongs to a genus found in high-elevation forests in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines, Borneo and Sumatra.
- The scientists who described it say the species is threatened by climate change, which could make its niche range uninhabitable.
- The mountain where it’s found is also an increasingly popular tourist spot, while the forests in the area around it are being cleared for agriculture.

As predators return to Sweden’s wild, ecotourism looks to change mindsets
- Top carnivores such as bears, wolves and lynxes are thriving in the wild in Sweden, where many of them were once extinct or nearly wiped out.
- Policies such as hunting restrictions and compensation for herders affected by livestock predation have allowed these species to recover.
- However, the growing presence of these animals, in particular the wolf, has been controversial, especially among farmers and hunters.
- Ecotourism operators, who expect the predator populations to hold steady over the long term, want locals to see that they can coexist with, and even profit from, the wildlife in their midst.

In Sumatra, forest edge communities must be at the center of conservation efforts (commentary)
- Forest-edge communities in North Sumatra, Indonesia, are on the front lines when it comes to nature conservation efforts, and require greater support and social protection from the government and NGOs.
- With the failure of ecotourism in the wake of COVID-19, safeguarding community well-being requires more focus on diversification of sustainable livelihoods, and a sound strategy for the prevention of human-wildlife conflict.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Madagascar reopens national parks shuttered by COVID-19
- On Sept. 5, Madagascar began reopening all its national parks. They’d been closed since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The pandemic has been devastating for local economies, which depend heavily on tourism.
- Madagascar authorities also announced further easing of restrictions throughout much of the island nation and the resumption of limited international flights.

Beyond tourism: A call for business ideas that protect African wildlife, ecosystems
- The African Leadership University has launched an innovation challenge to develop new commercial ideas for rural livelihoods that protect biodiversity.
- Wildlife tourism is the best-known “conservation business,” but it’s unclear how much it directly contributes to funding conservation, even if it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Applicants to the innovation challenge will develop non-tourism business ideas that will protect ecosystems, empower communities, and convince investors they are both scalable and financially sustainable.

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.

Illegal plant trade, tourism threaten new Philippine flowering herbs
- Scientists have described a new ornamental plant species in the biodiverse region of Palawan, a province in the western Philippines.
- The new species, Begonia cabanillasii, is the 25th begonia species found on the island and the 133rd recorded in the Philippines.
- Begonias are flowering perennial herbs popular in the ornamental plant trade. The new species grows in a shady and rocky undergrowth habitat in Palawan and is assessed to be critically endangered.
- The illegal plant trade and tourism, a driver of deforestation in the province, pose the biggest threat to this new plant species and other Palawan-endemic flora, researchers say.

Vietnam approves $9 billion development within mangrove reserve
- Vietnam’s $9.3 billion Can Gio Tourist City was recently approved for construction within the buffer zone of a UNESCO Mangrove Biosphere Reserve in Ho Chi Minh City.
- Developed by Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest private company, the project will require the reclamation of a huge amount of land along Can Gio’s coast.
- Environmentalists and activists have petitioned the government to reconsider the project, but Vingroup is a key part of the country’s drive toward industrialization and home-grown world-class companies.

We need a green life support plan (commentary)
- Tourism — much of it nature-based – comprises 2% of sub-Saharan African nations’ GDP, which can rise to up to 38% for some countries. It is also critical to sovereign credit analysis, giving countries access to capital markets, external financing and funds to support government programs, including nature-based tourism. But with the collapse of international tourism in response to COVID-19, sub-Saharan African countries are facing credit rating downgrade risks, putting conservation funding at risk.
- Without income from nature-based tourism, many small- and medium-size enterprises in the nature-based tourism sector risk closure, and wildlife conservation will be seriously compromised as landowners and locals could be incentivized to convert conserved land into agriculture production and partake in illegal activities such as overfishing, with significant negative results for countries’ nature-based assets.
- With the long-term sustainability of these nature-dependent economies threatened, the authors argue for standardized, methodical and systemic funding for the conservation, protection and restoration of the natural capital.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Forest communities in Mexico suffer the blow of COVID-19 pandemic
- Rural communities involved in forest management and ecotourism across Mexico are reeling from the economic impact of the shutdown sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Many of these communities run ecotourism projects for income, but mobility restrictions have meant no more visitors, and therefore no income.
- The communities are also struggling with a slowdown in their other main income stream, the sale of forestry products, as the wider economy takes a hit from the pandemic response.
- Without assistance to stay afloat, community managers say they fear they will have to shut down their ecotourism initiatives, which is one of the main incentives for keeping their forests standing.

Myanmar ponders what to do with its out-of-work elephants
- As the Myanmar government moves to rein in deforestation, thousands of captive elephants trained to haul logs in Myanmar may lose the care and protection they received when working.
- A government body that owns more than 2,900 captive elephants has turned to ecotourism to raise funds to care for the elephants, but it’s not enough.
- Releasing the elephants into the wild presents its own difficulties, including increased risks of human-wildlife conflict and poaching.
- Private owners, strapped for cash, may be forced to kill their elephant and sell its parts, or sell it alive to another country.

Indonesia reopens national parks to tourists as COVID-19 cases rise
- Indonesia is reopening 29 national and nature parks to local and foreign tourists despite a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
- The parks were closed earlier this year to prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus to wildlife populations.
- Authorities say the parks will be allowed to open with strict health protocols, including limiting visitors to half capacity.
- Some of the parks allowed for reopening are home to rare and threatened species such as orangutans, proboscis monkeys, Javan hawk-eagles, and silvery gibbons.

Loss, resilience and community amid an outbreak: Q&A with gorilla researcher Magdalena Bermejo
- Magdalena Bermejo, a prominent expert on western lowland gorillas, experienced the loss of thousands of the great apes to Ebola, including two groups she and her team were studying and had worked to habituate.
- Having remained in the Republic of Congo, Bermejo is now facing the arrival of a new epidemic that could potentially spread between humans and gorillas.
- In this interview, Bermejo discusses her ongoing work in the Congo, the importance of working with communities, parallels between Ebola and COVID-19, and how researchers can find the strength to persevere and rebuild in the aftermath of catastrophe.

Kafka in the Amazon: Volunteer forest fire fighter charged with arson still in limbo
- Alter do Châo, a small resort town within Santarém municipality in Pará state, welcomed some 200,000 tourists last year, causing real estate prices to soar, and putting increasing pressure on the Amazon resort’s surrounding forests.
- Following the 2019 Amazon wildfire season, Brazilian police arrested four volunteer firefighters, accusing them of arson in the Alter do Châo Reserve. The firefighters allegedly set the fires to receive money from international environmental groups, according to the authorities. But no evidence has been presented as yet.
- The investigation has dragged on for months, with one suspect still under house arrest. However, many locals believe land speculators and/or land thieves are far more likely to be responsible for last year’s blazes.
- The fear expressed by many in Alter do Châo, is that lawlessness is becoming sanctioned in Amazonia due to the failure of the Bolsonaro government to prosecute socio-environmental crimes. Meanwhile, the volunteer fire brigade members continue awaiting the slow turning of Brazil’s wheels of justice.

From crisis to solutions for communities and African conservation (commentary)
- The COVID-19 pandemic has created a profound crisis for conservation efforts in eastern and southern Africa as a result of the sudden cessation of all international travel in a region where nature-based tourism and conservation are closely interdependent.
- Conservation leaders Dickson Kaelo, Daniel Sopia, Damian Bell, Richard Diggle, and Fred Nelson argue that the way that conservationists respond to both the near-term crisis and the longer term implications of the unfolding pandemic will be pivotal for the future of Africa’s wildlife.
- The crisis, they write, is also an opportunity to question inherited assumptions, refine existing models, and improve conservation practices.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Economists put a price tag on living whales in Brazil: $82 billion
- Last year, a team of four economists published a report suggesting that living whales have a high market value for the services they provide in terms of ecotourism, carbon sequestration, and fishery enhancement. Each whale is worth about $2 million USD, they estimated.
- The economists, in collaboration with two conservation organizations, Instituto Baleia Jubarte and the Great Whale Conservancy, estimated that Brazil’s whale population is worth $82 billion.
- The team says it hopes the notion of valuing whales in Brazil, as well as in other coastal nations, can help protect whales from common fatalities like ship strikes, fishing gear entanglement, and deliberate hunting.

Market-based solutions cannot solely fund community-level conservation (commentary)
- In the last two decades, conservation and the market economy merged into what is called “neoliberal conservation,” where economic growth and the protection of nature are thought to be essentially compatible.
- However, conservation in places like North Sumatra will be last on the agenda when markets tumble and the economic system that people are now addicted to – in even the most remote places – collapses.
- Schemes like ecotourism and payment for ecosystem services should be paired with programs like sustainable local agriculture to prevent the re-emergence of poaching and illegal logging, and to ensure that conservation-oriented behaviors persist when markets fail.
- This article is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

Is ecotourism better for the environment?
Ecotourism was a concept developed in the 70’s and 80’s as a way to use tourism to encourage conservation and promote the well-being of local communities. Though ecotourism is intended to be a more environmentally friendly alternative, in practice it’s not as straightforward. Studies show that in some cases, ecotourism efforts can flop. These failures […]
As visitors vanish, Madagascar’s protected areas suffer a ‘devastating’ blow
- The country has lost half a billion dollars in much-needed tourism revenue since the start of 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis, according to official estimates.
- Tourism contributes toward funding conservation efforts in Madagascar’s network of protected areas; those protected areas that rely heavily on foreign visitors have been hit worst by the crisis.
- There are also fears that international funding, the primary support for conservation efforts in Madagascar, could be jeopardized as big donors face economic crises in their home countries.
- Greater impoverishment could hurt communities living near the protected areas and lead to even more unsustainable exploitation of forests and natural resources.

Wildlife tourism workers in limbo as Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 shutdown continues
- Sri Lanka’s popular national parks have been closed since March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting tour guides, jeep drivers, guesthouse owners, and many others dependent on the tourism industry for their livelihood.
- While some are eligible for government programs, including a stay on jeep repayments, others such as campsite owners and whale-watching boat operators have little recourse for a return on their investments.
- There are calls for affected workers to be temporarily employed as maintenance workers in the closed parks, pending the eventual reopening of the tourism industry.

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