News
Pascale Moehrle pressed Europe to take its seas seriously (07 Mar 2026 04:14:33 +0000)
- Pascale Moehrle, who led Oceana’s European office from 2019 to 2025, spent more than four decades working on wildlife conservation and ocean policy.
- Her death was announced by Oceana on March 4, 2026.
- Moehrle pushed European governments to follow scientific advice on fisheries, curb destructive fishing practices and enforce protections in marine protected areas.
- Her work focused on turning Europe’s commitments on ocean protection into practical policy that could restore marine ecosystems and sustain fisheries.
200 dead, more missing in another DRC mine collapse (06 Mar 2026 21:09:17 +0000)
More than 200 people have died and dozens are missing after a landslide on March 3 at the Kasasa site in the Rubaya mining area in Masisi territory, North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. “I saw the ground collapse and [bury] many people who were there. I can’t say exactly how many, […]
Restoration of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest may hinge on market for native plants (06 Mar 2026 18:18:13 +0000)
- Brazil’s Atlantic Forest is one of the richest biomes on the planet, hosting around 5% of Earth’s vertebrate species, but deforestation has decimated the region, with less than a quarter of original forests still standing.
- Reforestation efforts provide varying environmental, economic and societal values, also known as bioeconomics.
- New research weighs the economic potential of native plants to bolster the bioeconomics of reforestation projects, supporting conservation efforts and supporting small landowners and Indigenous communities.
Sri Lankan waters under ‘close watch’ following wreckage of Iranian warship (06 Mar 2026 17:15:23 +0000)
- At least 90 bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the IRIS Dena, an Iranian warship that was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine on March 4.
- The Sri Lanka Navy has spotted oil patches and life rafts during the rescue mission but no oil spill reported so far.
- Maritime experts say Sri Lanka will have an opportunity to raise a claim for environmental damage following the sinking of the frigate.
- If the Indian Ocean island intends to seek damages, the government may have to claim environmental damages through an international tribunal, considering the frigate was sunk under conditions of war.
Nations not on track to meet UN 2030 pesticide risk reduction targets: Study (06 Mar 2026 16:46:39 +0000)
- New research finds that most countries are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to meeting the U.N.’s 2030 global pesticide risk reduction target, with the goal unlikely to be met without substantial changes to agricultural systems worldwide.
- To determine global pesticide risk, researchers used data on pesticide use from 2013 to 2019 in 65 countries, along with data on the toxicity of 625 pesticides as related to eight different species groups.
- Researchers found that just one country, Chile, is on track to meet the U.N. target of reducing pesticide risk by 50% by 2030. The team noted that while overall ecological toxicity of pesticides is rising worldwide, just four nations — the U.S. Brazil, China and India — accounted for more than half of global total applied toxicity (TAT).
- The researchers also discovered that global pesticide risk is dominated by just a few highly toxic chemicals, and they suggest that if this finding is acted upon, targeted reductions in use of these particular chemicals could be one of the best opportunities for nations to get back on track to meet the 2030 pesticide risk reduction goal.
The rate of global warming is accelerating, study finds (06 Mar 2026 15:37:52 +0000)
Earth has been steadily warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, when humans began emitting greenhouse gases at scale. And while the rate of warming has been largely constant for the past half-century, a recent study finds it has accelerated over the last decade — an alarming trend for Earth systems, biodiversity and human […]
Indonesian communities try to reclaim lands following company permit revocations (06 Mar 2026 14:44:59 +0000)
- In January, the Indonesian government ordered the revocation of PT TPL’s forest utilization permit, along with those of 27 other companies, for allegedly violating environmental and forestry regulations that contributed to deadly floods and landslides in November 2025.
- Twenty-nine communities whose customary lands overlap with the pulpwood company’s concession are demanding the return of 37,219 hectares after decades of conflict with the enterprise. Some people have reoccupied lands.
- According to officials, the state-owned investment agency Danantara will take over the companies’ concessions, but community leaders say the legal status of customary lands and forests is still unclear after meetings with government officials.
- Community leaders and NGOs have drafted next steps for the lands, including reforestation following decades of eucalyptus plantations and land titling.
This bird is disappearing from Indonesia’s forests for its song (06 Mar 2026 06:05:21 +0000)
The rising popularity of songbird singing competitions in Indonesia has led to the dramatic decline of the white-rumped shama, a bird known locally as murai batu. Mongabay Indonesia video contributor Rizky Maulana Yanuar recently reported that keeping such birds is deeply rooted in local culture. In Javanese society, a man is considered to be successful […]
Climate or biodiversity? Global study maps out forestation’s dilemma (06 Mar 2026 02:45:37 +0000)
- A new study maps areas designated for potential carbon dioxide removal projects, such as planting forests or bioenergy crops, that might conflict with biodiversity hotspots.
- Such climate strategies could harm species if they change existing ecosystems or use too much land.
- The study points to the importance of more careful site selection for these projects.
- The authors of the study also note the importance of reducing humanity’s CO2 emissions, rather than relying solely on removing CO2 from the atmosphere later on.
Antarctic krill sustainability label questioned (05 Mar 2026 22:46:11 +0000)
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) recently released a draft report for its fourth recertification of krill fishing in Antarctica by Aker QRILL Company. The certification would allow Aker to put an MSC label on its products that tells consumers the krill came from a sustainable well-managed fishery. However, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), […]
Satellite images identify vulture breeding colonies by their droppings (05 Mar 2026 19:21:56 +0000)
- A new study reveals that colonies of critically endangered Rüppell’s vultures are visible via satellite images.
- A group of researchers scanned more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) in seven countries in East and Central Africa to look for the tell-tale whitewash formed by droppings deposited by the birds beneath their nests.
- In all, the team pinpointed 232 potential nesting sites, mostly in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad.
- Following declines of more than 90% for the species over the past 40 years, knowing where Rüppell’s vultures nest can help conservationists ensure their protection.
25 years after ‘disaster’ declaration, major U.S. fishery makes a comeback (05 Mar 2026 19:01:44 +0000)
- In 2000, the U.S. commerce secretary declared the groundfish fishery on the U.S. West Coast a “disaster,” with 10 key species overfished to below a quarter of their healthy levels.
- Fisheries authorities empowered by federal conservation laws took drastic action: They cut off vast tracts of the ocean to trawling, slashed fishing quotas and bought fishing vessels to remove them from operation. Many fishers were thrown into painful retirement.
- Careful management and innovation in the intervening years has led to a remarkable turnaround: In October 2025, fishery officials declared the last of the 10 overfished species to be rebuilt, years earlier than expected, and fishers have catches they thought would never be possible again.
- Even so, fishers’ profits have been low, and experts worry that key conservation programs could lose their teeth to cost-cutting measures and deregulation.
Bringing storytelling to science: John Cannon’s approach to reporting on nature (05 Mar 2026 17:40:21 +0000)
- John Cannon is a staff features writer at Mongabay, where he has reported since 2014.
- Cannon says that what inspires him is the chance to tell stories that connect conservation science with the daily lives of people affected by climate change, deforestation and land dispossession.
- He values curiosity, collaboration and the power of storytelling, and is especially proud of his reporting on carbon credit projects in Borneo and entanglement threats to endangered northern right whales.
- This interview is part of Inside Mongabay, a series that spotlights the people who bring environmental and conservation stories to life across our global newsroom.
Climate change is messing with tropical plants’ flowering times, study shows (05 Mar 2026 17:39:31 +0000)
The flowering times for many plant species have shifted due to climate change, with most of the change occurring in temperate zones. Researchers assumed the tropics, which are largely the same temperature year-round, would be insulated from such climate change-driven changes to flowering times. However, a new study challenges that assumption. Researchers examined more than […]
Seafood fraud is rampant, imperiling fish populations, report finds (05 Mar 2026 17:36:33 +0000)
- Up to roughly 20% of aquatic products are intentionally mislabeled as the wrong species or otherwise fraudulent, posing environmental and health risks, according to a new report.
- Inaccurate representation of species is one of the most frequent forms of fraud, the report says.
- Other cons include misrepresenting place of origin or eco-certification status, and adulterating a product to affect its weight or appearance of freshness.
- The report calls for governments and industry stakeholders to establish better traceability systems, use advanced detection methods, and educate the public. An NGO expert says government action on traceability is key.
A sanctuary… for glacier ice? (05 Mar 2026 16:37:46 +0000)
Scientists in Antarctica have just inaugurated the first global repository of mountain ice cores. As the climate crisis melts glaciers all around the world, this frozen vault aims to preserve the history of the Earth’s atmosphere for future generations to study.
Beetle known for ravaging mango trees now killing baobabs, study finds (05 Mar 2026 14:18:49 +0000)
- Researchers say baobabs face a potential new threat from the mango stem borer, a beetle long known to devastate other trees.
- The warning comes from research in Oman, where scientists found the pest had killed six baobabs and severely infested a dozen more in a small valley population.
- Authorities there are fighting the infestation with pesticides, light traps and manual removal of larvae from the trees.
- Scientists note that similar infestations have not yet been recorded in other countries where baobabs grow.
DNA fingerprinting convicts Zimbabwe lion poachers in landmark case (05 Mar 2026 13:55:27 +0000)
- Prosecutors in Zimbabwe used lion DNA forensics for the first time to successfully convict two people for poaching and trafficking a male lion near Hwange National Park.
- Investigators analyzed DNA from confiscated lion parts and were able to match it to a radio-collared lion in their database that was killed in 2024.
- Proving that the seized parts came from a poached wild lion provided the evidence that sent the two poachers to prison for two years.
- Experts say DNA forensics provide invaluable proof in hard-to-prosecute wildlife crimes, and this recent conviction sets a precedent for bringing poachers to justice in court using the forensic technology.
Archived camera-trap images bring Thailand’s tapirs into focus (05 Mar 2026 04:47:39 +0000)
Archived camera-trapping images have revealed a new stronghold for Asian tapirs in Khlong Seang–Khao Sok Forest Complex, in southern Thailand. Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan reports that a recent study found camera-trap “bycatch” data — images of species that researchers hadn’t intended to photograph — can be used to monitor Asian tapirs (Tapirus indicus). The camera traps […]
Emotional and psychological stresses beleaguer conservation professionals (commentary) (04 Mar 2026 19:22:56 +0000)
- The well-being of conservationists has never been a priority in the sector, but new cultural norms and expectations of this workforce are urgently needed.
- The unhealthy culture of self-sacrifice coupled with growing pressure within the sector — driven by the worsening ecological crisis and changes in the funding and geopolitical landscape — are driving a crisis of poor mental health and well-being among conservationists.
- Yet change is possible with investment in the well-being of the conservation workforce, through the implementation of evidence-based interventions that promote individual and team well-being, which can lead to improvements in well-being, performance and retention.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Across South America, canopy bridges evolve as a lifeline for tree-dwelling wildlife (04 Mar 2026 18:23:28 +0000)
- In the Amazon and Atlantic forests, field research is seeking new ways to understand the behavior of mammals like monkeys and sloths that depend on the treetops to move around and survive in different types of vegetation.
- Using photographic equipment on artificial bridges — whose ropes, nets and platforms are intertwined with trees to protect wildlife — researchers are mapping fauna in both continuous forests and fragmented areas, providing new scientific insights.
- Experts working to reduce the risks of roadkill and species’ isolation in fragmented forest areas say studies are crucial to improving the installation of artificial crossings over highways.
Attention is scarce. Storytelling strategy matters more than ever (04 Mar 2026 16:46:44 +0000)
Environmental journalism has long struggled with a practical problem: how to make distant ecological change feel relevant to people whose daily lives are shaped by more immediate concerns. Scientific reports document trends in temperature, biodiversity and land use with increasing precision, yet such findings often fail to travel far beyond specialist audiences. Video, once expensive […]
Colombia’s coffee industry well placed but wary as EU deforestation rule looms (04 Mar 2026 16:23:15 +0000)
- About a quarter of coffee exports from Colombia, the world’s No. 3 producer, go to Europe, which means coffee companies need to prepare to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which should enter into force at the end of this year.
- Colombia’s Coffee Information System (SICA), a georeferenced database managed by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC), contains detailed records on around 1.8 million coffee lots and socioeconomic data on nearly 500,000 coffee-growing families, most of them smallholders.
- This long-established system could help Colombian coffee growers demonstrate compliance with EUDR, placing them ahead of competitors in Africa and parts of Asia.
- Nevertheless, while many large companies say they’re prepared for the EUDR, small-scale farmers, including Indigenous coffee growers, often have limited knowledge about the requirements and are less prepared to comply.
Proposed shark net near Club Med resort in South Africa sparks conservation clash (04 Mar 2026 15:18:53 +0000)
- A proposal by municipal authorities in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province to install shark nets at a public beach has triggered a public debate about the need to install gear that’s highly lethal to sharks and other marine life, and raised questions about its legality.
- The proposal, which authorities say will protect beachgoers from shark attacks, was made in anticipation of increased visitor numbers to Tinley Manor Beach once a new Club Med resort opens in the area later this year.
- Some scientists and environmentalists argue that shark nets and drum lines are outdated as they cull and kill nontarget species indiscriminately, including those protected under South African law.
- South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said it’s considering whether installing the net should trigger an environmental impact assessment. Some experts also question the legality of existing nets.
Falling Amazon river flows trigger reality check at Belo Monte power plant (04 Mar 2026 12:16:21 +0000)
- Studies warn that climate change could slash hydropower generation across the Amazon by up to 40%, with controversial Belo Monte among the most exposed plants in Brazil.
- Researchers and regulators say relying on historical river flows is no longer viable as droughts intensify and rainfall patterns drop.
- Belo Monte’s operator argues the plant remains strategic for Brazil’s energy security, despite growing climate risks.
Counting bats in the dark (04 Mar 2026 08:29:02 +0000)
How do you count and keep track of bats? Advances in videography, including thermal cameras, have made it easier to spot bats. But these animals move fast, travel in big groups and are often found in the dark — making analysis of the data a tough task. Scientists have developed a new software called Thrutracker […]
Indonesia farmers count the costs as rains wash out Java durian harvest (04 Mar 2026 04:23:07 +0000)
- In a quiet village in central Java, farmers report that their durian fruit trees have failed to bear fruit amid local anxieties over climate change and other environmental shifts.
- Every year farmers around Plana village plant a type of durian known as the Kromo, named after a returning Islamic pilgrim whose durian trees produced unusually large fruit, which people here prize for its heightened flavor profile.
- Peer-reviewed research and official comment by Indonesia’s state meteorology agency, the BMKG, shows fruit growers in Java may face declining yields in the future amid increasingly erratic weather.
Paul Brainerd turned computers into printing presses and fortune into conservation (04 Mar 2026 01:34:41 +0000)
- Paul Brainerd helped invent desktop publishing as a co-founder of Aldus and the force behind PageMaker, then redirected his wealth toward environmental and civic work in the Pacific Northwest.
- In 1995 he launched the Brainerd Foundation to fund conservation policy, place-based protection, and the organizational capacity needed to sustain long campaigns.
- He backed models of engaged, hands-on giving, helping start Social Venture Partners, and supported environmental education through IslandWood on Bainbridge Island, with later work extending to a regenerative lodge project in New Zealand.
- He chose to spend down his foundation rather than endow it in perpetuity, arguing for urgency and near-term effectiveness, and he died on February 15, 2026, at 78.
How the ‘wrong story’ ends up harming nature, and how we can change it (03 Mar 2026 22:17:04 +0000)
Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta (Apalech clan (Wik) Lostmob Nungar) joins the Mongabay Newscast to detail the Aboriginal perspectives behind his latest book, Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking. The book explains how stories shape society, how they can harm us and the environment, and how they may save our species and the natural […]
Cameroon’s decade of conflict leaves apes and conservationists in peril (03 Mar 2026 21:19:11 +0000)
- Dozens of protected areas in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, including parks that are home to great apes and other threatened species, have been swept up in a decade-long armed conflict between government forces and separatist militias.
- The ongoing conflict has blocked conservationists’ access to forests, and exposed conservationists, local civilians and the region’s wildlife to violence.
- Displaced people have turned to farming and hunting in forests in order to survive, while militias also hunt and camp in the forest.
- Conservationists have explored new strategies to keep their work alive, including working with local citizen scientists, but say the task of rebuilding organizations in the midst of a humanitarian crisis is huge.
No grid, no problem: How Amazon communities built their own power systems (03 Mar 2026 20:38:33 +0000)
Near Brazil’s Belo Monte dam, one of the world’s largest hydropower projects, the promise of abundant electricity has proved uneven. A household survey of 500 families in Altamira found that 86.8% experienced higher electricity costs after the plant began operating in 2016. Many riverside residents still endure outages, pay steep tariffs or rely on diesel […]
Malaysia renews Lynas Rare Earths’ license for 10 years, orders end to radioactive waste by 2031 (03 Mar 2026 19:52:48 +0000)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government renewed Australian miner Lynas Rare Earths’ operating license for 10 years but will require it to stop producing radioactive waste by 2031. The Lynas refinery in Malaysia, its first outside China producing minerals that are crucial for high-tech manufacturing, has been operating in central Pahang state since 2012. […]
Concern among Indigenous leaders, relief for a few, as Amazon Soy Moratorium falters (03 Mar 2026 18:33:45 +0000)
- Mongabay spoke with various stakeholders across Brazil’s political spectrum on what the possible unraveling of the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a key zero-deforestation agreement, may mean for Indigenous peoples and their lands.
- Most Indigenous leaders say a weakening or end to the moratorium will increase deforestation, pollution and invasions of their lands — as satellite imagery points to advancing forest loss near one territory — while a few leaders see this as an economic opportunity that will allow them to sell soy farmed on their lands without any penalties.
- As cracks form in the 20-year-old moratorium, the environment ministry says existing deforestation policies still stand and that given potential impacts on Indigenous lands, environmental enforcement and control mechanisms remain active and strengthened.
- The government of the state of Mato Grosso says the moratorium created an unfair legal framework, while soy industry association Abiove said Brazil can still maintain high socioenvironmental standards without it. Both did not address whether there are potential impacts on Indigenous lands.
New mapping approach predicts habitat availability for species conservation (03 Mar 2026 16:40:21 +0000)
- A new habitat mapping framework combines various data sets to visualize where species live, and predict potential habitats for the future.
- The Act Green project combines remote sensing with field data and inputs from experts to map habitat availability for four species.
- The data set can help conservationists identify areas that need immediate protection, as well as potential habitats that could be used for restoration and rewilding efforts.
China’s Pacific squid fishery rife with labor, fishing abuses: Report (03 Mar 2026 15:47:41 +0000)
- A new report from U.K.-based NGO the Environmental Justice Foundation draws on interviews with 81 fishers, mainly Indonesian sailors who worked between 2021 and 2025 on 60 Chinese vessels targeting jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the Southeast Pacific Ocean.
- It documents frequent labor abuses affecting crew members, including several indicators of forced labor as described by the International Labour Organization.
- The report also documents regular shark finning, targeted hunting of marine mammals, and involvement in suspected illegal fishing incidents, often inside Ecuador, Peru or Chile’s exclusive economic zones.
- The report was launched days before the annual meeting of the commission of the South Pacific Regional Fishery Management Organisation, the intergovernmental body that manages the fishery. Officials with fishing organizations mentioned in the report and members of China’s delegation to the meeting did not respond to Mongabay’s request for comment on the report.
Birds are changing — and Indigenous memory is the longest record we have (03 Mar 2026 15:37:04 +0000)
- A global study drawing on Indigenous and local knowledge across three continents finds that bird communities have shifted toward smaller-bodied species over the past 80 years, suggesting a substantial loss of larger birds even in places with little formal monitoring.
- Traditional ecological knowledge, built through daily interaction with landscapes over generations, can reveal long-term environmental changes that scientific datasets — often only decades deep — fail to capture.
- Because larger species tend to be more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and environmental stress, a shift toward smaller birds may signal deeper ecological restructuring rather than a simple decline in numbers.
- Integrating lived experience with scientific methods offers a fuller picture of environmental change, highlighting that some of the earliest warnings come from people who depend most directly on the natural world.
Brazilian police seize more than 1.5 metric tons of shark fins (03 Mar 2026 07:14:13 +0000)
Brazilian authorities seized more than 1.5 metric tons of shark fins in Rodelas, Bahia state, on Feb. 12, uncovering what they allege is a Chinese run syndicate. They arrested seven people, including three Chinese nationals, in the raid at a rural processing site. Shark species such as the vulnerable Atlantic nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and […]
Local communities are conservation’s most undervalued asset (commentary) (03 Mar 2026 00:08:15 +0000)
- Conservationists will gather this week for the 5th Business of Conservation Congress in Nairobi, and one talking point there will be focusing finance toward local communities, since that is not only important for achieving equity but also a practical strategy for achieving sustainable and successful outcomes.
- Although community-led conservation programs are genuinely shown to be more efficient, that advantage should also extend to conservation finance.
- But if conservation finance does not shift, and if communities and the organizations that serve them are not brought in as partners even as biodiversity losses continue, the authors of a new op-ed argue that “the trajectory we are on will not change.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
World’s smallest possum may live beyond its known range in Australia (02 Mar 2026 21:43:27 +0000)
New evidence of the world’s smallest possum has emerged hundreds of kilometers from where it’s known to occur in southern Australia — a finding that potentially extends the range of this locally threatened species. Pygmy possums are a group of tiny, mouse-sized marsupials that live in open woodlands, heathlands and scrub. They feed on nectar, […]
Deadly landfill collapse exposes risks faced by Philippines’ waste pickers (02 Mar 2026 18:22:34 +0000)
- A catastrophic dumpsite collapse buried scavengers collecting recyclables at a landfill in the Philippines’ Rizal province on Feb. 20, following a similar incident in Cebu in January that killed 36 people.
- So far, one person has been officially confirmed dead and two missing, but eyewitnesses say as many as 50 people were trapped under mounds of waste.
- Across the Philippines, scavengers pay a fee to dumpsite operators to be allowed to search for plastic and metal waste they can sell for recycling.
- Environmental authorities found “operational lapses” at the site following an initial investigation, and have issued a cease and desist order to the operator.
America’s national parks face an uncertain future as climate risks mount (02 Mar 2026 17:21:17 +0000)
- A nationwide analysis finds most U.S. national parks are highly vulnerable to climate change, with many facing risks of irreversible ecological transformation rather than gradual decline. Wildfire, drought, pests, and sea-level rise are converging to reshape landscapes the parks were created to preserve.
- Vulnerability is uneven: parks in the Midwest and eastern United States tend to face the greatest cumulative risk due to fragmented habitats, pollution, invasive species, and limited capacity for ecosystems to adapt. Many western parks appear more resilient but are exposed to multiple severe disturbances at once.
- Coastal parks are threatened by rising seas and storm surge, while inland forests face compound stresses that can trigger long-term shifts from forest to shrubland or grassland. Once such transitions occur, returning to previous ecological conditions may be impossible.
- As climate pressures intensify and policy responses weaken, park managers are shifting from preserving historical conditions to managing ongoing transformation. America’s parks may increasingly serve less as static sanctuaries and more as living records of how nature reorganizes under accelerating change.
‘An epidemic of suffering’: Why are conservationists breaking down? (02 Mar 2026 16:57:44 +0000)
- Research finds that more than 27% of conservationists are struggling with moderate to severe distress, as conservationists tell Mongabay the industry is in a mental health “crisis.”
- Conservationists are struggling with their mental health for many reasons, but one of the largest is watching ecological destruction in real time.
- The industry was also not built with “well-being” in mind, given its low wages, exploitative practices like endless volunteering or unpaid internships, job insecurity, few benefits and high (sometimes wholly unrealistic) expectations for output and work.
- Experts say the sector can improve with more funding toward staff as well as leaders who are trained in how to handle mental well-being; meanwhile, individuals need to value their own mental health.
Mongabay launches new desk reporting on, with and for Indigenous communities (02 Mar 2026 16:47:56 +0000)
- Mongabay launched an Indigenous Desk to expand independent environmental journalism that centers diverse Indigenous perspectives and sources worldwide.
- The desk engages Indigenous peoples as both journalists and primary sources, addressing long-standing gaps in the news industry.
- The Indigenous Desk’s reporting has already contributed to real-world outcomes, including exposing exploitation, supporting community action, and informing official investigations relating to Indigenous communities.
- The Indigenous Desk strengthens Mongabay’s long-term capacity to report with depth, continuity and impact on issues affecting Indigenous peoples and their lands.
Lawsuit targets TotalEnergies over fossil fuel expansion and Paris Agreement goals (02 Mar 2026 15:48:57 +0000)
A French court has begun hearing a lawsuit against oil and gas giant TotalEnergies over its growing portfolio of fossil fuel projects worldwide. The case being heard before the Paris Court of Justice was brought by a coalition of 14 French cities, including Paris, and five civil society organizations. They assert that TotalEnergies must take […]
Sustainable trade in wild plants benefits people and planet (commentary) (02 Mar 2026 15:13:34 +0000)
- Medicinal and aromatic plants take center stage for World Wildlife Day this year, celebrating a group of species essential to both human well-being and ecological balance, which are too often overlooked in global conservation conversations.
- Many familiar species are part of our daily lives, but global conservation assessments have only been carried out for a fraction of the many species in use.
- “We need more ‘biodiversity-smart’ policies and interventions related to conservation and sustainable use of wild plants, in recognition of their value for healthy ecosystems, lives and livelihoods,” a new op-ed states.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Search for Brazil flood survivors continues as death toll rises to 64 (02 Mar 2026 15:01:49 +0000)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Landslides and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais that have been state triggered by days of heavy rains have claimed the lives of 64 people, authorities say. Downpours that started late Monday have wreaked havoc across parts of the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Rio de […]
Can Kenya finally deliver on Turkana’s oil promise? (02 Mar 2026 13:13:19 +0000)
- The purchase of the Turkana oil field by a new operator has revived talk of a boom for this semiarid county in northwestern Kenya.
- Little development has occurred since the oil field was discovered in 2010, but Gulf Energy promises to invest up to $6 billion — the company’s chair told Kenyan lawmakers the field would produce up to 50,000 barrels a day by 2032.
- But observers are worried by the new operator’s lack of experience producing oil, by revised terms in favor of the company, and by still-incomplete environmental and social impact assessments.
- Turkana communities, in many cases strengthened by newly formalized rights to their land, are resolved to play a defining role in the development.
Guinea-Bissau’s transitional government bans fish meal production (02 Mar 2026 11:18:43 +0000)
- On Jan. 29, the government of Guinea-Bissau issued a flat ban on fish meal production, citing threats to marine ecosystems and food security.
- In recent years, as West African coastal nations — most notably Mauritania — increasingly clamped down on the industry, Guinea-Bissau emerged as a new regional fish meal hub.
- The first Chinese-owned fish meal factory vessel arrived in its waters in October 2019, followed by a second one in May 2024; both were supplied by Turkish-flagged industrial purse seiners that had previously fished for fish meal factories in Mauritania.
- The production also expanded on shore: In April 2025, Guinea-Bissau’s then-president inaugurated a fish meal plant, and as of February 2026, at least one other facility was under construction.
Displaced for conservation, South Africa’s Thonga try to keep a fishing tradition alive (02 Mar 2026 07:00:29 +0000)
- A Thonga community on South Africa’s northeast coast is the custodian of a centuries-old fishing custom and its ecological knowledge with a light touch on migrating juvenile fishes.
- These fishers have limited access to their ancestral lands and lakes now, since they were evicted when the region was declared a protected area four decades ago, which later became the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
- Three generations of fishermen talk about how they’re trying to keep the culture alive in a fast-changing world.
- The park’s management authority says they are inclusive of communities in public participation processes while officials promise that tourism would be the most viable development boost for the area.
Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa, a guardian of Madagascar’s amphibians, has died, aged 45 (02 Mar 2026 00:04:40 +0000)
- Madagascar contains an exceptional share of the world’s frog diversity, most of it found nowhere else, making local conservation efforts decisive for species survival. Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa, a guide from the Andasibe region, became one of the people working to keep those species from disappearing.
- Through the community organization Mitsinjo, he helped establish and run a captive-breeding facility that maintained threatened amphibians as insurance against habitat loss and disease, while also contributing new scientific knowledge about their life cycles.
- Largely self-taught, he served as a bridge between international researchers and local communities, translating technical knowledge into Malagasy and sharing what he knew with students, journalists, and younger conservation workers.
- His life illustrated how effective conservation in Madagascar often depends less on distant institutions than on persistent local effort — people willing to perform careful, unglamorous work year after year to keep fragile species alive.
The power of cities over the seas (01 Mar 2026 14:10:00 +0000)
- Much of what determines the ocean’s condition is decided on land, where ports control entry, cities regulate ship operations, and municipal buyers shape seafood demand. These urban levers can influence marine outcomes at scale even though they receive far less attention than treaties or national policy.
- Port rules on fuel use, emissions, and safety can compel global shipping companies to change behavior, as access to major trade hubs is too valuable to lose. When several large ports adopt similar standards, their combined weight can shift industry norms across entire maritime corridors.
- Public procurement provides another pathway, with city-run institutions able to influence fisheries through what they choose to purchase. Sustainability standards — or public scrutiny, as seen in Brazil’s school meal controversy — can ripple back through supply chains and alter incentives at sea.
- Philanthropy focused on oceans may find high leverage in supporting city-level actions such as port electrification, data-sharing systems, and procurement reform. By targeting where rules meet markets and infrastructure, urban governance can complement national efforts and deliver practical gains even when international cooperation falters.
Online ads reveal scale — and gaps — in amphibian pet trade into US (27 Feb 2026 22:03:47 +0000)
Much of the pet trade in amphibians is conducted online, but it’s not well understood. Herpetologist Devin Edmonds with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently mapped out the trade in nonnative amphibians sold in the United States in a study published in the journal Biological Conservation. Edmonds and his colleagues scanned through online classified ads […]
Five Yanomami infants in Brazil die amid whooping cough outbreak (27 Feb 2026 19:56:09 +0000)
Five Indigenous Yanomami infants have reportedly died from a preventable respiratory illness called pertussis, or whooping cough. The outbreak began Jan. 7 in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in Roraima state in northern Brazil. A representative of the Urihi Yanomami Association (UYA) told Mongabay that health authorities have been slow to respond. Three of the […]
Senegal GTA gas project draws international scrutiny (27 Feb 2026 17:13:38 +0000)
The UK’s OECD national contact point (NCP), which oversees complaints related to corporate conduct with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has ruled admissible a complaint from Senegalese fishers alleging wrongdoing by energy companies in Senegal. A local NGO and an artisanal fishers’ association assert that the natural gas platform Grand Tortue Ahmeyim […]
Climate change is slowing southern right whale birth rate, 33-year study finds (27 Feb 2026 15:46:54 +0000)
- A new 33-year study finds that southern right whales off Australia are having calves less often, with the average time between births rising from 3.4 to 4.1 years since 2015, a trend researchers link to climate-driven changes in the Southern Ocean.
- Shrinking Antarctic sea ice and warming waters are reducing the availability of krill and copepods, the whales’ main food sources, leaving females struggling to rebuild their energy after nursing and delaying their next pregnancy.
- The reproductive slowdown is not unique to Australia, with similar declines documented in southern right whale populations off South Africa and Argentina, raising concerns for a species still recovering from near-extinction due to commercial whaling.
- Researchers are calling for expanded marine protected areas, stricter management of Antarctic krill fisheries, and urgent action on climate change to protect the species.
How cockfighting imperils Peru’s critically endangered sawfish (27 Feb 2026 12:27:24 +0000)
- Mongabay’s new film “Why cockfighting is threatening Peru’s last sawfish” investigates how the critically endangered largetooth sawfish has become a victim of Peru’s legal cockfighting industry.
- Although the species has nearly disappeared from Peru’s Pacific waters, its rostral “teeth” continue to circulate in informal markets, prized for use as cockfighting spurs.
- A single sawfish can yield dozens of spurs, each worth up to $250, creating powerful economic incentives for artisanal fishers facing financial hardship.
- Through interviews with fishers, scientists and cockfighting industry leaders, the film explores whether cultural change within the sport can outpace the illegal trade before the species disappears entirely.
Climate change drives uneven shifts in tree diversity across Amazon and Andes (27 Feb 2026 09:57:31 +0000)
- A team of researchers looked at changes in tree richness across the lowland and montane forests of the Andes and Amazon over the last four decades.
- While their results didn’t show an overall shift in any one direction, they found that tree richness changed significantly across the six subregions: forests in the central Andes, Guyana Shield and central-eastern Amazon have been losing species, while the northern Andes and western Amazon showed increased tree richness.
- Changes in the seasonality of precipitation, total rainfall, temperature, as well as the degree of forest fragmentation are key drivers for tree richness: forests that warmed more since 1971 lost species faster than those moderately warming; but regionally, precipitation plays a bigger role than temperature in richness changes.
- Forests with a higher number of trees and landscape integrity gain species, so limiting deforestation across the Andes–Amazon ecosystems can protect tree richness, in particular the northern Andes, which could serve as a key refuge for species that can no longer survive the warming Amazon.
Brazil wanted more protections for its endangered national tree. Then France called (27 Feb 2026 08:30:05 +0000)
- Alleged last-minute political maneuvers prevented Brazil from securing the highest protections from international commercial trade of Brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata) at the 2025 meeting of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty.
- The music industry, which covets the wood to produce violin bows — costing up to $8,200 a piece — saluted French President Emmanuel Macron’s “decisive involvement” to avoid new trade restrictions.
- The French press reported that Macron personally called Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss the issue, but the Brazilian Presidency denied receiving such a call.
- Found only in Brazil, Paubrasilia echinata has experienced an 84% decline over the last three generations, and now the country deems the tree critically endangered.
Avian flu strikes California’s northern elephant seals; area quarantined (27 Feb 2026 05:04:24 +0000)
- Experts confirmed that seven young northern elephant seals on the beach at California’s Año Nuevo State Park carried a deadly form of avian influenza, H5N1, the first recorded infection in these seals.
- This highly contagious virus has circulated the globe since 2020. The U.N. estimates that as of December 2025, H5N1 had infected some 598 bird species and 102 mammal species. In 2022-23, the virus devastated seal colonies off South American coastlines, sparking increased surveillance of North American marine mammals.
- This northern elephant seal population has been carefully studied for about 60 years. With close monitoring, researchers quickly discovered that sick pups were infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1.
- Since this avian flu strain emerged, there have been 131 human infections globally, including 71 in the U.S. As a precaution, California officials have banned visitors from the elephant seal beaches and canceled guided tours.
Who actually uses environmental journalism — and why it matters (27 Feb 2026 00:02:02 +0000)
- In 2025, Mongabay’s websites attracted 111 million unique visitors, with pageviews rising even faster, though these figures capture only direct readership and exclude widespread redistribution through partners, messaging platforms, and secondary circulation.
- The organization prioritizes influence over raw traffic, aiming to inform practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and others whose decisions shape environmental outcomes rather than a broad general audience.
- Audience patterns reflect where environmental stakes are highest, with particularly strong readership across Asia and the Americas and disproportionate reach in countries where land use, biodiversity, pollution, and resource governance are central public concerns.
- Impact is assessed not only through analytics but through documented real-world outcomes—from policy changes to legal actions—while emerging referral channels such as AI tools suggest shifts in how people seek and verify authoritative environmental information.
Warming and farming hasten bird losses across North America, study shows (26 Feb 2026 20:01:23 +0000)
After half a century of steep declines, North America’s birds are disappearing faster than ever. A new study shows that populations are shrinking across most of the continent, with intensive agriculture playing the largest role in accelerating those losses. Scientists warn the impacts extend well beyond wildlife, undermining ecosystem function and human well-being. The recent […]
Mongabay shark meat exposé wins national journalism education award in Brazil (26 Feb 2026 19:47:19 +0000)
- On Feb. 24, Mongabay won first place in the higher education category of Brazil’s National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes), a top journalism education award in the country, with an investigation that revealed Brazilian state-run institutions were bulk-buying shark meat for public schools, hospitals and prisons.
- “The work stands out for its expert input from specialists and researchers, who contribute to the analysis of the environmental, health and regulatory impacts of the issue,” Andifes said in the announcement.
- In collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, the investigation published in July 2025 tracked 1,012 public tenders issued by Brazilian authorities since 2004 for the procurement of more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat, worth at least 112 million reais.
- In December 2025, the investigation won second place in the national category of the 67th ARI/Banrisul Journalism Award, one of Brazil’s most prestigious journalism prizes.
Ocean Equity Index aims to measure justice at sea (26 Feb 2026 17:04:59 +0000)
- Researchers have developed an Ocean Equity Index that seeks to measure how equitable ocean initiatives are based on 12 criteria.
- The index, which was introduced alongside an academic study, can be used by governments, companies and community or Indigenous groups; the authors hope its use will be institutionalized globally.
- Assessing equity quantitatively is challenging because of the subject’s complexity and because perspectives of equity vary widely across actor groups, experts say.
Photos: In the Colombian Amazon, fishing binds a community to river and forest (26 Feb 2026 16:09:18 +0000)
- For members of the Macaquiño community in the southeastern Colombian department of Vaupés, fishing forms part of the deep cultural and spiritual connection they have with their waters and the species that inhabit it.
- The introduction of more intensive modern fishing gear, such as using longlines and mesh nets, has had an impact fish populations and has contributed to a decline in the use of some ancestral fishing practices, they said.
- Community elders told Mongabay that while some traditional fishing tools are still used today, few people know how to make them, raising concerns that fishers may eventually turn to other techniques that can damage habitats and reduce fish species.
Out of captivity, into conflict: slow lorises struggle to survive after release (26 Feb 2026 15:07:35 +0000)
- A study in Bangladesh found that seven of nine rescued Bengal slow lorises died within six months of release, showing that rewilding trafficked animals can become a “death trap” if habitat and social conditions aren’t right.
- Most of the dead lorises bore venomous bite wounds from their wild counterparts, indicating that releasing highly territorial animals into already occupied forests can trigger lethal fights.
- The two that survived established larger home ranges, while those kept longer in captivity fared worse, underscoring the need for careful site selection, population surveys, and evidence-based release protocols.
- Experts say that rescue and release only address the symptoms of illegal wildlife trafficking, and that curbing poaching and habitat loss is essential to prevent further harm to both individuals and wild populations.
US firm Virtus Minerals closes in on deal for crucial DRC copper and cobalt mines (26 Feb 2026 15:04:20 +0000)
- U.S.-based firm Virtus Minerals has reached an agreement to take control of large copper and cobalt mines run by Dubai-based Chemaf in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to its CEO.
- Founded by former military and intelligence officials, Virtus has received strong backing from the Trump administration as part of its push to secure access to critical minerals and for greater control over supply chains.
- The deal still has to be approved by the DRC’s state-owned mining company Gécamines, which owns the mining permits sought by Virtus.
- In 2024, Chinese state-owned defense company Norinco attempted to buy Chemaf’s assets but was blocked by Gécamines after an intervention by the U.S. Biden administration.
Mummified cheetahs found in Saudi caves could shape rewilding plans (26 Feb 2026 13:46:31 +0000)
- Researchers discovered seven naturally mummified cheetahs and 54 skeletal remains preserved for up to 4,000 years in caves in northern Saudi Arabia.
- Ancient DNA analysis, performed on naturally mummified big cats for the first time, showed that two subspecies historically inhabited the region, not one as previously assumed.
- The Asiatic cheetah, long considered the only candidate for reintroduction, has fewer than 30 individuals left in the wild, making the genetic evidence for a second subspecies significant for rewilding planners.
- Saudi Arabia has already successfully reintroduced several ungulate species, setting a foundation for a potential future cheetah reintroduction.
Cockfights might knockout Peru’s rarest fish? (26 Feb 2026 13:35:09 +0000)
In Peru, cockfighting is legal — and one of its traditional weapons, a spur, may be pushing an ancient species closer to extinction. For decades, rostral teeth from the critically endangered sawfish have been carved into razor-sharp spurs used in rooster fights. Though selling sawfish parts is illegal, these spurs still circulate in informal online […]
Brazil revokes decree privatizing three Amazonian rivers after Indigenous protests (26 Feb 2026 11:24:38 +0000)
Brazil has revoked a presidential decree that placed sections of three Amazonian rivers — the Tapajós, Madeira and Tocantins — under a state-led privatization program. Indigenous groups had protested the plan for 33 days by blockading a Cargill grain port in Santarém in the western Brazilian Amazon. The decree was a part of a larger […]
Profitable cash crop trend in Bangladesh’s hills affects regional ecology (26 Feb 2026 09:44:07 +0000)
- The hill districts in the Chittagong region in Bangladesh have seen a large scale switch from the traditional shifting agriculture, or jhum, to more profitable cash crop cultivation in recent years.
- According to a study, a major portion of the 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres) of hills that were previously used for traditional agriculture have been transformed for cultivating different cash crops like ginger, turmeric, pineapple and banana.
- Though the transformation ensured economic gain for the farmers and investors, the ecology of the hill landscape has been affected by soil erosion, dried up streams, increased landslides and water scarcity for the locals.
Nepal signs major carbon deal but community access remains challenging (26 Feb 2026 02:01:14 +0000)
- Nepal is the first country in Asia to sign an agreement potentially worth $55 million with the LEAF Coalition to reduce emissions from deforestation across three provinces.
- Experts and community representatives emphasize the deal’s success hinges on local people’s access, transparent funding, strong safeguards and inclusive benefit sharing.
- While communities push for 80% of the funds to go directly to forest communities, bureaucratic processes, administrative fees and gaps in coordination and capacity could limit direct access, echoing lessons from Nepal’s previous REDD+ programs.
In Nepal polls, political parties root for mega infrastructure (26 Feb 2026 01:56:23 +0000)
- Nepal’s major political parties focus their election manifestos on mega projects, viewing big construction as the primary engine for economic growth.
- Despite Nepal ranking as the sixth most climate-vulnerable nation globally, parties largely treat environmental issues as an afterthought or a development delay, often ignoring the fact that recent climate-driven disasters have already severely damaged expensive infrastructure like the Melamchi water project.
- While “green” terminology occasionally appears in the fine print to satisfy international frameworks, experts warn that low budget allocations and a lack of coordination mean these environmental commitments usually remain “on paper” while industrial expansion takes center stage.
Letters to the future from journalism’s next generation (26 Feb 2026 00:51:26 +0000)
Six young journalists, scattered across three continents and connected largely by screens, recently attempted an unusual exercise: writing letters addressed to the future instead of to editors. All six were members of the 2025 cohort of the English-language Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship. The results read like field notes from a generation that has […]
Australia spends $18b more on harming nature than protecting it: Study (25 Feb 2026 22:57:42 +0000)
The Australian government spends more money on activities that harm biodiversity than those that protect biodiversity, a new study suggests. Australia is a biodiversity hotspot, home to more than two-thirds of the world’s marsupials and a high rate of endemic species, but the country has suffered significant species extinctions since European arrival. Under Target 18 […]
Australia hands record prison sentence to reptile smuggler in trafficking crackdown (25 Feb 2026 21:16:05 +0000)
- A 61-year-old Sydney man was sentenced to eight years in prison for attempting to smuggle native Australian reptiles to Europe and Asia.
- Australia is home to 10% of the world’s reptile species, and 90% can be found nowhere else in the world.
- The Australian government is cracking down on wildlife trafficking, with arrests tripling from mid-2023 to early 2025. During that period, authorities seized more than 200 parcels at the border containing 780 native species.
Agroforestry offers market-based way to boost Amazon rains & farmer incomes (analysis) (25 Feb 2026 19:24:48 +0000)
- Since the 1970s, Brazil has cleared a large amount of Amazon Rainforest, and the consequences extend beyond biodiversity loss, carbon emissions and social disruption, because the forest generates its own weather.
- Continued deforestation could push the system past a tipping point where the Amazon can no longer sustain its rainfall regime, threatening the continent’s productive capacity and the economic livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people.
- The economic opportunity that can change this is agroforestry systems that reforest areas to produce global commodities that can also comply with Brazil’s Forest Code, which requires private properties in the Amazonian region to maintain native vegetation on 80% of their landholdings.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Big biodiversity goals run up against small funding realities (25 Feb 2026 19:23:35 +0000)
- The global loss of biodiversity is a pressing problem that scientists and economists warn could have disastrous repercussions for society.
- The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, signed in 2022, laid out a set of targets, including substantial increases in funding and ending subsidies that harm nature, to find ways to address and stem the loss.
- Since the signing of the agreement, financing aimed at catalyzing work to protect species by less-industrialized countries, as well as Indigenous communities, has been channeled through the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.
- The fund has begun supporting projects around the world, even as the amounts committed from a handful of governments are a fraction of what researchers say is required to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
Floods ravage southeastern Brazil and kill 40 as rescuers race to find dozens missing (25 Feb 2026 18:10:11 +0000)
JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil (AP) — Families of those killed in the devastating floods in southeastern Brazil began burying the dead on Wednesday, as the death toll climbed to at least 40 in the state of Minas Gerais. All the victims found so far are in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers […]
Penguins are breeding much earlier in a warming Antarctic, study finds (25 Feb 2026 17:55:17 +0000)
- Penguins on the Antarctic peninsula and surrounding islands are breeding substantially earlier in the year than just a decade ago, according to new research.
- The study used remote cameras to track the breeding season of three penguin species across 37 colonies from 2012 to 2022.
- Gentoo penguins advanced their breeding season by about 13 days over the 10-year period, while Adélie and chinstrap penguins each shifted breeding by about 10 days.
- Researchers don’t yet know how the changes are impacting penguins, but it could lead to a mismatch in food availability for chicks or create competition among species for food and other resources.
In Brazil, a free platform uses government data to track EUDR compliance (25 Feb 2026 17:13:05 +0000)
- Developed by researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, the Selo Verde platform provides a free, public tool to check a Brazilian producer’s compliance with environmental laws, including the upcoming EU deforestation regulation.
- The tool crosses data from state and federal governments on land use, deforestation, cattle transport and legal infractions, to monitor environmental compliance on rural properties.
- Selo Verde is run by state governments: First launched in the state of Pará in 2021, it has since been adopted in Minas Gerais, Acre and Espírito Santo, with other states interested in developing their own Selo Verde, and other countries encouraged to emulate their own.
- The adoption of the platform by businesses remains a challenge, however, with experts saying there’s no incentive to do so amid ongoing delays to the EUDR.
Why is cockfighting a risk to Peru’s rarest fish? (25 Feb 2026 15:16:23 +0000)
PERU — The film uncovers the connection between one of Peru’s most iconic cultural traditions and one of its most endangered marine species. In northern fishing communities, the rostral teeth of the largetooth sawfish, once thought extinct in the waters off Peru, have long been carved into razor-sharp spurs for cockfights. Today, even as the […]
Big cats get the press, but small wildcats are being poached and trafficked in silence (25 Feb 2026 15:13:46 +0000)
- While black market sale of jaguars, tigers and other big cats has been carefully tracked for decades, trade in small and medium-sized felines has gone largely undocumented. Many are threatened or endangered species.
- Researchers in Colombia discovered that a substantial number of smaller wild cats were seized by or surrendered to wildlife officials from 2015 to 2021.
- The cats are mostly sold alive as pets, though some skins, teeth and other parts were also confiscated.
- Seizures of illegally traded wildlife represent just a small percentage of those that are poached and trafficked. The smaller cats are, the more they seem to be traded, researchers say, and globally, there needs to be greater monitoring of international trade in small and mid-sized felines.
Indigenous Ikoots community prepares to relocate as the Pacific floods their town (25 Feb 2026 13:47:55 +0000)
- On Mexico’s Pacific coast, sea level rise and infrastructure projects have eroded 8.4 meters of coastline per year since 1967.
- In the community of Cuauhtémoc, San Mateo del Mar, at least 900 Indigenous Ikoots people are increasingly affected by flooding, as homes and streets give way to the sea.
- The community voted to relocate in May 2025, but bureaucratic delays are hindering the process, and many lack the funds to leave the community on their own.
Indigenous communities oppose Papua forest rezoning for palm oil (25 Feb 2026 08:09:07 +0000)
- Indigenous communities in Indonesian Papua have filed an administrative objection against forestry ministry decrees that reclassify more than a million acres as nonforest land, clearing the way for oil palm development under the government’s food estate program.
- The rezoning last September was carried out without the communities’ knowledge or consent, and the affected areas include swaths of forest that they have proposed as customary forests.
- The communities only learned of the decision months later, after NGOs obtained the decree. If the ministry fails to respond to their objection, they plan to sue in the State Administrative Court.
- The expansion aligns with the government’s drive to boost food and biofuel production, but Indigenous rights advocates warn the plan could cost communities their forests, livelihoods and cultural ties to the land.
In Myanmar’s limestone hills, people and bats are often too close for comfort (25 Feb 2026 07:28:08 +0000)
- 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.
Amazon riverfolk warn blasting rocks for shipping route will kill fisheries (25 Feb 2026 07:00:24 +0000)
- As Brazil moves to explode the deep, rocky river territory of the Lourenção Rocks, locals on the Tocantins River say the government’s refusal to recognize them as “impacted” excludes thousands of fishers from protections.
- Scientists compare the 43-kilometer (26.7-mile) rocky stretch to an “underwater Galapagos,” warning that detonations will destroy the quiet water pockets and deep rocks where rare species breed.
- The industrial shipping route is designed to accelerate global exports of soy and minerals, a move critics say prioritizes corporate profit over the survival of traditional peoples.
Bringing Mongabay’s Amazon narco airstrip exposé to the stage (24 Feb 2026 23:45:25 +0000)
Mongabay Latam’s multiyear, *award-winning **investigation that uncovered 67 clandestine airstrips in the Peruvian Amazon used for drug trafficking sent waves across the local media landscape. It drew attention to the Indigenous communities impacted by these illegal airstrips and the 15 Indigenous leaders who were killed defending their territory. To communicate this story to a wider […]
In Thailand, old camera-trap photos shed new light on Asian tapirs (24 Feb 2026 23:06:36 +0000)
- Archived camera-trap data from southern Thailand’s Khlong Saeng–Khao Sok Forest Complex identified at least 43 individual Asian tapirs, suggesting the area may be a key refuge for the endangered species.
- Researchers used “bycatch” images from camera traps originally set to photograph bears to estimate tapir density at 6-10 individuals per 100 square kilometers, showing existing data can help monitor elusive species.
- Modeling suggests the forest complex could hold up to 436 mature tapirs, far higher than previous estimates for Thailand and Myanmar combined, though researchers warn the figure may overestimate actual numbers.
- Despite the promising findings, Asian tapirs face ongoing threats from habitat loss and snaring, and experts say protecting intact forest strongholds is vital for the species’ survival.
Indigenous leader assassinated in Colombia’s Caldas department (24 Feb 2026 21:15:14 +0000)
Indigenous leader José Albino Cañas Ramírez was recently shot and killed by two unknown individuals in Colombia’s Caldas department. Indigenous authorities suspect it was a targeted attack linked to his work in defense of one of the oldest Indigenous reserves in Colombia, the Resguardo of Colonial Origin Cañamomo Lomaprieta (RCMLP). It’s a 37.6-square-kilometer (14.5-square-mile) reserve […]
Spiro secures $50 million to expand Africa battery-swapping network (24 Feb 2026 15:50:39 +0000)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Financing for electric vehicle transport is ramping up in Africa as confidence rises in the potential for battery swapping, fast charging and other technologies. Spiro, Africa’s largest electric mobility operator, has secured $50 million in debt financing from African Export-Import Bank, or Afreximbank, U.S.-based climate fintech platform Nithio and the Africa […]
Flying along with monarch butterflies (24 Feb 2026 14:17:27 +0000)
Every year, monarch butterflies make their iconic migration across North America. The journey spans thousands of miles and three countries. However, very little is known about this migration, resulting in the lack of concrete data about a very important life stage of these butterflies. Scientists are now using lightweight radio tags to get insights into […]
As Nepal votes, climate change is an elephant in the room for Sherpa community (24 Feb 2026 14:13:48 +0000)
- Seasonal migration and low resident voter presence in Nepal’s Sagarmatha (Everest) region mean election campaigns concentrate on infrastructure rather than climate adaptation, leaving long-term environmental resilience underprioritized.
- Sherpa communities are witnessing retreating glaciers, erratic snowfall, avalanches and flooding, consistent with IPCC reports on elevation-dependent warming, changing snow and monsoon patterns and downstream water risks.
- Everest mountaineering revenue and helicopter tourism generate income, but limited reinvestment in climate adaptation, environmental regulation and sustainable infrastructure threatens ecosystems and the local economy in the face of climate change.
Botswana shows how smarter cattle herding can save lions, reopen ancient wildlife pathways (24 Feb 2026 13:51:00 +0000)
- Restoring traditional herding practices in northern Botswana has led to a huge decrease in cattle predation and retaliatory lion poisonings in the Okavango Delta region.
- More lion cubs are now surviving, with the lion population in northern Botswana up 50% over the past four years.
- Experts say bringing back traditional herding practices is the key to restoring migration routes for wildebeest, zebra and many other species.
- If herding expands, government officials may consider removing some veterinary cordon fences that have blocked wildlife corridors for decades.
Measuring what works in conservation (24 Feb 2026 13:24:31 +0000)
- Conservation has many widely used strategies, but far less reliable evidence about how well they work, making it difficult to direct scarce resources effectively. Researchers increasingly argue that measuring causal impact — not just tracking activities or trends — is essential to understanding real outcomes.
- Impact evaluation seeks to determine what would have happened without an intervention, but doing so is challenging because conservation actions occur in complex, real-world settings where experiments are often impractical. Without accounting for factors like location bias, programs can appear more effective than they truly are.
- To address this, conservationists are adopting methods from fields such as economics and public health, including randomized trials where possible and quasi-experimental approaches when they are not. Different tools suit different contexts, and evaluation needs evolve as projects move from pilot stages to large-scale implementation.
- Evidence gaps, limited resources, and institutional incentives can all discourage rigorous evaluation, yet the stakes are high as biodiversity loss accelerates. Most experts now agree that while not every project requires exhaustive study, systematic learning about what works is crucial to improving conservation outcomes.
Panama NGOs face lawsuits, asset seizures in fight over port construction (23 Feb 2026 22:07:35 +0000)
- Two environmental groups fighting the Puerto Barú project in Panama have been named in lawsuits claiming they defamed the developers and created public confusion about the project.
- The Center for Environmental Advocacy of Panama and the Adopt a Panama Rainforest Association (Adopta Bosque) say the port could damage mangroves and harm vulnerable shark and ray species.
- Both organizations have had their assets seized, including bank accounts and properties that serve as private nature reserves.
Azores dodges proposal to overturn no-fishing zones in its giant new MPA network (23 Feb 2026 19:29:18 +0000)
- A law establishing the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network was approved in October 2024 and took effect recently, on Jan. 1 this year.
- The network now safeguards 30% of Azorean waters, 287,000 square kilometers of seascape sheltering a rich array of marine life, and makes up the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Not two weeks later, on Jan. 15, the Azores Parliament voted on a measure that upholds a core provision of the MPA network, after it came under fire in recent months: No fishing inside the fully protected areas, which constitute half the vast network.
- Conservationists expressed satisfaction, broadly, with the agreement, but fishers’ groups expressed disappointment.
It’s electric: Scientists develop cheap way to keep sharks off fishing hooks (23 Feb 2026 19:08:13 +0000)
- Unintentional catch is a major reason that more than a hundred shark species are threatened with extinction.
- A new study found that creating a small electric field around fishing hooks using zinc and graphite is enough to keep many sharks away.
- Researchers have for decades tried to take advantage of sharks’ electrosensitivity to develop devices to keep them off fishing hooks. The authors of the new study chose zinc and graphite because they’re nonmagnetic, cheap and readily available materials.
- The lead author and two former students are pursuing commercial applications for the new method.
Supreme Court agrees to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits (23 Feb 2026 17:38:04 +0000)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday that it will hear from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change. The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder, Colorado, among a series of lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the […]
How Lucia Torres is bringing people into nature’s frame (23 Feb 2026 17:36:03 +0000)
- Lucía Torres is the video managing editor at Mongabay and leads efforts to tell environmental stories through people-centered video journalism.
- With a background in biology and science journalism, she specializes in solutions-focused storytelling that centers on Indigenous voices and local perspectives.
- From covering climate-displaced communities in Mexico to shaping Mongabay’s video strategy, Torres is committed to making complex environmental issues accessible and impactful.
- This interview is part of Inside Mongabay, a series that spotlights the people who bring environmental and conservation stories to life across our global newsroom.
A journey from student to Amazon “Junglekeeper”: Interview with Paul Rosolie (23 Feb 2026 16:13:08 +0000)
- Conservationist Paul Rosolie published a new book describing his journey from student to Amazon “Junglekeeper.”
- In a wide-ranging interview, Rosolie talks about uncontacted tribes, drug traffickers and the distance he still needs to go to achieve his goal of protecting the Las Piedras River.
- Rosolie also discusses the personal challenges and sacrifices of devoting his life to this slice of the Peruvian Amazon.
Petrostates stymie effort to rein in Arctic shipping carbon emissions (23 Feb 2026 15:41:06 +0000)
- Black carbon emissions (colloquially known as soot) produced by marine shipping contribute to Earth’s warming climate and also reduce ice and snow cover. In the Arctic, those emissions are hastening regional heating and sea ice loss.
- In the 21st century, climate change has so diminished Arctic sea ice thickness and extent that transpolar crossings in summer by large numbers of commercial vessels has not only become possible but also increasingly frequent, resulting in a marked increase in black carbon emissions from dirty fossil fuels.
- In February, members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) considered a proposal by several nations to require use of cleaner polar fuels, which emit lower amounts of black carbon. But the effort was blocked and delayed by large petrostates, including the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia.
- Implementation of the measure is expected to be delayed by at least two years. With Arctic sea voyages forecast to soar from thousands of trips annually to tens of thousands by 2050, NGOs are calling for greater support for clean polar fuels as a quick and effective way of reducing warming pressure on the Arctic region.
Mongabay Explains (23 Feb 2026 08:42:51 +0000)
Join Mongabay’s reporters as we unpack some of the most urgent and intriguing issues in climate, the environment and biodiversity today. In this multimedia Special Issue, we go beyond the headlines to examine how science, policy and human activity intersect with Nature. We try to answer questions you might not have known to ask, with […]
After logging bans, Australia turns to “forest thinning”. Does it reduce fire risk? (23 Feb 2026 03:05:46 +0000)
- As native forest logging ends in parts of Australia, governments and industry are turning to large-scale forest thinning as a tool to reduce bushfire risk, prompting a new debate over how best to protect communities in a warming climate.
- Research shows thinning can lower fire severity under some conditions, especially when paired with prescribed burning, but its effectiveness often diminishes during extreme fire weather — the very conditions driving the most destructive fires.
- Scientists warn that removing trees can alter forest structure, dry fuels, release stored carbon, and eliminate critical wildlife habitat, meaning the ecological and climate costs may be substantial in high-conservation forests.
- The controversy reflects deeper tensions over land use, public safety, and economic transition, with critics arguing that large-scale thinning risks becoming logging by another name while supporters see it as a necessary adaptation to escalating fire danger.
The cost of compliance with the EUDR will limit its impact on reducing deforestation (commentary) (23 Feb 2026 01:33:02 +0000)
- Many links in agri-commodity supply chains have very narrow profit margins, making them particularly sensitive to additional costs.
- The costs of implementing “zero deforestation” agri-commodity supply chain commitments requiring physical segregation are likely to cause positively engaged companies to avoid commodities grown in regions with active deforestation, leaving companies with no deforestation commitments in their place.
- Contrary to dominant beliefs in adding controls and costs, systemically linking markets and public policy in producer regions enables cheaper, more price-competitive and thus more effective forest-climate strategies; jurisdictional REDD+ is poised to provide such a bridge, argue Bjørn Rask Thomsen, Europe Director at Earth Innovation Institute and former food industry CEO and Daniel Nepstad, Executive Director and President at Earth Innovation Institute in this op-ed.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
José Albino Cañas Ramírez, a defender of Indigenous territories, aged 44 (20 Feb 2026 21:46:34 +0000)
- José Albino Cañas Ramírez, a prominent Indigenous leader and member of the governing council for the Resguardo Cañamomo Lomaprieta, was shot and killed at his home in Caldas, Colombia.
- His death highlights the “double victimization” faced by the Emberá Chamí people, who navigate pressure from both illegal armed groups and extractive development projects.
- As a dedicated community figure, Cañas Ramírez spent his life strengthening local institutions and managing essential services in a region where state support is often absent.
- The killing is part of a broader, persistent pattern of violence against territorial defenders in Colombia, with at least 21 social leaders killed already this year.
Giant tortoises return to Galápagos island 180 years after relatives went extinct (20 Feb 2026 21:07:53 +0000)
For the first time in nearly two centuries, giant tortoises are once again roaming Floreana Island in the Galápagos, a conservation milestone more than a decade in the making. Early settlers on Floreana Island altered the landscape and hunted the Floreana giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger niger) into extinction about 180 years ago. But while working […]
Torrential rains unleash landslides that kill 7 in southern Philippines (20 Feb 2026 18:56:56 +0000)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Torrential rains set off two landslides that killed seven people and floods that displaced more than 3,000 villagers in the southeastern Philippines, officials said Friday. A boulder-laden landslide buried a house and killed a couple and their two daughters Friday in the coastal city of Mati in Davao Oriental province, disaster-response […]
In Thailand, a coral cryobank tries to buy time for dying reefs (20 Feb 2026 17:26:26 +0000)
- Scientists in Phuket are freezing coral larvae and their symbiotic algae, aiming to create a “living seed bank” to preserve Thailand’s reef genetic diversity amid accelerating climate stress.
- Thailand’s reefs, home to more than 300 coral species, have experienced repeated mass bleaching events since 2022, with damage compounded by tourism pressure, wastewater runoff, sedimentation and overfishing.
- Researchers describe coral cryobanks as a form of “genetic insurance” and ex-situ conservation, but stress they can’t replace in-water protection and must be integrated into broader restoration and marine management strategies.
- Conservation experts say improving water quality, regulating tourism impacts and strengthening community-led marine protection are essential if preserved coral material is to be successfully restored to the wild.
Recycling startups test limits of private solutions to deluge of waste in Lagos (20 Feb 2026 14:26:46 +0000)
- Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous state, generates nearly 5.5 million metric tons of solid waste every year.
- The state’s formal waste management system handles less than half of this, with homes and businesses improvising disposal of the rest wherever they can: an estimated 40% of this waste is recyclable.
- Pakam Technology Limited is one of several private companies trying to profitably retrieve a greater share of the roughly 6,000 metric tons of recyclable materials thrown away every day.
- Recycling companies say inconsistent enforcement of regulations is a major obstacle to improving recycling rates.
Migrant fishers’ deaths at sea tied to unchecked captain power, study shows (20 Feb 2026 13:31:12 +0000)
- A new study finds migrant fishers’ deaths at sea stem from systemic labor and governance failures, not isolated safety lapses.
- Far from shore, captains control food, medical care and even how deaths are recorded, with little oversight or accountability.
- Researchers documented 55 cases of Indonesian fishers who died or went missing, showing deaths occur through both direct abuse and prolonged neglect.
- The authors call for stronger international cooperation, mandatory death reporting and supply chain transparency, arguing existing rules alone cannot prevent further fatalities
Malawi’s solar boom is leaving a toxic legacy of lead waste (20 Feb 2026 09:03:23 +0000)
- The rapid adoption of solar home systems in Malawi is producing a matching increase in the use of lead-acid batteries.
- These batteries have a relatively short lifespan, especially when used with photovoltaic systems, and informal recycling processes release toxic lead and acid into the environment.
- There are more durable, less toxic batteries available, but they cost more.
- Malawi and other countries need better regulation and recycling infrastructure to ensure the benefits of small solar systems are not accompanied by environmental harms.
Sumatra province plan to permit ‘community’ mines alarms civil society (20 Feb 2026 07:41:01 +0000)
- The devolved government in West Sumatra province, which is home to 5.8 million people on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, intends to present new zoning plans to the central government that could regulate currently illegal mines operated by small groups of people.
- The small-scale gold mining sector is responsible for lasting environmental damage to both environment and public health, owing in large part to the use of mercury, a banned heavy metal and neurotoxin, to separate gold particles from ores retrieved from valley sides and river basins.
- It remains unclear how the government would treat the use of mercury, which is the subject of international agreement under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
- The international price of gold has surged by more than 70% since the beginning of last year as central banks and investors buy precious metals to mitigate political uncertainty and high inflation. This has led to a surge in illegal gold mining in forests from the Amazon to Indonesia.
Indonesia faces scrutiny over permit revocations following deadly floods and landslides (20 Feb 2026 03:55:53 +0000)
- The Indonesian government is facing new scrutiny of its revocation of 28 forestry, plantation and mining permits following Cyclone Senyar, which triggered landslides and flash floods that killed around 1,200 people.
- An analysis by the NGO Auriga Nusantara found that some of the permits cited in the announcement had already been revoked years earlier, while others had expired before the floods occurred.
- The discrepancies add to growing confusion over which companies are actually linked to the November 2025 floods and landslides and what will happen to former concession areas now slated for transfer to state-owned enterprises under the sovereign wealth fund Danantara.
Loosely social animals at higher risk of decline than social species (19 Feb 2026 22:27:22 +0000)
Social interactions are crucial for the survival of most animal species. Living in groups helps animals spot predators, find food and raise more successful young than they could alone. Conventional wisdom has long held that highly social animals, like lions or capuchin monkeys, are highly vulnerable when their populations decline. But new research suggests that […]
How seabird poop helped fuel ancient civilizations in Peru (19 Feb 2026 18:33:30 +0000)
The Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru are home to many seabird species that cover their island homes with thick layers of poop, or guano. New research now suggests that ancient Peruvians in the Chincha Valley on the Peruvian mainland hunted these seabirds, collected their guano, and used it to fertilize their maize crops, […]
Alcoa pays Australian feds $36 million for ‘unlawful’ forest clearing (19 Feb 2026 16:58:27 +0000)
Pittsburgh-based Alcoa will pay the Australian government a settlement the company put at $36 million for “unlawfully” clearing tracts of endangered forest without approvals between 2019 and 2025. The metals giant began mining bauxite — the raw ingredient for aluminum — from beneath Australia’s Northern Jarrah forest in the 1960s, but its footprint has swelled […]
Argentina considers weakening glacier safeguards in pursuit of critical minerals (19 Feb 2026 15:25:07 +0000)
- A bill to reform Argentina’s National Glacier Law would scale back protections that currently restrict mining and other development near glaciers in the Andes and beyond.
- Argentina has 8,484 square kilometers (3,276 square miles) of ice cover spanning 12 provinces and 39 river basins; together, they provide the country with freshwater for drinking, agriculture and other needs.
- If approved, the reform would weaken national environmental standards by allowing provinces to decide whether certain glaciers have a “strategic water function” worth protecting.
- The bill is expected to go to a vote in the Senate later this month and, if passed, would then move on to the lower house of Congress.
New study assesses geoengineering marine ecosystem risks, knowledge gaps (19 Feb 2026 15:22:02 +0000)
- A new review study examines the current research regarding the risks that various geoengineering approaches pose to marine ecosystems.
- The study looked particularly at a range of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) methods, along with solar radiation modification (SRM) technologies, and found that some approaches carry fewer risks than others.
- Electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement and anoxic storage of terrestrial biomass in the deep ocean (utilizing crop waste, for example) carry fewer risks to marine ecosystems than some carbon dioxide removal methods, such as those that would add nutrients to seawater to promote major plankton growth.
- However, better models, increased field testing, and better geoengineering regulatory oversight are needed to fully assess potential geoengineering marine ecosystem impacts, especially if commercialization proceeds. Public fears over field testing also need to be allayed.
Africa’s vulture safe zones face tough test across vast landscapes (19 Feb 2026 10:39:07 +0000)
- Vulture safe zones have multiplied across Southern Africa to address the numerous threats facing these scavengers.
- The vulture safe zone concept originated in Asia as a response to the drastic decline in the region’s vulture populations due to diclofenac poisoning.
- Opinions are mixed on their effectiveness to address the multitude of threats facing species in Africa.
- In the coming months, conservation organizations are aiming to streamline the concept in Africa, with the aim of standardizing how these safe zones operate and monitor populations, and ultimately how they protect threatened species.
The Amazon’s most valuable export isn’t timber — it’s rain (19 Feb 2026 00:40:28 +0000)
- Tropical forests actively generate rainfall by releasing moisture into the atmosphere, with each square meter producing hundreds of liters of rain annually across surrounding regions. Clearing even small portions can measurably reduce precipitation, especially during dry seasons.
- Much of the rain that falls far inland originates from forests through long-distance moisture transport known as “flying rivers,” meaning farms, cities, and reservoirs may depend on ecosystems located hundreds or thousands of kilometers away.
- Reduced rainfall from deforestation can undermine agriculture, river flows, and hydropower, revealing forests as a form of natural water infrastructure that supports food production, energy systems, and economic stability.
- By assigning a monetary value to forest-generated rainfall, researchers estimate the service in the Amazon alone is worth on the order of tens of billions of dollars annually, underscoring that forest loss threatens not only biodiversity and carbon storage but regional climate systems themselves.
Peru mining pollution linked to children’s cognitive impairment: Study (18 Feb 2026 22:31:01 +0000)
A recent study in Forensic Science International suggests a link between exposure to heavy metals from mining operations and reduced cognitive performance in children in Peru. Researchers say the findings highlight the long-term impact of mining pollution on children’s neurocognitive development and demonstrate that exposure is not a one-time event. The research focused on children […]
Why so many mangrove restoration projects fail (18 Feb 2026 21:12:22 +0000)
Mangroves have become a favored solution in climate and conservation circles. They absorb carbon, blunt storm surge and support fisheries. Funding has followed. Yet outcomes often lag ambition. In parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America, research suggests that roughly 70% of restoration projects struggle to establish healthy forests. Seedlings die. Sites flood incorrectly. Community […]
Amazon villages build autonomous energy systems after mega-dam failed pledges (18 Feb 2026 19:22:15 +0000)
- A pilot project in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Reserve is providing 24-hour electricity through an integrated system of solar panels and river-based hydrokinetic turbines.
- The project’s hydrokinetic turbines use specialized filter systems and slow-rotation grids designed to generate electricity without harming local river fauna.
- Roughly 990,000 people in the Brazilian Amazon still lack access to electricity despite the region hosting some of the world’s largest hydropower facilities.
In Ecuador’s Chocó, roads shape the fate of the rainforest (18 Feb 2026 19:05:01 +0000)
- The Chocó rainforest in northwestern Ecuador has experienced some of the worst deforestation in the world, with only around 3% tree cover remaining in the western lowlands.
- A lot of the deforestation can be traced to an influx of loggers in the 1990s and the many roads and trails that they created in the process, which are now being used by new settlers.
- In an effort to save a part of the Chocó, the Jocotoco Conservation Foundation has been building a reserve by buying up parcels of land, one at a time. Its Canandé Reserve has grown to roughly 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) but still faces pressure from roads and trails built by expanding communities.
- Residents respect the need to conserve the forest but also express a desire to improve connectivity, with the ability to travel within the area and to nearby cities.
‘Ridiculous’ plan developed at Florida zoo saves wild rhino’s eyesight in Africa (18 Feb 2026 16:58:45 +0000)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Corralling a wild rhinoceros into a small chute to give it eyedrops might seem like a crazy plan. But if it’s crazy and it works, then it’s not crazy. Animal behaviorists partnering with the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society in Florida traveled to Africa in August to help an endangered […]
Banks must step in before the Amazon Soy Moratorium collapses (commentary) (18 Feb 2026 16:39:27 +0000)
- Finance is often portrayed as distant from environmental destruction, but in reality, it sits at the center: banks and investors decide which business models survive and which harms they will tolerate.
- Right now, a successful agreement called the Amazon Soy Moratorium, which has helped protect millions of hectares of forest by stopping major traders from buying soy grown on Amazon land deforested after 2008, is on the brink of collapse due to industry pressure — but banks can play a role in ensuring these traders stay in the pact and don’t let it unravel.
- “Financial institutions should make continued access to capital conditional on compliance with the moratorium’s core principles: no deforestation after 2008, full traceability, and zero tolerance for forest destruction in the Amazon biome,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Researchers eye jaguar conservation wins under Brazil Indigenous stewardship project (18 Feb 2026 16:20:29 +0000)
- The jaguar is listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List due to threats such as habitat loss and overhunting, but finds a safe haven in Brazil within protected areas and Indigenous lands.
- A pioneering new Brazilian initiative seeks to strengthen the protection of 15 Indigenous territories and their biodiversity through land sovereignty, environmental restoration and monitoring.
- The initiative may benefit jaguar conservation in one of the big cat’s last remaining strongholds.
- The initiative is still in its early stages, and so far there are little to no links between the project and jaguar conservation programs. But researchers say they hope conservation efforts, even if not explicitly aimed at jaguars, can have a ripple effect on protecting the species.
The most desirable songbird in Indonesia is disappearing from the wild (18 Feb 2026 16:12:39 +0000)
SUMATRA, Indonesia — Armed with a machete, some sticky gum and a recording of birdsong on his phone, “Peni” makes his way into the forest. He’s searching for songbirds in the Sumatran jungle, specifically the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus), known locally as murai batu. The popularity of murai batu has boomed in the past decade […]
Scientists discover a new whale highway after tagging a pygmy blue whale by drone (18 Feb 2026 15:38:12 +0000)
- Scientists in Indonesia have tagged a pygmy blue whale for the first time using a drone.
- Data from the tag revealed a previously unknown path used by the species on its southern migration from Indonesia to the west coast of Australia.
- The biggest threats to the pygmy blue whale include ship strikes in busy shipping lanes, ocean noise pollution, and climate change.
- A team from Timor-Leste will now repeat the drone tagging protocol in their waters.
Coral bleaching: How warming seas are transforming the world’s reefs (18 Feb 2026 08:53:22 +0000)
- Mass coral bleaching occurs when unusually warm ocean temperatures disrupt the partnership between corals and the microscopic algae that supply most of their energy, leaving corals weakened and often leading to widespread mortality if heat stress persists.
- The 2014–2017 Global Coral Bleaching Event was the most severe on record, affecting more than half of the world’s reefs, and a new global bleaching event that began in 2023 suggests that large-scale damage is continuing as oceans warm.
- Bleaching interacts with other pressures — including ocean acidification, overfishing, pollution, coastal development, and destructive fishing — reducing reefs’ ability to recover and increasing the risk of long-term degradation.
- While conservation, restoration, and experimental interventions may help protect resilient reefs or buy time locally, scientists emphasize that limiting global warming is critical to preserving coral reefs as diverse, functioning ecosystems.
Southern elephant seals recover in Southern Africa, but global picture is mixed (18 Feb 2026 07:07:59 +0000)
- The southern elephant seal’s conservation status in South Africa has improved from near threatened to least concern, with experts citing four decades without major threats to its breeding colonies on Marion and Prince Edward islands.
- About 5,500 seals are estimated across the two islands, with nearly 1,400 pups recorded in 2023; strong legal protections and marine protected area status have supported recovery.
- Scientists caution that the causes of a sharp population decline in the late 20th century remain poorly understood, with possible links to food availability, climate change and oceanographic shifts.
- While South Africa’s population is recovering, other southern elephant seal populations face threats, including a devastating bird flu outbreak in Argentina, prompting debate about the species’ global conservation status.
From chemistry to regeneration: Agriculture’s next transformation has begun (commentary) (17 Feb 2026 21:53:22 +0000)
- Just as the Green Revolution shifted farming from sun and soil to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, we are now seeing a new revolution, one of returning to an agriculture based on biology rather than chemistry.
- The current, chemically dependent model has produced a lot of food but at great cost to soil health, biodiversity and livelihoods.
- “Society must recognize the truth: we cannot continue to poison our environment in the name of food production, and regeneration is the only viable future,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Kiliii Yüyan puts Indigenous ‘Guardians of Life’ and their planetary stewardship in focus (17 Feb 2026 21:28:59 +0000)
National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan returns to the Mongabay Newscast to share his experience creating his new book, Guardians of Life: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Science, and Restoring the Planet from specialty publisher Braided River. This book documents the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of nine Indigenous communities worldwide, featuring contributions and essays from many members of […]
Some forest restoration linked to short-term rise in zoonotic diseases (17 Feb 2026 20:22:27 +0000)
Deforestation and land use change can accelerate the spread of zoonotic diseases — infectious illnesses that can spread from animals to humans — including malaria and COVID-19. While habitat restoration is crucial for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change, new research suggests counterintuitively that it can also temporarily increase the risk of certain zoonotic diseases […]
Amazon deforestation on pace to be the lowest on record, says Brazil (17 Feb 2026 20:03:06 +0000)
- Near-real-time satellite alerts show Amazon deforestation in Brazil continuing to decline into early 2026, with clearing from August through January falling to its lowest level for that period since 2014.
- Over the previous 12 months, detected forest loss also dropped to a 2014 low, reinforcing a broader downward trend that is corroborated by official annual data and independent monitoring. Clearing in the neighboring Cerrado savanna has also fallen
- Environment Minister Marina Silva attributed the decline to strengthened enforcement and municipal cooperation, saying Brazil could record the lowest Amazon deforestation rate since record-keeping began in 1988 if current efforts continue.
- While the data is positive for conservation advocates, short-term satellite data can fluctuate seasonally, and long-term outcomes will depend on economic pressures, infrastructure expansion, and climate-driven risks such as drought and fire.
Malaria outbreak among Indigenous Pirahã linked to forest loss, satellite data find (17 Feb 2026 18:16:12 +0000)
- According to data from Global Forest Watch, the Pirahã Indigenous Territory in Brazil lost 7,000 hectares of tree cover from 2002-24.
- A large spike occurred in 2024, when the territory lost 3,200 hectares of tree cover.
- Government officials told Mongabay that the recently contacted Pirahã people are facing a malaria outbreak, and the deforestation is the result of an effort by Brazil’s Indigenous affairs agency to improve food security.
- The situation is complex, conservationists say, and although the clearings to plant crops may exacerbate the risk of malaria, the Pirahã people need food to improve their ability to fight the disease.
Scientists can’t agree on where the world’s forests are (17 Feb 2026 17:42:43 +0000)
- A global comparison of ten satellite-based forest datasets found striking disagreement about where forests are located, with only about a quarter of mapped forest area recognized by all sources. Differences in definitions, resolution, and methodology mean that estimates of forest extent vary widely depending on the map used.
- The inconsistencies are greatest in dry forests and fragmented landscapes, where sparse tree cover makes classification difficult. Even small technical choices—such as canopy thresholds or sensor type—can determine whether an area counts as forest at all.
- These discrepancies translate into large differences in real-world indicators. Estimates of forest carbon in Kenya, forest-proximate poverty in India, and habitat loss in Brazil varied dramatically across datasets, with potential implications for funding, policy, and conservation priorities.
- Because forest maps underpin climate targets, biodiversity planning, and development decisions, the authors urge treating estimates as ranges rather than precise figures and testing results across multiple datasets. Greater standardization and transparency, they argue, will be essential for credible monitoring of global environmental goals.
Kenya launches a carbon registry to boost climate finance and credibility (17 Feb 2026 16:31:55 +0000)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya has launched its first national carbon registry, a centralized system to track carbon credit projects, prevent double counting and strengthen transparency in climate markets. The platform positions Kenya to attract global climate financing as demand grows for credible carbon offsets under the Paris Climate agreement. Officials say the registry will […]
That “butterfly” you saw? It was probably a moth (17 Feb 2026 15:26:37 +0000)
Most people think moths are dull, nocturnal, and nothing like butterflies. That couldn’t be more wrong. In the Amazon rainforest, moths come in every color, shape, and size — and many are active during the day. In fact, while there are only about 18,000 species of butterflies worldwide, there are over 160,000 species of moths. […]
Helicopter translocation brings isolated banteng to safer grounds in Cambodia (17 Feb 2026 13:34:10 +0000)
- Earlier this month in northeastern Cambodia, conservationists deployed helicopters, trucks and more than 50 personnel to translocate a group of critically endangered banteng into a protected reserve.
- Banteng, a type of wild cattle that once roamed widely across Southeast Asia, have suffered crippling population declines due to hunting and deforestation.
- The effort is part of wider plans to secure a future for the species in Cambodia while rewilding Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary, a site that experts say is one of Cambodia’s best protected sites.
- Against the backdrop of intense forest loss, even within protected areas, experts say translocation of isolated animals away from frontiers of development could offer a viable future for conservation in Cambodia.
UN recognition is latest boost to restoring spekboom across South Africa’s semidesert Karoo (17 Feb 2026 12:40:57 +0000)
- Since 2004, the South African government has been working to restore spekboom thickets in a semiarid region of the country.
- This biome, anchored by the hardy, carbon-sequestering spekboom plant, has been massively degraded by two centuries of expanding farming and livestock herding.
- That long arc of conversion of thicket landscapes to farm and rangeland is now dying, as overgrazing, climate change and shifting markets for agricultural products take their toll.
- Dozens of private operators have joined the government in trying to restore this biome’s original thicket cover, attracted by the potential for income from carbon credits.
Indonesia says intervention in notorious Sumatran national park part of new ‘model’ (17 Feb 2026 09:44:39 +0000)
- Tesso Nilo National Park was established in 2004 and expanded in 2009 in Sumatra’s Riau province, but has since lost more than three-quarters of its old-growth forest, largely to smallholder oil palm farms, according to remote-sensing platform Global Forest Watch.
- Last year, officials working under a new nationwide forestry task force began work to relocate hundreds of farming families living inside the park, in a radical attempt to regain control of a protected area that’s been almost entirely destroyed.
- The government is framing the Tesso Nilo policy around efforts to save Domang, one of the critically endangered Sumatran elephant calves living within the national park.
- The intervention in Tesso Nilo sparked some low-intensity violence last year, including destruction of a shelter in the forest used by national park staff as a base for fieldwork, prompting a surge in military presence to bolster security as the operation proceeds.
Floods linked to climate change hit nearly 1 million in Southern Africa (17 Feb 2026 06:56:29 +0000)
- A rapid analysis of heavy floods that occurred between December 2025 and January 2026 in Southern Africa finds that climate change has exacerbated extreme rainfall events.
- Scientists found that rainfall events in the region seem to be becoming more intense, and the likelihood of extreme precipitation occurring is higher in a warmer world.
- Despite limitations of climate models in the African context, scientists say they’re confident that weather patterns are shifting due to climate change.
- The study also revealed that the impacts were heightened due to structural and social vulnerabilities in the affected countries, with Mozambique being the hardest hit.
Texas sea turtles have lost a conservation hero (commentary) (16 Feb 2026 22:36:20 +0000)
- A dedicated sea turtle conservationist on the Texas Gulf Coast has passed away.
- Carole Allen — the founder of HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles)— passed away this month at the age of 90.
- “Some of Carole’s accomplishments are documented in Edward Humes’ 2009 book “Eco Barons” and the 2011 PBS documentary “The Heartbreak Turtle.” But her true legacy lives on in the countless children and adults she inspired over generations,” a new op-ed says.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Costa Rica’s top court orders action to shield wildlife from power line hazards (16 Feb 2026 18:15:05 +0000)
Costa Rica’s highest court has ruled that government agencies and the national electricity utility failed to adequately protect wildlife from electrocution caused by power lines. The case centers on the Nosara region in northwestern Costa Rica, but conservationists say the landmark ruling could strengthen wildlife protections across the country. The lawsuit was filed with the […]
Study refutes claim that Indonesia’s legal turtle trade supports livelihoods (16 Feb 2026 18:03:38 +0000)
- Tens of thousands of freshwater turtles and tortoises are legally harvested each year in Indonesia for their meat and exported primarily to China, while many species teeter on the brink of extinction.
- Although this turtle trade is thought to provide livelihoods for harvesters, a study finds that with current market prices, it only supports a few hundred people nationwide with a barely sustainable minimum wage income.
- A big proportion of the trade must be illegal to keep it profitable, researchers say. They question whether it should be permitted at all, given that many targeted species are threatened with extinction.
- To prevent illegal trade, conservationists urge Indonesian authorities to enforce harvest quotas, ban the trade of threatened species and provide alternative livelihoods for harvesters to save the country’s chelonians.
PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are falling in North Atlantic whales after phaseout (16 Feb 2026 16:35:11 +0000)
Levels of some of the most persistent industrial chemicals in the North Atlantic appear to be falling, at least in one unlikely place. Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) now carry markedly lower concentrations of several legacy PFAS compounds than they did a decade ago, according to a new multidecade analysis of tissue samples from the […]
US ocean regulator faces criticism over changes to right whale protection rule (16 Feb 2026 15:51:49 +0000)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S.’s ocean regulator plans to make industry-friendly changes to a longstanding rule designed to protect vanishing whales, prompting criticism from environmental groups who cite the recent death of an endangered whale. The rules protect the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers less than 400 and lives off the East Coast. The […]
A hundred-year vision: Gary Tabor on the rise of large landscape conservation (16 Feb 2026 14:04:57 +0000)
- Gary Tabor’s career marks a shift in conservation from protecting isolated “island” parks to designing vast, interconnected ecological networks.
- Informed by his early years in the Adirondacks and a decade in East Africa, Tabor’s work emphasizes that wildlife survival depends on the “connective tissue” between protected areas.
- Through founding the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, he has moved connectivity into the global mainstream, focusing on practical engineering like wildlife crossings and the human work of community organizing.
- Tabor spoke with Mongabay’s Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in February 2026.
Seven years after Brazil’s worst dam disaster, mining operations bounce back (16 Feb 2026 08:11:15 +0000)
- Seven years after a dam holding mining sludge collapsed in Brumadinho, southeastern Brazil, killing 272 people, mining giant Vale and its partner Itaminas are resuming operations at the very same mining complex.
- The reopening of the Jangada mining site threatens the local community’s water security by potentially lowering the water table and compromising springs that supply hundreds of families in Brumadinho’s rural area, residents say.
- Residents, victims’ relatives and civil society organizations have flagged the lack of information about the environmental risks that persist in a territory scarred by one of the worst mining-related disasters in Brazil.
Snooping on stingrays (15 Feb 2026 08:18:23 +0000)
Biologging trackers have long been used to track and monitor marine animals like whales, sharks and dolphins. But it has been a challenge to use them on stingrays because of their smooth skin and the lack of a prominent fin. Scientists have now developed a multisensor tag which can be securely attached to sting rays. […]
When environmental reporting has to outlast the news cycle (13 Feb 2026 23:37:19 +0000)
In parts of Africa most affected by biodiversity loss and climate stress, the problem is not an absence of events worth reporting. It is the difficulty of translating slow-moving ecological change, fragmented governance and contested evidence into journalism that travels beyond borders. The signals are often local, technical and politically inconvenient. Yet they shape global […]
Storm aftermath leaves 2 dead in France; flood alerts to remain Saturday (13 Feb 2026 20:29:57 +0000)
PARIS (AP) — The aftermath of a deadly storm continued to disrupt parts of France on Friday, with flooding concerns persisting in the southwest even as wind alerts were lifted, according to weather service Météo-France. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on TF1 that France had recorded two deaths linked to Storm Nils: one on Thursday […]
Forests don’t just store carbon. They keep people alive, scientists say (13 Feb 2026 17:57:40 +0000)
- Forests influence climate not only by storing carbon but by cooling the air, moderating extreme temperatures, and regulating water flows in ways that directly affect human well-being, concludes an academic review published this week in the journal Science.
- These effects are strongest at the local level: intact forests can make surrounding areas markedly cooler, stabilize rainfall, and create microclimates that support agriculture, health, and daily life.
- When forests are cleared, those protections can disappear quickly, often producing hotter, drier conditions and exposing large populations to increased heat stress and associated health risks.
- The greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, underscoring that protecting and restoring natural ecosystems can be as important for adaptation to climate change as for reducing emissions, argues the paper.
Insects are moving pharmaceutical pollutants from rivers to land; risks unknown (13 Feb 2026 15:59:39 +0000)
- Pharmaceuticals have a wide range of detrimental side effects on people. Scientists also know that pharmaceutical pollution is widespread in aquatic ecosystems, largely due to wastewater outflows and runoff.
- Studies now show pharmaceutical waterway contaminants can accumulate in aquatic insects at various life-cycle stages. These pollutants can then be transferred to terrestrial ecosystems as the insects are consumed by other species, including birds and bats.
- Research also shows that pharmaceuticals can cause changes in the physiology and behavior of insects, with potential knock-on effects for populations and wider ecosystems.
- But the full consequences of the transfer of a wide range of pharmaceutical contaminants to aquatic insects, and then via their predators to terrestrial environments and food webs, is largely unknown.
Baby gorilla seized from traffickers languishes in Turkish zoo (13 Feb 2026 15:58:58 +0000)
- Türkiye has refused to return a western lowland gorilla named Zeytin, who was smuggled out of Africa a year ago; Turkish authorities seized him as an infant from the cargo hold of an airplane headed to Bangkok.
- The decision marks an about-turn in Türkiye’s plans to return him to Africa, where he’d be in a Nigerian sanctuary with other gorillas, after a DNA test ruled out Nigeria as his country of origin. Turkish authorities announced he will remain in the country permanently.
- Gorillas are social animals that live in family groups, and with no other gorillas in the country, conservationists worry Zeytin will be doomed to a life of isolation in a zoo.
- Conservationists urge Turkish officials to reconsider their decision and send the baby gorilla to a sanctuary in Africa as soon as possible so he has a better chance of possible release into the wild.
From land acquisitions to local ownership: Alternatives for carbon offsetting (commentary) (13 Feb 2026 15:32:42 +0000)
- Land-based carbon offsetting poses serious risks, including inflated climate benefits and harmful livelihood impacts. A recent Land Matrix Initiative report argues that large-scale land acquisitions in the Global South under the auspices of carbon markets are adding substantial risks to global climate policies.
- Given these developments, the Land Matrix provides critical, evidence-based scrutiny by documenting the scale and diversity of carbon-related land deals and advancing harm-reduction measures such as transparency, land governance, and accountability.
- Among the recommendations, prioritizing community-based projects — while not risk-free — may offer a conditional alternative, provided there is genuine ownership, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and strong safeguards, with communities ultimately deciding whether and how to engage.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
The bug that makes bubbles with its butt: Froghopper (13 Feb 2026 09:29:53 +0000)
Meet the froghopper: a tiny insect that builds a bubble fortress out of sap, pee and air to protect itself from predators. Fully grown, it’s one of the best jumpers on Earth, leaping to heights nearly 100 times its body length. This is Episode 6 of Stranger Creatures, a series where biologist Romi Castagnino ventures […]
Thousands of peat fires flare across Indonesia despite rainy season (13 Feb 2026 06:40:47 +0000)
- More than 5,000 fire hotspots were detected across Indonesia’s peatlands in January, according to an independent watchdog — an alarming spike despite peak rainy season conditions and recent severe flooding in parts of Sumatra and Borneo.
- About a third of the hotspots were inside company concessions, mostly oil palm, reinforcing long-standing evidence that drained and degraded peatlands are highly flammable even after short dry spells, with fire risk now shaped more by hydrology than by calendar seasons.
- Provinces such as West Kalimantan and Aceh were hardest hit, with fires producing thick haze in cities like Pontianak and contributing to respiratory illness, underscoring how degraded peat amplifies both flood and fire risks.
- After a presidentially appointed peat restoration agency was allowed to lapse in 2024, watchdogs say fragmented oversight, weak monitoring and uncertainty over responsibility have created setbacks in peat protection, raising concerns ahead of potential future El Niño conditions.
US cuts legal foundation for federal climate regulation (13 Feb 2026 01:35:43 +0000)
On Feb. 12, the United States repealed the so-called endangerment finding, a 2009 cornerstone rule that enabled the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as a pollutant. Established under former President Barack Obama, the rule codified the long-held scientific consensus that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions “threaten the public health and welfare of current and […]
The business case for biodiversity (12 Feb 2026 22:42:55 +0000)
- Biodiversity loss is emerging as a systemic economic risk, affecting supply chains, financial stability and long-term growth across sectors, argues a new assessment from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
- Despite widespread dependence on nature, an estimated $7.3 trillion in annual finance still flows to activities that harm biodiversity, far outweighing conservation spending, says the report.
- Few companies currently disclose biodiversity impacts, and measurement remains uneven, though existing tools can already inform operational and portfolio decisions.
- Without changes in incentives, policy and financial systems, what is profitable will often remain misaligned with what sustains the natural systems on which the economy depends, says IPBES.
Fishers denounce plummeting fish stocks following Amazon hydroelectric dam (12 Feb 2026 19:11:35 +0000)
A hydroelectric dam impacting Brazil’s Amazonas and Rondônia states have slashed fished populations by as much as 90% in some locations, according to a new a study based on on-the-ground research in partnership with riverine communities. The 2008 construction of the Santo Antônio hydroelectric dam dramatically reduced the natural flow of the Madeira River, which […]
A 410-pound manatee rescued from a Florida storm drain is recovering at SeaWorld Orlando (12 Feb 2026 17:55:18 +0000)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A manatee that got stuck in a Florida storm drain while seeking warmer waters is on the mend at SeaWorld Orlando after a coordinated rescue effort. Multiple fire rescue units and officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the University of Florida and even Jack’s Wrecker Service were brought in […]
Guanacos’ return to Gran Chaco restirs debate around wildlife translocations (12 Feb 2026 17:28:28 +0000)
- Five guanacos have been translocated from Patagonia to Argentina’s Dry Chaco as part of a reintroduction program.
- Rewilding supporters say the animals will help bring the local population back from the brink of extinction as well as help recover a threatened ecosystem.
- However, some scientists in Argentina argue that moving animals like this is unethical, can spread disease and lead to genome extinction.
- But as conservation budgets are slashed in Argentina, others argue that preserving biodiversity requires more collaboration between the public and private sectors.
Brazil gov’t builds map to help exporters comply with EU anti-deforestation rule (12 Feb 2026 16:39:14 +0000)
- Brazil’s National Space Research Institute, INPE, created a new technology to generate deforestation data in polygons of a half-hectare threshold for the first time, following the European Union’s new regulation on deforestation-free products, or EUDR.
- When it comes into effect at the end of 2026 (delayed for the second year in a row), the EUDR will require suppliers to provide geolocalized data and other documentation to prove that their products exported to the EU aren’t sourced from areas illegally deforested after Dec. 31, 2020.
- December is the start of the Amazon rainy season, which poses challenges to track deforestation due to the high incidence of clouds; to tackle this, INPE created the Brazil Data Cube, which captures all remote sensing images of a period and radar to get cloud-free images for that month.
- The map was built per request of the agriculture ministry, which made it available for rural producers in late December 2025 through a platform aimed at integrating information from public and private databases to generate compliance reports to be used by exporters.
Pilot projects aim to break Indonesia’s habit of burning household waste (12 Feb 2026 12:51:31 +0000)
- More than half of Indonesian households still burn their trash, often because bulky or inorganic waste isn’t collected and dumping it creates safety risks in dense neighborhoods.
- Burning waste releases fine particles and black carbon that penetrate deep into the body, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular disease, organ damage and conditions such as anemia.
- Black carbon is also a potent climate pollutant, meaning cutting household waste burning could deliver fast benefits for both air quality and global warming if addressed at the source, experts say.
- Cultural norms, lack of infrastructure, limited enforcement and financial constraints drive waste burning, prompting pilot projects that combine community engagement, better waste systems and real-time pollution monitoring.
Farmers fear displacement, drought, flooding tied to Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal (12 Feb 2026 06:33:31 +0000)
- The Cambodian government is set to begin construction of the Funan Techo Canal, a nearly $1.2 billion, 180-kilometer (112-mile) waterway navigation project that will cut across four provinces to connect the Mekong River to the sea.
- The primary rationale for building the canal is to reduce Cambodia’s shipping costs, as well as to generate jobs and economic development.
- Mongabay has followed this mega-project’s development for more than a year, speaking with more than 50 people living along the canal’s proposed route. Virtually everyone we spoke with noted that the government has provided very little information about the project, and amid the uncertainty, fear has taken root.
- In inland communities in the rich floodplains of the Mekong River, farmers we spoke with said they worried they’d lose their homes or land, and that construction would disrupt the annual months-long inundation of the wetlands they rely on for planting rice as well as for fishing, crabbing and raising livestock.
Scrutiny grows over DRC-US minerals deal, even as other African nations sign up (12 Feb 2026 06:01:12 +0000)
- A minerals summit hosted by the U.S. this month marks an acceleration of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China for critical minerals, including by sealing deals with mineral-rich African countries.
- Guinea and Morocco signed separate agreements with the U.S. during the summit in Washington, even as an earlier deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed in December, came under greater scrutiny at home.
- The DRC, which holds more than 70% of global cobalt reserves, has emerged as a key strategic partner for the U.S., but civil society group warns that the new mineral deal prioritizes geopolitics over human rights, environmental protection and transparency.
- Ongoing insecurity in the eastern DRC raises questions about whether Trump’s approach linking U.S. peace-building efforts to economic gains will bring stability to the region.
Brazil mining boss sentenced for illegal gold operation on Indigenous land (12 Feb 2026 02:39:52 +0000)
A Brazilian federal court has sentenced a key financier to more than 22 years in prison. He was found guilty of leading an illegal mining operation in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, a huge protected area in the Amazon Rainforest that has been devastated by pollution, disease and deforestation. Rodrigo Martins de Mello, known as Rodrigo […]
Banks decline to finance LNG project in Papua New Guinea (11 Feb 2026 22:09:20 +0000)
A total of Twenty-nine international banks and export credit agencies have ruled out financing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea, citing climate, environmental and human rights concerns. The project is led by French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, which says the project will go on as planned, nonetheless. Twelve financial institutions […]
Sustainable fisheries can’t be built on exploited labor (commentary) (11 Feb 2026 21:56:12 +0000)
- The connection between human welfare and ocean conservation is direct and unavoidable, a new op-ed argues, because lawlessness toward people often goes hand in hand with lawlessness toward the ocean.
- Although there is an international legal framework governing crew welfare on fishing vessels at sea, these protections remain uneven, weakly enforced, or entirely absent for too many fishing crews, particularly migrant workers deployed on distant-water fleets.
- “We cannot reasonably expect crews to comply with complex fisheries regulations including logbooks, bycatch mitigation, finning bans, spatial closures and other requirements when they are overworked, underpaid, isolated and afraid,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Snakes on a train: King cobras are hitching rides in India (11 Feb 2026 18:55:02 +0000)
Author’s note (March 5, 2026): Questions have been raised about the validity of an image included in the Biotropica paper. The authors state that they analyzed the image’s metadata and ran it through an AI detector, but independent analysis has questioned its origin. On India’s railways, stowaways are not limited to ticketless passengers. Some arrive […]
Study finds climate change set the stage for devastating wildfires in Argentina and Chile (11 Feb 2026 18:33:08 +0000)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A team of researchers say that human-caused climate change had an important impact on the recent ferocious wildfires that engulfed parts of Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia region, making the extremely high-risk conditions that led to widespread burning up to three times more likely than in a world without global warming. […]
In Kenya’s Jomvu Creek, women help restore a vanishing coast through crab farming (11 Feb 2026 18:13:17 +0000)
- On the outskirts of the coastal Kenyan city of Mombasa, a women’s organization in Jomvu Creek aims to transform livelihoods and the environment through mud crab farming.
- A blue economy grant is allowing the women to establish a crab-fattening enterprise and build a boardwalk through the creek, with hopes of boosting ecotourism.
- In a good month, the women’s crab sales amount to $310, meaningful income in an area where many had said they were living hand to mouth.
- Beyond income, the Jomvu women see themselves as caretakers of the creek, linking crab farming to mangrove restoration and planting nearly 1 million seedlings; the trees stabilize the shoreline, reduce erosion and create nursery habitats for fish and crabs.
Another controversial land deal in Suriname threatens the Amazon Rainforest (11 Feb 2026 18:05:21 +0000)
- Critics in Suriname are speaking out against plans to develop 113,465 hectares (280,378 acres) of rainforest for industrial agriculture in the district of Nickerie.
- The plans come from a 2024 public-private partnership between the agriculture ministry and Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V., a private company working in agriculture and bioenergy.
- The partnership was inherited from the previous government and allegedly went forward without environmental permits, causing frustration and confusion across several regulatory agencies.
- If the entire 113,465-hectare block is cleared, Suriname could lose its negative carbon emission status and fail to qualify for certain carbon credit programs, experts said.
In Peru’s Andes, Quechua women turn human-wildcat conflict into coexistence (11 Feb 2026 17:52:23 +0000)
- In Peru’s Andean highlands, Quechua women who once killed pumas in retaliation for livestock losses are now leading efforts to protect them.
- Through a women-led conservation group, communities used camera traps and monitoring to reframe pumas and other wildcats as part of a shared ecosystem.
- Practical measures such as improved corrals, nonlethal deterrents and forest protection have sharply reduced conflict and ended retaliatory wildcat killings.
- An alpaca wool textile cooperative links conservation with women’s economic empowerment, strengthening both livelihoods and wildlife protection.
Brazil’s Atlantic Forest Indigenous lands show strong restoration gains (11 Feb 2026 17:34:47 +0000)
- A recent study comparing different land tenure regimes in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest found that Indigenous lands and agrarian-reform settlements have greater restoration gains than private properties — by 189 hectares on average.
- Concurrently, the study also found Indigenous lands and agrarian-reform settlements had 21 hectares and roughly 4.5 hectares more restoration reversals than private properties, respectively.
- Farming and agroecological land use practices may be among the reasons for higher restoration reversals, the authors suggested, while strong restoration gains are influenced by different governance structures and Indigenous cosmologies centered around relational connection to forest species.
- Indigenous advocates say communities need strong policies, sustained funding and land demarcation to establish environmental preservation areas and continue forest restoration.
Indigenous concerns surface as U.S. agency considers seabed mining in Alaskan waters (11 Feb 2026 16:27:46 +0000)
- The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is initiating the first steps that could lead to a lease of more than 45.7 million hectares (113 million acres) of waters off Alaska to companies for seabed mining.
- The waters are off the coast of a state that is home to more than 200 Alaska Native nations and the proposal is raising cultural and environmental concerns.
- It’s not yet clear which companies, if any, are interested in mining off Alaska, however some have expressed interest if there are good nodules — mineral-rich rocks.
- Deep-sea mining has been slowed by the lack of regulations governing permits in international waters and by concerns about the environmental impact of extracting critical minerals that formed over millions of years to supply renewable technologies and military industries.
‘Free for all’ — Dominican Republic withdraws trade protections, the latest blow to American eels’ future (11 Feb 2026 14:50:57 +0000)
- The Dominican Republic withdrew a proposal to regulate commercial trade of its American eels under CITES, an international wildlife trade treaty. Its decision came on the heels of a failed effort to end unsustainable trade in all freshwater eels at the November meeting of delegates from 184 nations and the European Union in Uzbekistan.
- Freshwater eels are in high demand as a culinary delicacy in East Asian cuisine, and juveniles are bought and sold both legally and on the black market for aquaculture. But illegal trade has soared in recent years.
- With unrelenting demand, European eels are now critically endangered. Their cousins, the American and Japanese eels, are endangered, with their numbers plummeting.
- Conservationists say the Dominican Republic’s failure to enact protections that would monitor trade is disappointing and further threatens the future of an imperiled species.
Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth (11 Feb 2026 13:00:22 +0000)
- Citizen scientists in South Africa have rediscovered an emerald-green moth that’s been missing for nearly one-and-a-half centuries.
- A dozen male moths had their photographs posted online from 2020 to 2023, providing proof-of-life for Drepanogynis insciata.
- Until now, scientists only knew of the moth from illustrations and two faded specimens, collected around 1875 in the Western Cape town of Swellendam, and kept in London’s Natural History Museum.
- Experts say websites like iNaturalist provide many additional eyes and a virtual workforce to produce the treasure trove of information aiding rediscoveries like this one.
Mapping underground fungal networks: Interview with SPUN’s Toby Kiers (11 Feb 2026 10:16:46 +0000)
- Mycorrhizal fungi are found in every soil system on Earth, and have symbiotic relationships with the plants whose roots they live on.
- They receive carbon dioxide from plants in exchange for nutrients, making them major carbon repositories and an important tool for carbon sequestration.
- The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) is deploying a wide range of technologies, from remote sensing to imaging robots, to map these crucial underground networks.
- “We think of these networks as one of Earth’s circulatory systems, but people are not paying attention,” SPUN co-founder Toby Kiers tells Mongabay in an interview.
Bangladesh’s political parties share manifestos, leave environmentalists frustrated (11 Feb 2026 08:32:09 +0000)
- Ahead of Bangladesh’s first national elections post the uprising of the previous government in 2024, major political parties have proposed environmental protection plans, which experts term “inadequate” and “unrealistic.”
- Crucial issues like biodiversity conservation, climate change-driven internal migration and other environmental actions, like taking up appropriate projects and deliberate fund management, are not addressed, experts say.
- They also say the election manifestos completely ignore the reforms in environmental laws enacted by the interim government.
Indonesia’s steel expansion risks a surge in greenhouse gas emissions (11 Feb 2026 04:31:03 +0000)
- As global demand for steel is rising, Indonesia’s steel industry is one of the country’s largest industrial greenhouse gas emitters and is set to become far more polluting if current trends continue, according to a nonprofit report.
- Indonesia’s high emissions stem largely from its reliance on coal-based blast furnace steelmaking, which uses coal both as a chemical input and as a source of the extremely high heat required to smelt iron ore.
- The climate footprint of Indonesia’s steel industry is closely tied to public health risks for communities living near major production hubs; steelmaking releases hazardous air pollutants that are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular disease and reduced productivity.
- The Ministry of Industry has introduced policies intended to promote more sustainable practices across industrial sectors, including steel, but the recent report found that these policies lack binding sector-specific emissions targets, clear transition timelines and enforcement mechanisms.
The man who risked everything to steal bird eggs (11 Feb 2026 00:01:37 +0000)
Jeffrey Lendrum spent nearly four decades traveling the world in search of rare bird eggs, becoming one of the most notorious wildlife smugglers on the planet. Operating across multiple continents, he targeted nesting sites from the African savanna to the Arctic Circle, dangling from helicopters and scaling cliffs to collect eggs from birds of prey […]
Trump opens only US marine national monument in Atlantic to fishing — again (10 Feb 2026 22:31:09 +0000)
- U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Feb. 6 to open the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S., to commercial fishing.
- Trump wrote that reopening the area will not endanger marine species and will help the fishing business, and industry groups praised the proclamation.
- Conservationists decried the move, saying the monument is a critical sanctuary for marine life and the food webs that serve the interest of the U.S. public.
- The Trump administration has also moved to deregulate the other U.S. marine national monuments, which are in the Pacific Ocean.
60 years of buried lessons on conservation projects from USAID have been saved (10 Feb 2026 22:13:20 +0000)
A year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump shut down public access to the Development Experience Clearinghouse, a $30 billion database holding 60 years’ worth of institutional knowledge from more than 150,000 projects administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. But before the closure, former USAID employee and artificial intelligence scientist Lindsey Moore used a […]
Mexico considers shrinking protected areas for endangered vaquita porpoise (10 Feb 2026 20:57:11 +0000)
- Officials in Mexico are considering shrinking a protected area in the Gulf of California, the stretch of water between Baja California and mainland Mexico where the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is endemic.
- The vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise and the most endangered marine mammal, with only an estimated 10 individuals remaining.
- The proposal, not yet public but reviewed by Mongabay, would reduce a gillnet prohibition zone and allow traffic through a zero-tolerance area where all vessel activity is currently banned.
- The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and other agencies are developing the new regulations, but it’s unclear when they will be implemented.
Scientists call for ethics rules as AI fuels animal communication research (10 Feb 2026 16:14:37 +0000)
Researchers have proposed a new ethical framework to regulate emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, used to decode animal communication, Ana Cristina Alvarado reports for Mongabay Latam. The proposed guidelines, known as the PEPP Framework, which stands for Prepare, Engage, Prevent and Protect, lay out the principles for studying animal communication responsibly. […]
Biodiversity bonds can work, but their design flaws must be fixed (commentary) (10 Feb 2026 15:49:24 +0000)
- While development aid is falling globally, many megadiverse countries are juggling debt stress that pushes conservation to the margins.
- Numerous financial instruments have arisen to fund conservation, with an equally diverse set of outcomes and an array of opaque metrics. Meanwhile, biodiversity bonds are clear about what success looks like, and how it will be proven.
- “Done right, these instruments can fund conservation at meaningful scale; done wrong, they financialize nature and entrench inequity,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Why a healthy information ecosystem matters (10 Feb 2026 15:48:14 +0000)
When people think about change, they often look for a central actor. A donor whose gift unlocked progress. An organization whose strategy made the difference. An individual whose decision shifted events. These figures are easy to name and easier to photograph. They offer clarity in systems that are otherwise diffuse. What shapes outcomes often sits […]
Indigenous protests force Brazil to suspend Tapajós River dredging plan (10 Feb 2026 15:38:06 +0000)
Brazil has suspended a decree on dredging and privatizing the Tapajós River, a major tributary of the Amazon, after protests shut down a grain terminal — but Indigenous groups are pressing for its full revocation. Hundreds of Indigenous protesters have since Jan. 22 blockaded the Cargill grain facility in the Amazonian city of Santarém over […]
Unidentified oil washes up on South African beaches (10 Feb 2026 14:59:33 +0000)
A mysterious oil spill is raising concern among South African conservationists and coastal communities. On Jan. 22, reports started emerging of congealed oil washing up on South Africa’s southeast coast, stretching from George to Durban, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) away. Several beaches closed due to the pollution. Citizen networks are monitoring more than 20 […]
Nepal’s community forests sit on unsold timber (10 Feb 2026 11:28:43 +0000)
- Community forests across Nepal produce large volumes of timber that remain unsold due to high government taxes, collection costs and competition from private and imported wood, leaving user groups without revenue for sustainable forest management and conservation, officials admit.
- While Nepal’s community forestry program has successfully increased forest cover to 44%, government royalty rates make legally harvested timber expensive, pushing consumers toward cheaper private or imported options like aluminum and UPVC.
- Unsold timber undermines forest management programs (planting, thinning, fire prevention), encourages illegal logging and creates storage and decay problems, affecting both environmental conservation and local livelihoods.
Community complaints in limbo as Socfin cuts ties with Earthworm Foundation (10 Feb 2026 10:15:13 +0000)
- After eight years, multinational plantation company Socfin and the environmental consultancy Earthworm Foundation have cut ties.
- Socfin first contracted Earthworm as part of its response to allegations of human rights and environmental violations at Socfin’s plantations in Africa and Southeast Asia.
- Community representatives and environmental advocates in Liberia say Earthworm’s recommendations weren’t adequately implemented.
Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro bans shark meat in most state schools (10 Feb 2026 03:25:46 +0000)
The Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro recently announced it has banned the purchase of shark meat for roughly 95% of its state-run schools, citing environmental and health concerns. A July 2025 Mongabay investigation found shark meat was commonly purchased for use across Brazil in public institutions, including eldercare facilities and schools. The exposé found […]
Cambodia’s canal mega-project threatens coastal communities and marine life (10 Feb 2026 02:16:15 +0000)
- The Cambodian government is set to begin construction of the Funan Techo Canal, a nearly $1.2 billion, 180-kilometer (112-mile) waterway navigation project that will cut across four provinces to connect the Mekong River to the sea.
- The primary rationale for building the canal is to reduce Cambodia’s shipping costs as well as to generate jobs and economic development.
- Mongabay has followed this mega-project’s development for more than a year, speaking with more than 50 people living along the canal’s proposed route. Virtually everyone we spoke with noted that the government has provided very little information about the project, and amid the uncertainty, fear has taken root.
- In coastal communities in Kep province, where the canal will meet the sea and a new port and deepwater shipping lanes will be built, fishers we spoke with said they worried they’d lose their homes and that construction would render their already meager fishing grounds barren and inaccessible.
Mongabay’s Rhett Butler on building a global newsroom for local impact (09 Feb 2026 18:49:53 +0000)
When I launched Mongabay in 1999, I’d just finished college, armed mainly with a love of rainforests, a pile of musty field notes from Borneo to Madagascar and the uneasy realization that the forests I’d explored were vanishing faster than most people knew. I coded the first version of the site by hand in my […]
Animals dying in Kenya as drought conditions leave many hungry (09 Feb 2026 18:20:23 +0000)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Drought conditions have left over 2 million people facing hunger in parts of Kenya, with cattle-keeping communities in the northeast the hardest hit, according to the United Nations and others. In recent weeks, images of emaciated livestock in the arid area near the Somali border have shocked many in a region […]
Abandoned tuna-fishing devices pollute the Galápagos Marine Reserve (09 Feb 2026 17:35:37 +0000)
- The tuna industry commonly uses fish aggregating devices (FADs) to efficiently collect large volumes of fish; when these devices are lost or abandoned, they can harm marine wildlife and habitats.
- In Ecuador, lost FADs can drift into the Galápagos Marine Reserve, a protected area with hundreds of endemic and threatened species, where they pollute the environment with plastic, harm reefs and entangle wildlife.
- Local agencies and organizations are developing ways to prevent FADs from entering the marine reserve in the first place and trying to clean up the mess they make when they do get in.
‘We have to bring trust’ into funding talks: Valéria Paye on Indigenous-led funds (09 Feb 2026 15:13:58 +0000)
- Indigenous-led funds provide direct funding and support for Indigenous movements, including on the frontlines of environmental change.
- Mongabay speaks with Valéria Paye, executive director of the Podáali Fund (the Indigenous fund for the Brazilian Amazon), about how their approach differs from mainstream philanthropy by prioritizing trust, reciprocity and Indigenous leadership, governance and management.
- She explains how supporting Indigenous peoples and their territories is a form of “climate policy” and highlights the strong presence of and global support for Indigenous peoples at U.N. climate conference COP30 in Brazil as the reason for tangible outcomes such as the legal recognition of several Indigenous territories.
- Paye shares key lessons from her experience to date with the Podáali Fund, why she thinks the Tropical Forests Forever Fund is “no different” from other state-established funds and her advice for non-Indigenous organizations that want to support Indigenous environmental stewardship.
Rodent burrows offer unusual sanctuary to Africa’s smallest wildcat (09 Feb 2026 11:09:40 +0000)
- New research shows female black-footed cats rely heavily on abandoned springhare burrows to shelter themselves and raise their kittens, using a constantly shifting network of underground dens to survive Southern Africa’s harsh, semiarid landscape.
- Mothers rotate frequently among multiple dens — sometimes almost daily once kittens begin to move — a strategy likely aimed at avoiding predators and minimizing scent trails.
- Despite weighing as little as 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), black-footed cats are among the most active and efficient hunters of any feline, ranging over large territories at night and retreating underground by day.
- With low reproductive rates, disease pressure and a population of around 10,000, the species’ survival depends on protecting both springhares and the working landscapes of livestock farms, where burrow loss, overgrazing and predator control can indirectly threaten the cats.
Landslides claim more than 220 lives in DRC’s Rubaya coltan mining site (09 Feb 2026 07:09:26 +0000)
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 200 people have died in landslides at an artisanal coltan mine in Rubaya, in the east of the country.
- The accident occurred as a result of successive risky activities on the rugged and unstable terrain, which was prone to landslides; prior to the accident, heavy rains had fallen on the region.
- According to an expert contacted by Mongabay, safety measures are not generally respected in these artisanal mines where thousands of Congolese “diggers” operate.
Gerard C. Boere, conservationist and designer of flyways, died Jan 6, aged 83 (09 Feb 2026 03:58:15 +0000)
At the edges of continents, where water thins into mud and birds gather before long journeys, conservation has often been a matter of persistence. It has required people willing to think across borders, seasons, and political cycles. Long before such thinking was fashionable, a small group of scientists and civil servants argued that migratory birds […]
Financing biodiversity: Lisa Miller on investing in nature (09 Feb 2026 03:03:36 +0000)
- Lisa Miller’s path into biodiversity finance grew out of an early fascination with animals, later shaped by training in zoology, museum science, and science communication in Australia.
- After nearly two decades working in technology, she began asking how capital, business models, and execution could be redirected toward slowing and reversing biodiversity loss.
- That question led to the creation of the Wedgetail Foundation, which blends philanthropy, investment, and direct land stewardship to support conservation and restoration in practice.
- In January 2026, Lisa Miller spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler about her journey, her approach to investing in nature, and what it takes to make biodiversity work endure.
Tipping points and ecosystem collapse are the real geopolitical risk (commentary) (09 Feb 2026 00:25:23 +0000)
- Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute argues that climate tipping points and large-scale biodiversity loss now pose a more profound threat to global security than many conventional risks, undermining food systems, water supplies, public health, and state legitimacy across borders.
- Drawing on a newly released UK security assessment and wider research, he shows how ecosystem collapse creates cascading, non-linear shocks — from inflation and political polarization to displacement and conflict — that current economic and risk models consistently underestimate.
- He concludes that protecting and restoring nature, alongside a rapid energy transition, is not a secondary environmental concern but a core security and economic strategy, and often cheaper than coping with systemic collapse after the fact.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
After intense flooding, Kruger National Park rushes to repair damage (06 Feb 2026 23:07:44 +0000)
In mid-January, intense flooding across South Africa’s Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces forced Kruger National Park to briefly close to day visitors. Now, South African National Parks (SANParks) says it has reopened some roads and camp infrastructure. “Restoration efforts are ongoing, and visitor safety remains our highest priority,” the agency wrote in a Feb. 2 update. […]
Encouragement boosts people’s likelihood to take climate action (06 Feb 2026 21:20:20 +0000)
The fight against climate change is often framed as a sacrifice: eat less meat and drive less often. But those actions could also be framed positively: eat more plants and ride bikes more often. A new study finds presenting environmental action in a more proactive light makes people more likely to act and feel happier […]
Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, guardian of a stolen lake (06 Feb 2026 19:40:28 +0000)
- For decades, Kathy Jefferson Bancroft challenged the idea that Owens Lake was merely a technical problem, insisting it be understood as a living place with history, meaning, and obligations.
- As Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Lone Pine Paiute–Shoshone Tribe, she worked at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and Western science, pressing agencies to account for longer timescales and deeper responsibilities.
- Her advocacy helped protect sacred sites, resist destructive mining and mitigation schemes, and reshape how land and water decisions were made in California’s Owens Valley.
- Bancroft’s work rested on a simple proposition that unsettled bureaucracies: water is not something to be managed at will, but something that carries memory, limits, and consequence.
Pesticides found in 70% of European soils, harming beneficial life: Study (06 Feb 2026 19:29:06 +0000)
- A new study found pesticide residues in 70% of soil samples across 26 European countries, making contamination the second-strongest factor shaping soil biodiversity after basic soil properties.
- The pesticides severely harmed beneficial organisms like mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes that help plants absorb nutrients, and disrupted critical soil functions, including phosphorus and nitrogen cycling.
- Pesticide contamination extended beyond farmland into forests and grasslands where pesticides aren’t applied, likely due to spray drift, with some chemicals persisting in soil for years.
- Researchers say current regulations are inadequate because they test pesticides on only a few individual species rather than examining effects on entire soil communities and the ecosystem functions they perform.
AI-generated wildlife photos make conservation more difficult (06 Feb 2026 18:29:04 +0000)
Anyone who looks at a social media feed with any regularity is likely familiar with the deluge of fabricated images and videos now circulating online. Some are harmless curiosities (other than the resource use). Others are more troubling. Among the most consequential are AI-generated depictions of wildlife, which are beginning to distort how people understand […]
Morocco evacuates 140,000 people as torrential rains and dam releases trigger floods (06 Feb 2026 17:40:12 +0000)
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — More than 140,000 people were evacuated from their homes in northwestern Morocco as heavy rainfall and water releases from overfilled dams led to flooding, the Interior Ministry said. Stormy weather also disrupted maritime traffic between Morocco and Spain. Torrential rains and water releases from overfilled dams raised water levels in recent days in rivers […]
What is lost when environmental coverage is cut (06 Feb 2026 17:37:20 +0000)
- The Washington Post’s decision to cut a large share of its climate and environmental reporters is not just a newsroom story; it reflects a broader weakening of the institutions that sustain a shared, reliable public record on complex and contested issues.
- Environmental reporting plays an underappreciated coordinating role, helping policymakers, regulators, markets, and communities see how dispersed decisions connect and where responsibility plausibly lies—work that becomes most visible when it is diminished.
- Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler argues that cuts to environmental journalism thin the information infrastructure societies rely on to recognize risks and respond before harm becomes harder to reverse.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
How intermediaries are reshaping mangrove restoration (06 Feb 2026 16:25:43 +0000)
- Despite growing global interest in mangrove conservation and restoration, many projects fail; experts say one reason is that restoration efforts are often led by small community groups with limited resources and expertise.
- Over the past five years, Seatrees, a California-based NGO, has supported mangrove restoration projects in Kenya, Mexico, the U.S. and Indonesia by providing funding to scale up tree planting, produce storytelling materials and build capacity in science, monitoring and impact measurement.
- In Kenya, where their restoration efforts are most advanced, Seatrees and its local project partner have supported more than 30 community groups to plant more than 1 million mangrove seedlings, maintain nurseries, dig trenches to improve hydrology and patrol forest areas for illegal logging — while paying participants for this important work.
- Seatrees has recently funded the creation and operation of a mangrove seedling nursery in the Florida Keys, run by CoastLove, a local NGO that engages residents and tourists in hands-on activities.
Bolivia Indigenous communities, local gov’ts help protect nearly 1 million hectares (06 Feb 2026 15:55:33 +0000)
- Bolivia has created four new protected areas covering 907,244 hectares (2.2 million acres) of Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands, creating corridors intended to improve wildlife migration and maintain forest-based economies for local families.
- Because the creation of nationally protected areas has slowed in Bolivia in recent years, conservation groups have looked to departmental and local governments for help protecting the rainforest.
- The new protected areas help strengthen wildlife corridors between larger national parks.
Partnering up to run a DRC reserve: Interview with Forgotten Parks’ Christine Lain (06 Feb 2026 12:51:10 +0000)
- In 2017, Upemba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo was largely a “paper park,” badly underfunded and encroached on by poachers, farmers, artisanal miners and armed groups, with its wildlife in steep decline.
- That year, Forgotten Parks signed a 15-year deal with the DRC government to manage the park.
- The agreement was one of a growing number of public-private partnerships for conservation in Africa.
- Mongabay spoke to Forgotten Parks’ DRC director, Christine Lain, about how Forgotten Parks approaches its work at Upemba.
Risk-taking comes earlier in chimpanzees than in humans, study finds (06 Feb 2026 09:07:37 +0000)
- A study found that chimpanzees tend to take more physical risks as infants and young animals rather than as adolescents, like humans.
- The researchers hypothesize that the level of care humans provide may cut down on the risks young children might otherwise take.
- The team tracked how often 119 chimps dropped or leaped through the forests without holding onto any branches at Uganda’s Ngogo Chimpanzee Project, and analyzed the results according to the animals’ ages.
- Infant and young chimpanzees were more likely to launch themselves through the trees than adolescents or adults, despite the risk of injury.
Ethiopia’s Renaissance mega-dam fuels energy hopes and regional anxiety (06 Feb 2026 06:30:32 +0000)
- Ethiopia inaugurated Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam in 2025, positioning itself as a regional energy exporter while millions of its citizens still lack access to electricity.
- Egypt, which lies downstream in the Nile Basin, views the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as an existential threat, warning of risks to Nile water security and regional stability.
- Scientists caution that dam failures or mismanagement could trigger catastrophic flooding in Sudan and Egypt.
- Critics argue that the dam may serve as a geopolitical and public relations tool, while its environmental and social impacts remain insufficiently assessed.
Critical shark and ray habitats in Western Indian Ocean largely unprotected: Study (06 Feb 2026 06:14:24 +0000)
- Almost half of the Western Indian Ocean’s shark and ray populations are considered threatened with extinction, as populations decline.
- The Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) project has mapped out 125 areas across the Western Indian Ocean that are critical for the survival of many species.
- Yet only 7.1% of these ISRAs fall within existing marine protected areas, and just 1.2% are in fully protected areas where fishing is prohibited.
- Researchers identified challenges related to fishing pressure as the most significant threat to sharks and rays in the region.
Mines, dams move in as protection slips in a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary (06 Feb 2026 02:54:15 +0000)
- Since 2020, at least five companies have been granted mining concessions in land designated as a community protected area adjoining Cambodia’s Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Satellite analysis and on-the-ground reporting reveal that marble extraction has been underway since 2021, with companies piling up and shipping out thousands of blocks of marble, leaving behind cleared forests and water-filled pits.
- Government officials and mining companies did not respond to interview requests, but local residents and community chiefs say they have not been consulted, or been given adequate compensation, as quarries tore through land in the community zone.
- Lumphat sanctuary is also under pressure from industrial agriculture and a planned hydropower development.
From Kigali to the Congo Basin: Aimable Twahirwa’s path in environmental journalism (06 Feb 2026 01:28:19 +0000)
- Aimable Twahirwa is a Central and West Africa staff writer at Mongabay, based in Kigali, Rwanda.
- He has worked as a journalist for 25 years, reporting on development, climate change, biodiversity and conservation across Africa and beyond.
- His work has appeared in major outlets including Nature Publishing Group, Inter Press Service, Thomson Reuters Foundation, SciDev.Net and AllAfrica.
- This interview is part of Inside Mongabay, a series that spotlights the people who bring environmental and conservation stories to life across our global newsroom.
What’s next for the major pledge to halt & reverse Congo Basin deforestation? (05 Feb 2026 23:01:00 +0000)
- In January, high-level policymakers came together to discuss the implementation of the recent Belém Call to Action for the Congo Basin Forests, a $2.5 billion pledge to conserve the world’s second-largest rainforest.
- Central topics included the need for innovative funding approaches, such as moving beyond traditional donors in the Global North, direct funding for communities, the need to fund projects that link forest conservation with socioeconomic development and how to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
- For this commitment to work, where other environmental pledges have failed, panelists said there must be clear, traceable financing channels, strong institutional coordination, strong legal frameworks and genuine engagement of civil society and local actors.
- The Congo Basin, covering several Central African countries in a wide green canopy, is facing several threats, chronic underfunding — and attention — for its conservation.
Plastic household waste burned as fuel on rise in Global South, risking health (05 Feb 2026 18:34:42 +0000)
- Urban households in developing countries are burning plastic waste in their homes to dispose of waste and as a cooking fuel to a greater extent than realized, according to a new study.
- Researchers surveyed urban households in 26 Global South countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, revealing that this practice is widespread in some regions — particularly in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
- Data suggest that urban households are burning plastics as fire starters, as a secondary fuel source and due to no alternatives to waste disposal.
- The burning of plastics is linked to serious health risks as well as environmental pollution. The authors urge further studies, along with targeted solutions to support marginalized communities with better fuel alternatives for cook fires and for plastic disposal.
NOAA’s satellites capture extreme cold in striking detail (05 Feb 2026 17:29:49 +0000)
When an Arctic blast pushed deep into the southeastern United States last weekend, it left behind more than freeze warnings and broken records. Over the Atlantic, the cold air reorganized the lower atmosphere into long, parallel cloud bands—patterns that meteorologists recognize as a signature of intense cold moving over warmer water—captured in striking detail by […]
Communities join global push to protect European, Arctic & US peatlands (05 Feb 2026 16:55:38 +0000)
- A conservation effort across Finland, Canada’s Arctic and the U.S. is trying to establish one of the first coordinated efforts to protect and restore peatlands in Europe and North America.
- At the same time, communities and organizations are leading research activities, preserving Indigenous knowledge and creating artistic spaces to raise awareness about peatland conservation.
- Although peatlands cover only about 3-4% of the Earth’s surface, studies show they contain up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon.
- Given that peatlands are overlooked and face growing risks, sources say a cross-regional approach is timely for advancing peatland conservation while helping communities become better prepared and more resilient to climate change and mining impacts.
Successful campaign proves Ghana’s forests are worth more than gold (commentary) (05 Feb 2026 16:19:25 +0000)
- An unprecedented campaign recently pushed Ghana’s government to repeal legislation allowing mining in forest reserves.
- Originally passed in 2022, the regulations had opened up nearly 90% of Ghana’s forest reserves to mining, but the campaign spurred nationwide protests, petitions, a strike and a prayer walk on the streets of Accra.
- “Together, we rallied behind the idea that our forests are more important to us than gold. But as momentous as repealing the legislation is, it’s only a staging post in a longer journey to end the devastation that mining is inflicting in Ghana,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Global moratorium on whaling, a ‘defining moment,’ turns 40 (05 Feb 2026 16:15:57 +0000)
The global moratorium on commercial whaling reached its 40-year mark in January, during which time it’s been credited with helping Earth’s largest creatures recover from centuries of hunting pressure. The moratorium went into effect in January 1986 following a 1982 vote by member countries of the International Whaling Commission. Though a few countries have continued […]
Malaysia bans e-waste imports, vows to end illegal dumping (05 Feb 2026 15:48:29 +0000)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has announced an immediate and full ban on the importation of electronic waste, as the government vowed the country would not be a “dumping ground” for the world’s waste. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a statement late Wednesday that all electronic waste, commonly known as e-waste, would be reclassified under the […]
Malaysia lost 20% of its coral reefs in three years (05 Feb 2026 13:51:10 +0000)
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 […]
Thailand’s Hat Yai picks up the pieces in wake of devastating floods (analysis) (05 Feb 2026 02:29:47 +0000)
- Despite a history of flooding and forecasts of heavy La Niña rains, the Thai city of Hat Yai received little effective warning before floodwaters surged last November to devastating levels.
- Power, communications and access were cut, and rescue services struggled to reach flooded areas, leaving residents to survive by sheltering with neighbors under extreme conditions.
- Many lost everything, and government compensation is limited, while decades of poor urban planning raise doubts about Hat Yai’s ability to withstand future extreme weather events under a changing climate.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
A last refuge for turtles on the brink (05 Feb 2026 00:56:12 +0000)
The Turtle Survival Center, run by the Turtle Survival Alliance, exists to buy time for species that no longer have much of it. Founded in 2013 in South Carolina, the center functions as a high-security refuge and breeding facility for some of the world’s rarest freshwater turtles and tortoises. It houses hundreds of animals representing […]
Light pollution could worsen allergy seasons, new study suggests (05 Feb 2026 00:33:04 +0000)
Nighttime light is a well-known hazard for migrating birds and sea turtles. New research suggests it may also pose risks for human health. The study finds that plants exposed to artificial light at night (ALAN) produce pollen for an extended period of time, which is “a major public health issue,” Andrew Richardson, an ecologist with […]
A dam threatens Nepal’s Indigenous community; they want it on the ballot (04 Feb 2026 20:17:12 +0000)
- Residents of Mulkharka, largely from the Indigenous Tamang community, learned only in 2023 about plans for the Nagmati Dam near their settlement on the northern edge of Kathmandu and now strongly oppose it, saying officials highlighted benefits but hid social, environmental and safety risks.
- Locals fear displacement as well as loss of forests, rituals, grazing land and medicinal plants, with estimates of up to 80,000 trees cut, increased human-wildlife conflict and erosion of ancestral ties to the land.
- Critics and engineers warn the $190 million dam is unnecessary and systemically risky, citing weak environmental assessments, seismic vulnerability and catastrophic flood potential for downstream Kathmandu if the dam fails.
- As Nepal heads into parliamentary elections, Mulkharka residents want the dam debated at the ballot box calling for development models that prioritize community consent, ecological safety and accountability.
Agave or bust! Mexican long-nosed bats head farther north in search of sweet nectar (04 Feb 2026 19:02:21 +0000)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Mexican long-nosed bats have a taste for agave, their tongues designed to lap up the famous desert plant’s nectar during nightly flights. It’s not just a means of satisfying taste buds. It’s a matter of fueling up for an arduous journey. The endangered species migrates each summer from Mexico into the […]
Whale sharks released from nets along India’s coast as fishers turn rescuers (04 Feb 2026 15:37:34 +0000)
- Once hunted and butchered for oil and meat, whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are now being rescued by fishers along India’s western Arabian Sea coast.
- Since 2001, the nonprofit Wildlife Trust of India has been educating fishing communities about whale sharks, training fishers in safe disentanglement techniques and offering compensation for destroyed nets.
- During that time, more than a thousand whale sharks have been released from accidental entanglement in fishing nets along India’s west coast.
- However, experts say the compensation for rescues remains insufficient and that social security, insurance, training and livelihood-linked incentives should be offered to protect the fishers who engage in whale shark rescues.
Seagrass restoration in Malaysia finds multi-species approach boosts recovery (04 Feb 2026 11:43:11 +0000)
- Seagrass restoration is increasingly recognized as crucial for addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
- However, much remains unknown about the most effective techniques, especially in tropical ecosystems where long-term projects struggle for funding.
- A decade-long seagrass recovery program in Peninsular Malaysia has achieved high survival rates at a site heavily impacted by coastal development, raising hopes that degraded meadows can be revitalized.
- The study also identified several factors that can increase success, including: knowledge of the biology of local seagrass species, adapting methods to suit local environmental and physical conditions, and properly addressing the original drivers of decline.
New global map shows where sharks and rays most need protection (03 Feb 2026 22:36:17 +0000)
- A new report delineates 816 areas of the ocean that should be protected to help shark and ray populations recover following decades of overfishing.
- The areas, each of which hosts key activities such as reproduction for at least one threatened shark or ray species, are visible on an online atlas open to the public.
- The ISRAs don’t take up all that much of the ocean’s surface: less than 3% for the nine regions where research has been completed, which shows how achievable conservation of sharks and rays is, the lead author said.
- The report was released ahead of a major meeting of the parties of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), a United Nations treaty, in Brazil in March, where area-based management decisions for marine species are on the agenda.
What’s happening with the global treaty to trace critical minerals? (03 Feb 2026 22:26:13 +0000)
- Colombia has been pushing for a binding global minerals treaty at several key U.N. meetings, including at the seventh U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) last December.
- It hopes to address the socioenvironmental problems caused by minerals and metals mining through the creation of international traceability and due diligence mechanisms across mineral supply chains.
- At UNEA-7, a joint proposal put forward by Colombia and Oman encountered resistance from several member states for traceability, political and economic reasons, ending with a nonbinding resolution that was stripped of its original ambition. Traceability, which experts warn is essential to address mining risks, did not make it into the final resolution.
- NGOs and certain states say they will continue pushing for a global treaty on traceability at upcoming conferences, while other mineral frameworks emerge — including those seeking to accelerate investment in critical mineral mining.
Why is a Philippine island now the Asia Pacific center for agroecology? Interview with Ramon ‘Chin-Chin’ Uy Jr. (03 Feb 2026 21:38:30 +0000)
- Ramon “Chin-Chin” Uy Jr., is a sustainable food entrepreneur based on Negros Island in the Philippines, which recently hosted the global “good food” movement Slow Food’s first-ever regional conference in Asia and the Pacific.
- The gathering last November brought together farmers, chefs, food artisans and policymakers from across the region to discuss agroecology, biodiversity and climate-resilient food systems.
- Mongabay reporter Keith Anthony Fabro sat down with Uy during the event to discuss agroecology in the region and what it means that Negros Island is being heralded as its “capital.”
Writer Megan Mayhew Bergman on science, emotion, and the lasting power of ‘Silent Spring’ (03 Feb 2026 21:08:19 +0000)
It’s been more than half a century since the publication of Silent Spring by the scientist and creative writer Rachel Carson. The seminal volume caught the attention of U.S. presidents, artists and musicians, spurring the environmental movement and leading to the eventual ban of the toxic pesticide DDT. Joining the Mongabay Newscast is environmental writer […]
Lower levels of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in North Atlantic whales show regulations work: Study (03 Feb 2026 20:25:58 +0000)
- North Atlantic pilot whales now have 60% lower concentrations of some legacy PFAS (forever chemicals) than they did a decade ago, according to a Harvard University-led study.
- This represents roughly a decade-long lag after major manufacturers began phasing out production of the most problematic legacy PFAS in the early 2000s due to toxicity concerns.
- The study also reveals a troubling pattern known as “regrettable substitution,” where banned harmful substances are replaced by similar chemicals that cause comparable harm.
- The findings contrast with trends in human blood samples, where total organofluorine levels have remained stable or even increased despite declining concentrations of legacy PFAS, suggesting newer replacement PFAS may be accumulating primarily on land.
What the forest reveals from above (03 Feb 2026 19:53:44 +0000)
Aerial photography invites a level of uncertainty. The ground offers clues but rarely the full picture. Once the view lifts, certain patterns begin to register: peat-dark water cutting through forest, the abrupt change from canopy to cleared land, the geometry of river bends, or mountains rising in the distance. At times, the colors can be […]
Conservation programs must embrace causal evidence when evaluating impact (commentary) (03 Feb 2026 18:19:40 +0000)
- A couple of seminal studies published almost 20 years ago found that conservationists needed to start examining whether their actions were actually causing the desired effects.
- Assessing conservation projects through a causal lens takes more effort but can ultimately be a big piece of the puzzle that helps practitioners identify cause-and-effect relationships between various factors.
- “What’s needed now is making causal evaluation standard practice rather than the exception. With biodiversity in crisis, we can’t afford to keep guessing whether our actions work,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
African wild dogs break the carnivore rule in Botswana (03 Feb 2026 16:53:06 +0000)
For the first time, “hyper-carnivorous” African wild dogs have been recorded eating fruit, a behavior so far documented only in a small part of Botswana’s wildlife-rich Okavango Delta. The wild dogs were seen picking up jackalberries, the fruit of the African ebony tree (Diospyros mespiliformis), with their teeth and swallowing them almost whole. Jackalberries […]
Getting forest restoration right (03 Feb 2026 13:37:28 +0000)
Tree planting has become a favored response to environmental loss. Governments, companies, and philanthropies announce large targets with reassuring round numbers. Forests, after all, store carbon, shelter wildlife, and support livelihoods. Yet the details matter. Planting the wrong species, or planting trees where forests did not exist, can undermine both biodiversity and climate goals. That […]
Kenyan woman hugs a tree for 3 days and inspires a movement (03 Feb 2026 03:55:31 +0000)
Young Kenyan environmentalist Truphena Muthoni has set a Guinness World Record (GWR), for the second time, after embracing a tree for 72 hours. She hugged the tree for three days, Dec. 8-11, 2025, to raise awareness about climate change and protest the destruction of Indigenous forests. In doing so, she caught the attention of the […]
Amazon deforestation may rise 30% as major traders exit historic soy pact (02 Feb 2026 20:09:01 +0000)
- Major soy traders like Cargill, ADM and Bunge announced their withdrawal from the Amazon soy moratorium, a move that could increase deforestation in the biome by 30% by 2045.
- Behind the exodus are farmers and ranchers’ associations and local politicians linked to agribusiness.
- Their abandonment of the agreement signals a “green light” for land speculators to clear rainforest for new soy crops, observers warn.
- Advancing deforestation may lead companies to lose market share and intensify agricultural failures due to the lack of rain.
Inside Mongabay with Isabel Esterman and the long arc of environmental reporting (02 Feb 2026 18:44:26 +0000)
For Isabel Esterman, journalism’s influence is often cumulative. It comes from staying with a subject long enough for the evidence to become harder to ignore. “It’s not one story,” she tells Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, “but this collective body of reporting, and staying on it has been significant.” That idea runs through her work at Mongabay, […]
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity (02 Feb 2026 18:26:55 +0000)
LOS ALERCES NATIONAL PARK, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s Patagonia region is battling severe wildfires, with vast areas of Los Alerces National Park ablaze. The fires have destroyed over 45,000 hectares of native forests, forcing thousands to evacuate. Critics blame President Javier Milei’s austerity measures, which have slashed firefighting budgets. On Monday, the fires continued to […]
When nature becomes a security risk (02 Feb 2026 14:58:27 +0000)
Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a different category to that list. Global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, it argues, now pose a direct and growing risk to national security, with implications […]
The fair costs for forest rehabilitation in Indonesia (commentary) (02 Feb 2026 13:19:04 +0000)
- Aida Greenbury, a sustainability leader and forestry expert, argues that Indonesia’s plan to spend US$9.2 billion in public funds to rehabilitate degraded forests lacks transparency and risks placing the financial burden on taxpayers rather than those most responsible for deforestation.
- She points to consistent evidence showing that large corporations in sectors such as palm oil, timber, pulp and paper, and mining are the primary drivers of forest loss, raising questions about why national and regional budgets should pay for restoring landscapes damaged by private industry.
- Greenbury calls for clearer disclosure, stronger accountability mechanisms, and a public–private financing model that requires companies linked to deforestation to bear most of the restoration costs, while ensuring reforms are grounded in credible data and community consent.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Division’s final journey (01 Feb 2026 04:22:44 +0000)
- Division, a four-year-old North Atlantic right whale known as Catalog #5217, was found dead off the coast of North Carolina in January after weeks in failing health caused by a severe fishing-gear entanglement that responders were unable to fully remove.
- Born in 2021 to a female named Silt, Division had already survived three earlier entanglements, a reminder of how early and repeatedly right whales now encounter life-threatening human hazards.
- His death comes amid fragile signs of hope for the species, with fifteen calves recorded this winter in a population of roughly 380 whales, far short of the numbers needed for recovery.
- Division’s short life illustrates how the threats facing right whales are not abstract but cumulative and prolonged, shaping lifespans measured in decades and placing the species’ future in the balance of decisions made far from the water.
Christ Jacob Belseran wins the Oktovianus Pogau Award for courage in journalism (31 Jan 2026 16:40:21 +0000)
Today Christ Jacob Belseran received the Oktovianus Pogau Award for courage in journalism from Pantau Foundation. The citation is usually reserved for reporters who continue their work despite adversity and, at times, direct threats. Belseran is a contributor to Mongabay Indonesia and the editor and founder of Titastory, a local outlet he established in […]
Viral hyena incident reveals Nepal’s growing online information disorder (31 Jan 2026 08:16:29 +0000)
- A false social media claim about hyenas entering an eastern Nepal town highlights how rapidly online misinformation is spreading across the country, as internet and smartphone use rise.
- With dozens of complaints lodged over misleading content in recent months, the information disorder is challenging public trust and distorting perceptions of wildlife, experts warn.
- Nepal remains divided over how to respond, as debates continue between stricter regulation and greater investment in media and digital literacy, amid concerns that existing laws are being used to curb freedom of expression.
Habitat destruction, illegal trade threaten Sri Lanka’s endangered agamid lizards (31 Jan 2026 07:23:37 +0000)
- Two of Sri Lanka’s rare lizards, the critically endangered Dumbara agama (Cophotis dumbara) and the endangered Ceylon deaf agama (Cophotis ceylanica) are popular on global trading websites as exotic pets since 2015 with the captive bred lizards and juveniles carrying a price tag ranging between $500 to $1000.
- The demand for endemic and exotic lizards as pets is increasing becoming popular, with a spiking demand on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram where Copohotis lizards are among the most popular species to be traded.
- Conservationists warn against the consistent demand contributing to exploitation and over-harvesting of these rare species as climate change and habitat loss make their survival difficult.
Peru to invest $7.6 billion to continue critical minerals extraction (30 Jan 2026 22:50:21 +0000)
- Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines announced it will invest $7.6 billion to expand and improve mining operations that extract zinc, lead, tin, silver, copper and gold.
- Many of the minerals found in Peru are vital for developing batteries, turbines, solar panels and other technology that will ultimately help lower global carbon emissions.
- Most of the investment will go to upgrading infrastructure and operation safety and efficiency at eight mine sites already in operation, in some cases extending their lifespans.
Solar energy gains ground across Africa, but challenges persist (30 Jan 2026 22:46:40 +0000)
Solar energy is rapidly expanding across Africa, giving hope for electrifying more of the continent with renewable energy. The Central African Republic, for example, generates more than a third of its energy from sunlight, giving it the highest penetration of solar in its electricity mix in Africa. That’s according to the latest report from the […]
A ‘new baseline’: Study captures accelerating sea-level rise in Africa (30 Jan 2026 20:35:52 +0000)
- Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study.
- Sea levels across the continent have risen four times faster since 2010, on average, than they had in the 1990s. About 80% of the sea-level rise is due to added water mass from meltwater.
- The impacts include flooding, erosion of coastal land, intrusion of salty seawater into freshwater drinking sources and displacement of coastal communities.
- In many coastal areas, sea-level rise occurs even as the land itself is sinking due to groundwater extraction or other factors, exacerbating its impacts.
On Mongabay’s legacy (30 Jan 2026 19:10:00 +0000)
- Mongabay did not set out to redefine environmental journalism, but grew by filling persistent information gaps around ecosystems and communities far from centers of power, treating those places as inherently consequential.
- Its legacy is rooted in persistence: returning to the same regions over years, building institutional memory, and allowing patterns in deforestation, governance, and community adaptation to become visible.
- Structurally, Mongabay demonstrated that a distributed network of local journalists could produce rigorous, globally relevant reporting at a time when foreign bureaus and specialist beats were disappearing.
- Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler reflects on 15 years since he decided to transition Mongabay into a nonprofit, prioritizing influence, reach, and public access to information over traffic, ownership, or easy metrics of success.
New data highlight Peru’s growing oil and gas footprint in the Amazon (30 Jan 2026 18:31:21 +0000)
Peru has the most oil and gas projects heading into production in the Amazon, according to a new data set published by the Stockholm Environment Institute. At 85 blocks in pre-production in the rainforest, that’s more than the 68 in Colombia and 53 in Brazil. Peru has 173 oil and gas lease blocks in total, […]
‘Blew us away’: Researchers find nitrogen boost spurs faster tropical forest growth (30 Jan 2026 17:10:05 +0000)
- A new study in Panama finds that nitrogen availability limits forest growth in the early stages of regeneration.
- Nitrogen addition to newly cleared land and 10-year-old forests substantially boosted regeneration, though adding nutrients to older forests did not have the same effect
- The study also found that phosphorus availability did not limit forest growth at any stage of forest maturity.
- The researchers recommend ensuring nitrogen-fixing species are included during reforestation.
Brazil declares açaí a national fruit amid biopiracy concerns (30 Jan 2026 11:57:01 +0000)
Brazil recently passed a law to recognize açaí, a berry endemic to the Amazon, as a national fruit, citing concerns about biopiracy — the commercial exploitation of native species and traditional knowledge without consent or fair compensation. Açaí is a staple food in northern Brazil, where it’s eaten as a savory paste typically served with […]
Cameroon cookstove project looks to slow forest loss (30 Jan 2026 09:13:41 +0000)
- The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) hopes new cookstoves that require less wood than traditional varieties will slow forest loss in Cameroon.
- Mongabay visited one of the villages where CIFOR’s project is taking place to talk to people who are involved in it.
- Long-term success rates for similar projects in Africa have often been low.
- CIFOR wants to break that trend by encouraging people to adopt the new cookstoves and keep using them.
Australia’s land-use squeeze (29 Jan 2026 22:53:59 +0000)
- Australia’s recent land use change has steadily reduced and degraded native vegetation, shrinking the amount of intact habitat available to wildlife and weakening ecosystem resilience.
- Clearing has been concentrated in productive regions, especially along the eastern seaboard and parts of the north, where agriculture, development, and resource extraction continue to reshape landscapes.
- The biodiversity impacts are not only about area lost: fragmentation breaks habitats into smaller, drier, more isolated patches, making populations more vulnerable to fire, heat, invasive species, and local collapse.
- Conservation tools like protected areas and restoration help, but they struggle to keep pace when habitat loss continues through thousands of incremental decisions across overlapping state and federal systems.
Data show oil and gas blocks cover one-fourth of Ecuador, mostly in the Amazon (29 Jan 2026 17:47:56 +0000)
Ecuador has 65 oil and gas lease blocks, 88% of them in the Amazon, covering a quarter of the country’s total area. That’s according to a new data set from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). Many of the lease blocks overlap with several Indigenous territories, including the Cuyabeno-Imuya Intangible Zone, which is home to 11 […]
In the Brazilian Amazon, community conservation success comes with a cost: Study (29 Jan 2026 12:36:25 +0000)
- In Brazil’s western Amazon, community-led efforts to protect the pirarucu, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, bring conservation benefits that extend into upland ecosystems.
- A study in Nature Sustainability found that by patrolling oxbow lakes along the Juruá River, communities effectively protect a mean area 86 times larger than the lakes they directly monitor, making this the largest community-based conservation initiative in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Local families bear the full economic burden of conservation efforts; surveillance represents 32% of total costs and reduces community income by 21%. Researchers say that using payments for environmental services would help ease pressure on communities.
More than 87m people impacted by climate-related disasters in 2025 (29 Jan 2026 11:56:05 +0000)
In 2025, more than 200 climate-related disasters affected more than 87.8 million people worldwide, according to preliminary figures from the International Disaster Database analyzed by Mongabay. The disasters include flash floods, landslides, severe storms, wildfires and droughts. Drought and food insecurity impacted the largest number of people. In Syria, which faced its worst drought in […]
Worries grow for Sulawesi farmers as nickel mining company plans expansion (29 Jan 2026 11:02:44 +0000)
- PT Vale Indonesia, which runs the longest-operating nickel mining concession in Indonesia, is looking to expand its operations amid an explosion of global demand for nickel used in electric vehicle batteries.
- The company’s concession encompasses local farmlands and forestlands rich in plant and animal life found only in Sulawesi.
- Farmers worry the company’s expansion plans will mean the annexation and destruction of their forest and farms.
Drone-mounted eDNA hints at richness of life in the rainforest canopy (29 Jan 2026 10:28:50 +0000)
- Scientists have used a combination of drone technology and environmental DNA analysis to detect animals that live in the rainforest canopy in the Peruvian Amazon.
- Using the technology, researchers were able to draw a contrast between species detected from canopy samples and water samples.
- They found that water samples indicated the presence of more species, while canopy samples detected taxonomic groups not found in water samples, highlighting the need to use both methods complementarily.
Indonesia fast-tracks final permit for Papua rice megaproject without Indigenous consent (29 Jan 2026 08:43:54 +0000)
- Indigenous rights activists in Indonesia’s Papua region are condemning the government’s rapid approval of a massive rice plantation, arguing the government fast-tracked a key land permit without proper consultation or consent from Indigenous landowners.
- The activists say the process ignored Indigenous communities’ free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and reflects a broader pattern under the food estate program that sidelines Indigenous rights and environmental safeguards in the name of national food security.
- Critics warn of widespread deforestation, land dispossession and social conflict, echoing past failures of similar schemes elsewhere in Indonesia.
- The government claims that procedures were followed, but Indigenous representatives and civil society groups say consultations were minimal, protests were ignored and the project amounts to forced land appropriation.
Five detained over alleged hunting in Javan leopard habitat (29 Jan 2026 04:10:30 +0000)
- Indonesian authorities have detained five people following allegations of illegal hunting inside West Java’s Gunung Sanggabuana conservation forest.
- The case drew national attention after camera trap footage revealed an injured Javan leopard and suspected armed hunters operating in the protected area.
- Conservationists say the incident exposes deeper weaknesses in wildlife protection and raises urgent questions about how Indonesia safeguards its last remaining big cats.
Brazil sets out its strategy for nature (28 Jan 2026 23:49:11 +0000)
Brazil is the world’s most biodiverse country, and the title is not closely contested in absolute numbers: between 10% and 15% of all known species live within its borders. The country contains nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest and supplies about a tenth of the world’s food. That combination of ecological wealth and economic […]
Judge rules Massachusetts offshore wind project halted by Trump administration can continue (28 Jan 2026 19:28:34 +0000)
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge said Tuesday that a nearly completed Massachusetts offshore wind project can continue, as the industry successfully challenges the Trump administration in court. At U.S. District Court in Boston, Judge Brian Murphy halted the administration’s stop work order for Vineyard Wind, citing the potential economic losses from the delays and […]
Seminarian-turned-fire-agent preaches new tactics to fight Amazon’s burn crisis (28 Jan 2026 17:46:46 +0000)
- Lacking trucks and gear, a civil servant once destined for the priesthood now uses WhatsApp groups to direct volunteers who must manually carry river water through dense forest to tackle record blazes deep in an Amazonian town five times the size of New York City.
- Once rare, record-breaking wildfires destroyed millions of hectares across the Brazilian Amazon in recent years, leaving surviving forests increasingly fragile and susceptible to recurring blazes.
- Only 16% of Amazonian municipalities in Brazil have operational military fire brigades, forcing rural towns to rely on underfunded local offices and unpaid volunteers to defend the rainforest.
Women secure a future with pumas in the Andes (28 Jan 2026 17:04:06 +0000)
AYACUCHO, Peru — High in the Peruvian Andes, fear of wildcats once meant survival. Pumas, pampas cats and the elusive Andean cat were seen only as threats to livestock — and were hunted without hesitation. But one woman’s journey has helped transform her community’s story. Through women-led conservation, camera traps and weaving traditions, Ida and […]
The Turtle Bank: The last of these Asian turtle species find refuge in the Carolina pines (28 Jan 2026 16:55:57 +0000)
- Sixteen turtle enthusiasts from three countries traveled to South Carolina’s Turtle Survival Center in September 2025 for an intensive weeklong course on turtle and tortoise conservation, care and breeding. Mongabay staff writer Liz Kimbrough joined them there.
- More than half of the world’s 359 living turtle and tortoise species now face extinction, with 134 classified as endangered or critically endangered — a crisis driven by the wildlife trade, destruction and pollution of wetlands and rivers, and the species’ slow reproductive biology.
- The center houses approximately 800 turtles representing some of the world’s most critically endangered species, mostly from Southeast Asia. It serves as a “turtle bank” that maintains genetic diversity for species in hopes that their progeny may return to the wild.
- Participants learned hands-on skills ranging from disease prevention to optimal lighting. The course strengthens a global network of turtle conservationists who are bringing their newly honed skills to zoos, aquariums, vet offices and community projects back home.
Study ties same-sex behavior in primates to ecological and social pressures (28 Jan 2026 14:14:55 +0000)
- A recent study into same-sex behavior in primates finds that social organization and ecological factors, including climatic conditions, influence this behavior.
- In gorilla groups, same-sex relations can help strengthen social bonds, study lead author Chloë Coxshall told Mongabay, reducing competition and facilitating access to mates and resources.
- Gorilla groups typically consist of a dominant adult male, several adult females, and their offspring. If the dominant male has the exclusive right to mate with all females of the same group, sometimes this polygamy pushes the females to leave this family to look for other females with whom they develop intimate relationships, Malagasy primatologist Jonah Henri Ratsimbazafy said.
- Same-sex behavior doesn’t appear to have the same place in the lives of different primate species or even at various times for the same population, the study suggests. So species-specific research is needed, according to the study authors.
Wildlife attacks and strange animal behavior — fake images spark conservation concerns (28 Jan 2026 11:04:43 +0000)
- Conservationists warn that increasingly realistic AI-generated wildlife images and videos are spreading misinformation that can provoke fear, panic and hostility toward wild animals.
- Fake footage distorts public understanding of animal behavior, making dangerous encounters seem normal or portraying wildlife as greater threats than they really are.
- Authorities and conservation groups are forced to waste time and resources investigating false sightings and responding to public alarm triggered by fabricated content.
- Experts say the trend could ultimately undermine conservation efforts by eroding public trust, encouraging wildlife persecution and normalizing the exotic pet trade.
World Bank carbon program risks further infringing upon rights of Indonesian Indigenous community (commentary) (28 Jan 2026 00:22:04 +0000)
- The Indigenous Dayak Bahau community of Long Isun has long fought for recognition, land rights and justice in Indonesian Borneo, and while those disputes remain unresolved, a new threat to their sovereignty has appeared: the World Bank’s carbon program.
- The bank did not create the conflict, but by moving forward with a carbon offset project on this land that is still contested, it would risk reinforcing the status quo that enabled logging companies to operate on their territory without genuine consent.
- “A genuine response from the World Bank could set an important precedent: resolving customary land disputes before launching carbon projects,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Europe’s olive grove crisis affects nature & culture, but has solutions (27 Jan 2026 22:05:46 +0000)
Across Mediterranean Europe, olive groves are in decline from a range of factors, from disease to depopulation. In Italy alone, there are estimated to be roughly 30 million abandoned olive trees, and the ecological, cultural and socioeconomic impacts from the loss are devastating, explains the latest guest on the Mongabay Newscast. Still, solutions exist to […]
Rio de Janeiro state bans shark meat for school meals (27 Jan 2026 14:24:10 +0000)
- The government of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state has banned shark meat for meals in most of the schools it manages, after pressure from conservationists and school meal advisers raising health and environmental concerns.
- The shark meat ban applies to all 1,200 schools run by the state education department, but not to the thousands of other schools in the state that are managed by municipalities and private entities.
- A Mongabay investigation in July 2025 revealed 1,012 public tenders issued since 2004 to procure more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat in 10 of Brazil’s 26 states, including Rio de Janeiro.
- Industry groups have criticized the Rio de Janeiro government’s decision, dismissing health risks linked to shark meat consumption, and complained of a lack of transparency in the decision-making process, noting that the ban has yet to be published in the state’s official gazette.