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On a Philippine beach, villagers are stepping up to save sea turtle nests 06 Aug 2026 09:20:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/on-a-philippine-beach-villagers-are-stepping-up-to-save-sea-turtle-nests/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Beaches in San Vicente municipality in the Philippines’ Palawan province are crucial nesting grounds for olive ridley sea turtles. But the turtles and their babies face perilous journeys on those beaches — from dogs, tourism, and increasingly severe storms and high tides. To counter these threats, the NGO Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) has partnered with residents to patrol the beaches and rescue turtle eggs, reports contributor Rachel Duckett for Mongabay. In Santo Niño village, volunteers and patrollers conduct intensive night patrols covering more than 8 kilometers (5 mile) of the beach in five shifts. When the patrollers find a nesting turtle, they protect her from dogs. When she’s done nesting, they measure her and take photographs of her before she reenters the water. These help them identify her in the future. Then they relocate the eggs to protected hatcheries, a move researchers say is vital because nests left on the beach are almost always lost to stray dogs or flooding. Sometimes, they encounter dead nesting mothers or turtles mortally wounded by dogs. They remove eggs from those nests as well. “In the end, even though she’s dead, at least her babies survive,” said researcher Klara Simon at LAMAVE. In the hatcheries, the eggs are placed in nests in the sand, which the researchers check on every few hours. Baby olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) start emerging two months after the eggs are laid. According to LAMAVE data from last season and preliminary data from this season, their hatcheries…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Beaches in San Vicente municipality in the Philippines’ Palawan province are crucial nesting grounds for olive ridley sea turtles. But the turtles and their babies face perilous journeys on those beaches — from dogs, tourism, and increasingly severe storms and high tides. To counter these threats, the NGO Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) […] authors: | ||
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In Manila’s shadow, a forest refuge still shelters rare plants 06 Aug 2026 09:11:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/in-manilas-shadow-a-forest-refuge-still-shelters-rare-plants/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: A mountainous reserve near Manila, the Philippine capital, is a critical ecological refuge, harboring high levels of plant diversity despite its proximity to the highly urbanized city, according to a recent study. The findings come from surveys done 10 years earlier, however, and mounting pressures on the area’s forests since then may have had an impact, the authors say. As the last remaining natural lowland forest in Cavite province, on the southern shores of Manila Bay, Mounts Palay-palay-Mataas-na-Gulod Protected Landscape serves as a vital stronghold for Philippine biodiversity, researchers say. In July 2016, they surveyed plants within the landscape, known as MPPMGPL. At the time, they documented 294 species of plants across the landscape’s varied habitats, from grasslands and secondary forests to old-growth stands. They found that 42 species, or 16%, are found only in the Philippines, while 31 species are classified as threatened on national or international red lists. “The most remarkable finding is that this landscape … harbors an incredibly high concentration of biodiversity despite being so close to highly urbanized zones,” study lead author Enrico Replan, an assistant professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM) at the University of the Philippines Diliman, told Mongabay by email. The study also identified 43 species that likely represent new records for Cavite province, “filling major geographic knowledge gaps,” Replan said. Among the most significant findings was the dominance of guijo (Shorea guiso), a critically endangered tree species, in the forest’s interior core. This highlights the role of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A mountainous reserve near Manila, the Philippine capital, is a critical ecological refuge, harboring high levels of plant diversity despite its proximity to the highly urbanized city, according to a recent study. The findings come from surveys done 10 years earlier, however, and mounting pressures on the area’s forests since then may have had an […] authors: | ||
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What happens after a whale strands on a Mumbai beach? 06 Aug 2026 09:00:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/what-happens-after-a-whale-strands-on-a-mumbai-beach/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Stephin Thomas content:encoded: On the morning of June 27, a 7.6-meter (25-foot) blue whale calf washed ashore on a busy beach in Mumbai, India’s financial capital and the capital of Maharashtra state. Whale strandings are rare along the Maharashtra coast, so Mongabay spoke with experts to find out what happened next. “Each stranding incident is a totally unexpected event,” N. Vasudevan, former head of Maharashtra government’s Mangrove Cell, an administrative unit that manages coastal ecosystems, told Mongabay. “You can prepare for years, but then it may not happen for years. And one fine morning, it is there on the beach.” According to the Mangrove Foundation, a registered society established by the Maharashtra government, only six of the 109 recorded stranding incidents in 2020-21 involved whales. Under national guidelines, the first step in any stranding involving a protected species, such as the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), is alerting the local stranding network, whose coordinator notifies the forest department, according to Shaunak Modi, director of the Coastal Conservation Foundation, which is also part of the Mumbai Stranding Response Network. Modi said that on June 27, a lifeguard notified him about the whale calf around 9 a.m. By the time he reached the site in the Bandra coastline 30 minutes later, the young cetacean had suffered severe injuries from crashing against exposed rocks. Ultimately, police and fire department authorities at the site confirmed it had died. Fishers and local people told Modi they had first spotted the stranded whale around 6 a.m. First responders, primarily local…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On the morning of June 27, a 7.6-meter (25-foot) blue whale calf washed ashore on a busy beach in Mumbai, India’s financial capital and the capital of Maharashtra state. Whale strandings are rare along the Maharashtra coast, so Mongabay spoke with experts to find out what happened next. “Each stranding incident is a totally unexpected […] authors: | ||
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Social media images lead to first recording of parasitoid wasp species in Japan 06 Aug 2026 08:47:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/social-media-images-lead-to-first-recording-of-parasitoid-wasp-species-in-japan/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Photos of a striking, iridescent wasp posted on social media by wasp enthusiasts in Japan have led to an unexpected discovery: The images are the first record of the species in Japan. The footage also helped scientists describe a male of the species for the first time. The images and a video of the wasps were posted by two citizen scientists on Twitter (now X) in 2018 and 2021. The video showed a female wasp depositing her eggs onto a hard egg case of a praying mantis. Taisuke Kawano, a wasp expert at the Kyushu University Museum, Japan, noticed the footage and contacted the wasp enthusiasts who then sent him a few specimens of the wasp. The citizen scientists are also co-authors of a study, published in June, that details the scientists’ findings. Kawano and his colleagues identified the wasp as Eupelmus curvator. It’s a parasitoid wasp that lays its eggs in the egg cases of mantises. The larvae of the wasps feed on the mantis eggs as they develop. The researchers said the photos posted on social media are the first known record of Eupelmus curvator in Japan. The species was previously known only from China. The researchers were also able to scientifically describe the E. curvator male for the first time. Only the female of the species was previously described. The wasp was, for the first time, recorded targeting the eggs of the narrow-winged mantis (Tenodera angustipennis). In one mantis egg case, the scientists found 77 wasps and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Photos of a striking, iridescent wasp posted on social media by wasp enthusiasts in Japan have led to an unexpected discovery: The images are the first record of the species in Japan. The footage also helped scientists describe a male of the species for the first time. The images and a video of the wasps […] authors: | ||
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Jute loses ground to plastic despite Bangladesh’s packaging law 06 Aug 2026 08:23:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/jute-loses-ground-to-plastic-despite-bangladeshs-packaging-law/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Kamran Reza Chowdhury content:encoded: Bangladesh is the world’s second largest producer of the environmentally friendly fiber jute. However, the country has, for decades, grappled with the move to combat the escalating use of the cheaper and more popular, but harmful, plastic-based packaging and synthetic fibers. As a safeguard measure, the government, 16 years ago, enacted a law for the mandatory use of jute sacks and bags to contain and carry 19 essential commodities, including rice, wheat and fertilizer. The move has been largely unsuccessful, though, with plastic and synthetic fiber invasion as packaging ingredients continuing unabated. Synthetic and poly bags have caused environmental problems such as waste disposal. Nazmul Haque, the government-appointed jute officer in the northern Sherpur district, told Mongabay that a small semi-automatic rice mill — Sakhina Rice Mill — has exclusively been using jute sacks. Sakhina Rice Mill in Sherpur stands out from the crowd by exclusively using jute bags and sacks, debunking the narratives of fellow rice millers that jute sacks and bags reduce their profit margin. “A 50-kilogram [110-pound] capacity synthetic/plastic bag costs 20 takas [16 cents], while a jute sack costs 80 takas [65 cents]. A synthetic/poly bag cannot be reused; it is for one-time use. On the other hand, we can use the same jute sack at least three times for carrying paddy or rice and then mend it, if torn, and use it three more times for carrying rice bran,” Md. Hamez Uddin, a proprietor of Sakhina Rice Mill, told Mongabay. “Jute sacks are economically better,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Despite being the world’s second-largest producer of jute, a biodegradable fiber, Bangladesh faces the daunting task of combating the onslaught of hazardous plastic-based packaging and synthetic fibers. - The Mandatory Jute Packaging Act of 2010 stipulated that 19 essential items must be contained and transported in jute sacks, but the legislation failed to protect the jute industry, which employs 3 million households. - While traders ensure a door-to-door supply of “cheap” plastic and synthetic fiber for users, the government has closed down 25 state-owned jute mills that produced “costly” jute sacks and bags. - Although a small rice mill demonstrates that jute sacks and bags are cheaper and bring a good profit, the government has not devised a proper strategy to sensitize businessmen to switch to jute instead of plastic/synthetic packing materials. authors: | ||
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Vinod Rishi helped give India’s elephants room to roam 06 Aug 2026 00:22:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/vinod-rishi-helped-give-indias-elephants-room-to-roam/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: A tiger once put its head beside a passenger in Vinod Rishi’s jeep. Its face, he wrote years later, wore a “quizzical expression.” Then it moved away, leaving the men unharmed. Rishi called it “a King with a big heart.” Decades after the encounter, he could still recall the position of the tiger’s head and the look on its face. Rishi, who died in Dehradun on July 29, held some of the highest positions in Indian wildlife administration. He was the first director of Project Elephant, additional director general of forests for wildlife, and director of the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy. During 38 years in the Indian Forest Service, he worked in the Sundarbans and Buxa tiger reserves, Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, and the national parks of Singalila and Neora Valley. Born in Jalandhar, Punjab, he trained as an engineer at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and graduated in 1968. He joined the forest service the following year. His engineering background clearly influenced the way he approached conservation. He paid close attention to methods, evidence, and whether a plan would work in the field. His early career in West Bengal brought him into contact with tigers, rhinos, elephants, and the administrative problems surrounding each of them. At Darjeeling Zoo, he studied animal biology at close range. The experience later contributed to work on captive breeding for snow leopards and the conservation of red pandas in Singalila. In the Sundarbans, he worked on conflict between people and tigers. When newspapers…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Vinod Rishi rose from field postings in West Bengal to some of India’s most senior wildlife positions, including serving as the first director of Project Elephant. - Trained as an engineer, he brought a practical, evidence-based approach to conservation, testing official claims and scientific methods against conditions on the ground. - His work helped shift wildlife management beyond individual protected areas toward broader landscapes, particularly elephant habitats, migration corridors, and conflict-prone regions. - Colleagues remembered him as humble, determined, and collaborative, while his later writing revealed a close attention to individual animals and the places they inhabited. authors: | ||
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Looming loss of Singapore’s Maju Forest to development raises many questions (commentary) 05 Aug 2026 22:14:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/looming-loss-of-singapores-maju-forest-to-development-raises-many-questions-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Rachel R. Y. Oh content:encoded: Every city faces difficult choices about how to use its land. As populations grow, governments must provide homes, transport and other essential infrastructure while protecting the natural ecosystems that make cities liveable. These decisions are often framed as a trade-off between development and conservation, with forests viewed primarily as reservoirs of biodiversity or stores of carbon. What if we have been overlooking one of their most important contributions? As climate change intensifies, urban heat worsens and chronic diseases associated with sedentary, high-stress lifestyles continue to rise, a growing body of research suggests forests are far more than wildlife habitat. They are living public infrastructure that helps keep people physically healthy, mentally resilient and socially connected. Mature forests cool neighborhoods, encourage physical activity, provide opportunities for stress relief, strengthen community cohesion and support biodiversity, which is fundamental to many of these benefits. This perspective is particularly relevant in Singapore. The city-state has earned global recognition for integrating nature into one of the world’s most densely populated urban environments. Yet many of its remaining forests – including the 23-hectare (57-acre) Maju Forest in Clementi – are increasingly under pressure from development. Current plans would retain about one-third of the forest and convert approximately 15 hectares (37 acres) into public housing. Over 100 species of wildlife have been recorded in Maju Forest and six – mainly birds – are of conservation significance, including the straw-headed bulbul (pictured), buffy fish-owl, changeable hawk-eagle, oriental magpie-robin, bamboo bat and long-tailed macaque. Image courtesy of Singapore’s National…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A 23-hectare (57-acre) forest in the Singaporean neighborhood of Clementi that provides stress relief and community enjoyment for residents, plus habitat for urban biodiversity, has been proposed for development, sparking a public debate. - Although Singapore has earned recognition for integrating nature into this, one of the world’s most densely populated urban environments, the proposal would convert most of it into public housing. - A new op-ed argues that urban forests are essential public health infrastructure and that this debate reflects a challenge that cities increasingly face: How should we value mature ecosystems in an era of climate change, urbanization and rising health challenges? - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Amazon canopy bridges enable 15,000 wildlife crossings without a single roadkill 05 Aug 2026 12:35:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/amazon-canopy-bridges-enable-15000-wildlife-crossings-without-a-single-roadkill/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Roads through Brazil’s forests divide primate habitat and sometimes force animals that normally remain in the canopy onto the ground. Researchers in the Amazon are testing rope bridges that allow them to cross above traffic. Eight bridges were installed in 2024 in Alta Floresta, in northern Mato Grosso state, reports contributor Suzana Camargo for Mongabay. Camera traps recorded 15,000 crossings by arboreal animals over the next 15 months. No roadkill was reported at the monitored sites. Six primate species used the structures, among them black-faced black spider monkeys (Ateles chamek), Schneider’s marmosets (Mico schneideri), and the critically endangered Alta Floresta titi monkey (Plecturocebus grovesi). The bridges contain several layers of rope for species with different forms of movement. Some walk across them, while others swing by their arms or use their prehensile tails. Cameras record successful crossings as well as animals that approach and retreat. The footage suggests that some species need time to become accustomed to the structures. Tufted capuchins took seven months to use one of the bridges. The work follows a project started in 2021 along the BR-174 highway, which passes through the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous Territory. Members of the Waimiri-Atroari community helped select sites for 32 bridges. Cameras have recorded about 1,250 primate crossings there over the past five years, giving researchers information on which designs work best. Roads can also separate wildlife populations and reduce gene flow. This is…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Roads through Brazil’s forests divide primate habitat and sometimes force animals that normally remain in the canopy onto the ground. Researchers in the Amazon are testing rope bridges that allow them to cross above traffic. Eight bridges were […] authors: | ||
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Environmental activists in Kenya concerned over billionaire’s planned oil refinery 05 Aug 2026 11:06:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/environmental-activists-in-kenya-concerned-over-billionaires-planned-oil-refinery/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Amina Chombo content:encoded: Billionaire Aliko Dangote’s choice of Lamu, Kenya, for his oil refinery project, estimated to cost $17 billion, has elicited mixed reactions, with environmental activists warning of its potential risks to the local ecosystem and the community’s livelihoods, while the government is playing up its economic benefits. The Nigerian business tycoon’s decision to locate the refinery in Lamu, follows months of speculation about whether the project will go ahead in Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania. Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Industries Limited’s vice president, who is in charge of the oil and gas division, told Reuters that the project, with a capacity to refine at least 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, would be completed within three years. The crude oil is expected to come from within the East Africa region. If completed, the Lamu project would work like a similar one owned by Dangote Industries in Lagos, Nigeria, which can refine at least 650,000 barrels of crude oil in a day. It is currently the biggest oil refinery in Africa. Speaking earlier in July, Kenyan President William Ruto said Kenya had struck a deal with Dangote to have the project in Lamu. He said the project would benefit East and Central Africa, as well as create at least 60,000 jobs for Kenyans during its construction and then operation. Kenyan President William Ruto speaking at State House in Nairobi on July 8, 2026. Image courtesy of Public Service Commission. Concerns about environmental impact Meanwhile, environmental activists have called for transparency and sufficient involvement…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Environmental activists opposed to the oil refinery project cite risks to the local ecosystem and the community’s livelihoods. - The Kenyan government insists that the project will boost the East Africa region’s economy, and create 60,000 jobs during its construction and then operation. - Opponents demand absolute transparency with the local community and seek adequate inclusion of all stakeholders during the Environment Impact Assessment process. authors: | ||
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Malaysia implements total e-waste import ban to curb toxic trade 05 Aug 2026 09:22:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/malaysia-implements-total-e-waste-import-ban-to-curb-toxic-trade/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In April 2026, Malaysia enacted an absolute ban on the import of electronic waste, moving to end its role as a primary destination for the world’s hazardous electrical and electronic scrap. The regulation aims to shutter a black market of illegal recycling yards that use falsified paperwork to smuggle toxic materials into the country, reports contributor Ashley Yeong for Mongabay. Investigators and NGOs have long raised concerns about containers with falsely declared documents frequently slipping into Malaysia’s illegal recycling sites. To get through customs, smugglers often declare electronic waste, or e-waste, as legitimate raw materials. The large volume of shipping containers that pass through Malaysian ports makes the detection of the illegal waste challenging, Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal, the commander of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) in Port Klang, told reporters in February. In the first five months of 2026 alone, Port Klang, located in the west coast of Malaysia, processed approximately 3.2 million standard shipping containers. Despite the challenge, a specialized joint task force known as Op Green Shield has started to see results. Between January and July 2026, the task force inspected 685 containers and successfully repatriated more than 3,000 metric tons of e-waste to their countries of origin. Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network (BAN), told Mongabay that a major hurdle is the U.S., a top e-waste exporter that is not a party to the Basel Convention on hazardous waste, which regulates the movement and trade of hazardous waste. “The US…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In April 2026, Malaysia enacted an absolute ban on the import of electronic waste, moving to end its role as a primary destination for the world’s hazardous electrical and electronic scrap. The regulation aims to shutter a black market of illegal recycling yards that use falsified paperwork to smuggle toxic materials into the country, reports […] authors: | ||
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These mice live on volcano summits at extreme elevations. Study finds how 05 Aug 2026 06:21:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/these-mice-live-on-volcano-summits-at-extreme-elevations-study-finds-how/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: The Andean leaf-eared mouse thrives at extreme elevations where most other mammals wouldn’t survive. At these altitudes, oxygen levels are low; temperatures are permanently below freezing; and humans can’t survive for long without oxygen masks and insulated clothing. Yet, the mighty mouse is right at home, and scientists have now figured out the biological adaptations that allow it to live there, according to a new study. The small, brown Andean leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis vaccarum) occupies a wide range of altitudes. Some populations live on the summits of volcanoes in the central Andes Mountains at elevations above 6,700 meters (22,000 feet); others live at sea level along the desert coast of northern Chile. To find out how the rodent lives in conditions uninhabitable to other vertebrates, the researchers collected 167 leaf-eared mice, from sea level to their highest elevation homes in the Andes. This allowed them to test the physiology of lowland Andean leaf-eared with their highland relatives. In the laboratory, the researchers exposed the mice to simulated conditions of elevations up to 7,000 m (22,966 ft). They found that the highland Andean leaf-eared mice from the volcano summits were able to use oxygen more efficiently in their skeletal muscle and generate more body heat than lowland individuals. The researchers also sequenced the genomes of the leaf-eared mice and found that the rodents have genetic adaptations for metabolizing toxins in plants. “The discovery that the mice have evolved the ability to metabolize dietary toxins was unexpected,” study co-author Jay Storz, an…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Andean leaf-eared mouse thrives at extreme elevations where most other mammals wouldn’t survive. At these altitudes, oxygen levels are low; temperatures are permanently below freezing; and humans can’t survive for long without oxygen masks and insulated clothing. Yet, the mighty mouse is right at home, and scientists have now figured out the biological adaptations […] authors: | ||
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Nepal’s newest national parks drive tiger recovery, but new concerns arise 05 Aug 2026 05:19:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nepals-newest-national-parks-drive-tiger-recovery-but-new-concerns-arise/ author: Abhaya Raj Joshi dc:creator: Abhaya Raj Joshi content:encoded: KATHMANDU — Nepal is now home to an estimated 429 wild tigers, up from 355 four years ago and nearly four-fold from 16 years ago, the country’s conservation officials reported on the occasion of World Tiger Day. As the country celebrates this historic achievement, a closer look at the latest numbers reveals an uneven recovery. Nepal’s youngest national parks are driving nearly all the growth, while Bardiya, the country’s second-oldest park, has fewer tigers. This could lead to more conflict between not just people and tigers, but people and leopards as well in and around the new national parks, according to recent studies. Three factors appear to be behind this split: water availability, animal movement both within and outside the country, and spread of invasive species. “The results from the survey reflect the positive outcomes of ongoing efforts in the field of tiger conservation in Nepal, such as habitat conservation and management, poaching control, conservation of prey species, and biological corridor conservation,” said Bed Kumar Dhakal, spokesperson for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Chitwan, the country’s oldest national park, still leads by far in raw numbers. But the newer parks (Banke, Parsa and Shuklaphanta) are where growth is concentrated, while the country’s two oldest parks, Chitwan and Bardiya, are showing the slowest growth or an outright decline. This graph shows changes in tiger population in different national parks in Nepal. Image courtesy of DNPWC/Nepal. The numbers are rooted in a global pledge made in November 2010.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Nepal’s tiger count hit a record 429, but growth is concentrated almost entirely in the country’s newer national parks. Meanwhile Bardiya, the second-oldest park, declined 10%. - Researchers point to three drivers behind the split: drought pushing tigers toward parks with better water infrastructure, cross-border habitat connectivity with India, and invasive weeds degrading grazing land in the older parks. - Prey density doesn’t track with tiger growth the way expected — Bardiya’s prey density actually rose 74% (the largest gain of any park) even as its tiger numbers fell, suggesting water management, not food scarcity, is driving movement across park boundaries. - Amid ongoing protests over human-wildlife conflict, some Bardiya residents suspect the government undercounted tigers there, while researchers flag a related emerging concern tigers displacing leopards into human settlements. authors: | ||
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Investigation exposes Cambodia’s illegal wildlife trade linked to transnational crime 05 Aug 2026 03:12:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/investigation-exposes-cambodias-illegal-wildlife-trade-linked-to-transnational-crime/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: There’s a thriving illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia that caters to high-ranking government officials and wealthy Chinese nationals, according to a report on a yearlong undercover investigation by the U.S.-based NGO Earth League International (ELI). The report, titled “Sandokan,” identified five kingpins allegedly running transnational criminal networks involved in wildlife smuggling, human and drug trafficking, and sophisticated scam centers, reports Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman. The investigation found that products made from parts of endangered species, including tigers, rhinos and elephants, are openly sold in shops and exclusive restaurants across the country. ELI investigators documented tiger bone wine sold in ornate tiger-shaped bottles as a prestige item; tiger cub meat served as a culinary delicacy; and rooms filled with rhino horns and elephant ivory. “The big surprise was the incredible quantity of wildlife in the hands of these people,” said Andrea Crosta, executive director of ELI. The report highlights a convergence of environmental crime and organized syndicate activity. Wildlife products were often stored in warehouses located in special economic zones (SEZs) — designated industrial and commercial areas that offer tax incentives. The same buildings also housed illicit drugs and illegally logged timber, the investigation found. Wildlife trafficking often coexisted with money laundering through casinos in the SEZs, a model also present in Laos for more than a decade, as exposed by the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in its 2015 report about Kings Romans Casino in Laos’s Golden Triangle SEZ. One individual who said they worked in logistics told ELI investigators he…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: There’s a thriving illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia that caters to high-ranking government officials and wealthy Chinese nationals, according to a report on a yearlong undercover investigation by the U.S.-based NGO Earth League International (ELI). The report, titled “Sandokan,” identified five kingpins allegedly running transnational criminal networks involved in wildlife smuggling, human and drug trafficking, […] authors: | ||
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‘My Wild City’ reminds us why cities need nature 04 Aug 2026 20:12:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/08/my-wild-city-reminds-us-why-cities-need-nature/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: In her upcoming book, My Wild City: Finding Nature, Meaning, and Hope in India’s Capital, conservation biologist Neha Sinha takes readers to the hidden and not-so-hidden ecosystems of India’s largest city. And while the book expertly details the biodiversity, I believe its greatest strength lies in connecting with the reader emotionally through powerful stories from her personal life. On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, Sinha explains why nature in cities isn’t just important from an ecosystem health perspective, but necessary for the emotional life of all people. Sinha describes the difficulty of caring for her ailing father, and how this was the moment she found her favorite tree. While waiting in the hospital, she spotted a semal tree (Bombax ceiba). She tells me this was a turning point for her. “In these kind of difficult situations which are physically and mentally challenging … you look at a tree, and it restores you. It kind of makes you feel that you might have strength that you didn’t know about. And it’s also unique to see a tree in a very urban environment because the tree itself is a survivor,” she says. Much of the book takes place during intensive COVID-19 lockdowns in the early 2020s. Sinha describes how nature provided a respite for those seeking connection with others, themselves, and the natural world. “It gave rise to a movement called balcony birding [during] a horrible time in terms of uncertainty, in terms of we didn’t know what’s gonna happen…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In her upcoming book, My Wild City: Finding Nature, Meaning, and Hope in India’s Capital, conservation biologist Neha Sinha takes readers to the hidden and not-so-hidden ecosystems of India’s largest city. And while the book expertly details the biodiversity, I believe its greatest strength lies in connecting with the reader emotionally through powerful stories from […] authors: | ||
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Scientists discover that giant octopuses were top predators of ancient oceans 04 Aug 2026 18:36:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/scientists-discover-that-giant-octopuses-were-top-predators-of-ancient-oceans/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Finned octopus species alive today are all small, deep-sea animals that mostly live in pitch-black darkness thousands of meters beneath the surface of the sea. But a new discovery by a team of researchers in Japan, published in April 2026, found that the ancient octopus relatives were likely gigantic predators that roamed the late Cretaceous seas between 100 million to 72 million years ago. Huge fossil jaws have been uncovered in Cretaceous deposits near Japan and on Vancouver Island in Canada. Though they were known to be part of the cephalopods class that includes squid, cuttlefish and octopus, not much else was known about them for years. “It was still unclear whether they were truly octopuses, how large they were, what they ate, and what role they played in the marine ecosystem,” study co-author Yasuhiro Iba, a paleontologist at Hokkaido University in Japan, told Mongabay by email. “[We] showed that they were Cretaceous octopuses … very large and probably powerful predators that processed hard prey.” The largest species found among the fossils belonged to the now-extinct Nanaimoteuthis haggarti. Estimates from its jaw size suggest that the octopus may have reached 6.6 to 18.6 meters (22 to 61 feet) in length. On the higher end, that’s around two-thirds the size of an adult blue whale, the largest animal to ever exist. “That is an enormous size for an octopus,” Iba wrote. “It suggests that it may have been among the largest invertebrates ever known.” The scientists also found evidence of wear,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Finned octopus species alive today are all small, deep-sea animals that mostly live in pitch-black darkness thousands of meters beneath the surface of the sea. But a new discovery by a team of researchers in Japan, published in April 2026, found that the ancient octopus relatives were likely gigantic predators that roamed the late Cretaceous […] authors: | ||
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Mining threat persists in Raja Ampat, Indonesia’s ‘Amazon of the Seas’ 04 Aug 2026 14:31:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/mining-threat-persists-in-raja-ampat-indonesias-amazon-of-the-seas/ author: Laura Oliver dc:creator: Hans Nicholas Jong content:encoded: JAKARTA — Raja Ampat, one of the world’s most biodiverse marine regions, remains under pressure from Indonesia’s expanding nickel industry as three companies continue to seek permission to develop nickel projects in the archipelago, according to a new Greenpeace report. Located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region, Raja Ampat hosts some of the planet’s richest marine biodiversity, including around 75% of the world’s known coral species, earning it the nickname “the Amazon of the Seas.” Public concern over nickel mining in Raja Ampat erupted in 2025 after images showing forest clearing and environmental damage were shared widely on social media. A subsequent backlash prompted the Indonesian government to suspend mining operations and later revoke four of the region’s five nickel mining permits, leaving only the state-owned PT Gag Nikel mining company in operation in the region. But Raja Ampat remains vulnerable to future mining, according to Greenpeace. Its latest report identifies three companies PT Raja Ampat Nikel Abadi (RANA), PT Waegeo Mineral Mining (WMM), and PT Eka Kurnia Baru (EKB) — pursuing projects on Waigeo Island, the archipelago’s largest island and home to endemic wildlife including Wilson’s bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus respublica), the Waigeo brushturkey (Aepypodius bruijnii), and the Waigeo spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus papuensis). In June 2025, Mongabay reported on WMM and EKB, as both companies filed lawsuits contesting the government’s refusal to officially recognize permits they have held for mining on Waigeo Island since 2023. RANA is the latest company pursuing nickel mining in the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat is home to some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity. - A year ago, the Indonesian government suspended mining activities for review and later revoked the permits of four of the five nickel companies operating in Raja Ampat following a public backlash. - According to a new Greenpeace report, Raja Ampat remains vulnerable to nickel mining, with three companies still pursuing mining rights on its largest island and state-owned PT Gag Nikel continuing to operate. authors: | ||
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Global hunger levels fall but Africa still lags behind, UN report finds 04 Aug 2026 13:22:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-hunger-levels-fall-but-africa-still-lags-behind-un-report-finds/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Charles Mpaka content:encoded: In its latest report on food security and nutrition around the world, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says the number of people facing hunger globally has declined for the third consecutive year, but Africa still has the highest number of people with insufficient food. The FAO report estimated that 20% of Africans faced hunger in 2025, compared to just 6% in Asia, and nearly 5% in Latin America and the Caribbean. The FAO report says the number of people facing hunger globally fell from 8.6% in 2022 to 7.8% in 2025. It further estimates that in 2025, hunger affected 14 million people less than in 2024 and 43 million less people than in 2022. In 2030, the report projects between 510 and 520 million people will be food insecure worldwide and more than half of them (56%) will be in Africa. Dry lakebed in Mabalane district, Mozambique: climate shocks are amongst the reasons for food insecurity in Africa. Image by Aurélie Marrier d’Unienville / IFRC via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). “While the prevalence rate of undernourishment slightly stabilized at 20.0% in 2025, demographic pressure actually pushed the absolute number of hungry people [in Africa] to a record 309 million, surpassing Asia for the first time,” David Laborde, director of the FAO’s Agrifood Economics Division, told Mongabay via email. Laborde said that severe cuts to development aid, armed conflict, and climate shocks have hindered food production on the continent over the past decade. Erratic rains and rising temperature have affected…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says the number of people facing hunger globally fell by around 43 million people between 2022 and 2025 — 20% of Africans were food insecure in 2025, compared to just 6% in Asia. - FAO’s director of agrifood economics, David Laborde, said severe cuts to development aid, armed conflict, and climate shocks have held back food production in Africa over the past decade. - Analysts told Mongabay that African governments need to stop promoting agriculture approaches that rely on imported synthetic fertilizer and pesticides, and instead support more effective practices that strengthen soil fertility, diversify crops and diets for farmers, and are more resilient to external shocks. authors: | ||
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A shy bird found only in Nepal is waiting for the world to notice 04 Aug 2026 11:01:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-shy-bird-found-only-in-nepal-is-waiting-for-the-world-to-notice/ author: Abhaya Raj Joshi dc:creator: Bibek Bhandari content:encoded: Nepal’s shrubby hillsides are home to a medium-sized bird with brownish upperparts, distinctive black streaks from the shafts of its feathers and, sometimes, a chalky white facial patch. It’s the spiny babbler (Turdoides nipalensis), a mysterious bird, recorded only in Nepal. In June, the bird made headlines with a sighting for the first time in the forests of Madhesh province, in Nepal’s southern lowlands. With this recording, the bird has now been spotted in all of Nepal’s seven provinces. In Kathmandu, sightings of the bird have been recorded from the fringes of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park to the foothills of Phulchowki, as well as at various locations in and around Pokhara, usually at an elevation ranging from 915 to 2,135 meters (3,000 to 7,000 feet) above sea level depending on the season. But in June, ornithologists Hathan Chaudhary and Suraj Baral identified the bird in Madhesh for the first time, at an elevation of around 443 m (1,450 ft). This sighting means the spiny babbler has now been documented across all of Nepal’s seven provinces. Despite its limited known habitat, the spiny babbler remains poorly understood and researchers and ornithologists are calling for greater global attention to study and protect it. Despite its limited known habitat, the spiny babbler remains poorly understood. Image by Aardwolf6886 via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0). “We still don’t know a lot about the bird and have no scientific data to back its population, movements, exact breeding season/months and the effects of increasing human settlements,” said Kamal Raj…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - First scientifically described in 1836, the spiny babbler has only ever been found in Nepal. - Despite its uniqueness, the species remains poorly understood. - The bird has typically been spotted in and around Kathmandu and Pokhara, but sightings have now been recorded in shrublands across all seven of Nepal’s provinces. - Ornithologists have been unable to determine why the bird does not exist outside Nepal or document more information on its habitat and behavior owing to limited research and researchers are calling for more attention for the bird. authors: | ||
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Australia confirms first mass bird flu mortality in wildlife 04 Aug 2026 10:11:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/australia-confirms-first-mass-bird-flu-mortality-in-wildlife/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Australia has confirmed the country’s first mass mortality of native seabirds from the deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1. On Aug. 1, authorities confirmed the positive cases among 49 dead and 35 sick greater crested terns (Thalasseus bergii) at Baudin Rocks, an island roughly 5 kilometers (3 miles) off South Australia’s southeast coast near Cape Jaffa. The H5 strain of avian influenza virus, which has killed millions of wild and domestic birds and mammals across the globe, was first detected on Australia’s shores in late June in two migratory seabirds, a brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus) and a northern giant petrel (Macronectes halli). As of Aug. 3, 2026, the country has recorded 78 confirmed cases of the H5 strain in seabirds across five states, with 58 of those cases in South Australia alone and 10 in Western Australia. Apart from the greater crested terns, bird flu has also been confirmed in silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), a common native Australian seabird. Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed the results, noting that the mass mortality was expected as the virus takes hold in the environment. “Sadly, we do know that once the H5 bird flu is spreading in wildlife and the natural environment, it is not possible to avoid significant losses, which is what we’re starting to see now,” Collins said in a press conference. According to ABC News, South Australian Chief Veterinary Officer Skye Fruean described the Baudin Rocks mass mortality as “unusual and significant.” “We’ve known that this is going…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Australia has confirmed the country’s first mass mortality of native seabirds from the deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1. On Aug. 1, authorities confirmed the positive cases among 49 dead and 35 sick greater crested terns (Thalasseus bergii) at Baudin Rocks, an island roughly 5 kilometers (3 miles) off South Australia’s southeast coast near Cape […] authors: | ||
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Doña Oscarina, master ceramicist, documented Indigenous knowledge along the Tiquié River 04 Aug 2026 08:41:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/dona-oscarina-master-ceramicist-documented-the-knowledge-of-the-tiquie/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Before clay could be taken from the earth, permission had to be sought. “Grandmother, are you there?” the potter would ask. “I am your granddaughter. I have come to find you.” The words were addressed to Di’i Mahso, Grandmother Clay, who taught women how to find the right material and craft the first cooking vessels. Oscarina Caldas Azevedo knew these words and the deep ecological obligations behind them. A master ceramicist of the Desana people, farmer, and pioneering Indigenous environmental researcher, Azevedo died on July 4th in her home community of Cunuri, in the Brazilian Amazon. Known as Doña Oscarina, her life’s work proved that traditional Amazonian cosmology, women’s agricultural knowledge, and modern climate science were inseparable. Born in 1967 in Santa Ana do Médio Tiquié, in the upper Rio Negro region of Amazonas state, she grew up in Cunuri beside the Tiquié River—a landscape where communities are linked by waterways, family ties, and shared languages. She entered the local school at five. At 13, she moved to the Salesian mission school in Pari Cachoeira. During a holiday two years later, she met Rafael Azevedo. They were advised to marry and spent more than four decades together. Their home became a place of farming, research, ceremony, and instruction. Oscarina cultivated cassava, medicinal plants, and other crops. She made ceramics and taught younger women how to find and prepare clay, shape vessels, and fire them. Rafael carried knowledge of ritual practice. Their work was closely shared. Oscarina’s skill as a…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Doña Oscarina Caldas Azevedo was a Desana master ceramicist, farmer, teacher, and Indigenous environmental researcher from Brazil’s upper Rio Negro region. - As the first woman to serve as an Indigenous Environmental Management Agent on the Tiquié River, she helped bring women’s agricultural knowledge into environmental monitoring. - She documented crop cycles, rainfall, river levels, and community life, while cultivating 18 varieties of cassava and preserving knowledge of ceramics, medicinal plants, and ritual practice. - Through teaching, research, publications, and international forums, she worked to ensure that younger generations could continue applying and expanding this knowledge. authors: | ||
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Brazil’s mining agency under fire over corruption and omission probes 04 Aug 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-mining-agency-under-fire-over-corruption-and-omission-probes/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Fernanda Wenzel content:encoded: Federal prosecutors in Amazonas state are suing the Brazilian government’s mining agency (ANM) for an alleged failure to monitor gold mining exploration in the Amazon. The lawsuit was filed in early July. A few days later, on July 21, the federal justice ordered ANM to increase oversight over wildcat mine permissions, small-scale mines known as garimpos in Brazil, following a similar lawsuit filed in 2021 by federal prosecutors in neighboring Pará state. The legal push also follows corruption probes into the agency’s top executives, who are accused of favoring mining companies in Brazil’s largest industrial mining state, Minas Gerais. ANM is responsible for authorizing and monitoring mining activities in Brazil, including wildcat mining permissions (PLGs), which aren’t subject to the same rigorous environmental requirements as large-scale mines. According to the federal prosecutors, poor monitoring and unclear rules have turned PLGs into mechanisms to launder gold taken from Indigenous lands and strictly protected conservation areas, where the activity is forbidden. The case is based on irregularities found in reports from Greenpeace and the Federal Court of Auditors. “Mining permits no longer serve the interests of small-scale miners and, in many cases, have become a front for gold laundering carried out by criminal organizations,” the federal prosecutor André Porreca stated on the Amazonas Federal Public Ministry’s website. The municipality of Itaituba, in Pará state, is known as the capital of illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon. Image by Fernando Martinho for Mongabay. ANM doesn’t require permit applicants to provide prior mineral…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Federal prosecutors are suing the Brazilian mining agency for failing to monitor wildcat gold mines in the Brazilian Amazon. - Illegal miners take advantage of the agency’s lack of oversight and name small areas as the origins of tons of gold that have actually been taken from protected areas. - Measures implemented in the past few years have contributed to a sharp decrease in gold laundering in Brazil, but illegal metal is now being smuggled out of the country. - ANM’s top officials are also under investigation for receiving bribes to favor mining companies. authors: | ||
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In coastal Japan, one project is planting forests to stand against tsunamis 04 Aug 2026 06:23:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-coastal-japan-one-project-is-planting-forests-to-stand-against-tsunamis/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Jonathan Vit content:encoded: MINAMISOMA, Japan — Kazuo Monma stepped out onto the small stage and looked at the large crowd with a sense of relief. The weather report had called for rain all weekend, and the mayor of Minamisoma, a coastal city in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, worried that few would show for what had become an annual event for volunteers from across the Tohoku region. Instead, Monma stood in front of more than 1,000 people. The assembled crowd, some from as far away as Kanagawa prefecture, more than 300 kilometers (about 200 miles) to the south, were there to plant more than 12,000 trees along the steep dunes that line Minamisoma’s sandy beaches. “I really do think we should be proud of this moment,” Monma said to the crowd. “This is a place where thousands of people have kept this up for so long.” Minamisoma, like more than a dozen other coastal communities across Japan, is the site of an innovative experiment in disaster resilience. While seawalls have become the dominant way of mitigating the impacts of tsunamis and typhoons, one organization is touting a mix of seawalls and a wall of trees — following a specific species and planting choice — could do a better job at protecting at-risk communities. Fifteen years ago, in March 2011, the northeastern Tohoku region was the site of one of the 21st century’s worst natural disasters. A magnitude 9 earthquake struck 72 km (45 mi) off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. What followed was a tsunami of monumental scale, a devastating…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Chinju no Mori Project has planted more than 680,000 trees along Japan’s coastline to mitigate the impact of tsunamis. - The project took its inspiration from the “guardian forests” that often surround Shinto shrines. - These forest groves helped protect several shrines from destruction during the massive earthquake and tsunami of 2011. - Despite the project’s popularity, most towns continue to turn to concrete seawalls to guard against the next disaster. authors: | ||
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How Borneo’s giant trees defy gravity and old scientific theories 04 Aug 2026 04:24:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/how-borneos-giant-trees-defy-gravity-and-old-scientific-theories/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Giant tropical trees in Malaysian Borneo pump water to their highest branches just as easily as to their lower-most branches, a new study says. Researchers say this suggests tall trees are not more vulnerable to drought than shorter trees, as was previously believed. For decades, scientists have hypothesized that as trees become taller, the effects of gravity and the longer paths that water needs to travel hinder their growth. In this latest study, researchers examined 38 trees of five species from the Dipterocarpaceae family in Malaysia’s Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in northeastern Borneo. The trees, including keruing putih (Dipterocarpus caudiferus), kapur (Dryobalanops lanceolata) and meranti pepijat (Rubroshorea johorensis), ranged from 7-71 meters (23-233 feet) tall. Dipterocarps are the tallest flowering trees in the world, and dominate Southeast Asian rainforests. Specialist climbers scaled each tree to collect branches from different parts of the canopy. The researchers then measured several traits of the vessels inside the wood that carry water, as well as of the wood and leaves of the branches. The analysis shows that the tall trees use two primary mechanisms to compensate for their heights: vessel widening and leaf adjustments. As trees grow taller, they grow much wider water-carrying vessels at the base of the trunk than those found in shorter trees, which significantly reduces resistance to water flow. Leaves at the top of the canopy also adjust their osmotic potential, or the levels of dissolved substances in their cells, which allows them to hold more water even under extremely low…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Giant tropical trees in Malaysian Borneo pump water to their highest branches just as easily as to their lower-most branches, a new study says. Researchers say this suggests tall trees are not more vulnerable to drought than shorter trees, as was previously believed. For decades, scientists have hypothesized that as trees become taller, the effects […] authors: | ||
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Kenyans protesting nuclear facility face terrorism investigation 04 Aug 2026 04:04:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyans-protesting-nuclear-facility-face-terrorism-investigation/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: Following protests at a public meeting about a proposed nuclear power plant in Kenya, one person was shot and several residents were arrested. The Kenyan government plans to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant near Bondo, a town in Siaya County near Lake Victoria. Officials, including representatives from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), were holding a public consultation meeting in the town on July 24 when the protests started. Dickens Ochieng, a lawyer and community member who attended the meeting, told Mongabay by phone that the landowners invited to the meeting started shouting “Wadagi,” which means “we refuse” in Dholuo language, in reference to the nuclear project. “And then one of the police officers who was guarding the government agencies used his firearm and as a result one person was shot on the leg and the meeting turned chaotic instantly,” he said. According to Ochieng, residents of Bondo began throwing stones at police officers, who responded with tear gas. In the days that followed, 17 people were arrested and detained. An official document reviewed by Mongabay shows that the arrested people are now under investigation for assault as well as Kenya’s Prevention of Terrorism Act. Ochieng, who has taken on their legal defense, said there “is an intense government crackdown on people who are opposed to the project.” “As a lawyer, I just keep on telling the community that they have to stand firm, because terrorism charges have nowhere to do with the incident that happened,” he said.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Following protests at a public meeting about a proposed nuclear power plant in Kenya, one person was shot and several residents were arrested. The Kenyan government plans to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant near Bondo, a town in Siaya County near Lake Victoria. Officials, including representatives from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), […] authors: | ||
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New ‘conservation deed’ aims to protect tree kangaroos, forests, people in Papua New Guinea 04 Aug 2026 03:56:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-conservation-deed-aims-to-protect-tree-kangaroos-forests-people-in-papua-new-guinea/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: John Cannon content:encoded: It happened with a few strokes of a pen on a hilltop in northwestern Papua New Guinea on June 30: The leaders of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) finalized an agreement to protect the densely canopied forests of the Torricelli Mountains that ripple outward in every direction. Their signatures were the last of hundreds collected from clan leaders across the range in June. With this conservation deed, TCA and the people of the Torricellis have achieved a key milestone after decades of work to stave off logging, help wildlife rebound and improve the lives of community members. After the signing, those gathered erupted in celebration, dance and song at TCA’s base in the village of Lumi. In all, 266 clan leaders signed the document. Caleb Bulu, a project manager with TCA, called it an “exciting time.” “We have been waiting for so long,” said Bulu, who has fought to keep loggers off his own land in the region. The people of the Torricelli Mountains were ecstatic, he said in a call via WhatsApp a few days after the signing. “They were very happy, all across the 41 villages [and] were celebrating at that time.” The Torricellis are home to a staggering array of species — perhaps 4% of the world’s biodiversity in a relatively tiny speck of mostly intact montane forest — including two species of critically endangered tree kangaroo. In the 1990s, mammologist Tim Flannery and his colleagues in PNG first described the tenkile (Dendrolagus scottae) and the weimang…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - On June 30, 266 clan leaders across 41 villages in Papua New Guinea’s Torricelli Mountains signed a legally binding “conservation deed” that protects rainforest and its inhabitants and is the result of decades of work by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance. - The deed shields the range’s exceptional biodiversity, including the critically endangered tenkile and weimang tree kangaroos, after a long-stalled effort to secure formal government protected-area status has left communities exposed to logging pressure. - Conservation deeds have held up in court, with a 2025 National Court ruling citing one to restrict logging on clan lands in East New Britain. - Built over two years through a free, prior and informed consent process, the Torricelli deed bans commercial logging and mining, as well as the hunting of threatened species, renews every five years and gives the alliance a model it now plans to extend to nearby areas under similar threat. authors: | ||
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Four Pacific nations are planning one of the world’s largest ocean corridors 04 Aug 2026 02:58:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/four-pacific-nations-are-planning-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ocean-corridors/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Four Melanesian countries are planning a network of marine reserves across one of the world’s richest stretches of ocean. Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji announced the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves in May. Solomon Islands joined in June. The corridor would connect protected areas across national waters and could eventually extend into the high seas, reports contributor Ashley Yeong for Mongabay. Melanesia lies within the Coral Triangle in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, which contains an estimated three-quarters of known coral species. Its waters also support sharks, rays, dugongs and whales, and many species still being described by scientists. Several large reserves could serve as anchors. Papua New Guinea is planning a 214,000-square-kilometer (82,626 square-mile) no-take sanctuary in western Manus, an area roughly the size of Great Britain. Vanuatu has announced a fully protected marine area covering 71,000 sq km (27,413 sq mi) around Torba Province. Fiji has pledged to protect 15% of its waters by the end of 2026. Linking these areas could help protect migration routes and spawning grounds of marine life and the movement of larvae between reefs. Common rules could also make it harder for industrial fishing vessels to concentrate along the boundaries of individual reserves. The governments involved have disclosed little about the corridor, including how it will operate. Maps, boundaries, governance arrangements, enforcement systems, and funding plans remain unavailable. Differences in monitoring capacity could leave some areas…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Four Melanesian countries are planning a network of marine reserves across one of the world’s richest stretches of ocean. Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji announced the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves in May. Solomon Islands joined in […] authors: | ||
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Carbon markets alone won’t keep Southeast Asia’s forests standing, study says 04 Aug 2026 02:00:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/carbon-markets-alone-wont-keep-southeast-asias-forests-standing-study-says/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Carolyn Cowan content:encoded: Lush, leafy and luxuriantly diverse, tropical forests are home to an immense array of plants, animals and fungi. They also provide humanity with water, clean air and flood protection, and lock vast amounts of carbon in their tree trunks, roots and soils. Yet, forest conservation often loses out to extractive industries and agribusiness when valued through a purely economic lens. As a result, forests across the planet continue to be cleared in pursuit of financial profits. Across Southeast Asia alone, nearly 68 million hectares (168 million acres) of forest was lost between 2001 and 2023, much of it cleared to make way for logging, plantations and agriculture, according to researchers. However, new research indicates “massive and untapped” conservation potential remains within commercial concessions across the region. The study, published in Nature Communications, analyzed satellite data from 3,754 logging, oil palm, timber and rubber plantation concessions across four countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar. Roughly 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of intact forest was identified inside these concessions — an area larger than the entire country of Malaysia. Losing these forests could lead to emissions in the range of 1.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide over the next three decades, the study says, equivalent to 20% of all industrial carbon dioxide emissions across all 11 ASEAN countries between 2000 and 2023. Protection of forests inside production landscapes, therefore, presents a significant opportunity for conservation, the study authors say, if concession holders could be incentivized to switch from converting land to protecting it.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study has identified “massive and untapped” conservation potential within forestry and plantation concessions in Southeast Asia. - Roughly 42 million hectares of forests remain standing inside logging, oil palm, timber and rubber plantation concessions across the region, the study says. - The researchers examined what it would take to financially incentivize forest conservation inside these concessions, finding that using carbon markets alone would require carbon prices many times higher than current values. - They point to the need for diversified sources of conservation funding to complement carbon markets, such as blended finance, green bonds and payment for ecosystems services, as well as more supportive governance frameworks that elevate the viability of conservation over development. authors: | ||
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Cheap coffee is killing Vietnam’s priceless tropical forests (commentary) 03 Aug 2026 20:45:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Etelle Higonnet content:encoded: Vietnam is now the world’s largest producer of robusta, the bitter, sturdy bean behind instant coffee, supermarket blends, and the overall global appetite for cheap caffeine. But behind its meteoric rise to No. 2 coffee producer in the world lies a story the industry has tried very hard to hide: forests are disappearing, wildlife is vanishing, and rural communities are being pushed to the brink. As ecosystems start to collapse, coffee is getting harder and harder to grow, and the brands buying that coffee and filling supermarket shelves from Copenhagen to California are complicit every step of the way. Our new Coffee Watch investigation, “Vietnam: Robusta’s Reckoning,” reveals the scale of the crisis. Forests the size of Luxembourg have been wiped out for coffee. In biodiversity hotspots like Vietnam’s Central Highlands, wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, adorable flying squirrels, and delicate saola (sometimes referred to as the “Asian unicorn”), have been squeezed into ever‑smaller fragments of habitat, or just plain wiped out. Communities are losing the very ecosystems that sustain them, and this destruction is largely happening so the world can enjoy cheap robusta in instant coffee, capsules, and mass‑market blends. Typical landscape in Vietnam that’s suitable for growing robusta coffee. Image by Michael Tatarski for Mongabay. Vietnam’s rise as a coffee superpower is often framed as a rural development miracle, but the truth is far darker. Smallholder farmers, who grow the vast majority of Vietnam’s coffee, are trapped in a system that rewards expansion into forested land…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Vietnam’s coffee industry has a problem it can no longer sweep under the rug: its global success is built on a foundation of deforestation, biodiversity collapse, and human suffering, a new op-ed argues. - Robusta coffee used in instant and supermarket blends has replaced an area of Vietnamese forest the size of Luxembourg, a new report finds, and wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, and saola have been squeezed into ever‑smaller fragments of habitat. - But once consumers know the truth, they can demand better, the author writes: “They can choose brands that commit to traceability, agroforestry, and deforestation‑free supply chains. They can pressure problem companies that abuse people and planet.” - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Deep-sea snails and mussels in Indian and Pacific Oceans contain microplastics, study finds 03 Aug 2026 18:38:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/deep-sea-snails-and-mussels-in-indian-and-pacific-oceans-contain-microplastics-study-finds/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: María Paula Rubiano A. content:encoded: Three days away from shore, in the darkened control room of a huge ship, all eyes are fixed on a glowing wall of screens. Live images of mussels and snails appear. The animals are packed around a deep-sea chimney venting something that looks like black smoke, but is actually superheated, mineral-rich water bursting from the Earth’s crust. The images have threaded their way back to the research vessel Isabu from some 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) below, via a thin, fiber-optic cable. It’s 2016 and the researchers are in the North Fiji Basin in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It’s the first of two expeditions to study the inhabitants of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Their next journey will take them to the Indian Ocean. At each stop, the team deploys an underwater robot to catch the tender creatures. Once on deck, each animal is immediately wrapped in aluminum foil and flash frozen at –80° Celsius (-112° Fahrenheit) to prevent contact with airborne contaminants. The work is so delicate it takes the team several weeks to collect just 12 animals during the two expeditions between 2016 and 2019. Almost 10 years later, analysis of the results of these expeditions shows that human activities impact even creatures living in some of the most remote places on Earth. According to a new study, published in Water Research, microplastic particles were found in 11 of the 12 sampled animals, which belonged to four different species of mussels and snails. “Finding contamination in nearly every animal was still…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study has found microplastic particles in almost all sampled mussels and snails inhabiting deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean. - By comparing snails and mussels from hydrothermal vents in two oceans, researchers found stark differences in levels of microplastic contamination between the two. - The new study suggests the animals’ different feeding mechanisms might influence the amount of plastic pollution in their bodies. authors: | ||
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Ebola responders persevere in the DRC as Uganda nears end of outbreak 03 Aug 2026 18:19:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: Several members of the Ebola response gathered on July 15, 2026, outside the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to protest their working conditions. Demonstrators said they had not received their risk allowances for several weeks, payments that are supposed to be made by the Congolese government. “It’s outrageous for such a high-risk job,” Robert Uyergiu Mambo, a community leader and French teacher in Bunia, Ituri province, told Mongabay by phone. Although he is not officially part of the Ebola response, his position within the Alur community, an ethnic group living in northwestern Uganda and northeastern DRC, has made him an important local ally. Uyergiu Mambo, a volunteer host on the community radio station Radio Terra FM, which states it has an audience of five million listeners, said he was frustrated with the situation, but not surprised. “It’s common for government employees to go unpaid for long periods. Recently, the minister [Samuel Roger Kamba, minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare] came here and managed to calm tensions, but there has been a lot of frustration among Ebola response workers lately and protests have continued one after another,” he said. “If nothing changes, the protests will continue. The problem is that it is paralyzing the response.” It is not unusual for Congolese civil servants to work for months without receiving their salaries, a situation that has long fueled corruption across the country. It was a part of life even under Mobutu Sese Seko,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Community leaders and local radio stations are fighting widespread misinformation, while resistance to safe burials has fueled attacks on Ebola treatment facilities. - The current Ebola outbreak has become the fastest-growing outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 3,360 reported cases and nearly 1,487 deaths in about two and a half months. - Aid workers say funding cuts have weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and logistics at a time when the response is already constrained by armed conflict. - According to WHO, in Uganda, the last confirmed patient was discharged from care on July 16, and the 42-day with no new Ebola cases countdown necessary to declare the end of that country’s outbreak has started. authors: | ||
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Nicaragua’s gold boom is now encroaching on protected areas and Indigenous land 03 Aug 2026 15:30:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nicaraguas-gold-boom-is-now-encroaching-on-protected-areas-and-indigenous-land/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: In Nicaragua, the mining sector has steadily grown over the last two decades, with gold becoming a top export and a pillar of the national economy. For most of that time, the growth was gradual. But in more recent years, there’s been an unprecedented boom, with the creation of dozens of mining concessions and a rush of new legislation to attract foreign companies. The boom coincides with Nicaragua’s increasing economic and political isolation. President Daniel Ortega has cracked down on dissent and cancelled elections, prompting countries like the U.S. and Canada to issue sanctions against numerous officials and institutions, making it difficult for them to trade and carry out other international business. With the price of gold on the rise, the government has turned to mining for economic stability. That decision has been disastrous for the environment and Indigenous communities, critics say. Mining concessions have started encroaching on protected areas and ancestral territory, threatening pollution, deforestation, and the displacement of residents, among other issues. “From 2022 and on, there’s been an incredible boom in the number of concessions granted,” said Carmen Corea-Sánchez, lead author of a new report from community-based Indigenous group Wangki and other researchers. A golden age of mining Ortega held office in the late 1980s and took power again in 2007, ushering in a massive investment in the mining sector, largely propelled by Chinese interest in the country and Latin America more broadly. In 2006, the year before he returned to office, Nicaragua exported 109,200 ounces of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mining concessions have begun to encroach on protected areas and Indigenous and Afro-descendant territory, the result of a mining boom that began in 2022, according to a new investigation from community-based Indigenous group Wangki. - Since 1994, Nicaragua has granted 213 mining concessions covering more than 2.4 million hectares (5.9 million acres), representing approximately 20% of the country’s total land area. A significant portion of that — 113 of the concessions — has only been granted in the last three years. - The Nicaraguan government has signed trade agreements, passed new laws, and revised environmental regulations to help accelerate the expansion of the mining sector, especially by Chinese companies. - Pollution and deforestation from mining threaten ancestral traditions, and make it harder to practice subsistence farming and find clean drinking water, the investigation said. authors: | ||
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Documentary captures impacts of diamond mining along South Africa’s West Coast 03 Aug 2026 15:27:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: Stretching 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Cape Columbine, two hours north of Cape Town, to the Orange River which marks the country’s natural border with Namibia, South Africa’s West Coast is vast, remote and sparsely populated and, moving north, characterized by a harsh, arid climate. In the very north, not far inland, lies the Richtersveld, which is the only remaining area in South Africa where the Nama people maintain their semi-nomadic traditions. It is also home to an extraordinary range of succulents and plant diversity, some only occurring there. The Richtersveld region, parts of which were declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2007, is a unique biodiversity hotspot and has one of the highest density of succulent species. The region is rich not just in diamonds, but also other mineral deposits whose presence has turned the region into one of South Africa’s most intensively mined landscapes over the past century. A new documentary, Out of Mined, examines the legacy of mining along the West Coast at a time when the region is facing a renewed interest from the mining sector for its heavy minerals, found in terrestrial reserves, but also in heavy mineral sands along the coast and as offshore deposits. The entrance of a diamond mine in Hondeklipbaai that closed its doors in the early 2000’s; many local people lost their jobs and livelihoods. Image courtesy of Gary van Wyk. Cape Town-based director Arthur Neumeier started working on Out of Mined after social media posts about a wave…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A documentary explores the legacy of mining along South Africa West Coast and its impacts on coastal ecosystems and the local population. - The West Coast, an area stretching 450 kilometers up to the Namibian border, has historically been a hotspot for diamond mining. - Out of Mined features the voices of the Indigenous Nama peoples, fishing communities and conservationists who live with the long-term impacts of the extractive industries. - The region is now facing a new wave of mining applications, mostly targeting heavy minerals. authors: | ||
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Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees. Keeping them alive will be harder 03 Aug 2026 11:11:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bangladesh-plans-to-plant-250-million-trees-keeping-them-alive-will-be-harder/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years to expand green cover, restore damaged ecosystems, and support its climate and biodiversity commitments, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The government expects ministries, the army, local authorities, schools, and development groups to carry out much of the work through their existing budgets. The largest allocation, 100 million saplings, is intended for 17 coastal districts. Officials say they hope new mangrove cover will reduce erosion and provide greater protection from cyclones and tidal surges. Another 50 million trees are planned for degraded forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet, and the central sal belt. Urban areas are due to receive 12.5 million trees, with the rest divided among riverbanks, wetlands, roadsides, public offices, and educational institutions. Officials say the tree species to be planted will be selected according to local conditions. Keora (Sonneratia apetala) is proposed for coastal areas, while garjan (Dipterocarpus turbinatus) and other locally adapted species would be used in hill forests. Fruit trees may be planted where communities need a faster financial return. Bangladesh banned new planting of eucalyptus and acacia — nonnative species — in 2025 because of concerns about invasiveness and water use. Supplying enough healthy saplings will be difficult. Government nurseries produce about 7.5 million a year, well below the program’s average annual requirement of 50 million. Private nurseries will therefore provide much of the stock, and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years to expand green cover, restore damaged ecosystems, and support its climate and biodiversity commitments, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The government expects ministries, the army, local authorities, […] authors: | ||
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Rare living stone plant, found in a tiny area in Namibia, is critically endangered 03 Aug 2026 10:45:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/rare-living-stone-plant-found-in-a-tiny-area-in-namibia-is-critically-endangered/ author: Laura Oliver dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: In a small area of Namibia’s Erongo Mountains, a tiny, pebble-like plant grows on a very thin layer of gravel. This succulent, Lithops werneri, is found in just one tiny 4 square-kilometer (1.5 square-mile) area, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. With more than an 80% decline in its population since 1981 and fewer than 200 plants remaining in the wild, the species was listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List in February 2026. Sonja Loots, manager of the Threatened Plants Programme at Namibia’s National Botanical Research Institute, told Mongabay by email that the plant “has always had a restricted range”. After it was first scientifically described in the 1950s, the succulent was “heavily harvested for the horticulture market in Europe”, she said. “Since then it was searched for numerous times by several succulent enthusiasts, but additional populations were never discovered.” The plant was even once thought to be extinct, but was found again in the original location in 2012, Soots said. A census in 2012 recorded 659 plants, according to the IUCN, but subsequent surveys found only 118 plants in 2019 and 163 in 2020. Lithops are a group of dwarf succulents, commonly called living stones or pebble plants, found across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. These plants only grow on certain rocky outcrops and typically have just a single pair of water-storing succulent leaves attached to some roots, Loots said. L. werneri grows in a very thin layer of gravel, approximately 2 centimeters…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In a small area of Namibia’s Erongo Mountains, a tiny, pebble-like plant grows on a very thin layer of gravel. This succulent, Lithops werneri, is found in just one tiny 4 square-kilometer (1.5 square-mile) area, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. With more than an 80% decline in its population since 1981 […] authors: | ||
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As Indonesia’s new capital rises, the sounds of Borneo’s rainforest are changing 03 Aug 2026 10:20:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/as-indonesias-new-capital-rises-the-sounds-of-borneos-rainforest-are-changing/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: As Indonesia constructs its new capital, Nusantara, in the mountains of East Kalimantan in Borneo, the roar of chainsaws interrupts the rainforest sounds that have long been part of the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Balik community. New documentary, Sound Guardians, a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American and Project Multatuli, follows efforts by scientists and local residents to capture this shift in sounds. Former President Joko Widodo spearheaded moving Indonesia’s administrative center away from Jakarta, the world’s fastest-sinking city. Experts estimate that one-third of Jakarta could be underwater by 2050 owing to sea-level rise and excess groundwater pumping. Official marketing describes Nusantara as a “smart forest city” projected for completion by 2045. Wendy Erb, a bioacoustic scientist from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the U.S., who has worked in Kalimantan for a decade, is leading the work to record the sounds of the forested landscape as the capital gets built. Her team has recorded sounds in diverse areas, from mountain tops to mangroves and caves. Erb describes this data as a “time capsule” that allows for comparisons as the environment changes with rapid economic growth and construction. This data could potentially show places where wildlife is being displaced, Erb suggests in the film. “Maybe those are places where more investment could be made in conservation efforts,” Erb said. “The question is, can we tune our ears?” Erb adds. “Can we pay attention? Can we notice when the natural world is feeling a little sick?” For Abidin, a member of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: As Indonesia constructs its new capital, Nusantara, in the mountains of East Kalimantan in Borneo, the roar of chainsaws interrupts the rainforest sounds that have long been part of the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Balik community. New documentary, Sound Guardians, a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American and Project Multatuli, follows efforts by scientists and […] authors: | ||
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How rescued orangutans are rebuilding a new wild population in Sumatra 03 Aug 2026 10:09:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/how-rescued-orangutans-are-rebuilding-a-new-wild-population-in-sumatra/ author: Sandy Watt dc:creator: Nanang SujanaSandy Watt content:encoded: Sumatra — Fifteen years ago, Jantho Pine Forest Nature Reserve in Indonesia’s western Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, had no orangutans. Today, it is home to a growing wild population, built almost entirely from rescued and relocated animals. Since 2011, conservationists from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme have brought nearly 200 Sumatran orangutans to Jantho after they were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade or relocated from areas where deforestation and expanding agriculture had brought them into conflict with people. The reserve’s vast, protected forests offered a rare opportunity to establish a new population in a habitat capable of supporting the species for generations. Returning orangutans to the wild is never simple: Some rescued apes spend years relearning the skills they would normally acquire from their mothers, while others must adapt to unfamiliar forests after being relocated. Not every reintroduction succeeds, but efforts in Jantho are proving remarkably successful. Researchers have confirmed that at least 10 orangutans have been born in the reserve, with the possibility of more that remain undetected in the dense forest. These births are a sign that this once-empty forest is becoming a self-sustaining home for one of the world’s most endangered great apes. Success, however, depends on more than rehabilitating orangutans. Like many protected forests across Southeast Asia, Jantho faces growing pressure from human activity at its borders. Protecting this emerging population means safeguarding the forests and rivers upon which both wildlife and surrounding communities rely. Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Sumatra — Fifteen years ago, Jantho Pine Forest Nature Reserve in Indonesia’s western Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, had no orangutans. Today, it is home to a growing wild population, built almost entirely from rescued and relocated animals. Since 2011, conservationists from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme have brought nearly 200 Sumatran orangutans […] authors: | ||
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PUMA FEST and the community Mongabay Latam has helped build 03 Aug 2026 09:44:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/puma-fest-and-the-community-mongabay-latam-has-helped-build/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. When Mongabay Latam began publishing in 2016, the aim was to establish a sustained environmental news service for Spanish-speaking Latin America. The newsroom would be led by editors in the region, work with journalists who understood the places they covered, and develop its own editorial priorities in response to local conditions. Over the decade that followed, Mongabay Latam’s staff and contributors built that newsroom. They developed a daily news service covering forests, oceans, wildlife, science, Indigenous rights, environmental crime, and the people responding to ecological change. They formed more than 90 partnerships with national newspapers, regional publications, and independent media, allowing stories to reach audiences far beyond Mongabay’s own platforms. Photo by Mongabay Latam. Mongabay Latam team at Puma Fest. Photo by Mongabay Latam. The team also built the relationships and expertise required for more ambitious investigations. Working with organizations including CLIP, Animal Político, Rutas del Conflicto, Plaza Pública, and El Espectador, Mongabay Latam has investigated illegal mining, land grabbing, wildlife trafficking, deforestation, and the role of organized crime in some of the region’s most threatened landscapes. Last month in Bogotá, the strength of what the team has created was visible in another form. To mark its tenth anniversary, Mongabay Latam hosted PUMA FEST, a gathering organized with Fundación Gabo ahead of the 14th Gabo Festival. Around 700 people registered, and 400 attended in person. Journalists, editors, Indigenous communicators, students, scientists, and other…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mongabay Latam marked its tenth anniversary with PUMA FEST, a Bogotá gathering that drew 400 participants for talks, workshops, and collaboration on environmental reporting. - The newsroom is led by editors in Latin America and works with journalists across the region, developing coverage and editorial priorities in response to local conditions. - Its wider contribution includes more than 90 media partnerships, the Puma Network, and training for Indigenous journalists from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. - During the Gabo Festival, the team also staged Los Vuelos de la Muerte, adapting its award-winning investigation into clandestine airstrips in the Peruvian Amazon for the theater. authors: | ||
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Introduced fish thrive amid Kasmir’s freshwater habitat degradation 03 Aug 2026 05:33:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/introduced-fish-thrive-amid-kasmirs-freshwater-habitat-degradation/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Hashim Quraishi content:encoded: Native fish in the lakes and rivers of India’s Kashmir Valley are under increasing pressure from pollution, habitat loss, dam construction and other human activities, a recent review finds. These same threats are also likely giving exotic fish introduced to these freshwater habitats an edge, researchers say. “Our indigenous fishes are becoming vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered, while the introduced fishes are flourishing,” Durdana Qazi, co-author of the review and a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Fisheries, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K), told Mongabay. Kashmir’s lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands are home to native cold-water fishes such as snow trout (Schizothorax spp.), locally known as Kasher gaad, the birdi loach (Botia birdi), locally called Rama gurun, and Kashmir catfish (Glyptothorax kashmirensis). Over the past century, however, several non-native species have been introduced to these freshwater ecosystems. These include the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which were introduced to improve fish production because they grow quickly, are commercially valuable and are easier to culture. The review finds that several native fish species are already under threat of extinction. The Kashmir catfish is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Two species of snow trouts are classified as vulnerable, while the golden mahseer (Tor putitora) is endangered. The conservation status of some snow trouts, including S. niger, and the birdi loach, haven’t yet been evaluated, meaning we don’t know the details of their population trends or what threats…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Native fish in the lakes and rivers of India’s Kashmir Valley are under increasing pressure from pollution, habitat loss, dam construction and other human activities, a recent review finds. These same threats are also likely giving exotic fish introduced to these freshwater habitats an edge, researchers say. “Our indigenous fishes are becoming vulnerable, endangered and […] authors: | ||
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David Page wrote about the mountains and worked to protect them 01 Aug 2026 15:59:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/david-page-wrote-about-the-mountains-and-worked-to-protect-them/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: A backcountry ski run can depend on decisions made years before the snow falls. Forest plans determine where motorized vehicles may travel. Congressional appropriations affect whether trails are maintained and land-management agencies can enforce their rules. Public meetings give skiers, snowmobilers, conservationists, and local residents a chance to argue over how mountains should be used. David Page knew this work in detail. He also knew how to describe what it felt like to move through those mountains. Page, the executive director of Winter Wildlands Alliance, died on July 7th in a multi-vehicle crash on Teton Pass in Wyoming. He was 57. Rio, the family dog who often accompanied him outdoors, died in the accident as well. He had come to conservation advocacy through writing. Raised in Denver, he studied history and Spanish literature at Dartmouth, comparative literature at Berkeley, and creative writing at the University of California, Irvine. He wrote for the New York Times, Men’s Journal, Skiing, and other publications, and became a senior correspondent for POWDER. His guide to Yosemite and the southern Sierra Nevada went through three editions. His articles were closely reported and attentive to the people in them. “The Human Factor,” an examination of the decisions that lead experienced skiers into avalanche danger, was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2015. It was later used in avalanche courses. Another article described the immigrant workers whose labor sustains many ski towns. He also wrote about major descents, disappearing whitebark pines, solitary skiers, remote slopes,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - David Page, executive director of Winter Wildlands Alliance, died at 57 when a dump truck whose brakes had failed struck his car on Teton Pass; his dog, Rio, also died in the crash. - An award-winning writer and longtime POWDER contributor, Page wrote closely reported stories about avalanche risk, immigrant workers in ski towns, mountain communities, and the landscapes of the American West. - He joined Winter Wildlands Alliance in 2016 and became executive director in 2022, working on national forest planning, winter travel rules, conservation funding, and public participation in land-management decisions. - Page lived in Mammoth Lakes with his wife, Allison, and built his life around family, skiing, music, dogs, and the Sierra Nevada; fuller accounts of his life appear in “Remembering David Page” and “Remembering David Page: A Writer Who Helped Define POWDER.” authors: | ||
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Land records reveal how Mennonites are reshaping Belize’s forests 31 Jul 2026 18:45:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/land-records-reveal-how-mennonites-are-reshaping-belizes-forests/ author: Andy Lehren dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: SPANISH LOOKOUT, Belize — When the Mennonite community here purchased a property four years ago in the middle of the Maya Forest Corridor, a government-recognized stretch of land designed to connect forests in the region, conservation groups were concerned. Community members began clearing land before completing an environmental impact assessment, resulting in fires and pollution, according to one report. In addition, Mennonites beat a conservation coalition that had also wanted to purchase the land for the corridor. The battle for that piece of real estate is just one example of how Mennonites conduct business in Belize, and how those moves have led to extensive deforestation. The small Central American country, flanked by Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea, is about the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey, but its dense jungle is now much smaller than it once was. The nation lost around 20% of its forest cover between 2001 and 2025 — more than 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres), similar to the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Much of the deforestation in Belize has been tied to Mennonites, the conservative and largely insular Christian denomination that began migrating to Belize more than six decades ago, cutting down the rainforest to establish new colonies. While reports documenting Mennonites and deforestation are common, far less understood is the corporate machinery they’ve put in place for this expansion. Mongabay conducted extensive interviews and reviewed dozens of land records to better understand the way Mennonites became one of the most prolific land…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mennonites have become some of the most prolific land buyers in Belize, acquiring large properties and making bids faster than competitors. But who owns what land isn’t always clear. - To better understand the land management process, a Mongabay investigation gained access to records in deforested and degraded areas in and around Mennonite communities throughout Belize. - The documents show that the communities use trusts and churches to acquire and collectively manage land, allowing them to transfer property internally and tap collective resources to purchase more. - At the same time, Belizeans living in and around Mennonite communities often occupy much smaller plots of land, surviving off subsistence crops or working at Mennonite-owned businesses. authors: | ||
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Coral reef experts press on, with climate looming over international conference 31 Jul 2026 18:34:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/coral-reef-experts-press-on-with-climate-looming-over-international-conference/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Edward Carver content:encoded: AUCKLAND — Lest anyone think scientific conferences must be staid affairs, the International Coral Reefs Symposium closed with inspiration from none other than U.S. rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, known for revolutionary lyrics in the 1990s: “It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better time than now? All hell can’t stop us now!” Christian Voolstra, a professor at the University of Konstanz in Germany and president of the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS), which organizes the conference, choked up as he read those lyrics at the closing ceremony, as did this reporter. Reflections on how conference participants could address the many threats to coral reefs, including seas that are becoming hotter and more acidic due to climate change, had punctuated the program of more narrowly focused presentations on research and conservation practice during the conference, held July 19-24 in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. This 16th iteration of the conference, which takes place every four years, drew more than 2,100 participants from more than 90 countries, including coral reef scientists, conservationists, policymakers and community leaders. (Previous ICRS conferences held in locations nearer to Global North research hubs drew even more people.) Recurring themes in conference discussions included how much to focus on climate mitigation, how to characterize and communicate the current condition of coral reefs, and how to empower Indigenous communities and integrate their knowledge systems. A reef off Komodo Island in Indonesia. Image courtesy of Greg Asner/divephoto.org. Prioritizing climate?…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Coral reef scientists, conservationists, policymakers and community leaders from more than 90 countries met July 19-24 at the International Coral Reefs Symposium in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. - Participants discussed how to combat the drivers of climate change, how to characterize and communicate the current condition of coral reefs, and how to empower Indigenous communities and integrate their knowledge systems, among other topics. - During the week of the conference, a new U.S.-based coral reef research center was launched and the first-ever high-resolution mapping of living corals for the Pacific Ocean was announced. - The next International Coral Reef Symposium will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2030. authors: | ||
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Drifting tuna fishing gear enter half of marine protected areas: study 31 Jul 2026 17:21:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/drifting-tuna-fishing-gear-enter-half-of-marine-protected-areas-study-finds/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Keith Anthony Fabro content:encoded: Marine protected areas (MPAs) may prohibit industrial fishing within their boundaries, but they cannot stop fishing gear released elsewhere from drifting inside. A new global study estimates that drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) used by industrial tuna fleets affect more than half of the world’s protected marine areas. Some travel thousands of kilometers before sinking or washing ashore, where they can damage coral reefs, entangle wildlife and leave coastal communities with the burden of removing the debris. Published in Science Advances in June 2026, the study combined fishing records, published research, an online survey of MPA staff and experts, and follow-up interviews to assess the global distribution, strandings and impacts of drifting FADs in MPAs. “We were surprised to find that FADs appear to affect more than half of the world’s protected marine area, and that impacts often occurred thousands of kilometers from the original fishing grounds,” study co-author Boris Worm, a marine ecologist at Dalhousie University in Canada, told Mongabay by email. A purse seiner attached to a FAD catches a school of tuna in the Western Central Pacific. Image © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace. Fishing gear does not respect boundaries dFADs are floating rafts deployed by purse-seine fishing vessels — industrial boats that encircle schools of tuna with large nets — to attract skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). The devices carry satellite-linked buoys and echo sounders that allow companies to track them and estimate the fish below. But many are later deactivated,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A global study estimates that drifting fish aggregating devices, or dFADs, affect more than half of the world’s protected marine area. - Researchers documented at least 6,324 dFAD strandings across 174 protected areas in 53 maritime jurisdictions over a period spanning 2007-2023. - The analysis found no clear evidence that fishing fleets systematically concentrate dFAD fishing around large marine protected areas. - Researchers and an independent fisheries expert are calling for stronger limits on dFAD deployments, better tracking and for companies to have greater responsibility for retrieving lost devices. authors: | ||
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Climate shocks hit hydropower in Southern Africa, reviving interest in coal 31 Jul 2026 14:19:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Chisapi Kumbutso content:encoded: LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused water levels in Lake Kariba, formed by a dam on Zambezi River, to drop, drastically reducing electricity generation. It precipitated one of the region’s worst energy crises in decades. Against this backdrop, coal re-emerged as an attractive, although controversial, option. According to the Global Energy Monitor’s Boom and Bust Coal 2026 report, Zambia and Zimbabwe accounted for more than two-thirds of all new coal power proposals announced in Africa in 2025. Some energy experts argue that coal offers the quickest route to stabilizing electricity supplies and sustaining industrial growth, particularly for the mining sector. Electricity systems in Zimbabwe and Zambia power mining activities, industries and help meet the needs of growing urban populations. However, others warn that expanding coal-fired power risks locking both countries into decades of carbon emissions at a time when renewable energy technologies — especially solar — are becoming increasingly affordable. For Zimbabwe, however, coal has never completely disappeared from that country’s energy landscape. Power Shift Africa Campaigns Manager Kudakwashe Manjonjo said Zimbabwe’s reliance on coal is rooted in history. “Zimbabwe has always been a significant coal-producing country. I live in Hwange, home to one of the largest coal mines on the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Prolonged droughts, especially those linked to the 2023–24 El Niño, exposed the vulnerability of Zambia and Zimbabwe’s hydropower-dependent electricity systems, triggering severe power shortages and renewing interest in coal. - While coal is viewed as a short-term solution to stabilize electricity supplies and support industrialization, it could undermine Paris Agreement commitments, lock in carbon emissions and reduce export competitiveness as trade rules that put a cost on carbon emissions come into play. - Households and businesses in Zimbabwe are increasingly investing in rooftop solar, demonstrating that decentralized renewable energy is becoming a practical response to unreliable grid electricity. - Although solar power is becoming more cost-effective, limited access to finance and policies that continue to favor fossil fuels are slowing the transition to cleaner, climate-resilient energy systems across Southern Africa. authors: | ||
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Sri Lanka prepares for impending El Niño with traditional and new approaches 31 Jul 2026 13:05:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Kamanthi Wickramasinghe content:encoded: COLOMBO — Even though Sri Lankan authorities are preparing to face an impending El Niño phenomenon, Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Suwandarathne feels that the country may not be impacted as forecasted. A second generation farmer from Thalangama in the Colombo District, Suwandarathne knows about weather and has been leading an agricultural revolution by promoting the cultivation of heirloom varieties of rice. According to him, it is normal to experience a dry spell between July and September as forecasted. This period coincides with the Yala season, one of two paddy harvesting seasons in Sri Lanka. “By August, the dry period begins, and we need a dry season to obtain the harvest,” he told Mongabay. “We then conduct culturally significant events praying for rains. This is the cycle during the Yala season. Then again from December to March, there’s a drought season, which coincides with the Maha season. Long dry spells occur every four to seven years. But now, we have changed these harvesting cycles,” he said. The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) monthly global seasonal climate update indicates an 80% probability of a rapid development into a strong El Niño event between July and September 2026. WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo said that it would “intensify chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world.” “When going by initial predictions, the time period for developing a very strong El Niño was between November 2026 and January 2027,” Ajith Wijemannage, head of the Meteorology…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - According to traditional Sri Lankan paddy farmers, long dry spells have occurred every four to seven years. - Sri Lanka has experienced around 25-26 El Niño events from 1950 to date, out of which only three have been strong El Niño events, meteorology department officials say. - The irrigation department has introduced new water-saving techniques such as alternative wetting and drying to preserve excess water during the forecasted dry season. - Attempts are also being made to integrate science into decision making, but there are gaps in research due to a lack of access to information, academics say. authors: | ||
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Climate change boosted Spain wildfire risk 20-fold, research shows 31 Jul 2026 05:33:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/climate-change-boosted-spain-wildfire-risk-20-fold-research-shows/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Human-induced climate change drastically fueled the weather behind recent devastating wildfires in France and Spain, according to a new rapid analysis by researchers studying the role of climate change on today’s extreme weather. In its report, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers, noted that severe blazes scorched 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres) in Spain and more than 115,000 hectares (284,000 acres) in France, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee. The researchers found that “tinderbox conditions” that favor fires, including extreme heat waves and unusually low rainfall, are at least twice as likely in southwestern France and at least 20 times more likely in central Spain in today’s climate than during the preindustrial climate. (Average temperatures back then, before the advent of large-scale greenhouse gas emissions, were 1.4° Celsius (2.52° Fahrenheit) cooler.) These figures are considered conservative estimates, the researchers said. In today’s climatic conditions, the report said, fires of the intensity seen in July are expected every 20 years in southwestern France and every six years in central Spain. The analysis found that a critical driver of the wildfires was above-average winter rainfall that spurred lush vegetation growth, followed by an exceptionally dry spring and summer that turned that biomass into highly flammable fuel. “Relentless heat — fuelled by human-caused climate change — has created the conditions for sparks to take hold and become massive, dangerous wildfires,” report co-author Clair Barnes, a research associate at Imperial College London, said in a press release. The analysis also…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Human-induced climate change drastically fueled the weather behind recent devastating wildfires in France and Spain, according to a new rapid analysis by researchers studying the role of climate change on today’s extreme weather. In its report, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers, noted that severe blazes scorched 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres) […] authors: | ||
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Central African Republic’s Dzanga-Sangha tests the promise of wildlife tourism 31 Jul 2026 05:14:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/central-african-republics-dzanga-sangha-tests-the-promise-of-wildlife-tourism/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around Dzanga-Sangha National Park, speaking with researchers, conservationists, community members, and park officials. What we heard was not quite reflected in the usual narrative. Bayanga, the town at the park’s edge, has seen a modest rise in visitors. Dzanga Bai, where forest elephants gather in high densities within the park, and a population of habituated lowland gorillas, remain the main draws. According to local officials, around 800 tourists visited in 2025, a small figure by global standards, but meaningful locally. “There is growth,” said Gervais Pamongui, a deputy director of the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas. He attributed this to both the site itself and a degree of stability that has held in the region. Others made similar points, though often with caveats. A tour guide, Léonce Madomi, described the country’s reputation for insecurity as “both true and false,” noting that Bayanga has largely avoided the disruptions seen elsewhere. Lodges report steadier business. Guides and trackers have more consistent work. Some residents point to income that supports school fees or medical care. Yet the gains are uneven and limited in scale. Tourism employs a narrow slice of the population, and basic constraints remain, from poor roads to food…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around […] authors: | ||
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Palm oil expansion reignites decade-old Indigenous land conflict in Indonesia 31 Jul 2026 03:49:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/palm-oil-expansion-reignites-decade-old-indigenous-land-conflict-in-indonesia/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Hans Nicholas JongNiken D. Sitoningrum content:encoded: JAKARTA — Two palm oil companies embroiled in a long-running land dispute with an Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo have resumed the clearing of rainforest and other land to expand their plantations for the first time in more than a decade. In June 2025, the Indigenous Dayak Benuaq community of Muara Tae reported that the two companies — PT Borneo Surya Mining Jaya (BSMJ), owned by Singapore-listed First Resources, and PT Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa (MWJP), a subsidiary of Malaysia-owned TSH Resources — had restarted land clearing and evictions in what the community says is its ancestral territory. The latest activities mark a new chapter in one of Indonesia’s highest-profile land conflicts involving the palm oil industry, which Mongabay covered in an in-depth report in 2015. Eviction activity using heavy equipment by PT BSMJ as of 2 June 2026 (c) Kaoem Telapak The dispute dates back to 2011-2012, when BSMJ and MWJP began bulldozing rainforest in an area claimed by Muara Tae, a village in West Kutai district, East Kalimantan province. The companies say they bought leasehold rights from residents of Muara Ponak, a village next to Muara Tae. But Muara Tae has contended the companies colluded with individuals in Muara Ponak who fraudulently signed away hundreds of hectares of Muara Tae’s communally held land, in exchange for hundreds of millions of rupiah in compensation. The district government facilitated the transactions by redrawing the Tae-Ponak border, increasing the latter’s territory at the expense of the former. The district chief at…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Two palm oil companies have resumed clearing forest in a long-disputed Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo, more than a decade after international pressure halted operations. - The Dayak Benuaq community of Muara Tae says the companies are clearing its ancestral land without its consent, while the companies maintain they legally acquired the land from a neighboring village. - Community members say the renewed clearing is destroying regenerating forest and farms central to their livelihoods, despite years of advocacy, international recognition, and an unresolved complaint to the RSPO, the top certifier of sustainable palm oil. - Advocates say the dispute exposes persistent weaknesses in Indonesia’s recognition of Indigenous land rights, allowing companies to rely on administrative boundaries that communities say override customary ownership. authors: | ||
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World Ranger Day: Justice for the protectors of the wild 31 Jul 2026 03:14:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/world-ranger-day-justice-for-the-protectors-of-the-wild/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: July 31 is World Ranger Day, which celebrates the work rangers do for the natural world and commemorates those killed or injured in the line of duty. Among them was Anton Mzimba, head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, where he had served for 25 years. On July 26, 2022, Mzimba was shot dead outside his home by two men, allegedly in connection with his rhino protection work. Four years later, the case remains open, with no arrests made. “If a ranger of Anton’s standing and integrity can be killed for doing work that serves the greater good, and there are still no consequences for the people who perpetrated this crime, what confidence does that inspire in the men and women holding the line on the front lines of conservation?” John Jurko II, lead director of a documentary about Mzimba titled Rhino Man, told Mongabay by email. In 2024, Jurko II launched a “Justice for Anton Mzimba” campaign to help speed up the investigation. Mzimba’s killing is being investigated by the Hawks, a specialized unit within the South African Police Service. Hawks typically investigate organized crime and police murders, but took over Mzimba’s case because of its links to rhino poaching and an ongoing investigation, according to Nico J. Gerber, the police general who heads the Hawks in Mpumalanga province, where Mzimba was killed. Gerber told Mongabay by email the case “has progressed well” and the case file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which decides whether…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: July 31 is World Ranger Day, which celebrates the work rangers do for the natural world and commemorates those killed or injured in the line of duty. Among them was Anton Mzimba, head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, where he had served for 25 years. On July 26, 2022, Mzimba was […] authors: | ||
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Listening offers a clearer picture of India’s hidden finless porpoises 31 Jul 2026 02:54:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/listening-offers-a-clearer-picture-of-indias-hidden-finless-porpoises/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise is one of India’s smallest cetaceans, inhabits turbid coastal waters, and lacks a dorsal fin — all of which make it a difficult species for researchers to spot. Recent research suggests these animals are far more prevalent in Indian waters than visual sightings suggest, yet they may be disappearing before they can be accurately counted, reports contributor Mansab Sayyad for Mongabay India. A fully grown Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) measures 1.5-1.9 meters (4.9-6.2 feet) in length and weighs about 30-45 kilograms (77-88 pounds). It’s highly inconspicuous: it has a blunt, rounded head, no dorsal fin, and occupies shallow, muddy waters, surfacing only briefly. But the finless porpoise can be “heard”. It navigates turbid waters by echolocation, emitting high-frequency pulses that are unique to the species and far above the range of human hearing — but detectable by specialized sound-recording devices. In 2025, a study counted finless porpoises using both visual and acoustic surveys off the Sindhudurg coast, north of Goa state. The acoustic surveys detected finless porpoises four times more often than visual surveys. Lead author Isha Bopardikar, from the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati and Cornell University’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, said relying on visual estimates in Indian waters is a significant drawback due to limited visibility and the animal’s brief surfacing. This means that population assessments that only use conventional visual sightings from boats may be capturing only part of the picture. Understanding the population trends…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise is one of India’s smallest cetaceans, inhabits turbid coastal waters, and lacks a dorsal fin — all of which make it a difficult species for researchers to spot. Recent research suggests these animals are far more prevalent in Indian waters than visual sightings suggest, yet they may be disappearing before they […] authors: | ||
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US declines to protect endangered monkeys used in medical research 31 Jul 2026 01:29:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/us-declines-to-protect-endangered-monkeys-used-in-medical-research/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most recent decision was announced on July 14, 2026. Such a listing would have restricted the primate’s import for biomedical research, one of the biggest threats to its population. Mongabay asked FWS for comment but did not receive a response by publication. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) can live in a wide variety of habitats, from riverbanks and mangroves to rainforests and, even, cities. Despite their adaptability, populations of the medium-sized primates have declined sharply due to habitat loss, climate change, hunting and trade, primarily for biomedical research, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. A 2025 study found that macaques poached from the wild are likely supplementing the breeding farms in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam that supply laboratories abroad. Lisa Jones-Engel, chief scientific advisor for primate experimentation with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said trapping macaques for medical testing is the biggest factor in their population decline. “Because habitat change, climate change — these animals are so fabulously adaptable, they could roll with that,” Jones-Engel told Mongabay in a video call. She said entire troops of long-tailed macaques are captured from the wild, including infants and breeding females, and sold to breeding…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most […] authors: | ||
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Before giant meat producer JBS expands to Nigeria, people deserve answers (commentary) 31 Jul 2026 00:17:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Felix Horne content:encoded: Nigeria may soon become the site of one of the largest livestock investments in its history. JBS, the world’s largest meat company, is pursuing a reported $2.5 billion investment that could reshape parts of the country’s agricultural sector. The proposal has been welcomed by many for its potential economic benefits, but before it moves forward, Nigerians deserve clear answers about what it could mean for communities, land, water, and the climate. Much of the discussion around the project has focused on jobs, agricultural development, food security, and economic opportunity. Those are important goals. But there is another dimension that deserves far greater scrutiny: Methane. JBS is not simply the world’s largest meat producer. It is also responsible for more methane emissions than ExxonMobil and Shell combined, according to estimates published by Greenpeace in 2024. JBS undoubtedly disputes these figures, but the broader point is difficult to ignore: When measured by climate impact, the world’s largest livestock companies increasingly belong in the same conversation as the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. Methane rarely attracts the same public attention as carbon dioxide, yet it is responsible for roughly a third of the warming the world is experiencing today. Because it traps far more heat than carbon dioxide over the short term, cutting methane emissions is widely seen as one of the fastest ways to slow near-term climate change. Much of the public debate focuses on oil and gas. But industrial livestock production is also a major source, accounting for much of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The world’s largest meat company is pursuing a $2.5 billion investment that could reshape Nigeria’s agricultural sector. - Critics are calling for greater transparency about this plan and point to JBS’ legacy in the Amazon of deforestation, land grabbing, forced labor, invasions of Indigenous territories, intimidation and violence against small-scale farmers, among other concerns. - “The central issue is not whether Nigeria should welcome investment, but whether a project of this scale will be subjected to the level of transparency, scrutiny, and due diligence needed to ensure that its benefits do not come with avoidable environmental and human rights costs,” argues an expert with Climate Rights International. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Wind farms join bottom trawlers and oil rigs in a protected North Sea sandbank 30 Jul 2026 20:28:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Christina Egerstrom content:encoded: In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting experts to call it the ecological heart of the North Sea. While much of Dogger Bank has been protected for its unique seabed habitat, destructive industrial activities like oil and gas extraction as well as fishing practices like bottom trawling have continued, even in the protected zones. Now, conservationists have notched a win with a recent court ruling that curtails bottom trawling in the Dutch protected section of Dogger Bank. But they say the threats continue, notably in the form of major wind farm developments rising in the U.K. protected section. A major difficulty in protecting a place as large as Dogger Bank, which spans 18,765 square kilometers (7,245 square miles), is that it’s divided into three separate marine protected areas (MPAs) managed by three different countries. The German section of Dogger Bank was the first to be protected, as a Natura 2000 site under the European Union’s Habitats Directive, in 2007. The Dutch section followed in 2009, and the U.K. section in 2012. Since then, the U.K. has left the EU and now manages its Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as part of its own network of protected areas. (The Danish section…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Dogger Bank is a vast, shallow sandbank in the North Sea that was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe, prompting experts to call it the ecological heart of the North Sea. - While much of Dogger Bank has been protected for its unique seabed habitat, destructive industrial activities like oil and gas extraction as well as fishing practices like bottom trawling have continued, even in the protected zones. - Now, conservationists have notched a win with a recent court ruling that curtails bottom trawling in Dogger Bank. - However, they say the threats continue, notably in the form of major wind farm developments rising in a protected area. authors: | ||
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Costa Rica banana plantation destroyed protected wetland, complaint alleges 30 Jul 2026 19:09:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/costa-rica-banana-plantation-destroyed-protected-wetland-complaint-alleges/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: A legal complaint in Costa Rica has alleged that a banana plantation destroyed parts of a protected wetland in Bananito Sur, located in the Valle La Estrella district in the central province of Limón. Workers on the La Paz banana plantation, owned by Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, cut down and burned vegetation inside an area listed on the country’s National Wetlands Registry, according to several complaints and a June 23 Supreme Court filing. In addition to environmental impacts, the dispute has raised questions about government transparency, with several agencies allegedly failing to provide information about what was happening in the area. “The government has to draw a line and say enough is enough, and stop the company. It hasn’t done that,” Marco Levy Virgo, president of the Association for the Development of Ecology, an environmental advocacy group, told Mongabay. Alleged destruction from the plantation. Image by Marco Levy Virgo. Banana plantations often require extensive pesticide use, as well as complex drainage systems with channels that transport water away from crops. Levy said he noticed damage related to that work at the start of the year. He submitted formal requests for information and technical data to the authorities, including the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). In April, MINAE’s Caribbean Hydrological Unit, responsible for managing the country’s largest watersheds, published two reports describing an agricultural drainage channel passing through the wetland from the plantation, with cutting and burning running parallel to it. The cleared area measured between…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A legal complaint in Costa Rica alleges that a banana plantation destroyed parts of a protected wetland in Bananito Sur, located in the Valle La Estrella district in the central province of Limón. - Workers on the La Paz banana plantation, owned by Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, cut down and burned vegetation, according to several complaints and court filings. - The area is a state-recognized palustrine wetland, located inland and unconnected to the ocean or rivers. It provides breeding areas for migratory birds and helps resupply the region’s aquifers. authors: | ||
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Researchers find ‘priority zones’ for yellow fever vaccination of golden lion tamarins 30 Jul 2026 16:35:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Alex Megerle content:encoded: After a two-hour drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro, you reach a special park dedicated to a special animal in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. There, you can take a guided tour through the green and perhaps catch a glimpse of vibrant orange: The pelage or furry coat of one of this region’s most famous resident, the golden lion tamarin. Between 2017 and 2019, a yellow fever epidemic killed roughly 30% of the population, leaving only 2,500 alive. This small, endangered monkey, which nearly went extinct in the 1970s, is relegated to fragmented forests in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 2% of their original territory, according to conservation nonprofit Save the Golden Lion Tamarin. But the tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) have made a significant recovery, rebounding to roughly 4,800 individuals according to a 2023 census. To better prepare for a possible outbreak in the future, a group of researchers wanted to find out how different environmental factors affected yellow fever transmission between tamarins. Their research identified high-risk areas, which could guide conservationists aiming to vaccinate the population against future epidemics. The golden lion tamarin, an endangered species, is found exclusively in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a seriously threatened biodiversity hotspot: only 7%-12% remains. Image by Themium via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). Mapping an outbreak Researchers compared mortality data from 2014-2016, before yellow fever struck, with more than 1,000 deaths that occurred during the outbreak in 2017-2019, information that was gathered by the nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association (known in Brazil…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Golden lion tamarins, an endangered species of monkey endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, are susceptible to yellow fever: An outbreak in 2017-2019 wiped out roughly 30% of the population. - A new study finds that certain environmental factors, including habitat connectivity and human population, were linked to higher numbers of deaths during the outbreak. - Scientists have identified areas where tamarins could be at high risk for yellow fever transmission, which could help guide vaccination efforts and help protect the monkeys in the event of another deadly outbreak. authors: | ||
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It’s time we recognize the roles of rangers — and prioritize their safety (commentary) 30 Jul 2026 15:34:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/its-time-we-recognize-the-roles-of-rangers-and-prioritize-their-safety-commentary/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Louise de Bruin content:encoded: It is always a tragedy when a ranger is injured in the line of duty. Sadly, it is a story we have come to know all too well: brave men and women head into the field each day, and on occasion, whether at the hands of armed groups, dangerous wildlife, or environmental emergencies, it goes horribly wrong. What is perhaps less considered, and something I have seen the effects of firsthand, is that not all rangers have access to the same levels of support if something does go haywire. This was the case earlier this month when, regrettably, two rangers were involved in a serious vehicle accident while on duty in Mozambique. Both were badly injured and required urgent medical care. Yet what happened afterward was very different for each of them. One was enrolled in the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA’s) RangerProtect, an insurance scheme that covers medical treatment and evacuation for rangers injured in the field. The other was not. While both were rescued quickly and treated at the nearest suitable medical facility, the ranger without that cover faced far more limited options for his ongoing care and recovery. Particularly as we approach World Ranger Day on July 31, we must recognize the extraordinary sacrifices rangers make to protect our natural heritage. But the recent incident is a stark reminder that these sacrifices are all too often made without the support system rangers need to do their job safely and effectively. Field rangers participate in a drill…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Two rangers who were badly injured in a serious vehicle accident while on duty in Mozambique earlier this month faced different outcomes: While one was enrolled in an insurance scheme that covers medical treatment and evacuation for rangers injured in the field, the other was not and faced far more limited options for his ongoing care and recovery. - Increasingly, rangers are being called upon to operate in environments shaped by organized crime, armed conflict, and geopolitical instability, with climate change and climate-related disasters adding another layer of complexity. - “Advocating for rangers’ work and highlighting the resources they lack matter more than ever, because the job role itself is evolving,” writes Louise de Bruin, CEO of the Game Rangers Association of Africa. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Prague zoo keeps polar bears cool with ice cubes as European summer heatwave hits 30 Jul 2026 12:27:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/prague-zoo-keeps-polar-bears-cool-with-ice-cubes-as-european-summer-heatwave-hits/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: PRAGUE (AP) — Keepers at Prague Zoo used tons of ice on Thursday to give its animals some much-needed relief as yet another heat wave hit Europe. Polar bears Aleut and Gregor wasted no time and were rolling in the beds of ice cubes after entering their outside enclosure. The twins looked to have fun with the ice treat that was meant to keep them cool amid the extreme temperatures forecast to soar to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) later in the day. “The bears cool off with it and at the same time it’s an enrichment of their life in the zoo,” said zoo spokesperson Filip Mašek. The zoo began providing ice to some of the animals two years ago in response to climate change and the increasing number of days with extreme temperatures. The polar bears, who were born in Nuremberg, Germany, 16 years ago and have adapted to the European climate, were the ones who enjoyed it the most. This year, the plan was to order ice for the animals in July and August, which are traditionally the hottest months. But the first heat wave struck early and the Czech Republic experienced its hottest day ever with 41.9 C (107.4 F) on June 28. “The weather keeps surprising us,” Mašek said. He said the ice will be ready sooner next year. “We’ve been taught a lesson.” Other animals that have benefited from the provision of ice to keep cool in previous years include otters, elephants and parrots. Some animals in the zoo are used to heat,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: PRAGUE (AP) — Keepers at Prague Zoo used tons of ice on Thursday to give its animals some much-needed relief as yet another heat wave hit Europe. Polar bears Aleut and Gregor wasted no time and were rolling in the beds of ice cubes after entering their outside enclosure. The twins looked to have fun with the […] authors: | ||
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Report: Indonesian authorities weaponize laws to silence environmental and Indigenous defenders 30 Jul 2026 11:26:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/report-indonesian-authorities-weaponize-laws-to-silence-environmental-and-indigenous-defenders/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Indonesian authorities are wrongfully prosecuting environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders who protest deforestation, pollution and land grabs, says a new report by international nonprofit Human Rights Watch (HRW). In its 70-page report, HRW uses 15 publicly recorded cases from 2015 to 2025 as examples to suggest how police use complaints from companies and politicians to criminalize activists and community leaders demanding customary land rights. According to the report, while most cases were initiated before he took office in 2024, President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has escalated crackdowns on free expression. The government has increasingly deployed the military to expand state-owned mining operations, oil palm plantations, infrastructure projects and “food and energy estates”, which includes food and biofuel crop production particularly in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Papua, the report says. “Successive Indonesian governments have sought to silence activists and Indigenous leaders protesting forced displacement, loss of customary land, and deforestation by prosecuting them for baseless crimes,” Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW, said in a press release. “The Prabowo government, while cracking down on corporate corruption, has ignored local community grievances and instead deployed the military and other heavy-handed measures to pursue its economic objectives”. Based on 69 interviews with Indigenous people, villagers, environmentalists and lawyers, the report says police and prosecutors use vague provisions in the Criminal Code to charge activists with defamation, treason, threatening violence and even “spreading communism” to silence protests over environmental harm. The report says authorities frequently use legislation such as the Plantation Law, the Mineral…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Indonesian authorities are wrongfully prosecuting environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders who protest deforestation, pollution and land grabs, says a new report by international nonprofit Human Rights Watch (HRW). In its 70-page report, HRW uses 15 publicly recorded cases from 2015 to 2025 as examples to suggest how police use complaints from companies and politicians to […] authors: | ||
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New fire satellites offer hope for Amazon and other biomes, but local barriers remain 30 Jul 2026 07:44:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-fire-satellites-offer-hope-for-amazon-and-other-biomes-but-local-barriers-remain/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Benjamin Swift content:encoded: Record wildfires devastated South America in 2024, raging out of control in biomes where fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, but also entering rainforests that had never burned before. Driven by expanding industrial agriculture, an El Niño episode, and droughts worsened by global climate change, the thick smoke from the wildfires grounded flights, shuttered schools, and caused lasting health problems. After favorable weather led to a reprieve from the most destructive fires worldwide last year, fire experts expect major wildfires to return to South America in 2026 and 2027. With fire season beginning in the continent, park rangers and firefighters hope that a trio of satellites launched in early July will provide more precise, rapidly updated data to wildland firefighters worldwide. The first three operational satellites from Earth Fire Alliance are meant to help improve global fire detection by providing frequent high-resolution wildfire data. These are part of the nonprofit’s FireSat program, which aims to deploy about 50 low-orbit satellites by 2030. The satellites are still being tested and calibrated, but in a few months, a first cohort of early adopters will gain access to the data. Once fully operational, the system could help fire agencies reduce emissions from wildfires worldwide by 5-10% yearly, according to Paul Bodnar, director of clean industry and special projects at the Bezos Earth Fund, which provided a $26 million grant to the program. The new satellites launch as the world enters an El Niño climate pattern that will likely mean drought and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Record forest fires raged out of control in South America in 2024, scorching areas that had never burned before. An El Niño episode is expected to intensify fires in 2026 and 2027. - Earlier this month, nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance launched three FireSat satellites, the latest step in its plans to provide firefighters worldwide with more precise and rapidly updated data. - For countries in the Amazon basin, the technology promises to provide data that could ensure faster and more accurate responses. Yet, in many countries, the lack of physical infrastructure and governmental support could dampen the positive impacts of having more data. authors: | ||
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The global gold rush consuming the Amazon (commentary) 30 Jul 2026 02:47:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-global-gold-rush-consuming-the-amazon-commentary/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Robert Muggah content:encoded: In November 2025, Brazilian authorities, supported by Interpol, disabled 277 dredges used for illegal gold mining along the Madeira River. The machinery was valued at about $6.8 million. The operation dealt a substantial blow to one of the Amazon’s busiest mining frontiers, yet its effect was likely temporary. After all, dredges can be replaced, miners can relocate, and financiers can redirect their money. Satellite monitoring reveals how quickly the industry is spreading. A basin-wide monitoring initiative led by Amazon Mining Watch detected more than 37,000 hectares of new mining expansion across the Amazon in 2025. Of that total, more than 14,000 hectares lay within 222 protected areas and Indigenous territories. Since mining is generally restricted in such places, much of this activity was presumed to be illegal. The immediate drivers of illegal gold mining are familiar. Enforcement is thin across vast stretches of forest, and illicit gold passes too easily into lawful commerce. The broader economic incentive comes from a global market in which gold prices have risen sharply and legitimate demand has become unusually strong. Central banks are an important part of that story, though hardly the only one. Over the past four years, they have bought an average of roughly 1,000 metric tons of gold annually, twice the average of the preceding decade. A 2026 World Gold Council survey found that 89 percent of participating reserve managers expected official gold holdings worldwide to rise over the following year. Investors, jewelry buyers and manufacturers also contribute to demand. Central…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Record gold prices and rising global demand are increasing the incentives for illegal mining across the Amazon, including in protected areas and Indigenous territories. - Illicit gold can be laundered into legal markets through false documentation, shell companies, traders, and refiners, while mining damages rivers, forests, and communities through deforestation, sediment, mercury contamination, and diesel emissions. - Central banks and other major buyers should impose stronger sourcing, traceability, audit, and due-diligence requirements to make illegal gold harder to sell, argues Robert Muggah, co-founder and research director of the Igarapé Institute. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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How can Indigenous knowledge reshape AI development? 30 Jul 2026 00:30:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/how-can-indigenous-knowledge-reshape-ai-development/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: As artificial intelligence increasingly becomes a part of ecological monitoring, a growing body of research suggests integrating Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) into ethical frameworks for AI governance to prioritize environmental reports contributor Shradha Triveni for Mongabay. Researchers in a recent study published in the journal AI and Ethics examined how the Navajo philosophy of Hózhó, meaning balance and harmony, and the Māori concept of Kaitiakitanga or guardianship, could reshape AI development. They argue that these Indigenous values emphasize collective responsibility and reciprocity, offering a basis for questioning the environmental costs of large-scale AI models. AI tools are already being used in partnership with Indigenous communities to track illegal mining in the Amazon and causes of deforestation in the Congo Basin and Indonesia. But AI infrastructure often poses significant risks. Data centers, for instance, can place immense stress on local water resources. In another study, Sebastián Lehuedé, a researcher at King’s College London, observed that Indigenous resistance to such infrastructure, such as efforts that recently halted a Google data center in Chile, views natural resources as enabling a way of being rather than as commodities to be owned. In both studies, researchers noted that when AI tools, infrastructure or value chains exclude the values of Indigenous and local communities, they often face backlash. However, non-Indigenous engineers and developers writing Indigenous values into academic frameworks is a form of digital colonialism, said to Karaitiana Taiuru, an independent expert in Indigenous data sovereignty, referring to the study published in AI and Ethics. Taiuru…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: As artificial intelligence increasingly becomes a part of ecological monitoring, a growing body of research suggests integrating Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) into ethical frameworks for AI governance to prioritize environmental reports contributor Shradha Triveni for Mongabay. Researchers in a recent study published in the journal AI and Ethics examined how the Navajo philosophy of Hózhó, […] authors: | ||
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