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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 Ponaq, a village next to Muara Tae. But Muara Tae has contended the companies colluded with individuals in Muara Ponaq who fraudulently signed away hundreds of hectares of Muara Tae’s communally held land, in exchange for hundreds of millions of rupiah. The district government facilitated the transactions by redrawing the Tae-Ponaq border, increasing the latter’s territory at the expense of the former. The district chief at the time,…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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David Johnson, the owl man of Umatilla 30 Jul 2026 00:21:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/david-johnson-the-owl-man-of-umatilla/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: At the former Umatilla Chemical Depot in eastern Oregon, the weapons were gone, though their presence had shaped the land. Concrete bunkers stood among sagebrush and dry grass. Pronghorn moved through the open country. Badgers, once common there, had largely disappeared. Their absence mattered to the small owls that lived close to the ground. Burrowing owls do not usually dig their own homes. They occupy tunnels made by mammals, especially badgers and prairie dogs. At Umatilla, the decline of those animals had removed much of the owls’ shelter. By the late 2000s, only a few breeding pairs remained. David H. Johnson, who died on June 15th, aged 69, decided that the shortage of burrows could be addressed. He and his collaborators buried plastic barrels and connected them to the surface with lengths of pipe. The structures were crude substitutes for badger burrows, intended to keep the population breeding while the recovery of its habitat remained a longer-term task. The owls accepted them. Within a year, the number of breeding pairs had risen. Over the following decade, the depot became home to one of the region’s most closely studied burrowing-owl populations. Researchers banded chicks, recorded calls, tested nest designs, and tracked the birds’ movements. By 2024, they were monitoring more than 100 nesting attempts and had banded nearly 500 chicks that season. Johnson had been interested in owls since childhood. At 11, while camping alone, he heard an eastern screech owl calling outside his tent. The bird landed close enough for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Burrowing owl numbers at Oregon’s former Umatilla Chemical Depot had fallen to only a few breeding pairs after badgers disappeared and suitable burrows became scarce. - David H. Johnson and his collaborators built artificial burrows from plastic barrels and pipes, helping the population recover and creating a major long-term research site. - Johnson founded the Global Owl Project, connected researchers across dozens of countries, mentored younger scientists, and studied both owl biology and their place in human cultures. - After being diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2022, he continued working through treatment. The Umatilla project now continues under other researchers, public agencies, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. authors: | ||
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Proposed mine expansion raising pollution concerns in Canada and US 29 Jul 2026 22:31:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/proposed-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-in-canada-and-us/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Ruth Kamnitzer content:encoded: The Elk Valley in southeast British Columbia is home to Canada’s four largest coal mines. With a proposed mine expansion moving through environmental assessment, people on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border worry the valley’s decades-old pollution problem could get even worse. Industrial coal mining in the Elk Valley goes back more than 50 years. The valley’s mines, currently owned by Elk Valley Resources (EVR), supply 77% of Canada’s metallurgical coal, a grade of coal used in steel making, according to a 2024 report produced for EVR. The vast majority of this coal was exported to Asia. EVR’s largest mine, Fording River Operations (FRO), is expected to run out of coal within a decade. The proposed Fording River Extension (FRX) would open 2,031 hectares (5,019 acres) on Castle Mountain, adjacent to the existing mine, and operate for about 35 years. The FRX is currently moving through a coordinated federal-provincial environmental impact assessment. Three proposed new coal mines, not linked to EVR, are also currently in the environmental assessment process. The Fording River Operations mine, in the Elk Valley, British Columbia. The mountain top removal mining process dramatically alters topography and drainage patterns, and creates large volumes of waste rock. Image by Siobhán Winters/Wildsight. Proponents maintain the FRX is necessary to sustain economic benefits post FRO-closure, such as gross domestic product contributions, payments to governments and jobs. Others question the wisdom of expanding mining whilst unabated pollution threatens ecosystems, wildlife and livelihoods across the region. The Ktunaxa Nation Council, representing Ktunaxa…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A proposed expansion of an Elk Valley Resources’ coal mine in southeast British Columbia is moving through the environmental assessment process despite concerns over pollution. - Decades of coal mining in the valley has led to harmful selenium concentrations and loads downstream, in British Columbia and the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho. - While EVR is making progress in line with the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, current actions are inadequate to mitigate the selenium pollution crisis, according to researchers and experts from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and BC nonprofit Wildsight. - Proponents of the mine expansion point to the substantial contribution the mines make to federal, provincial and regional economies. authors: | ||
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UN regulator delays deep-sea mining rules, but extends criticized exploration contract 29 Jul 2026 20:46:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/un-regulator-delays-deep-sea-mining-rules-but-extends-criticized-exploration-contract/ author: Elizabethalberts dc:creator: Elizabeth Claire Alberts content:encoded: The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-associated regulator of seabed mining activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, has extended a controversial deep-sea mining exploration contract and once again failed to finalize the rules needed to regulate commercial seabed mining. The ISA’s 36-member council, which met from July 13 to 24, decided to extend the exploration contract for a subsidiary of Canadian deep-sea mining firm The Metals Company (TMC), allowing the company to retain exclusive exploration rights for blocks of the seabed in the Pacific Ocean. This decision stemmed from the ISA’s finding that TMC’s subsidiary, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI), had met all the criteria for renewal. This move was met with criticism from both ISA council members and observers since another of TMC’s subsidiaries, TMC USA, is also pursuing deep-sea mining in the same areas outside of the ISA’s legal framework and, in early July, even launched a lawsuit against the ISA for its scrutiny of TMC’s activities. Louisa Casson of Greenpeace International, who was an observer at the council meeting, said in a statement that the ISA’s decision to extend TMC’s contract set a “dangerous precedent for both the deep sea and the rule of law” that also “calls into serious question the regulator’s ability to enforce basic compliance under its existing rules.” Organizations including Greenpeace International are critical of deep-sea mining, arguing that this activity would have devastating and likely irreversible effects on the marine environment. Forty-five countries have also called for a moratorium or precautionary pause…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-associated organization that oversees deep-sea mining activities in international waters, held a council meeting July 13 to 24 in Kingston, Jamaica. - During the meeting, the council extended a deep-sea mining exploration contract for a subsidiary of The Metals Company (TMC), despite the company actively pursuing mining exploration and exploitation permits for the same areas through a U.S. government agency. - In addition, the council once again failed to finalize the rules needed for commercial seabed mining to commence, with many issues remaining unresolved. authors: | ||
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Kenya investigates mysterious deaths of 15 elephants in Amboseli 29 Jul 2026 20:20:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/kenya-investigates-mysterious-deaths-of-15-elephants-in-amboseli/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Lynet Otieno content:encoded: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is investigating the deaths of 15 elephants in the Amboseli savannah ecosystem, near the border with Tanzania. KWS told Mongabay that some preliminary laboratory investigations have found a toxic substance in the dead elephants. The animals were found between June 24 and July 24, 2026, at the Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Ranch, an area at the crossroads between three national parks in southern Kenya. “Ten elephants exhibited similar clinical signs, including partial paralysis that left them unable to stand before dying within one to two days,” KWS communications Director Duncan Wanyama said in a statement provided to Mongabay. “The remaining five carcasses were too decomposed or had been scavenged, making it impossible to establish the cause of death. The condition primarily affected adult females and their calves, with only one adult male reported.” The University of Nairobi detected a toxic substance in the elephant samples they tested. However, test results from Government Chemist, a Kenyan national lab, were negative for toxic substances. “Further quantitative analysis is underway,” KWS stated. Some elephants were equipped with tracking devices, and authorities were alerted to the deaths when the tracked animals stopped moving, Wanyama told Mongabay in a phone call. He said investigations, including analysis of water sources and other resources, were underway to determine if the elephants were exposed to a common source. “The condition observed is confined to the affected elephants, and there is no indication that it is transmissible to humans,” Wanyama said. Meanwhile, local leaders want…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is investigating the deaths of 15 elephants in the Amboseli savannah ecosystem, near the border with Tanzania. KWS told Mongabay that some preliminary laboratory investigations have found a toxic substance in the dead elephants. The animals were found between June 24 and July 24, 2026, at the Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku […] authors: | ||
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Conservation shouldn’t gamble with nonnative species introductions (commentary) 29 Jul 2026 19:56:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conservation-shouldnt-gamble-with-nonnative-species-introductions-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Charles FoleyKenneth Coe content:encoded: Introducing animals outside their natural ranges is a practice fraught with risk, one that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — the recognized global authority on the natural world — explicitly discourages. The IUCN’s guidelines for responsible wildlife translocation classify the importation of nonnative wildlife as a “critical risk” to be carried out only under a very narrow set of exceptional circumstances. There are very good reasons for these precautions. The natural world is awash with examples of species that were released outside their natural ranges becoming invasive, with devastating consequences. Even if species released outside their natural ranges don’t become invasive, they may still drastically disrupt the ecological dynamics of a community. For decades, translocations of animals within their former ranges have been used as a helpful tool in conservation. Reintroduction of species for conservation purposes such as bolstering an existing population, reestablishing a population that has gone extinct in the wild, and maintaining genetic diversity all rely on translocations. Such movement of animals may also help enhance tourism by offering greater numbers or a more diverse array of local species. Moving animals outside their natural range (an introduction rather than a reintroduction), however, is a fundamentally different and a potentially problematic proposition. The outcomes of these “conservation introduction” cases are often binary: the animals struggle mightily, if not die off, or the animals manage to acclimate to the unfamiliar surroundings and proceed to compete for resources with the native species, potentially inflicting harm in the process. And while…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - There is a recent trend of introducing ungulates like various antelope species outside their natural home ranges, a practice that carries large risks and should only be carried out under very limited circumstances, a new op-ed argues. - This is why the IUCN’s guidelines for responsible wildlife translocation classify the importation of nonnative wildlife as something to be carried out only under a very narrow set of exceptional circumstances. - “Isn’t the essence of conservation about, as much as possible, allowing evolution to run its course un-engineered? The IUCN guidelines exist for good reason, and history suggests they should be followed,” the authors write. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Study suggests the threat of mold-associated illnesses may be underappreciated 29 Jul 2026 19:35:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/study-suggests-the-threat-of-mold-associated-illnesses-may-be-underappreciated/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: NEW YORK (AP) — A first-of-its-kind U.S. study suggests invasive mold infections may be an underappreciated — and potentially deadly — threat. The researchers detected about 450 cases in Atlanta-area hospitals over five years. About a third of the patients died in the hospital. The findings, published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, come from an attempt to better gauge how common these kinds of illnesses are. The government does not require doctors to report the illnesses. “It’s kind of the first time we’ve had an estimate like this,” said the CDC’s Dr. Jeremy Gold, the study’s senior author. And it’s important to understand it now, because the problem may grow in the future, he added. Mold exposure is a recurring problem in the wake of hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters influenced by climate change, researchers have found. “I agree that the frequency of fungal infections will likely increase with climate change,” said Dr. Jeffrey Jenks, an infectious disease researcher at Duke University. Meanwhile, there’s a growing population of older people who are more susceptible to such illnesses, Gold said. Invasive mold diseases are rare infections caused by certain species. Most people who get infected inhale mold spores, but they can also enter the body through cuts or wounds or from contaminated medical equipment. The spores don’t cause health problems for most people, but they can be life-threatening to some, including the elderly, cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems. Previously, CDC researchers estimated more than 15,000…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: NEW YORK (AP) — A first-of-its-kind U.S. study suggests invasive mold infections may be an underappreciated — and potentially deadly — threat. The researchers detected about 450 cases in Atlanta-area hospitals over five years. About a third of the patients died in the hospital. The findings, published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and […] authors: | ||
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Indigenous Parakanã fear election U-turn may spark new invasions in Brazil 29 Jul 2026 19:08:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-parakana-fear-election-u-turn-may-spark-new-invasions-in-brazil/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Fernanda Wenzel content:encoded: For years, the Parakanã Indigenous people were restricted to less than a third of their territory, isolated in the middle of a vast pasture area occupied by around 100,000 heads of cattle. Illegal gold mining, illegal logging and land grabbing also proliferated inside their land, the Apyterewa Indigenous land, located in Brazil’s River Xingu basin, in Pará state. “It is historically the most deforested Indigenous territory in Brazil, and perhaps in the world,” said Wallace Lopes, an environmental analyst in Brazil’s federal environmental agency, IBAMA. The peak of deforestation happened amid the administration of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), who dismantled the country’s environmental enforcement. In 2022, an area nearly the size of Paris (102.23 kilometers squared or 25,261 acres) was cleared inside the Apyterewa land, according to Brazil’s space agency, INPE. “It was a massive deforestation,” Wenatoa Parakanã, the president of the Tato’á Association, which represents the Parakanã, told Mongabay. “All we can see now is pasture.” The invaders were estimated at 3,000 individuals, more than four times the Indigenous population (730). After two failed attempts by previous administrations to remove the intruders in 2013 and 2017, they felt confident enough to build a small village inside the Indigenous land, with two gas stations, bars, churches and even a school. The task force in Apyterewa Indigenous land to remove invaders counted on the support of Brazil’s Federal Police, Army and the National Force. Image by the Indigenous People Ministry (MPI). Things started to change in 2023, when leftist President…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Parakanã Indigenous people are reoccupying their territory in Pará state after the eviction of around 3,000 invaders by federal forces. - The intruders, however, are ready to come back if Brazil’s next administration carries a new anti-environmental agenda in 2027. - Experts compare illegal activities such as gold mining to powerful bacteria that may return even stronger if you don’t use the proper antibiotic. - Also in Pará, the state administration has the challenge of keeping deforestation under control after a successful operation in the Triunfo do Xingu Environmental Protection Area. authors: | ||
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First Nations lead the return of salmon to Canada’s Upper Columbia River 29 Jul 2026 15:55:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/first-nations-lead-the-return-of-salmon-to-canadas-upper-columbia-river/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Ruth Kamnitzer content:encoded: INVERMERE, Canada — Mark Thomas, Shuswap Band salmon chief, welcomes groups of students to a narrow stretch of the Columbia River, between the Rocky and Purcell mountains in western Canada. It’s late May, and snow still graces the distant peaks. For the past five months, students from schools nearby towns have raised sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in their classrooms. They have watched pea-sized eggs transform into tiny, newly hatched fish known as alevin, with an egg sac still attached to their silvery bodies, and then to free-swimming fry. This morning, they will slip the fry into the river, just downstream from its headwaters in the province of British Columbia. “When you go down to the river, tell the water your name, introduce yourself to the water spirits,” Thomas tells them. “Then you can pray for whatever you want. You can pray to be smarter, or taller. You can pray for your family — or the fish.” Thomas begins by smudging the group as part of a traditional ceremony, using an eagle’s wing to gently waft smoke from a bundle of juniper and sage that is smoldering in an abalone shell. The kids then make their way to the riverbank and, to the sounds of drumming and traditional song, each takes a plastic cup with a fish inside. When they are ready, they send it down a DIY funnel and watch the tiny fry swim away. The morning’s fry release, through the Fish-in-Schools program, and an afternoon ceremonial release for community…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - First Nations in British Columbia, western Canada, are working to restore salmon to the Upper Columbia Basin and leading ceremonial salmon fry releases to reestablish connections between salmon and salmon people. - The Columbia River was once one of the greatest salmon-bearing rivers in North America, but the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, built without fish passage mechanisms, blocked salmon from a significant portion of the river’s length. - The loss of salmon has profoundly affected Indigenous nations and tribes, with a loss of food sovereignty and cultural connections. - The Bringing the Salmon Home initiative, led by the Secwépemc, Syilx-Okanagan and Ktunaxa nations, in partnership with the governments of British Columbia and Canada, is advancing salmon reintroduction to the Upper Columbia Basin, with technical studies showing reintroduction is feasible. authors: | ||
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Indonesia shows elevated fire hotspot activity in 2026 as super El Niño threat looms 29 Jul 2026 15:06:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesia-shows-elevated-fire-hotspot-activity-in-2026-as-super-el-nino-threat-looms/ author: Hans Nicholas Jong dc:creator: Hans Nicholas JongIrfan Maulana content:encoded: JAKARTA — Indonesia has recorded more fire hotspot activity by late July 2026 than at the same point in any previous year, including during the devastating fire seasons of 2019 and 2023, according to new data. Data from FireWatch, a new satellite monitoring platform developed by the forest monitoring platform Nusantara Atlas, offers the clearest picture yet of where the country is burning, say scientists. It has raised fresh concerns as Indonesia heads into the months of the year when wildfires historically intensify. As of July 27, FireWatch detected more than 96,000 fire hotspots across Indonesia — more than at the same point in any previous year monitored by the platform. By comparison, about 88,000 hotspots had been detected by late July 2019 and roughly 58,000 during the same period in 2023. Hotspot comparison between 2026, 2023 and 2019. Image courtesy of FireWatch. Those two years produced Indonesia’s most destructive fire seasons in the past 10 years, burning more than 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres) and 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres), respectively, according to data from FireWatch. FireWatch estimates that approximately 103,000 hectares (255,000 acres) burned nationwide during the first half of 2026. Burned area comparison between 2026, 2023 and 2019. Image courtesy of FireWatch. While that remains far below the area burned in 2019, Indonesia has yet to enter the period when fire activity historically accelerates. Burning typically increases in August before peaking in September and October. The unusually high hotspot activity in 2026 comes as forecasters…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new satellite fire-monitoring platform, FireWatch, had detected more than 96,000 hotspots across Indonesia as of July 27, 2026. - The total exceeds that recorded at the same point in any previous year monitored by FireWatch, even though Indonesia has not yet reached the months when wildfires typically intensify. - FireWatch estimates that approximately 103,000 hectares (255,000 acres) of land burned nationwide during the first half of 2026, raising concerns as forecasters warn that a strong El Niño could further increase fire risk. authors: | ||
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Brazil court orders recognition of Indigenous land and apology for historic atrocities 29 Jul 2026 13:15:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/brazil-court-orders-recognition-of-indigenous-land-and-apology-for-historic-atrocities/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: A federal judge in Brazil has given the country’s government 24 months to recognize the traditional territory of the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna Indigenous people in the northwestern state of Mato Grosso. The court accepted evidence from federal prosecutors that detailed decades of government inaction following massacres, forced displacement and other human rights violations against the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna people. The ruling, issued on June 11 by Federal Judge Pablo Kipper Aguilar in Diamantino, Mato Grosso, also orders the federal government to issue a public apology and pay 10 million reais ($2 million) in collective moral damages. “It has been a very difficult journey,” Yaiku Suya Tapayuna, a leader of the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna people, told Operação Amazônia Nativa (OPAN). “It is a decision we have dreamed about, and we are now celebrating this victory.” In his decision, the judge drew upon decades of evidence of violence against the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna, beginning with a massacre in 1953 involving armed attacks and deliberate poisoning. A dictatorship-era report published in 1967 documented that a nearby rubber tapping business left a sack of sugar laced with arsenic on a riverbank in the Tapayuna area for the Indigenous community to consume. Another poisoning attack occurred in the 1960s with meat laced with tick poison. In 1969, a “poorly planned” official visit organized by the federal Indigenous affairs agency brought in the influenza virus, contaminating the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna people. An account given to national media at the time described, “Indigenous corpses decimated by the flu across the forest, and children nursing from the breasts…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A federal judge in Brazil has given the country’s government 24 months to recognize the traditional territory of the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna Indigenous people in the northwestern state of Mato Grosso. The court accepted evidence from federal prosecutors that detailed decades of government inaction following massacres, forced displacement and other human rights violations against the Kajkwakratxi-Tapayuna people. […] authors: | ||
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Fatal WWII bomb blast in Indonesia was a result of illegal fishing activity, police say 29 Jul 2026 09:03:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Asrida Elisabeth content:encoded: BIAK, Indonesia — The munition here had outlasted one of the Pacific’s fiercest World War II battles. Eight decades later, investigators in Indonesia said it exploded by the timber-framed houses in the coastal village of Fandoi on Indonesia’s Biak Island. Investigators and officials later concluded a group of local fishers were dismantling an unexploded munition recovered from coastal waters off Papua, where some of the Pacific’s most intense fighting took place in 1944. “They take them and dismantle them on the island,” said Cliff Marlessy, who as director of the Indonesia Locally Managed Marine Area (ILMMA) works with communities to manage marine resources in Biak. Their deaths are the latest in a long legacy of unexploded wartime ordnance, which has killed or injured at least 25,000 people across neighboring Papua New Guinea since 1945, according to The HALO Trust, the world’s largest humanitarian mine-clearance organization. No concrete estimate exists for the death toll across Indonesia. Authorities have known about repurposing of unexploded bombs for decades, yet some fishers continue to recover wartime explosives for use in blast fishing despite the extreme danger. Goa Jepang — or “Goa Binsar,” as locals call it — is a Japanese military bunker from World War II. Image by Asrida Elisabeth/Mongabay Indonesia. Legacy of war New Guinea and its surrounding islands were among the Pacific’s most violent World War II theatres, while Allied forces advanced westward through Japanese-held territory. During this period, months of heavy bombing and naval combat left countless unexploded bombs and artillery…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - At least seven people were killed on May 31 when a World War II bomb exploded in Fandoi village on Indonesia’s Biak Island. - Interviews with officials indicate the explosion occurred while an unexploded wartime ordnance was being dismantled to recover explosives for illegal blast fishing. - The HALO Trust estimates that unexploded bombs and ammunition have killed or injured around 25,000 people in neighboring Papua New Guinea since the end of the World War II, reflecting the region’s enduring wartime legacy. - A casualty estimate for the Indonesian territory of the New Guinea archipelago is unclear. authors: | ||
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Kenyan teen leads charge on tree planting and climate awareness 29 Jul 2026 09:03:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/kenyan-teen-leads-charge-on-tree-planting-and-climate-awareness/ author: Ashoka dc:creator: Lynet Otieno content:encoded: Baraka Moruri has been passionate about the environment since he was 6. Now 13, the Kenyan climate champion says he has planted more than 7,600 trees with the help of family, friends and private organizations. “My goal is unlimited. I want to plant over 1 million trees before I turn 18,” he says. On March 20 this year, Baraka and his family launched Go Green with Baraka, a book calling for young people in Africa to lead in protecting the environment. Baraka is Little Mister Environment Kenya, and the ambassador of Plant Your Age, an initiative started by the Green Africa Foundation following the death in 2011 of Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai at the age of 71. Her work inspired him to become involved in climate action. “Once, as I was doing my agriculture class assignment that involved researching about Prof Wangari Maathai, I watched a video in which she was being denied her rights. She later won a global award because of her love for the environment,” Baraka says. Baraka Moruri with his younger sister, as he holds ‘Go Green With Baraka’, a book he authored. Photo by Lawrine Moruri. Baraka’s father Arnold Warinda (left), his mother Lawrine Moruri and a friend during the launch of ‘Go Green With Baraka’ in Nairobi in January 2026. Photo by Lawrine Moruri. The impacts of climate change fall especially hard on children in countries like Kenya. The newly released “Children’s Climate Risk Report” by UNICEF describes how children in East and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Kenyan teenager Baraka Moruri has planted more than 7,600 trees over the last four years with the help of his family, friends and private organizations. - He says he wants children to be better engaged in climate action and policy, arguing that they have ideas and energy to contribute. - Climate finance experts say less than 1% of international climate finance gets to youth- and children-led projects, despite climate change affecting their health, education and food security. authors: | ||
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International Tiger Day: A complex landscape of recovery, conflict, and empty forests 29 Jul 2026 07:32:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/international-tiger-day-a-complex-landscape-of-recovery-conflict-and-empty-forests/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: July 29 is International Tiger Day. Few species have benefitted from global conservation attention and funding like the tiger. Its numbers have seen a hopeful increase in recent years, yet the big cat continues to face localized pressures. Recent Mongabay coverage highlights three starkly different realities for tigers (Panthera tigris) across Asia. India’s corridors under pressure India remains the global stronghold for wild tigers, currently home to roughly 75% of the world’s remaining population. While India’s 2022 census shows numbers have rebounded to an estimated 3,682 cats, this success brings new challenges, reports contributor Nirmal Ghosh for Mongabay. As tiger numbers grow in protected areas, the big cats are forced to disperse out in search of new homes. They end up navigating human-dominated landscapes where they’re likely to run into conflict with people or infrastructure like roads and railways. Though India has invested heavily in building some of the world’s largest wildlife underpasses, Ghosh reports that vital ecological corridors remain under severe threat, and development proposals like mining and road infrastructure in protected habitats continue to be approved. Nepal’s controversial solution for ‘problem’ tigers Nepal has successfully tripled its tiger population since 2009 to 355 individuals, report Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi and contributor Mukesh Pokhrel. But this boom has led to a sharp rise in human-tiger conflict. Government records show 38 people died in tiger attacks between 2019 and 2023, leaving authorities struggling to manage the captured “problem” tigers, or individuals involved in killing and eating one or more humans.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: July 29 is International Tiger Day. Few species have benefitted from global conservation attention and funding like the tiger. Its numbers have seen a hopeful increase in recent years, yet the big cat continues to face localized pressures. Recent Mongabay coverage highlights three starkly different realities for tigers (Panthera tigris) across Asia. India’s corridors under […] authors: | ||
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Rare palm tree rediscovered in Madagascar after nearly 100 years 29 Jul 2026 04:48:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-palm-tree-rediscovered-in-madagascar-after-nearly-100-years/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: Researchers have tracked down 28 individuals of a palm tree species last recorded in Madagascar nearly 100 years ago. Nearly every tree of the species, Ravenea latisecta, was found within four protected areas in the Andasibe-Mantadia region of Madagascar, according to a recent study. “Andasibe–Mantadia is one of Madagascar’s best-explored botanical regions, and Ravenea latisecta is not an inconspicuous plant, it is a palm several metres tall,” Louis Aureglia, study lead author with Aix-Marseille University in France, told Mongabay by email. “Yet confirmed populations remained undocumented for almost a century. This is a good reminder that botanical exploration is far from complete.” There are around 20 known species of palm trees in the genus Ravenea. All are only found in Madagascar and the Comoros, and nearly all are endangered or critically endangered. For the study, Aureglia and his colleagues launched a survey in Andasibe–Mantadia in 2024 to document Ravenea palm trees in the wild. They also examined historical specimens kept in herbariums. Palm trees are usually large and difficult to miss, yet some Ravenea species can be tricky to tell apart with confidence if they’re not flowering, Aureglia said. The “real turning point” in their fieldwork, he added, was when they found “fertile” plants: male or female trees containing inflorescences, or branched structures with clusters of flowers. “Ravenea latisecta is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are produced on separate plants,” Aureglia said. “Once we found both male and female individuals, with inflorescences matching the original description, we could…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Researchers have tracked down 28 individuals of a palm tree species last recorded in Madagascar nearly 100 years ago. Nearly every tree of the species, Ravenea latisecta, was found within four protected areas in the Andasibe-Mantadia region of Madagascar, according to a recent study. “Andasibe–Mantadia is one of Madagascar’s best-explored botanical regions, and Ravenea latisecta […] authors: | ||
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Indonesian zoo corruption case renews scrutiny of animal welfare 29 Jul 2026 04:18:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesian-zoo-corruption-case-renews-scrutiny-of-animal-welfare/ author: Basten Gokkon dc:creator: Basten Gokkon content:encoded: An alleged corruption case at Indonesia’s Surabaya Zoo has renewed scrutiny of how the country’s wildlife conservation institutions are governed and prompted experts to warn that financial misconduct can have consequences that extend beyond public finances to the welfare of animals entirely dependent on human care. The investigation has also reignited calls for stronger oversight and accountability to ensure conservation institutions protect both public resources and the wildlife entrusted to them. East Java prosecutors named Choirul Anwar a suspect on July 21, 2026, in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the operational budget of Surabaya Zoo between 2016 and 2024. Choirul was previously the president director of the Surabaya Zoo and Wildlife Park Regional Company. A preliminary audit conducted jointly with the East Java representative office of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) estimated state losses at 10.2 billion rupiah ($564,000), of which approximately 7.4 billion rupiah ($409,000) was allegedly diverted for the suspect’s personal benefit. Prosecutors said the alleged corruption had contributed to a deterioration in the management of Surabaya Zoo in the subsequent years, leading to declining services and facilities, while a number of animals reportedly died due to inadequate care. A 16-year-old tiger died in 2016 in Surabaya Zoo. Image courtesy of Surabaya Zoo. The case has renewed calls from zoo and conservation experts for stronger oversight of conservation institutions, including audits that assess not only financial compliance but also animal welfare outcomes and governance safeguards in hopes of detecting misconduct earlier. “Many people still…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - An alleged corruption case at Indonesia’s Surabaya Zoo has reignited concerns over governance at the country’s wildlife conservation institutions. - Experts say the investigation highlights broader questions about transparency, accountability and how conservation facilities are monitored. - They warn that failures in oversight can have far-reaching implications for both public trust and animal welfare. authors: | ||
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Tech helps Vietnam rangers turn the tide on poaching 29 Jul 2026 03:55:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tech-helps-vietnam-rangers-turn-the-tide-on-poaching/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park, which borders Laos, an antipoaching unit is integrating high-tech tools with on-the-ground patrols to help turn the tide on illegal wildlife poaching. The antipoaching unit (APU) was formed through a partnership in 2018 between the NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) and the park, to address the widespread use of wire snares and the limited capacity of forest rangers, APU coordinator Huu Trung Nguyen told contributor Campbell Rusden in an interview for Mongabay. Nguyen said that about 70 forest rangers previously monitored more than 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of rugged terrain each on average. Patrol information was also recorded in written notes and patrol routes, and locations of illegal activities were described in narrative form, said Trung Hau Luong, the unit’s deputy head, in the interview. Now, the APU team uses SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) software and remotely monitored “PoacherCams.” Luong said that SMART allows patrol teams to record routes, wildlife observations, and snare locations via GPS-enabled smartphones, creating structured data to identify trafficking hotspots and guide strategic planning. Meanwhile, PoacherCams, which are cameras installed at certain locations such as forest entry points, ridge crossings, or trails frequently used by hunters, help the unit better understand people’s movements through the forest and identify potential illegal activities. In one instance, a camera captured footage of a man entering the forest with a gun. After the authorities spoke with the individual and explained the legal consequences of hunting, he voluntarily surrendered his hunting gun, Luong…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park, which borders Laos, an antipoaching unit is integrating high-tech tools with on-the-ground patrols to help turn the tide on illegal wildlife poaching. The antipoaching unit (APU) was formed through a partnership in 2018 between the NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) and the park, to address the widespread use of […] authors: | ||
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Bill Oddie brought birdwatching into millions of homes 29 Jul 2026 03:27:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/bill-oddie-brought-birdwatching-into-millions-of-homes/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: On television, Bill Oddie often seemed to forget the camera. A call came from a hedge, and his attention shifted toward it. He listened, peered through his binoculars, and said what he thought he had heard. Viewers shared the uncertainty, the waiting, and the excitement when the bird finally appeared. He showed that birdwatching could begin almost anywhere. The equipment was simple, and the wildlife was often close to home. A garden, park, reservoir, or patch of scrub provided enough to get started. Oddie, who died on July 25th, aged 85, had already been famous for many years. As one of The Goodies, alongside Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, he helped create a form of television comedy built around satire, songs, visual jokes, and cheerful disorder. Their series ran through the 1970s and made him especially familiar to children. Birds had occupied him long before television did. Raised in Birmingham, he recorded sightings for the West Midland Bird Club while still young. His initials appeared in its 1956 report, and his first article, on the birds of Bartley Reservoir, was published in 1962. He became a knowledgeable field ornithologist, skilled at identifying birds by sight and sound. In the 1990s, he began presenting programs that drew on both his ornithological knowledge and his experience as a performer. Birding with Bill Oddie followed him into hides, wetlands, and ordinary British landscapes. Bill Oddie Goes Wild covered a wider range of animals. Wild in Your Garden and Britain Goes Wild used live…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On television, Bill Oddie often seemed to forget the camera. A call came from a hedge, and his attention shifted toward it. He listened, peered through his binoculars, and said what he thought he had heard. Viewers shared the uncertainty, the waiting, and the excitement when the bird finally appeared. He showed that birdwatching could […] authors: | ||
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Forests in Liberia are falling to cocoa, in half a year the EU could ban imports 28 Jul 2026 20:35:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/forests-in-liberia-are-falling-to-cocoa-in-half-a-year-the-eu-could-ban-imports/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforestation over a relatively concentrated period. Along with video production coordinator Juan Maza, Mukpo documented illegal cacao plantations in the rainforests in the county of Grand Gedeh. In this interview, he explains how and why these plantations are appearing now in Liberia. “What we saw … probably the best metaphor for it is that there’s a kind of gold rush happening in this part of Liberia, except it’s not gold that people are after, it’s cocoa,” Mukpo says. “And this makes sense, given the context that in the last few years there was a huge price spike for cocoa, and this had to do with a lot of factors, including climate change and a poor harvest in Côte d’Ivoire. And so that’s pushing this huge number of migrant workers from Côte d’Ivoire into Grand Gedeh.” At the end of the year, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to take effect. The EU legislation would ban the importation of certain commodities produced via deforestation, and one of those commodities is cocoa. And much of the cocoa being grown in Liberia right now would potentially fall under this ban, Mukpo says. Furthermore, setting up the tracking infrastructure to ensure commodities meet EUDR standards is expensive. While nations like Côte d’Ivoire have already invested in this, Liberia has not. That leaves…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforestation over a relatively concentrated period. Along with video production coordinator Juan Maza, Mukpo documented illegal cacao plantations in the rainforests in the county of […] authors: | ||
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Fishers fight for solutions as Brazil lists tambaqui as threatened 28 Jul 2026 19:34:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fishers-fight-for-solutions-as-brazil-lists-tambaqui-as-threatened/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Karla Mendes content:encoded: An Amazon fisher for 38 years, Josué de Castro said he was very surprised when he learned that tambaqui, a fish that accounts for 20% of his income, is now a threatened species in Brazil, and he might not be allowed to fish it anymore. “It will ultimately have a big impact on the lives of the fishers and riverside communities who depend on fishing,” Castro, who lives in the São Raimundo do Jarauá community in northern Amazonas state, told Mongabay by phone. “In our area, I don’t think it’s actually facing extinction yet; there are still plenty of them around.” One of the most consumed fish in the Brazilian Amazon, the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) was included in the official national list of threatened fish and aquatic invertebrate fauna species published by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) in April. Starting at the end of October, its fishing could be prohibited in the entire country if a recovery plan isn’t implemented by then, said Braulio Dias, MMA’s director of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. “Inclusion on the list does not mean a fishing ban, provided that a population recovery plan — proposed by experts under MMA coordination — is approved,” Dias told Mongabay in a text message, adding that Ordinance Nº 1,666, published on the same day of the April 27 list, set a 180-day deadline for this to happen, which would be Oct. 25. Tambaqui, Manaus Fish Market, Brazil. Image by Thorke Østergaard via Wikimedia Commons…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - One of the most cooked fish in the Brazilian Amazon, the tambaqui was included in the official national list of threatened species, triggering fear of losses from Amazon small-scale fishers who depend on the species for their livelihood. - The tambaqui was classified as vulnerable due to projections of a 43.4% overall population decline over three generations as it’s targeted by intense fishing. - Starting at the end of October, its fishing could be prohibited in Brazil if a recovery plan isn’t implemented, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. - The gray triggerfish was also included in the list of 490 fish and invertebrate threatened fauna, triggering reactions from artisanal fishers and the fishing industry. authors: | ||
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Women’s collectives are protecting Nigeria’s gorilla wildlife sanctuary 28 Jul 2026 15:01:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/womens-collectives-are-protecting-nigerias-gorilla-wildlife-sanctuary/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led governance often struggled to curb illegal activities in and around the 100-square-kilometer (39-square-mile) sanctuary, reports contributor Orji Sunday for Mongabay. Village residents told Mongabay that because men were frequently the primary participants in hunting, logging and river pollution, they often lacked the moral authority to enforce communal bylaws that punish those activities. “Our men have failed to stop the threats,” Ofre Mary, founder of the Ulom Women’s Conservation Collective, told Mongabay. “That’s why women decided to take a stand. That’s why we decided to take the risk”. The collectives conduct regular and spontaneous patrols, sometimes late at night or at dawn, to track signs of hunting, wildfires or illegal logging. The groups also investigate allegations of wildlife crimes, either alone or together with other community leaders, state forestry officers and nonprofits in the region. In 2024, women in both Ulom and Buanchor successfully halted illegal timber deals, being made by men, Francis Akie, who heads the Traditional Rulers Council of Ulom, told Mongabay. The women threatened nude protests, a form of resistance that forced local leaders to refund timber dealers and cancel contracts. The women’s collectives also patrol the Afi River and other streams to…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led […] authors: | ||
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Study investigates how to prevent viral spread from bat guano in Southeast Asia 28 Jul 2026 13:55:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Carolyn Cowan content:encoded: As humans encroach further into ecosystems, people and wildlife are brought into closer proximity. One potential consequence is an increased risk of pathogens jumping from animals to humans, prompting researchers to explore the dynamics of how viruses circulate in nature and how best to prevent the risk of this transmission. New research from Thailand identified genetic material belonging to Betacoronaviruses, a genus of viruses that includes the strains responsible for Covid-19, SARS and MERS, within commercially available agricultural products, raising concerns over a general lack of safety protocols to protect harvesters and handlers from exposure. In the study, published in PLOS One, researchers screened 41 samples of bat guano fertilizers commonly sold in Thai markets for the presence of coronaviruses. While all the samples were from products bought in Thailand, the researchers couldn’t determine the exact origins of the guano contained in each product, which may have been from outside the country. Two of the samples tested positive for Alphacoronaviruses, another genus of coronaviruses, and one tested positive for Betacoronaviruses. Genetic analysis showed the Betacoronavirus sample was closely genetically related to the sarbecovirus subgenus, the group that includes the Covid-causing pathogen, SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, the researchers note the viral strains detected are not known to infect humans. Moreover, they only detected a fragment of viral RNA, the genetic blueprint of viruses, and did not fully isolate a live virus in the samples. As a result, they couldn’t definitively confirm the genetic material detected is capable of posing risks to human health.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Scientists say they have found the first evidence of bat-linked viruses in commercial fertilizer made from bat guano in Thailand. - Bat guano harvested from roosting cave sites is widely used, both commercially and informally, as agricultural fertilizer across many parts of Southeast Asia. - While the viral strains detected in the study are not known to infect humans, the research urges the fertilizer industry to introduce stronger safety precautions throughout the supply chain to minimize the risk of zoonotic disease transfer. - Experts also note the need to adhere to a “One Health” approach that minimizes disturbance of bat roosts and habitats to maintain safe ecological boundaries between potential zoonotic disease reservoirs and people. authors: | ||
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India’s tiger numbers are rising. Protecting their pathways is next 28 Jul 2026 13:16:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-tiger-numbers-are-rising-protecting-their-pathways-is-next/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Nirmal Ghosh content:encoded: RAJAJI TIGER RESERVE, India — It is early morning in late May in the hardwood sal forests of Rajaji Tiger Reserve in north India, and the heat is rising. By afternoon it will reach 39° Celsius (102° Fahrenheit). I am squatting on the forest floor under National Highway 72, a steady rumble of traffic above, looking at the footprints of a wild elephant in a patch of moist mud that has thus far survived this scorching summer. This is the Teen Pani (Three Waters) underpass, just 400-odd meters (about 1,300 feet) in length, but good enough to allow everything from mice to elephants to pass safely beneath the highway. And it’s also good enough for T8, a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) that occasionally walks through the area on his nocturnal perambulations, safe from the speeding vehicles above. T8 was one of five tigers relocated to Rajaji from Corbett Tiger Reserve in May 2025, and now roams extensively, and elusively, across this often human-dominated landscape. The expressway above me dates back just to 2021, and it doesn’t have sound barriers, hence the noise. But it replaced the narrower, heavily trafficked old road running from Delhi to the holy Hindu town of Haridwar and on to Dehradun, the capital of the mountain state of Uttarakhand. T8, one of five tigers translocated from Corbett Tiger Reserve to Rajaji Tiger Reserve, will hopefully use the Teen Pani underpass. This photo was made before his release into Rajaji in 2025. Image courtesy of Rajaji…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - India has made progress in conserving its Bengal tigers, but now it must accommodate growing numbers as they disperse from protected habitats into human-dominated areas — even as poaching is on the rise and destruction of forested land continues. - Protected forest corridors are crucial to restoring lost or tenuous connectivity between key habitats, enabling genetic exchange between tiger populations that otherwise risk isolation and inbreeding. - India has built more mitigation structures than any other country in Asia, including the world’s 10 largest wildlife underpasses and overpasses. - But even as the country is reconnecting habitat, it’s also rapidly expanding road infrastructure, and even protected forests remain under threat. authors: | ||
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End of Brazil’s Soy Moratorium risks millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest: Study 28 Jul 2026 13:07:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/end-of-brazils-soy-moratorium-risks-millions-of-hectares-of-amazon-rainforest-study/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest are newly at risk of being legally deforested, a new study estimates. The potential increase in deforestation comes as soy companies have terminated their voluntary participation in the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a private-sector agreement that barred signatories from buying soy grown on land deforested after 2008. Researchers found 9.1 million hectares (22.5 million acres) of private forest, a total area around three times the size of Belgium. Additionally, more than 28 million hectares (69 million acres) of public forests without any clear purpose or protection could now face additional pressure from rural land speculation, where people buy and hold land to sell later at a higher cost, and illegal conversion for agriculture. According to Tiago Reis, a conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil and co-author of the analysis, the positive impacts of the moratorium went beyond the direct prevention of soy-linked deforestation. “[The Soy Moratorium] also hindered illegal deforestation, land speculation, social conflicts and land conflicts,” Reis told Mongabay Brasil reporter Lucas Berti. In January 2026, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove) announced it was withdrawing from the pact. Abiove represents many of the largest grain traders operating in Brazil including Cargill, ADM, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus Company and COFCO International. Other companies not represented by Abiove, including Amaggi and Glencore, also left the agreement. The former signatories of the moratorium traded roughly 90% of the soy grown in the Brazilian Amazon. The decision to leave the soy moratorium was prompted by a new law…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest are newly at risk of being legally deforested, a new study estimates. The potential increase in deforestation comes as soy companies have terminated their voluntary participation in the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a private-sector agreement that barred signatories from buying soy grown on land deforested after 2008. Researchers found 9.1 […] authors: | ||
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‘The shape of the land will change:’ South African villages resist heavy sands mine 28 Jul 2026 12:09:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-shape-of-the-land-will-change-south-african-villages-resist-heavy-sands-mine/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Anna Weekes content:encoded: PHOZI VILLAGE, South Africa — On a grassy mountainside overlooking the Indian Ocean on South Africa’s Eastern Cape coast, dozens of cattle graze freely. For generations, families in the small rural villages of Tyolomnqa, Phozi, and Qaga, about 30 miles from the nearest city, KuGompo, have relied on these communal lands for food, income, healing and spiritual connection. Residents of the village say a planned open-cast mine complex spread over thousands of hectares of communal land threatens their way of life. The Tyolomnqa Heavy Mineral Sands Project, proposed by Johannesburg-based Vendicom Minerals Beneficiation Group, is targeting zircon, rutile, ilmenite and leucoxene — heavy mineral ores used in products ranging from ceramic tiles and paint pigments to titanium for aircraft, medical implants and some renewable energy technologies. Though, its initial application to prospect in the area was rejected by the government on procedural grounds, communications from a consultancy hired by Vendicom to conduct the environmental and social impact assessment show that the company is still keen to mine in the region. The area Vendicom is eyeing is spread across up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) of communal grazing land stretching across the Tyolomnqa, Keiskamma and Kiwane estuaries. The three rivers, all of whose names are derived from Indigenous words, flow through rolling grasslands before reaching estuaries fringed by dunes and sandy beaches. The word Keiskamma comes from the Khoekhoe language and is commonly translated as “place of sweet waters.” For generations, rural isiXhosa communities have relied on these connected ecosystems for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Communities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape are opposing a proposed heavy mineral sands mine that a South African company wants permission to operate day and night for 30 years on their communal land. - They say the land targeted for mining is far from unused, supporting more than a 1,000 cattle, traditional medicine gathering, tourism and facilitates access to the coast and fishing. - The villagers say that if the mine goes ahead, it will damage livelihoods, ancestral graves, biodiversity and water resources. - The planned mine could also impact their long-running campaign to acquire commercial seaweed harvesting permits and an existing small-scale sand mining business run by a village committee. authors: | ||
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Mining, drilling, and fire are fragmenting the world’s largest forests 28 Jul 2026 11:48:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/mining-drilling-and-fire-are-fragmenting-the-worlds-largest-forests/ 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. The world’s largest remaining stretches of undisturbed forest are shrinking. Fires now cause more of the loss than logging, while mining and oil and gas development have moved close to the top of the list. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis from the World Resources Institute, based on data developed with researchers at the University of Maryland, U.S., and the nonprofit Greenpeace. The report examines “intact forest landscapes,” large blocks of forests that show no readily detectable signs of industrial activity or fragmentation. Their global extent has fallen by more than 15%, or 195 million hectares (482 million acres) between 2000 and 2025, an area roughly the size of Mexico. Canada, Russia, and Brazil contain almost two-thirds of the remaining intact forests. They also recorded the largest reductions. Fires have become a major driver of recent decline in intact forest area, accounting for almost 40% of the reduction between 2020 and 2025, up from 21% during 2000-2013. Logging, previously the leading cause, accounted for around one-fifth since 2020. Mining, drilling, and exploration contributed nearly 19%, making extractive industries the third-largest cause. Drivers of intact forest landscape loss. Image courtesy of World Resources Institute. The figure for extractive industries requires some explanation. While agriculture remains the main cause of global deforestation, mines and oil wells directly clear a relatively small area. However, the WRI analysis measures the loss of intact forests: A road,…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. The world’s largest remaining stretches of undisturbed forest are shrinking. Fires now cause more of the loss than logging, while mining and oil and gas development have moved close to the top of the list. That’s the conclusion […] authors: | ||
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Africa’s smallest wildcat found using abandoned rodent burrows to raise kittens 28 Jul 2026 10:25:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/africas-smallest-wildcat-found-using-abandoned-rodent-burrows-to-raise-kittens/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Africa’s smallest wildcat uses abandoned springhare burrows to raise its kittens, according to new research. There are fewer than 10,000 black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) left in the wild and studies on these nocturnal animals are rare. To learn more about them, a team of researchers tracked five female black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) with radio collars and scanned more than 50 burrows in southern Namibia between 2020-21. The research found that 98% of the dens used by the cats had originally been dug, then abandoned, by springhares (Pedetes capensis), an endemic rodent which looks like a cross between a small kangaroo and a rabbit. The cats depend on springhares to provide the underground dens where the felines raise their kittens for the first six to seven weeks of life. “I can’t prove black-footed cats would disappear without springhares, but at this site they would be much more vulnerable,” Harold Brindley, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, told Mongabay contributor María de los Ángeles Orfila. F. nigripes in a springhare burrow in southern Namibia. Image courtesy of Harold Brindley. Researchers used laser-based, remote-sensing technology to measure tunnel dimensions and determine which species created them. The cats selected burrows with tunnel entrances between 10 and 27 centimeters (4 and 11 inches) in diameter. They ignored smaller rodent holes and larger aardvark or porcupine burrows. After the kittens reached about seven weeks of age, mothers typically transitioned from staying in one location for nearly a…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Africa’s smallest wildcat uses abandoned springhare burrows to raise its kittens, according to new research. There are fewer than 10,000 black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) left in the wild and studies on these nocturnal animals are rare. To learn more about them, a team of researchers tracked five female black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) with radio collars […] authors: | ||
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Pat Lowe spent decades describing and defending the Kimberley 28 Jul 2026 00:02:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/pat-lowe-spent-decades-describing-and-defending-the-kimberley/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The termites had built their towers long before roads crossed the Kimberley or companies proposed industrial projects along its rivers and coasts. Their colonies worked beneath the red earth, altering the soil and supporting other forms of life. Pat Lowe studied them closely. She asked Aboriginal knowledge-holders what they knew, spoke with scientists, read widely, and eventually wrote a book about them. She was drawn to subjects that were common and easily overlooked. The same attention led her to boabs, mammals, desert plants, and the pindan woodlands around Broome, where red soil lies beneath pale grasses and scattered trees. Her interest in conservation grew from long observation of how these landscapes worked. Pat Lowe, who died on July 2nd, 2026, aged 84, spent much of her life studying the Kimberley and helping others understand it. She was a psychologist, writer, editor, naturalist, and environmental campaigner. Her path to northern Western Australia began far away. Born in England in 1942, she trained as a teacher, worked in East Africa, and later moved to Australia, where she became a psychologist in the prison system. At Fremantle Prison, she met Jimmy Pike, a Walmajarri man who had grown up in the Great Sandy Desert and became one of Australia’s best-known Indigenous artists. After Pike’s release, they lived for three years at Kurlku, a remote desert camp. Water, weather, distance, and food governed daily life. Pike taught her about his Country: its routes, seasons, foods, history, and obligations. She learned Walmajarri words, listened…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Pat Lowe, who died on July 2nd, 2026, aged 84, was a psychologist, writer, naturalist, editor, and longtime defender of the Kimberley in Western Australia. - Her understanding of the region was shaped by years living with Walmajarri artist Jimmy Pike at Kurlku in the Great Sandy Desert and by listening to Indigenous knowledge-holders. - She helped found Environs Kimberley, later chaired it, served on its board for decades, and edited its newsletter for 29 years. - Lowe also supported Broome’s literary community, wrote extensively about the Kimberley, and argued that communities should be able to reject projects that would permanently damage Country, the Indigenous Australian term for ancestral lands, waters, relationships, knowledge, and responsibilities. authors: | ||
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More than 100 queen ants destined for Laos seized in Mexico 27 Jul 2026 22:52:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/more-than-100-queen-ants-destined-for-laos-seized-in-mexico/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel delivery company reported a suspicious package to Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa). They found the ants. Each one stuffed in a test tube with a cotton ball, hidden inside two plastic toys; 18 of the 105 queen ants were dead, authorities said. The surviving ants were released in the Cerro Viejo Protected Natural Area in Jalisco. An ant expert determined the harvester ants belonged to the genus Pogonomyrmex, according to the release, and are native to the deserts of the Americas, including Mexico. Further investigations related to this seizure are ongoing, authorities said. Insects, including ants, have become targets for wildlife trafficking in recent years. Harvester ants are particularly in demand for their complex colony-building skills and are kept in specialized artificial ant habitats known as formicariums. “This seizure is another indicator of the globally booming interest in ants,” Sandra Altherr, cofounder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, told Mongabay in an email. In 2025, Kenyan authorities confiscated more than 5,300 endemic harvester ants and arrested four suspects — two Belgians, one Kenyan national and one Vietnamese national. In a recent online survey of ant trading websites, Altherr’s team found more than 360 different species of ants from all over the world for sale,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel delivery company reported a suspicious package to Mexico’s Federal Attorney for […] authors: | ||
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How carbon markets can succeed & also serve Global South communities (commentary) 27 Jul 2026 21:09:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-carbon-markets-can-succeed-also-serve-global-south-communities-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Pati Ruiz Corzo content:encoded: Carbon markets were designed around the compelling premise that private finance could flow where forests are most at risk, rewarding the communities and landowners who protect them while helping companies take responsibility for their emissions. For anyone working in climate or conservation, the underlying logic still holds. The world’s forests provide essential ecosystem services, capture and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, face enormous pressure, and need sustained economic incentives if they are to survive. So why has the voluntary carbon market so consistently fallen short of this promise? Over the past decade, the sector has faced mounting evidence that many carbon credits, particularly those issued for forest conservation in the Global South, have not delivered the climate outcomes they claimed. There have been well-documented cases of social harm to Indigenous and local communities, scientific analysis has repeatedly found that the methodologies used to calculate emissions reductions were prone to significant overestimation, and trust in the market, among both buyers and civil society, has been eroded. Military macaws (Ara militaris) flying over a forest in the Sierra Gorda. They are one of the many iconic and endangered species that call the forests of the Sierra Gorda home. Image courtesy of Roberto Pedraza Ruiz / Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda. However, this is not a reason to abandon the idea of climate finance for nature. It is a reason to understand what has gone wrong, and to ask what a more inclusive, just, and transparent model can look like. What hasn’t worked…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The world’s forests provide essential ecosystem services, capture and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, face enormous pressure, and need sustained economic incentives if they are to survive. - So why has the voluntary carbon market consistently fallen short of its promise to support forest conservation and communities, a new op-ed asks. - “The ecosystem services forests provide are worth something, and the people who live in and protect those forests must be the primary beneficiaries of that value. Anything short of that is not conservation but a new form of exploitation,” the author argues. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Heat stress is rising globally, raising health concerns for billions: Study 27 Jul 2026 20:57:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/heat-stress-is-rising-globally-raising-health-concerns-for-billions-study/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Patricia Sia Ngevao content:encoded: Climate change is causing frequent, well-studied, extreme heat events. Less well understood is the additional heat stress experienced by billions of people as a result of those extreme heat events. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change aims to change that. The study analyzed more than 70 years of climate data stored in the ERA5-HEAT data set, which includes heat stress data going back to 1940. The researchers combined that climate information with population data to estimate human exposure to hazardous heat worldwide. The study found that nighttime “feels-like” temperatures have increased faster than daytime temperatures. Around 70% of the world’s population now experiences at least 90 days of strong heat stress annually, compared with 55% in the 1970s. They found that hazardous heat stress has intensified across every continent over the last five decades, including in places historically unaccustomed to such heat like parts of Europe. A recent heat wave in Europe is said to have caused more than 10,000 excess deaths. “Heat stress is already affecting lives worldwide and is no longer a future threat,” Rebecca Emerton, lead author of the study, and a senior scientist with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, told Mongabay in a video call. Extreme heat causes more human deaths than any other extreme weather event; children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Underlying health conditions including asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease can become deadly with heat. “This study provides strong evidence that heat stress is increasing globally and that…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Climate change is causing frequent, well-studied, extreme heat events. Less well understood is the additional heat stress experienced by billions of people as a result of those extreme heat events. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change aims to change that. The study analyzed more than 70 years of climate data stored in […] authors: | ||
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Listening to birdsong in a forest lowered a person’s stress during experiment 27 Jul 2026 20:19:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listening-to-birdsong-in-a-forest-lowered-a-persons-stress-during-experiment/ author: Liz Kimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: Sitting in a small, restored forest while listening to birdsong lowered people’s stress and lifted their mood in the moment, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Conservation. Researchers asked 106 students at North Carolina State University in the U.S. to sit outdoors in noise-canceling headphones at two spots on campus: A strip of riparian forest restored two decades ago and a paved plaza facing a road intersection. At each location, participants listened to 10 minutes of birdsong and 10 minutes of traffic noise, in random order, then rated their stress, their positive and negative feelings, and how mentally restored they felt. The design, swapping both the place and the soundtrack, let the researchers separate the effect of where someone sits from what they hear. Both mattered, and their effects stacked. Participants in the forest hearing birdsong reported an average stress score of 3.2 on an 11-point scale, compared with 6.4 for those on the plaza hearing traffic. Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) in Texas, U.S. Eastern bluebirds are commonly seen in agricultural lands. parks and neighborhoods in North America. Image by Shiva Shenoy via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). The forest-and-birdsong pairing also produced the highest positive emotion and the strongest sense of restoration. The two mismatched conditions (forest with traffic, plaza with birdsong) landed in between, better than the plaza-and-traffic combination but short of the full effect. “For participants who were in a green space listening to the birds, there were significant effects. Positive emotions went up,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new experiment found that sitting in a restored urban forest while listening to birdsong lowered people’s stress and improved their mood more than any other setting tested. - Researchers had 106 students at North Carolina State University in the U.S. sit in either a restored forest or a paved plaza while hearing birdsong or traffic noise, isolating the effects of place and sound. - Both the natural setting and the birdsong helped independently, and the benefits were largest when combined. - The forest was a human-made restoration completed in 2006, suggesting cities could build mental-health benefits into parks rather than relying on remote wilderness. authors: | ||
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Scaling up offshore wind requires overcoming global and local challenges 27 Jul 2026 20:12:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Sean Mowbray content:encoded: This is Part Two in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One describes the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. The last year has highlighted both the vast potential of the growing offshore wind sector, and the major headwinds it must contend with. On one hand, the United Kingdom, a major offshore wind market, produced nearly 20% of the electricity it generated from offshore wind alone in 2025. Some 3,000 turbines generated enough electricity to power around 15.5 million homes. In 2025, 9.3 GW of offshore wind capacity was connected to the grid. By the end of 2026, it’s estimated that a further 18.8 GW will be added across the world. That would take total global capacity above 100 GW. In contrast to this positive backdrop are signs the industry is in a difficult period. 2025’s installations were dominated by China, at 6.6 GW, with European countries only adding around 3 GW. That’s off pace to meet many countries’ national targets, which must be fulfilled to meet climate goals. The Global Wind Energy Council, a trade industry association based in Portugal, also noted that just 11.4 GW of new projects were awarded contracts in 2025, down from 56 GW in 2024. That follows a series of failed auctions. Some developers also canceled large-scale projects. Notably, in May 2025 Danish developer Ørsted axed its U.K.-based Hornsea 4 project, which would have become one of the largest offshore wind farms in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Offshore wind has great potential as a renewable source of energy, experts say, but remains underutilized; its pace of development is slower than needed to meet set climate goals. - As a sector, offshore wind is buffeted by global economic factors, such as inflation and supply chain constraints. That’s led to failed auctions and canceled projects in recent years. - Other challenges at the national level, such as ensuring timely grid connections and ship and port capacity, have also emerged. - These must be overcome if offshore wind is to scale, according to experts. authors: | ||
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Colorful birds are at greater risk of extinction than drab birds, study finds 27 Jul 2026 20:02:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/colorful-birds-are-at-greater-risk-of-extinction-than-drab-birds-study-finds/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Habitat loss, climate change, hunting and the pet trade are well-known drivers of bird declines. A new study suggests the colors of the birds themselves may also influence their extinction risk: Birds with colorful plumage seem to be more threatened than those with dull colors. Researchers Montague Neate-Clegg and Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela were on a bird watching trip in Vietnam when they realized that some of the colorful birds they spotted were both highly threatened and prized for the pet trade, Neate-Clegg, an assistant professor at the University of California Davis told Mongabay in a video call. “So, we got talking about how more colorful birds might be at higher risk of extinction.” To test their idea, the researchers analyzed the conservation status for some 4,334 passerine bird species using data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Passerine birds make up more than half of all known bird species and include perching and songbirds such as canaries, finches, sparrows and bulbuls. The researchers then compared extinction risks for these species with colorfulness, or the number of distinct colors on each bird. They also looked at geographic threat patterns and controlled for other factors including body size, diet, ability to disperse and dependency on forest. The study found that colorful birds are indeed more threatened than dull birds, even after accounting for body size and other traits. In Southeast Asia, where brightly colored birds are heavily targeted for the pet trade, the pattern was especially clear. “If…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Habitat loss, climate change, hunting and the pet trade are well-known drivers of bird declines. A new study suggests the colors of the birds themselves may also influence their extinction risk: Birds with colorful plumage seem to be more threatened than those with dull colors. Researchers Montague Neate-Clegg and Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela were on a bird […] authors: | ||
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French wildfire created a monster cloud, unleashing lightning that ignited more fires 27 Jul 2026 19:06:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/french-wildfire-created-a-monster-cloud-unleashing-lightning-that-ignited-more-fires/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: PARIS (AP) — A wildfire in southwest France grew so powerful that its towering smoke column became a thunderstorm, generating lightning that struck the ground and ignited new fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said. The so-called pyrocumulonimbus — which France’s national firefighters federation said had never before been seen in the country — also generated violent, erratic winds that could drive the flames in new directions. The inferno was no longer simply being propelled by the weather around it. It had begun creating its own. By Thomas Adamson, Associated Press Banner image: People watch a pyrocumulonimbus, a giant cloud created by large wildfires in Le Porge, western France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. Caroline Blumberg, Associated Press This article was originally published on Mongabay description: PARIS (AP) — A wildfire in southwest France grew so powerful that its towering smoke column became a thunderstorm, generating lightning that struck the ground and ignited new fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said. The so-called pyrocumulonimbus — which France’s national firefighters federation said had never before been seen in the country — […] authors: | ||
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Father Robert Athickal asked children to protect the living world 27 Jul 2026 12:32:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The first members had no office, no money, and little authority. They were schoolchildren in Patna, a crowded city on the Ganges, worried about the trees being cut around them. They met after class, visited other schools, planted saplings, and spoke to anyone willing to listen. Some traveled by bicycle to carry their message farther. Their organization had a name, Tarumitra, meaning “Friends of Trees,” though for a time it consisted mainly of students and a small circle of adults helping them. Among those adults was a Jesuit priest who believed that children could be trusted with serious work. Father Robert Athickal, who died on July 19th, aged 73, spent nearly four decades developing that idea. From its beginnings in Patna in 1988, Tarumitra grew into one of India’s largest student environmental movements. It established groups in schools and colleges across the country, trained generations of young campaigners, and created a reserve for threatened plants from the Gangetic plain. Athickal had few of the resources usually available to someone building a national organization. There was no large funder behind the project and no government mandate. He relied on his position as a Jesuit teacher, the cooperation of schools, and his ability to persuade students and adults that local environmental problems deserved their attention. Tarumitra’s early campaigns were designed to be practical and easy to reproduce. Students cleaned neglected plots, planted roadside gardens, and turned former garbage dumps into what they called “Oxygen Belts.” Other school groups could follow…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Father Robert Athickal helped a small group of schoolchildren in Patna turn local tree-planting efforts into one of India’s largest student environmental movements. - Tarumitra trained generations of young people to restore degraded land, protect native species, practice organic farming, and organize around environmental problems. - Athickal combined Jesuit teaching with Indian philosophy, arguing that humans had moral obligations toward animals, plants, rivers, soils, and other forms of life. - By trusting students with real responsibility, he showed how modest, local action could grow into a movement involving hundreds of thousands of young people. authors: | ||
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Extreme weather dampens breeding success for marine predators in Tasmania: study 27 Jul 2026 12:11:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/extreme-weather-dampens-breeding-success-for-marine-predators-in-tasmania-study/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Madeline Shaw content:encoded: On the rocky shores of Tasmania, seals and seabirds can’t shelter indoors during a storm or turn on the AC during a hot spell. When extreme weather strikes, they’re exposed to the elements, especially when they’re tied to a clumsy pup or a nest of newly hatched chicks. The effects can be deadly. A study published in Science Advances in June found that extreme weather events like storms, heat waves and floods can interfere with the breeding success of important marine predators like seals, shearwaters and albatross that raise their young along the coasts. As these events become both more frequent and increasingly intense due to climate change, the study authors stress the need to monitor predator populations to better protect them from the effects, especially during vulnerable times in the breeding season. “Extreme weather events are becoming a new normal,” study lead author Milan Sojitra, a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania, told Mongabay. “It is having an effect on ecosystems and species.” Marine ecosystems around the world are under stress from the effects of human-caused climate change, including heatwaves and warming ocean temperatures that can cause coral bleaching and mass die-offs of marine species. Tasmania, an island and Australian state 240 kilometers (149 miles) south of the mainland, is a climate change hotspot, with surface waters off its eastern coast warming three to four times faster than the global average, according to a 2018 study. The frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall and heat on the island…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A recent study found that extreme weather events like storms, heat waves and floods can interfere with the breeding success of marine predators like seals, shearwaters and albatross that raise their young along the coasts of the Australian state of Tasmania. - While some colonies appeared unaffected by extreme weather, others saw offspring swept away by powerful waves and storm surges, hypothermia during unusually wet episodes, and deadly overheating during periods of high temperatures. - The researchers noted that these extremes are among many challenges seals, seabirds and other marine predators face, including pollution, disease and declining food supplies, which can also be influenced by extreme weather events. authors: | ||
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Cheetahs reintroduced to Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem 27 Jul 2026 12:10:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/cheetahs-reintroduced-to-zambias-greater-luangwa-ecosystem/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Charles Mpaka content:encoded: Cheetahs are back in Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem, nearly 30 years after the big cats’ last recorded presence in the massive landscape. Six cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), three males and three females, were earlier in July moved by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and several conservation groups, including the South Africa-based Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), to a remote part of North Luangwa National Park. The cheetahs were translocated from private reserves in South Africa. Another six will be moved in August, while a third batch of six will follow in August 2027, according to a statement by EWT. There haven’t been confirmed sightings of cheetahs in the Greater Luangwa Ecosystem since 1998, according to EWT’s fact sheet, which attributes the cat’s disappearance to successive outbreaks of anthrax disease and habitat disturbance. “Many of the threats that likely contributed to the disappearance of cheetahs from Luangwa in the 1990s have been significantly reduced,” Olivia Sievert, manager for EWT’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project, told Mongabay by email. Sievert said conservation efforts in North Luangwa and South Luangwa national parks, the two major protected areas in the ecosystem, have resulted in healthy prey populations, allowing large carnivores such as lions (Panthera leo) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) to flourish across the ecosystem. “However, cheetahs are unable to naturally recolonise the Luangwa valley because the nearest viable populations are too distant and disconnected for natural dispersal to occur,” Sievert said. “As a result, active reintroduction is the only realistic way to restore…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Cheetahs are back in Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem, nearly 30 years after the big cats’ last recorded presence in the massive landscape. Six cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), three males and three females, were earlier in July moved by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and several conservation groups, including the South Africa-based Endangered Wildlife […] authors: | ||
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Bangladesh shipbreakers push back against stricter environmental standards 27 Jul 2026 11:23:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-shipbreakers-push-back-against-stricter-environmental-standards/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Ashraful Haque content:encoded: DHAKA — Ships sail oceans all over the world, yet as they reach the end of their lives, they mostly go to die on the beaches of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Around 85% of the world’s end-of-life ships are dismantled and recycled in these three South Asian countries, an industry that has long relied on low-cost manual labor but has also been criticized for its high disregard for worker safety and severe environmental pollution. Shipbreaking is so hazardous that the industry was shut down in industrialized countries in the 1960s, displaced to less-industrialized countries, particularly in South Asia. Data from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, which campaigns for improved ship-recycling standards, show that since 2009, 8,221 ships have ended up on South Asian beaches, 480 workers have died on the job, and 520 have been injured. The numbers don’t account for pollution so severe that fish stocks have declined in these areas, putting local fishers out of work. The future of Bangladesh’s ship recycling industry now hinges on a dispute over two international treaties: the Basel Convention, which regulates the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, and the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC), a sector-specific treaty adopted under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Bangladesh ratified both conventions: Basel in 1993, and HKC in 2023. The latter came into force in 2025, while the former entered into force in 1992. Shipbreaking in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Shipbreaking is so hazardous that the industry was shut down…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Bangladesh’s shipbreaking industry faces a pivotal treaty dispute. The country’s interim government last year decided that both Basel Convention and the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) will apply simultaneously to the local shipbreaking operations. - However, shipbreakers say that applying Basel rules would make ship imports more expensive and legally complex, potentially forcing many shipbreaking yards to close due to their inability to meet Basel standards. - Basel strictly controls transboundary movement of toxic waste, and requires dismantling ships on impermeable surfaces that contain hazardous waste, effectively ruling out the conventional method used in Bangladesh, of grounding a ship onto a beach. - The Hong Kong Convention permits the beaching method, but environmental activists say it doesn’t provide sufficient environmental protection and reflects shipping industry interests. authors: | ||
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Finning the High Seas 27 Jul 2026 09:52:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/07/finning-the-high-seas/ author: Alejandroprescottcornejo dc:creator: content:encoded: This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive work, substandard food and drinking water, illness, and deaths at sea. Their testimonies enabled Mongabay and its partners to determine that a tiny handful of DOF boats took more sharks than what China reported its entire longline fleet catching in the same place and time, which informed U.S. sanctions against the company.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive […] authors: | ||
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Major orangutan study finds Sumatran population fell nearly 20% despite slower forest loss 27 Jul 2026 08:30:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Hans Nicholas JongJunaidi Hanafiah content:encoded: JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species’ decline. While deforestation remains the primary driver, several orangutan populations in Indonesia’s island of Sumatra shrank by a far greater degree than the rate of forest loss might explain, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict with humans and habitat fragmentation. The findings come from the first comprehensive reassessment of both Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis) orangutans since the landmark 2016 range-wide survey led by primatologist Serge Wich. The study also signals a notable shift in the Indonesian government’s public approach to orangutan conservation. Between 2018 and 2022, then environment and forestry minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar repeatedly said “ground-based evidence” showed orangutan populations were growing and dismissed projections of continued decline. Those claims were challenged at the time by prominent primatologists, who argued that peer-reviewed research consistently showed that the populations of all three orangutan species, Sumatran, Tapanuli and Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), were declining and urged the ministry to release the data underpinning its assertions. The dispute escalated when the ministry temporarily barred several of the scientists from conducting research with Indonesia’s national parks and conservation agencies. The latest assessment of the animals presents a picture that’s markedly different from the previous…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study estimates the Sumatran orangutan population declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023. - The researchers found that habitat loss alone cannot explain the declines, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict and habitat fragmentation. - The study is the first comprehensive reassessment of Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans since a landmark 2016 survey. - The Forestry Ministry co-authored the study and says it will use the findings to guide conservation policy, marking a contrast with the previous administration’s public claims that orangutan populations were increasing. authors: | ||
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Thai MP calls for new committee to scrutinize AI data centers’ environmental impact 27 Jul 2026 02:48:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Gerald Flynn content:encoded: BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to data center development,” Sahassawat Kumkong, a member of the reformist People’s Party, told Mongabay in an interview. “The objective should not simply be to attract investment as quickly as possible. We also need to ensure that development is environmentally sustainable, that local communities are protected, and that the economic benefits are shared more fairly.” Sahassawat represents Constituency 7 in Chonburi, a coastal province in eastern Thailand where at least 13 data centers are in the construction or planning phases, with four more already operational, according to public records, news coverage and, in some cases, on-the-ground reporting by Mongabay. Part of his responsibility in this role, he said, was to safeguard the interests of his constituents, who largely depend on natural resources that data centers may put under strain. The MP said he intends to do this by forming a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the government’s approval and regulation of data centers. This will involve a comprehensive review of Thailand’s current policy framework, including long-term planning for water and energy resources, stronger environmental safeguards, greater transparency, meaningful public participation and mechanisms to ensure that communities sharing the costs of these projects also share in their benefits,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A Thai member of parliament has called for the formation of a new committee to scrutinize the development of new data centers. - Experts have warned that Thailand needs to find a balance between economic development and the water and energy resources required to fuel data centers. - Despite these concerns, international tech companies are spending billions of dollars on data centers in Thailand, sparking fears over water scarcity and energy infrastructure. authors: | ||
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Khuiusi Khisêtjê helped his people recover their land and future in the Xingu 24 Jul 2026 17:37:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/khuiusi-khisetje-helped-his-people-recover-their-land-and-future-in-the-xingu/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The plane sprayed the soy fields beside the forest. Residents of Khikatxi said the single-engine aircraft appeared several times during each harvest and passed over Wawi Indigenous Territory. They worried about pesticides reaching their water, gardens, animals, and homes. For years, Khuiusi Khisêtjê watched the farms advance around his people’s land. In 2018 he made a decision.. The community would rebuild its village ten kilometers deeper in the forest. Leaving a village is difficult. Houses must be rebuilt, paths cleared, gardens planted, and daily routines restored. The old place contained years of work and memory. Khuiusi Khisêtjê had already lived through several such upheavals. He knew what was lost when people were forced from their land. He also knew when it had become unsafe to remain. The move took the Khisêtjê farther from the expanding agricultural frontier. It was one more decision in a life devoted to the survival of his people. Khuiusi, who died in Goiânia on July 3rd, at about 80, belonged to a generation that saw the Khisêtjê come close to extinction. He was born when his people still lived beyond the settled frontiers of central Brazil. Their villages lay among rivers, forest, and savanna in a region that would later form part of the Xingu Indigenous Territory and the adjoining Wawi Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso. Contact with outsiders brought disease, violence, and displacement. Epidemics killed older people who held knowledge of the land, ceremonies, songs, and family histories. Khuiusi lost his father and many of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Khuiusi Khisêtjê assumed leadership after disease and violence reduced his people to around 50 and killed many of their elders. - He helped recover the Wawi Indigenous Territory, which contained ancestral villages, sacred places, and the graves of Khisêtjê relatives. - He worked to preserve Khisêtjê songs, language, oral history, and cultural knowledge while preparing younger leaders to navigate Brazilian institutions. - As soy farms and pesticide use expanded around the territory, he continued defending the land and, in 2018, led his community deeper into the forest. authors: | ||
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Conservationists got delayed access to court-ordered inspection of Nairobi National Park 24 Jul 2026 16:05:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/conservationists-got-delayed-access-to-court-ordered-inspection-of-nairobi-national-park/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Lynet Otieno content:encoded: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has been accused of harassing co-petitioners in a case challenging the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to make it part of the larger Bomas International Conference Complex. The proposal would carve out between 76 and 89 acres inside Nairobi National Park for upgrades to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facilities. Conservationists are concerned that the facility, which will include parking for 1,300 vehicles, poses threats to a protected indigenous forest and habitat for the critically endangered black rhino. On July 16, the Environment and Land Court in Nairobi ordered its deputy registrar Vincent Kiplagat to visit the park in the presence of all parties to prepare and file a report about the proposed facility. The Nairobi-based NGO Save the Nairobi National Park (SaveNNP) said it was denied court-ordered access to the site. In a statement sent to Mongabay, SaveNNP condemned “threats and intimidation” by KWS personnel. In the same statement, SaveNNP and JustAct, another Nairobi-based NGO, accused the KWS of planning to “control the narrative and ensure the voice of Kenyans was not heard by the courts or the media while on site.” Similar claims were made by Friends of Nairobi National Park. Mongabay asked KWS spokesperson Duncan Wanyama for a comment and was referred to a local media report in which Wanyama said the visitors were not obstructed and that rangers were just enforcing standard protocols within the park. The activists said they were later allowed in, but “only once the court officers, KWS…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has been accused of harassing co-petitioners in a case challenging the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to make it part of the larger Bomas International Conference Complex. The proposal would carve out between 76 and 89 acres inside Nairobi National Park for upgrades to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facilities. […] authors: | ||
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California solar project threatens Mojave wildlife corridor, scientists say 24 Jul 2026 14:33:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/california-solar-project-threatens-mojave-wildlife-corridor-scientists-say/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Hyeyoon Cho content:encoded: The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of wildlife movement that has sustained desert species for thousands of years. Now, scientists and advocates say a solar project approved by the state of California threatens to sever it. In April, the California Energy Commission, the state agency that oversees energy infrastructure, voted 4-0 to approve a $700 million, 1,080-hectare (2,670-acre) solar facility proposed by New Jersey-based developer VC Renewables on federal land adjacent to the Mojave National Preserve. The preserve, spanning more than 1.6 million acres, is one of the largest in the U.S. National Park System and is located in Southern California. The project, known as Soda Mountain Solar, sits in the migration corridor that desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) use to move between mountain ranges. This large solar array would also obstruct desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat, which has already undergone significant loss due to climate change and land developments. The energy commission’s environmental review found the project would cause significant and unavoidable harm to wildlife. Scientists and conservation advocates say the approval threatens one of the last intact desert ecosystems in California. But the commission’s final order memo states that ecological mitigation incorporated into the solar project would reduce the impacts on desert wildlife to “less than significant” and that the commission expects the project will bring more renewable energy to the state. Scientists and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The state of California has approved a solar project in the Mojave Desert on land that serves as a migration corridor for desert bighorn sheep and habitat for the desert tortoise. - Scientists and conservation advocates say the approval threatens one of the last intact desert ecosystems in California, but the California Energy Commission says ecological mitigation will reduce the impacts on wildlife and that the project will bring more renewable energy to the state. - The Mojave is already fragmented by Interstate 15, and solar projects add further threats; the ability to move between mountains is what keeps the bighorn sheep population from collapsing. authors: | ||
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