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Monica Montefalcone, leading seagrass scientist, dies in Maldives diving accident, aged 51 16 May 2026 09:34:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/monica-montefalcone-leading-seagrass-scientist-dies-in-a-maldives-diving-accident-aged-51/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The sea was not scenery to her. It was a place to study: its plants, reefs, hidden habitats, and seasonal changes. A meadow of Posidonia oceanica was not just a patch of green beneath the water. It provided a nursery, offered shelter, stored carbon, and afforded coastal protection. To most swimmers it might have looked like seagrass. To Monica Montefalcone it was a living system, and one that recovered slowly once damaged. That slowness mattered. Posidonia grows at a pace that does not fit human timetables. In the Mediterranean, more than half of its meadows have been lost over the past century; in Liguria, the losses were especially severe. Laws and European directives could help protect what remained, she argued, but protection alone was not enough. Where hundreds of hectares had disappeared, waiting for nature to repair itself would mean leaving the work to future generations. Active restoration, including the manual replanting of seagrass, was therefore a practical response to a practical problem. Monica Montefalcone. From Sky TG24 Montefalcone, who died on May 14th in a diving accident in the Maldives, was 51. Her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, 23, died with her, along with Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow who had worked with her, Federico Gualtieri, a recent marine-biology graduate, and Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor and boat operations manager. Four of the victims were connected to the University of Genoa, where Montefalcone was an associate professor of ecology. The group had been diving in caves in Vaavu Atoll. The final…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Monica Montefalcone, a University of Genoa marine ecologist and leading expert on Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica meadows, died in a diving accident in the Maldives at age 51. - Her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, 23, died with her, along with three other Italians, four of whom were connected to the University of Genoa. - Montefalcone’s work linked field science, conservation practice and public understanding, especially through mapping, monitoring and restoring seagrass meadows and other coastal marine habitats. - Colleagues and students remembered her as a demanding field scientist, generous teacher and clear communicator who helped younger researchers find their place in marine biology. authors: | ||
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Tensions rise in DRC mining region as community leaders arrested over protest 15 May 2026 21:41:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/tensions-rise-in-drc-mining-region-as-community-leaders-arrested-over-protest/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities. Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.” The case centers around Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), one of the world’s largest copper and cobalt miners and a subsidiary of CMOC (China Molybdenum) Group, which in 2020 built a lime processing plant near the village of Kabombwa in Lualaba. Two years later, following an investigation, the NGO African Natural Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) alleged that TFM’s plant was releasing acidic water into a nearby river, causing 11 deaths between 2020 and 2022. The company denied AFREWATCH’s findings, yet in 2023 relocated several Kabombwa residents through a provincial government commission, and paid out compensation ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. Three years after the relocation, many residents remain deeply dissatisfied. “They realized the amount they received was far from sufficient and does not allow them to live decently,” Leonard Zama, activist and director of the Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights and Social Reintegration (IPDHOR ASBL), told Mongabay by phone. During the relocation, TFM also promised support for housing and health care for three years, but the agreement was only verbal “and nothing was done,” Zama added. Frustrated by what they describe as inadequate responses to their demands by the end…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities. Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and […] authors: | ||
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New energy deals for Africa sealed at Nairobi summit 15 May 2026 20:01:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-energy-deals-for-africa-sealed-at-nairobi-summit/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Akana content:encoded: European and African business leaders and heads of state have announced a raft of clean energy and infrastructure investments at the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. Forty companies announced plans to invest roughly 27 billion euros ($31.5 billion) across about 30 projects in Africa. They aim to generate a combined 100 billion euros ($116.5 billion) in revenue while employing more than 600,000 people across the continent. The wider goal is to deepen industrial ties and accelerate Africa’s transition to low-carbon power. Energy attracted the largest share of investments, roughly 14 billion euros ($16.3 billion). Agriculture, human capital, finance, AI, industrialization and the blue economy were also a focus. Kenya and France jointly hosted the May 11-12 gathering, which organizers said was designed to build a “partnership of equals.” Africa and Europe, particularly France, have historically had a contentious relationship rooted in colonialism. Commitments on renewable energy French utility EDF confirmed plans for 2 gigawatts of hydropower projects across several African countries. French oil and gas major TotalEnergies outlined more than $10 billion in new investments by 2030, including $2 billion for renewable power in Rwanda and $400 million for clean cooking initiatives in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. TotalEnergies will also work with Ellipse Projects on the construction and renovation of hospital infrastructure worth $700 million. Infrastructure investor Meridiam announced $200 million to double the capacity of Kenya’s Kipeto wind project, while Global Telecom Holding pledged $350 million for a 250-megawatt solar farm in Zambia. AXIAN Group and partners committed…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: European and African business leaders and heads of state have announced a raft of clean energy and infrastructure investments at the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. Forty companies announced plans to invest roughly 27 billion euros ($31.5 billion) across about 30 projects in Africa. They aim to generate a combined 100 billion euros ($116.5 […] authors: | ||
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In Thailand, burned sugarcane plantations become traps for leopard cat cubs 15 May 2026 19:43:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Ana Norman Bermúdez content:encoded: Nuntita Ruksachat, head veterinarian at the Khon Kaen wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand, holds up a feline cub no larger than her hand. Part of a litter rescued just days ago, the cub’s fur is patchy, revealing blistered skin underneath. Its whiskers, clearly singed, are short and stubby. “They were rescued from a burned sugarcane plantation,” she says. Behind her, cats pace inside rows of cages. More than 50 leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) cubs are currently housed at the rescue center, which is run by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s (DNP). The youngest are kept in cages, while older ones have been moved to larger enclosures. Leopard cats are small wild felines found across much of Asia, from Afghanistan to South Korea. Roughly the size of domestic cats, their bodies are slightly leaner, and their fur is marked with black spots and stripes. The leopard cat is a highly adaptable species, and as forests have shrunk across its range, it has learnt to live in human-dominated landscapes. In Thailand’s northeast, sugarcane plantations provide leopard cat mothers and their litters with shelter and prey. But every crop burning season — the period between December and April, when farmers in Thailand typically burn their fields — those same plantations can turn lethal. The rescue center receives a steady influx of leopard cat cubs from across the northeast. Most are found alone and weak on plantations or in nearby forests, some with scorched fur and whiskers. Rows of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Every crop burning season, dozens of leopard cat cubs are admitted to a wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand as fires tear through the sugarcane plantations where the cats shelter and hunt. - Since 2023, admissions have risen sharply, from around 10 per year to between 40 and 65, likely driven by a combination of habitat fragmentation, high fire activity and a higher number of rescues due to a wildlife hotline introduced in 2019. - This season’s survival rate was around 80% — markedly higher than in previous years. Fewer cubs arrived with severe burns, possibly linked to recent government regulations on agricultural burning. - But researchers say fires reflect a deeper problem: Habitat fragmentation and climate change are pushing leopard cats into agricultural landscapes where they face compounding threats, including not just fires but also human-wildlife conflict, disease and the illegal wildlife trade. authors: | ||
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Light pollution reshapes predator-prey dynamics at California’s urban edge, study finds 15 May 2026 19:28:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/light-pollution-reshapes-predator-prey-dynamics-at-californias-urban-edge-study-finds/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: A new study from two California counties finds that artificial light at night is a stronger driver of wildlife behavior at the edge of urban environments than noise. This has ripple effects for predators and prey. Researchers analyzed more than 35,000 camera-trap days from 61 stations in San Mateo county, on California’s central coast, and Orange county, in Southern California, between 2022 and 2024. They tracked an apex predator, the puma (Puma concolor); the bobcat (Lynx rufus); and an ungulate prey species, the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). The paper was published in Urban Ecosystems. “While scientists have known for a while that wildlife change their behavior around cities, often becoming more nocturnal to avoid humans, our study isolated exactly what part of the urban environment is driving this,”co-author Zara McDonald, biologist and president of the Felidae Conservation Fund, told Mongabay by email. “Our key finding is that artificial light pollution is actually altering the predator-prey dynamic.” Predators like pumas and bobcats avoided bright lights at night, such as areas lit by streetlights and other electric lighting. Mule deer, however, were more active in those same areas, though they avoided bright moonlight and noisy areas. The authors say the deer use human-modified spaces that predators avoid. A puma on the urban edge in California. Camera trap image courtesy of Felidae Conservation Fund “Essentially, artificial light is acting as a spatial barrier for carnivores and a ‘protective shield’ for prey,” McDonald said. The contrast was visually striking in the images and footage captured on…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study finds that bright lights at night change wildlife behavior at the edge of cities more than noise does, based on more than 35,000 days of camera footage in California’s San Mateo and Orange counties. - Pumas and bobcats showed up less often in brightly lit areas, while mule deer spent more time in those areas at night, using the light as shield from predators. - Artificial light shrinks pumas’ hunting grounds and pushes them into riskier places where they may encounter people, cars or pets, with potential long-term effects on body condition, reproduction and survival. - The authors suggest addressing light pollution through shielded fixtures, motion sensors, dark-sky ordinances and connected, unlit corridors that allow wildlife to move through cities. authors: | ||
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2026 FIFA World Cup threatened by extreme heat: Report 15 May 2026 18:55:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/2026-fifa-world-cup-threatened-by-extreme-heat-report/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Akana content:encoded: In less than a month, the world’s attention will shift to one of the biggest sporting events on the planet: the FIFA World Cup. As fans prepare to travel to stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada, scientists are warning that dangerous heat linked to climate change could create unsafe conditions for both athletes and spectators. A new analysis warns that dangerous levels of heat and humidity are now nearly twice as likely as they were the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup, in 1994, largely due to human-driven climate change. The study, conducted as part of the World Weather Attribution initiative, found that more than two dozen matches this summer are expected to be played under potentially dangerous heat-stress conditions. “Matches this summer will be played in conditions made hotter by climate change, putting players and fans at risk,” Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said in a statement obtained by Mongabay. Researchers used the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), a measure of heat stress in direct sun that combines temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind and cloud cover to identify trends across several host cities. A WBGT above 26° Celsius (79° Fahrenheit) is considered risky, while temperatures above 28°C (82°F) are deemed unsafe for play, according to the study. During the upcoming tournament, the WBGT for 26 matches is expected to reach or exceed 26°C. In 1994, there were likely 21. Five matches could surpass the dangerous 28°C threshold this year,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In less than a month, the world’s attention will shift to one of the biggest sporting events on the planet: the FIFA World Cup. As fans prepare to travel to stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada, scientists are warning that dangerous heat linked to climate change could create unsafe conditions for both athletes […] authors: | ||
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Radio and satellite alerts help Zambian farmers live with dangerous wildlife 15 May 2026 18:54:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: LUNDAZI, Zambia – In a yellow, single-story building in the eastern Zambian town of Lundazi, a radio presenter fields numerous calls from anxious villagers on nearby farms. Sitting across from presenter Joseph Mwale in the air-conditioned studio are two officials from Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). One of them, Senior Ranger Mathews Mumbi, tells listeners: “Avoid going out at night to avoid the ngozi (accidental harm).” Many of the villagers tuning in to the Thursday evening program live in a transfrontier conservation area (TFCA) straddling eastern Zambia and neighboring Malawi: dangerous encounters with wild animals is a way of life here. The twice-weekly radio show on Chikaya FM, a community radio station, is sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which works with the DNPW to promote human-wildlife coexistence across three Zambian farming districts – Lundazi, Lumezi and Chipangali — home to around half a million people. In theory, the TFCA links Kasungu with Zambia’s Lukusuzi and Luambe National Parks, but to reach the Zambian parks, elephants and other wild animals must cross farmland and roads and navigate past schools and homesteads. Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s Mwizaso Chipeta (left) and Mathews Mumbi field questions from callers about human-wildlife conflict from callers during a radio show on Chikaya FM, while IFAW’s community engagement manager Alstone Mwanza (right) listens in. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. During a break in the radio show, the station runs an advert with the sound of an elephant…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In Zambia’s Eastern Province, a community radio station beams out programs and messages on coping with human-wildlife conflict. - Tuning in are villagers living in a transfrontier conservation area straddling this part of Zambia, and neighboring Malawi. - When Mongabay visited, residents were mostly worried about attacks by hyenas, which officials say have recently claimed the lives of four children. - But cutting-edge satellite technology also provides farmers with an early warning on the approach of potentially destructive elephant herds. authors: | ||
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Marine conservation suffers when the ocean is not accessible to all, especially on remote islands (commentary) 15 May 2026 16:54:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Elsie Gabriel content:encoded: The global push to protect oceans is gaining momentum, from coral reef restoration to ambitious targets under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Yet one critical dimension remains largely overlooked: accessibility. If the ocean is to be protected, it must first be experienced. Today, for millions of people, it remains fundamentally out of reach. This is not just a social gap. It is a conservation failure. Ocean conservation depends on connection. People protect what they value, and they value what they can experience. Research shows that direct interaction with natural environments strengthens long-term environmental stewardship. Yet coastal and marine systems across much of the world remain structurally inaccessible to persons with disabilities, older populations, and marginalized communities. Workshop for residents of Lakshadweep, India, on accessible diving and ocean literacy. Image courtesy of Accessible Ocean Tourism. Beaches lack barrier-free access. Transport systems remain exclusionary. Marine experiences such as snorkeling and diving are rarely adapted. The result is a quiet but widespread exclusion from the ecosystems conservation seeks to protect. Globally, governments have committed to ensuring that no one is left behind under the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet in ocean spaces, exclusion persists. Accessibility is still treated as an afterthought, added through isolated initiatives rather than embedded into planning and conservation systems. This has direct consequences. When access to the ocean is limited, ocean literacy declines, while public understanding of marine ecosystems is a key driver of conservation outcomes. Communities that cannot engage with the ocean are less likely to participate in citizen science, conservation dialogue, or local stewardship. Conservation becomes something done for people,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Coastal and marine systems across much of the world remain structurally inaccessible to persons with disabilities, older populations, and marginalized communities. - If people protect what they value, and they value what they can experience, then marine conservation will be a low priority for these people, a new op-ed argues. - “If the ocean is to be protected, it must first be experienced, but for millions of people, it remains fundamentally out of reach,” the author writes. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Endangered Persian leopards persist across borders, despite hunters and landmines 15 May 2026 16:15:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Kayleigh Long content:encoded: Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to “just watch.” For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard entered the frame. Lortkipanidze, who heads the Georgian conservation NGO NACRES, was stunned: It was just the third sighting of a Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) in the south Caucasus nation in 20 years. The footage wasn’t from a wildlife camera trap. It came from a standard CCTV camera that surveilled the perimeter of a new breeding enclosure for endangered Caucasian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral) in Algeti National Park, situated an hour west of Tbilisi. The video quickly circulated around the conservation community. Vazha Kochiashvili, a biologist with WWF Caucasus, saw it: It was sent to him by the man tasked with checking the deer enclosure footage for Georgia’s National Agency of Wildlife, Sergo Tabagari, who called him immediately after he saw the cat while reviewing footage. Kochiashvili said he had a hunch and asked his friend: “Does the leopard have three legs?” It did. The male leopard’s name is Aren and, over the last few years, he’s roamed across at least two international borders. Persian leopards once traversed a vast territory that lies between Russia, the Middle East and the Caspian and Black seas. They’re wide-ranging animals, and Aren’s journey underscores the myriad…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - There are fewer than 1,100 Persian leopards left in the wild, with 80% — perhaps 732 individuals — concentrated in Iran. A handful remain in Russia, the Caucasus and countries across Central Asia. - This leopard subspecies is endangered and declining, driven to the brink of extinction in habitats across its range across southwestern and Central Asia. - More than half of all recorded leopard deaths are from retaliatory killings by local communities, who poison, trap or shoot leopards in response to livestock predation. They can also be maimed or killed by snares and traps intended for other, smaller prey. - The Persian leopard now occupies around one-quarter of its historical range. Their habitat is fragmented and crisscrossed by dangerous roadways and broken by international borders that are fenced or laced with landmines. authors: | ||
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At least 65 dead in latest Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo 15 May 2026 16:11:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/at-least-65-dead-in-latest-ebola-outbreak-in-eastern-dr-congo/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: A new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an announcement made by The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on May 15. Sixty-five people have died and around 246 suspected cases have been identified so far, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones in Ituri province. Africa CDC said four of the deaths have been confirmed through laboratory testing. Mongabay contacted military authorities in Ituri as well as several provincial lawmakers for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication. The number of deaths and cases could rise rapidly. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, the provincial capital located on the shores of Lake Albert near the border with Uganda. Due to its geographic and political position, the city is a major cultural, economic and social hub, making the presence of suspected cases particularly concerning for Africa CDC. “Given the high population movement between affected areas and neighboring countries, rapid regional coordination is critical,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, in a statement shared with Mongabay. “We are working with the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and partners to strengthen surveillance, preparedness and response efforts, and to help contain the outbreak as quickly as possible.” In response to the latest outbreak, the pan-African agency announced that an emergency meeting would be held May 15 “to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness and outbreak response efforts.” Participants are expected to include health…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an announcement made by The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on May 15. Sixty-five people have died and around 246 suspected cases have been identified so far, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health […] authors: | ||
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Canada aims to double its electric grid by 2050 with clean energy and lower costs for users 15 May 2026 15:58:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/canada-aims-to-double-its-electric-grid-by-2050-with-clean-energy-and-lower-costs-for-users/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a clean electricity strategy Thursday he says will help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 and lower energy costs for the majority of Canadian households. Canada is facing major challenges, including tariffs imposed by the United States, higher energy costs resulting from the war with Iran, plus the effects of climate change, Carney said. “When the world fundamentally changes, we must respond with new approaches,” he said. The new strategy includes regulations that will allow natural gas to play a larger role in building the grid. Construction is expected to cost more than $1 trillion Canadian ($730 billon). “The path to affordability is electrification,” Carney told a news conference in Ottawa. “The path to competitiveness is electrification. The path to net zero is electricity.” Carney said the plan includes new partnerships with Indigenous people and a willingness to use a wide range of energy, including hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, some gas, carbon capture and geothermal. “The scale is huge, the timeline is short and the task of getting the right mix of power is complex,” he said. “We can’t simply rely on restrictions and prohibitions. We must do things differently.” The government forecasts 130,000 new workers will be needed to double the size of grid. The strategy signals a shift from the existing clean electricity regulations presented by the former Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. That plan to decarbonize Canada’s grid by 2050 set limits on carbon dioxide pollution from almost all electricity generation units that use fossil fuels. Electricity accounts…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a clean electricity strategy Thursday he says will help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 and lower energy costs for the majority of Canadian households. Canada is facing major challenges, including tariffs imposed by the United States, higher energy costs resulting from the war with Iran, plus the effects of climate change, Carney said. […] authors: | ||
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Zambian prodigy draws on theoretical physics to improve weather prediction 15 May 2026 13:16:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: Prosper Chanda, 18, does not shy away from big problems. At the age of 3, he dived into algebra, and then as an adolescent he turned his attention toward advanced physics. At a time when most youth his age are dealing with late-stage teen angst, Chanda is awaiting the publication of a research paper that attempts to reconcile classical and quantum physics frameworks. Chanda, who hails from Kasama in Zambia’s Northern province, is also applying the conceptual frameworks of theoretical physics to the practical problem of accurate weather prediction. The model is based on what he calls Prosper’s Unified Position Equation, or PUPE. For this initiative, he was shortlisted along with four other teams from Africa for this year’s Earth Prize, which recognizes the efforts of 13-to-19-year-olds offering innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Aerial view of solar-powered drip irrigation scheme in Tauya village, Zambia. In Zambia, the majority of rural communities depend on rain-fed agriculture. However, erratic weather patterns, including drought, often lead to significant crop damage and livestock losses. Food security remains a pressing issue. Photo by Enoch Kavindele Jr/UNDP Zambia via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0). Chanda noticed the growing challenge in Zambia of not having precise weather predictions in times where the impacts of global warming are becoming increasingly devastating. “Communities are not well-informed about weather events and climate systems,” Chanda told Mongabay via voice note. “Those things tend to affect the people and the communities due to misinformation, and they are not informed fast.” Currently, most…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A weather prediction model by a teen prodigy from Zambian is one of five shortlisted projects from Africa for the Earth Prize this year. - The prize is awarded to youths between 13 and 19 who have come up with innovations that aim to solve pressing environmental challenges. - Recognizing the need for weather prediction models that work in the sub-Saharan African context, Prosper Chanda, now 18, developed a model that aims to complement existing ones built largely with data from the U.S. and Europe. - A scientific paper he authored focusing on the physics behind the model is currently undergoing peer review ahead of publication. authors: | ||
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Endangered Species Day highlights wildlife wins — and mounting losses 15 May 2026 12:33:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-species-day-highlights-wildlife-wins-and-mounting-losses/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: At least 18,000 animal species globally are threatened with extinction: they’re listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Sustained conservation efforts have resulted in rebounding numbers for many species, including populations of some wolves, whales, lizards and parrots. But many others are struggling to survive as they face habitat loss and fatal human-led pressures. On Endangered Species Day on May 15, we’re highlighting some of these stories that Mongabay recently reported on. Wolves are back in California’s wild Gray wolves (Canis lupus) began to repopulate the western U.S. state of California in 2015, after several decades of local extinction. Now, after dedicated rewilding efforts, an estimated 50 to 70 wolves roam the state, organized in at least 10 separate packs. According to a 2013 poll, more than two-thirds of California’s voters supported the reintroduction of wolves to the wild, but some opinions have since shifted. Between 2015 and 2024, wolves killed least 142 head of cattle, about 0.002% of California’s nearly 7-million-strong herd. This triggered one county to kill four wolves of a pack who had become reliant on livestock as a food source. Some ranchers are now adopting nonlethal deterrents, such as faldry (strips of fabric hung on a fence), drones blaring loud music, and electric fences, to keep wolves at bay, reported Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman. West African leopard population listed as endangered The leopard population in West Africa has declined by 50% over the past two decades. About 350 mature individuals remain…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: At least 18,000 animal species globally are threatened with extinction: they’re listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Sustained conservation efforts have resulted in rebounding numbers for many species, including populations of some wolves, whales, lizards and parrots. But many others are struggling to survive as they face habitat […] authors: | ||
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European bottom trawling costs billions every year in climate impacts, study finds 15 May 2026 09:28:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/european-bottom-trawling-costs-billions-every-year-in-climate-impacts-study-finds/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Europe’s fishing industry makes around 180 million euros ($210 million) every year in profits from bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy fishing gear along seabeds. But a new study found when climate costs associated with the practice are calculated, society is paying a price up to 90 times higher than the fishing industry profits. “Bottom trawl gear scrapes up the seafloor, releasing carbon that’s been stored in the ocean seabed for centuries,” lead author Katherine Millage, a marine researcher for National Geographic Pristine Seas, wrote in a statement. That carbon release contributes to expensive climate impacts like reduced agriculture productivity and problems for human health. The cost calculations vary but are between 43 euros ($50) per metric ton of emissions on the low end and 161 euros ($188) on the high end. “Even when we use a very conservative estimate of the social cost per metric ton of emitted CO₂, society is left bearing a heavy economic burden,” Millage said. The CO2 emissions from disturbing the sediment cost between 4.87 billion euros and 18 billion euros ($5.7 billion to $21 billion) a year, the study found However, bottom trawl and dredge fisheries do provide more than a quarter of global wild-caught fish and shellfish. The study calculated that economic benefit along with secondary benefits such as employment. Still, the net cost of bottom trawling adds up to between 2 billion euros and 16 billion euros ($2.3 billion and $19 billion) per year for Europeans. Globally, bottom trawling catches around…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Europe’s fishing industry makes around 180 million euros ($210 million) every year in profits from bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy fishing gear along seabeds. But a new study found when climate costs associated with the practice are calculated, society is paying a price up to 90 times higher than the fishing industry profits. “Bottom […] authors: | ||
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How AI could save koalas 15 May 2026 09:06:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/how-ai-could-save-koalas/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Abhishyant Kidangoor content:encoded: A new AI-powered camera system could make road crossings less of a nightmare for koalas. Koalas face multiple threats to their survival including deforestation, urbanization, diseases and bushfires. As humans encroach into their habitats, they are forced to cross roads to move across fragmented forests. Because of this, vehicle strikes have also become a major cause of koala deaths. Scientists at Griffith University in Australia are now working to detect koalas crossing the roads in real-time. Watch this video to learn more.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A new AI-powered camera system could make road crossings less of a nightmare for koalas. Koalas face multiple threats to their survival including deforestation, urbanization, diseases and bushfires. As humans encroach into their habitats, they are forced to cross roads to move across fragmented forests. Because of this, vehicle strikes have also become a major […] authors: | ||
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Illegal wildlife trade in Himalayan countries threaten mountain ecosystem 15 May 2026 05:34:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Illegal wildlife trade across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region has more than doubled since 2019, according to a January 2026 study. This surge in trafficking, which targets species of carnivores, elephants, and pangolins, poses a significant threat to the fragile mountain ecosystem and the 1.8 billion people who depend on its biodiversity, reports contributor Vandana K. for Mongabay India. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), which hosts four global biodiversity hotspots, spans roughly 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) across eight countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. For this region, the researchers analyzed wildlife trade and seizure data from 2001-2020 and found that India and China recorded thousands of seizure incidents, with animals trafficked for live trade, body parts, and traditional medicine. The volume of illegal wildlife trade more than doubled from 2019, compared to previous years. The study noted researchers linked the increase in wildlife trade between 2019 and 2021 to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns led to reduced surveillance and law enforcement, while economic hardships and disrupted food chains pushed low-income communities toward poaching. India reported a 151% increase in poaching during the pandemic, with rises also noted in Nepal and Bangladesh. The illegal trade is driven by consumer demand for exotic pets and wildlife products for luxury fashion and traditional medicine. To meet this demand, a large variety of species and their parts became part of cross-border trade, the study said. “The illegal goods were taken through porous borders and also high mountain…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Illegal wildlife trade across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region has more than doubled since 2019, according to a January 2026 study. This surge in trafficking, which targets species of carnivores, elephants, and pangolins, poses a significant threat to the fragile mountain ecosystem and the 1.8 billion people who depend on its […] authors: | ||
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Karajarri celebrate Australia’s first ‘Sea Country’ Indigenous Protected Area 14 May 2026 16:46:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/karajarri-celebrate-australias-first-sea-country-indigenous-protected-area/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: John Cannon content:encoded: In northwestern Australia lies a remote and wildly diverse region called the Kimberley. There, the iron-red soils of the Pindan Country connect forests and the Great Sandy Desert, all bracketed by a vast stretch of Indian Ocean coastline. Its springs and wetlands host migratory birds. Offshore, sawfish, as visually striking as they are rare, ply the waters just beyond the unbroken Eighty Mile Beach, itself a nesting site for the little-known flatback turtle (Natator depressus). The Kimberley has also long been a home to humans, as rock art more than 17,000 years old attests, and among the heirs of that legacy are the Karajarri people. Over the past 30 years, the Karajarri secured legal recognition of their claims to the land, later establishing an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), Karajarri Pirra Ngurra, that now covers an area of land nearly the size of Rwanda in the state of Western Australia. They also developed a ranger program that draws on long-held cultural knowledge of the landscape. In March 2026, the Karajarri people dedicated Karajarri Jurarr Ngurra, Australia’s first “Sea Country” IPA, comprising 237,489 hectares (nearly 587,000 acres) of marine and coastal ecosystems. It includes part of Malumpurr, the Karajarri word for Eighty Mile Beach. The IPA “strengthens long‑standing efforts by Karajarri Traditional Owners and Karajarri Rangers to protect the region’s biodiversity and keep Country healthy,” Malarndirri McCarthy, Australia’s minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a March 20 government statement about the Karajarri Sea Country IPA dedication. The aim of the Karajarri IPAs…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Kimberley region of northwestern Australia is a biodiversity hotspot and ancestral home of the Karajarri people, who recently dedicated Karajarri Jurarr Ngurra, Australia’s first “Sea Country” Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), covering around 237,000 hectares (587,000 acres) of marine and coastal ecosystems. - Proponents of IPAs say they can empower Indigenous Australians as decision-makers in land management, combining traditional ecological knowledge with conservation goals. - IPAs now account for 54% of Australia’s progress toward protecting 30% of its territory by 2030. - While research shows every $1 invested in IPAs yields up to $3.40 in social, economic and environmental returns, advocates stress that Indigenous communities still need meaningful, sustained support. authors: | ||
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After quinoa’s boom, Bolivian farmers face degraded soils and climate stress 14 May 2026 15:15:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/after-quinoas-boom-bolivian-farmers-face-degraded-soils-and-climate-stress/ author: Alexandrapopescu dc:creator: Benjamin Swift content:encoded: AROMA MARKA, Bolivia — The rolling hills around the town of Aroma Marka are a cacophony of colors: golden-yellow, deep-red and purplish-black quinoa pods smatter the otherwise barren landscape here in Bolivia’s southern Altiplano, the Andean Plateau. At 3,800 meters (about 12,500 feet) above sea level, the Altiplano stretches across much of western Bolivia and into Peru, Chile and Argentina. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) has been grown on the Altiplano since pre-Hispanic times, but it was only recently that the nutrient-dense pseudocereal was put on the global map, fueling a production boom in the Andes. Prices later tumbled as countries outside the region also began cultivating it. Yet the striking scenery belies the lasting scars the 2010-2014 quinoa boom left in the region. At its height, sky-high prices triggered a production frenzy, drawing former residents back from cities to plant the “golden grain.” But Walter Canaviri, a quinoa producer and local leader, remembers that the sudden spike came at a cost. “Everyone wanted to produce more,” he told Mongabay. In the rush to capitalize on the moment, some growers encroached on neighbors’ lands, leading to disputes. “It was a sad time for this area because everyone turned against everyone,” he said. While the quinoa boom brought a temporary boon for rural Andean Indigenous communities, it also came with the destruction of local ecosystems, soil degradation, and social conflict – all of which have been exacerbated by changes in regional weather patterns and global climate change. Though Bolivian producers like Canaviri are…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Quinoa, a pseudocereal, has been grown in the Andes since pre-Hispanic times. The 2010-2014 quinoa boom benefited some farmers in the region, but intensified production also brought soil depletion, increased erosion and social conflicts. - Climate change and shifts in regional weather patterns have also brought more frequent and irregular frosts, rains and heat, making quinoa production more difficult. - Most of the Bolivian quinoa that’s exported is smuggled through Peru and sold as Peruvian, experts say, complicating efforts by Bolivian producers to benefit from using higher-quality seeds. - Growers in Bolivia’s southern Altiplano, the Andean Plateau, are cultivating a premium variant of the crop in an effort to bypass middlemen and benefit from a price premium, but lack governmental support and direct access to markets. authors: | ||
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Salt marsh recovery isn’t enough to offset destroyed older wetlands, study finds 14 May 2026 15:03:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/salt-marsh-recovery-isnt-enough-to-offset-destroyed-older-wetlands-study-finds/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Along Earth’s coastlines, grassy wetlands flooded by seawater, called salt marshes, trap and store carbon at rates roughly 40 times higher than forests on land. As salt marshes have expanded in some regions, scientists were hopeful their carbon stores might have largely recovered as well, but a new study found that’s not the case. Researchers measuring carbon storage in salt marsh soil found that destruction of the world’s salt marshes resulted in a net loss of roughly half a million metric tons of surface soil organic carbon (SOC) between 2002 and 2019 — the equivalent of the emissions from 6,600 passenger cars over the same period. Most of that was from mature salt marshes that stored much more carbon than newly established marshes. “The most surprising finding … is the paradox that salt marsh area is recovering globally, yet soil organic carbon is undergoing a net loss,” study co-author Xinxin Wang, a wetland ecologist at Fudan University in China, told Mongabay. The southern U.S. is a global hotspot for SOC loss from marshes, the study notes, with Louisiana’s Gulf Coast ground zero. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the region in 2005, causing immediate damage to rich marshlands. Louisiana’s salt marshes have suffered from decades of industrialization, including more than 75,000 oil and gas recovery wells and nutrient runoff from agriculture. The weakened salt marshes were torn apart by the storms and largely transformed into open mudflats. Nearly 200,000 barrels of oil and other petrochemicals were spilled during Hurricane Katrina. The…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Along Earth’s coastlines, grassy wetlands flooded by seawater, called salt marshes, trap and store carbon at rates roughly 40 times higher than forests on land. As salt marshes have expanded in some regions, scientists were hopeful their carbon stores might have largely recovered as well, but a new study found that’s not the case. Researchers […] authors: | ||
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Scientists mark Attenborough’s 100th birthday with newly named wasp 14 May 2026 14:30:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/scientists-mark-attenboroughs-100th-birthday-with-newly-named-wasp/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: A tiny wasp, collected in the early 1980s in Chile’s Valdivia province, lay inside an unsorted drawer in the Natural History Museum, London, for more than 40 years. After taking a close look, researchers have recently confirmed it’s not only a new-to-science species, but also represents a new genus. The wasp, only 3.5 millimeters (0.14 inches) long, is a kind of ichneumonid or Darwin wasp. This is a family of parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs inside the larvae, pupae or eggs of other arthropods, killing the host as the young wasp develops. Researchers have named the newly described wasp Attenboroughnculus tau. The genus name is in honor of nature broadcaster David Attenborough, who marked his 100th birthday on May 8. The authors write that they wanted to recognize Attenborough’s his contributions to humanity’s understanding of the natural world. In particular, they highlighted his work featuring Chile’s diverse and extreme landscapes, its unique environmental challenges, and the world of parasitoid wasps presented in his documentaries. “When I was young, five or six maybe, I was given the Life on Earth book. In it [Attenborough] mentions taxonomists and what they do, and I was hooked,” Gavin Broad, study co-author and principal curator of wasps at the museum, said in a statement. “I decided from a far too early age I was going to be a taxonomist, thanks to David Attenborough, and weirdly I’ve ended up as a taxonomist. So I’ll pay something back.” Study lead author Augustijn De Ketelaere, from the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A tiny wasp, collected in the early 1980s in Chile’s Valdivia province, lay inside an unsorted drawer in the Natural History Museum, London, for more than 40 years. After taking a close look, researchers have recently confirmed it’s not only a new-to-science species, but also represents a new genus. The wasp, only 3.5 millimeters (0.14 […] authors: | ||
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Honduran authorities seize jaguar kept as pet, put spotlight on local trafficking 14 May 2026 14:28:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/honduran-authorities-seize-jaguar-kept-as-pet-put-spotlight-on-local-trafficking/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: Authorities in Honduras have seized a jaguar kept as a pet by a businessman, in a high-profile raid that conservationists say should serve as a deterrent for others engaged in wildlife trafficking. The May 6 raid at a home in Olancho department, in the country’s east, was two weeks in the planning and the first seizure of a live jaguar (Panthera onca) since 2018, said Marcio Martinez, head of the wildlife department at the Forest Conservation Institute (ICF), who was involved in the operation. He added it stemmed from a tip to the Special Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (FEMA) about a jaguar being kept in the residence of a local businessman in the El Pataste community. The jaguar, a female believed to be about a year old, is thought to have been captured in the Mosquitia forests, a stronghold for the species. The unnamed businessman had no prior criminal record, Martinez said. “He was not listed in our database as a person of interest in the matter of trafficking or illegal possession of wildlife.” Nor has he been arrested. Martinez said FEMA will summon him in the next few days to answer charges of damage to endangered species, illegal capture of wildlife and other possible infractions. He could face fines of around 172,000 lempiras ($6,500) if convicted. Since the seizure, authorities learned that the businessman previously owned wild animals, including big cats. “He will now be a person of interest to environmental government institutions,” Martinez said. The female jaguar being taken…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Honduran authorities seized a live jaguar being kept as a pet, along with other wildlife, from the home of a businessman in the country’s east. - Investigators say the jaguar is a young female, about a year old, likely captured in the Mosquitia region and traded on the black market. - It’s illegal to trap jaguars or keep them as pets under Honduran law. However, with fines only amounting to around $6,500, the practice is common among the powerful, wealthy and those involved in drug and arms trafficking. - The rescued jaguar has been sent to a rehabilitation center for possible release back into the wild, although rewilding a jaguar isn’t always possible or successful. authors: | ||
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Egyptian teens use robots for ‘smarter and more responsive’ way to protect Earth 14 May 2026 14:20:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/egyptian-teens-use-robots-for-smarter-and-more-responsive-way-to-protect-earth/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: Mudskippers are amphibious fish that can live both in water and on land. Usually found in muddy landscapes, the big-eyed creatures dig tunnels through the mud with their mouths, wrapping themselves in air pockets to maintain healthy levels of oxygen. A group of Egyptian boarding school students from Giza in the Greater Cairo region found inspiration in this animal — which is found far away from urban Giza in the mangrove areas and mudflats off Egypt’s Red Sea coast— and designed a small robot that could help tackle one of the most pressing challenges Egyptian farmers currently face. Combining robotics with environmental science, the students developed the “TerraSkipper” robot. Its design is inspired by the real mudskipper, with a body and feet that “skip” through wet, salty and degraded farmland, collecting data on soil conditions like salinity and pH levels. The team was among five from Africa shortlisted for this year’s Earth Prize, which recognizes the efforts of 13- to19-year-olds offering innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges. The “TerraSkipper” team. Image courtesy of The Earth Foundation. “We have seen that farmers are struggling with the increasing soil salinity and the variety in the pH [levels] in the soil,” one of the students, 16-year-old Mustafa Mohammed, told Mongabay by phone. The Nile Delta, where the River Nile meets the Mediterranean Sea, is densely populated and home to 40% of Egypt’s population. It has been flagged by the United Nations as one of the world’s hotspots for climate change-related sea level rise.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A team of Egyptian students was among five from Africa shortlisted for this year’s Earth Prize, which recognizes the efforts of 13- to 19-year-olds offering innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges. - The “TerraSkipper” robot they designed is inspired by the real mudskipper fish, with a body and feet that “skip” through wet, salty and degraded farmland, collecting data on soil conditions like salinity and pH levels. - The goal is not only to build the prototype, “but to contribute to a smarter and more responsive way of protecting our planet,” 16-year-old Mustafa Mohammed, one of the team members, told Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Seabed life triples after bottom trawling ban in Scotland protected area 14 May 2026 10:51:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/seabed-life-triples-after-bottom-trawling-ban-in-scotland-protected-area/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Nearly a decade since Scotland established the South Arran Marine Protected Area and banned bottom trawling across much of it, life on the seafloor has thrived, a new study has found. Scientists surveying the area found three times more seabed organisms and twice as many species compared to nearby unprotected waters. “What looks like a boring desert of mud, it’s actually really, really dynamic,” lead author Ben Harris, a marine ecologist at the University of Exeter in the U.K., told Mongabay by phone. “We saw not necessarily the most glamorous things … but once you get a bit nerdy about it and look a bit deeper, you realize that they’re playing a really important role.” Researchers found more than 150 species in a small sample of the seafloor, including spoon worms (subclass Echiura), bobbit worms (Eunice aphroditois) and shell-building organisms like tower snails (genus Turritella), which Harris called “important gardeners of the seabed … all performing different roles.” “There’s like eight Mount Everest’s worth of sediments being turned over every minute of every day on the global continental shelf by these small animals,” he added. This movement is important for carbon storage, and in the South Arran MPA, these animals are starting to rebuild a long-lost ecosystem that once thrived at the bottom of the sea. Europe’s seabeds are the most trawled in the world. Heavy fishing gear has been dragged along the seafloor there since at least the mid-14th century, destroying those ecosystems. Approximately ”86% of the assessed seabed in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Nearly a decade since Scotland established the South Arran Marine Protected Area and banned bottom trawling across much of it, life on the seafloor has thrived, a new study has found. Scientists surveying the area found three times more seabed organisms and twice as many species compared to nearby unprotected waters. “What looks like […] authors: | ||
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Solar brings power to women entrepreneurs in Borneo, but rural energy inequality remains 14 May 2026 10:36:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Yuda Almerio content:encoded: KUTAI KARTANEGARA, Indonesia — Asniah recalls nights lying in darkness listening to cicadas and the passing hum of outboard motors after her family moved to Muara Enggelam in the 1990s, an over-the-water village in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, cut off from basic services. Around the turn of the century, a handful of homes in Muara Enggelam acquired diesel generators, bringing electric lighting for the first time to the timber stilt houses that still line the last mile of the river where the Enggelam meets Borneo’s Lake Melintang. The Kutai Kartanegara district government here later expanded this basic electrification program, but residents paid several times more for power than a grid-connected urban household. Moreover, the generators ran only from dusk to dawn and would frequently break down, plunging Muara Enggelam back into the void Asniah recalled on moving here three decades earlier as a child. “We were just grateful — things had been harder before,” Asniah, a mother of three now in her early 40s, told Mongabay Indonesia at her home. “Even though there was 24-hour electricity in the city at the time,” she added. Stable energy access provides greater scope for women to develop businesses and contribute to the family economy. Image by Yuda Almerio/Mongabay Indonesia Remote work Uneven access to electricity has abetted inequality in what is now Indonesia ever since Dutch colonialists introduced captive coal plants in the 19th century to power their plantation operations. Indonesia’s Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, records the wealth gap between…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In the village of Muara Enggelam, East Kalimantan province, the arrival of affordable and reliable renewable energy has sparked a flurry of new businesses, some started by women who were previously unable to fulfil their economic ambitions. - The remote village in Indonesian Borneo received its first installation of solar energy in 2015 following an allocation from Indonesia’s energy ministry. - The electricity capacity remains limited, but households have been able to start small businesses selling food and drinks, while mobile internet has expanded market access via social media platforms. - However, across the archipelago of 270 million people, the energy transition appears to have stalled in rural villages using solar, which a report authored by civil society organizations Celios and Greenpeace attributes largely to government fossil fuel subsidies. authors: | ||
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In Nepal’s capital, invasive flora crowd out native species 14 May 2026 10:02:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-nepals-capital-invasive-flora-crowd-out-native-species/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Native plants are rapidly declining in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, replaced by invasive species historically introduced for ornamental and urban greening purposes, reports Mongabay contributor Bibek Bhandari. Botanist Bharat Babu Shrestha said he has observed traditional medicinal plants like the Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica) slowly vanish from Kathmandu over the past decades, displaced by dense, flowering shrubs of Crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora), native to Central and South America. “There has been no qualitative assessment in Kathmandu, but our observations show that our native vegetation has been dominated and displaced by many invasive species,” said Shrestha, a botany professor at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He added that research in Nepal’s national parks suggests these invasive species can reduce native species by nearly half, a trend being mirrored in the country’s capital. According to experts, dominant invasive species in the city include Crofton weed, common lantana (Lantana camara), Santa Maria feverfew (parthenium weed, Parthenium hysterophorus) and blue billy goat weed (Ageratum houstonianum). A 2024 study found that 48% of observed plant species in the Sanobharyang region, close to protected areas and community forests, were non-native. Similarly, researcher Ronish Pandey, who submitted his master’s thesis on Kathmandu’s plant species composition to Tribhuvan University last year, found that more than half of the 437 species he surveyed in the capital’s green spaces were exotic; 21% of those naturalized species categorized as invasive. Krishna Prasad Sharma, the 2024 study’s co-author and an assistant professor at Tribhuvan University, said that some non-native species are less harmful, such as…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Native plants are rapidly declining in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, replaced by invasive species historically introduced for ornamental and urban greening purposes, reports Mongabay contributor Bibek Bhandari. Botanist Bharat Babu Shrestha said he has observed traditional medicinal plants like the Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica) slowly vanish from Kathmandu over the past decades, displaced by dense, flowering […] authors: | ||
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FPC at a crossroads: clarity, credibility, and the cost of ambiguity (commentary) 14 May 2026 09:00:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fpc-at-a-crossroads-clarity-credibility-and-the-cost-of-ambiguity-commentary/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Chip Fay content:encoded: Three years on, the Forests, People, Climate initiative is struggling to say what it is—and why that matters more than anyone wants to admit. Since the Glasgow Climate Pact’s 2021 pledge to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, major philanthropic foundations have mobilised billions of dollars behind that commitment. The Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), a collaborative of six philanthropies, pioneered the donor-collaborative approach and subsequently played a central role in creating the larger Forests, People, Climate (FPC) initiative. Together they shape the strategic alignment of some of the world’s largest private climate and land-use grant portfolios—determining which geographies and communities receive support and setting the terms of engagement between international philanthropy and forest-dependent peoples across the tropics. How these players collaborate has direct consequences for whether the global pledge to protect forests is met, and for the hundreds of millions of people whose lands, livelihoods, and futures depend on it. Over the past two decades, I have had a front-row seat to this evolution. I was there in the early days of CLUA, as we attempted something both pragmatic and ambitious: align strategies without surrendering institutional autonomy. FPC was born out of that lineage, as a recognition that the CLUA model might no longer be sufficient. The urgency of climate change had intensified. Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) had moved from the margins to the centre of discourse. And large-scale philanthropic commitments, particularly post-Glasgow, sought new mechanisms to do grant making differently. Three years on, however, FPC…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Three years after its launch, the Forests, People, Climate initiative (FPC) still struggles to define what it is, how it differs from the earlier Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), and what practical value it adds beyond donor coordination, argues Chip Fay, Independent Analyst and former Indonesia Country Director, Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA). - Fay contends that the problem is structural rather than communicative: FPC overlays a new coordination framework onto an existing one while retaining donor-centric governance, diffuse accountability, and limited mechanisms for truly integrated grant-making or meaningful Indigenous and local community participation in decision-making. - Fay says FPC risks becoming “CLUA with broader framing” unless it develops a clearer operational identity, shifts more resources and authority closer to local actors, and adopts a public Common Statement of Purpose that defines its commitments, governance principles, and accountability to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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At world’s largest shark conference, scientists warn of a grim outlook across the board 14 May 2026 08:22:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/at-worlds-largest-shark-conference-scientists-warn-of-a-grim-outlook-across-the-board/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Philip Jacobson content:encoded: COLOMBO — More than 800 researchers and conservationists gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, from May 4-8 for Sharks International, the world’s largest shark conference. Presenters shared research and insights on the global trade in sharks, the plight of rays, and a range of conservation measures, including rewilding initiatives, improving marine protected area effectiveness, and the bolstering of monitoring and enforcement systems to protect threatened species. Overfishing has halved shark and ray populations since 1970. Today, more than a third of species are threatened with extinction. Meat trade comes into focus Scientists from around the world debuted new research on the trade in shark and ray meat, a major driver of fishing pressure. For years, the meat trade flew under the radar as attention centered on fins, pound for pound the most valuable part of the shark. But overall, the meat trade is actually worth more, valued at $2.6 billion from 2012-2019, versus $1.5 billion for the fin trade, according to a 2021 WWF report. Researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada shared preliminary findings from a big-data project aimed at understanding which species of sharks and rays, collectively known as elasmobranchs, are being landed and where they are traded. These dynamics have largely eluded researchers, as the commodity codes governing the trade allow shipments to be labeled merely as “shark” or “ray.” Moreover, only 29% of shark and ray landing data that countries share with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is reported to species level, according…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Hundreds of researchers and conservationists met in Colombo from May 4-8 for Sharks International, held once every four years. - Major topics at the conference included the trade in shark and ray meat, reducing shark bycatch, and the use of new technologies in conservation. - Participants also highlighted innovative programs that encourage community-based conservation, and grappled with the contentious topic of closing fisheries to aid recovery of threatened species. authors: | ||
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‘Time stamps’ in shrubs show when beavers began invading Canadian Arctic 14 May 2026 07:14:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/time-stamps-in-shrubs-show-when-beavers-began-invading-canadian-arctic/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Megan Strauss content:encoded: Beavers are expanding their range into Canada’s western Arctic, and a recent study has reconstructed when these ecosystem engineers first became active in the area — sometime around 2008. Historically, North American beavers (Castor canadensis) have been associated with boreal and temperate waterways. However, they’re increasingly being observed moving northward in the Arctic tundra. This range expansion is partly aided by a warming climate and the growth of shrubs they depend on to build their dams and lodges. When local Indigenous communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Canadian Arctic noticed an increase in beavers, they “flagged this as an urgent issue requiring investigation,” study lead author Georgia Hole, from Durham University in the U.K., told Mongabay by email. Beavers are known for their ability to build dams in streams and rivers, which blocks the flow of water, creating ponds. For the Inuvialuit, the impacts of busy beavers led to “creeks running dry, dams blocking access to historic established travel routes and harvesting sites, and changes in vegetation,” said Hole, who carried out the work while at Anglia Ruskin University, U.K. However, in the absence of long-term scientific monitoring, nobody knew exactly when the beavers had moved in and colonized this remote Canadian Arctic region. When beavers chew through woody plants such as trees or shrubs, their browsing leaves behind scars in the stems’ growth rings. So, to peek back in time, the researchers examined growth rings in the stems of willow and alder shrubs — local species the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Beavers are expanding their range into Canada’s western Arctic, and a recent study has reconstructed when these ecosystem engineers first became active in the area — sometime around 2008. Historically, North American beavers (Castor canadensis) have been associated with boreal and temperate waterways. However, they’re increasingly being observed moving northward in the Arctic tundra. This […] authors: | ||
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China and Norway push to increase krill harvests around Antarctica 14 May 2026 04:10:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/china-and-norway-push-to-increase-krill-harvests-around-antarctica/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Francesco De Augustinis content:encoded: China and Norway are working to expand the Southern Ocean krill fishery, promoting a new management system for the fishery and continuing to support their fleets politically and financially. Meanwhile, tensions are escalating between environmental NGOs and the fishing industry, as it targets a species at the heart of the food web in one of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems. “We hope we will be able to get the decisions we need now in October 2026,” Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker BioMarine, told Mongabay in April. The Norwegian company has been involved in the fishery for years as Norway’s only operator. In 2024, it spun off Aker QRILL, which now operates the Norwegian krill-fishing fleet and harvested 52% of the Southern Ocean krill catch in the 2025 season and 63% in 2024. The Norwegian delegation made a striking proposal at the last meeting of the multilateral body that manages fishing in the Southern Ocean, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), held in Hobart, Australia, in October 2025. Norway proposed moving away from a fixed catch-limit system and nearly doubling the amount of krill (Euphausia superba) that can be fished in the Southern Ocean. The 27 CCAMLR members did not reach the consensus necessary to approve the proposal. According to Johansen, as a consequence of this refusal, the Chinese delegation reiterated its veto on a proposal to establish a marine protected area around the western Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney Islands, in a zone called…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In Antarctic waters, an international fishery targets krill, shrimp-like crustaceans that form massive schools and support the continent’s iconic wildlife. Krill meal and oil is used primarily in the production of aquaculture feed, followed by pet food and human dietary supplements. - China and Norway are working to expand the Southern Ocean krill fishery, promoting a new management system for the fishery that would increase harvests while also establishing a long-sought marine protected area. - The two countries are also continuing to support their krill fleets politically and financially, while adding vessels to increase harvest capacity. - Meanwhile, several NGOs have recently stepped up their campaigns against krill fishing, arguing that the krill fleet competes for food with Antarctic wildlife species already struggling with climate change and reduced food availability such as emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals that have both recently been declared endangered. authors: | ||
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From caws to code: AI helps decrypt animal communication 14 May 2026 03:59:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/from-caws-to-code-ai-helps-decrypt-animal-communication/ author: Abhishyantkidangoor dc:creator: Abhishyant Kidangoor content:encoded: What are carrion crows saying to each other? Answering that question has been Vittorio Baglione and Daniela Canestrari’s mission for decades. Carrion crows (Corvus corone) are especially interesting because they engage in cooperative breeding, where entire families, not just the mother and father, are involved in raising chicks and protecting nests. That requires intricate and nuanced communication between individuals. “They have a very complex society, and they do very complex things together,” Baglione, a professor at the University of León in Spain, told Mongabay in a video interview. “It’s really coordinated behavior and we have answered why they do it, but we want to know how they coordinate and exchange information.” The duo have deployed audio recorders and biologgers in northern Spain to decode crow calls and monitor corresponding behavioral patterns. But as the data piled up, they came across a massive hurdle. “Each microphone lasted for six to seven days,” Canestrari, also a professor at the same university, told Mongabay in a video interview. “We realized we actually have too much data to analyze.” Since 2024, the scientists have collaborated with the Earth Species Project (ESP). A team at the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped them develop artificial intelligence models to categorize crow calls and start building a data set of different call types. Scientists in Spain have collaborated with Earth Species Project to categorize a vast dataset of crow calls that they gathered over the years. Image courtesy of Vittorio Baglione and Daniela Canestrari. How different animals communicate with…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Scientists are increasingly using artificial intelligence models to decode the communications of other species. - The Earth Species Project has built a generalizable model that could be used across species; the team also works with scientists around the world to develop custom models for specific species. - In northern Spain, ESP’s AI tools are helping scientists understand how a population of cooperative-breeding crows communicate with one another. - The technology is also being deployed to understand how orcas communicate with each other, and how underwater noise affects their communication. authors: | ||
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Whose map counts in conservation? 14 May 2026 01:56:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/whose-map-counts-in-conservation/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For many conservation decisions, the most contested question is also the most basic: what belongs on the map? A forest may appear on a satellite image as intact canopy. To people who live near it, the same forest may be a hunting ground, a burial site, a medicine cabinet, a route to school, a refuge for wildlife, or a place where patrols have become threatening. A reef may be mapped by scientists as coral cover, fish biomass, or thermal stress. Fishers may know it by currents, seasons, spawning sites, customary rules and the places where conflict is likely. Conservation planning increasingly depends on spatial data. Participatory mapping asks who gets to produce that data. A new review in Conservation Science and Practice, by Michael Kowalski and colleagues, offers a useful stocktake of the field. The authors define participatory mapping as a collaborative process in which participants and cartographers co-develop maps representing local knowledge, experiences and preferences about a place. Their review covers 398 peer-reviewed studies, tracing how the method has been used across conservation science and practice. It also makes clear that a field built around community knowledge still lacks consistent standards for how that knowledge should be gathered, interpreted, protected and used. The premise is simple enough. Conservation maps have long been drawn from above: through satellite imagery, expert surveys, species-distribution models, government zoning and protected-area boundaries. These tools are indispensable. They can reveal forest loss, habitat fragmentation, coral bleaching or fire risk at scales no village meeting…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Participatory mapping is increasingly used in conservation to bring local knowledge, land use, cultural values and community priorities into spatial planning. - A new review of 398 studies finds that the field has grown quickly, especially over the past decade, but still lacks consistent standards for methods, ethics, data ownership and evaluation. - Cases such as Massaha in Gabon show how community maps can challenge global or official datasets that make lived-in forests appear empty or unclaimed. - The approach is most useful when maps are tied to real decisions, clear governance processes and safeguards for the people and places being mapped. authors: | ||
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Popular Miyawaki reforestation method lacks evidence, study finds 13 May 2026 20:57:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/popular-miyawaki-reforestation-method-lacks-evidence-study-finds/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Annelise Giseburt content:encoded: The popular Miyawaki method of reforestation, often used to create “mini-forests” in urban areas, lacks empirical evidence to support its claimed benefits, according to a new study. Proponents of the method have claimed rapid growth is achieved by soil improvement and dense planting, the latter of which causes saplings to complete for sunlight. The Miyawaki method has also been claimed to accelerate succession, enhance biodiversity, boost carbon sequestration, and increase tree density. In the study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology in December 2025, researchers reviewed 51 pieces of scientific literature on the Miyawaki method and found that only 41% provided quantitative assessments. Of these, only 33% included a control and a mere 14% included replication, key elements of the scientific method. The Miyawaki method was first developed in the 1970s. However, over the past decade or so it has seen a new wave in international popularity, likely due to society placing greater importance on urban greening and reforestation, say two of the paper’s authors, Narkis S. Morales, a forest ecology researcher at the Bioeconomy Science Institute in Aotearoa New Zealand, and Ignacio C. Fernández, an associate professor of ecology and sustainability at the Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile. They see Miyawaki forests’ rapid growth rate as a major reason for the method’s popularity. People “don’t want to wait that much to have greener areas,” Fernández tells Mongabay. However, the researchers caution that there may be social and ecological consequences for choosing any reforestation method — Miyawaki included —…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Devised in the 1970s, the Miyawaki method has been a popular reforestation approach in urban areas worldwide. - The method involves densely planting seedlings, which proponents say makes them grow more quickly as they compete for light. - Proponents of the method claim that it enhances biodiversity, boosts carbon storage and results in rapid tree growth, among other benefits. - However, a recently published review of scientific literature indicates the Miyawaki method may not be as effective as claimed. authors: | ||
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Liberia’s carbon market policy nears completion amid pushback 13 May 2026 20:53:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/liberias-carbon-market-policy-nears-completion-amid-pushback/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Ashoka Mukpo content:encoded: Liberian policymakers have almost completed a framework for selling carbon credits to international buyers. But local environmental groups say they’re being shut out of a fast-tracked final review of the policy. According to Jeanine Cooper, chief executive officer of Liberia’s Carbon Market Authority, the “penultimate” draft of the policy was nearing completion last week. In a phone interview with Mongabay, she said she expected a final version to be ready for President Joseph Boakai to sign soon. “We do need to move on with different policies and regulations, so it behooves us to get it done as quickly as possible,” she said. A prior draft of the policy, dated April 2026 and reviewed by Mongabay, details how Liberia will set up a registry for approved carbon projects and how revenue will be allocated from them. The draft establishes that the Carbon Market Authority, which was set up through an executive order by Boakai late last year, would be in charge of selling Liberian carbon credits. Communities who own the forests and land tied to those credits would receive at most 50% of the revenue. That’s rankled some civil society groups in the country. “If I own something, I own it 100%,” said Dayugar Johnson of the NGO Coalition, a group of Liberian community rights and environmental advocates. “So why should 50% come to me?” Cooper told Mongabay that Liberia’s carbon markets will respect community resource ownership, and that civil society groups have had ample opportunities to comment on it. “A…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Liberian policymakers have almost completed a framework for selling carbon credits to international buyers. But local environmental groups say they’re being shut out of a fast-tracked final review of the policy. According to Jeanine Cooper, chief executive officer of Liberia’s Carbon Market Authority, the “penultimate” draft of the policy was nearing completion last week. In […] authors: | ||
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Scientists race to study the Amazon’s frogs before they disappear 13 May 2026 19:45:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/scientists-race-to-study-the-amazons-frogs-before-they-disappear/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Tiago da Mota e Silva content:encoded: MANAUS, Brazil — Crouched over the leaf litter, where dry leaves accumulate on the forest floor, a researcher tries to capture a distinct croak using a directional microphone. Identifying the sound of a small frog is often one of the conclusive proofs that a new species has been found. It’s nighttime. He wears long clothing as protection against mosquitoes and ants, and boots to keep his feet dry. Finding amphibians in the Amazon doesn’t require high-tech equipment; it actually dates back to explorations by early-20th-century naturalists. That’s how biologist Igor Kaefer, a professor at the Federal University of Amazonas in Brazil, describes a typical day of fieldwork in search of amphibians in the Amazon. Kaefer was part of a group responsible for describing Amazophrynella bilinguis in 2019. The very description of the little toad gives an idea of how difficult it is to find: females measure about 2 centimeters (less than an inch), and their brown head and back make them “disappear” among the leaves and branches. Home to an estimated 1,525 species of amphibians, the Amazon Basin is the most diverse ecosystem in the world when it comes to frogs, an order that includes toads and tree frogs. However, occurrence records have been confirmed for only about 810 of those. So going into the field and finding a new-to-science species is not unlikely. “In almost every inventory conducted in a remote area, you come back with more than one new species for synthesis,” Kaefer says. But finding a species…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Amazon is home to the world’s greatest amphibian diversity, with an estimated 1,525 species, of which only 810 have been formally described by science. - This megadiversity is under pressure from climate change and human activity, threatening the risk of species going extinct before scientists even get a chance to describe them. - Recent research indicates that the combination of increased temperature and exposure to pesticides can alter tadpoles’ growth and development in the Amazon. - Amphibians play a central role in controlling insects, including disease-transmitting mosquitoes, while also contributing to natural control of agricultural pests — a service valued in Brazil at more than a billion dollars annually. authors: | ||
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Africa secures major clean energy deals as France deepens investment push 13 May 2026 18:33:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/africa-secures-major-clean-energy-deals-as-france-deepens-investment-push/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — French and African leaders have announced more than $11 billion in renewable energy investments across Africa, underscoring the continent’s growing importance in the global push for cleaner energy and industrial development. The commitments were unveiled Tuesday during a closed-door CEO forum held alongside the France-Africa Summit in Nairobi, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Kenyan President William Ruto and leaders from more than 30 African countries. Executives from major companies including TotalEnergies, EDF, Kenya Airways and Rubis Energy announced projects spanning sustainable aviation fuel, hydropower, solar energy, wind generation and clean cooking initiatives. “Africa has a historic opportunity to not only participate in the global energy transition but to help lead it,” Ruto told delegates at the summit. “For Africa, this energy transition must also be an industrial transition.” Among the headline deals, Kenya Airways and Rubis Energy signed an agreement to jointly develop what the companies described as Africa’s first sustainable aviation fuel production facility in Kenya. The refinery is expected to produce 32,000 metric tons of sustainable aviation fuel annually. “While we currently depend entirely on imports, this refinery allows us to produce a sustainable, local version of that fuel,” said George Kamal, acting CEO of Kenya Airways. “Sustainable, renewable biogenic fuel is the optimal route for airlines to reach the goal of the International Civil Aviation Organization to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.” TotalEnergies said it plans to spend $10 billion in Africa by 2030, including a $2 billion renewable energy project in Rwanda and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — French and African leaders have announced more than $11 billion in renewable energy investments across Africa, underscoring the continent’s growing importance in the global push for cleaner energy and industrial development. The commitments were unveiled Tuesday during a closed-door CEO forum held alongside the France-Africa Summit in Nairobi, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, […] authors: | ||
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Kenya’s Ruto rejects “raw mineral export” future for Africa 13 May 2026 17:28:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/kenyas-ruto-rejects-raw-mineral-export-future-for-africa/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: David Akana content:encoded: Kenyan President William Ruto has called for a new economic model for Africa’s green transition, warning that the continent must not repeat the historical pattern of exporting raw materials without local value addition. Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted by France and Kenya, Ruto said Africa’s growing reserves of critical minerals, vital to the global clean-energy economy, must be developed in a way that directly benefits African citizens. “We cannot accept a future in which Africa simply exports raw green minerals while industrial value addition, advanced manufacturing and technological innovation take place elsewhere. That model belongs to the past,” Ruto told delegates on May 12. “Green industrialization presents our continent with an opportunity not only to contribute meaningfully to global climate solutions but also to create jobs, expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen exports, deepen regional value chains and accelerate structural economic transformation.” A mine in Likasi in the DRC. Image by Glody Murhabazi/ AFP. Africa holds more than 30% of the world’s critical minerals — including cobalt, lithium, manganese and rare earth elements vital for producing batteries and solar panels and building wind turbines — according to the African Green Mineral Strategy. As the world transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy, experts argue demand will surge. Estimates from the African Union show that demand for these minerals is set to double by 2040. The Nairobi summit brings together leaders, investors and climate policy experts from across Europe and Africa. Ruto emphasized that Africa possesses some of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - As the world transitions from fossil fuels to green energy, increasing numbers of investors are seeking opportunities in Africa in a bid to secure access to the critical minerals needed for that transition. - Kenyan President William Ruto has called for a new economic model that builds industrial value chains within Africa and avoids repeating the exploitative patterns that defined mineral extraction in the past. - As several African countries tighten mining laws and negotiate new deals with foreign investors, civil society groups and researchers warn that the global rush for Africa’s critical minerals risks reproducing extractive models that have historically fueled environmental destruction, displacement and inequality and provided little by way of economic benefits for Africans. - Countries with contested histories of natural resource extraction in Africa, including France, are increasingly acknowledging that critical minerals and rare earth elements should be processed locally on the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron has argued that Europeans are not the “predators of this century.” authors: | ||
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The Southern Ocean is key to our planet’s future & we have a chance to protect it this year (commentary) 13 May 2026 16:02:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-southern-ocean-is-key-to-our-planets-future-we-have-a-chance-to-protect-it-this-year-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Zac Goldsmith content:encoded: One of the most striking images in David Attenborough’s Ocean, his defining 2025 documentary, is of supertrawlers dragging vast krill nets through a pod of feeding humpback whales off Antarctica. For most viewers, it will have been the moment a distant and invisible crisis became viscerally real. But it was also something else: a glimpse of what is at stake if we fail to act, and a reminder of how little time we have left to protect some of our planet’s most precious resources. The Southern Ocean is not simply another stretch of water in need of protection. It is the engine of the global climate system, and one of the last places on Earth where nature still operates on its own terms. Right now, it is in serious trouble. The Antarctic Peninsula is home to roughly a third of the global krill population, which sustains whales, penguins, seals and seabirds. But three consecutive years of record-low sea ice have disrupted the reproduction cycles that krill depend on, and last year the krill fishery hit its 620,000-metric-ton catch limit for the first time in history, closing three months early. Industrial fleets from Norway, China, South Korea, Chile and Ukraine are extracting them at a pace that the ecosystem, already stressed by climate change, cannot absorb. The Marine Stewardship Council’s recent decision to recertify the Antarctic krill fishery as “sustainable,” despite an outdated stock assessment and mounting evidence of localized harm to whale and penguin populations, has rightly drawn legal challenge.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The wildlife-rich Southern Ocean is not simply another stretch of water in need of protection: just one part of it — the Antarctic Peninsula — is home to roughly a third of the global krill population, which sustains large populations of whales, penguins, seals, seabirds, fish and more. - The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is responsible for governing these waters, and the U.K. is set to chair its pivotal 45th annual meeting this year. - This is an opportunity to act on Southern Ocean conservation, a new op-ed by former U.K. environment minister Zac Goldsmith argues, but that’s not all: “It would also send a powerful signal, at a time when multilateralism is under strain, that countries can still come together around shared values and act for the global good,” he writes. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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As elephants return in eastern Zambia, communities adapt to coexistence 13 May 2026 15:39:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-elephants-return-in-eastern-zambia-communities-adapt-to-coexistence/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: LUNDAZI, Zambia — The very first time 23-year-old Edward Kumwenda saw elephants, it was after midnight, and they were breaking into his house. That night, two years ago, Kumwenda was sleeping alone in a small brick-and-thatch cottage at his father’s homestead in eastern Zambia’s Chipangali district, when he heard animals approaching. At first, he thought the sound of breaking twigs and rustling grass was caused by cattle, or worse, cattle thieves targeting his family’s livestock. But then the intruders began tugging at the thatch roof. The room shook, part of the brick wall collapsed, and a large trunk pushed through the hole, curling around one of the bags containing some of that year’s maize harvest and lifting it out. “They got the first bag, second bag, third bag, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,” he recalls, sitting on a stool in his family’s bare, swept yard, as the cassia trees drop yellow flowers and relatives gather to hear the story yet again. “That is enough [maize to last] for the whole year, for me,” he says. Kumwenda thought of escaping through an open window, but kept his nerve, staying silent until his sister and brother — alerted by the noise of the herd breaking in — lit a log fire in the yard and drove the animals away. Edward Kumwenda indicates where elephants broke into the house where he was sleeping two years ago and helped themselves to his family’s maize stores. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. An elephant…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Four years ago, more than 200 elephants were relocated to Malawi’s Kasungu National Park, which shares an open border with three farming districts in eastern Zambia. - The elephants regularly move into farms, sometimes raiding granaries and destroying crops and posing a risk to people. - Amid deep skepticism, conservationists and wildlife officials are working with locals to change attitudes, turning conflict into coexistence. authors: | ||
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Ecuador failing to end Yasuní oil drilling: Interview with Waorani leader Juan Bay 13 May 2026 14:23:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: In 2023, Ecuadorians voted for a binding referendum to end oil drilling in the 43-ITT oil block in Yasuní National Park. In 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) echoed the call in a ruling for the Ecuadorian state to do more to protect uncontacted Indigenous peoples whose territories overlap with the park. But nearly three years since the referendum, and a year since the court ruling, the Ecuadorian government has still not closed the 43-ITT block. Juan Bay, the president of the Waorani Nation (NAWE), whose ancestral territory overlaps with the park, recently traveled to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York to denounce the lack of progress and express his frustrations with the state. The Aug. 20, 2023, referendum saw the majority of voters choose to halt all future oil drilling in Yasuní, which involved the closure of 43-ITT and the creation of a commission to oversee the implementation of the results. The government had one year to withdraw from the oil block, by August 2024, but there’s been little progress since then. Bay said only 10 out of 247 oil wells in the block have been shut down. “More than a year has passed [since the deadline] and the government is doing nothing to shut down that [operation] and leave the resource in the ground, which is the will of the Ecuadorian people,” Mariana Yumbay Yallico, a Waranka woman and member of Ecuador’s National Assembly, representing Bolívar province, told Mongabay at the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mongabay recently interviewed Juan Bay, the president of the Waorani Nation (NAWE) in Ecuador, on the stalled efforts to shut down oil drilling in Yasuní National Park that overlaps with Indigenous territories. - A voter referendum in 2023 required the Ecuadorian government to shut down the 43-ITT oil block by August 2024, and the decision was backed up in a 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR). - Since then, however, there’s been virtually no progress, Bay said, with the government having shuttered just 10 out of 247 oil wells in the block. - Bay said communities continue to suffer from the environmental and cultural destruction caused by oil exploitation, as well as the internal divisions that formed between some Waorani communities. authors: | ||
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In eastern Indonesia, communities revive customary systems to protect the seas 13 May 2026 11:19:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-eastern-indonesia-communities-revive-customary-systems-to-protect-the-seas/ author: Hans Nicholas Jong dc:creator: Hans Nicholas Jong content:encoded: JAKARTA — On small islands across eastern Indonesia, coastal communities are reviving customary rules, seasonal fishing closures, turtle protection and mangrove stewardship to protect marine ecosystems threatened by blast fishing, turtle hunting and habitat loss. Their efforts are the focus of Jejak Wallacea, a new documentary produced by Burung Indonesia and Arise! Indonesia as part of the Wallacea Partnership Program II, a conservation initiative supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The film follows communities in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi that use locally rooted systems to manage coastal ecosystems. These include customary sanctions, community patrols, octopus fishing closures, coral reef restoration, turtle hatcheries and mangrove-based livelihoods. For Burung Indonesia, the local affiliate of BirdLife International, the film is also an attempt to show that conservation in the eastern Indonesian islands that make up the Wallacea region, one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity regions, cannot depend only on formal protected areas or top-down enforcement. “The Wallacea Partnership Program is essentially aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society in site-level conservation,” said Angga Yoga, a terrestrial program specialist at Burung Indonesia. “That’s why the NGOs are not very visible in the film, because the communities themselves are the ones we empower.” Angga contrasted the approach with more exclusionary conservation models, saying the initiatives featured in the film were designed by communities themselves through customary systems rather than imposed mainly through prohibitions. “Instead, it works through customary systems, meaning the communities themselves…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new documentary, “Jejak Wallacea,” highlights how coastal communities across eastern Indonesia are reviving customary marine management systems to protect ecosystems threatened by destructive fishing, turtle hunting and habitat loss. - Communities featured in the film use locally rooted approaches including seasonal fishing closures, turtle hatcheries, mangrove restoration, customary sanctions and community patrols to manage reefs, fisheries and coastal forests. - Conservation groups behind the project say community-led systems rooted in Indigenous and local knowledge can succeed where top-down conservation models and formal protected areas alone often fall short. - The initiatives have helped protect species including sea turtles, dugongs and thresher sharks, but organizers say long-term success depends on stronger government recognition and support for community-based conservation. authors: | ||
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Sawfish in Sri Lanka may be ‘functionally extinct,’ but refuges remain 13 May 2026 10:24:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/sawfish-in-sri-lanka-may-be-functionally-extinct-but-refuges-remain/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The sawfish, recognizable by its distinctive saw-shaped snout or rostrum, is now thought to be “functionally extinct” in Sri Lankan waters. This, researchers say, means that while a few individuals may still exist, their numbers are likely too low to maintain a viable breeding population, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. In a 2021 study, researchers from the Colombo-based nonprofit Blue Resources Trust (BRT), interviewed 300 fishers across 21 harbors to assess the status of the species. The results showed a stark generational gap. While fishers over the age of 50 remembered sawfish as once abundant, none of the fishers under the age of 30 could even identify the animal from photographs, Akshay Tanna with the BRT told Mongabay. He added that roughly half of the older fishers who had seen one had not encountered a sawfish since 1992. The last confirmed record of a sawfish in Sri Lanka, the researchers found, was a chance encounter in 2017 off the eastern coast, when a fisher had photographed the animal and framed its picture. Marine biologist and study co-author Sahan Thilakaratna said three of five species of sawfish have historically been recorded in Sri Lankan waters: the narrow sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata), the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) and the green sawfish (P. zijsron). All are currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Globally, their decline is driven by overfishing, habitat loss and bycatch. The sawfish’s rostrum, which it uses as a sensory organ and weapon to hunt, easily becomes…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The sawfish, recognizable by its distinctive saw-shaped snout or rostrum, is now thought to be “functionally extinct” in Sri Lankan waters. This, researchers say, means that while a few individuals may still exist, their numbers are likely too low to maintain a viable breeding population, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. In a 2021 study, […] authors: | ||
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Wetland destruction blamed for rise in croc attacks on Indonesia’s Bangka Island 13 May 2026 02:46:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wetland-destruction-blamed-for-rise-in-croc-attacks-on-indonesias-bangka-island/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The destruction of coastal wetlands for illegal tin mining and oil palm plantations is to blame for a surge in crocodile attacks on people on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, residents say. Mongabay Indonesia contributor Taufik Wijaya reported that in February this year, a 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Menduk River. He was possibly the 21st victim of a crocodile attack in the last five years on Bangka Island, according to local wildlife charity the Alobi Foundation. The attacks have also resulted in 12 crocodiles being killed and dozens of humans and crocs injured during the same period. People have lived in the wetlands of the Menduk River estuary since the 7th century, but the recent rise in crocodile attacks has been attributed to the region’s changing landscape. Approximately 1,000 hectares (around 2,500 acres) of oil palm plantations and 250 illegal tin mining sites have taken over the Menduk wetlands, according to Suhadi, a resident of Menduk village and the manager of a community group established by Indonesia’s largest environmental NGO, Walhi. Bangka and neighboring Belitung Island were once responsible for more than a quarter of global tin production. Much of the environmental degradation is a legacy of that tin mining, researchers say, including possible illegal mining that became the focus of a massive recent corruption scandal. As the wetlands are destroyed, crocodiles are forced to migrate to new territories, leading to increased aggression and territorial disputes, said Endi R. Yusuf, manager of the Alobi…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The destruction of coastal wetlands for illegal tin mining and oil palm plantations is to blame for a surge in crocodile attacks on people on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, residents say. Mongabay Indonesia contributor Taufik Wijaya reported that in February this year, a 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Menduk […] authors: | ||
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New study explores how reforestation could help Java’s leopards survive 13 May 2026 01:33:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/ author: Basten Gokkon dc:creator: Basten Gokkon content:encoded: Reforestation done right could be key to helping rebuild habitat connectivity for Javan leopards on an island with one of the highest human densities on Earth, a new study says. It frames strategic forest restoration — linking up fragmented patches of forest to create contiguous corridors — as offering a rare pathway to balance rapid infrastructure expansion with the conservation of the endangered big cat. “And to implement this, strong commitment from various stakeholders is needed, given Java’s highly fragmented landscape; this will undoubtedly be a significant challenge,” study lead author Andhika C. Ariyanto, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, told Mongabay by email. Camera-trap image of a Javan leopard on Mount Sanggabuana, West Java province. Image courtesy of Sanggabuana Wildlife Ranger. The study is the first to produce an islandwide model of habitat connectivity for the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas), offering conservationists a new tool to identify which forest corridors should be protected and restored as infrastructure development expands across Java, Andhika said. By comparing the impact of new roads and railways with a scenario in which degraded forests were restored, Andhika and his colleagues found that replanting trees in key areas could help reconnect fragmented habitats throughout Java and give wildlife, including leopards, more room to move and survive. They looked at key forest areas used by leopards across Java, an island half the size of the U.S. state of Texas with five times its population. This high human population density has…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study finds that strategically restoring degraded forests could help reconnect fragmented habitat for the endangered Javan leopard, giving the species more room to move across densely populated Java. - Researchers created the first islandwide model of habitat connectivity for the species, showing how targeted reforestation could help offset some of the barriers created by roads, railways and urban development. - Conservationists say isolated leopard populations face increasing risks from habitat loss, human conflict, disease and inbreeding, with only an estimated 320 Javan leopards remaining in the wild. - Experts caution that the model still needs to be tested with real-world tracking data, but say reconnecting forests will be essential for the long-term survival of Java’s last apex predator. authors: | ||
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New data platform aims to reduce conflicts between First Nations and businesses in Canada 12 May 2026 22:28:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-data-platform-aims-to-reduce-conflicts-between-first-nations-and-businesses-in-canada/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Olivia Ferrari content:encoded: When Robert Jago’s brother-in-law, a local politician in Montreal, Canada, shared a photo on Facebook greeting Indigenous leaders, Jago said he immediately knew the leaders as frauds. “They were kind of a fake meetup band,” said Jago, whose podcast explores the phenomenon of groups pretending to be Indigenous. “People know so little, they get suckered in by fake bands.” Working in government relations for his own Kwantlen First Nation, Jago himself has encountered a fake band trying to convince local towns they were the only official First Nation in Kwantlen territory — even casting doubt on the authenticity of the Kwantlen themselves. “People in [the federal] government… didn’t know where to turn, or what information was authoritative,” Jago said. “They didn’t know [much] about First Nations.” He observed the same trend between businesses seeking to launch extractive projects — despite having consultants — and Indigenous communities. It’s one of the reasons why Jago founded KnowledgeKeepr, an Indigenous-led comprehensive data platform on every First Nation in Canada. The platform holds profiles on 638 First Nations across the country, including information on governance structure, chiefs’ contact information, legal records, financial statements, reserve and traditional land boundaries, and other public records. A goal of the platform, according to its creators, is to reduce conflicts between extractive industries and Indigenous peoples. In Canada, there are plans underway to expand extractive projects across the country — including with a series of critical mineral mining, clean energy and trade corridors in the Arctic region — which…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mongabay spoke with Robert Jago, founder of a comprehensive Indigenous-led data platform compiling information on every First Nation in Canada. - The platform organizes and verifies contact information, territory maps, governance background and more, to facilitate collaboration between Indigenous communities, business and government. - A goal of the platform, Jago said, is to reduce conflicts between extractive industries and Indigenous peoples, given that lack of access to accurate information is at the root of many such conflicts. - Canada has plans to expand extractive, energy and infrastructure projects across the country, including on Indigenous lands and in the Arctic region. authors: | ||
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Long dubbed a ‘climate refuge,’ warming Tasmanian forests need our help 12 May 2026 21:31:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/long-dubbed-a-climate-refuge-warming-tasmanian-forests-need-our-help/ author: Glenn Scherer dc:creator: Stefan Lovgren content:encoded: TASMANIA, Australia — A shaded creek winds through fern forest along the Lilydale Falls Trail in northern Tasmania. As hikers pass by, researcher Todd Walsh reaches into the slow-moving water and beneath a rock to pull out a juvenile giant freshwater crayfish caught in one of his live traps. In streams like this one, he says, present day temperatures rarely climb above about 21° Celsius (69.8° Fahrenheit). “The lethal temperature seems to be about 23°[C, or 73.4°F] for these guys,” says Walsh, an independent crayfish expert who has studied the animals for decades and is known locally as the “Lobster Man.” Walsh says he has encountered a few other Tasmanian creeks reaching 25-26°C (77-78.8°F), which would exceed the species’ apparent thermal limits, and he hasn’t found any crayfish in those streams. Crayfish expert Todd Walsh checks a live trap in a shaded stream in northern Tasmania, where cold, forested waterways provide critical habitat for the giant freshwater crayfish. Image by Stefan Lovgren. A juvenile Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish. Few survive to adulthood, making the loss of habitat for young individuals a major threat to the species. Image by Stefan Lovgren. The Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish (Astacopsis gouldi), also dubbed the giant freshwater lobster (even though it’s not a lobster), is the largest freshwater invertebrate on Earth, capable of growing up to a meter long (more than 3 feet) and living for decades. It occurs only in northern Tasmania’s cool, forested river watersheds — habitat that has remained colder and wetter…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Tasmania has long been considered a global “climate refuge,” where cool, ocean-influenced conditions allow species like the giant freshwater crayfish to persist as mainland Australia warms. - But new research shows that the world’s climate refuges are not immune to threats: shifting rainfall, warming waters, sediment runoff, land-use change and other impacts are eroding the ecological conditions that sustain numerous species. - In Tasmania, emerging pressures are impacting the island’s biodiversity, ranging from warming and sedimentation in forest streams affecting sensitive crayfish habitat, to declining oxygen levels putting the endemic Maugean skate at risk. - Scientists say protecting climate refuges now requires active coordinated management between federal, state and local partners, with multimillion-dollar investments in watershed restoration and ongoing conservation efforts. authors: | ||
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Protest works, but is under attack and needs your help, veteran activists say 12 May 2026 21:21:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/05/protest-works-but-is-under-attack-and-needs-your-help-veteran-activists-say/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: “We are experiencing what some people call sort of a shutdown of the public square in the United States and around the world,” says veteran environmental activist André Carothers. Along with the former executive director of Greenpeace US, Annie Leonard, the two have co-authored a new book about the history of protest, why it works, and why it’s under attack. Protest: Respect It. Defend It. Use It. was written to “remind readers about the role protests played in gaining a lot of the progress that we take for granted today,” Leonard says. Earth Day 1970 famously saw around 10% of the U.S. population actively participating in one of the largest demonstrations in the nation’s history. This led to a number of landmark environmental laws that are arguably taken for granted today. Protest highlights how movements begin, and ultimately shape public discourse leading to these significant victories. The authors also highlight how some in society often lionize protest movements of the past, while condemning ones of the present, forgetting that at their inception, protests and the movements they represent are often unpopular. Leonard and Carothers point to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose approval rating never went above 50% in all his years as a civil rights leader. His disapproval rating stood at 75% the year he was assassinated. “There’s something about the gymnastics of history that allows us to honor these people well after they’re dead, but not when it’s happening right in front of them,” Carothers says. If you’re…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: “We are experiencing what some people call sort of a shutdown of the public square in the United States and around the world,” says veteran environmental activist André Carothers. Along with the former executive director of Greenpeace US, Annie Leonard, the two have co-authored a new book about the history of protest, why it works, […] authors: | ||
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Agriculture drives most tropical peatland loss in Indonesia, Peru and DRC: Study 12 May 2026 21:12:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/agriculture-drives-most-tropical-peatland-loss-in-indonesia-peru-and-drc-study/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Agriculture is the biggest driver of peatland loss in Indonesia, Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the largest expanses of tropical peatlands in the world, a recent study has found. Peatlands are crucial in the fight against climate change: They cover less than 3% of the world’s landmass, but sequester more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Yet, the boggy wetlands are being deforested and drained at unsustainable rates, releasing climate-warming greenhouse gases. However, scientists have lacked a clear understanding of the emissions associated with the different drivers of recent tropical peatland degradation. In the new study, researchers analyzed satellite imagery from 2020-2021 to determine what’s driving peatland conversion in Indonesia, Peru and the DRC, and to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions associated with it. Logging emerged as a key driver of tropical peatland loss in all three countries. Mining and road development were major factors in Indonesia and Peru. However, agriculture was by far the biggest driver across all three regions, the study found. In Indonesia, where large-scale agriculture was the leading source of emissions, agriculture overall accounted for 67% of peatland conversion. In Peru, smallholder agriculture was most responsible, for the 61% of agricultural conversion. In the DRC, smallholder agriculture alone accounted for 93% of peatland conversion and 94% of emissions, with no significant role by large-scale agriculture. Tropical peatlands are often cleared by burning, which the study found accounted for roughly half the total greenhouse gas emissions of the conversion. “Fire emits a very…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Agriculture is the biggest driver of peatland loss in Indonesia, Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the largest expanses of tropical peatlands in the world, a recent study has found. Peatlands are crucial in the fight against climate change: They cover less than 3% of the world’s landmass, but sequester more carbon […] authors: | ||
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How grape farmers are restoring Armenia’s wine heritage while safeguarding ecosystems 12 May 2026 20:29:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Kushane Chobanyan content:encoded: AGHAVNADZOR, Armenia — It’s 6 a.m. as the rising sun illuminates apricot-colored cliffs in central Armenia. It’s so still that even the distant buzz of a bee can be heard. Coca-Cola bottles filled with homemade wine for sale line the narrow road leading to acres of grapes growing quietly in an unusual vineyard. At 1,300 meters (about 4,300 feet) above sea level, Trinity Canyon Vineyards seems like it’s flirting with the sun. Located in Vayots Dzor province, where winters are bitterly cold and summers hot, Trinity Canyon and other vineyards use “vertical viticulture” to grow grapes among the mountains. Unlike many other wine-producing countries, where vineyards are cultivated horizontally on more level ground, in Armenia vineyards rise from 1,100-1,600 m (3,600-5,250 feet), with elevation affecting climate, soil and harvest timing. With the country’s rocky terrain, even terracing is difficult. “As a result, most Armenian vineyards, including those in Vayots Dzor, are planted on [natural] plateaus — flat elevated areas that allow the vines to thrive despite the challenging terrain,” Artem Parseghyan, the head winemaker at Trinity Canyon, tells Mongabay. Parseghyan spends his life on the road, driving between Yerevan, the capital, and Vayots Dzor. Born and raised in Russia, Parseghyan studied viticulture and enology (the science of winemaking) in France and Germany. In 2013, when Trinity Canyon was established, Parseghyan came to Armenia to work at what was then one of the country’s few vineyards. Vineyards in Vayots Dzor, the heartland of Armenian wine. Image courtesy of the Vine and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Winemaking in the area that is now Armenia has a history going back 6,000 years. - However, the practice nearly vanished from Armenia during the Soviet era, in the 20th century. - Wine producers in Armenia are now working to rebuild their craft, establishing “vertical” vineyards in mountainous provinces like Vayots Dzor. - Many producers employ organic farming techniques to protect neighboring ecosystems, such as using cover crops instead of fertilizer to restore soil nitrogen. authors: | ||
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Sour on the ‘blue economy,’ small-scale fishers seek ‘blue justice’ instead 12 May 2026 19:57:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/sour-on-the-blue-economy-small-scale-fishers-seek-blue-justice-instead/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Edward Carver content:encoded: Globally, the “blue economy” dominates discussions of ocean-related projects. At the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in France in June 2025, references to the blue economy abounded, and the government of Monaco co-sponsored a two-day event on the blue economy and finance that featured world-famous dignitaries. The tagline for the upcoming Ocean Impact Summit in Bali, Indonesia, is “Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy.” World Economic Forum participants frequently use the term, while the World Bank has a blue economy program complete with a multidonor trust fund. The African Union has a blue economy strategy, and Brazil is currently developing one of its own. Countries such as Belize and Madagascar, meanwhile, have in recent years incorporated the “blue economy” into ministry names. Yet there’s debate and confusion over what the blue economy is. Understanding on the ground can be limited, with definitions squishy. Mbacke Seck, executive director of Hann Baykeeper, a coastal community organization in Senegal, told Mongabay the term is relatively new and “its contents remain poorly understood within our community.” The World Bank, for its part, calls a blue economy approach “the sustainable use of resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and job creation while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems.” Offshore energy, coastal infrastructure, tourism, maritime transport, aquaculture and fishing are often considered part of the blue economy. The bank declined an interview request for this story. However, development projects, even some that carry the blue economy banner, can profoundly affect coastal communities. For example, a…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The blue economy is a somewhat ambiguous term that’s been used in international policy circles for the past decade and a half. - The World Bank defines it as “the sustainable use of resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and job creation while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems.” - In recent years, some small-scale fishers and coastal community members have started to question the blue economy agenda, arguing that it’s bad for them and the ecosystems they depend on — a kind of cover for business as usual. - Groups of small-scale fishers are now working together across countries and continents to fight for their interests, and some are calling for “blue justice,” a concept that centers human rights and marine tenure rights. authors: | ||
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Who are the women sustaining luxury fishing in Brazil’s Pantanal? 12 May 2026 19:15:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/who-are-the-women-sustaining-luxury-fishing-in-brazils-pantanal/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Mariana RosettiPaola Churchill content:encoded: CORUMBÁ, Brazil — “Lord, go ahead of me and clear my paths, removing every beast, every wild animal, everything that does not come from you; let they be driven away, and may the Lord bless my work. I am in your hands. Walk with me, Father.” It is 3 a.m. on Baguari Island when Roseli Oliveira says her daily prayers before entering the dark waters of the Pantanal here in Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state. With her flashlight off so as not to scare away the bait, she submerges up to her waist — sometimes up to her chest — surrounded by caimans, anacondas and stingrays. She has 12 hours of work ahead of her, with the dirty water penetrating her worn-out overalls. But she has no choice: no bait means no income. She is 48 and she has been doing this work for 36 years. Oliveira is not alone. In riverine communities scattered throughout the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, dozens of women work gathering live bait for fishing. Armed with flashlights and fine-meshed dip nets known as puçás, they catch crabs and small fish such as tuviras (Gymnotus spp.) on riverbanks and bays. It is manual labor, invisible and dangerous, but also essential to an economy that moves millions and sustains fishing tourism in the region — an industry that rarely acknowledges these female hands. Free people, invisible work For the most part, small-scale fishers are distinguished from other workers by their autonomy. They are “free…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In the heart of the Pantanal wetland, women from riverine communities spend up to 12 hours a day in murky waters, surrounded by caimans and snakes, to gather live bait that feeds a multimillion-dollar fishing tourism industry. - Sportfishing in the Pantanal generates around $20 million a year, but the gatherers receive only a few cents for each piece of bait. - During the close season, from November to February, when fishing is banned, they are supposed to receive compensation from the state; but this season there was still no payment as of early February. - According to government data, women make up 40% of professional fishers in Brazil’s two Pantanal states, and they do most bait collection in the biome. authors: | ||
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South Africa declares natural disaster as flooding kills at least 10 12 May 2026 18:05:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/south-africa-declares-natural-disaster-as-flooding-kills-at-least-10/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least 10 people are dead with many homes destroyed in flooding caused by torrential rains across six provinces in South Africa that have hit informal settlements especially hard. South African authorities have declared a natural disaster for the flooding, thunderstorms, high winds and even snowfall that have affected parts of the Western Cape, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces since May 4. The declaration enables the government to use emergency funds and other resources to respond. Cape Town was badly affected, and the Western Cape provincial government has ordered the temporary closure of schools and parts of the city’s Table Mountain tourist attraction. Local officials there on Tuesday said at least 26 informal settlements around the city had been affected by flooding, with over 10,000 structures damaged. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday expressed “deep sadness” over the loss of at least 10 lives due to the severe weather as winter in the Southern Hemisphere begins. He said authorities are “making the best use of science to pre-empt some of these events and to respond to the aftermath.” Experts have said severe floods across Southern Africa are intensifying, driven by extreme weather patterns. Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe experienced unusually heavy rains in recent months, with the region’s worst flooding in years. In January, South Africa declared a national disaster over torrential rains and floods that killed at least 30 people in the north, damaged thousands of homes and washed away roads and bridges. By Associated…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least 10 people are dead with many homes destroyed in flooding caused by torrential rains across six provinces in South Africa that have hit informal settlements especially hard. South African authorities have declared a natural disaster for the flooding, thunderstorms, high winds and even snowfall that have affected parts of the Western Cape, […] authors: | ||
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New Jaguar Rivers Initiative aims to reconnect South America’s fragmented ecosystems 12 May 2026 17:53:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-jaguar-rivers-initiative-aims-to-reconnect-south-americas-fragmented-ecosystems/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: Forced to quarantine at a ranger station during the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of researchers in northern Argentina passed the time by monitoring wildlife around a lagoon on the Bermejo River. One day, something unexpected appeared in the water: a giant river otter, thought to be extinct in the country for nearly 50 years. The researchers paddled out in kayaks to photograph the animal, which soon began building a den beside their station, allowing them to monitor its behavior. They eventually launched a campaign for its protection. “We couldn’t believe it. It was like it had come looking for us,” recalled Sofía Heinonen, executive director of the nonprofit Rewilding Argentina, the group working at the ranger station. “Everyone’s reaction was that it was as if everything seemed to be aligning too perfectly. The encounter was so powerful that we were practically stunned.” Giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) are the largest otter species in the world, reaching nearly 2 meters (6 feet) in length and weighing up to 32 kilograms (70 pounds). They are highly social, typically living in family groups that communicate with a variety of calls. Heinonen and her team said they believe this otter came downstream from neighboring Paraguay. The sighting, inside El Impenetrable National Park, is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of the Paraguayan border. They wondered how many other otters might still be out there, and how their habitat connected to allow one to reach Argentina. Rewilding Argentina has been working in the country for more…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Four major conservation groups have joined forces to establish the Jaguar Rivers Initiative across South America’s Paraná River Basin. - Its goal is to protect the big cat and other threatened species, rewild native wildlife, and protect land throughout the basin, a biodiversity hotspot shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. - Many rivers form the borders between the four countries, and by collaborating on protections, the initiative seeks to reconnect fragmented habitat, using rivers and riparian forests to rebuild wildlife corridors. - By 2030, the initiative plans to protect at least 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of land in these countries, preserving approximately 34 million metric tons of carbon at risk of being released through deforestation, fire and land-use change. authors: | ||
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No beak = weak? Not for this New Zealand parrot that’s the alpha male of his flock 12 May 2026 13:43:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/no-beak-weak-not-for-this-new-zealand-parrot-thats-the-alpha-male-of-his-flock/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: For many birds, survival depends heavily on their beaks. Beaks are used for eating, hygiene and even fighting, so a broken or deformed beak can often be a death sentence. But for one kea parrot, an endangered species endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, scientists observed the exact opposite, despite the bird missing its entire upper beak. Scientists found that the male kea parrot (Nestor notabilis), which they named Bruce, was using his lower beak as a jousting weapon, thrusting the implement forward — a behavior that other parrots with intact beaks did not replicate. Researchers observed Bruce participate in 36 combative interactions — and win all of them. “Bruce shows us that behavioral innovation can help bypass physical disability, at least in species with the cognitive flexibility to develop new solutions,” Alexander Grabham, lead author of a recently published study describing the findings, said in a statement. “Previous research has shown links between large brains, behavioral flexibility, and survival at the species level.” Kea parrots are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated 4,000 adults left in the wild. Bruce was born in the wild but was taken into captivity around 12 years ago, after he was found with his entire upper beak missing. He has since lived in the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, where the study was carried out. Researchers found that Bruce was jousting more frequently than other keas, using different techniques and targeting different areas of his opponents’ body. Usually, keas target the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: For many birds, survival depends heavily on their beaks. Beaks are used for eating, hygiene and even fighting, so a broken or deformed beak can often be a death sentence. But for one kea parrot, an endangered species endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, scientists observed the exact opposite, despite the bird missing its entire upper […] authors: | ||
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Can Bangladesh’s new law save its natural wetlands? 12 May 2026 12:27:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Sadiqur Rahman content:encoded: On April 7, the Bangladesh Parliament unanimously passed the Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act, 2026, which strictly prohibits encroachment of, unauthorized mining of minerals from, poisoning of, and electrocuting aquatic life in natural wetlands such as haors, baors and beels. It also prohibits construction of structures that could obstruct natural water flow to the wetlands. According to the new law, these acts will be considered cognizable and non-bailable offences. The Bangladesh Water Act of 2013 defines a haor as any large saucer-shaped shallow natural depression between two separate rivers, a baor as an oxbow-shaped natural lake, and a beel as a natural low-lying land that gets inundated in the monsoon and either remains submerged year-round or dries up for a certain period of the year. Bangladesh has an estimated 373 haors and some 6,300 beels in the northeastern and eastern districts of Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Netrokona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria, covering 1.99 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of area. The five central-western districts have 23 baors of varying sizes ranging between 4 and 89 hectares (10 and 220 acres). The new law strictly prohibits mining minerals from and destruction of haors and wetlands. Image by Sadiqur Rahman for Mongabay. To conserve the biodiversity of the natural wetlands across the country, the government had formed the Haor Development Board (HDB) in 1977. The board was mandated to bring the wetlands under integrated management with the development of infrastructures, irrigation and flood control systems for fisheries and agriculture. Later, in 2016, the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - For the first time, Bangladesh has enacted a dedicated law on the conservation of its unique natural wetlands, such as the haors, baors and beels. - Experts have assessed that the new law overlaps with already existing conservation tools. - However, better coordination with related government agencies has been suggested for the expected outcome. authors: | ||
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Rare swamp deer subspecies thriving in new home in India 12 May 2026 11:07:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/rare-swamp-deer-subspecies-thriving-in-new-home-in-india/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Forest authorities in central India have successfully helped establish a new breeding population of the vulnerable hard-ground swamp deer, an animal previously restricted to just one protected area, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India. Once widespread in India, the hard-ground swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) was until recently reduced to a single, isolated population of around 1,100 individuals, restricted to Kanha Tiger Reserve in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state. The hard-ground swamp deer is the only subspecies of the swamp deer — or barasingha, meaning “12-horned” in Hindi — that’s adapted to solid grassland. The two other subspecies live in swampy grassland habitats in other parts of the country. “Confining the entire subspecies to Kanha effectively created a single point of failure,” Neha Awasthi, a member of the Deer Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, told Mongabay India. She said small isolated populations face risks from fluctuations in population, gene patterns and inbreeding, as well as external threats including disease outbreaks or large-scale environmental disturbances. To help the deer survive future catastrophes, the Madhya Pradesh forest department translocated 98 deer from Kanha to Satpura Tiger Reserve, also in Madhya Pradesh, between 2015 and 2023. The deer were first transferred into a 50-hectare (124-acre) predator-proof enclosure to allow for acclimatization, before being released into open grassland. Awasthi is a co-author of a recently published study that found that the hard-ground swamp deer population had increased from the original 98 to 172 individuals by 2023.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Forest authorities in central India have successfully helped establish a new breeding population of the vulnerable hard-ground swamp deer, an animal previously restricted to just one protected area, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India. Once widespread in India, the hard-ground swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) was until recently reduced to a single, isolated population […] authors: | ||
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Africa’s amphibians are overlooked in conservation planning, experts warn 12 May 2026 10:57:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/africas-amphibians-are-overlooked-in-conservation-planning-experts-warn/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Herpetologists are calling for greater inclusion of amphibians in African conservation planning, in a recent letter published in the journal Science. Africa is home to roughly 1,170 known species of amphibians, 99% of which are endemic. Some 37% of the amphibians are recognized as threatened with extinction. The researchers note that amphibians — frogs, salamanders and caecilians — are especially important as early-warning detectors of ecological disruption, given their sensitivity to pathogens, thermal stress, pollution and hydrological changes in their wetland habitats. Yet amphibians as a group remain poorly represented in protected-area planning and management tools in Africa, the authors write. They note there are only 12 documented amphibian-specific action plans across the continent. These include a conservation plan for frogs in Cape Town, South Africa, and for the golden mantella frog (Mantella aurantiaca) in Madagascar. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, doesn’t yet have conservation action plans specifically dedicated to amphibians, according to the letter’s lead author, Bienvenu Mwale, an expert on amphibians in the DRC and Cameroon. “To date, the DR Congo existing legal frameworks remain broad and give limited attention to this taxonomic group, with a stronger focus on large mammals,” Mwale told Mongabay by email. Cameroon, on the other hand, has given full protection to six amphibian species, including the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), the world’s largest, through a ministerial decree. This could be a good model for African conservation planning, Mwale said. He added that several African amphibian species are currently classified as data…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Herpetologists are calling for greater inclusion of amphibians in African conservation planning, in a recent letter published in the journal Science. Africa is home to roughly 1,170 known species of amphibians, 99% of which are endemic. Some 37% of the amphibians are recognized as threatened with extinction. The researchers note that amphibians — frogs, salamanders […] authors: | ||
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Nigeria aims for stronger wildlife protections with sweeping new law 12 May 2026 10:52:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nigeria-aims-for-stronger-wildlife-protections-with-sweeping-new-law/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Valentine Benjamin content:encoded: In recent years, spectacular seizures of illegally trafficked wildlife products, including consignments of ivory and pangolin scales weighing several tons, have provided plenty of evidence of Nigeria’s position as a hub for international trafficking rings operating across Africa, Europe and Asia. In October 2025, the country’s Senate passed a new bill to strengthen the country’s wildlife legislation. As the bill awaits the president’s signature, its supporters say the country now has the basis for stronger wildlife protection on paper, but the government will need to provide agencies with the resources, coordination and political backing to enforce the law. “This new bill addresses long-existing gaps in our legal framework,” the bill’s sponsor and vice chair of the environment committee in the House of Representatives, Terseer Ugbor, told Mongabay in September 2025. “The old law was riddled with ambiguities. It failed to specify whether its provisions applied only to international wildlife trade or also to domestic transactions.” Despite many headline seizures of illegally trafficked wildlife, including pangolin scales and ivory, these busts rarely result in prosecution of traffickers. Mongabay previously examined official records covering the decade from 2012-21 and found just 11 cases had gone to court — just three convictions were secured. In each case, those found guilty paid a fine equivalent to $240 to avoid a three-year jail sentence. In interviews with prosecutors, enforcement officials, campaigners and traders at wildlife markets at the time, Mongabay heard that in most cases, seizures of contraband were not followed by investigation; the same…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Nigeria’s Senate recently passed a new bill to strengthen wildlife legislation in the country, which is a hub for international trafficking rings. - Supporters say the government will need to provide resources for agencies to enforce the law. - Despite many headline seizures of illegally trafficked wildlife, many cases do not go to court and even fewer end in convictions; experts also point to a confusing and contradictory patchwork of existing wildlife legislation. - Conservationists see this as an opportunity to reset Nigeria’s handling of wildlife crime, but villagers who supplement their income through hunting fear that enforcement of the new law could mean the loss of an important safety net in difficult farming seasons. authors: | ||
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Paying people to see wildlife: Inside a $1-per-hectare conservation experiment in Borneo 12 May 2026 10:34:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/paying-people-to-see-wildlife-inside-a-1-per-hectare-conservation-experiment-in-borneo/ 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. Stop telling people to protect wildlife. Start paying them instead. That’s the idea in a new experiment in Kapuas Hulu district, in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, which is testing whether conservation can be made to work with local incentives rather than against them. The initiative, known as KehatiKu, asks residents to record wildlife sightings in exchange for modest payments. In its first year, the program has generated a large volume of data while drawing hundreds of participants into regular contact with the forests around them, reports contributor Linnea Hoover for Mongabay. The premise is straightforward. Participants download an app and use it to submit photos, audio or video of animals they encounter. Payments vary by species, from a few thousand rupiah for common birds, to more substantial sums for rarer animals such as orangutans. Observations are verified before payments are distributed at month’s end. The process is simple enough to fit into daily routines, yet structured enough to produce usable data. The scale is notable. More than 800 observers across nine villages have recorded roughly 300 to 400 sightings a day. That has produced a data set covering species from hornbills to gibbons. The cost, by the standards of conservation programs, is low. Biologist Erik Meijaard, managing director of Borneo Futures, the scientific consultancy that organizes the project, estimates spending of less than $1 per hectare (40 U.S. cents per acre) annually across…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. Stop telling people to protect wildlife. Start paying them instead. That’s the idea in a new experiment in Kapuas Hulu district, in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, which is testing whether conservation can be made to work with local […] authors: | ||
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Sharks and rays do not know boundaries and a new high seas treaty seeks to protect them 12 May 2026 10:10:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/sharks-and-rays-do-not-know-boundaries-and-a-new-high-seas-treaty-seeks-to-protect-them/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Malaka Rodrigo content:encoded: COLOMBO – As the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, commonly known as the High Seas Treaty, officially came into force in January, shark scientists and conservationists who gathered in Sri Lanka hailed the landmark treaty as one that could reshape the future of migratory shark and ray conservation by finally creating a pathway to protect species that traverse vast oceanic boundaries beyond any single nation’s control. “Invisible political lines of controls that we draw on maps mean nothing for the ocean’s long-distance travelers,” said marine biologist Asha de Vos, founder of the Colombo-based Oceanswell during a panel discussion at the Sharks International 2026 (SI2026). “Once these animals swim away from protected areas, they immediately become vulnerable again, so the BBNJ is a very important first step in protecting these highly migratory species.” The session, titled “Sharks know no boundaries: The future of shark conservation under BBNJ regime,” at SI2026 explored how the treaty could strengthen protection for migratory sharks and rays whose ranges extend across territorial waters and international seas. Many sharks and rays are highly migratory, so they move across enormous oceanic ranges, passing through the waters of multiple countries and into the high seas where governance has historically been fragmented and weak. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) lists at least 38 highly migratory shark species, while several migratory rays — including manta and devil rays — are also known to undertake long-distance oceanic movements. International waters or the areas beyond national jurisdictions aimed to conserve through…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A recent panel discussion at a global conference on sharks and rays explored how the newly adopted Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, or the High Seas Treaty, could transform conservation of migratory sharks known to travel across national borders into international waters. - Speakers highlighted sharks’ vulnerability once they leave protected national waters, emphasizing how effective conservation requires international cooperation to avoid threats from industrial fishing, bycatch, and habitat degradation across geographical boundaries. - The treaty creates a legal framework for establishing marine protected areas in the high seas, with scientists noting that Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) could help identify critical migratory routes and habitats for future protection. - Panelists said the agreement on BBNJ marks a historic shift in ocean governance, but warned that enforcement, political cooperation and coordination with treaties such as CITES, the Convention on Migratory Species and the Convention on Biological Diversity will be essential for meaningful shark conservation. authors: | ||
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Nearly all climate claims by meat and dairy firms amount to greenwashing: Study 12 May 2026 10:06:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/nearly-all-climate-claims-by-meat-and-dairy-firms-amount-to-greenwashing-study/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Meat and dairy production are significant drivers of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Many companies claim to be tackling this, but nearly all these claims, 98%, could be considered greenwashing, a recent study found. Researchers logged more than 1,200 environmental commitments made by 33 of the sector’s largest companies between 2021 and 2024. They found a pattern of “deceptive” information about environment strategies, goals and actions that “can create the illusion of progress,” lead author Maya Bach, an environmental science and policy researcher at the University of Miami in the U.S., said in a statement. At least 16.5% of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions, including from deforestation, come from meat and dairy production. More than one-third of all environmental claims, 467 in total, include vague climate goals such as emissions reduction and net-zero targets. Yet these promises were found to lack plans for implementation and were rarely evaluated for practicality, the study’s authors wrote. They categorized each commitment by the type of greenwashing, including selective disclosure, vagueness, empty claims, and no proof. They quoted the companies’ own sustainability claims and analyzed them for greenwashing. For example, in 2023, commodity-trading giant Cargill wrote in its sustainability report that it would “eliminate deforestation and land conversion from direct and indirect supply chain of key row crops in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay by 2025.” In 2024, Mongabay reported that Cargill had pushed its baseline year for evaluating deforestation ahead by 12 years. Its original cutoff year, 2008, aligned with Brazil’s soy moratorium. However, its…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Meat and dairy production are significant drivers of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Many companies claim to be tackling this, but nearly all these claims, 98%, could be considered greenwashing, a recent study found. Researchers logged more than 1,200 environmental commitments made by 33 of the sector’s largest companies between 2021 and 2024. They found […] authors: | ||
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