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Gray whales are suffering catastrophic population decline in the Pacific Ocean 16 Jul 2026 18:27:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/gray-whales-are-suffering-catastrophic-population-decline-in-the-pacific-ocean/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Gray whales are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation success. As of July 6, 2026, there were 145 gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) stranding deaths in the Pacific, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data. The environmental non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) estimates that for every one stranded gray whale observed, another nine or more may have died at sea, meaning another 1,305 gray whales may have died this year without anyone knowing. Scientists consider such a rate of gray whale deaths a “catastrophic mortality event.” In 2019, there were roughly 20,500 gray whales; by 2023, the population had declined to 14,526 individuals, nearly 30% of the entire population gone in four years. The whale’s population was already greatly reduced by a century of whaling, but protection under the Endangered Species Act had helped the species recover. Gray whales live in the eastern North Pacific and migrate between 16,000 and 22,500 kilometers (10,000 and 14,000 miles) from their winter calving lagoons off Baja California, Mexico, to their Arctic feeding grounds. But climate change is disrupting the Arctic food web on which the gray whales depend. The whales are coastal bottom feeders and use baleen plates inside their mouths to filter tiny invertebrates from the seafloor or benthic layer. Warming temperatures and earlier-than-usual ice melt mean that phytoplankton bloom earlier and are eaten before they can fall to the seafloor to feed benthic invertebrates and, ultimately, gray whales.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Gray whales are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation success. As of July 6, 2026, there were 145 gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) stranding deaths in the Pacific, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data. The environmental non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) […] authors: | ||
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Amazon deforestation falls to 10-year low in first half of 2026 16 Jul 2026 15:37:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/amazon-deforestation-falls-to-10-year-low-in-first-half-of-2026/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in the past 10 years, according to satellite data published by Brazil’s National Space Agency (INPE). Between January and June 2025, a total of 2,090 square kilometers (807 square miles) of deforestation was recorded in the Brazilian Amazon. In the same months of 2026, the total deforested area was 1,295 sq km (500 sq mi), marking a 38% decrease. “This shows that the political will to fight deforestation has prevailed,” Ane Alencar, science director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, said in a statement. “From a scientific standpoint, this is evidence that deforestation is not an inevitable process and its reduction is responsive to decisions made by society and the government.” Alencar said that a drop in deforestation does not mean that the Amazon is protected. Threats, including illegal gold mining and forest fires, are still concerns. In 2024, fire accounted for an estimated 60% of primary forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon. Still more forest was cleared in the first half of 2025, according to INPE, with an increase in forest loss of 27% compared with the same period in 2024. In the first half of 2026, however, the area of the Amazon that burned was nearly 40% smaller than the 2013-25 historic average, João Paulo Sotero, director of deforestation and fire policy with Brazil’s Environment Ministry, told Mongabay in a video interview. Forecasts of a “super” El Niño through the second half of 2026 have put Brazil’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in the past 10 years, according to satellite data published by Brazil’s National Space Agency (INPE). Between January and June 2025, a total of 2,090 square kilometers (807 square miles) of deforestation was recorded in the Brazilian Amazon. In the same months of 2026, […] authors: | ||
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Invasive giant prawn spreads through protected areas in Brazil 16 Jul 2026 15:33:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/invasive-giant-prawn-spreads-through-protected-areas-in-brazil/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Evanildo da Silveira content:encoded: The stealthy and increasingly persistent presence of an exotic species — the giant river prawn— in Brazil’s coastal ecosystems has been raising numerous alarms among scientists, fishers and environmental managers. Introduced in the country in the late 20th century to supply the growing aquaculture industry, the prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is no longer limited to captive breeding. The species has established itself in extremely sensitive natural environments, including protected areas. A study conducted by researchers from Brazil and Uruguay was published in February, revealing the extent of the problem and detailing the ecological and environmental risks associated with the giant prawn “invasion” — negative aspects that, according to experts, may intensify in the coming years. Led by oceanographer Edison Barbieri, director of the São Paulo Fisheries Institute’s Southern Coast Regional Research Center, the work was driven by the scientific community’s growing concern regarding biological invasions in estuarine ecosystems. These systems, which also include mangroves, are located in areas of transition between rivers and the ocean and are widely recognized for their biodiversity. Estuarine zones serve as nurseries for numerous aquatic species, including fish and crustaceans of ecological importance and economic potential. At the same time, these delicate transitional environments are susceptible to the introduction of exotic species, which then compete with native fauna for different vital resources. According to Barbieri, the study — conducted between 2015 and 2025 — started from an observation: While the intrusive prawn had been seen in different regions of Brazil, there was no systematic monitoring in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A study led by researchers from Brazil and Uruguay confirmed the presence of invasive prawns in several conservation areas along the Brazilian coast, including estuaries listed by UNESCO as Natural World Heritage Sites. - Considered an opportunistic predator and highly adaptable to different marine conditions, the giant river prawn competes with native species for food and shelter, in addition to being a potential vector for diseases. - While scientists demand concrete actions to stop the advancement of this intrusive crustacean, small-scale fishers report significant drops in their capture of native animals, warning about the impact of invasive species on their livelihoods. authors: | ||
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‘Beasts of the East’ chronicles the unheralded restoration successes of America’s eastern wildlife 16 Jul 2026 14:26:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/beasts-of-the-east-chronicles-the-unheralded-restoration-successes-of-americas-eastern-wildlife/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Erik Hoffner content:encoded: Thinking of America’s iconic wild creatures and places usually brings images of Yellowstone or Denali National Park to mind, or the many wilderness areas scattered across multiple states, but the collective imagination generally passes over the East Coast, with its long history of human settlement and large urban population centers. However, a new book by Andrew Moore, “Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America’s Eastern Wilderness” contains a collection of inspiring narratives which argues that this is a mistake. Through a combination of science, effort, imagination and policy, the East has seen a great resurgence of wildlife and wildlands through reintroductions, ecological restoration, and rewilding that adds up to one of this year’s most eye-opening reads. In an interview with Mongabay, Moore discussed themes in his book chronicling this underreported story, and his responses have been edited lightly. Chris Lucash releases a red wolf in northeastern North Carolina in 2004. Image courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mongabay: What did wildlife populations in the U.S. East look like pre-European settlement, and afterward for a while before resource extraction and agriculture became rampant across the landscape, that might surprise readers to know? Andrew Moore: Picture first the landscape: bigger, wetter, wilder in all ways, and frequently on fire. And then fill this natural area with massive animals, including whooping cranes and sandhill cranes, black bears, deer, plus overwhelming flocks of Carolina parakeets and passenger pigeons. Imagine sprawling meadows and tallgrass prairies filled with bison and elk —…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The new book “Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America’s Eastern Wilderness” chronicles how the U.S. East Coast has seen an inspiring resurgence of wildlife in recent decades. - From elk to moose, sandhill cranes to bear and bison, author Andrew Moore answers Mongabay’s questions about the findings contained in his engaging new read timed perfectly for “beach read” season in the U.S. authors: | ||
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In the Canadian Arctic, an experiment aims to stabilize thinning sea ice 16 Jul 2026 14:08:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-the-canadian-arctic-an-experiment-aims-to-stabilize-thinning-sea-ice/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Elizabeth Claire Alberts content:encoded: Indigenous peoples living in the Arctic rely on sea ice for many aspects of their lives, from hunting and fishing to travel and cultural practices. Owing to human-driven climate change, the ice is disappearing at an alarming pace. According to data compiled by NASA and the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a research organization based at the University of Colorado Boulder, the extent of Arctic sea ice cover has decreased by more than 12% per decade since satellite records began. Scientists even predict that the region could experience its first near-ice-free summer as early as the 2030s. The loss of sea ice threatens coastal communities in many ways, jeopardizing traditional livelihoods while accelerating coastal erosion and amplifying the impacts of sea level rise. To slow the melting of Arctic ice, researchers have proposed a number of innovative but controversial solutions, including spreading glass beads across the ice to bounce sunlight back into space, and spraying sea-salt aerosols into low-lying clouds to increase their reflectivity to slow down heating effects. In 2017, astrophysicist Steven Desch also proposed what was then considered a wild idea: Using millions of wind-powered pumps to draw seawater onto the surface of the ice during winter, allowing it to freeze and thicken the ice sheet. Real Ice, a UK-government-funded and UK-based climate tech startup, is attempting to thicken sea ice in the Canadian Arctic by drilling holes in it and pumping seawater onto the surface during winter. Image courtesy of Real Ice. At the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Climate tech startup Real Ice is trialing sea-ice thickening in the Arctic coastal community of Ikaluktutiak, also known as Cambridge Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, where thinning ice affects many aspects of residents’ lives. - The company is attempting to thicken the ice by drilling holes in it and pumping seawater onto the surface during winter, which activates refreezing. - Work has been limited to a 1-square-kilometer (0.4-square-mile) test site in Ikaluktutiak, but the team hopes to scale up the project if it proves viable and environmentally safe. - While the results have been promising, geoengineering projects like Real Ice’s work have also attracted controversy for the possible risks they pose to the environment. authors: | ||
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Indigenous advocates push for rights protections around AI data centers 16 Jul 2026 13:59:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: Artificial intelligence is said to be the transformative technology of our time, with the potential to reshape our world on a global scale, according to research. Yet AI’s potential is underpinned by the need for hyperscale data centers, the large, energy-intensive sites that house servers and IT equipment. As tech companies and governments continue to develop this infrastructure at scale, Indigenous peoples from Brazil to Canada affected by the projects have responded in different ways. Some have raised concerns about pressure on water resources and inadequate consultation, while others have embraced the projects for their economic benefits. In July 2026, at a meeting of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Indigenous leaders, government representatives and experts called for data center projects to comply with the principles of free, prior and informed consent, or FPIC. They also explored whether growing AI infrastructure can be developed in ways that advance Indigenous priorities and rights. During a panel discussion on the second day of the EMRIP meeting, Indigenous delegates said that policies to ensure that AI does not harvest Indigenous knowledge without consent are of equal importance to protections for Indigenous lands and waters. “AI is resource-intensive and requires vast amounts of energy,” said Maren Storslett, a member of the Sámi Parliament in Norway at the meeting. “In Sápmi, we already see how large data centers put [immense] pressure on our territories. This forces a conversation about priorities and limits and we need to be at the table…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - At a meeting of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Indigenous advocates called for attention to the need for AI to be developed in ways that align with Indigenous rights and priorities. - Data centers, the infrastructure that powers AI technology, require large amounts of energy and water to operate, yet many are constructed in water-stressed regions, leading to widespread opposition among local residents. - Many sources who spoke to Mongabay raised concerns about their land, water and food sovereignty. - Some said they believe the infrastructure could create opportunities for Indigenous people, so long as it complies with the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and meaningful participation, among other steps. authors: | ||
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What living in one of the world’s hottest towns feels like 16 Jul 2026 13:57:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/what-living-in-one-of-the-worlds-hottest-towns-feels-like/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: BANDA, India (AP) — The northern Indian town of Banda has endured weeks of extreme heat, with daytime temperatures repeatedly reaching 115 Fahrenheit and nighttime lows staying above 93 F. Banda has repeatedly ranked among India’s hottest cities, with temperatures peaking at 118 F. Climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera also said Banda was the hottest spot on Earth seven times this year, most of them in April. Brief spells of rain have brought only temporary relief. Residents, long accustomed to scorching summers, are now changing their daily routines to cope, beginning work at the vegetable market by 4 a.m. or shifting hours to avoid the afternoon heat. A patient receiving oxygen lies on a hospital bed while suffering from a heat-related illness amid high temperatures during a heat wave in Banda, northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Friday, June 19, 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated Press Children gather around a mobile phone as local residents rest at a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20, 2026 Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated Press Residents sleep on the platform of a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20 , 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated Press Bird conservationist Shobharam Kashyap holds wooden birdhouses he makes for sparrows during a heat wave in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20, 2026. Image…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: BANDA, India (AP) — The northern Indian town of Banda has endured weeks of extreme heat, with daytime temperatures repeatedly reaching 115 Fahrenheit and nighttime lows staying above 93 F. Banda has repeatedly ranked among India’s hottest cities, with temperatures peaking at 118 F. Climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera also said Banda was the […] authors: | ||
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Meat giant JBS silently ditches bolder environmental targets in latest review 16 Jul 2026 11:13:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/meat-giant-jbs-silently-ditches-bolder-environmental-targets-in-latest-review/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: The world’s largest meatpacking company, JBS, has scrapped two of its key environmental goals in its latest annual sustainability report. JBS’s “Net Zero by 2040,” which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout its supply chain, and zero deforestation targets were substantially rolled back compared to previous years, according to its 2025 Sustainability report, published July 8. Instead, the company redesigned its targets with a focus solely on its most direct emissions, called Scope 1 and Scope 2. Those include direct emissions from JBS factories, vehicles, and electricity provided to its facilities. Indirect emissions, called Scope 3, make up the vast majority of the company’s emissions and were dropped. Those include methane from cows, and transportation and deforestation emissions from supplier farms. “Backtracking on measurable targets doesn’t diminish the scrutiny JBS will face for its climate and nature-wrecking record of pollution, deforestation, land grabbing, human rights abuses and corruption,” Gemma Hoskins, global climate lead at U.S.-based environmental nonprofit Mighty Earth, wrote in a statement. Until 2025, JBS touted a commitment to “zero illegal deforestation in all Brazilian biomes by the end of 2025 for direct and indirect cattle suppliers,” Mongabay previously reported. JBS justified the change by saying it’s difficult to control indirect emissions. “Bold ambition is fine, but you now need to actually have really good, measurable, accountable goals. And that’s what we’re doing — we’re now setting goals that we believe where we have operational control,” Jason Weller, JBS’s chief sustainability officer, told the Financial Times. JBS operates more than 250 meat production facilities, mostly in Brazil and the U.S. It…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The world’s largest meatpacking company, JBS, has scrapped two of its key environmental goals in its latest annual sustainability report. JBS’s “Net Zero by 2040,” which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout its supply chain, and zero deforestation targets were substantially rolled back compared to previous years, according to its 2025 Sustainability report, published July […] authors: | ||
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European Commission excludes leather from landmark deforestation law 16 Jul 2026 10:10:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/european-commission-excludes-leather-from-landmark-deforestation-law/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: The European Union has dropped leather from its final list of products targeted under the bloc’s landmark antideforestation law. Experts say the July 13 decision is the result of industry lobbying rather than a true reflection of leather’s deforestation footprint. The EU deforestation regulation, or EUDR, mandates that companies selling commodities such as cattle, soy, palm oil and cacao in the European market must prove their supply chains aren’t sourcing from recently deforested land. The law is currently set to take effect at the end of this year, following two years of delays. It has faced a series of revisions that effectively weaken the law since it was first passed. “The decision to exclude leather from the EUDR is deeply disappointing. It ignores strong evidence linking European consumption of leather to deforestation in Latin America,” Fyfe Strachan, policy lead at U.K.-based watchdog organization Earthsight, wrote in an email statement. “It overlooks the voices of EU citizens from the recent public consultation and instead prioritizes the interests of industry lobbies,” she added. As Mongabay recently reported, the European Commission’s own research concluded that leather could account for up to 17% of the deforestation footprint linked to imports covered by the EUDR. Transparency records compiled by the nonprofit LobbyFacts revealed that leather industry groups met with lawmakers at least 22 times since 2021, and the EUDR was explicitly listed as a discussion topic in 11 of the meetings. The lobbying efforts were led by two Italian leather tannery unions, COTANCE and Unione…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The European Union has dropped leather from its final list of products targeted under the bloc’s landmark antideforestation law. Experts say the July 13 decision is the result of industry lobbying rather than a true reflection of leather’s deforestation footprint. The EU deforestation regulation, or EUDR, mandates that companies selling commodities such as cattle, soy, […] authors: | ||
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War heightens isolation of Iran’s scientists 16 Jul 2026 04:12:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/war-heightens-isolation-of-irans-scientists/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The ongoing war in Iran, which began following a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28, has intensified the long-standing isolation of the country’s wildlife conservation community, Mongabay’s John Cannon reports. While the current war has directly hindered research and damaged educational facilities, conservationists and researchers said that decades of international sanctions and political disconnect had already crippled Iranian conservation efforts long before the first bombs fell this year. “Iran’s nature, Iranian conservationists and Iranian researchers have been isolated for a long time,” Iman Ebrahimi, deputy director of the Isfahan-based NGO AvayeBoom Bird Conservation Society, told Mongabay. “The war has made that isolation more visible, but it did not create it.” This isolation has restricted access to global funding, professional collaboration, and basic research tools such as reliable internet, academic journals and robust banking channels. AvayeBoom continues to monitor the conflict’s effect on critical habitats. During a brief ceasefire in April, the team documented at least 5,000 greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) at Maharloo Lake, a salt lake that was full of water at the time. Ebrahimi said industries and agricultural activities were possibly drawing less water from the lake. The nonprofit also works with local communities around the Arjan wetland to protect bird species like the ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea). The wetland is part of the UNESCO-listed Arjan and Parishan Biosphere Reserve, in southwestern Iran, home to thousands of species, but also illegal bird hunting. Ebrahimi expressed concern about researchers who are forced to leave the country due to a lack…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The ongoing war in Iran, which began following a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28, has intensified the long-standing isolation of the country’s wildlife conservation community, Mongabay’s John Cannon reports. While the current war has directly hindered research and damaged educational facilities, conservationists and researchers said that decades of international sanctions and political disconnect had […] authors: | ||
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Like ‘climbing Kilimanjaro’ without help: Interview with a Limpopo conservationist 15 Jul 2026 19:34:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/like-climbing-kilimanjaro-without-help-interview-with-a-limpopo-conservationist/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Bernard Chiguvare content:encoded: In Limpopo province, in the far north of South Africa, where much of the population lives in rural areas, environmental conservation is often not considered very often. Instead, the residents spend much of their time trying to make a living either from the forestry around them or from fishing in the Mutale and Limpopo rivers. But for Mutale resident Tshilidzi Mulugana, degradation of the local environment is a concern, as it will affect the community and endanger biodiversity. Mulugana is the founder of the Niani Youth Development organization whose mission is to educate local youth. He wants to make a change in the community, to help residents conserve the environment. Mulugana is afraid the next generation may not live to know indigenous tree species — yet these trees serve as traditional medicine. He noted several threats to indigenous species such as baobab (Adansonia genus), leadwood (Combretum imberbe), mopani (Colophospermum mopane) and marula (Sclerocarya birrea): recurring floods, the movement of elephant herds from neighboring Zimbabwe or Mozambique through the area, and traders who cut the trees to sell as firewood. In 2019, Mulugana began a grassroots conservation initiative focused on planting indigenous trees. One day, an official from Kruger National Park (KNP) — a walkable distance from where he lives — came across Mulugana, attracted to his project. The official later invited a representative from the forestry and fisheries department, and in 2024, the two groups funded the project. Mulugana also hoped to recruit community members to help with the work,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In South Africa’s Limpopo province, one man, Tshilidzi Mulugana, spearheaded a community project to educate youth about conservation and replant indigenous trees. - The project received some initial funding, which lasted a few months; despite current financial constraints, Mulugana and his wife continue the push to change the way local residents view trees. - He says some community members make a living from cutting and selling firewood, and many people are not interested in conservation without compensation; meanwhile, repeated floods have washed away trees and vegetation. - Mulugana spoke with Mongabay about the challenges he and his wife face in running a community conservation effort on their own. authors: | ||
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New colobus monkey, ‘Likweli’, confirmed in DRC 15 Jul 2026 19:16:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-colobus-monkey-likweli-confirmed-in-drc/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: In 2008, wildlife researchers surveying a massive, underexplored forested region in the Democratic Republic of Congo photographed a black monkey. That region eventually became Lomami National Park. And now, nearly 20 years later, the team has confirmed in a study that the black primate is a new-to-science species of colobus monkey. The monkey isn’t well known by local communities, but those who have encountered it call it likweli, said John Hart, study lead author and scientific director at the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, which spearheaded the creation of Lomami. The researchers have given the monkey the scientific name Colobus congoensis. Both male and female likweli are almost entirely black. What makes the species easy to distinguish from other colobus monkeys is a prominent patch of pinkish to orange-cream bare skin surrounding the mouth, Hart told Mongabay in a video call. When the likweli was first photographed in 2008, it was one of several monkeys the researchers couldn’t identify. “They are not in our field guides,” Terese Hart, the Lukuru foundation director, wrote in a blog post in 2008. Another of those monkeys, locally named lesula, also turned out to be new to science and was scientifically described as Cercopithecus lomamiensis in 2012. With the focus on the lesula and conservation work in the area, the likweli went on the back burner, John said. It was only 10 years later, in 2018, that local field researcher Jean Pierre Kapale photographed likweli several times during surveillance patrols and surveys. Kapale insisted the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In 2008, wildlife researchers surveying a massive, underexplored forested region in the Democratic Republic of Congo photographed a black monkey. That region eventually became Lomami National Park. And now, nearly 20 years later, the team has confirmed in a study that the black primate is a new-to-science species of colobus monkey. The monkey isn’t well […] authors: | ||
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No corporation can buy the ‘right to destroy’: Interview with activist Raja Waseem Ahmed 15 Jul 2026 19:09:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/no-corporation-can-buy-the-right-to-destroy-interview-with-activist-raja-waseem-ahmed/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Muhammad Talal content:encoded: For generations, the Kahoon Valley in Pakistan’s Chakwal district in northwestern Punjab has thrived as a rich ecological haven. Its fertile soil has yielded lush, historical loquat orchards, while the surrounding scrub forests have provided vital refuge to diverse wildlife, including local peacock populations and rare mountain deer species. At the center of this landscape sit the Katas Raj Temples, an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site anchoring the region’s profound spiritual heritage. However, the unchecked expansion of mega cement factories in the early 2000s transformed this natural sanctuary into a toxic industrial zone. Relentless industrial pumping reportedly caused the water table to crash from 36 meters (120 feet) to 122 m (402 ft). This extreme depletion withered the famous loquat trees and displaced native birds, also draining the sacred Katas Raj pond. Determined to save his homeland from erasure, Raja Waseem Ahmed, an environmental activist, brought together residents from neighboring villages to establish the Kahoon Protection Committee to defend the Kahoon Valley against the extreme ecological and social damages caused by heavy industrialization. Waseem utilized environmental legislation and led a forensic legal campaign that exposed the manipulated environmental approval documents eventually driving the Supreme Court of Pakistan to intervene on its own accord, resulting in a historic verdict that banned factories from draining local groundwater and slapped the industry with huge fines. In retaliation for his activism, Waseem was struck by unjustified anti-terrorism lawsuits, temporarily exiled from his native district by local authorities, and subjected to stress so harsh that it…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Raja Waseem Ahmed, a dedicated activist in Pakistan’s Chakwal district, is well-known for his decades-long fight to conserve the natural resources and heritage of the Kahoon Valley. - Through the Kahoon Protection Committee, he led a legal battle against mega cement factories, ultimately prompting the Supreme Court of Pakistan to issue a historic ruling that banned the corporations from extracting local groundwater. - His persistent advocacy against unchecked industrial expansion recently earned him the WWF-Pakistan Al-Mizan Award for Environmental Justice. - Raja Waseem Ahmed spoke to Mongabay about his work and steps needed for using the judicial system to safeguard the region’s environment. authors: | ||
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Community conservation under fire: Interview with Myanmar’s Clean Mountains founder 15 Jul 2026 18:51:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/community-conservation-under-fire-interview-with-myanmars-clean-mountains-founder/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Esther J content:encoded: Myanmar experienced a military coup in February 2021. In the aftermath, widespread repression by the military regime fueled the emergence of armed resistance movements across the country, pushing an ongoing conflict to its most intense level in decades. Starting from 2024, the military’s conscription law has further threatened the lives and futures of young people, forcing thousands to leave the country. Meanwhile, environmental degradation continues to worsen. People are facing multiple crises, including environmental destruction caused by the overexploitation of natural resources, natural disasters, armed conflict, and human rights violations by the military regime. The democratic freedoms that used to exist during the five years of semi-civilian government before the coup have disappeared. Within this context, environmental activism and conservation efforts have widely faded. Yet, against this backdrop, the environmental group Clean Mountains was established in 2024 and is based in the conflict-affected states of Karenni (Kayah) and Karen (Kayin), areas controlled by resistance forces. The organization — funded through grants and donations — is a small, women-led team of four members between the ages of 22 and 28. The group’s founder, Ou Ou, 27, leads Clean Mountains in implementing community-based conservation in conflict-affected mountainous regions, focusing on waste management, water conservation, sustainable agriculture and forest conservation. Ou Ou, founder of Clean Mountains, attends an awareness session on waste management in Bago region, 2025. Image courtesy of Clean Mountains. Through both her previous organization and Clean Mountains, waste management systems have been established in more than 130 villages, including 15…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Since the 2021 coup in Myanmar, environmental degradation has worsened, but one small women-led team works on grassroots conservation in conflict areas. - Clean Mountains helps local communities in Karenni and Karen states with waste management, water conservation, sustainable agriculture and forest conservation. - Founder Ou Ou discusses how the ongoing conflict has fueled natural resource destruction and also silenced the voices of conservationists. - She also speaks about the role of gender in conservation work, why women participate more often in waste management efforts and how long-standing traditional beliefs continue to leave women out of decision-making roles. authors: | ||
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Brazil lists the Amazon river turtle as endangered for the first time 15 Jul 2026 18:37:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazil-lists-the-amazon-river-turtle-as-endangered-for-the-first-time/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Karla Mendes content:encoded: A traditional food source for Amazonian communities, freshwater turtles have been included in Brazil’s list of fauna threatened with extinction for the first time. The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered in a new national list recently released by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Known in the Amazon as tracajás, freshwater turtles have been classified as nearly threatened for a long time, but it’s the first time that one of its species was classified as endangered, said Marília Marini, general coordinator of conservation strategies at ICMBio, the Brazilian agency in charge of conservation units. “For the Amazon, the main highlight is the inclusion of the tracajá,” Marini told Mongabay by phone. “That is a more delicate situation, because it also involves [traditional] communities that use them [for subsistence]. So, great care is needed regarding communication and how to direct actions — ensuring they don’t negatively affect those communities that have historically coexisted with the area.” Despite protection programs and conservation efforts, cágado-iaçá’s (Podocnemis sextuberculata) populations over the past 36 years — equivalent to three generations — declined by more than 50% in Amazonas and western Pará states, which accounts for approximately 70% of the species’ total distribution, leading to an endangered classification, according to ICMBio’s Biodiversity Extinction Risk Assessment System (SALVE). Six-tubercled Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis sextoberculata). Image by © Rafael Bernhard via iNaturalist. CC BY 4.0. Six-tubercled Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis sextoberculata). Image by © Andrés Camilo Montes-Correa…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered, entering Brazil’s official list of fauna species threatened with extinction for the first time. - Despite protection and conservation efforts, cágado-iaçá’s populations over the past 36 years declined by more than 50% in Amazonas and western Pará states, according to official data. - The species is widely consumed in the northern region, alongside the yellow-spotted river turtle and the Amazon turtle, which remain in a less concerning category, according to ICMBio. - The hyacinth macaw, the black howler monkey and the red silky anteater were reclassified as vulnerable, adding to the list of 790 species recently published. authors: | ||
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Sitesh Ranjan Deb turned a hunter’s knowledge to saving wildlife 15 Jul 2026 18:06:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sitesh-ranjan-deb-turned-a-hunters-knowledge-to-saving-wildlife/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The bear came out of the forest with enough force to kill him. It mauled the hunter badly and cost him an eye. He spent three months in a hospital recovering. There, he began asking himself questions that had not troubled him much before. Why was he hunting? Why was he killing? Hunting had come to him through his family. His father and grandfather were known around Sreemangal, in northeastern Bangladesh, for killing leopards, wild boars, and other animals that threatened people or crops. As a boy, he accompanied his father into the forest. After his father died, he continued hunting. He became a gunsmith and a guide, familiar with animal tracks, forest paths, and the habits of creatures that most people encountered only by accident. Sitesh Ranjon Deb holds a pair of jungle cats in his house in Sreemangol, Bangladesh. Image via Agence France-Presse (AFP) After the bear attack, Sitesh Ranjan Deb, who died on July 14th, gave up hunting. He began capturing injured animals, removing snakes from houses, treating wildlife recovered from traffickers, and returning animals to the forest. The grounds of his home became a treatment center. It eventually developed into the Bangladesh Wildlife Service Foundation, one of the country’s best-known privately established wildlife-rescue institutions. The center remained closely tied to his household. Its patients occupied bedrooms, courtyards, cages, and improvised treatment spaces. Jungle-cat cubs, pythons, slow lorises, monkeys, birds, and other animals passed through. Those requiring constant attention stayed close to the family. Deb kept photographs…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Sitesh Ranjan Deb gave up hunting after a bear attack left him badly injured and cost him an eye. - He turned the grounds of his home in Sreemangal into a wildlife treatment center that cared for injured, confiscated, and displaced animals. - His knowledge of animal behavior, learned during years in the forest, helped him capture, treat, and release wildlife ranging from slow lorises and pythons to bears and monkeys. - He also campaigned against wildlife killing and trafficking and warned that shrinking forests were driving more animals into conflict with people. authors: | ||
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South Africa’s free-roaming cheetahs in steep decline, first national census finds 15 Jul 2026 17:56:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/south-africas-free-roaming-cheetahs-in-steep-decline-first-national-census-finds/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: South Africa’s free-roaming cheetah population is much smaller than previously thought, according to the first coordinated national census of the species living outside protected areas. Over three and a half years, between 2022 and 2026, researchers from Ashia Cheetah Conservation, the Cheetah Outreach Trust (COT) and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands surveyed almost 100,000 square kilometers (38,610 square miles) of habitat across South Africa’s northern border. Wild cheetahs that inhabit the unprotected areas of South Africa are considered “free roaming.” Using camera traps, GPS collars, landowner surveys, genetic analyses, scat sampling and public sighting records, they compiled the Free-Roaming Cheetah Census (FRCC), which they described as the most comprehensive assessment yet of South Africa’s free-roaming cheetahs. During this time, they recorded only 83 mature adults, and 119 individual animals in total, which is 70% less than previous, smaller-scale studies suggested using model-based estimates. A young cheetah investigates a monitoring site in North West Province. Image courtesy of Ashia Cheetah Conservation. “Finding fewer than 100 mature adults is an extremely strong indication of how dramatically smaller the population has become within South Africa over the years,” Marna Smit, director of Ashia Cheetah Conservation, told Mongabay. Because of a high mortality rate in young cheetahs, which can be up to 90% for wild animals, mature adults — the breeding population —- are important for the survival of the species. Cheetahs in South Africa are currently managed in four separate systems: The free-roaming population, the semi-protected population in Kruger National Park…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The first thorough census of free-roaming cheetahs in South Africa finds less than 100 mature adult individuals, much less than previous estimates. - The researchers confirmed cheetahs in less than half of what is currently defined as suitable habitat by the IUCN and called for the adjustment of habitat maps based on current field data. - The biggest threats are habitat fragmentation due to development and infrastructure, and persecution by landowners who perceive cheetahs as threats to their livestock. authors: | ||
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In India’s Western Ghats, sacred groves are better at growing future forests 15 Jul 2026 16:07:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-indias-western-ghats-sacred-groves-are-better-at-growing-future-forests/ author: Liz Kimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: In the villages of India’s Western Ghats, some of the oldest and tallest trees do not grow inside a national park. They grow in sacred groves, small patches of old, mostly untouched forest that local communities have protected for generations, because they believe the trees belong to their deities and ancestors. A new study published in the journal PLOS One found that young trees regenerate far more successfully in these groves. Seeds dropped by fruit-eating birds are much likelier to survive and grow there than in surrounding farms and villages. India has more than 100,000 sacred groves, which are recognized as essential to community-based conservation. The Western Ghats is a mountain range that runs about 1,600 kilometers (nearly 1,000 miles) down India’s west coast, across six states. The study began there by chance. A team from the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF), which runs a giant-tree program, had signed up a man in Vanzole village with a huge Terminalia bellirica (beheda) tree in his yard. Visiting, they saw giant trees all over the village. “It sparked a series of questions,” study co-author Kevin Matteson, associate director of Project Dragonfly at Miami University in the U.S. state of Ohio, told Mongabay in an email. How many giant trees were hiding in plain sight, and were birds like hornbills really using trees in such busy places? To find out, the team walked the whole village with two local experts, Namdev and Anant Shivgan, who mapped the land, identified the trees and led…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A study of “giant” trees in India’s Western Ghats finds that sacred groves, forest patches that communities protect, because they believe the trees belong to their gods, hold nearly twice the giant-tree species of nearby villages. - The groves also grow far more young trees from large, bird-spread seeds, making them nurseries for the next forest. - Researchers call giant trees “ecological catcher’s mitts” and say conservation should protect whole forests and the cultures around them, not just single animals. - The groves are under pressure as simple forest shrines are replaced with concrete temples and young people leave villages, taking their knowledge with them. authors: | ||
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Deep sea mining identified as biggest threat to known and unknown deep-sea creatures 15 Jul 2026 15:41:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/deep-sea-mining-identified-as-biggest-threat-to-known-and-unknown-deep-sea-creatures/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: In its most recent update to the Red List of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identified deep-sea mining as the biggest threat to a critically endangered deep-sea snail. Discovered in 2021, scientists named the mollusk Lirapex felix — the lucky lirapex — because of the luck it took to find the roughly 2.5 millimeter (0.1 inch) long sea snail. So far, only two individuals have been recorded in one location 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) south of Madagascar in the Longqi vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge. “Luckily, these two specimens gave us just enough information on its morphology and DNA so we could describe it comprehensively and give it a name,” Chong Chen, the scientist who first described the species, told Mongabay via email. “This likely means this species is naturally rare, making it especially vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts like deep-sea mining.” The species was found in an area that overlaps with a 15-year exploration license for polymetallic sulfide mineral extraction. The license was issued by the International Seabed Authority to China and expires this year. If exploitation-phase mining goes ahead, sediment plumes could smother and kill vent communities, Chen said. Even though little is known about the Lirapex felix, it was classified as critically endangered. By assigning the highest risk category the IUCN has taken a precautionary approach and recommends further research into mining impacts. It has also called for surveys to see if the species exists at other vent sites along the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In its most recent update to the Red List of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identified deep-sea mining as the biggest threat to a critically endangered deep-sea snail. Discovered in 2021, scientists named the mollusk Lirapex felix — the lucky lirapex — because of the luck it took to find […] authors: | ||
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Warming world could push Southeast Asia forests toward thermal limits, new study 15 Jul 2026 15:20:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/warming-world-could-push-southeast-asia-forests-toward-thermal-limits-new-study/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Carolyn Cowan content:encoded: Forest canopies create the conditions for an extraordinary diversity of life to thrive. By casting shade and retaining moisture in the air and soil, they generate cool and stable understory environments. In the tropics, this regulating effect is particularly crucial for countless species that otherwise would be unable to survive in the extreme heat of surrounding open landscapes. However, forest scientists are increasingly concerned that the combined pressures of global warming and habitat degradation could undermine forests’ critical thermal buffering capacity. New research from Southeast Asia predicts forests across the region will experience unprecedented peak temperatures over the next three decades. Heat levels beneath the canopy could hit new highs even within currently intact ecosystems by 2050, the study found, potentially exposing forest-dwelling animals, plants and fungi to severe levels of heat stress. “Our findings show that climate change is not only warming the atmosphere globally, but also reshaping the local conditions that species experience inside forests,” said Erone Ghizoni Santos, who led the study while he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Clouded leopards are one of many forest-dependent mammals that could be impacted by shifting understory microclimates. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Region-wide warming Prior research in Malaysian Borneo has demonstrated that when forests are degraded, such as through logging, they become more affected by climate shifts in the surrounding landscape. Depleted canopies allow more sunlight to reach the ground and trap less moisture, allowing heat to permeate the ecosystem. What was missing,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Countless forest-dwelling species depend on the cooler, moister and more stable conditions found in the understory, beneath leafy tree canopies. - A new study from Southeast Asia finds the combined pressures of global warming and habitat degradation could send forest understory heat levels soaring within the next three decades, potentially exposing species to unprecedented levels of thermal stress. - The findings can help prioritize conservation action on vulnerable landscapes, intact forests and heat-resilient areas that could become important refuges for forest species, the research team says. - Experts say gaining a fuller picture of how forest-dwelling species will be affected by climate change will ultimately require further studies that consider additional factors, such as humidity, wind and ecosystem feedbacks. authors: | ||
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Mongabay, Scientific American, and Project Multatuli release a documentary on Indonesia’s new capital 15 Jul 2026 15:16:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/07/mongabay-scientific-american-and-project-multatuli-release-a-documentary-on-indonesias-new-capital/ author: Lucia Torres dc:creator: Leah VarjacquesRizky RahadSandy Watt content:encoded: PEMALUAN, East Kalimantan — Indonesia’s plan to build a new capital in the province of East Kalimantan has captured global attention. Called Nusantara, the project is intended to ease pressure on Jakarta, a sinking and overcrowded megacity, by shifting the country’s administrative centre to the island of Borneo. But the new city is also reshaping a forested landscape that is both rich in biodiversity and home to Indigenous communities who have lived there for generations. As construction advances, scientists and local residents are racing to document what remains of the forest before it changes forever. With audio recorders placed throughout the rainforest, researchers have created an acoustic baseline of its ecosystem. The calls of birds, frogs, insects and mammals offer a living record of biodiversity, helping scientists to identify species, track wildlife and measure how the landscape responds to rapid change. For the Indigenous Balik community, the project has another layer of meaning: the forest’s sounds are also part of their cultural heritage. Working alongside researchers, they are helping to preserve an acoustic archive of a place that may soon be permanently altered. As this corner of Borneo transforms, these recordings may stand as a lasting record of the forest at a pivotal moment. For the Balik community, the future will depend not only on the fate of the forest but on how they adapt to sweeping environmental and social change. Sound Guardians is a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American and Project Multatuli, with support from the Pulitzer Center on…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: PEMALUAN, East Kalimantan — Indonesia’s plan to build a new capital in the province of East Kalimantan has captured global attention. Called Nusantara, the project is intended to ease pressure on Jakarta, a sinking and overcrowded megacity, by shifting the country’s administrative centre to the island of Borneo. But the new city is also reshaping […] authors: | ||
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How Brazil’s federal fiscal policy hinders Amazon Rainforest conservation (commentary) 15 Jul 2026 14:05:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-brazils-federal-fiscal-policy-hinders-amazon-rainforest-conservation-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: João Gabriel de Araujo Oliveira content:encoded: The forests of the Brazilian Amazon are, by any measure, among the most important ecosystems on Earth. They absorb carbon on a planetary scale, regulate rainfall across South America, and shelter biodiversity that science is still cataloging. International negotiations, carbon markets, and diplomatic agreements all rest on the assumption that these forests will remain standing. Yet while the Amazon spans nine Brazilian states, the three whose territory is most overwhelmingly forest — and which therefore carry the heaviest share of the conservation burden — are among the poorest and most fiscally dependent in the country. The states of Amapá, Acre, and Amazonas operate on budgets so dependent on federal transfers that they have almost no fiscal room to act on their own. That is not a coincidence. It is a design flaw in Brazil’s fiscal constitution, and it is getting worse. The argument here is simple: Brazil cannot credibly lead global climate diplomacy while its Amazonian states remain fiscally trapped. The forest will not protect itself. And the states responsible for protecting it do not have the money to do so. Tropical forest near Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil. Image by Gloria Pallares for Mongabay. What the budgets show Amapá is larger than Ecuador. Nearly three-quarters of its territory is classified as federally protected land — national parks, Indigenous reserves, and conservation units — that the state is legally obligated to maintain but receives no specific compensation for. In 2025, more than 60% of its entire state budget came from…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The three Brazilian states whose territory is mostly Amazon Rainforest — and carry the heaviest share of its conservation burden — are among the poorest and most fiscally dependent in the country. - Amapá, Acre, and Amazonas operate on budgets so dependent on federal funding that they have almost no ability to act on their own, yet they are also precluded from developing their economies within their vast and federally protected swaths of forest. - “It is a design flaw in Brazil’s fiscal constitution, and it is getting worse,” a new op-ed argues. “Brazil cannot credibly lead global climate diplomacy while its Amazonian states remain fiscally trapped.” - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Wildfires expose millions in the Midwest and Northeast US to dangerous smoke 15 Jul 2026 14:04:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/wildfires-expose-millions-in-the-midwest-and-northeast-us-to-dangerous-smoke/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution. Minnesota officials issued an air quality alert from Tuesday through Friday for areas including the Twin Cities metro area, Alexandria and Two Harbors, with very heavy smoke expected across the state’s northeastern corner as large wildfires spread. Air quality levels in Two Harbors, the Tribal Nation of Grand Portage and other regions in northeast Minnesota were expected to reach hazardous levels, making it unsafe for everyone. Dan Westervelt, associate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, said severe drought conditions combined with heat in Canada and the U.S. have created “a perfect storm for really dry conditions to provide a lot of fuel for these wildfires to burn.” Research shows warming temperatures from burning coal, oil and gas are making fires more frequent and intense. People should stay indoors as much as possible to avoid the extreme heat, especially as smoke moves in, said Tyler Hasenstein, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota. “Those two things coinciding with each other is not good from a health perspective,” he said. Officials in Michigan and Wisconsin warned residents Tuesday about air quality issues that could last for days. High levels of fine particulate matter in the air from wildfire smoke may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as children and people with heart or lung conditions. In parts of Maine, residents were reporting a…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution. Minnesota officials issued an air quality alert from Tuesday through Friday for areas including the Twin Cities metro area, Alexandria and Two Harbors, with very […] authors: | ||
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‘Bear-dar’ aims to give Arctic communities a heads-up on nearby polar bears 15 Jul 2026 09:02:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bear-dar-aims-to-give-arctic-communities-a-heads-up-on-nearby-polar-bears/ author: Abhishyantkidangoor dc:creator: Abhishyant Kidangoor content:encoded: How do you spot polar bears in the vast, and often dark, wilderness of the Arctic? Enter Bear-dar. This AI-driven radar system scans the landscape to spot approaching polar bears. The technology was developed by the nonprofit Polar Bears International in collaboration with U.S.-based security firm Spotter Global in a bid to mitigate encounters between the animals and people. “We wanted to add another tool to the polar bear safety toolbox,” Alysa McCall, director of science at Polar Bears International, told Mongabay in a video interview. “With an early-warning detection system, there’s less chance of a bear getting killed because it surprised somebody.” Climate change is the biggest threat to the survival and existence of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). As sea ice melts in the Arctic, these threatened species are rapidly losing their habitats. As a result, they move on to land in search of food, where they risk coming into close contact with humans. With Bear-dar, scientists and conservationists say they hope to help manage such encounters and conflicts. The early-warning system uses radars and cameras that keep a watch on the landscape, looking out for motion in its field of vision. The radar panels, each about the size of an iPad, look at a distance ranging from a few hundred meters to 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles). The AI algorithm in the radars was trained to detect polar bears from zoo-held animals at Assiniboine Conservancy Park in the Canadian city of Winnipeg. “There’s not a ton of polar bear…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - An early-warning system, aided by radar and AI, aims to help mitigate human-polar bear encounters in the Arctic. - Bear-dar scans the landscape for polar bears and alerts people if a bear is spotted approaching human settlements. - In May, the system detected a polar bear family and helped people at a weather station guide them back onto sea ice. - As sea ice rapidly melts due to global warming, polar bears are losing their habitats; as a result, they’re increasingly foraging for food on land, putting them in growing contact with humans. authors: | ||
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How a spiritual practice is preserving Benin’s mangroves 15 Jul 2026 03:46:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/how-a-spiritual-practice-is-preserving-benins-mangroves/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In the West African nation of Benin, Vodun, an ancient spiritual religion rooted in a deep connection between humans and nature, has become a primary tool for protecting the country’s disappearing mangroves. By invoking the authority of the Zangbéto deity, local communities and conservationists create spiritual sanctuaries that forbid the destruction of mangroves under threat of divine punishment, reports Mongabay Africa’s Jahëna Louisin. Mangroves are vital carbon sinks, capable of capturing up to four times as much carbon as terrestrial forests. Benin’s mangroves are under extreme pressure from logging, salt production, intensive agriculture and urbanization. Between 1995 and 2015, mangrove cover in the country decreased by 29%, according to a study published in 2025. To combat this loss, the NGO Eco-Bénin partners with Vodun dignitaries to designate specific areas as sacred. In the last decade, this collaboration has preserved about 500 hectares (more than 1,235 acres) of mangroves. The process involves seeking permission from the spirits through a Fâ priest, a mediator who uses a traditional spiritual language to communicate with the divine. In the video, Isidore Jinou, a 57-year-old advertising director and the son of a fisherman, emphasizes the importance of this spiritual oversight for the Mono River region in the southwestern corner of Benin. This region is home to Bouche du Roy, an estuary and one of the richest mangrove ecosystems on the Beninese coastline. “All our resources, all our wealth comes from the water,” Jinou, who was initiated into the Vodun religion 14 years ago, tells Mongabay.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In the West African nation of Benin, Vodun, an ancient spiritual religion rooted in a deep connection between humans and nature, has become a primary tool for protecting the country’s disappearing mangroves. By invoking the authority of the Zangbéto deity, local communities and conservationists create spiritual sanctuaries that forbid the destruction of mangroves under threat […] authors: | ||
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Bill Montevecchi showed what seabirds could tell us about the sea 15 Jul 2026 02:50:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bill-montevecchi-showed-what-seabirds-could-tell-us-about-the-sea/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The North Atlantic can look empty until someone begins paying attention. A stretch of gray water off Newfoundland may hold only a few white specks at first glance. Through binoculars those specks become murres riding the swell, puffins carrying fish crosswise in their bills, or fulmars riding the wind above the waves. To Bill Montevecchi, these birds were never simply inhabitants of the ocean. They were observers of it. Their breeding success, feeding trips, and unexplained absences offered evidence about fish stocks, changing currents, pollution, and the state of an ecosystem that people could not otherwise see. For more than five decades, William A. “Bill” Montevecchi, who died on July 11th, aged 80, treated seabirds as the ocean’s most reliable witnesses. His work helped establish them as indicators of environmental change long before the idea became commonplace. At the same time, he became one of Canada’s best-known public interpreters of marine science, moving comfortably between academic journals, government advisory panels, newspaper columns, and radio interviews. He approached each with much the same purpose: to understand what the birds were saying and to explain why others should listen. Bill Montevechi shows a small injured storm petrel in Bay De Verde, Newfoundland. Photo © Mary Lynk/CBC Born in New York, he developed an interest in birds at an early age and trained as an ornithologist before moving to Newfoundland, where he spent most of his career at Memorial University. Newfoundland offered what he sought: immense seabird colonies, productive seas, and unanswered questions.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Bill Montevecchi spent more than five decades showing how seabirds could reveal changes in the North Atlantic, helping establish them as indicators of ocean health, fisheries, pollution, and climate change. - Based at Memorial University in Newfoundland, he combined field research with public communication, believing scientists had a responsibility to explain their work beyond academic journals. - His research informed marine conservation, fisheries management, and environmental policy, while his mentorship and interdisciplinary collaborations influenced generations of seabird scientists. - Montevecchi approached birds as sources of evidence rather than symbols, arguing that careful observation and rigorous science offered one of the clearest ways to understand a rapidly changing ocean. authors: | ||
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Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find 15 Jul 2026 01:34:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Gerald Flynn content:encoded: BANGKOK — Schemes funneling Chinese tour groups through illegal wildlife shopping sites in Laos appear to be persisting and even expanding in spite of some law enforcement action by authorities, Mongabay has learned. In July 2025, a joint Mongabay investigation identified up to 21 illegal wildlife shopping sites embedded in package tours catering to Chinese nationals in the Laotian cites of Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Typically masquerading as cultural centers, restaurants, jewelry stores and the like, or as stores embedded in such venues, the shopping sites typically only showcase their products to Chinese-language tours run by Chinese and Laotian operators, while barring entry to anyone else. Since then, the number of these shops appears to have nearly doubled, according to multiple groups investigating these operations on the ground. Mongabay has seen evidence suggesting that as many as 35 shops are now operating in Luang Prabang and Vientiane, with 22 in the former and the rest in the latter. When Mongabay asked the Laotian Department of Forestry about the first 21 shops in mid-2025, a spokesperson suggested that at least some of them were not registered as retail shops and that they would investigate. Since then, authorities have made seizures of suspected illegal wildlife products at several shopping sites in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, including of nearly 50 kilograms (110 pounds) during inspections of 17 unnamed locations In November and December, and of more than 57 kg (126 lbs) at an unnamed location on June 13, according to local media reports.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Illegal wildlife shopping sites targeting Chinese tour groups in Laos appear to have expanded despite recent law raids, with investigators identifying up to 35 suspected locations, nearly double the number Mongabay documented in 2025. - Investigators say the shops, embedded in low-cost package tours, continue to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, while some restaurants are reportedly serving highly threatened pangolins to tour groups. - Laotian authorities say they’ve seized illegal wildlife products and launched investigations, but conservation groups argue enforcement remains too limited to disrupt the broader network. - Experts warn the trade could undermine Laos’s efforts to improve its standing under the global wildlife trade convention, and say a coordinated regional response is needed to prevent the business model from spreading elsewhere in Southeast Asia. authors: | ||
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The unsung biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea needs urgent protection 15 Jul 2026 00:23:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/the-unsung-biodiversity-of-the-mediterranean-sea-needs-urgent-protection/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: The Mediterranean Sea accounts for less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface water, but it contains roughly 18% of global marine biodiversity. It is home to 150 million people along its coastline (roughly equivalent to Russia’s population). And it sequesters 17.2 million metric tons of CO2 each year. Joining the Newscast this week to talk about the unique biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea and its threats is journalist Manuela Callari. Callari has written for Mongabay, highlighting the threats to purple sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) along the Italian coast. These marine invertebrates are crucial to the health of marine ecosystems, such as those in the Mediterranean, by helping regulate algal abundance and serving as food for predators. However, they are being overfished and even poached in marine protected areas due to demand for them as the primary ingredient in a popular tourist dish: spaghetti ai ricci di mare. “In certain areas of Italy, like Puglia and Sicily, especially and Sardinia … ricci di mare are eaten either raw, or cooked with spaghetti … because [of] this, the sea urchins have been overfished. There are areas that where they don’t exist anymore,” Callari says. While the situation with urchins persists, Italy has been investing in an unprecedented effort to map its entire underwater coastline using deployed sensors to better understand the marine environment and manage conservation efforts. This is allowing them to identify where meadows of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, which are “absolutely vital” to the Mediterranean ecosystem, persist, Callari says.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Mediterranean Sea accounts for less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface water, but it contains roughly 18% of global marine biodiversity. It is home to 150 million people along its coastline (roughly equivalent to Russia’s population). And it sequesters 17.2 million metric tons of CO2 each year. Joining the Newscast this week to […] authors: | ||
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Rising seas, garbage and heat threaten Brazil’s migratory shorebirds 14 Jul 2026 21:23:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/rising-seas-garbage-and-heat-threaten-brazils-migratory-shorebirds/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Sibélia Zanon content:encoded: POTIGUAR BASIN, Brazil — On the estuary beaches where the Atlantic Ocean mixes with freshwater rising from mangrove soils, the shorebird known as the red knot has a single goal: to feed. While one member of the flock keeps watch, the others use their specialized, tireless beaks to capture clams, oysters, snails and earthworms that inhabit the muddy soils. Soon the time to migrate will come, and the birds must double their weight to endure the long trip. Each May, after spending the previous eight months in the coastal wetlands of Brazil’s shoreline and in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, at the far south of South America, red knots (Calidris canutus) begin a long return flight to the Northern Hemisphere. Their final destination is the cold, desert-like Arctic tundra. It’s there, during the northern summer, between June and August, that they breed. Even before the journey starts, on the beaches of Macau, Guamaré and Galinhos — coastal municipalities dotted throughout Brazil’s Potiguar Basin — observers can see a sign of their preparation: the birds’ chests display a reddish color typical of nuptial plumage. Among migratory birds, the red knot is one of the longest-distance travelers. It flies for about six days and six nights without sleeping, eating or drinking. After leaving Brazil, it will cover roughly 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) to its next stop: Delaware Bay, on the northeastern coast of the U.S. From there, the journey continues toward the Arctic; over a year, the round trip may cover 30,000 km (nearly 19,000…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Among the many effects linked to climate change and damages to estuarine ecosystems, research indicates that migratory birds that depend on coastal wetlands could lose half of their habitats by 2050 - The impact is significant for Brazilian shorebirds: besides depending on a continuous chain of healthy wetlands to complete their long journeys between hemispheres, they suffer from the degradation of feeding areas such as mangroves. - One the most threatened species is the red knot (Calidris canutus): low food availability could impair the bird’s preparation for the 8,000-kilometer (5,000-mile) journey it makes from Brazil’s northeast coast to the U.S. coast. - Researchers are conducting censuses and conservation projects in areas of high shorebird biodiversity, including the Potiguar Basin in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Norte state, considered a “regionally important site” for these migratory birds. authors: | ||
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The US government says habitat destruction no longer counts as ‘harm’ to endangered species 14 Jul 2026 19:55:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/the-u-s-government-says-habitat-destruction-no-longer-counts-as-harm-to-endangered-species/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently finalized a rule that narrows what qualifies as “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. Under the new definition of harm, only actions that directly harm or kill endangered species will be prohibited. Until recently, the definition of harm also included damaging the habitat endangered wildlife depend on for food and shelter. “This rule change is ludicrous. A kindergartener could explain that destroying an animal’s home will harm the animal,” Tierra Curry, endangered species co-director with the U.S.- based nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, told Mongabay in an email. The Endangered Species Act is a bedrock U.S. environmental law established more than 50 years ago. The law prohibits any person to “take” endangered species. “Take” has widely been interpreted to prohibit both directly killing or harming endangered species and damaging the habitat that is essential for their survival. That interpretation was upheld by a 1995 Supreme Court case involving spotted owls which ruled that harm also includes “significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife.” The new rule abandons that longstanding interpretation. “Actions that directly injure or kill listed wildlife will continue to be prohibited,” the U.S. Department of Interior and the Department of Commerce said in their announcement. However, “[t]he final rule will reduce unnecessary permitting, cut compliance costs, and eliminate confusion for landowners, small businesses, energy producers, farmers, ranchers and local governments,” it stated. Tawny Bridgeford, the general counsel and senior vice president of the National Mining Association, an…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently finalized a rule that narrows what qualifies as “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. Under the new definition of harm, only actions that directly harm or kill endangered species will be prohibited. Until recently, the definition of harm also included damaging the habitat endangered wildlife depend on for […] authors: | ||
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Waste, women & environmental justice: Interview with Nubian activist Malasen Hamida 14 Jul 2026 18:30:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/waste-women-environmental-justice-interview-with-nubian-activist-malasen-hamida/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Ouma Elvine Tina content:encoded: Malasen Hamida, a Nubian Muslim woman from Kibera, in Nairobi, is an aspiring politician and an environmental activist with more than 25 years of advocacy behind her. Kibera, which was named by Nubians, meaning “land of forests,” is Kenya’s largest informal settlement and sits on land that the British colonial government allocated to the Nubian community after their forebears served as soldiers in the King’s African Rifles. That allocation once covered 1,698 hectares (4,197 acres). Today, due to urbanization, forced evictions, land-grabbing and successive government projects, only 116 hectares (288 acres) remain under Nubian ownership, with no compensation ever offered. Through the Mazingira Women Initiative, Hamida has spent those years organizing around waste management, smart farming, land rights and women’s leadership. (“Mazingira” is a Swahili word for environment or nature.) She is also a three-time parliamentary candidate for the Kibera constituency and intends to run again in 2027. Hamida spoke with Mongabay on a cold Saturday afternoon, just as she was leaving the largest mosque in Kibera constituency. Her offices are a short walk away. As we moved toward them, several people stopped to greet her. She responded to each, “salaam aleikum,” paused to chat, and cupped a small girl’s face in her hands. She led me through a corrugated iron gate into a quiet compound of mud-walled, iron-roofed houses. The area was noticeably clean, with no stagnant water or litter in sight, unlike the typical sight in Kibera. We settled on the veranda of her home. Malasen Hamida addresses…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Malasen Hamida, a Nubian Muslim woman from Nairobi’s Kibera, hopes to gain a seat in the Kenyan Parliament as she continues her work in environmental activism. - Hamida founded the Mazingira Women Initiative, focusing on waste management, smart farming, land rights and women’s leadership. - She spoke with Mongabay about the history of her people, who were brought to East Africa as soldiers in the King’s African Rifles and given 1,698 hectares, an area that has since diminished to 116 hectares. - She says the fact that Mazingira is women-led is strategic: “If an environmental issue becomes a priority for a woman, she will ensure it works because she knows it is not for her alone. It is for the long-term well-being of the whole family.” authors: | ||
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Trump reduces size of 2 national monuments in Utah as Republicans reshape land management 14 Jul 2026 16:49:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/trump-reduces-size-of-2-national-monuments-in-utah-as-republicans-reshape-land-management/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: President Donald Trump is sharply reducing the size of two national monuments in Utah. The move to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by about 90% unravels protections established by former presidents for areas with unique archaeological and historical features. It comes as Republicans under Trump have sought to drastically reshape the management of vast taxpayer-owned lands concentrated in Western states. Republicans have moved to expand oil and gas drilling, ramp up logging and remove habitat protections for imperiled species. The altered monuments had been designated under the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law meant to preserve important sites. Democrats and conservationists warn of the disposal of treasured landscapes for commercial gain. By Matthew Brown and Savannah Peters, Associated Press Banner image: A hiker watches a waterfall at Lower Calf Creek Falls at Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, July 12, 2023, in Escalante, Utah. Image by Ross D. Franklin via Associated Press. This article was originally published on Mongabay description: President Donald Trump is sharply reducing the size of two national monuments in Utah. The move to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by about 90% unravels protections established by former presidents for areas with unique archaeological and historical features. It comes as Republicans under Trump have sought to drastically reshape the management […] authors: | ||
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Gus Mills, hyena expert and ‘the cheerful pessimist of the Kalahari’, has died 14 Jul 2026 16:24:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: His nephew recalled that the children were taught to chant, “Hyenas are beautiful!” as often as possible. On visits to Kruger National Park, he got them out of bed at midnight to look for bushbabies and again at five in the morning to search for big cats. Wildlife was often most active at inconvenient hours, and he expected anyone accompanying him to adjust. Michael “Gus” Mills, who died on July 13th, spent more than 40 years studying Africa’s large carnivores, especially hyenas, wild dogs, and cheetahs. He published more than 150 scientific papers, chapters, and reports, advised conservation bodies, and trained younger researchers. Much of his working life was spent in a vehicle on a sandy track, waiting beside an animal that might sleep for most of the day. Gus and Margie Mills. Sourced via the Endangered Wildlife Trust At school he had seemed an unlikely future scientist. He described himself as a “very bad student,” failed South Africa’s high-school leaving examination, and was told that science was beyond him. After passing the examination on a second attempt, he joked that he had earned an MA: “Matric Again.” Three years of psychology persuaded him that he did not want to be a psychologist. Zoology held his attention. A visit to Kruger in 1954, when he was eight, had already pointed him toward field biology. “It did something to me,” he said. From then on he wanted to work in the bush. After studying at the University of Cape Town and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Gus Mills spent more than four decades studying hyenas, wild dogs, cheetahs, and other African carnivores. - After struggling in school, he found his vocation in field biology and began long-term research in the Kalahari in 1972. - His work challenged common misconceptions about hyenas and showed the value of patient observation, public participation, and ecosystem-based management. - Even after retiring from SANParks, he returned to the Kalahari for a six-year cheetah study that involved 7,000 hours of observation. authors: | ||
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Celebrating World Chimpanzee Day 14 Jul 2026 16:10:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/celebrating-world-chimpanzee-day/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Happy World Chimpanzee Day. On July 14, as the world celebrates one of humans’ closest living relatives, here’s a roundup of recent Mongabay stories about chimpanzees and their world: Chimps at war in Kibale National Park Chimpanzees, like humans, sometimes fight wars with each other. Mongabay contributor Keith Anthony Fabro reported on a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) “civil war” in Uganda’s Kibale National Park where a chimpanzee community split into rival factions and attacked former allies. Before the split, the Ngogo community was unusually large, with 150 to 200 individuals making it one of the largest chimp groups ever recorded in the wild. The community then divided into two factions, which researchers call the Central and Western groups — named after the areas of forest they occupied. Between 2018 and 2024, the Western group carried out 24 attacks on the Central group, killing at least seven adult males and 17 infants. The conflict is still unfolding and may have lasting consequences for the population. The findings of a study show how shifting social ties can fracture animal societies and trigger collective violence. What do chimpanzees and Ringo Starr have in common? Drumming and singing at the same time is impressive, whether you’re Karen Carpenter, Ringo Starr or a chimpanzee. Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough reported on Ayumu, a 26-year-old male chimpanzee at Kyoto University’s Institute for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior (EHUB). Ayumu has been spontaneously tearing floorboards from a walkway, fashioning them into instruments and performing extended drumming displays while also vocalizing.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Happy World Chimpanzee Day. On July 14, as the world celebrates one of humans’ closest living relatives, here’s a roundup of recent Mongabay stories about chimpanzees and their world: Chimps at war in Kibale National Park Chimpanzees, like humans, sometimes fight wars with each other. Mongabay contributor Keith Anthony Fabro reported on a chimpanzee (Pan […] authors: | ||
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Research offers nature-positive path to end and reverse biodiversity loss 14 Jul 2026 15:05:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/research-offers-nature-positive-path-to-end-and-reverse-biodiversity-loss/ author: John Cannon dc:creator: John Cannon content:encoded: From its nests high in the canopy of the Amazon, the harpy eagle depends on — and is critical to — the health of the forest around it. The species controls the numbers of animals such as sloths and monkeys that, unchecked, could consume too many leaves and turn the canopy into lace. But the massive loss of trees in the world’s largest rainforest has hampered the survival of the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja). Too few tall trees in the vicinity of their nests means fledgling chicks don’t have enough safe places to land as they learn to fly. Habitat loss, along with hunting, has led to the bird’s listing as vulnerable by the IUCN. Removing it entirely could accelerate the demise of the entire ecosystem, conservationist Harvey Locke told Mongabay in an interview, which could have knock-on effects such as diminished rainfall on farmland in the region. “The harpy eagle is not just an amazingly cool bird,” said Locke, the co-founder of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative based in Canada. “It’s not a luxury in that biome. It’s vital to it.” Just as other keystone species, such as elephants, beavers and bison, play similar roles in their respective environments, harpy eagles help hold together even heavily impacted ecosystems, Locke said. “If we pull these pieces out, it unravels,” he added. Research shows keystone species, such as the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) pictured here with a tufted capuchin (Cebus apella), play essential roles in maintaining the health of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A recent paper in Frontiers in Science argues that tracking ecosystem health and natural processes — not just counting species numbers — is essential to stop and reverse biodiversity loss. - The paper promotes the “Three Global Conditions Framework” (3Cs), which categorizes regions by human-impact level to guide targeted conservation efforts ahead of the 2030 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework deadline ending the loss of biodiversity. - Experts say implementation is a lingering challenge, in part because the Global Biodiversity Framework isn’t legally binding. - They say real progress depends on the actions of individual countries and addressing who bears the social and economic costs of these solutions. authors: | ||
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Why Africa should link nutritional data with fisheries management (commentary) 14 Jul 2026 14:11:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/why-africa-should-link-nutritional-data-with-fisheries-management-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Essam Yassin Mohammed content:encoded: Off the coast of Timor-Leste, fishers are building something many countries still lack: A clearer picture of how small-scale fishing nourishes people. For six years, fishers have logged their trips and recorded the gear used, the habitats visited and the catch brought home in a digital system built with the government of Timor-Leste. More than 77,000 trips later, that data has produced a study that urges governments to change how they think about fisheries management. The value of a catch is not just measured in kilos; where people fish and the gear they use can shape the nutrients that end up in local diets. Small pelagic fish can be rich in iron, calcium, zinc and omega-3s, while marine invertebrates gathered by hand, often by women and usually overlooked in official statistics, can also be nutritionally important. That matters because fisheries are too often managed around what is landed and sold, not who is nourished. A session during the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya. Image by Malavika Vyawahare/Mongabay. After the first Our Ocean Conference held on African soil, this evidence feels especially timely. That event in Mombasa in June put Africa’s ocean future in the global spotlight, but the real test now is whether new commitments help countries build the systems needed to manage aquatic foods for people and not just for production, trade and conservation. Now the question is what those commitments will deliver. For decades, fisheries management has been built around one question: How many tons were landed?…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Our Ocean Conference in Kenya last month put Africa’s ocean future in the global spotlight, but the real test now is whether new commitments help countries build the systems needed to manage aquatic foods for people and not just for production, trade and conservation, a new op-ed argues. - Fisheries ministries count landings, and health ministries count nutritional deficiencies, but rarely do the two talk to each other — a problem which can be addressed when the right data is gathered and communicated. - “If Africa can pivot to managing fisheries not only for how much is produced, but for what the catch means for its people’s nutrition, the next generation of fisheries management will be able to harness its oceans for greater social impact and inclusive development,” writes Essam Yassin, director general of research organization WorldFish. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Kent Carpenter spent half a century counting the life of Philippine reefs 14 Jul 2026 13:28:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/kent-carpenter-spent-half-a-century-counting-the-life-of-philippine-reefs/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: By some accounts, in the Philippine reefs of the 1970s, large groupers appeared every 50 feet or so. Some seemed as large as Volkswagen Beetles. Around them were snappers, fusiliers, wrasses, turtles, and corals, along with fish whose identities were still uncertain. A young biologist could spend his days diving and still feel he had only begun to understand what was there. Kent E. Carpenter arrived in the Philippines at 22, soon after graduating from the Florida Institute of Technology. The Peace Corps assigned him to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and put him in charge of coral-reef research. He later called it “the best job there ever was or ever will be in the Peace Corps.” It gave him access to reefs across the archipelago and set the direction of his career. Carpenter was shot dead at his home in Sibulan, Negros Oriental, on July 12th. He was 73. According to police, three men entered the house late at night. A special task group was formed to investigate, and no motive had been established when his death was announced. Kent Carpenter. Image via Old Dominion University Pollution and destructive fishing were already damaging Philippine reefs during his early years there. The large predators he had seen so often became harder to find. He spent much of the next half-century recording marine life in increasing detail: which species lived where, how they were related, how populations changed, and what made them vulnerable. After completing a doctorate in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Kent E. Carpenter spent more than 50 years studying the fish, reefs, and marine biodiversity of the Philippines. - His mapping of 2,983 species helped identify the central Philippines as the “Center of the Center” of marine shore-fish biodiversity. He combined taxonomy, genetics, conservation, teaching, and policy work to document both the richness of marine life and the pressures reducing it. - At 73, he was still conducting field research and contributing to new surveys of Philippine reefs. - Carpenter was shot dead at his home in Sibulan, Negros Oriental, on July 12th. An investigation is under way, according to authorities. authors: | ||
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How birders in Chad ‘found’ the rusty lark, a bird lost to science for nearly a century 14 Jul 2026 12:47:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: The morning of Feb. 2, 2026, started like many others for Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard: It was hot and sunny with a gentle breeze, ideal birding weather. The two French ornithologists, who have been birding since their teens and have traveled the world in search of birds, were at Abou Telfane Game Reserve in central Chad, looking for migratory birds that visit Sahelian wetlands. The duo has surveyed birds in Chad since 2016, they said, keeping detailed records of the winged visitors that fly across the Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert to overwinter in the Sahel every year, and catch any signs of trouble. Birds in the region face many threats: The construction of cities and farms drains their wetland homes; droughts — made more intense and frequent in a warming world — dry up water bodies; and some migratory species are hunted as bushmeat in conflict-prone countries, where food is scarce. Defos du Rau works at the French Biodiversity Agency, while Birard is at the nonprofit Tour du Valat Research Institute. On that early February day, they were joined by Idriss Dapsia and Abakar Saleh Wachoum from the Chadian governmental department for wildlife and protected areas, as part of a collaboration between the two countries for biodiversity monitoring. The team started the day with a plan in mind. “We had set ourselves the (unlikely) goal of searching for the Kordofan rufous sparrow,” Birard said, referring to a species found only in southwestern Sudan and across the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In February, French ornithologists and their Chadian colleagues spotted a bird not seen, heard or recorded by scientists in nearly a century while surveying water birds in Chad’s wetlands. - The team, which included birders Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard, photographed the rusty lark, a wetland species native to the Sahel, producing the first images of this mysterious bird. - Though known to science for more than a century, the bird has remained an enigma, with little known about its life cycle, habitat or the threats it faces. - Bird enthusiasts say they hope this accidental rediscovery could help Chad secure the money it needs for conservation in a game reserve devoid of the charismatic megafauna associated with Africa. authors: | ||
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Ecuador’s Amazon coffee farmers get ahead of Europe’s deforestation rules 14 Jul 2026 11:37:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ecuadors-amazon-coffee-farmers-get-ahead-of-europes-deforestation-rules/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Sibélia Zanon content:encoded: “What motivates us most is being able to say, ‘I take care of the environment, I don’t cut down trees, and my coffee will be valued more highly,’” said Victoria Alverca Peña, a farmer for 25 years and co-founder of APECAP, a small coffee and cacao producers’ association in Zamora Chinchipe, a province in the Ecuadorian Amazon. “I’ll be able to sell it under better conditions, and my work will be much more valued. “In our farms, besides coffee, you’ll find cacao, timber trees, fruit trees and even short-cycle crops,” she added. “When the coffee plants are still young, we can grow crops like corn, cassava or plantains. This helps us a lot with food security.” At the end of this year, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to go into force, prohibiting products linked to deforestation from entering the EU market. Coffee is among the target commodities, and here in southern Ecuador, a group of coffee growers has been ahead of the curve in preparing for the EUDR implementation. Since 2019, nearly 400 farmers here have adopted a model that combines forest conservation, traceability, and geospatial monitoring as part of the Deforestation-Free Coffee Initiative, at work in 23 areas across the region. Between 2019-2021, the project developed Ecuador’s first deforestation-free coffee production model. The effort relies on a national protocol developed by the Ecuadorian government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which uses satellite imagery, traceability systems, and independent verification to track where coffee is grown…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Since 2019, nearly 400 coffee producers in the Ecuadorian Amazon have adopted a deforestation-free production model that combines traceability, geospatial monitoring, and certification. - In 2025 alone, the initiative exported as much deforestation-free coffee as it had during the previous three years combined, totaling 172.5 metric tons of coffee between 2022 and 2025. - The project currently involves 373 producers across nearly 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres), of which more than 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of natural forest remain conserved. - The model is designed to anticipate the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will require geographic proof that commodities such as coffee aren’t linked to deforestation after 2020. authors: | ||
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Small-scale farming, logging eclipse megaprojects as top threats to Tapanuli orangutan habitat 14 Jul 2026 11:24:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/small-scale-farming-logging-eclipse-megaprojects-as-top-threats-to-tapanuli-orangutan-habitat/ author: Hans Nicholas Jong dc:creator: Hans Nicholas Jong content:encoded: JAKARTA — Large infrastructure projects have long dominated debate over the future of Indonesia’s Batang Toru ecosystem, the main stronghold of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. But a new study suggests that while those projects have accelerated forest loss, the greatest direct threat to the ape’s habitat now comes from a much less visible source: the cumulative impact of small-scale agriculture and logging. Recently published in the journal Biological Conservation, the study combines satellite imagery, causal inference, and years of ethnographic fieldwork — including interviews with local communities — to assess the drivers of forest loss in Batang Toru. Home to an estimated 716 Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis), Batang Toru lost 7,659 hectares (18,925 acres) of forest — about 5% of its forest cover — between 2000 and 2023, the researchers found. Forest loss accelerated markedly after 2012, increasing at a rate significantly higher than historical trends would have predicted. The shift coincided with the development of three major extractive projects in the landscape: the Martabe gold mine, the Batang Toru hydropower project, and the Sarulla geothermal project. Using a counterfactual analysis, the researchers estimated that Batang Toru lost an additional 3,472 hectares (8,579 acres) of forest after the projects began, compared with what would have been expected had they never happened. At the same time, however, the researchers found that small-scale agriculture and logging accounted for roughly 70% of direct forest loss in the landscape during the same period. The findings suggest that while large-scale development projects remain an…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study finds that while large-scale development projects have accelerated forest loss in a key orangutan habitat in Indonesia, small-scale agriculture and logging now account for roughly 70% of direct habitat loss. - Researchers link the increase in clearing of the Batang Toru ecosystem to changing rural livelihoods, commercial banana farming, and widespread abuse of a legal community logging mechanism. - The findings raise particular concern for Batang Toru’s eastern forest block, where continued habitat loss threatens one of the smallest and most vulnerable subpopulations of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. - The authors say protecting the species will require tackling both large development projects and the cumulative pressures from small-scale forest clearing, while expanding conservation beyond Indonesia’s formal protected areas. authors: | ||
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Humans’ relationship with nature: Interview with ethnobotanist Pavel Partha 13 Jul 2026 22:56:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Usraat Fahmidah content:encoded: Pavel Partha and I first crossed paths almost two years ago at a 2024 sit-in protest against the destruction of Panthakunja Park in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital. In a makeshift tent that housed a few activists, his eccentricity stood out as the researcher made a detailed list of the plants, birds and species affected by the felling of trees. When I asked him why such documentation was necessary for a protest, he said the plants, trees and species that make up the ecosystem deserve recognition and justice too. Partha is a trained botanist. For almost two decades, he has researched Bangladesh’s plant diversity alongside the knowledge of Indigenous and local communities through ethnobotanical research (the study of human-plant relationships). But he is just as likely to be found at a protest advocating for the rights of Indigenous communities and the systems they depend on. He is currently the director of the Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), where he has worked since 2003, and continues his research. For almost two decades, Pavel Partha has researched Bangladesh’s plant diversity alongside the knowledge of Indigenous and local communities through ethnobotanical research. Image by Usraat Fahmidah. In this interview with Mongabay, Partha reflects on his philosophies of research and activism, shares why ecological justice matters and expounds on how scientific research can support Indigenous communities facing environmental destruction. This interview has been edited for length and clarity and has been translated from Bangla. Mongabay: Where does this begin for you? Can you…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Ethnobotanist and activist Pavel Partha says Bangladesh’s environmental policies overlook the critical relationship between plants and humans; despite an emphasis on conservation, there is no ecological justice. - Partha says development decisions should account for both ecological and social impacts, arguing that the two are inseparable. - He also warns that ongoing environmental destruction erases languages, cultural practices and traditional ecological knowledge alongside ecosystems. - Partha spoke with Mongabay about his activism and how scientific research can support Indigenous communities facing environmental destruction. authors: | ||
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Women Defenders of the Colombian Amazon 13 Jul 2026 21:38:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/07/women-defenders-of-the-colombian-amazon/ author: Alejandroprescottcornejo dc:creator: Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo content:encoded: Colombia is among the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. Yet here, women stand as frontline defenders of both nature and culture. Mongabay is documenting the women protecting forests, rivers and ancestral territories by strengthening traditional governance and reviving ancestral stewardship while confronting coca traffickers and illegal miners. In this Special Issue, meet the women uniquely shaping new paths for Amazon conservation and community resilience.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Colombia is among the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. Yet here, women stand as frontline defenders of both nature and culture. Mongabay is documenting the women protecting forests, rivers and ancestral territories by strengthening traditional governance and reviving ancestral stewardship while confronting coca traffickers and illegal miners. In this Special Issue, meet the women […] authors: | ||
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Cutting back vines lets recovering forests grow faster, Borneo study shows 13 Jul 2026 19:15:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/cutting-back-vines-lets-recovering-forests-grow-faster-borneo-study-shows/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Ruth Kamnitzer content:encoded: As the world faces the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, researchers are trying to understand how to restore degraded forests to most effectively sequester carbon, benefit biodiversity, and promote sustainable land use. A new study published in Current Biology adds to this endeavor, finding that cutting vining plants called lianas dramatically boosts canopy height in previously logged forests in Borneo. Lianas are a signature part of tropical forests, with their abundant flowers and fruits attracting insects, birds and mammals, and their looping woody vines creating natural bridges in the canopy. But in logged or disturbed forests, lianas can grow out of control — and they aren’t always the most considerate of neighbors. Proliferating in sunlit gaps, lianas use trees as scaffolding to fast-track their way to the very top of the canopy, while their roots pull water and nutrients from the ground. This can smother trees and change the way they grow, inhibiting forest regeneration. A number of studies have found that removing lianas by severing their stems can boost tree growth in disturbed forests; for example, a 2022 meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution found that removing lianas more than doubled tree growth and biomass accumulation. So far, though, most of this research has been done in Latin America; less is known about tropical forests elsewhere. Dipterocarp forest at the Danum Valley Field Centre. Borneo’s tropical forests, dominated by trees from the Dipterocarp family, have some of the highest canopies in the world, with some trees reaching…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study in Borneo finds that cutting lianas increases canopy height in regenerating logged forests three times faster than tree planting alone. - Lianas are fast growing woody vines that are a key part of tropical forests, but can proliferate in logged or disturbed forest. - Researchers around the world are exploring how removing or thinning lianas by cutting their stems influences forest regeneration. - Using Light Imaging Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data, the new study found that accelerated tree growth and lower tree mortality contributed to increased canopy height following liana cutting. authors: | ||
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China’s ‘Green Great Wall’ tames desert growth, but scientists warn the fight is not over 13 Jul 2026 17:13:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/chinas-green-great-wall-tames-desert-growth-but-scientists-warn-the-fight-is-not-over/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: KUBUQI DESERT, China (AP) — For half a century, workers in northern China have been using a technique called “straw checkerboards” to combat desertification. This method stabilizes sand dunes and helps plants take root. The effort is part of the Three-North Protective Forest Program or Green Great Wall, aimed at reversing desertification. Since 2000, desertified land in northern China has shrunk significantly. The program has transformed vast regions, with forests now covering 200,000 square miles. Experts say continued success depends on long-term commitment and community involvement. The initiative has involved over 300 million rural laborers, mostly on a part-time basis. A highway cuts through a desertification control site of the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in northern China’s Inner Mongolia province on Friday, June 12, 2026. Image by Ng Han Guan via Associated Press. Desert control worker Yin Yuzhen visits a desertification control site of the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in northern China’s Inner Mongolia province on Friday, June 12, 2026. Image by Ng Han Guan via Associated Press. Yin Yuzhen, a sand-control worker, holds up a plant that did not survive because it was not planted deep enough while at a desertification control site at the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in northern China’s Inner Mongolia province on Friday, June 12, 2026. Image by Ng Han Guan via Associated Press. By Associated Press Banner image: Desert control worker Yin Yuzhen walks along sand dunes covered by grass checkerboard that’s part of desertification control efforts at the Engebei Ecological…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: KUBUQI DESERT, China (AP) — For half a century, workers in northern China have been using a technique called “straw checkerboards” to combat desertification. This method stabilizes sand dunes and helps plants take root. The effort is part of the Three-North Protective Forest Program or Green Great Wall, aimed at reversing desertification. Since 2000, desertified […] authors: | ||
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How narcos moved 108 tons of timber infused with drugs from Bolivia to Chile 13 Jul 2026 13:30:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-narcos-moved-108-tons-of-timber-infused-with-drugs-from-bolivia-to-chile/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Iván Paredes Tamayo content:encoded: A new case has exposed the connection between drug trafficking webs and the export of timber from the Amazon and other regions of Bolivia. After Chile announced in June the largest drug seizure — 108 tons of cocaine and ketamine — in its history, authorities confirmed the substances were detected impregnated in Bolivian wood planks. This is not the first time shipments of the so-called “narco-timber” have been caught: The illicit practice dates back at least 20 years, using the same recurring routes. Mongabay accessed prosecutorial sources in both Chile and Bolivia, two Andean nations in South America sharing a land border of 861 kilometers (535 miles). According to investigations in Chile, 32 shipments were made from Bolivia by 15 timber companies, mostly in 2026. In financial terms, the total amount of drugs moved through this system had a value exceeding $8.3 billion in international markets, according to the breakdown. “It is a six-month investigation developed by the Prosecutor’s Office of Arica [a northern Commune], the Maritime Police, and the National Customs Service of Chile, which culminated in the detection of 45 contaminated containers [with drugs] in the ports of Arica, Valparaíso, and San Antonio,” the Prosecutor’s Office of Arica and Parinacota stated in a report. Cocaine and ketamine impregnated in timber were detected in Arica, northern Chile. Image courtesy of the National Customs Service of Chile. The timber shipments departed from Bolivia, mainly from the departments of Pando, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Beni and La Paz. The cargoes had ports…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Chilean authorities found drug-impregnated wood as part of the country’s largest-ever narcotics seizure, which uncovered 108 tons of cocaine and ketamine in cargoes of timber, according to officials. - In neighboring Bolivia, the origin of the so-called “narco-timber,” raids were conducted at sawmills in the departments of Santa Cruz, Pando, Beni and La Paz. The investigation is also expected to expand to Cochabamba. - The method to impregnate drugs in forest-sourced wood is seen as highly sophisticated and makes it difficult for authorities and even trained canines to detect. - Part of the wood used by criminal networks comes from Amazonian regions in Bolivia, posing risks to tropical forests. authors: | ||
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Monkey vs machine: Nepal tests AI to fight crop-raiding macaques 13 Jul 2026 13:19:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/monkey-vs-machine-nepal-tests-ai-to-fight-crop-raiding-macaques/ author: Abhaya Raj Joshi dc:creator: Praveen Kumar Yadav content:encoded: KATHMANDU — At dawn in Birta Deurali village of Kavrepalanchok in central Nepal, maize fields aren’t quiet. Farmers stand guard, scanning the trees for movement, but they aren’t the only ones there. “If you leave even for a short time, the monkeys do considerable damage,” said 46-year-old Sagar Tamang, a resident of Birta Deurali. Villagers take turns guarding fields every two hours, beating drums and sending dogs to chase them away. Nepal’s macaque crop raids are making national headlines, and the country’s researchers are testing artificial intelligence-based detection and deterrence systems, though even the scientists building them admit the technology isn’t yet a reliable fix. “We even hide food indoors, but they still find their way in,” Tamang said. “Only fire scares them now,” he added, referring to the burning sticks villagers’ wave to keep the monkeys at bay. For farmers such as Sunmaya Lama, 32, of the same village, the losses are adding up. “We lost maize worth 30,000 rupees (about $230) this year,” she said. “Over the past three years, it has reached around 90,000 rupees (about $670).” When she approached the local government, she said she was told there was no provision for compensation. “So we just bear the loss ourselves,” she said. A troop of rhesus macaques forage for food in Nepal. Image by Sunuwargr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). A brewing crisis across the country The scale of the problem extends beyond the village. A 2022 nationwide analysis published in the Journal of Environmental…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Nepal’s rhesus macaques are raiding crops across the mid-hills. A 2026 study found nearly half their diet in one region came from cultivated crops, and farmers bearing losses largely uncompensated. - Researchers are testing AI-based detection systems, with one achieving around 88% field accuracy. - Nepal’s compensation and relocation policies have struggled to keep pace with the conflict, and a 15-member government task force formed in May 2026 has yet to report, leaving farmers to guard their fields at dawn in the meantime. authors: | ||
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Fossil fuel-based mega projects displace locals in Bangladesh, pushing youth out 13 Jul 2026 13:07:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fossil-fuel-based-mega-projects-displace-locals-in-bangladesh-pushing-youth-out/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Eyamin Sajid content:encoded: Eid is usually a day of laughter and joy for most people in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 170 million in South Asia. But for Muhammad Gura Miya, it became a day of sadness and mourning after his only son left home on Eid in 2025 and never returned. Gura Miya, a 65-year-old resident of Maheshkhali sub-district of Bangladesh’s southeastern coastal district Cox’s Bazar, now spends his days in distress over the loss of his son. “He was my only hope and support. I don’t know where he is, or whether he is alive or dead,” Miya said. Miya is not alone. Mongabay spoke with dozens of families whose sons or household heads are missing or dead after attempting to migrate to Malaysia for work. On April 14, 2026, a small boat carrying around 250 people, including Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya refugees, capsized in the Andaman Sea while en route to Malaysia. Only nine people were rescued; the rest remain missing. Young, unskilled people in this coastal area are risking illegal migration across the Bay of Bengal in small boats as fossil fuel projects, ports and petrochemical complexes threaten their ancestral livelihoods. A study on irregular migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia through the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea found that Cox’s Bazar has become a new hub for human trafficking to Malaysia. Construction of Matarbari deep sea port. Image by Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman. A ship at the construction of Matarbari deep sea port. Image by Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Bangladesh government has adopted a master plan to develop Maheshkhali sub-district through three industrial zones: An energy hub with 13 gigawatts of LNG and coal power plants, a deep-sea port with container and multipurpose terminals, and a special economic zone. - The development requires about 37,000 hectares of land across Maheshkhali and Matarbari coastal areas, potentially displacing more than 770,000 residents. - A coal power plant and deep-sea terminal have already displaced 20,000 people by acquiring 2,820 acres of land used for salt production, fish farming and shrimp cultivation. - The coal power plant and deep-sea terminal have affected more than 90,000 people, leaving many without livelihoods and pushing some to risk illegal migration to East Asia for work. authors: | ||
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A marine protected area can ban fishing boats. It cannot stop drifting gear 13 Jul 2026 10:29:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-marine-protected-area-can-ban-fishing-boats-it-cannot-stop-drifting-gear/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For a marine protected area, a line on the map is supposed to carry legal weight. It tells fishing vessels where they may not go. It tells managers where their authority begins. It tells governments what they have promised to protect. In the open ocean, that line can be hard to defend. Fish move through it. Currents cross it. Plastic and lost gear drift into it. A reserve may be closed to fishing vessels and still receive the debris of industrial fishing. A recent paper in Science Advances shows how serious that problem has become for one widely used fishing technology: drifting fish aggregating devices, or dFADs. These are floating rafts, often fitted with satellite buoys and echosounders, that help purse seine fleets find and catch tuna. Tuna and other species gather around floating objects. For fishing companies, dFADs make a mobile and unpredictable ocean easier to search. For protected areas, they create a different problem. A dFAD can be deployed outside a reserve, drift into it, aggregate fish, entangle wildlife, break apart, sink, or wash ashore on reefs and beaches. It can do this without a vessel crossing the boundary. It can also do it without being visible to managers, since buoy data are usually controlled by fishing companies. Intersection between 88,359 tracked dFAD buoys (pink) with existing MPAs showing where dFADs have likely entered (red) or not (blue); (E) MPAs and shark sanctuaries where dFAD strandings were identified with count (circle), observed but not counted (red diamond), or…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Drifting fish aggregating devices, or dFADs, are widely used by tuna fleets to gather and catch fish, but they can drift into marine protected areas without vessels crossing the boundary. - A new Science Advances study found that dFADs have likely interacted with 53% of the global MPA network by area and stranded in 174 protected areas, including sites that harbor at least 490 at-risk species. - The problem exposes a weakness in ocean protection: MPAs can regulate fishing boats inside their boundaries, but they are less equipped to manage mobile industrial gear that crosses those boundaries, sinks, breaks apart, or washes ashore. - The costs often fall on MPA managers, island communities, and conservation groups, making dFADs a test of whether fishing governance can assign responsibility before protected areas become cleanup sites for other people’s gear. authors: | ||
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Pangolin habitat at risk in Pakistan 13 Jul 2026 09:34:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/pangolin-habitat-at-risk-in-pakistan/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The endangered Indian pangolin, already devastated by the illegal wildlife trade, is facing another crisis in Pakistan, one of the four countries where it’s found: rapid habitat loss. Key habitats of the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) have particularly disappeared in Pakistan’s rural, mountainous northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to new research, reports contributor Emma Smith for Mongabay. The province is Pakistan’s third most densely populated region, where development projects such as roads, mining, and industrial sites have fractured vital habitats. In 2021, ecologist Tariq Ahmad, with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department, and his colleagues revisited 102 sites in the province where pangolin signs had been detected in a survey conducted in 2000. They found signs of pangolins in only 67 of those sites. According to Ahmad, the study’s lead author, pangolin populations in the province have plummeted by 25-40% over the last 25 years. “It was heartbreaking to return to sites where pangolins once thrived and find them replaced by roads and buildings. We are pushing this species to the edge,” Ahmad said. Beyond physical displacement, the species remains a primary target for the illegal wildlife trade. Poachers target the pangolin for its scales, made of keratin, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and claimed to hold special curative powers. There is no scientific evidence for these claims. Asim Haider, a wildlife ecologist and conservationist with WWF in Pakistan, who wasn’t involved in the study, said some communities in the country also kill pangolins due to the myth…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The endangered Indian pangolin, already devastated by the illegal wildlife trade, is facing another crisis in Pakistan, one of the four countries where it’s found: rapid habitat loss. Key habitats of the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) have particularly disappeared in Pakistan’s rural, mountainous northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to new research, reports contributor Emma […] authors: | ||
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Southeast Asian mangroves shift from historic decline to net growth 13 Jul 2026 07:22:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/southeast-asian-mangroves-shift-from-historic-decline-to-net-growth/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: For decades, Southeast Asia was the global epicenter of mangrove deforestation, but a recent study reveals a dramatic reversal: Since 2010, the region has transitioned from a net loss to a net gain in mangroves, making it a primary contributor to a global mangrove rebound. The study, which analyzed 40 years of satellite data, found that Southeast Asia accounted for nearly 60% of global mangrove losses between the 1980s and 2010. The region saw its highest rates of mangrove loss between 1990 and 2005. Since 2010, however, mangrove cover in the region has expanded, according to the study: Between 2010 and 2023, Southeast Asia accounted for roughly 43% of global mangrove gain. “Southeast Asia was a hotspot for deforestation and degradation in the late 1990s and 2000s,” study co-author Zhen Zhang told Mongabay in a video call. “But after 2010, we see some very hopeful signals. It’s a good story.” The transition in Southeast Asia is mainly due to shifts in mangrove cover in Indonesia and Myanmar, the study found. In Indonesia, the expansion of the agricultural industry and the construction of aquaculture ponds had been the major drivers of mangrove deforestation in the country, Zhang said. Yet, the world’s most mangrove-rich nation, stopped seeing steep declines in its mangrove forest area after 2005. Meanwhile, Myanmar, historically the most severely deforested major mangrove country, has seen a 10% increase in area covered by mangrove since 2010, according to the study. “While some mangroves are still being lost, this could make…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: For decades, Southeast Asia was the global epicenter of mangrove deforestation, but a recent study reveals a dramatic reversal: Since 2010, the region has transitioned from a net loss to a net gain in mangroves, making it a primary contributor to a global mangrove rebound. The study, which analyzed 40 years of satellite data, found […] authors: | ||
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What will Africa’s story on ocean governance be? Interview with David Willima 13 Jul 2026 05:04:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/what-will-africas-story-on-ocean-governance-be-interview-with-david-willima/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: Earlier this year, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, better known as the High Seas Treaty, entered into force, paving the way for protecting marine life in international waters. Countries in Latin America and West Africa are pushing to finalize proposals to establish their first marine protected areas, or MPAs, in the high seas. Still, much about the practical implementation of the BBNJ treaty, as it’s also known, remains unclear: How are high seas protected areas going to be enforced? Who will be responsible? How they will interact with existing structures of marine governance? David Willima, maritime researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, South Africa, routinely deals with such questions. Part of the ISS’s Climate Risk and Human Security Project, he focuses on maritime security, ocean governance, and the blue economy, working with governments, the African Union (AU), and other stakeholders to improve their capacity to deal with maritime issues. Willima started engaging more closely with BBNJ-related issues in 2022 and has since been involved in creating awareness and capacity building around the High Seas Treaty. More recently, he has supported the IUCN, the global nature conservation authority, in engaging with countries and the AU specifically in the Western Indian Ocean region. Mongabay’s Victoria Schneider spoke to Willima by phone about the current state of the treaty’s implementation, its significance for Africa, and the outstanding challenges, including the persistence of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. David Willima. Image courtesy of David Willima. Mongabay: West Africa…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - With the High Seas Treaty in force, African proposals to designate marine protected areas in international waters are taking shape. - Maritime security expert David Willima talks about why the West African marine protected area proposal is advanced and why others still require careful coordination. - Willima says that with the current transformation marine governance is going through, African countries need to be actively engaged in order to have a voice in global decision-making. authors: | ||
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Official tied to commercial breeding to represent US at global wildlife trade meeting 11 Jul 2026 20:50:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/official-tied-to-commercial-breeding-to-represent-us-at-global-wildlife-trade-meeting/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: Jenifer Chatfield, a high-ranking U.S. official whose family breeds wild animals for profit, will reportedly lead the U.S. delegation attending next week’s meeting of CITES, the global wildlife treaty, in Geneva, Switzerland, multiple sources told Mongabay. Chatfield, who serves as the Department of the Interior’s deputy assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, is expected to attend the 34th meeting of the CITES Animals Committee, scheduled July 13-17. Sources, who wished to remain anonymous because of the fraught political climate in the U.S., informed Mongabay that Chatfield will participate as one of the six-member delegation attending the Animals Committee and Plants Committee meeting. These two scientific advisory bodies evaluate biological and taxonomic information about various animal and plant species to help CITES regulate international trade in endangered species. The committees meet twice between the every-three-year Conference of the Parties, which gathers all CITES signatories to vote on proposals. Chatfield, a board-certified veterinarian, appointed to her position in May 2025 by the second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, will be leading a delegation of five scientists and another staff member from the U.S. Department of State, Mongabay has learned. This would be the first time such a delegation would be headed by a political appointee rather than a biologist well-versed in the sciences of conservation and taxonomy. “Usually, it is the chief of the U.S. CITES Scientific Authority who is the head of delegation,” said Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy at the U.S.-based NGO Wildlife Conservation Society.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Jennifer Chatfield, a top regulator at the U.S. Interior Department, will reportedly head the country’s delegation at the upcoming meeting of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, sources told Mongabay. - The Animals Committee, a scientific body that influences regulations on wildlife trade, is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 13-17. Delegations from 184 signatory nations and the EU will attend, along with NGOs and pro-trade organizations. - Chatfield, a political appointee, has deep links to the commercial wildlife breeding industry: Her family owns and operates 4J Conservation Center in Florida, a facility that breeds two critically endangered species of lemurs, and she is listed as the facility’s veterinarian in documents obtained by Mongabay. - The Interior Department’s ethics committee has been asked to investigate Chatfield for potential ethics violations and favoring family business related to permitting and proposed rulemaking that weakens the U.S. Endangered Species Act. authors: | ||
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Can a photo save orangutans? 11 Jul 2026 16:36:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/can-a-photo-save-orangutans/ author: Lucia Torres dc:creator: Juan Maza content:encoded: In Indonesian Borneo, conservation organization KehatiKu is testing a new approach: paying local people to photograph wildlife and upload the sightings through an app. In just one year, the project has collected around 175,000 records. Participants can earn about $6 for a photo of an orangutan, while smaller payments are offered for more common species. Thanks to the initiative, local communities are already working to prevent illegal hunting in their areas. Why this new approach? In the last 20 years, more than $1 billion has been spent on orangutan conservation, yet around 100,000 orangutans have been lost. However, according to KehatiKu this new conservation approach is showing concrete successes at a small fraction of the cost of traditional conservation efforts. Some experts advise caution. Paul Ferraro, professor of human behavior and public policy at Johns Hopkins University in the U.S., argues it requires a constant flow of funding, which could create problems in the future. It may be effective for initial engagement, he says, but could prove difficult to sustain in the long term.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In Indonesian Borneo, conservation organization KehatiKu is testing a new approach: paying local people to photograph wildlife and upload the sightings through an app. In just one year, the project has collected around 175,000 records. Participants can earn about $6 for a photo of an orangutan, while smaller payments are offered for more common species. […] authors: | ||
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Lydia Möcklinghoff, champion of the giant anteater, has died in a plane crash. She was 45 11 Jul 2026 05:02:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/lydia-mocklinghoff-champion-of-the-giant-anteater-has-died-in-a-plane-crash-in-brazil-she-was-45/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The giant anteater is easy to turn into a curiosity. Its head narrows into a long tube. It sees poorly. It opens termite mounds with strong claws and gathers insects with a tongue that can reach far beyond its mouth. Its life can appear simple until someone tries to study it. Then it becomes a set of hard questions: where it feeds, how far it ranges, what cover it needs, and how roads, fire, drought, and ranching change its chances of survival. These were the questions that drew Lydia Möcklinghoff into the Pantanal, the vast wetland in western Brazil and neighboring countries. She died on July 3rd in a plane crash near Campo Grande, Brazil, during a flight connected to Pantanal fieldwork. The cause of the crash was still under investigation. For her colleagues, students, readers, listeners, and the many children who knew her through radio reports from Brazil, the news carried a particular cruelty. She had made a difficult, overlooked animal visible. She had done so with humor, discipline, and a rare gift for explanation. Lydia Möcklinghoff in the Pantanal. From her social media. She did not begin with anteaters. Born in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, she studied biology in Giessen and Würzburg, with an interest in tropical ecology and animal behavior. Earlier, she had imagined becoming a wildlife filmmaker. Work experience in film companies changed her direction. The image mattered less to her than the animal in front of the camera. What was it doing? Why was it doing that?…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Lydia Möcklinghoff, a German biologist and science communicator, died on July 3, 2026, aged 45, in a plane crash near Campo Grande, Brazil, during a flight connected to Pantanal fieldwork. - She became one of Germany’s leading experts on giant anteaters, turning a little-understood animal into the focus of serious field research, public writing, radio reporting, and children’s science communication. - Her work combined patience, humor, and precision, linking the behavior of anteaters to larger questions about habitat, fire, drought, land use, and the future of the Pantanal. - Through books, columns, podcasts, films, and WDR’s MausRadio, she helped readers and listeners see that overlooked species are worth studying, explaining, and protecting. authors: | ||
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Restoring Kashmir’s lakes one community at a time: Interview with Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo 10 Jul 2026 20:40:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/restoring-kashmirs-lakes-one-community-at-a-time-interview-with-manzoor-ahmad-wangnoo/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Hashim Quraishi content:encoded: The lakes and wetlands of Kashmir in northwestern India have long sustained the valley’s biodiversity, agriculture, tourism and water security. But over recent decades, these freshwater ecosystems have come under increasing pressure from pollution, encroachment and rapid urbanization. A recent government audit found that nearly half (315 of the 697) of lakes recorded across Jammu and Kashmir have disappeared, while another 203 have shrunk, raising concerns about the region’s ecological health and long-term water security. Against this backdrop, Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo has spent more than two decades trying to reverse the decline of Kashmir’s freshwater ecosystem. The businessman-turned-conservationist has become one of the leading voices for protecting Kashmir’s lakes, wetlands and springs. Through the nonprofit Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation (NLCO) and its flagship Mission Ehsaas, he has helped mobilize residents, volunteers and government agencies around the restoration of degraded water bodies, including the Khushalsar-Gilsar wetland system, two interconnected urban lakes in the heart of Srinagar. Conservation is not just about cleaning lakes for Wangnoo. It’s the reestablishment of a relationship between individuals and nature, a relationship he describes as Ehsaas, a word in Urdu and Kashmiri meaning “awareness” or “realization.” Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation team visit to a lake. Image courtesy of NLCO. During an in-person interview with Mongabay, Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo discussed his conservation journey, the significance of wetlands, the challenges facing these ecosystems such as pollution and encroachment, and his optimism for the future of these wetlands as a result of community stewardship. The following interview conducted in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Conservationist Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo says restoring Kashmir’s lakes and wetlands depends on partnerships between communities, government agencies and local stakeholders. - Nearly half of the lakes recorded across Jammu and Kashmir in the 1960s have disappeared or shrunk, reflecting decades of pollution, encroachment and unplanned urbanization. - Through Mission Ehsaas, Wangnoo and the Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation have helped revive degraded water bodies, showing how community-led conservation can drive ecological restoration. - Wangnoo discussed the ecological significance of Kashmir’s wetlands, the region’s beauty — and his optimism for the future. authors: | ||
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Conserving Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees: Interview with Tacugama’s Willie Tucker 10 Jul 2026 19:24:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conserving-sierra-leones-western-chimpanzees-interview-with-tacugamas-willie-tucker/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Patricia Sia Ngevao content:encoded: In Sierra Leone, the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) faces growing threats from habitat loss, deforestation, illegal wildlife trade and expanding human activity. For the past 30 years, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary has worked to rescue, rehabilitate and protect chimpanzees affected by these challenges. Few people have witnessed the sanctuary’s journey as closely as Willie Tucker, the conservancy’s camp supervisor, popularly known as “Pa Willie.” His conservation career began in 1990 when he studied wildlife management in Tanzania before joining Sierra Leone’s Wildlife Division. It was there that he met Bala Amarasekaran, Tacugama’s founder, who was caring for rescued chimpanzees and seeking to establish a rehabilitation center. Pa Willie was among the small team that helped turn that vision into reality. After identifying a suitable forest reserve outside Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, and securing support from the European Union, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary officially opened in October 1995. Today, as camp supervisor, Pa Willie remains a central figure in the sanctuary’s work. Over the years, he has helped rescue and care for hundreds of chimpanzees while witnessing the growing threats facing the species. His story reflects both a lifelong commitment to conservation and the remarkable growth of Sierra Leone’s leading chimpanzee sanctuary. Willie Tucker, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary’s camp supervisor, popularly known as “Pa Willie.” Image by Patricia Sia Ngevao. Mongabay spoke with Pa Willie in June about his conservation journey, the early days of Tacugama and the challenges facing western chimpanzees in Sierra Leone. This interview has been edited for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade and climate change remain the leading threats to the western chimpanzee population in Sierra Leone. - Through community livelihood programs including livestock and seed support, conservationists are trying to help reduce dependence on forests and hunting. - In 2019, Sierra Leone designated the western chimpanzee as the country’s national animal, strengthening public awareness and support for conservation. - Willie Tucker, camp supervisor of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, spoke with Mongabay about the sanctuary’s work at the forefront of western chimpanzee conservation, as the facility currently cares for more than 100 western chimpanzees, many of which were rescued from private homes. authors: | ||
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Meme-face Pallas’s cat traverses a complex conservation landscape 10 Jul 2026 17:43:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/meme-face-pallass-cat-traverses-a-complex-conservation-landscape/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Sean Mowbray content:encoded: Many already know Zelenogorsk — a manul, or Pallas’s cat, from Russia’s Novosibirsk Zoo — who became an internet sensation in 2022 after a video of him warming his paws on his tail was posted on YouTube. That clip has garnered more than 14 million views. Many of the world’s 30-plus small cat species are relatively unknown, but thanks to its online fame as the world’s grumpiest cat, the manul bucks this trend. “Pallas’s cats are known for being these really cranky-looking animals,” said Jan Janecka, a professor of biology at Duquesne University in the U.S. “It’s almost like a meme, how the facial expression they have is just really unique and funny.” But while the manul’s oft-miffed visage is well known, perhaps less so is the complex conservation picture it faces rangewide. Its “least concern” status on the IUCN Red List somewhat obscures troubling declines at the national level. It inhabits a huge expanse of territory across South and Central Asia, including the Himalayas and on into the Caucasus and Caspian Sea region. Some countries — such as Mongolia and China — are considered strongholds, with healthy, if patchy, populations. But in the south and west, little is known about them. “A lot of what we know is focused on these strongholds,” said Katarzyna Ruta, conservation manager at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and coordinator with the Pallas’s Cat International Conservation Alliance (PICA). Elsewhere in their range, populations are often small, isolated and “very clearly understudied,” she added.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Pallas’s cats are long-time social media sensations, notorious for their thick, fluffy appearance and grumpy-looking face. - They roam 16 countries covering Central Asia’s steppe regions, mountains and semi-arid deserts. - Relatively little is known of this elusive small cat. Glaring knowledge gaps exist about populations in large parts of its expansive range. Like many other small cats, researchers often rely on “bycatch” data — images captured during studies of snow leopards. - This cat’s conservation status is considered “least concern,” but populations are fragmented and numbers are declining in some countries. Conservationists are working to preserve Pallas’s cats, also known as manul, in core habitats, but say that more work is needed rangewide. authors: | ||
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Beavers brought a volcanic wasteland back to life. Now it’s under threat 10 Jul 2026 16:31:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/beavers-brought-a-volcanic-wasteland-back-to-life-now-its-under-threat/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Isabel Gil content:encoded: The Smith family referred to the back part of their property as “the wasteland.” It opens up to the North Fork Toutle River in the U.S. state of Washington, which was swamped with volcanic sediment and runoff from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The sediment was further backed up when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a sediment retention structure, or SRS, in 1989, and then raised it again in 2013, less than a mile, or a kilometer and a half, downstream from the Smiths. The goal of the project was to hold back sediment that would otherwise threaten the Columbia River’s shipping routes and southwest Washington communities. But it created a backlog of volcanic material that filled the stretch of the North Fork Toutle River that ran beside the Smiths’ property and to the dam. After the SRS was raised the first time, Mark Smith and his wife, Dawn, watched over the next few years as volcanic material accumulated for miles along the riverside portion of the Eco Park Resort: “So if you can imagine seeing a big gray sediment dune of no life, just ash, sediment from Mount St. Helens, volcanic material,” Smith told Mongabay by phone. Smith runs the nearly 80-acre (32-hectare) resort, a lodging and campground site alongside the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. It offers the closest overnight accommodations to the volcano, so he often hosts groups of restoration ecologists and scientists. Through these researchers, and his family’s involvement in local environmental advocacy…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mark Smith and his family run a campsite that backs up to the North Fork Toutle River in the U.S. state of Washington, which was swamped with sediment and runoff from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. - The fine-grained volcanic sediment smothered the waterway, making it difficult for native wildlife and vegetation to become reestablished even decades after the eruption. - But over the past five years, the Smith family, together with natural resource experts from the Cascade Tribe, the Cascade Forest Conservancy, the Columbia Fish Recovery Group, and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, have reintroduced beavers to the property. - By building dams and canals, the beavers have established deeper pools and wetlands along the North Fork Toutle River, allowing native trees and fish to repopulate the area. authors: | ||
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Scientists use AI to produce first high-resolution map of global seagrass extent 10 Jul 2026 12:51:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/ author: Abhishyantkidangoor dc:creator: Abhishyant Kidangoor content:encoded: Almost 70% of the global extent of seagrass meadows is found off the coasts of just five countries. However, only 21% of this fall within marine protected areas. These are some of the key findings from the first high-resolution map of seagrasses around the world. Scientists at Arizona State University in the U.S. used satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to map seagrass cover over two periods, 2019-2020 and 2023-2024. According to a study, recently published in the journal Nature, the team identified “148,506 km2 of seagrass globally,” or about 57,340 square miles, a combined area larger than England, with the majority lying in subtidal areas. “We wanted to map seagrass in a very accurate manner,” Jiwei Li, an assistant professor at ASU’s School of Ocean Futures, who led the study, told Mongabay in a video interview. “And tell people where the seagrass is and where there is potential to protect it.” Scientists mapped seagrass ecosystems using satellite data and AI technology. Pictured above is a satellite image from a coast off of Richmond, Canada, along with the seagrass ecosystems highlighted in green to the right. Image courtesy of Jiwei Li, Arizona State University. Seagrasses are the only flowering plant species in the ocean, and form vast meadows in shallow waters. Apart from being habitats for many marine species, these meadows are also crucial carbon sinks that can absorb CO2 35 times faster than terrestrial forests. They also protect coastlines and filter pollutants in the water. However, seagrass ecosystems face threats from…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Scientists have produced the first high-resolution map of seagrass ecosystems around the world. - Data from the map reveal that 70% of global seagrass cover is concentrated off the coasts of just five countries. - The map also found that nearly 80% of seagrass loss happened outside marine protected areas, emphasizing the importance of targeted conservation action. - Seagrass ecosystems play an important role in protecting coastlines and carbon sequestration; however, they face threats from hurricanes, coastal development, and marine heat waves. authors: | ||
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Once endangered, Australia’s numbat is making a hopeful recovery 10 Jul 2026 12:14:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/once-endangered-australias-numbat-is-making-a-hopeful-recovery/ author: Laura Oliver dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: The animal emblem of Western Australia, the numbat, is recovering after decades of conservation efforts, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. For decades, the numbat or banded anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus) was listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It has now been moved to the lower threat category of near threatened. “The ‘downlisting’ of the numbat on the IUCN Red List from Endangered to Near Threatened is what we have been working for over the last 40 years!” Tony Friend, research associate at the Western Australian department of biodiversity, conservation and attractions (DBCA), told Mongabay via email. “Consequently, I feel very elated that the more secure status we’ve been able to achieve with the numbat has been recognised by IUCN.” The striped, ant-and-termite-eating marsupial with reddish-brown fur was once on the verge of extinction. By the late 1970s, around just 300 individuals remained. Their decline was primarily driven by the introduction of predators, such as the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and domestic cats (Felis catus), alongside threats including habitat destruction and changes in the intensity and frequency of fires. In 2026, numbat numbers have grown to about 2,000-3,000 individuals thanks to more than 40 years of conservation actions taken by wildlife scientists, the DBCA, Perth Zoo, conservation organizations and community volunteers. Conservationists have, for example, baited and removed foxes and cats from certain areas. This has “caused spectacular increases in numbat numbers in the two original populations, both located in Western Australia: one of these has…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The animal emblem of Western Australia, the numbat, is recovering after decades of conservation efforts, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. For decades, the numbat or banded anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus) was listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It has now been moved to the lower threat category of near threatened. […] authors: | ||
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