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What Indigenous youth filmmaking reveals about environmental communication (commentary) 07 May 2026 16:38:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-indigenous-youth-filmmaking-reveals-about-environmental-communication-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Jamille Pinheiro Dias content:encoded: A machete is typically an instrument for clearing dense brush or, in a certain kind of movie, for fending off a terrifying monster. Yet, deep in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil’s Bahia state, I learned that a machete is also used for a much friendlier purpose: slicing green mangoes to eat with salt. That simple, unexpected twist — where anticipated horror dissolves into communal joy — captures exactly what happened when we asked the students in the Indigenous Tupinambá villages of Serra do Padeiro and Tukum what kind of movies they liked. The room immediately buzzed with a rapid-fire list: K-dramas, slapstick comedies, high-speed action, or blood-chilling horror. Before anyone had even picked up a camera, the space was already overflowing with a multiplicity of cinematic worlds and different ideas about what a story could be. I had traveled to southern Bahia in March 2026 with Indigenous filmmaker Olinda Tupinambá and a group of creatives. As a researcher at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study, I am co-developing our project titled “Environmental Education and Film in the Atlantic Forest: Eco-Activism Through Indigenous Perspectives” with support from the British Academy. Our goal was simple: to demystify filmmaking by using everyday smartphones as creative tools, and to challenge what audiences often assume about Indigenous cinema. Students, project leads, and facilitators during the workshop in the Serra do Padeiro village, Tupinambá de Olivença Territory (Bahia, Brazil), part of the British Academy–funded Environmental Education and Film in the Atlantic Forest: Eco-Activism Through…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A recent workshop for Indigenous youth in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest employed smartphones as movie cameras to challenge what one often assumes about filmmaking, and in particular Indigenous cinema. - There is often an expectation that Indigenous film must document struggle, denounce violence, or explain culture to outsiders, and while those forms are valid, their scope is also limited. - Instead, workshop facilitators insisted that works of fiction, such as an Indigenous romance or a suspenseful comedy, can also be deeply impactful and meaningful. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Using songlines, elders codify traditional knowledge to care for Country 07 May 2026 16:35:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/using-songlines-elders-codify-traditional-knowledge-to-care-for-country/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Anthony Ham content:encoded: LAJAMANU, Australia — A group of Warlpiri men and women gathered along one of the most remote tracks in Australia and stared intently at the ground. Here in the Tanami Desert, along the dirt back road between Lajamanu and Tennant Creek, they all agreed that the tracks they could see told a story: A dingo, a black-headed python and a hopping mouse had all passed this way. They argued over the finer points — when exactly the animals had left these signs, whether the python was pursuing the mouse or whether it was an adult or juvenile dingo. But from these seemingly random marks in the sand, they were able to piece together a picture of what had occurred, in what order or when. These were the Warlpiri’s kuyu pungu (expert trackers), capable of reading the deserts of Australia in precise detail. Everyone here was born, and has lived, in the desert for most of their lives. They learned the essential skills of a self-sufficient desert life as their ancestors had, by observing their elders out in the desert. They have a profound connection with the land, and from that flows an intimate understanding of their world, one that encompasses everything from ecology to spirituality. Footprints in the sand along a sandy track outside Lajamanu. Image by Anthony Ham. And yet, often for a younger generation of Warlpiri, many of whom lived in towns with only irregular excursions into the countryside, such opportunities are rare. Which is why the Warlpiri…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - With young Walpiri increasingly growing up in towns, a generation of Warlpiri elders who grew up in the desert are developing resources to teach a new generation of Warlpiri, both in the desert and in classrooms. - A Warlpiri program called Reading the Country has created a digital storybook as a cultural bridge to the future. - Songlines go to the heart of Warlpiri tradition, providing a knowledge system for all aspects of Warlpiri life, including land management, wildlife conservation and spiritual traditions. authors: | ||
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Crude oil and wood fires fuel Nigeria’s soot pollution, in photos 07 May 2026 15:00:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/crude-oil-and-wood-fires-fuel-nigerias-soot-pollution-in-photos/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Visual storyteller Taiwo Aina-Adeokun traveled across Nigeria over several months from 2025-26, documenting areas of the country where heavy plumes of smoke, containing the sooty pollutant black carbon, are a part of daily life. In some cases, the soot comes from Nigeria’s smoked-food culinary traditions. In others, it is a byproduct of the country’s oil industry. “I didn’t stay inside the smoke for too long because my eyes were watery and red and I was coughing,” Aina-Adeokun told Mongabay by phone. “I’m sure if we did a medical scan, we’d find effects in [residents’] system, like a respiratory problem. But most of the people there have been in this business for decades, so they are used to being in the smoke.” “Once we breathe [the soot particles] in, they go into our lungs and affect our respiratory health,” Tom Grylls, an air pollution specialist at the Clean Air Fund, told Mongabay in a video call. “But because they’re so small, they can go beyond the lungs and into your bloodstream and therefore are linked with effects on your heart and on your nervous system.” Black carbon primarily impacts low-income households with limited access to electricity. It also disproportionately affects women, since much of residential exposure occurs while cooking, a task that women often dominate across many cultures. Port Harcourt in Rivers State, a region in Nigeria around 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of Lagos, is also famous for its smoked food, including cow skins. Burning wood creates the signature smoky taste…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Visual storyteller Taiwo Aina-Adeokun traveled across Nigeria over several months from 2025-26, documenting areas of the country where heavy plumes of smoke, containing the sooty pollutant black carbon, are a part of daily life. In some cases, the soot comes from Nigeria’s smoked-food culinary traditions. In others, it is a byproduct of the country’s oil industry. […] authors: | ||
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Climate change could erase most South American cloud forests, study warns 07 May 2026 14:15:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/climate-change-could-erase-most-south-american-cloud-forests-study-warns/ author: Lizkimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: Up in the misty mountains, teems a kaleidoscope of life: trees drip with epiphytes, hummingbirds sip from bright blossoms, and rare creatures occupy every nook in the cloud forests, which scientists have likened to terrestrial coral reefs. But a new study warns that climate change could strip away the conditions that make cloud forests possible, and in the worst case, erase nearly all of them within 50 years. The research, published in the Journal for Nature Conservation, used machine learning and modeling to project how cloud forest distribution in South America could shift under two different climate scenarios by 2070. The study reports that under a high-emissions pathway, up to 91% of cloud forest area could be lost. Even under the most optimistic scenario, researchers calculate a 12% reduction, roughly 21,000 square kilometers (8,100 square miles), an area the size of El Salvador. Cloud forests occupy a narrow band of land, typically between 1,000 and 3,000 meters (about 3,300-10,000 feet) above sea level, and are defined by persistent fog, cool temperatures and high humidity. That humidity shapes everything, from the mosses and orchids draped across surfaces, to the birds and amphibians found nowhere else on Earth. Epiphytes in the cloud forest of Peru’s Kosñipata valley. Image credit: Rhett A. Butler The study notes these ecosystems harbor some 1,946 restricted-range species, representing roughly 8% of the world’s mammals, birds, amphibians and tree ferns. Among the species endemic to South American cloud forests are the flamboyant Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus), whose brilliant…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Climate change could eliminate up to 91% of South America’s cloud forests by 2070 under a high-emissions scenario; even the most optimistic projections show significant losses. - Because cloud forests capture moisture from fog and release it into streams, their disappearance threatens the drinking water supply of an estimated 16 million people who live downstream. - Only about one-third of South America’s cloud forests fall within protected areas, and those protections cannot shield the forests if the climate itself becomes too warm and dry to support them. - Scientists say cutting greenhouse gas emissions is the most essential step, alongside stronger protections and financial incentives for landowners to conserve and restore forests in areas projected to remain climatically suitable. authors: | ||
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Deforestation and warming could push Amazon to tipping point by 2040s: Study 07 May 2026 14:10:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/deforestation-and-warming-could-push-amazon-to-tipping-point-by-2040s-study/ author: Glenn Scherer dc:creator: Sean Mowbray content:encoded: Deforestation coupled with climate change is rapidly pushing the Amazon Rainforest toward a perilous tipping point that could come much sooner than previously thought. That’s the warning from a new paper, published in Nature, which determined that deforestation of 22-28% of the rainforest, combined with 1.5-1.9° Celsius (2.7-3.4° Fahrenheit) of global warming, could trigger a widespread transformation of the biome as early as the 2040s. Researchers found that crossing this deforestation/global temperature threshold could lead to more than two-thirds of the rainforest becoming degraded or transitioning to a savanna ecosystem. Currently, about 17-18% of the Amazon is deforested and 1.5°C of warming over preindustrial levels is likely to be officially reached by 2030, while scientists say it is increasingly likely 2°C (3.6°F) of warming may be surpassed by 2050. In the worst-case scenario, “This critical [Amazon] threshold could be reached as early as the 2040s,” Nico Wunderling, first author on the paper and a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told Mongabay in an interview. “Although I’d be a little bit more optimistic: If current [downward] trends [for] Brazilian deforestation continue, then deforestation-wise, we might not reach [the tipping point] by mid-century.” “I think we can confidently say that the more deforestation happens, the lower this global warming threshold becomes,” said Arie Staal, study co-author and an assistant professor at Utrecht University. For Carlos Nobre, a professor at the University of São Paulo and co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon, who wasn’t involved in the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Deforestation of 22-28% of the Amazon Rainforest, coupled with 1.5-1.9°C of global warming, could trigger a widespread shift of the Amazon Rainforest to degraded forest and savanna grassland ecosystems, a new study warns. - This looming Amazon threshold modeled by researchers could be reached as early as the 2040s. Hitting this rainforest loss/global temperature threshold, or tipping point, could ultimately impact more than 70% of the Amazon Basin within decades, resulting in release of large amounts of carbon stored in forest and soils. - Roughly 17-18% of the Amazon has already been deforested, and global temperatures are expected to rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels annually as early as 2030. - Experts underline that the new findings reinforce the urgent need to halt Amazon deforestation, restore significant amounts of rainforest and drastically slash carbon emissions. authors: | ||
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Tanzania cracks down on mining sector, aims for inclusivity and sustainability 07 May 2026 13:12:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/tanzania-cracks-down-on-mining-sector-aims-for-inclusivity-and-sustainability/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Nkwimba Nkwimba content:encoded: Tanzania canceled 40 mining exploration licenses and put another 43 license holders on notice in a crackdown linked to the government’s “Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow” program that aims to create a more “inclusive and sustainable” mining sector. Anthony Mavunde, the minerals minister, told journalists on April 15, in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, that the government wanted to restore order in the mining sector, and curb violations of license conditions by mine developers who hoard mining blocks without developing them. The concerned concessions cover approximately 900 square kilometers (350 square miles), according to the minister. The government plans to reallocate some of the recovered mining blocks to women, youth and people with disabilities to expand local participation in the sector. “Some investors hold land for many years without any meaningful investment. This is wastage of economic opportunities and a catalyst for environmental destruction and conflicts,” Mavunde said. Besides holding on to the land, the 40 license holders are accused of failing to pay the requisite fees, fulfilling local content requirements (the use of domestically produced goods, services and labor) as well as failing to meet corporate social responsibility obligations. Joyce Andrew, a small-scale miner in Tanzania’s Shinyanga region, examines mined ore. Image courtesy of Shaaban Njia. “We do not want to see our resources turn into a curse. Mining must go hand in hand with environmental conservation,” Mavunde said. Stakeholders interviewed by Mongabay expressed concerns about how neglected exploration sites become hubs for unregulated mining activity, leading to severe land degradation…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Tanzania cracked down on mine developers in April citing economic losses and the potential for environmental degradation at concessions that lie undeveloped, abandoned or improperly managed by license holders. - The government plans to reallocate some of the recovered mining blocks to women, youth and people with disabilities to expand domestic participation in the sector. - A license holder who fails to develop an area must restore it to a safe condition, experts said. - Stakeholders interviewed by Mongabay expressed concerns about how neglected exploration sites become a hub for unregulated mining activity, leading to severe land degradation and other long-term ecological damages. authors: | ||
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Brazil police seize devices from bird expert in trafficking probe linked to Vantara zoo 07 May 2026 12:30:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/brazil-police-seize-devices-from-bird-expert-in-trafficking-probe-linked-to-vantara-zoo/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Fernanda Wenzel content:encoded: A U.S. citizen suspected of international wildlife trafficking had three cell phones and a computer seized on May 1 as he arrived at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. According to a statement released by the Federal Police, the action is a development in an investigation “probing the international trafficking of golden lion tamarins and other endangered species of Brazilian fauna.” The statement doesn’t mention the target’s name, but a source familiar with the investigations involving golden lion tamarins who asked to remain anonymous identified the man as Tony Silva, a renowned bird expert who was convicted of smuggling exotic birds into the U.S. from South America in 1996. According to the source, Silva is suspected of coordinating the purchase of illegally traded animals for Vantara, a private mega zoo in the state of Gujarat, India, run by billionaire Anant Ambani, son of India’s richest man. In an email to Mongabay, a Vantara spokesperson stated that the zoo “has no connection with the buying of illegal animals” and that “any attempt to link Mr. Silva’s personal affairs to Vantara, directly or by implication, would be factually incorrect and legally untenable.” According to the organization, Silva is not and has never been its employee. “Vantara understands that he [Tony Silva] has been engaged by an independent contractor for limited consultancy relating to enclosure curation, husbandry and nutrition, considering his published work and experience in that field. He does not speak for, act for, or represent Vantara,” the spokesperson wrote. (See…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The famous bird specialist Tony Silva had cell phones and a computer seized by Brazil’s Federal Police at Guarulhos Airport, in São Paulo, according to a source familiar with the investigations. - Silva is suspected of coordinating the illegal purchase of endangered animals for Vantara, a private zoo in Gujarat, India. - A Vantara spokesperson denied the allegations, stating that Tony Silva engaged with the organization as “an independent contractor for limited consultancy.” - Run by India’s wealthiest family, the zoo has been the focus of investigations regarding the origin of its animals, which haven’t led to prosecutions. authors: | ||
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US proposes endangered species protections for an imperiled Jamaican butterfly 07 May 2026 12:04:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/us-proposes-endangered-species-protections-for-an-imperiled-jamaican-butterfly/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently proposed listing Jamaica’s most imperiled butterfly, the Jamaican kite swallowtail, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The species (Protographium marcellinus), a small, fast-flying butterfly, flutters through its limestone forest home. Its wings, painted in streaks of bright turquoise and black with a dash of red, sport long, narrow tails. These charismatic butterflies live on this island and nowhere else. In recent years, they’ve nearly disappeared. Back in the 1960s, scientists recorded about 750,000 individuals; that number has plummeted to between 50 and 250 today. In some years, they’ve seen none. It’s such an alarming decline that scientists say this swallowtail should jump two categories on the IUCN Red List, from vulnerable to critically endangered. “This listing would be a real turning point for this species,” said Dianne DuBois, senior scientist at the U.S.-based NGO Center for Biological Diversity, which has been fighting for ESA protections for the butterfly since 1994. After a few failed attempts, it sued USFWS in 2021, which resulted in the agency drawing up the current proposal. ESA listings prevent extinction in 99% of the species under the act, but the wait is often quite long, about 12 years on average. Time may not be on its side for the Jamaican kite swallowtail, which hangs on the brink of extinction. “We wish this proposal had come three decades ago,” DuBois said. “We really want to urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to work quickly to finalize these…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The U.S. has proposed listing a rare butterfly from Jamaica, the Jamaican kite swallowtail under the Endangered Species Act. - The striking blue-green and black butterfly, endemic to this island country, hovers on the brink of extinction. Scientists have observed no more than 250 adults in the wild in recent years. - Deforestation, devastating hurricanes and droughts on the island have destroyed much of this butterfly’s breeding sites; only four remain. Demand for framed butterflies used in home decor is another factor in their disappearance. - ESA listing would bring attention to the species and stop its trade in the U.S. Conservationists hope it will also fund efforts to protect the butterfly’s habitat. authors: | ||
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52 dead sloths: Inside Sloth World 07 May 2026 11:02:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/52-dead-sloths-inside-sloth-world/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Izzy Sasada content:encoded: More than 50 sloths were recently reported dead due to unsuitable conditions at Sloth World, a proposed so-called “slotharium” in Orlando, Florida. The facility—due to open this month—has permanently closed. Many of the animals had been sourced from the wild in Peru and Guyana, and died either during transport or in holding conditions, according to findings of an investigation by Inside Climate News. While the closure is a win for sloths, the capturing of wild animals for captive facilities isn’t new. It actually has a long history—particularly in the U.S. Learn more about the Sloth World scandal in this episode of Conservation Entangled, with Izzy Sasada.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: More than 50 sloths were recently reported dead due to unsuitable conditions at Sloth World, a proposed so-called “slotharium” in Orlando, Florida. The facility—due to open this month—has permanently closed. Many of the animals had been sourced from the wild in Peru and Guyana, and died either during transport or in holding conditions, according to […] authors: | ||
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Cerrado’s hidden carbon highlights gaps in Brazil’s conservation policy 07 May 2026 09:47:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/cerrados-hidden-carbon-highlights-gaps-in-brazils-conservation-policy/ author: Alexandrapopescu dc:creator: Daniel Shailer content:encoded: Fieldwork in the wet grasslands of the Brazilian Cerrado often means long trudges through head-high reeds, following tapir trails and watching for tick nests or boggy pitfalls. All this is made more difficult when your equipment is not waterproof. So in February 2024, when a thunderstorm broke over Chapada dos Veadeiros, a national park in the northeast of Goiás state, ecologist Larissa Verona and her team sprinted for their truck. “The rain passed in about 10 minutes, but when we returned, we saw a fire had started right in the middle of the road,” presumably from a lightning strike, she tells Mongabay in a video call. “Oh my god, we need to go,” she recalls thinking. “We don’t want to be here when the fire chief arrives.” Wildfires have become increasingly more common in the Cerrado, Brazil’s second-biggest biome (after the Amazon), which sprawls across 2 million square kilometers (about 770,000 square miles) and hosts a mix of savannas, grasslands and forested corridors. In the past half-century, some 55% of the Cerrado’s native vegetation has been cleared — largely to support the expansion of industrial monocultures and often with the justification that this biome holds less environmental value than the Amazon Rainforest to the west or the Atlantic Forest to the southeast. This has resulted in degraded soils and dwindling groundwater. But draining and clearing vegetation from the Cerrado’s peaty, wet grasslands, known locally as veredas and campos úmidos, could also threaten a critical carbon stockpile, according to recent research.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Hectare for hectare, wetlands in the Brazilian Cerrado holds six times more carbon than the lowland Amazon, according to the first study to estimate carbon stocks in the biome. - Researchers also found that these wetlands are less stable than other tropical peatlands, and thus potentially more vulnerable to changes in rainfall and groundwater levels. - Satellite mapping suggests these wetlands may also cover as much as 16.7 million hectares (41 million acres), or 2% of Brazil’s total landmass, a far greater area than previously thought. - Researchers say they hope that more accurate estimates of the Cerrado’s carbon storage may help change perceptions of it as an environmentally insignificant “sacrifice biome” suited for industrial agriculture. authors: | ||
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Asia’s last great free-flowing river faces toxic contamination crisis 07 May 2026 08:21:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/asias-last-great-free-flowing-river-faces-toxic-contamination-crisis/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The Salween River, Asia’s longest free-flowing waterway that briefly serves as a border between Thailand and Myanmar, is facing a crisis as recent testing has found arsenic levels far exceeding the safe limit set by the World Health Organization. Researchers from Thailand’s Chiang Mai University first raised the alarm in September 2025 after detecting high levels of toxic contaminants in nearby rivers. Experts suspect unregulated mining in Myanmar is to blame, reports Mongabay’s Gerry Flynn. Satellite imagery analyzed by the Stimson Center, a U.S.-based think tank, identified 127 suspected mines that opened within the Salween River Basin between 2016 and 2026. What’s being mined is unclear, but some operations likely include rare earth mines, experts say. Chemicals like cyanide, mercury, arsenic and cadmium can be released into ecosystems during rare earth mining. The WHO’s safe threshold for arsenic exposure is 0.01 milligrams per liter. Tests of multiple water samples from the Salween River Basin have found arsenic levels several times that limit. For the millions of people living along the Salween’s 3,300-kilometer (2,050-mile) path, the river is a vital source of drinking water, irrigation and food. Pongpipat Meebenjamart, chair of the in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province, reported that local fishers are afraid and struggling as buyers avoid potentially toxic catches. “It’s very urgent that, even if the contamination doesn’t exceed the safety levels, the government takes swift action to identify the source of the contamination, safe water supplies for affected communities,” Pongpipat said. “We can’t solve everything downstream here…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Salween River, Asia’s longest free-flowing waterway that briefly serves as a border between Thailand and Myanmar, is facing a crisis as recent testing has found arsenic levels far exceeding the safe limit set by the World Health Organization. Researchers from Thailand’s Chiang Mai University first raised the alarm in September 2025 after detecting high […] authors: | ||
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In one forest, native rats remain. In another, only invaders. 07 May 2026 08:17:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-one-forest-native-rats-remain-in-another-only-invaders/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a lowland forest in southeastern Madagascar, what was missing proved as telling as what was found. Researchers working in the Manombo Special Reserve trapped tufted-tailed rats in intact interior forest. But in the nearby degraded littoral areas, their traps never caught the endemic rodents. Instead, black rats, an introduced species, dominated those traps. The finding appears in a recent genetic study of two rodents found only in Madagascar: Webb’s tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus webbi) and the lesser tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus minor). The paper’s primary contribution is technical: it presents the first complete mitochondrial genomes for members of the Nesomyinae rodent subfamily unique to Madagascar. Earlier work relied on shorter gene fragments, which limited the resolution of evolutionary relationships. Whole mitochondrial sequences provide a clearer basis for distinguishing closely related species and identifying variation within them. This matters because the taxonomy of Eliurus remains unsettled. More than a dozen species have been described, and additional diversity is likely. Without reliable genetic baselines, it is difficult to determine how many species exist, where they occur, or whether their populations are changing. The new sequences do not resolve these questions, but they offer a clearer starting point. The ecological observation underscores why that kind of detail matters. Native rodents appear confined to intact forest, while disturbed areas favor generalists like the black rat. The mechanism is unclear: habitat degradation may exclude native species directly, or invasive…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a lowland forest in southeastern Madagascar, what was missing proved as telling as what was found. Researchers working in the Manombo Special Reserve trapped tufted-tailed rats in intact interior forest. But in the nearby degraded littoral areas, […] authors: | ||
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Rise in elephant killings reveals conservation gaps in Bangladesh 07 May 2026 05:44:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rise-in-elephant-killings-reveals-conservation-gaps-in-bangladesh/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Abu Siddique content:encoded: On April 25, 2026, a male elephant suffering from illness died in the hilly district of Rangamati in southeastern Bangladesh. Residents from the remote village where it died hacked away at its legs and trunk, which highlight serious failures by the country’s Forest Department as well as a lack of public awareness and sensitivity towards wildlife protection. The 60-year-old elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) had been injured several months earlier in a conflict with humans and later died while receiving treatment, said A.S.M. Jahir Uddin Akon, a conservator of forests in Bangladesh. Prior to this incident, in March, a 3-month-old baby elephant was found killed by humans in a protected forest in the neighboring Bandarban district. Before that, on Jan. 19, a captive elephant was killed following collision with a train in Sylhet district in northeastern Bangladesh. The mutilated elephant in Langadu sub-district, Rangamati. Image by Samir Mallik. According to the latest data from the forest department, between 2017 and 2025, at least 148 elephants — including resident, non-resident and captive ones — were killed in the country. ‘Resident’ here means those who live in the country’s forests, and ‘non-resident’ refers to those who frequently come in from the neighboring countries, India and Myanmar. The deaths of the three elephants this year have brought the total number to 151. Regarding the rising fatal incidents of elephants despite several conservation initiatives, Akon, who leads the Elephant Conservation Project at the Forest Department, told Mongabay, “We are working to resolve the crisis in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Despite various conservation initiatives, elephants in Bangladesh continue to face a severe survival crisis due to escalating human-elephant conflict. - A recent incident where residents of a remote village mutilated a dead elephant brings up the issue of failure of the forest department, as well as a lack of awareness among common people, to protect the species. - Data suggests that at least 151 elephants in Bangladesh have been killed in conflicts with humans since 2017. - According to a 2016 census, Bangladesh was then home to around 270 elephants in the wild. The IUCN declared the species as critically endangered in the country, mainly living in the southern hilly forests and the northeastern forests. authors: | ||
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The world’s great deltas are sinking — and with them, a global food system 06 May 2026 19:54:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-worlds-great-deltas-are-sinking-and-with-them-a-global-food-system/ author: Glenn Scherer dc:creator: Petro Kotzé content:encoded: “I would like for me and my children to live here forever,” said Lâm Thu Sang, a resident of Vietnam’s Cần Thơ, a city of more than 2 million people located near the mouth of the Mekong River on one of the world’s largest river deltas. But that may not be possible. In the past, about 160 million metric tons of sediment was annually funneled down the 4,300-kilometer (nearly 2,700-mile) Mekong River to form and nourish the vast delta where the river meets the sea. By 2024, that deposition rate had fallen by 70% per year — starving the delta of much of its source material. The Mekong flows through six Asian nations, draining a roughly 800,000-square-kilometer (309,000-square-mile) basin, until finally releasing its combined sediments into the 40,000-km2 (15,400-mi2) Mekong Delta — a complex ecological system of low-lying fertile lands and a web of waterways the size of the Netherlands, stretching from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the South China Sea in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the future of Lâm Thu Sang’s community and this great delta are seriously in doubt, with the delta doubly threatened by land subsidence and sea level rise. Mekong Delta residents say life there is changing. For one, annual floods have become longer and more severe. Image courtesy of Anh Duong Community Development and Support Center. Sang, who helps run the Anh Duong Community Development and Support Center, an NGO focused on eradicating poverty in remote areas of Cần Thơ, said that people know their delta home is…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Mekong Delta is sinking. Projections indicate that 90% of this life-sustaining landform could disappear by 2100 due to human-driven factors such as groundwater pumping and sediment capture by dams, compounding the effects of sea-level rise. - The Mekong is just one of 40 of the world’s large river deltas threatened by high subsidence rates coupled with rising sea levels, according to a 2026 global study. Among the 19 river deltas seeing the most significant widespread subsidence are those on the Mekong, Nile, Chao Phraya, Ganga-Brahmaputra, and Mississippi rivers. - As the world’s great deltas sink, humanity loses rich, irreplaceable agricultural lands, fisheries, urban areas and exceptional biodiversity — much of which will not be salvageable beyond a certain point. Delta loss poses a significant threat to global food security, and an existential threat to often impoverished delta communities. - Delta subsidence can be slowed and even reversed by implementing well-understood mitigation strategies, say experts, by replacing hydropower dams with alternative energy, reducing sand mining and groundwater extraction, and altering agricultural practices. But these solutions are hampered by economics and lack of political will. authors: | ||
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A baby boom for North Atlantic right whales, but extinction still a threat 06 May 2026 17:21:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/a-baby-boom-for-north-atlantic-right-whales-but-extinction-still-a-threat/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Calving season for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale has come to a close with 23 new baby whales, the most calves born in a single year since 2009. Part of the baby boom during the winter calving season can be attributed to females giving birth at closer intervals than in years past: 18 of this year’s moms gave birth within the last six years. “While a healthy right whale can give birth every three to four years, we had been seeing nearly 10 years between calves for some females,” Amy Warren, scientific program officer with the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center, said in a statement. One explanation for the calving delay is the stress of climate change, researchers say. Small crustaceans called copepods, the main food source for baleen whales, including North Atlantic right whales, have started shifting locations over the last decade, and many whales are traveling farther to find sufficient food. There are an estimated 384 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) today, living along the East Coast of North America. At least one whale was spotted near Ireland, and many are turning up in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence, over a thousand kilometers from their usual habitat. Swimming to the Gulf makes their 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) migration from Florida to New England roughly 50% longer. That equates to more energy put into finding food, potentially leaving less resources for raising babies, Philip Hamilton, a senior research scientist with the New England Aquarium, told Mongabay in an email.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Calving season for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale has come to a close with 23 new baby whales, the most calves born in a single year since 2009. Part of the baby boom during the winter calving season can be attributed to females giving birth at closer intervals than in years past: 18 […] authors: | ||
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Venezuela tells UN court that mineral-rich part of Guyana was ‘fraudulently’ taken in colonial era 06 May 2026 16:21:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/venezuela-tells-un-court-that-mineral-rich-part-of-guyana-was-fraudulently-taken-in-colonial-era/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela insisted Wednesday that a disputed mineral-rich region of Guyana was “fraudulently” taken in a 19th-century example of colonialism, arguing that a 1966 agreement and not the United Nations’ highest court should finalize ownership of the territory. The International Court of Justice is holding a week of hearings between the South American neighbors who both lay claim to the Essequibo region, which is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources and is located close to massive offshore oil deposits. An 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain. Venezuela contends the Americans and Europeans conspired to cheat the country out of its rightfully owned land. Venezuela has considered Essequibo as its own since the Spanish colonial period when the jungle-draped region was within its boundaries. The country argues a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. “Guyana presents itself as the true, legitimate heir to British and Dutch territories, but the reality is that it is the beneficiary of colonial dispossession, formalized through fraudulent arbitration. The Geneva Agreement seeks to correct this century-old injustice,” Venezuela’s representative Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta told the world court. He said Caracas rejects the court’s jurisdiction that was “erroneously imposed” in a 2020 decision and said the 1966 agreement “establishes a framework”…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela insisted Wednesday that a disputed mineral-rich region of Guyana was “fraudulently” taken in a 19th-century example of colonialism, arguing that a 1966 agreement and not the United Nations’ highest court should finalize ownership of the territory. The International Court of Justice is holding a week of hearings between the South American […] authors: | ||
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Ted Turner, a media mogul who tried to repair the land 06 May 2026 16:13:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ted-turner-a-media-mogul-who-tried-to-repair-the-land/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Ted Turner, who died on May 6th, liked to present himself as a businessman who had simply applied the same habits to a larger subject. First he bought a struggling billboard company and made it work. Then he built a television empire, beginning with CNN in 1980. After that, he turned much of his attention to land, wildlife, and the many ways humans damage nature when they treat it as an afterthought. He was rarely subtle about the stakes. “The planet is collapsing all around us,” he told an audience at Stanford in 2010. Turner’s environmentalism was neither ornamental nor detached from power. He did not confine it to speeches, documentaries, or naming rights. He pursued it in three connected ways: by acquiring and managing large landscapes; by funding environmental and public-health groups; and by using his prominence to argue that climate, biodiversity, and population pressures were practical problems, not cultural preferences. The mix could be hard to categorize. He was a billionaire who disliked the idea that capitalism required plunder, and a sportsman who came to talk like a restoration ecologist. His landholdings were central to the story. By the 2010s he was described as one of America’s largest private landowners, with roughly 2 million acres spread across multiple states, and additional holdings abroad. The scale mattered less than his intent. Turner repeatedly tried to keep places “as natural as possible,” and he was willing to spend money and hire people to do it. On his Nonami Plantation near…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Ted Turner built a media empire, then turned much of his wealth and attention toward land, wildlife, clean energy, and conservation. - His vast private landholdings became working examples of restoration, from bison herds and native trout to longleaf pines and red-cockaded woodpeckers. - Turner’s environmentalism mixed private ownership with public purpose, using philanthropy and advocacy to support conservation, public health, and climate action. - Blunt, restless, and often provocative, he argued that protecting the planet was not sentimentality, but a practical responsibility. authors: | ||
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Australia’s new national park links habitat to protect koalas 06 May 2026 13:46:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/australias-new-national-park-links-habitat-to-protect-koalas/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Johan Augustin content:encoded: “When I was a kid, forestry was more sustainable,” Mark Graham said, leaning against a massive tree trunk. “Now 30-tonne industrial machines bulldoze everything in their path.” He’s an ecologist who’s worked for state and federal governments — and has often been at odds with the forest industry. We were walking through the Coffs Harbour Botanic Garden in New South Wales (NSW), southeastern Australia, through a remnant of subtropical coastal rainforest. Graham pointed out flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis) trees — a fast-growing eucalyptus — as well as Bangalow palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) and other trees, some hundreds of years old. Wild koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), one of the world’s most beloved animals, also live here. This garden will be linked to the new Great Koala National Park (GKNP) by forest corridors that allow koalas to disperse into new areas. The NSW government says it will finalize designation of the new park in 2026, which it calls “a centerpiece of koala conservation [in the state of NSW],” but no one seems to know when that will be. Its creation was the culmination of a 13-year campaign led by environmental groups and grassroots organizations. One of the most outspoken figures in that struggle was Mark Graham, a veteran environmental activist who’s often been at odds with the NSW forestry industry. In 2023, the state government committed to establishing the GKNP on the mid-north coast. It announced creation of this vast new conservation area in September 2025 — and instituted a temporary moratorium on timber…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The government of New South Wales has created a vast new protected area, the Great Koala National Park, along Australia’s east coast to safeguard koalas and 66 other threatened native species. - Conservationists say this could mark a turning point for a species that is declining rapidly as the eucalyptus forests they depend on disappear and climate change sparks more frequent, intense wildfires. - However, loopholes in land-use regulations, ongoing logging, development pressures and weak enforcement still threaten this key koala habitat. - Experts warn that without stronger safeguards and consistent policies, the protected area may not be able to foster lasting conservation gains for koalas and other species. authors: | ||
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Rethinking conservation through elephants’ sense of time and memory 06 May 2026 11:39:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/rethinking-conservation-through-elephants-sense-of-time-and-memory/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Historically, conservation has mostly focused on numbers like population and habitat size. However, in the mid-2000s, scientists started to investigate animal emotions, even trauma, when considering conservation success. In a recent Mongabay podcast, Khatijah Rahmat, a geographer at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, shared her research examining how elephants perceive and navigate time, often differently than humans do, and what that means for conserving them. “If we want to understand and appreciate animals, we have to consider that they have a meaningful and complex relationship with time that is their own,” Rahmat told Mongabay podcast host Mike DiGirolamo. “Often, we think of time as a socially or culturally neutral phenomenon. We think, ‘Oh, if this is how we experience time, it is [the same] for everyone else.’ I bring up this possibility that elephants may have their own expressions of time.” For elephants, this relationship with time appears to be deeply shaped by memory, including memories of trauma. In 2005, ecologist and psychologist Gay Bradshaw found that African elephants experienced post-traumatic stress disorder in response to witnessing violence such as family members killed by people. The animals she studied later displayed similar trauma responses seen in humans, including abnormal startle reflex, aggression, depression and even infant neglect. Elephants have famously good memories to survive in drought-prone habitats. A herd’s oldest, and typically largest, elephant often serves as a storehouse of memory. She can remember water sources from a decades-old drought and lead her herd to them.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Historically, conservation has mostly focused on numbers like population and habitat size. However, in the mid-2000s, scientists started to investigate animal emotions, even trauma, when considering conservation success. In a recent Mongabay podcast, Khatijah Rahmat, a geographer at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, shared her research examining how elephants perceive and […] authors: | ||
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Study finds 40% of soil-dependent species threatened or data deficient 06 May 2026 07:03:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/study-finds-40-of-soil-dependent-species-threatened-or-data-deficient/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: Researchers have for the first time assessed the extinction risk of soil-dependent animals, invertebrates and fungi. They found that some 40% of these species are either threatened or data deficient on the IUCN Red List, according to a recent study. Soil hosts nearly 60% of life on Earth. These species are key for biogeochemical cycles, climate regulation and other ecosystem services. Yet, their risk of extinction is largely unknown, the study authors say. To better understand how soil-dependent species are faring, the researchers first established a working definition of what species are “soil-dependent.” They found that 8,653 species on the IUCN Red List satisfy their definition: species that “spend a key part of their life cycle within a soil profile or predominantly inhabit the soil-litter interface.” The list includes terrestrial vertebrates, invertebrates like arthropods and mollusks, and fungi. However, plants weren’t included in the analysis. Neil Cox, study co-author and manager of the IUCN and Conservation International biodiversity assessment unit, told Mongabay by email that plants were excluded because nearly all plants are soil-dependent. Including them in the analysis would turn the review into one about the extinction risk of plants, he said. Of the species they examined, more than 20% are listed as threatened with extinction and another 20% are data deficient, meaning there isn’t enough information to determine their conservation status. Some 35 soil-dependent species are classified as extinct. Most of them used structures like burrows for an important part of their life stages, Cox said. For…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Researchers have for the first time assessed the extinction risk of soil-dependent animals, invertebrates and fungi. They found that some 40% of these species are either threatened or data deficient on the IUCN Red List, according to a recent study. Soil hosts nearly 60% of life on Earth. These species are key for biogeochemical cycles, […] authors: | ||
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Climate change, socioeconomic shifts threaten Nepal’s yak herding traditions 06 May 2026 05:43:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/climate-change-socioeconomic-shifts-threaten-nepals-yak-herding-traditions/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In the remote Dolpo region of western Nepal, the ancient practice of yak herding is facing an existential crisis. Traditional herders of domesticated yaks in these alpine rangelands are struggling against the convergence of climate change, rising operational costs, labor shortages, and the spread of lethal diseases, reports Mongabay’s Sonam Lama Hyolmo. According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), warming temperatures are fundamentally altering Himalayan high-altitude ecosystems. The shifts are disrupting water cycles, affecting vegetation, and drying out wetlands, which then increases fire risks and reduces available grazing areas for domesticated yaks (Bos grunniens). The region is also facing a socioeconomic shift. Massive outmigration of young people to cities or abroad has left a critical shortage of labor for the intensive work of herding. Furthermore, the post-COVID-19 closure of border crossings into China has barred herders from their traditional rangelands, forcing some to switch to goats and cattle, which increases the risk of overgrazing. These challenges extend to the wild yak (Bos mutus). While the total number of wild yaks isn’t established, estimates suggest fewer than 10,000 individuals remain globally. As rangelands are degraded and shrink, the habitats of wild and domesticated yaks increasingly overlap. This proximity leads to crossbreeding, said Krishna Prasad Acharya, a veterinarian officer at the Department of Livestock Services in Nepal. He warned this threatens the genetic purity and adaptive traits of the wild population. While some yak herders once sought to crossbreed their animals to produce stronger calves, the hybrids are often…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In the remote Dolpo region of western Nepal, the ancient practice of yak herding is facing an existential crisis. Traditional herders of domesticated yaks in these alpine rangelands are struggling against the convergence of climate change, rising operational costs, labor shortages, and the spread of lethal diseases, reports Mongabay’s Sonam Lama Hyolmo. According to the […] authors: | ||
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In Bangladesh, traditional farming methods are being replaced by a modern system 06 May 2026 05:29:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-bangladesh-traditional-farming-methods-are-being-replaced-by-a-modern-system/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh, Indigenous farmers are increasingly abandoning jhum, a traditional method of shifting cultivation. Instead, they’re moving toward the machan method where vegetables are grown above the ground on bamboo trellises. This transition is driven by a growing scarcity of arable land and declining yields, reports Mongabay contributor Sifayet Ullah. For generations, Indigenous communities like the Chakma, Marma and Mro in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) have practiced jhum, clearing small forest patches, farming them, then leaving them fallow for up to 20 years to restore soil fertility. However, as the number of farmers in CHT districts like Bandarban has risen, the fallow cycle has plummeted to just two or three years. This constant pressure has exhausted the soil, leading to poor rice yields and increased soil erosion during heavy rains. Government data confirm this decline: land under jhum in Bandarban dropped from 9,050 hectares (22,363 acres) in 2014 to 8,270 hectares (20,436 acres) by 2025. Many farmers are now turning to the machan method, which uses bamboo trellises to grow vine crops like cucumbers, bitter gourds and beans. This system offers several advantages over traditional shifting agriculture, such as the prevention of pests and diseases. “When crops grow close to the soil, they are prone to pests, fungal infection and waterlogging during rains,” said farmer Tipu Tanchangya, from Rowangchari in Bandarban. “Machan farming raises crops like gourd, cucumber, beans 4-5 feet [1.2-1.5 meters] above the ground, which reduces the risk of disease and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh, Indigenous farmers are increasingly abandoning jhum, a traditional method of shifting cultivation. Instead, they’re moving toward the machan method where vegetables are grown above the ground on bamboo trellises. This transition is driven by a growing scarcity of arable land and declining yields, reports Mongabay contributor Sifayet […] authors: | ||
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Overtourism threatens Sri Lanka’s leopards 06 May 2026 05:18:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/overtourism-threatens-sri-lankas-leopards/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s most famous wildlife destination, is facing a conservation crisis as overcrowding and speeding safari jeeps increasingly threaten its wildlife, particularly its famed leopards, reports Mongabay contributor Kamanthi Wickramasinghe. Block I of the park, which boasts of one of the world’s highest leopard densities at one animal per square kilometer (2.6 per square mile), attracted nearly 390,000 visitors in the first half of 2025 alone, generating more than $5 million in revenue. Milinda Wattegedara, a wildlife photographer and co-founder of the Yala Leopard Center, attributed the escalating visitor pressure in the park to a social media boom and improved mobile reception, which allow drivers to quickly alert others of sightings, frequently resulting in “leopard jams.” Leopards in Block I have become habituated to humans and vehicles, Wattegedara added, but this proximity has often proved dangerous. Past vehicle strikes have claimed the lives of a young leopard and a jungle cat, and a prominent male leopard named Lucas recently made headlines after a close encounter with a safari vehicle. “Usually, when a safari jeep is close to an animal, jeep drivers have been advised to switch off the engine,” Ravindra Kumar, Yala National Park warden, told Mongabay. “But this driver had turned on the engine, and it had scared away the animal. However, Lucas was spotted the following night near Yala junction, the animal’s usual territory, and is in good health.” To address the challenges of speeding and other unethical driving behavior in Yala, the Department of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s most famous wildlife destination, is facing a conservation crisis as overcrowding and speeding safari jeeps increasingly threaten its wildlife, particularly its famed leopards, reports Mongabay contributor Kamanthi Wickramasinghe. Block I of the park, which boasts of one of the world’s highest leopard densities at one animal per square kilometer (2.6 […] authors: | ||
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Killings related to land conflicts double in Brazil, most in the Amazon region 05 May 2026 21:50:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/killings-related-to-land-conflicts-double-in-brazil-most-in-the-amazon-region/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: On June 12, 2025, Everton Lopes Rodrigues was found beheaded in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. An Indigenous Avá Guarani, Rodrigues was the 21-year-old son of the chief of the Yvyju Avary Indigenous village, and next to his body was a letter, left by his killers, containing “serious threats” against Indigenous communities. Marcelo “Ku’i” Ortiz, a 33-year-old man, also an Avá Guarani, faced the same brutal violence a few months prior. His severed head was placed on a spike. These were two of 26 killings related to land conflicts recorded in 2025 in Brazil, according to a new report by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), a nonprofit affiliated with the Catholic Church. Seven of the victims were Indigenous; another 10 were landless rural workers. “Extreme violence in rural areas doesn’t happen randomly. It follows relatively well-defined patterns,” report co-author Claudio Lopes Maia wrote. “Murder has turned into an instrument of conflict “resolution” in certain territories.” The number of killings in 2025 is double the 13 recorded in 2024. According to the report, 2025 was “one of the most violent years of the last decade.” CPT logged an additional 66 murder attempts and 105 death threats in 2025. Most of the killings, 62%, took place in the Brazilian Amazon. Pará and Rondônia states, which have some of the Brazil’s highest rates of deforestation, also recorded the most killings: seven each. These included two massacres, defined as three or more people killed on the same date in the same place.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On June 12, 2025, Everton Lopes Rodrigues was found beheaded in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. An Indigenous Avá Guarani, Rodrigues was the 21-year-old son of the chief of the Yvyju Avary Indigenous village, and next to his body was a letter, left by his killers, containing “serious threats” against Indigenous communities. Marcelo […] authors: | ||
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A new documentary film captures rare mountain gorilla behavior 05 May 2026 21:08:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/05/a-new-documentary-film-captures-rare-mountain-gorilla-behavior/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: “That might be something that you see in a decade, not in two years of filming,” Tara Stoinksi, CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, tells me. The behavior she’s referring to occurs in mountain gorilla groups, such as a “dominance transfer,” where a younger male silverback takes over leadership from an older male, and infanticide, where an outsider or ostracized gorilla kills the offspring of a new mother within the group. The former of these was captured on camera within days of filming for the new Netflix documentary A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough. Stoinski joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss her role as a scientific adviser on the years-long project, the rarity of the behaviors captured on camera, and her thoughts on gorilla conservation in the Greater Virunga Landscape of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. “These gorillas now live basically in a small island of forests surrounded by some of the highest rural human population densities in Africa,” Stoinski says while discussing conservation challenges for mountain gorillas. Filming for the documentary took place in Rwanda, where the pressures and challenges mountain gorillas face differ from those in Virunga National Park in the neighboring DRC. Threats to gorillas in the latter include armed conflict, poaching, logging, and hunting for the wild meat trade. Stoinski says that within Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, where the documentary was filmed, the threats are different. “Climate change is an issue for the gorillas … also, climate change affects the people…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: “That might be something that you see in a decade, not in two years of filming,” Tara Stoinksi, CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, tells me. The behavior she’s referring to occurs in mountain gorilla groups, such as a “dominance transfer,” where a younger male silverback takes over leadership from an older male, and […] authors: | ||
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Despite restrictions, forest loss continued on Ituna land, home to isolated people 05 May 2026 19:46:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/despite-restrictions-forest-loss-continues-on-ituna-land-home-to-isolated-people/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: Illegal invasions in the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous territory in Brazil’s Pará state, home to isolated Igarapé Ipiaçava Indigenous people, has continued since 2022, during one of the latest land use restriction orders meant to protect the territory, according to satellite analysis by Mongabay. Between 2022 and 2025, data from Global Forest Watch show the area lost 2,211 hectares (5,463 acres) of tree cover. But, in the last few years, forest loss has plummeted significantly in what was one of the most deforested Indigenous lands following operations by the country’s Indigenous affairs agency, Funai. Cleiton Gabriel, the coordinator of the Middle Xingu Ethno-Environmental Protection Front, a specialized Funai unit, told Mongabay via WhatsApp that the forest loss in Ituna/Itatá is caused by land-grabbers who clear the forest without authorization for cattle ranching and other agricultural activities. “The deforestation in the Ituna/Itatá region historically stems from the illegal occupation of the territory,” Gabriel explained. “This is driven by land grabbing, the establishment of agricultural activities, especially intensive livestock farming, and also smaller-scale laboratory operations, mainly cocoa processing.” The land use restriction order, which prohibits unauthorized individuals from entering Ituna/Itatá, has been in place since 2011 to protect the isolated people. The precautionary measure has been renewed six times, the most recent being in 2025. Global Forest Watch data show that Ituna/Itatá was the third-most deforested area in Brazil between 2011, the year of the first land restriction order, and 2021. It was the most deforested Indigenous land in 2019. This has affected Funai’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Ituna/Itatá Indigenous land in Brazil lost 2,211 hectares of tree cover from 2022-25, despite being protected by a temporary land use restriction order to protect people living in voluntary isolation, according to data from Global Forest Watch. - The land has been under a series of land use restriction orders since 2011. - Authorities told Mongabay that the illegal deforestation is caused by land-grabbers who clear the forest without permits to establish cattle ranches and other agricultural activities, later exploiting loopholes to legitimize land appropriation. - In 2023, Brazil’s federal government carried out an operation to remove invaders. Though satellite data show forest loss continues, it significantly reduced in 2025. authors: | ||
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In Senegal, artisanal fishing kills a surprising number of sharks and rays: study 05 May 2026 16:44:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-senegal-artisanal-fishing-kills-a-surprising-number-of-sharks-and-rays-study/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: In Senegal, artisanal fishing kills a surprising number of sharks and rays, according to a new study — so many, it probably eclipses industrial fishing, which is more commonly blamed for the species’ decline. The study was published in the journal Ecology and Evolution in March. Researchers analyzed landings of sharks, rays and guitarfish at two major artisanal fishery processing sites, Kafountine and Elinkine, in southern Senegal’s Casamance region between June 2021 and July 2022. Most of the catches comprised species at risk of extinction, and many were traded abroad without obligatory export permits, the study found. While the researchers directly counted more than 100,000 harvested sharks, rays and guitarfishes, they estimated the actual number to be at least 174,000, as many were stacked or piled together and couldn’t be accurately counted. This number was surprisingly high, according to lead author Rima Jabado, chair of the Shark Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Jabado is also the founder of the Elasmo Project, a United Arab Emirates-based nonprofit that focuses on shark and ray conservation. “The study should be read as evidence of a serious problem, not as a ceiling on the true scale of exploitation,” Jabado told Mongabay in an email, adding the findings are conservative. Since the researchers covered only two out of dozens of landing sites in the country, the total number of rays and sharks caught and processed annually could be 1.7 million to 3.5 million, the study estimates. Scientists and environmental organizations…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A study at two fish landing sites in southern Senegal found artisanal fisheries catch large numbers of sharks, rays and guitarfish, most of them threatened species. - The authors suggest artisanal fishing may have a greater impact on these species than industrial trawling due to its large scale and limited monitoring and enforcement. - Much of Senegal’s trade in artisanally caught sharks and rays is poorly monitored and exports take place without required permits, raising concerns about ongoing species population declines in the region, experts say. authors: | ||
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A 10-year whale shark satellite study helps create new protected area in Indonesia 05 May 2026 14:56:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-10-year-whale-shark-satellite-study-helps-create-new-protected-area-in-indonesia/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Claire Turrell content:encoded: “The whale sharks are a good omen for the fishers because they know when the whale sharks come, that means that lots of small fish or anchovies are around,” says Edy Setyawan, the lead conservation scientist of the Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia. It is the relationship between whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and fishers in Indonesia that has enabled marine biologists from Konservasi International and Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia to satellite tag more than 70 whale sharks for a decade-long study that has revealed previously unknown migration routes, feeding grounds and a whale shark nursery. It is one of the biggest tracking data sets across the globe on whale sharks and is the first time such a detailed survey has been conducted in the Indo-Pacific. While 60% of the global population of whale sharks can be found in the Indo-Pacific, it can be difficult for researchers to study them because the species travel such long distances. But the researchers experienced a breakthrough when they when found out about the relationship between bagan fishers and whale sharks. A satellite-tagged whale shark. Whale sharks are filter feeders and the world’s largest fish, typically growing to about 12 meters (39 feet), but occasionally reaching 20 meters (66 feet) in length. Image by Abdi-Hasan. Bagan fishers work on floating wooden platforms from which they lower an oversized net into the water to catch fish. Working at night with lights, the fishers attract shoals of ikan bilis (anchovies) into their nets. The whale sharks, which follow the small…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Fishers and scientists joined together in Indonesia for a 10-year study to protect whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). - The bagan fishers’ unique relationship with the endangered whale sharks enabled scientists to satellite tag the fish. - The data from the decade-long study revealed previously unknown migration routes, feeding grounds and a whale shark nursery. - The data will be used to help create a marine protected area designed for whale sharks. authors: | ||
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The digital graveyard: Is Bangladesh becoming China’s e-waste back door? 05 May 2026 13:34:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-digital-graveyard-is-bangladesh-becoming-chinas-e-waste-back-door/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Sajibur Rahman content:encoded: As the world turns its attention to China’s increasingly stringent waste import ban, a dangerous stream of electronic waste is entering Bangladesh. Despite the enactment of the Hazardous Waste (e-waste) Management Rules 2021, weak regulatory systems and illegal trade routes are making the country a major destination for global “e-waste.” Electronic waste (e-waste), which includes discarded computers, laptops, phones, refrigerators and medical equipment, has become a growing crisis. According to the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association, about 35 million mobile handsets are sold every year in Bangladesh. With an average lifespan of just 2-4 years, about 30 million devices enter the local waste stream every year, most of which go unmonitored. The crisis is exacerbated by a massive increase in electronics imports. Bangladesh Bank (BB) data show that more than $2.47 billion was spent on imports of electrical appliances and accessories in the 2024-25 fiscal year. A significant portion of this was coming from China worth $1.8 billion. However, experts warn that a growing black market in refurbished products is hiding the true extent of the environmental threat. Refrigerator compressors stored and dismantled in unsafe ways. Image by Abdullah Zahid Osmani, TIB. Escalating electronics imports and the e-waste shadow The influx of electronics into Bangladesh has reached staggering proportions, raising significant concerns over the nation’s potential role as an unwritten “dumping ground” for global waste. A latest Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) study, using import and export data from the customs department, has revealed that Bangladesh imported e-waste materials worth around…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Bangladesh is becoming a major destination for global e-waste due to rising imports and weak regulation of imported electronic products. - In addition, illegal imports and misdeclared shipments have made Bangladesh a net importer of e-waste. - Most e-waste is handled by informal workers without protection or awareness of health risks. - Without strong enforcement of law, the country risks becoming a long-term dumping ground for toxic electronic waste. authors: | ||
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Facebook is a hub for illegal wildlife trade, and that’s by design, report says 05 May 2026 11:04:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/facebook-is-a-hub-for-illegal-wildlife-trade-and-thats-by-design-report-says/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: With just the click of a button or a swipe on a phone, it’s possible to buy almost anything online, including rare or endangered animals. From quirky shark trophies to exotic live birds, contraband rhino horns or ivory, buyers can flock to e-commerce platforms and find them all. Traffickers hide behind their screens while profiting from online sales of protected species as these animals dwindle in the wild. “It’s the largest wildlife market,” said wildlife trade researcher Chris Shepherd from the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s easy, it’s convenient; you can operate anonymously from the comfort of your home. You don’t have the expenses of setting up a shop.” Online commerce in illicit wildlife products continues to grow, involving more species and wider geographies. It’s an illicit industry run by kingpins with well-connected networks, and it’s hard to prosecute. Catching online criminals is extremely challenging. “Wildlife markets have moved from physical locations into online locations, and that’s mirroring broader trends in the global economy,” said Simone Haysom, director of environmental crime programs at the Swiss-based organization Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. In a recent report, Haysom and her colleague Russell Gray analyzed online wildlife trade data from April 2024 to March 2026. They focused on 10 countries across three continents, places where environmental crime and internet use are high, making them fertile grounds for online wildlife trafficking. They found some 266,535 wildlife products posted on 61 online marketplaces, worth about $66 million. About 75% of the nearly 22,000 ads…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Online sales of wildlife products from protected species are booming on Facebook. The platform hosted more than three-fourths of the 22,000 wild animals and their parts known to be sold online between April 2024 and March 2026, valued at $65 million, according to a recent report. - Researchers found that about 84% of animals for sale on Facebook are banned from commercial cross-border trade under an international treaty. More than half of them were endangered or critically endangered species. - Facebook’s architecture — its closed groups, anonymous users, content monetization and algorithms that push related content to users — makes it a go-to platform for traffickers, researchers say. The platform’s official policy bars the sale of wildlife, but the volume of animals offered for sale point to poor moderation. - To combat this massive online trade, experts call for stricter regulation of content on Facebook and other platforms, as well as better oversight and increased collaboration between online platforms and law enforcement. authors: | ||
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Study finds microplastics in tadpoles in the Amazon for the first time 05 May 2026 10:01:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/study-finds-microplastics-in-tadpoles-in-the-amazon-for-the-first-time/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Researchers have recorded microplastics in frog tadpoles and their pond habitats in the wild in the Amazon for the first time, according to a new study. This confirms widespread microplastic contamination in the Amazon Rainforest, the researchers say. Previous studies from the region have found microplastic contamination in fish, invertebrates, soil and water samples. In the recent study, ecologist Fabrielle Barbosa de Araújo from the Federal University of Pará and her colleagues collected 20 water samples from five natural water bodies formed by the accumulation of rainwater in soil depressions at Gunma Ecological Park in Pará state in April 2025. These temporary ponds are important breeding sites and larval development areas for various frog species in the Amazon. From each of the five ponds, the researchers also collected 100 tadpoles of the Venezuela snouted treefrog (Scinax x-signatus), commonly found in both forests and urban areas across South America. The researchers found microplastics in each sampled pond and tadpole. Most of the microplastics were transparent, blue and black fibers made of plastic like polyester. Other studies have also found similar blue and transparent fibers across the Amazon, possibly originating from sanitary sewage and fishing activities, the researchers write. Araújo told Mongabay by email that finding microplastics in the tadpoles and their habitats was not surprising as several previous studies have shown microplastic contamination in other organisms in the Amazon. “What really caught our attention was the large quantity found, especially because this is an area with low [human] population density…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Researchers have recorded microplastics in frog tadpoles and their pond habitats in the wild in the Amazon for the first time, according to a new study. This confirms widespread microplastic contamination in the Amazon Rainforest, the researchers say. Previous studies from the region have found microplastic contamination in fish, invertebrates, soil and water samples. […] authors: | ||
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In India, few are tracking birds colliding with glass in buildings 05 May 2026 07:08:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-india-few-are-tracking-birds-colliding-with-glass-in-buildings/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Bird deaths from collisions with glass structures are a global problem. But in India, conservationists are just beginning to learn the scale of the issue, reports Mongabay India’s Kartik Chandramouli. While humans are taught the concept of glass and its transparency, birds likely perceive the reflection of vegetation or the sky as reality, researchers say, leading to collisions, often fatal. In Gujarat state, in western India, for example, more than a dozen migratory rosy starlings (Pastor roseus) crashed into a glass building in February 2022. In Meghalaya, in northeast India, several long-tailed broadbills (Psarisomus dalhousiae) collided with the façade of an automobile showroom in January this year. While such sporadic local reports exist, well-recorded data on bird collisions are generally missing in India. Only recently have a few studies started offering some trends. A 2025 study in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in southern India recorded 35 instances of collisions in just one year, involving 22 bird species, including the endemic Nilgiri wood pigeon (Columba elphinstonii). These collisions involved two-story buildings. “Tall glass skyscrapers are not the only culprits,” Peeyush Sekhsaria, an architect and bird-watcher, told Mongabay India. Many birds in India move between trees and plants tall enough to reach the fourth floor, placing most buildings directly in their flight paths. Given the lack of data, Sekhsaria and Ashwin Viswanathan, an ecologist at the nonprofit Nature Conservation Foundation, launched a citizen science project called Bird Collisions India on the iNaturalist app in 2020. As of April 2026, it’s recorded nearly 88…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Bird deaths from collisions with glass structures are a global problem. But in India, conservationists are just beginning to learn the scale of the issue, reports Mongabay India’s Kartik Chandramouli. While humans are taught the concept of glass and its transparency, birds likely perceive the reflection of vegetation or the sky as reality, researchers say, […] authors: | ||
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EU moves to drop leather from deforestation law after industry lobbying 05 May 2026 01:57:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/eu-moves-to-drop-leather-from-deforestation-law-after-industry-lobbying/ author: Andy Lehren dc:creator: Elisângela Mendonça content:encoded: The leather industry spent most of the last year intensifying an already determined lobbying campaign in Brussels to win an exemption from the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR. The effort is paying off: on May 4, the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, formally proposed excluding leather, hides, and skins from the regulation’s product scope, ahead of the law being enacted at the end of the year. The Commission’s proposal is being introduced through a delegated act, a legal mechanism that allows the EU executive to amend non-essential parts of an existing law without reopening the whole regulation for a full legislative debate. This process is set to change the EUDR’s Annex I, which lists the commodities covered by the deforestation regulation. Legal experts, including Brussels-based Mayer Brown senior associate Irina Antoshevska, have previously identified this delegated act review as a critical opening for industries seeking to add or remove Combined Nomenclature (CN) customs codes from the regulation’s scope. Following the publication of the draft, citizens and other stakeholders can provide feedback until June 1, the Commission said in a statement. After that, the Commission could formally adopt the act. Then, the parliament and the Council of the European Union generally have two months to object. If they don’t, the changes will automatically be enacted. The leather exemption is part of a broader “simplification review” announced by the European Commission to ease administrative burdens linked to the EUDR. Behind the scenes, however, leather industry groups have seized on the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The European Union is on the cusp of removing leather from the scope of its landmark antideforestation law, following months of intense lobbying by the industry. - Leather industry groups led by COTANCE and UNIC have held at least 22 meetings with lawmakers since 2021, with more than a third occurring in the past year as the regulation neared implementation. The EU Deforestation Regulation was explicitly discussed in 11 of those meetings. - The tannery industry argues that leather should be exempt from complying with the regulations, contending that hides are simply waste in beef production. - Environmental campaigners have called this stance “shameful,” pointing out bovine hides often share the same origins as problematic beef supply chains. authors: | ||
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Suspected chemical pollution threatens Nairobi Nat’l Park & key water sources 05 May 2026 01:34:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/suspected-chemical-pollution-threatens-nairobi-natl-park-key-water-sources/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: A suspected chemical discharge is flowing into Nairobi National Park, raising concerns over the vulnerability of a unique protected ecosystem and the growing pressure of urban-industrial activity at its borders. On April 30, 2026, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) reported in a press release sent to Mongabay “abnormal foamy water inflows” entering the park through the Mlolongo drainage corridor. In a statement sent to Mongabay, the agency described white, effervescent bubbles, continuous discharge and unnatural coloration, all “consistent with possible chemical contamination”. What makes the situation particularly alarming is the location. Established in 1946, Nairobi National Park is the only national park in the world located within a capital city. The park covers 117 square kilometers (45 square miles) of savanna, forest and wetlands. It’s home to four of the “Big Five”: lions, buffalo, leopards and rhinos (missing only elephants). The park also hosts a rhino sanctuary and an animal orphanage where injured wildlife are treated. But its proximity, surrounded by Nairobi’s expanding industrial zones, has long made it vulnerable. KWS warned that the risk goes beyond wildlife, noting, “The affected system feeds into the Mbagathi and Athi Rivers, placing Athi Dam a critical ecological and water resource at significant risk, alongside aquatic biodiversity and downstream water users, including communities, agriculture, and livestock.” Authorities have urged the public to avoid fishing and using water from the rivers. An investigation has been launched to determine the source of the contamination. Preliminary findings suggest that “the runoff may have interacted with nearby…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A suspected chemical discharge is flowing into Nairobi National Park, raising concerns over the vulnerability of a unique protected ecosystem and the growing pressure of urban-industrial activity at its borders. On April 30, 2026, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) reported in a press release sent to Mongabay “abnormal foamy water inflows” entering the park through […] authors: | ||
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Australia’s declining tree health is a slow-burning crisis (commentary) 05 May 2026 00:31:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/declining-australian-tree-health-is-as-big-a-problem-as-bushfires-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Michael ReidTed Alter content:encoded: Some of the most serious threats to our forests do not arrive with smoke or headlines. They move quietly, through bark and new growth, weakening ecosystems long before we notice. Without sustained attention, our unique flora and fauna remain vulnerable. Tree health is often treated as a niche technical issue, but it is also a question of ecological resilience, public health, and how well communities adapt to a hotter, more disturbed world. Devastating bushfires are reshaping Australia’s landscapes and ecosystems, and climate change is accelerating species loss. But there is a quieter threat with ecological, economic and human consequences. Alongside fire and drought, microscopic pests and pathogens are spreading through forests and urban canopies, thinning tree cover, weakening ecosystems, and leaving them more vulnerable to the next shock. Most of us appreciate the comfort of a shady tree on a hot day, and we’ve heard that the Amazon rainforests are the lungs of the planet. Yet many people underestimate the importance of healthy tree populations and how closely they are tied to our physical and mental health. The road to forest health, like this track through K’Gari rainforest, begins with vigilance, early detection, raising awareness, and working with those closest to the landscape to identify outbreak risks and track impacts over time. Image courtesy of Michael Reid. In his new book Nature and the Mind, Marc Berman, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and director of the Environmental Neuroscience Lab, draws together evidence on how nature supports cognitive,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Unlike destructive bushfires, tree health is often treated as a niche or technical issue, but its implications pose equally important questions about ecological resilience and public health, a new op-ed argues. - Threats to Australian tree species are multiplying like an invisible bushfire via a proliferation of introduced insects and pathogens, the authors suggest, ahead of his country’s first national forum on the topic later this month, Safeguarding Australia’s Tree Health, in Brisbane. - “We recognize bushfires as a national crisis because their impacts are visible and immediate, but some ecological crises arrive more quietly. If we fail to notice them early, the damage can become harder to reverse for forests, for biodiversity, and for the communities that depend on them,” they write. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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At 100, David Attenborough’s message is no longer just about wonder 05 May 2026 00:24:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/at-100-david-attenboroughs-message-is-no-longer-just-about-wonder/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: As his 100th birthday approaches, David Attenborough occupies an unusual place in public life: not a practicing scientist, not quite a conventional journalist, and no longer only a broadcaster. His voice, familiar from decades of natural history programming, has become one of the most recognizable ways the public hears about the state of the living world. That was not always the role he played. When Attenborough began his career at the BBC in the 1950s, the task was more modest. Television was still finding its footing, and natural history programming largely meant showing audiences what they could not otherwise see. Early series such as Zoo Quest were shaped by that spirit. They were exploratory, sometimes improvised, and often framed around the thrill of encountering unfamiliar species. The tone was one of discovery. The unspoken assumption was that the natural world, vast and varied, would endure. Attenborough in Borneo, 1982. Photo by Rex Features As his work evolved, so did the technology that made it possible. Color film, lightweight cameras and, later, digital imaging expanded what could be captured. Attenborough used those tools with unusual patience. His programs lingered on behavior as much as spectacle. Courtship rituals, feeding strategies, and migrations were given time to unfold. His programs did more than show animals; they asked viewers to notice how they lived. This attention to detail became one of his signatures. It reflected a view that understanding begins with careful seeing. Attenborough rarely made himself the story. His narration was measured and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - David Attenborough helped generations see the natural world not as scenery, but as something to be watched, understood and taken seriously. - His early work celebrated the richness and beauty of life on Earth, often with confidence that nature would endure. - Over time, as climate change, biodiversity loss and habitat destruction became harder to ignore, his films took on a more somber purpose. - His lasting message is that understanding nature is not just a matter of curiosity; it is the beginning of responsibility. authors: | ||
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Iceland plans to resume whale hunting this summer 04 May 2026 21:36:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/iceland-plans-to-resume-whale-hunting-this-summer/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Icelandic commercial whaling company Hvalur hf. plans to resume whale hunting this summer, following a two-year pause in commercial operations. In 2024, the Icelandic government issued the company a five-year license allowing it to catch up to 209 fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) annually. However, Hvalur hf. didn’t hunt any whales in 2024 or 2025. Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute advised that no more than 150 should be caught in 2026, a 28% reduction from previous catch recommendations. The IUCN Red List classifies fin whales as vulnerable to extinction. The species is the second-largest animal on Earth, after blue whales (B. musculus). Partly because they are so large, fin whales are “slow to mature, with low reproductive rates, which means populations recover slowly from any pressure,” Luke McMillan, head of hunting and captivity with the U.S.-based NGO Whale and Dolphin Conservation, told Mongabay by email. Following the 1982 International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling, most countries discontinued the practice. Just Iceland, Japan and Norway still allow it. However, Iceland Minister of Industries Hanna Katrín Friðriksson has reportedly said commercial whaling is not in the public interest and that legislation to end the practice will be introduced in the fall, after the 2026 whaling season. Animal welfare concerns remain a central question. A 2023 report from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority found more than 40% of whales did not die immediately after being struck by harpoons, with a median of 11.5 minutes before death. In one case, a whale…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Icelandic commercial whaling company Hvalur hf. plans to resume whale hunting this summer, following a two-year pause in commercial operations. In 2024, the Icelandic government issued the company a five-year license allowing it to catch up to 209 fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) annually. However, Hvalur hf. didn’t hunt any whales in 2024 or 2025. Iceland’s […] authors: | ||
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Endangered whale protections may be delayed to 2035 under Trump-backed plan 04 May 2026 19:51:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-whale-protections-may-be-delayed-to-2035-under-trump-backed-plan/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — For roughly 380 right whales left in the North Atlantic, which can die after getting tangled in fishing ropes or hit by ships, the Trump administration said this month it wants to delay new protections by almost a decade in favor of commercial fishing interests. The sleek black whales, which weigh as much as a midsized bulldozer, are critically endangered and their numbers have declined sharply in recent decades. Environmental groups say reducing deaths and injuries caused by people is essential to the species’ recovery. The whales give birth off Florida and Georgia before making a long migration north to feed off New England and Canada. Protected areas of ocean aid them on their journey, but scientists have said they have strayed from those zones in recent years in search of food as the oceans have warmed. A proposal by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, would push back new federal protections for right whales to 2035, and allow time to craft regulations that are less burdensome to the fishing industry. The White House released a memo Friday saying it “strongly supports” the plan and that President Donald Trump’s senior advisors would recommend he sign it into law if it passes Congress. The proposal comes as the government already paused any new federal rules about right whales until 2028. According to Golden, Maine’s iconic lobster industry would’ve been crushed by the now-paused regulations, which he said were “based on flawed science and hypothetical scenarios rather than the reality on the water.”…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — For roughly 380 right whales left in the North Atlantic, which can die after getting tangled in fishing ropes or hit by ships, the Trump administration said this month it wants to delay new protections by almost a decade in favor of commercial fishing interests. The sleek black whales, which weigh as much as a […] authors: | ||
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In Nepal’s plains, traditional bins help keep food safe from heat, floods 04 May 2026 17:22:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-nepals-plains-traditional-bins-help-keep-food-safe-from-heat-floods/ author: Abhaya Raj Joshi dc:creator: Tanka Dhakal content:encoded: DANG, Nepal — With the start of the summer season in Nepal, farmers are worried about keeping their grain safe from extreme heat and insect infestation. But at Chattrapati Yadav’s home in Dang in western Nepal, that is not a concern thanks to handmade earthen pots passed down from previous generations. The 70‑year‑old learned the craft of making the pots from her mother. She eventually taught it to her daughters and granddaughters. “My granddaughter made this one, and that one was made by my mother‑in‑law,” Yadav said, pointing to the cylindrical and rectangular storage vessels. Across Nepal’s Terai, members of Indigenous communities, including the Tharu and Yadav, keep their grains safe using the dehari (traditional seed storage bins) secured by ancestral craftsmanship and Indigenous knowledge honed over centuries. These continue to stand the test of time even amid climatic stresses. “We use locally available mud and husk with some dung; we don’t use anything that isn’t available here,” Yadav said. “It takes around a week to make and a month to dry them.” If protected from water, a dehari can even outlast its maker. Dehari, traditional food grain and seed storage earthen pots made out of clay soil and husk inside Chattrapati Yadav’s family home in Dang, Nepal. These pots have been used to store grains for generations by Indigenous and local communities, including Tharu and Yadav. Image by Tanka Dhakal. A Tharu village in Chitwan, Nepal. Image by tearsxintherain via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Climate-resilient storage In the Terai,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In Nepal’s southern plains, Indigenous communities such as the Tharu and Yadav use traditional earthen storage bins (dehari) to safely store grains and seeds, relying on knowledge passed down through generations. - Made from locally available materials such as clay, husk and dung, the bins naturally regulate temperature and moisture, helping protect crops from extreme heat, pests and seasonal flooding without electricity. - Experts say these traditional storage systems are climate-adaptive, environmentally friendly and crucial for preserving local seed diversity and sustaining smallholder farming systems. - While durable and effective, dehari have limitations such as vulnerability to moisture, pests and floods requiring careful placement, regular monitoring and adaptation to changing climate conditions. authors: | ||
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Can listening to a forest reveal whether it is ecologically healthy? 04 May 2026 15:36:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/can-listening-to-a-forest-reveal-whether-it-is-ecologically-healthy/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Researchers have been using sound to study ecosystems for years. A study from ETH Zürich uses it to examine Costa Rica’s payment for ecosystem services program, reports Mongabay’s Abhishyant Kidangoor. Giacomo Delgado, a doctoral researcher, compares the method to a physician using a stethoscope. With enough experience, a doctor can distinguish a healthy heartbeat from an irregular one. Forests, he suggests, also produce patterns that can be compared across sites. To test this, Delgado and colleagues deployed recorders across 119 sites on the Nicoya Peninsula in northwestern Costa Rica. They gathered more than 16,000 hours of audio from various types of landscapes: protected forests, areas regenerating under the country’s payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme, monoculture plantations, and active pastures. Costa Rica’s PES program, launched in 1997, compensates landowners for maintaining forest cover and is frequently used as a reference point in conservation policy. Satellite data show that forest cover has recovered after steep declines in the late 20th century. They don’t show whether those forests function as habitats. Counting trees is simpler than assessing species diversity or ecological interactions. Sound offers a different way to assess this. Insects, birds and amphibians produce layered soundscapes that change over the course of a day. Forests with more activity tend to show pronounced peaks at dawn and dusk. Pastures do not. The recordings that Delgado and his team collected suggest that naturally regenerated forests under…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Researchers have been using sound to study ecosystems for years. A study from ETH Zürich uses it to examine Costa Rica’s payment for ecosystem services program, reports Mongabay’s Abhishyant Kidangoor. Giacomo Delgado, a doctoral researcher, compares the method […] authors: | ||
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As wildlife trade expands, so do pathways for disease spillover to humans 04 May 2026 14:01:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-wildlife-trade-expands-so-do-pathways-for-disease-spillover-to-humans/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Cate Twining-Ward content:encoded: Pandemics and novel diseases are perennial threats to human survival. People, wildlife and livestock carry a wide range of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Close contact creates opportunities for pathogens to jump between species. To assess public health risks of massive legal and illegal trade in wildlife, an interdisciplinary team delved into trade records on thousands of species spanning the last 40 years. They focused on mammals. The researchers found that worldwide trade in wild mammals, as well as their parts and products, creates more opportunities for pathogens to mutate and jump from animals into humans over time — and poses a serious public health threat, conclusions they recently published in the journal Science. For decades, scientists and virologists have warned that the incidence of spillover is rising in a more crowded, interconnected world shaped by travel and trade. Many of the most dangerous or deadly outbreaks of contagious disease in recent history originated in animals, including mpox (1958), Marburg virus (1967), Ebola (1976), HIV/AIDS (first clinical evidence 1981) and COVID-19 (2020). A rescued chimpanzee receives veterinary care in Freetown, Sierra Leone, after being confiscated from the illegal pet trade there. As close human relatives, apes share a number of diseases with humans. Image by Cate Twining-Ward. Animals and pathogens shipped worldwide The global wildlife trade creates repeated opportunities for animals, pathogens and people to come into close contact and share germs. Animals are legally shipped around the world for food. They’re sold as pets. Their parts are used in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Another study has shown that the worldwide trade of wild animals increases the spread of disease between wildlife and humans. The new research focused on mammal species. - Any sale of wild animals, their meat or products increases risk the that contagious pathogens may jump the species barrier and infect humans. - Researchers found that mammals sold in the global wildlife trade are 50% more likely to share pathogens with humans than those that aren’t bought and sold. They also found that repeated and prolonged human contact may create more opportunities for spillover. - Contrary to conventional wisdom, illegally traded species were no more likely to carry these zoonotic pathogens than those imported and sold legally, often as exotic pets. The study highlights the need for stronger biosurveillance, better information sharing and a “One Health” approach to wildlife trade that considers risks to both animals and humans. authors: | ||
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With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future (commentary) 04 May 2026 13:20:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/with-its-first-marine-reserve-ghana-protects-its-ocean-to-secure-its-future-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Emelia Arthur content:encoded: How we feed the future is a critical challenge of our time. Yet too often, the focus remains on land, forgetting that the ocean is already a vital source of nutrition for billions of people. That oversight is costly. The ocean is under growing pressure, with an estimated 60% of the world’s marine ecosystems already degraded or used unsustainably. This cannot continue. On April 14, Ghana put ocean protection on the map when the government officially declared the Greater Cape Three Points Marine Protected Area, our country’s first formally designated marine protected area (MPA). Covering 703.86 square kilometers (nearly 272 square miles) of coastal waters in the Western region, this landmark step will help restore precious marine ecosystems and protect the livelihoods of 21 coastal communities. It is a core element of Ghana’s vision for a “blue future” in which the ocean supports a diversified, sustainable economy. This is also a milestone in Ghana’s contribution to the global goal of protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30×30). With just 10% of the ocean currently designated for protection — and far less being effectively protected — scaling up action worldwide has never been more urgent. Ghana is proud to be stepping forward, and we urge other countries to do the same. The Greater Cape Three Points area is one of Ghana’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments. Its nutrient-rich upwelling waters host critical breeding and nursery grounds for fish species including sardinella, anchovy and mackerel, making the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments. - Ghana’s minister for fisheries and aquaculture explains in a new commentary that the Greater Cape Three Points reserve will help restore marine ecosystems and protect the livelihoods of 21 coastal communities, while advancing the nation’s 30×30 conservation goal ahead of next month’s Our Ocean Conference in Kenya. - “We urge governments everywhere to follow in Ghana’s footsteps to protect more of our ocean, invest in effective management, and ensure communities are at the heart of these efforts,” the minister writes. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Solar installation and deforestation in the Amazon: Photo of the week 04 May 2026 11:28:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/solar-installation-and-deforestation-in-the-amazon-photo-of-the-week/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: In August 2025, photojournalist Victor Moriyama captured this scene on the outskirts of Rio Branco, the capital of Acre, a state in the far northwest of the Brazilian Amazon. As a row of trucks in the background carries piles of wood freshly logged from the rainforest, employees of Primaz Energia Solar, a local solar energy provider, installed solar panels on the roof of a small market. The photograph is part of the series “Black Carbon,” produced in partnership with Climate Visuals and the Clean Air Fund. Banner image courtesy of Victor Moriyama/Climate Visuals.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In August 2025, photojournalist Victor Moriyama captured this scene on the outskirts of Rio Branco, the capital of Acre, a state in the far northwest of the Brazilian Amazon. As a row of trucks in the background carries piles of wood freshly logged from the rainforest, employees of Primaz Energia Solar, a local solar energy […] authors: | ||
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This tiny house survives extreme floods 04 May 2026 09:01:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/this-tiny-house-survives-extreme-floods/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Lucia Torres content:encoded: Kalu lives in a Khudi Bari: a flood-resistant tiny house in Bangladesh. Floods come to his village every year. This house is built to protect his crops and family against the storm. Watch the full story This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Kalu lives in a Khudi Bari: a flood-resistant tiny house in Bangladesh. Floods come to his village every year. This house is built to protect his crops and family against the storm. Watch the full story authors: | ||
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Cambodia tested waters amid pollution claims; months later, still no public results 04 May 2026 03:45:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/cambodia-tested-waters-amid-pollution-claims-months-later-still-no-public-results/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Andy BallGerald FlynnPhoung Vantha content:encoded: PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Authorities from Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment were dispatched to Mondul Yorn, a small village in the remote northeastern province of Ratanakiri, on Feb. 13 to conduct water and sediment testing on the O’Ta Bouk River following community complaints of health problems linked to declining water quality. Then, from Feb. 17-20, the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute (IFReDI), a government agency that sits under the Fisheries Administration, sent two teams to catch 34 species of fish from the Sesan River and the O’Ta Bouk, a tributary that flows into the Sesan, itself a key tributary of the Mekong River. The O’Ta Bouk flows south through a gold mining operation in Ta Veng district before it reaches Mondul Yorn, where Indigenous Brao communities have reported experiencing skin rashes and itching sensations after coming into contact with the river’s water since gold mining began in mid-2023. To date, no results of water, sediment or fish sampling have been made public, despite experts urging more comprehensive testing and communities languishing in uncertainty over the safety of the river. IFReDI officials taking samples on the Sesan River in February 2026. Photo sourced from IFReDI’s Facebook. A park in peril Villagers living along the O’Ta Bouk report the river had turned brown and murky starting roughly in mid-2023; the mud on its banks, sticky. Many of the Brao farmers and fishers have avoided entering the water, drinking it or bathing in it or fishing in the river. These problems persisted when…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Following local Indigenous Brao reports of health issues stemming from water since gold mining began in the area in 2023, Cambodian authorities tested water and sediment from the O’Ta Bouk River in February. - To date, no results of water, sediment or fish sampling has been made public, despite experts urging more comprehensive testing and communities languishing in uncertainty over the safety of the river. - All of this is taking place in Virachey National Park, one of Cambodia’s oldest and most remote protected areas, home to many endangered species, where the Cambodian government awarded an 18,900-hectare mining exploration license to a politically connected company. - Brao fishers who live along the banks of the O’Ta Bouk River say there are no fish in the water, which they attribute to persistent problems linked to pollution; farmers who use the O’Ta Bouk’s waters for irrigation question whether to plant another year’s crops. authors: | ||
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Tierney Thys, marine biologist and interpreter of the sunfish 04 May 2026 00:22:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/tierney-thys-marine-biologist-and-interpreter-of-the-sunfish/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: In the open ocean, far from coasts and categories, there is a fish that seems to defy the logic of design. It is round where others are tapered, truncated where others trail into a tail. It drifts and dives, basks and vanishes, a presence that appears accidental until one looks more closely. For those who did, the giant ocean sunfish became less an oddity than a set of questions—about form, movement, and how life adapts to a vast and changing sea. A sunfish (Mola mola). Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler/Mongabay. Tierney M. Thys, who died in March at 59, spent much of her life asking those questions, and then finding ways to share them. She was a marine biologist by training, though that title alone does not quite capture her range. She was also a filmmaker, a science editor, a National Geographic Explorer, and an advocate for the ocean who moved between research, storytelling, and public engagement. Her work, much of it beyond the ocean, was anchored in curiosity, and in a conviction that understanding the natural world required both analysis and attention. Her fascination with the ocean began early. Born in California, she was put into a homemade wetsuit by her parents so she could stay longer in cold water. She later moved to Vermont, where she learned to explore the outdoors on her own, and to see nature as both playground and teacher. That sense of immersion stayed with her. She studied biology at Brown University, returned to…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Tierney Thys spent decades studying the giant ocean sunfish, using its improbable form to ask broader questions about life in the open ocean. - Trained as a marine biologist, she moved between research, filmmaking, and public storytelling, helping make complex ecological processes accessible to wider audiences. - In later years, her work extended beyond the sea, linking issues such as textiles and microplastics back to ocean health. - Across her career, she returned to a central concern: how people come to value the natural world, and what sustains that commitment over time. authors: | ||
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RJ Nichole Ledesma, chronicler of unsettled ground on Negros Island, was killed last month. He was 30. 03 May 2026 15:32:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rj-nichole-ledesma-chronicler-of-unsettled-ground-on-negros-island-was-killed-last-month-he-was-30/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: RJ Nichole Ledesma’s journalism returned again and again to land: who worked it, who owned it, who was pushed from it, and what happened when projects planned elsewhere arrived in villages with little warning. In Negros, an island shaped by sugar plantations, labor struggles and long conflict, he reported from places where environmental change was not an abstraction. It appeared as proposed energy projects on agricultural land, a hydropower venture, a palm-oil plantation, or reclamation along a coast where fisherfolk made their living. He was 30 when he was killed on April 19th during a Philippine Army operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental. The military said the operation targeted suspected rebels of the New People’s Army and left 19 people dead. The Committee to Protect Journalists, citing news reports and the Altermidya Network, said Ledesma was a writer and editor at Paghimutad-Negros and had been reporting on the effects of renewable-energy projects. Altermidya and Human Rights Advocates Negros said he was not at the initial clash site, but in a separate community during a military pursuit operation. The army disputed accounts that some of those killed were civilians. The circumstances of his death remain contested. The shape of his work is easier to see. RJ Ledesma. Photo via Altermidya Ledesma came to journalism through campus reporting at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod, where he studied psychology and became editor-in-chief of The Spectrum. There he learned the practical habits of reporting: listening, checking, documenting, and standing by a story…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A 30-year-old journalist was killed while reporting on renewable energy’s impact on farming communities in Negros Island. - RJ Nichole Ledesma focused on land, labor, and displacement, documenting stories rarely covered by national media. - Ledesma’s reporting examined how projects—from solar farms to plantations—reshaped the lives of farmers and fisherfolk. - His death is contested; his work offers a clearer record of the communities he chose to follow. authors: | ||
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International Leopard Day: A spotty outlook for the spotted cat 02 May 2026 21:50:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/world-leopard-day-a-spotty-outlook-for-the-spotted-cat/ author: Meganstrauss dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Leopards are the most widespread of the big cats, but their range across Asia and Africa is shrinking. In many places, so are their numbers. Recent Mongabay coverage of leopards (Panthera pardus) revealed a global trade in leopard trophies and body parts, but also more hopeful signs, such as leopards persisting on the edge of Bengaluru, one of India’s largest cities. For International Leopard Day on May 3, we look back at Mongabay’s reporting on leopards in three regions. African leopard Researchers have estimated that Zambia’s Kafue National Park now has one of the highest leopard densities in Southern Africa, likely because of improved law enforcement, reported Mongabay contributor Ryan Truscott. In West Africa, the situation is more dire. The West African leopard, a genetically distinct population found across 11 countries, is now considered endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. The population has declined by 50% over the past two decades, and only about 350 mature individuals remain, reported Mongabay’s Elodie Toto. “In Africa, the leopard is not doing too badly, but in West Africa it’s a different story,” said Robin Horion from U.S.-based wildcat conservation NGO Panthera. Javan leopard The Javan leopard (P. pardus melas) is the last surviving apex predator on the Indonesian island of Java. With an estimated wild population of around 350, it’s classified as an endangered subspecies, threatened by hunting, habitat loss and the loss of prey. In West Java province, Indonesian authorities earlier this year detained five people in connection with…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Leopards are the most widespread of the big cats, but their range across Asia and Africa is shrinking. In many places, so are their numbers. Recent Mongabay coverage of leopards (Panthera pardus) revealed a global trade in leopard trophies and body parts, but also more hopeful signs, such as leopards persisting on the edge of […] authors: | ||
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Unusual ant interaction hints at mutualistic ‘cleaning’ system 02 May 2026 00:36:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/unusual-ant-interaction-hints-at-mutualistic-cleaning-system/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Some coral reef ecosystems famously have “cleaning stations,” where fish line up to be cleaned by other species of fish and shrimp. Entomologist Mark Moffet recently published observations of what appears to be a similar relationship in ants. In the Chiricahua Mountains of the U.S. state of Arizona, Moffet, from the National Museum of Natural History, was watching harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) collecting seeds when he noticed something odd. He saw several harvester ant workers frozen in place. When he zoomed in with his camera, Moffet saw the harvester ants covered with cone ants (Dorymyrmex spp.). At first Moffet assumed he was seeing aggression between the species. On closer inspection however, he observed that the small cone ants were licking and nibbling the larger harvester ant workers, not fighting with them. Moffet observed the cone ants inspecting the harvester ants’ open mandibles, which could easily crush the smaller cone ants. Moffet observed at least 90 individual harvester ant workers being tended this way and concluded that they might be getting cleaned by the cone ants. He even watched harvester ants approach the nests of cone ants and wait for cone ants to attend to them, which reminded him of reef fish lining up for a cleaning by cleaner fish species. The big question is: What is each species getting out of the arrangement? Moffet consulted colleagues and came up with several possible explanations. Perhaps the ants exchange microbes, which create a healthier microbiome for both species. Or maybe they swap pheromones,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Some coral reef ecosystems famously have “cleaning stations,” where fish line up to be cleaned by other species of fish and shrimp. Entomologist Mark Moffet recently published observations of what appears to be a similar relationship in ants. In the Chiricahua Mountains of the U.S. state of Arizona, Moffet, from the National Museum of Natural […] authors: | ||
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DRC copper exports to US set to surge amid warnings of corruption risk 01 May 2026 18:59:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/drc-copper-exports-to-us-set-to-surge-amid-warnings-of-corruption-risk/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is planning to export 500,000 metric tons of copper to the United States, a fivefold increase in the export commitment made in January by state-owned miner Gécamines SA. “The Congolese government’s intention, through Gécamines, to start exporting its own copper is becoming a reality,” said Jean-Claude Mputu, spokesperson for civil society network Le Congo n’est pas à vendre (CNPAV) and deputy director of the NGO Resource Matters. “The U.S. push to gain access to Congolese copper, in an effort to rebalance China’s dominance, is also materializing,” Mputu added. However, the DRC doesn’t appear to be moving away from China as a trade partner. In March, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding centered on mineral resources. For now, there’s little public scrutiny of contracts that will allow the DRC to ramp up U.S. exports, nor is it clear what the social and environmental impacts of increased extraction would be. “All of this is happening without any transparency, without any call for tenders. The risk is repeating past patterns of corruption, even if China is replaced by the United States,” Mputu said. “There is a feeling that extraction is being carried out at the expense of the environment and local communities,” he added. “There are numerous cases of pollution around mining sites that go unpunished. The key question is whether this will improve the lives of Congolese people, particularly in terms of environmental standards.” Some reports suggest the copper will be sourced from…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is planning to export 500,000 metric tons of copper to the United States, a fivefold increase in the export commitment made in January by state-owned miner Gécamines SA. “The Congolese government’s intention, through Gécamines, to start exporting its own copper is becoming a reality,” said Jean-Claude Mputu, spokesperson […] authors: | ||
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Why evidence matters in environmental journalism 01 May 2026 17:43:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/why-evidence-matters-in-environmental-journalism/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Environmental reporting often begins with a simple proposition: that facts still matter. At a time when climate change and biodiversity loss have become fixtures of public debate, the work of journalism can appear both urgent and increasingly difficult. Scientific evidence accumulates, while political responses lag. Between the two sits a kind of reporting that tries to translate research, policy and lived experience into something readers can grasp. Much of that work is incremental. A story may start with a field biologist’s findings, a community confronting a development project, or a government decision that reshapes the fate of a forest or fishery. The reporting rarely resolves the underlying problem. Its purpose is more modest: to document what is happening and explain why it matters. For John Cannon, a staff features writer at Mongabay, that principle guides nearly every assignment. “Evidence-based reporting [is] at the heart of what we do at Mongabay,” he says. “I believe it’s perhaps the most profound way we can contribute to making things better.” Cannon’s route into journalism began with an academic interest in the natural world. He studied biology at Ohio State University and later earned a graduate degree in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Along the way, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, an experience that introduced him to the economic and social pressures shaping conservation in parts of the Sahel. He began contributing to Mongabay in 2014 and joined the organization full-time two years later. Since then,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Environmental reporting often begins with a simple proposition: that facts still matter. At a time when climate change and biodiversity loss have become fixtures of public debate, the work of journalism can appear both urgent and increasingly difficult. Scientific evidence accumulates, while political responses lag. Between the two sits a kind of reporting that tries […] authors: | ||
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Migratory freshwater fish are in trouble: Will we act in time to save them? 01 May 2026 13:41:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/migratory-freshwater-fish-are-in-trouble-will-we-act-in-time-to-save-them/ author: Glenn Scherer dc:creator: Stefan Lovgren content:encoded: SALOBRA, Brazil — Life revolves around water in this quiet fishing village in Brazil’s southern Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland. Here, a clear tributary meets the broader Miranda River, part of a vast floodplain where multiple streams spill across the landscape and wildlife thrives. Jaguars prowl riverbanks, giant otters patrol the channels, parrots fill the skies, and beneath the rippling surface, fish of every size and shape swim through a shifting watery mosaic, tying a vast aquatic ecosystem together. For 72-year-old retired fisherman Alberto Oriozola, the Miranda River was once both livelihood and lifegiving. He recalls, as a young man, looking down from a hilltop and seeing the river bottom appear to move with swimming pintado — the spotted surubim catfish (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans), their jaguar-like markings visible in the clear water. “You could choose the size you wanted to catch,” he remembers. Fish 3 meters (10 feet) long were part of the catch. Now, the largest surubim are maybe half that length, and far less common. Maycon Lopes da Silva (left) and Alberto Oriozola (right), two generations of fishers from Salobra, Brazil, reflect on declining catches along the Miranda River. Image by Stefan Lovgren. These days, Oriozola’s grandson-in-law, Maycon Lopes da Silva, 26, works the same waters but in a different way. He guides sport fishers who come in search of surubim (in Portuguese, or sorubim in Spanish), along with other large species, and he shares the river with his more than 18,000 followers on Instagram. Bare-chested and quick to…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Migratory freshwater fish have declined by an estimated 81% since 1970 yet remain largely overlooked in global conservation policy. At the latest meeting of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), a new assessment identified 325 species worldwide in urgent need of coordinated protection. - These long-distance swimmers underpin inland fisheries that feed hundreds of millions of people across the Amazon, Mekong, Congo and other river basins. By moving through river systems, they connect habitats, sustain food webs and support local economies. - Dams, water extraction and habitat loss are rapidly severing migration routes, often cutting off access to spawning and feeding grounds. Scientists warn that without stronger protections, many migratory fish species — and the river systems they sustain — face an uncertain future. authors: | ||
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Kenyan Court allows landmark BP toxic waste lawsuit to proceed 01 May 2026 12:46:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/kenyan-court-allows-landmark-bp-toxic-waste-lawsuit-to-proceed/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Dalle Abraham content:encoded: The Environment and Land court at Isiolo has ruled that a class action lawsuit against British oil giant BP can proceed to a full hearing, in a case that alleges toxic waste left behind from oil exploration in the 1980s contaminated groundwater in northern Kenya, killing more than 500 people and thousands of livestock. The matter shall be taken up on May 6. The lawsuit, filed in February by 299 petitioners at the Environment and Land Court at Isiolo, was brought by residents of Kargi and Kalacha, two remote settlements in Marsabit county. It alleges that oil exploration activities conducted between 1985 and 1993 in northern and northwestern Kenya by Amoco Corporation, which was acquired by BP in 1998, improperly discharged hazardous and toxic contaminants into the environment, contaminating groundwater that communities depend on for drinking water and to rear livestock. Court documents allege that drilling waste containing radium isotopes, arsenic, lead and nitrates, was dumped in unlined pits or left exposed on the ground. The petition names British Petroleum PLC as the first respondent, alongside 11 other respondents including the National Oil Corporation of Kenya; the cabinet secretaries for environment, water, health and mining; the Water Resources Authority; the county government of Marsabit; the attorney general; the National Environment Management Authority; the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority; and the Kenya Medical Research Institute. BP’s press office told Mongabay via email that it had no comment on the case. The High Court’s April ruling does not establish liability but clears the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Environment and Land court at Isiolo has ruled that a class action lawsuit against British oil giant BP can proceed to a full hearing, in a case that alleges toxic waste left behind from oil exploration in the 1980s contaminated groundwater in northern Kenya, killing more than 500 people and thousands of livestock. The […] authors: | ||
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How Spoorthy Raman tells the world’s wildlife stories from a desk in the middle of the Atlantic 01 May 2026 10:16:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-spoorthy-raman-tells-the-worlds-wildlife-stories-from-a-desk-in-the-middle-of-the-atlantic/ author: Alejandroprescottcornejo dc:creator: Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo content:encoded: “Sitting at my desk on an island in the Atlantic, I can speak to some of the best scientists, conservationists and people invested in protecting the planet across the world,” says Mongabay staff writer Spoorthy Raman. From her home in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Canada’s east coast, she gathers perspectives on the state of nature that span countries, cultures and ecosystems. Raman’s journey at Mongabay began with an internship in 2022, following a stint as a science communicator. This then led to bylines in outlets like Hakai, Audubon, BioScience and Nature, and to recognition, including the Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership award and a Digital Publishing Award in 2024. Now a full-time member of Mongabay’s Wildlife Desk, she reports on a range of issues related to biodiversity, with specializations in animal behavior and the complex worlds of the wildlife trade and poaching. These last two areas can be particularly grim, yet serve as a poignant reminder of why the work matters. “With every image of dead wildlife I see as part of my work, I am reminded of the enormous biodiversity loss this is contributing to,” Raman says. Across the more than 100 stories she has produced at Mongabay, a few projects have been especially meaningful. One is her reporting on wild rice restoration by Indigenous peoples across the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. Another is about the thriving illegal wildlife trade in California, driven by the pet trade. She’s especially proud of her ongoing series…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Spoorthy Raman is a staff writer at Mongabay, where she covers wildlife, biodiversity and the complexities of the wildlife trade. - She began her environmental journalism journey with a Mongabay internship in 2022, which opened the door to writing for other outlets including Hakai, Audubon, BioScience, Nature and others. - Raman says her inspiration comes from a lifelong curiosity about science, a love for nature, and an admiration for the living world. - She’s especially proud of her reporting on biodiversity, wildlife and Indigenous food traditions, including award-winning work on baby Dungeness crabs, wild rice restoration in the Great Lakes, and species affected by the wildlife trade. authors: | ||
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World’s largest shark conference is set to begin in Sri Lanka next week 01 May 2026 08:17:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/worlds-largest-shark-conference-is-set-to-begin-in-sri-lanka-next-week/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Malaka Rodrigo content:encoded: COLOMBO — The Sharks International 2026 conference (SI2026), known to be the world’s largest gathering dedicated to sharks and rays, is set to take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 4-8. Held once every four years, it is the premier global scientific conference focused exclusively on elasmobranchs, or sharks and rays, bringing together researchers, policymakers, fisheries managers and conservation practitioners from around the world. Sharks International has previously been held in Australia (2010), South Africa (2014), Brazil (2018) and Spain (2022). The 2026 edition in Sri Lanka marks the first time Sharks International will be held in Asia, reflecting the region’s growing importance in global marine biodiversity and fisheries governance. Locally hosted and organized by Blue Resources Trust (BRT) with support from several international organizations, the conference aims to strengthen global collaboration as more than one-third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, habitat loss and weak enforcement of conservation measures. Daniel Fernando, the co-founder and director of the fisheries and policy program of the Colombo-based Blue Resources Trust (BRT), is a main organizer of Sharks International 2026. Image courtesy of BRT. The Sri Lanka meeting is considered particularly significant because the Indian Ocean is both a biodiversity hotspot and one of the world’s most heavily exploited shark fishing regions, said Daniel Fernando, BRT’s co-founder and director of fisheries and policy program. SI2026 will focus more on the urgent global priorities for shark and ray conservation, including halting population decline, reducing bycatch in industrial and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - When Colombo hosts Sharks International 2026 from May 4-8, it will be the first time a global shark and ray science conference is convened in Asia, drawing global attention to the region’s fisheries and biodiversity challenges. - The conference will bring together leading global experts, policymakers and fisheries managers to strengthen the links between science, policy and practice, particularly in regions where shark fisheries are both economically important and ecologically under pressure. - Key discussions will revolve around methods to bridge persistent gaps between shark conservation policy and on-the-water reality, and how regulations exist in formal frameworks but fail to translate into consistent awareness and action, compliance and enforcement. - More than one-third of shark and ray species are now threatened with extinction globally, driven by overfishing, bycatch and international demand, making improved fisheries governance and enforcement a central focus of the 2026 meeting. authors: | ||
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Indonesia busts wildlife trafficking ring targeting Komodo dragons 01 May 2026 04:26:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/indonesia-busts-wildlife-trafficking-ring-targeting-komodo-dragons/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Police in Indonesia have announced the dismantling of what they say is a major wildlife trafficking network largely targeting the world’s largest lizard species. Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the alleged syndicate, which was involved in trafficking endemic Indonesian species, particularly juvenile Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), an endangered and protected species, to Thailand, police said in their April 16 announcement. According to investigators, the suspects concealed baby or juvenile dragons inside short lengths of plastic piping to avoid detection during transit. From January 2025 to February 2026, the group successfully moved at least 17 Komodo dragons from the island of Flores, where the species is found, to the islands of Java and Sumatra, and from there to Thailand, Mongabay Indonesia reported on April 17. The entire chain allegedly used a combination of sea, air, road and rail traffic. Their latest attempt, in February, involved three Komodo dragons, but was successfully foiled by police. Authorities said the suspects specifically targeted the Pota area, in Flores’s East Manggarai district. While most of Indonesia’s Komodo dragon population is protected within a national park, in Pota an estimated 700 of the reptiles live outside official protected areas. The dragons were reportedly purchased for 5.5 million rupiah each (about $320) in Pota, but by the time they reached markets in Java they were selling for nearly six times as much. In Thailand, they were going for the equivalent of nearly $29,000. Apart from live Komodo dragons, police said some of those arrested…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Police in Indonesia have announced the dismantling of what they say is a major wildlife trafficking network largely targeting the world’s largest lizard species. Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the alleged syndicate, which was involved in trafficking endemic Indonesian species, particularly juvenile Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), an endangered and protected species, to […] authors: | ||
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Singapore’s population of Raffles’ banded langur has doubled 01 May 2026 04:20:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/singapores-population-of-raffles-banded-langur-has-doubled/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a forest reserve on the edge of Singapore, volunteers spend hours scanning the canopy for a primate they may not see. The exercise points to a simple constraint of conservation in a dense city: most habitats are small and separated. The Raffles’ banded langur (Presbytis femoralis) survives in these pockets, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Its numbers are low, and to move and feed it relies on continuous tree cover — something that has largely been broken up. Conservation has focused on workable measures. Volunteers record group sizes and behavior, while agencies plant food trees and install rope bridges to span gaps in the canopy. There are signs of progress. The population has doubled since 2011 to 80 individuals today, according to Andie Ang, a researcher at Mandai Nature, a local conservation organization. What comes next will depend on land-use decisions, in particular whether remaining forest patches are preserved and linked. The volunteer program has helped fill gaps in knowledge and build public awareness. That may prove as important as the data. In a city where land is scarce, conservation competes with other priorities. Read the full story by Carolyn Cowan here. Banner image of a Raffles’ banded langur, courtesy of Andie Ang.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a forest reserve on the edge of Singapore, volunteers spend hours scanning the canopy for a primate they may not see. The exercise points to a simple constraint of conservation in a dense city: most habitats are […] authors: | ||
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Saline intrusion in Mekong Delta leaves farmers and scientists at odds 30 Apr 2026 22:49:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/saline-intrusion-in-mekong-delta-leaves-farmers-and-scientists-at-odds/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Minh L Tran content:encoded: Vinh Long, VIETNAM — Khanh Chi tends a small apricot blossom orchard in Nhuan Phu Tan, a commune in southern Vietnam’s Vinh Long province by the Co Chien River, one of the Mekong River’s final distributaries before reaching the ocean. Her orchard is 55 kilometers (34 miles) inland. According to the provincial hydrometeorological observatory, Chi’s commune is the furthest point along the Co Chien River where, this year, salinity levels hit 4 parts per thousand (ppt) — the threshold at which rice farming is damaged. As saltwater pushes deeper and less predictably into the delta in recent decades, Vietnam has responded with canals, dikes and sluice gates to keep it out. For farmers, such projects offer the most explicit and immediate relief. Scientists say that might be a problem. Instead of engineering its way out of the salinity crisis, scientists argue, the region must adapt to it. “I buy freshwater, bring it back by truck, and just spray it like a mist,” Chi says, describing how she waters the apricot during dry season, when the river is saline. She used to grow fruit seedlings, durian and jackfruit but made the switch to ornamental plants as they are more resilient to saltwater. A few years ago, Chi dug a small pond in her orchard to store water when it rains or the river runs fresh. She uses it sparingly, enough to stretch through a few worst days of an intrusion. “The bigger the orchard, the larger the lake,” she says. “My…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is increasingly facing saltwater intrusion, as sea levels rise, land subsides and the river’s natural cycles are disrupted by dams and irrigation infrastructure. - A growing scientific consensus says Vietnam must learn to adapt to salt water rather than trying to engineer its way out of the problem; this perspective was officially integrated into Vietnam’s public policy with the 2017 Resolution 120. - In practice, however, hard infrastructure like sluice gates are popular at the local level and continue to be built. - Progress implementing Resolution 120 has also slowed due to 2025 administrative reforms that restructured ministries and re-drew provincial boundaries in the delta. authors: | ||
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In Guatemala, new AI technology will be ‘listening’ for illegal deforestation 30 Apr 2026 21:05:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-guatemala-new-ai-technology-will-be-listening-for-illegal-deforestation/ author: Alexandrapopescu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: FLORES, Guatemala — This March, rangers on patrol in the Maya Forest came across the feathers of hunted birds and paths that had been cleared through the trees. These led them to a 2-hectare (5-acre) opening in the forest where squatters likely planned to settle and then expand. The people who’d cleared the forest were nowhere to be found. The deforestation had occurred around eight days before, the rangers guessed. Even with camera traps and other technology, there’d been almost no way to detect it in real time. Rapid response has long been a challenge for conservationists in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which spans 2.2 million hectares (5.3 million acres) across northern Guatemala. The reserve is a patchwork of national parks, logging concessions and biological corridors, some of them under pressure from cattle ranching and illegal logging. “If we’re going out regularly to a site every two or three months, and something happens a day after the last visit, then two or three months will go by with no information,” said Rony García Anleu, director of biological research at the Guatemala office of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). A new project in the reserve aims to decrease ranger response times with bioacoustics devices that can “listen” for illegal activity, using AI models trained to identify sounds associated with logging, hunting and other crimes. It’s part of the $100 million AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, run by the Bezos Earth Fund for innovative uses of artificial intelligence for tackling…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new project in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve will install bioacoustics devices that can “listen” for illegal activity, using AI models trained to identify chainsaws, gunshots and other sounds associated with environmental crime. - The project is part of the $100 million AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, run by the Bezos Earth Fund for innovative uses of artificial intelligence for tackling biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity. - The devices will be installed in parts of the reserve threatened by cattle ranching and illegal human settlements, accounting for thousands of hectares of annual forest loss in recent years. - If successful, bioacoustics technology could be combined with camera traps, drone monitoring, satellite data and human observation to create a more efficient and data-driven conservation strategy, members of the project said. authors: | ||
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Global trade in sea cucumbers ‘alarming’ with many species at risk: Study 30 Apr 2026 20:20:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/global-trade-in-sea-cucumbers-alarming-with-many-species-at-risk-study/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Edward Carver content:encoded: The global trade in sea cucumbers has grown since 2013 and continues to decimate the populations of many species, according to a recent study that cites “escalating impacts” and calls for stronger conservation measures. “Nowadays it’s overexploited nearly all over in the world,” Chantal Conand, an emeritus associate at France’s National Museum of Natural History and lead author of the study, told Mongabay, speaking of sea cucumbers generally. Conand and her co-authors write that the harvest of sea cucumbers is now “contagious” — spreading from place to place — and that the “continued growth and expansion of the global sea cucumber trade is alarming as the sustainability of many species-specific fisheries remains of great concern.” The paper, which was published Feb. 19 in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, follows other recent sea cucumber studies that also raise conservation concerns. Chantal Conand, lead author of a recent study on sea cucumbers, holds a pineapple sea cucumber (Thelenota ananas), amid the research collections of France’s National Museum of Natural History, where she is an emeritus associate. Image courtesy of Chantal Conand. Diving for good data Globally, there are roughly 1,800 species of sea cucumbers, which make up all of the taxonomic class Holothuroidea. Like starfish (class Asteroidea) and sea urchins (class Echinoidea), they sit in the phylum Echinodermata. Sea cucumbers act as recyclers and processors on the seafloor, eating detritus — decaying organic matter — and discharging it in a more aerated, nitrogen-rich form that helps…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The global trade in sea cucumbers has grown since 2013 and continues to decimate the populations of many species, according to a recent study that cites “escalating impacts” and calls for stronger conservation measures. - The study found that global capture of sea cucumbers increased from 2013 to the late 2010s and dipped slightly during the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the last years in the study period. - China and it’s special administrative region of Hong Kong, where sea cucumbers are used in traditional medicine and consumed as a delicacy on special occasions, are the main importers as measured by dollar value, the study found. authors: | ||
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