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Attack on Indigenous land defenders in Peru reveals snags in protection system 14 Jul 2025 19:47:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/attack-on-indigenous-land-defenders-in-peru-reveals-snags-in-protection-system/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Yvette Sierra Praeli content:encoded: On April 13, 2025, members of the community forest monitoring committee from the Kakataibo Indigenous community faced an attack while carrying out a routine patrol of their ancestral territory in Mariscal Cáceres province, Peru. The team had set out to monitor forest conditions, inspect areas flagged for deforestation and oversee the integrity of the community’s boundaries. But while surveying an area near a neighboring settlement, they discovered that approximately one and a half hectares (3.7 acres) of land within their territory had been illegally cleared. As the committee prepared to establish a temporary camp in the area to continue their work over the next four days, a group of people from the nearby settlement arrived, armed with stones, sticks and machetes, and forcibly expelled them from the site. Kakataibo Indigenous communities, such as Unipacuyacu, are vulnerable to land invasions and deforestation. Image by Christian Ugarte/Mongabay Latam. As a result, three members of the Kakataibo community were injured and had to be taken to the health post in the Indigenous community of Yamino, the closest location to where the attack occurred. They were later transferred to the health center in the city of Aguaytía, in the province of Padre Abad, Ucayali. On this occasion, there were no serious injuries, and those wounded recovered quickly. However, delays in response and the obstacles often imposed by the justice system itself worsen the situation faced by environmental defenders in Peru, say civil society organizations. According to the country’s Ministry of Justice and Human Rights,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In April 2025, members of the community forest monitoring committee from the Kakataibo Indigenous community in Peru’s Mariscal Cáceres province were attacked while patrolling their ancestral territory. - Organizations that support environmental defenders have criticized the slow response and lack of action from the Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. - For several months, emails and formal requests for meetings and other forms of support have gone unanswered. - According to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, between April 2021 and April 2025, the Intersectoral Mechanism registered 706 human rights defenders and 64 of their family members. authors: | ||
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Amazon’s ‘tipping point road’ gets new push with ease on licensing rules 14 Jul 2025 19:06:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/amazons-tipping-point-road-gets-new-push-with-ease-on-licensing-rules/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Rafael Spuldar content:encoded: In the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, a long-dormant infrastructure project is roaring back to life. Highway BR-319, an 885-kilometer (550-mile) stretch linking the cities of Manaus and Porto Velho, was initially inaugurated in 1976 but never fully paved. It fell into disrepair shortly after, abandoned for decades as the forest reclaimed much of the dirt and cracked asphalt. Some stretches became undrivable, especially in the rainy season. Local politicians have long been asking the federal government to fully pave the road to connect the two state capitals, arguing that it would help connect Amazonas state to the rest of Brazil — much of the flow between the cities is done by the Madeira River, a trip that could take up to six days. However, BR-319 cuts through one of the most preserved regions of the Amazon, and environmentalists warn that rebuilding the highway will drive deforestation, as has happened repeatedly with other roads. Some say it could lead to the rainforest reaching its tipping point, at which the Amazon would no longer be able to sustain itself as a rainforest, becoming a savanna. “BR-319 is the first domino in a chain of effects that will affect not only all regions and populations of Brazil, but also the biomes and populations of all of South America and, ultimately, the entire planet,” Marcos Woortmann, environmentalist and adjunct director at the Democracy and Sustainability Institute, told Mongabay. The paving of the middle section of the BR-319 highway, which crosses a preserved area…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - As a controversial bill nears passage in Brazil, environmentalists and civil society prepare for what they call the “last stand” to save the Amazon. - Brazil’s Senate approved a sweeping reform of environmental licensing laws aimed at accelerating projects, such as the BR-319 highway renewal. - The highway cuts through one of the most preserved regions of the Amazon, and its restoration is likely to lead to widespread deforestation, as happened with other roads. - Infrastructure projects such as the Ferrogrão railway, oil prospecting on the Amazon coast and routes linking the Amazon to the Pacific benefit from the new bill, with support from President Lula. authors: | ||
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Scientists turn plastic waste into pain medicine 14 Jul 2025 16:56:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/scientists-turn-plastic-waste-into-pain-medicine/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Researchers have devised a way to make a commonly used pain and fever reduction medication from plastic waste. Yes, you read that right. They used genetically engineered microbes to transform a molecule obtained from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into paracetamol. Also known as acetaminophen, paracetamol is the active ingredient in widely available over-the-counter pain and fever reduction medicines, sold under brand names like Tylenol, Panadol or Dolo. Upward of three-quarters of the common medicines that we rely on are currently derived from fossil carbon. “Paracetamol is a really good example of that,” Stephan Wallace, the study’s corresponding author and professor of chemical biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, told Mongabay in a video call. “It’s currently derived from benzene, which is a really unsustainable petrochemical, by industrial processes that emit, quite frankly, unacceptable amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.” Nearly all plastic is derived from fossil fuels and very little is recycled. The vast majority of plastic waste ends up in landfills, incinerators or the environment, especially oceans. So, the researchers wanted to see if they could turn a problem waste product into something useful. They first discovered that a commonly used synthetic chemical reaction called the Lossen rearrangement can actually occur in living bacterial cells. The reaction has previously only been observed in labs but not in nature. The researchers found that phosphate within bacterial cells can catalyze this Lossen rearrangement, converting terephthalic acid — derived from the breakdown of PET plastic — into para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), inside the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Researchers have devised a way to make a commonly used pain and fever reduction medication from plastic waste. Yes, you read that right. They used genetically engineered microbes to transform a molecule obtained from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into paracetamol. Also known as acetaminophen, paracetamol is the active ingredient in widely available over-the-counter pain and […] authors: | ||
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Wildfire along Grand Canyon’s North Rim destroys historic lodge and is spreading rapidly 14 Jul 2025 16:32:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/wildfire-along-grand-canyons-north-rim-destroys-historic-lodge-and-is-spreading-rapidly/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A wildfire along the Grand Canyon’s North Rim grew rapidly over the weekend and destroyed a historic lodge and visitors center. Firefighters are working to slow down the fire that began on July 4 after a lightning strike. The fire is in a less popular area of the Grand Canyon that draws only about 10% of the park’s millions of visitors. Evacuations were ordered over concerns that include chlorine gas exposure after a treatment plant burned. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has called for a federal investigation into the fire’s management. Another wildfire in Colorado has closed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, prompting evacuations and a disaster declaration by the state’s governor. Reporting by Felicia Fonseca and Jaimie Ding, Associated Press Banner image: This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)This article was originally published on Mongabay description: FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A wildfire along the Grand Canyon’s North Rim grew rapidly over the weekend and destroyed a historic lodge and visitors center. Firefighters are working to slow down the fire that began on July 4 after a lightning strike. The fire is in a less popular area of the Grand Canyon that […] authors: | ||
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How drug cartels destroy the last habitat of Mexico’s thick-billed parrot (commentary) 14 Jul 2025 15:46:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-cartels-destroy-the-last-habitat-of-mexicos-thick-billed-parrot-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Andrew-James Anthony content:encoded: While supporting conservation research in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental with teams from the U.S.-based Columbia University and San Diego Zoo Global, I assisted in work involving the endangered thick-billed parrot. That experience — observing their habitat and the threats it faces — made clear how severely environmental crime and weak governance are driving biodiversity loss. This commentary is grounded in those insights and calls for urgent global attention. Once, the raucous calls of the thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) ricocheted through Mexico’s pine forests. Now, the silence is deafening. This striking green-and-red bird, once numbering in the tens of thousands, clings to existence with as few as 840 individuals left. But its disappearance signals a larger crisis: its forest home is vanishing. Cartel-led illegal logging accelerates deforestation, stripping Mexico of its last old-growth forest strongholds. Those who resist face violence, even death. Parrot on the brink, forest falling silent One of the last high-altitude parrots, this species depends on old-growth pines for food, nesting and shelter. Its population has plummeted so dramatically, it is now endangered, with extinction likely within a decade if conservation fails. The decline of the imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis), possibly extinct, has worsened the crisis: without this keystone species to create nesting cavities, the parrots struggle to reproduce. But the parrot’s decline signals something larger. The Sierra Madre Occidental, a biodiversity hotspot home to black bears (Ursus americanus), jaguars (Panthera onca) and endemic species, is unravelling. Parrots disperse seeds, aiding forest regeneration. Without them, tree populations decline,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The raucous calls of the thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) once ricocheted through Mexico’s high-altitude pine forests, but now, their near silence has become deafening. - Deforestation driven by drug trafficking there is violently erasing entire habitats that the birds require. - “If deforestation and violence continue unchecked, it won’t be a species that disappears — it will be an entire ecosystem, lost to greed, crime and neglect. Will the world listen, or will this be the parrot’s final call?” a new op-ed asks. - This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Mennonite farming in Belize threatens essential biological corridor, critics say 14 Jul 2025 15:46:05 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mennonite-farming-in-belize-threatens-essential-biological-corridor-critics-say/ author: Alexandrapopescu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: A stretch of rainforest in Belize that allows wildlife to pass freely between protected areas is under threat of deforestation, and conservationists are scrambling to contain the damage. Mennonites, a highly conservative Christian sect, own thousands of acres of rainforest that currently make up part of the Maya Forest Corridor, but plans to clear it for farming and quarrying could sever the connection and weaken local ecosystems, critics say. “Wildlife disperse and move in order for them to survive,” Betsy Mallory, scientific adviser for the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, said at a public consultation in June. “They need populations. They need to breed. They need to find mates.” The Maya Forest Corridor spans approximately 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) and is the last section of forest connecting some of the most biodiverse protected areas in the country, the Belize Maya Forest and Maya Mountains Massif. The protected areas are made up of tropical forests, savannas, wetlands and cave systems that provide habitats for animals like jaguars (Panthera onca) and Baird’s tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), among others. There are also Maya artifacts in the area. The corridor isn’t one contiguous conservation area, but rather a collection of smaller protected areas and private property. In recent years, environmental groups like the Maya Forest Corridor Trust and Re:wild have tried to buy up as much private land as they can, including a 12,100-hectare (30,000-acre) stretch of forest in 2021 for $21.5 million. But other acquisitions haven’t always gone to plan. In 2022, one crucial…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mennonites in Belize own thousands of hectares of rainforest that make up part of a “biological corridor” for wildlife moving between numerous protected areas. - The Mennonites started clearing the forest in 2022 without carrying out an environmental impact assessment, which destroyed wildlife habitats and polluted the local watershed, critics say. - An environmental impact assessment is being carried out retroactively, but conservationists are worried it isn’t detailed enough and will still lead to the destruction of the corridor. authors: | ||
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The world’s children suffer brunt of wildfire smoke health impacts 14 Jul 2025 15:43:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/the-worlds-children-suffer-brunt-of-wildfire-smoke-health-impacts/ author: Glenn Scherer dc:creator: Anna Dulisse content:encoded: As record wildfires erupt across Canada this year, with health-threatening smoke drifting into the U.S. and as far away as Europe — and with wildfires in 2024 becoming the leading driver of tropical forest loss for the first time in history — a disturbing childhood statistic requires urgent attention by parents and caregivers across the world. Approximately 270,000 children under the age of 5 die each year after breathing in wildfire smoke, according to UNICEF’s Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative. Many more suffer lingering disabilities. And these grim vulnerabilities are only likely to worsen, as global warming makes wildfires more numerous, intense and deadly. The high mortality and injury rates among youth globally are largely due to physiology and exposure: “Children have higher breathing rates, so they inhale more pollutants per hour,” said Ariadna Curto, an environmental epidemiologist and postdoctoral researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain. “Their airways are smaller and they tend to spend more time outdoors than indoors, so they are vulnerable to the effects of pollution.” Extensive research is lacking on wildfire smoke impacts on this young demographic, but scientists are now amassing an alarming body of evidence delineating physical, developmental and mental health effects. Starting in utero and continuing through adolescence, wildfire smoke exposure is looming as a global children’s health crisis. Wildfires are increasing in number and intensity across the world, and their smoke is especially threatening children’s health. Image by Brendan O’Reilly, U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region via Wikimedia Commons…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Around 270,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from breathing wildfire smoke, with 99% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to scientists. - Despite a lack of extensive research on how wildfire smoke affects children’s health, recent studies have found a range of physical and mental impacts, starting in utero and continuing through adolescence. This research offers valuable evidence of a worsening global public health crisis driven by climate change-intensified wildfires. - Researchers emphasize that children are especially susceptible to harm from wildfire smoke due to their physiology and tendency to spend more time outdoors. Also, not all smoke is the same. Combustion of different materials, ranging from plants to plastics, creates a complex mix of pollutants whose health impacts vary. - Health experts stress that while smoke crosses borders, protections often don’t. More global research, better monitoring and action are urgently needed to protect children and other vulnerable populations from wildfire smoke. authors: | ||
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‘Croc on a rock’: How a group of explorers suffers for science 14 Jul 2025 15:40:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/croc-on-a-rock-how-a-group-of-explorers-suffers-for-science/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: A crocodile flips over on the river’s surface right in front of the canoe, then disappears into the white water frothing through the narrow channel. It’s too late to stop, but fortunately the croc (Crocodylus niloticus) is just as alarmed by the intruders as they are by it, and the canoe passes quickly over the spot, alighting safely alongside some rocks. The Kafue River, in central Zambia, is impassable at this point. “There’s quite a big drop here that we have to do somewhere,” says Mike Ross, the expedition leader. The rapids are flanked by conglomerate rocks: small pebbles cemented together, some of them bleached pink as a hippo’s belly by the sun and water. To the uninitiated, carrying the canoes over this large, uneven jumble of boulders doesn’t look remotely possible. Boat captain Mfundisi Nowake and research assistant Katongo Kampamba carry a canoe across boulders at Mayukuyuku rapids. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. The maneuver, known as portage, is nothing new to Ross. Earlier this year, on an expedition down Angola’s Cubango River, he and colleagues from The Wilderness Project (TWP) had to carry their gear and canoes over 26 rapids. This current expedition began its journey at the source of Zambia’s Lunga River, one of the Kafue’s major tributaries, more than 600 kilometers (373 miles) to the north, and the team has already been on the water for a month. Weary but well-drilled, they get ready to lift the five boats out of the water. At these…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A team from The Wilderness Project is traversing Zambia’s Kafue River by canoe, collecting ecological data as part of a long-term survey. - The expedition involves grueling portages over sharp, slippery rocks, close encounters with crocodiles and hippos and physically demanding conditions. - Researchers gather DNA from fish and invasive crayfish, record nocturnal wildlife sounds and retrace a sampling transect first surveyed the year before. - Despite the challenges, moments of beauty and wildlife encounters — from elephant herds to misty hornbill flights — punctuate the journey. authors: | ||
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Brazil’s Arariboia set to be the first Indigenous land with legal cattle 14 Jul 2025 13:48:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/brazils-arariboia-set-to-be-the-first-indigenous-land-with-legal-cattle/ author: Karla Mendes dc:creator: Karla Mendes content:encoded: A crackdown on illegal cattle herds inside the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in Brazil has hit unexpected pushback that could make this the first area of its kind in the country to allow licensed cattle ranching. That raised concerns among Indigenous rights activists about outsiders once again bringing their illegal herds back into this protected territory, and the environmental damages that would entail. The Arariboia land, in the Amazonian state of Maranhão, is home to more than 10,000 Indigenous Guajajara and uncontacted Awá — hunter-gatherers who live in voluntary isolation in the depths of the forests and are considered the most threatened Indigenous group on the planet. Spanning an area of 413,000 hectares (1.02 million acres), more than three times the size of the city of São Paulo, Arariboia is a green island surrounded by cattle farms and sawmills, making it one of the country’s most endangered Indigenous lands; it’s also targeted by rising violence and killings of its Guajajara inhabitants. In February 2025, the federal government launched an operation against illegal cattle and other environmental crimes in Arariboia, spurred by a yearlong investigation by Mongabay that revealed a record-high number of killings of Indigenous Guajajara amid an illegal cattle boom in large parts of the territory. Cattle ranching and other exploitative activities by outsiders inside Indigenous territories is prohibited under Brazil’s Constitution. By its conclusion at the end of April, the federal task force had removed between 1,000 and 2,000 head of cattle and more than 12 kilometers (7.5 miles)…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Spurred by a yearlong investigation by Mongabay, a federal crackdown has removed up to 2,000 illegal cattle from Brazil’s Arariboia Indigenous Territory, but faced unexpected protests from some Indigenous residents claiming ownership. - The pushback has prompted the government to consider regulating Indigenous-owned cattle, raising fears of setting a precedent and inviting the disguised return of illegal herds. - Indigenous rights advocates warn that legalizing cattle ranching inside the territory could blur the line between subsistence use and commercial exploitation by outside ranchers. - Despite ongoing surveillance, signs of illegal cattle and deforestation have reappeared, with critics saying the authorities’ response remains too slow to stop renewed invasions. authors: | ||
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A success story at Zambia’s leopard hotspot: Interview with ecologist Chisomo M’hango 14 Jul 2025 11:39:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/a-success-story-at-zambias-leopard-hotspot-interview-with-ecologist-chisomo-mhango/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: Chisomo M’hango is a trainee field ecologist at Musekese Conservation (MC), a nonprofit whose research station is located deep inside the Musekese-Lumbeya section of Zambia’s Kafue National Park. M’hango and her colleagues have captured images of 95 individual leopards — or 9 leopards per 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles) in some parts of the study area. It represents one of the highest densities of this vulnerable species in Southern Africa. Leopards aren’t the only carnivores studied by staff members like M’hango. Musekese-Lumbeya is home to four other charismatic carnivores — spotted hyenas, African wild dogs, lions and cheetahs. Camera trap surveys, monitoring of individual animals, and citizen science projects that M’hango and MC are helping to run in collaboration with other research partners are providing promising signs on the recovery of leopards, wild dogs and lions. Mongabay spoke to M’hango at MC’s research center on the banks of the Kafue River in late May 2025. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Chisomo M’hango conducting fieldwork in the Musekese Lumbeya section of Kafue National Park. Image courtesy of Musekese Conservation. Mongabay: I understand that this area of Kafue National Park is an important leopard stronghold. Why is that? Chisomo M’hango: We have an ongoing project looking into this. We started our camera trapping efforts in 2022 to establish baseline estimates of leopard populations. We are now at a stage where we have enough data to be able to start looking into what variables are creating such an…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - At the Musekese Conservation research station, deep in Zambia’s Kafue National Park, trainee field ecologist Chisomo M’hango analyzes camera trap images of leopards, lions and wild dogs. - M’hango and colleagues have identified 95 individual leopards, one of the highest densities of this vulnerable species anywhere in Southern Africa. - The camera traps have caught relatively few lions, likely due to lack of prey in an area where widespread hunting of large antelopes has taken place for decades; M’hango says lion numbers are starting to rise, signaling renewed efforts to prevent poaching in the park and its buffer areas is bearing fruit. - There are also encouraging signs that populations of wild dogs are recovering, with the single pair monitored soon after Musekese’s research began in 2020 multiplying into three healthy packs of this gregarious endangered carnivore. authors: | ||
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World Chimpanzee Day: the strength — and fragility — of chimp memory 14 Jul 2025 11:14:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/world-chimpanzee-day-the-strength-and-fragility-of-chimp-memory/ author: Hayat Indriyatno dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: The more we try to understand chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, the more we find ourselves humbled by the richness and complexity of their lives — and of their intelligence. Today, on World Chimpanzee Day, we look back at some of the latest studies that reveal facets of these great apes’ long, powerful memories. Finding hidden ant nests Previous research has confirmed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the wild remember where their favorite fruit trees are, season after season. A recent study that monitored chimpanzees in Dindefelo Community Nature Reserve in Senegal has found chimps also remember locations of hidden underground ant nests for years. They repeatedly return to these sites, using their sight, smell, taste and touch to detect the availability of ants in the nests, Mongabay contributor Charles Mpaka reported in February 2025. “We realized that the fact that the chimpanzees in our study were going back to the same ant nests, even though these were almost never visible, was really important because it suggested that their repeated ant nest visits were not opportunistic, but rather that the chimpanzees relied on their memory to find the nests and revisit them over and over again,” said study co-author R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar. Remembering friends and family Another study found that chimpanzees also have rich, long social memories. In an experiment, zoo chimpanzees and bonobos were shown images of former group mates and of individuals who were strangers. The participating chimps and bonobos paid more attention to the known faces than…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The more we try to understand chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, the more we find ourselves humbled by the richness and complexity of their lives — and of their intelligence. Today, on World Chimpanzee Day, we look back at some of the latest studies that reveal facets of these great apes’ long, powerful memories. […] authors: | ||
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What’s holding back natural climate solutions? 14 Jul 2025 11:04:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/whats-holding-back-natural-climate-solutions/ 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. Natural climate solutions, or NCS, range from reforestation and agroforestry to wetland restoration, and have long been championed as low-cost, high-benefit pathways for reducing greenhouse gases. In theory, they could provide more than a third of the climate mitigation needed by 2030 to stay under 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) of warming above pre-industrial levels. But in practice, progress is stalling. A sweeping new study, led by Hilary Brumberg of the University of Colorado Boulder, U.S., reveals why. Drawing on 352 peer-reviewed papers from across 135 countries, researchers cataloged 2,480 documented barriers to implementing NCS. The obstacles aren’t ecological. Rather, they’re human: insufficient funding, patchy information, ineffective policies, and public skepticism. The result is a vast “implementation gap” between what is technically possible and what is politically, economically or socially feasible, the authors write. The analysis found that “lack of funding” was the most commonly cited constraint globally, identified in nearly half of all countries surveyed. Yet it rarely stood alone. Most regions face a tangle of interconnected hurdles. Constraints from different categories often co-occur, compounding difficulties: poor governance erodes trust; disinterest stems from unclear benefits; technical know-how is stymied by bureaucratic confusion. These patterns vary by region and type of intervention. Reforestation projects, for instance, face particularly high scrutiny over equity concerns, especially in the Global South, where land tenure insecurity and historical injustices run deep. Agroforestry and wetland restoration often struggle with…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. Natural climate solutions, or NCS, range from reforestation and agroforestry to wetland restoration, and have long been championed as low-cost, high-benefit pathways for reducing greenhouse gases. In theory, they could provide more than a third of the climate […] authors: | ||
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Extreme heat kills at least 2,300 in European cities, study estimates 14 Jul 2025 09:07:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/extreme-heat-kills-at-least-2300-in-european-cities-study-estimates/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Around 2,300 people died in 12 European cities due to an extreme heat wave that hit the region from June 23 to July 2, a rapid scientific analysis has found. Researchers also estimated that roughly 1,500 of those deaths, or 65%, were attributable to anthropogenic climate change. “Climate change has made it significantly hotter than it would have been, which in turn makes it a lot more dangerous,” Ben Clarke, a researcher at Imperial College London, told Reuters. The heat wave, which hit most of Europe and northern Asia in June and early July, was found to be 2-4° Celsius (3.6-7.2° Fahrenheit) hotter during the 10-day stretch than it would have been without fossil fuel-driven climate change in 11 of the 12 cities evaluated. The study’s authors looked at a dozen large metropolitan centers in Europe, including Rome, London, Paris and Frankfurt, and found that only Lisbon experienced a smaller climate-driven increase, of less than 2°C. Data on the actual number of observed deaths during the heat wave weren’t officially available at the time of the analysis, so the researchers estimated excess heat-related deaths that may have occurred during the 10-day period by using epidemiological models that establish the relationship between heat and deaths as well as historical mortality data. They estimate there were 2,305 excess heat-related deaths during the heat wave, with 1,504 deaths attributable to climate change. More than 80% of the deaths were estimated for those older than 65 years. While heat-related deaths tend to be underreported…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Around 2,300 people died in 12 European cities due to an extreme heat wave that hit the region from June 23 to July 2, a rapid scientific analysis has found. Researchers also estimated that roughly 1,500 of those deaths, or 65%, were attributable to anthropogenic climate change. “Climate change has made it significantly hotter than […] authors: | ||
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Rising heat and falling yields plague an Amazon island near COP30 host 14 Jul 2025 07:00:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/rising-heat-and-falling-yields-plague-an-amazon-island-near-cop30-host/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Anna Peres/O Liberal content:encoded: Leia em português. COMBU ISLAND, Brazil — Brazilian poet and songwriter Ruy Barata, born in 1920 in Santarém, in Brazil’s Amazonian state of Pará, once wrote ballads that captured the essence of ribeirinhos, the riverside people across the country. “This river is my street. Mine and yours, mururé,” he wrote, in lyrics that elegantly celebrate the traditions of communities living along riverbanks in the Amazon — a region where peoples, forests and rivers coexist in peace. Local inhabitants use the word mururé to designate several species of aquatic plants that can be easily seen in waterways throughout this part of Brazil. However, the natural life that once inspired Barata’s poetry is now under threat. The story takes us to Combu Island, a 10-minute boat ride from Pará’s capital, Belém. In November, the city will host the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30. But as the event draws near, the island is seen as a textbook example of the risks posed by unregulated human activity, biodiversity loss and shifting climate patterns. In a collaborative investigation by journalists and scientists, led by Brazil’s science-fostering Serrapilheira Institute and the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP), we examine how the deterioration of the Amazon Rainforest is interrupting vital environmental services — such as the upkeep of local biodiversity and preservation of water cycles — provided by the region. A stilt house in Combu, a typical residence of riverside communities in the Amazon. Image by Anna Peres/O Liberal. Combu Island is surrounded…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Combu Island is already warmer and drier than 40 years ago, leading to declining yields in açaí crops. - The Guamá River surrounding Combu is now experiencing unusual and prolonged periods of rising salinity, which impacts water quality and affects local aquatic life. - Local islanders expect COP30 to move beyond rhetorical discussions on measures to mitigate the damage that has already been done to places like Combu. authors: | ||
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Sharks didn’t rebound—so Mark Erdmann is putting them back 13 Jul 2025 12:42:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/sharks-didnt-rebound-so-mark-erdmann-is-putting-them-back/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For more than three decades, Mark Erdmann has worked where many only dream of diving—on the reefs and in the tangled mangroves of Indonesia’s farthest reaches. A marine biologist by training and a conservationist by necessity, Erdmann has spent much of his life documenting new species, persuading local communities to back marine protection, and fighting off the encroachment of extractive industries. His career, by his own account, has spanned more than 220 species discoveries, a handful of close encounters with crocodiles, and the creation of a new model for shark rewilding. Erdmann’s journey began in a remote island village off the coast of South Sulawesi in 1991, where he arrived as a Ph.D. student studying coral reef ecology. His neighbors, he quickly realized, were bomb fishers and shark finners. The shift from science to action was swift. “It was clear that more than science was needed; active protection was critical,” he recalls. That realization became a life’s work. As Vice President of Asia-Pacific Marine Programs at Conservation International and now Executive Director of ReShark and Shark Conservation Director at Re:wild, Erdmann has been at the forefront of efforts to transform marine protection from a top-down regulatory exercise to a bottom-up, community-owned endeavor. Few places showcase this as clearly as Raja Ampat, the archipelago off West Papua that has become the crown jewel of Indonesian marine conservation. Wayag lagoon release site in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat. Photo by Mark Erdmann. When Erdmann first visited Raja Ampat in 2001, the coral reefs were…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - For over 30 years, Mark Erdmann has combined scientific discovery with grassroots conservation in Indonesia, helping communities protect their reefs from destructive practices and documenting more than 220 new species. - As a leader behind Raja Ampat’s pioneering community-governed marine protected areas, Erdmann has shown how local stewardship can revive ecosystems—bringing back sharks, rays, and sustainable tourism. - Despite new threats like over-tourism and revived mining, Erdmann remains hopeful, pointing to rising public resistance, tech-enabled rewilding programs like ReShark, and a new generation of Indonesian conservationists. - Erdmann spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler during a voyage in the Pacific in June 2025. authors: | ||
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As exotic pet demands rise, invertebrates need trade protections too: Study 11 Jul 2025 22:13:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/as-exotic-pet-demands-rise-invertebrates-need-trade-protections-too-study/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Kristine Sabillo content:encoded: As the demand for butterflies, spiders, ants and other terrestrial invertebrates grows worldwide, researchers in a recent study say better policy and regulation coverage can help ensure sustainability. The researchers reviewed existing scientific studies that mention the trade in terrestrial invertebrates and found that most research focuses on the exotic pet trade, specifically of spiders and insects. The review also found that live invertebrates are traded to be kept as pets, for pet food, research, education, honey production, pollination services and entertainment such as beetle wrestling. Dead or preserved invertebrates are often traded as decorative ornaments, as food sources and in traditional medicine practices. The reviewed studies also showed that invertebrates are traded both physically in community markets, grocery and pet stores, but also traded on social media, pet store websites, international auction platforms and on the dark web. Sandra Altherr, a biologist and co-founder of German charity Pro Wildlife who wasn’t involved in the study, told Mongabay by email the findings weren’t surprising. “We have been observing the exotic pet trade in Europe for more than 25 years and have indeed noticed an increasing shift in the market towards tarantulas, scorpions, ants, praying mantises, bugs, or crabs as exotic pets – for terrariums or aquariums.” Alice Hughes, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong who was also not part of the research, told Mongabay by email that such studies “provide a critical baseline to understand dimensions of trade, which provide the basis for monitoring, and hopefully better…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: As the demand for butterflies, spiders, ants and other terrestrial invertebrates grows worldwide, researchers in a recent study say better policy and regulation coverage can help ensure sustainability. The researchers reviewed existing scientific studies that mention the trade in terrestrial invertebrates and found that most research focuses on the exotic pet trade, specifically of spiders […] authors: | ||
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Nearly three-quarters of solar and wind projects are being built in China 11 Jul 2025 16:46:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/nearly-three-quarters-of-solar-and-wind-projects-are-being-built-in-china/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: China is rapidly scaling up its solar and wind energy infrastructure, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all utility-scale projects currently under construction worldwide, according to a new report from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). With 510 gigawatts (GW) already under construction and a total pipeline of over 1.3 terawatts (TW), China is consolidating its position as a dominant force in the global energy transition. This acceleration follows years of sustained growth. As of early 2025, China’s operating solar and wind capacity has reached 1.4 TW—equivalent to 44% of the global total and more than the combined capacity of the European Union, United States, and India. In the first quarter of this year, wind and solar supplied 22.5% of the country’s electricity, overtaking thermal power capacity for the first time. The majority of China’s new capacity is coming from centralized utility-scale projects, particularly in northern and western regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, which host nearly 40% of the country’s planned solar and wind capacity. In 2024 alone, China added 278 GW of solar and 46 GW of wind. Offshore wind is emerging as a growing component of China’s renewable energy mix. From under 5 GW in 2018, offshore wind capacity has expanded to 42.7 GW as of March 2025—more than half of global offshore capacity in construction. The technology is gaining traction in coastal provinces like Jiangsu and Guangdong, which together account for over half of the country’s installed offshore wind. These regions are also piloting initiatives to link…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: China is rapidly scaling up its solar and wind energy infrastructure, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all utility-scale projects currently under construction worldwide, according to a new report from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). With 510 gigawatts (GW) already under construction and a total pipeline of over 1.3 terawatts (TW), China is consolidating its position […] authors: | ||
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U’wa people await implementation of landmark court ruling against Colombian gov’t 11 Jul 2025 15:18:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/uwa-people-await-implementation-of-landmark-court-ruling-against-colombian-govt/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Antonio José Paz Cardona content:encoded: On Dec. 20, 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights publicly announced a landmark decision against the Colombian government and found it responsible for multiple human rights violations against the U’wa Indigenous people. In a more than 200-page document, the court determined there were violations of the right of access to a healthy environment, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the self-determination of Indigenous peoples, collective property, political participation, access to information, participation in cultural life, children’s rights and judicial protection. Months after the ruling, Indigenous communities are insisting on its implementation. The U’wa Nation is located in eastern Colombia, across the departments of Arauca, Santander, Casanare, Northern Santander and Boyacá. The U’wa people have defended their ancestral territory and culture since the early 1990s, confronting tourism projects and the extraction of natural resources, such as oil and gas. U’wa lawyer Juan Gabriel Jerez Tegria emphasized that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Colombian government to complete a number of tasks within two years: title the territory, clarify colonial titles, carry out a participatory process for the current extractive projects and guarantee that the projects located within in the U’wa reservation, or in adjacent areas, do not impact the U’wa people’s right to participate in their cultural life. A 2023 hearing in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Image courtesy of EarthRights International. “For us, this decision means that our demands and our rights were acknowledged. This means that there is a precedent that allows [us] to make…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The U’wa Indigenous people have waited almost 27 years for a decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to acknowledge the systematic violation of their rights by the Colombian government. - The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled on Dec. 20, 2024 that Colombia violated their rights, including access to a healthy environment and children’s rights. - Since the 1990s, the U’wa people have reported exploration and drilling for oil and gas in their territory. This activity, which has been done without free, prior and informed consent, has affected the lives of the U’wa people. - The U’wa territory partially overlaps with El Cocuy National Park and with oil and gas blocks of great interest to Colombia. authors: | ||
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Locals fear Chile’s new port project for green energy will disrupt ecosystems 11 Jul 2025 14:59:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/locals-fear-chiles-new-port-project-for-green-energy-will-disrupt-ecosystems/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: The Chilean government has recently approved a new port project in Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic Region, an area that recently attracted a lot of attention due to its enormous green energy potential. The port will transport infrastructure to expand green hydrogen, a colorless gas produced without fossil fuels, and allow for faster and more efficient transport of salmon from the farms in the region, said a government official. Meanwhile, some Indigenous residents and environmental organizations are raising concerns about potential environmental impacts of the port on the region’s marine ecosystems and species, such as humpback whales. In April, the Regional Commission for the Use of Coastal Border (CRUBC in Spanish) unanimously approved the Cabo Negro port project, proposed by the investment company Inversiones PPG SpA, which will be located 28 kilometers (17.3 miles) from the regional capital of Punta Arenas. A company presentation seen by Mongabay said it will include a 400-meter (1,312-foot) dock for loading and unloading supplies and servicing vessels, along with a 2-hectare (5-acre) landfill. The total length of the pier is approximately 1,100 m (3,609 ft) from the beach. Jan Gysling, the project manager for Nortev SpA, a company that is supporting PPG in the development of the project, told Mongabay that, although it has not yet been defined, the total area of the project will most likely be approximately 30 hectares (74 acres) of land and 5 hectares (12.3 acres) of sea. Local officials expect the port to help boost industries producing green hydrogen,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new private port for public use near Punta Arenas, a city in southern Chile’s Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, has been approved for multipurpose services, such as the development of green hydrogen and salmon industries. - The region has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its enormous green energy potential. - The company concerned told Mongabay that this port will reduce the need for developers of green hydrogen and other projects in the region to build their own private ports as there is currently a limited capacity. - Environmental organizations and local residents fear the port’s construction and operations will impact marine ecosystems and boost industries that will likely cause greater environmental impacts, such as contamination from salmon farms. authors: | ||
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From cattle to crayfish, human pressures mount on Zambia’s Kafue River 11 Jul 2025 14:51:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/from-cattle-to-crayfish-human-pressures-mount-on-zambias-kafue-river/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: KAFUE, Zambia — “Three cattle on the left, 20 elephants on the right,” shouts the expedition leader from the bow seat of the first of five canoes snaking along a stretch of the Kafue River in central Zambia. The cattle are grazing near one of the many small farms and settlements that dot the river’s southern bank. On the northern bank lies the Lunga-Luswishi Game Management Area (GMA). Originally designated as buffer zones between populated areas and Kafue National Park, at least half of the area within the nine GMAs has now been settled and converted to farmland and homesteads, according to park officials. At the front of the lead canoe sits expedition leader and biologist Mike Ross, binoculars around his neck. He calls out observations, which are recorded by fellow scientists Lauren Searle and Katongo Kampamba, who briefly lower their paddles to log the data while their respective boat captains, brothers Vincent and Earnest Ifunga, continue to steer and propel the second and third canoes downstream. The team records fishing camps, nets and traps along the banks; farming activity and people traveling on foot or bicycle; boats, water pumps, buildings, invasive plants — and wildlife: mammals, reptiles and birds. Grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) gather at the edge of an island in the middle of the river. Waterbirds, and others like white-fronted bee-eaters that need steep river banks in which to build their nesting colonies, are a key component of the data the team collects to measure the ecological…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A group of scientists paddled the length of Zambia’s Kafue River to document ecological pressures, including invasive species, habitat changes and human encroachment. - Australian red-clawed crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) have infested the river, outcompeting native species, disrupting fisheries and altering fishing practices. The crayfish invasion spans nearly the entire 1,600-kilometer (995-mile) river, traced to an original introduction in 2001. - Overgrazing and invasive plants like the giant sensitive bush are transforming some riparian zones, threatening biodiversity, including endemic species like the Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis). - Researchers with The Wilderness Project’s Great Spine of Africa project are using standardized field methods to monitor river health and the spread of invasive species to inform future conservation efforts. authors: | ||
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Coral once feared extinct rediscovered in the Galápagos after 25 years 11 Jul 2025 10:36:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/coral-once-feared-extinct-rediscovered-in-the-galapagos-after-25-years/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Wellington’s solitary coral, a species thought to be extinct for more than two decades, was rediscovered in 2024 near Tagus Cove in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, according to a recent study. Over multiple dives in 2024, scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, and the California Academy of Sciences spotted more than 290 live colonies of Wellington’s solitary coral (Rhizopsammia wellingtoni) in several locations off Isabela and Fernandina islands, including four sites where the species had never been recorded before. “There were underwater handshakes and shouts of excitement,” Terry Gosliner, a senior curator at the California Academy of Sciences and study co-author, told Mongabay Latam contributor Ana Cristina Alvarado. “We didn’t just rediscover the species, we saw healthy colonies reproducing. It was one of the most exciting underwater moments of my career.” Unlike most reef-building corals, R. wellingtoni is a solitary coral, meaning each polyp lives independently. The species, found only in the Galápagos Islands, also doesn’t rely on sunlight or symbiotic algae to live, meaning it can survive in deeper and darker waters. The species was almost completely wiped out following the 1982-1983 El Niño warming event, leading the study’s authors to infer that it’s sensitive to increases in surface water temperature. However, between August 2000 and March 2023, water temperatures in the region were cooler than average due to a La Niña event, which may have allowed the coral to bounce back, the researchers say. They also speculate that that rather than going extinct, the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Wellington’s solitary coral, a species thought to be extinct for more than two decades, was rediscovered in 2024 near Tagus Cove in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, according to a recent study. Over multiple dives in 2024, scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, and the California Academy of Sciences spotted more than […] authors: | ||
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Study links surge in lightning disasters in Bangladesh to transboundary air pollution 11 Jul 2025 10:17:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/study-links-surge-in-lightning-disasters-in-bangladesh-to-transboundary-air-pollution/ author: Nandithachandraprakash dc:creator: Mahadi Al Hasnat content:encoded: Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, is witnessing a troubling rise in lightning-related deaths. Scientists point to a strong link between increased lightning activity and worsening air pollution, much of which is carried in from across its borders. A new study, which analyzed six years of lightning and air quality data (2015-20), has found a strong correlation between lightning frequency and elevated concentrations of airborne dust and sulfate particles. These pollutants peak during the pre-monsoon months, particularly April and May — also the time when lightning strikes are most frequent. “We identified two major pollutants — dust and sulfate — that help create the right conditions for more lightning during Bangladesh’s pre-monsoon season,” says Ashraf Dewan, co-author of the study and an associate professor at Australia’s Curtin University. He explains that these pollutants act alongside atmospheric factors like Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), altering how clouds form and making it easier for electrical charges to build up inside storm clouds, ultimately leading to more lightning. The lightnings strike over Bangladesh, but these pollutant particles are not all homegrown. The study links the uptick in lightnings to the transport of large volumes of dust and sulfate aerosols from agricultural burning and industrial emissions in northern and western India, carried into Bangladesh by upper-level westerlies. The study found that, during peak lightning season, dust levels were 88% higher and sulfate levels 51% higher than during the secondary peak in August-September. However, Dewan stresses, this isn’t a simple “more pollution equals…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Air pollution — especially from transboundary dust and sulfate particles — is intensifying lightning activity in Bangladesh, particularly during the pre-monsoon season. Studies show that these pollutants, mostly coming in from northern and western India, alter cloud dynamics and increase lightning frequency. - Bangladesh records the highest lightning-related death density in South Asia, with over 4,000 deaths since 2010. Vulnerable rural populations with limited infrastructure and outdoor labor during harvest seasons are victims of these fatalities. - Experts urge Bangladesh to strengthen early warning systems, improve air quality monitoring, and reduce both domestic and cross-border pollution through coordinated policies targeting traffic emissions, industrial sources and open burning. authors: | ||
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Energy transition boom drives rise in lawsuits against alleged rights abuses 11 Jul 2025 09:26:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/energy-transition-boom-drives-rise-in-lawsuits-against-alleged-rights-abuses/ author: Kristine Sabillo dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: A new analysis has found that lawsuits against transition mineral mining firms and renewable energy companies are increasing worldwide. The NGO Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) in its new report published July 1 notes that since 2009, its transition litigation tracking tool has documented 95 legal cases filed against companies linked to the renewable energy value chain — from transition minerals extraction to wind, solar and hydro installations — for allegedly violating human rights. Nearly half the cases were filed by Indigenous peoples, while the rest were filed by local communities and human rights defenders. Three-quarters of the lawsuits were filed starting 2018, indicating a recent rise in such complaints. Most of the cases seek to stop or suspend the project, alleging human rights violations, environmental abuses, and the failure to consult local communities, particularly their right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). More than half (53%) of the 95 lawsuits were initiated in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by North America (16%), Africa (11%), Europe (9%), Asia (8%), and Australia and Oceania (3%). Elodie Aba, senior legal researcher at BHRRC, told Mongabay’s Aimee Gabay that people affected by transition mineral projects are increasingly turning to courts to uphold their rights. “Most of the time, litigation is going to be the last resort for them. But when there’s no other choice, we can see that people are more aware of their rights now and [are] actually using the tools at their disposal for that,” she said.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A new analysis has found that lawsuits against transition mineral mining firms and renewable energy companies are increasing worldwide. The NGO Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) in its new report published July 1 notes that since 2009, its transition litigation tracking tool has documented 95 legal cases filed against companies linked to the […] authors: | ||
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Roberto Zolho, conservationist who helped restore Mozambique’s wildlife following its civil war, has died at 65. 10 Jul 2025 18:09:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/roberto-zolho-conservationist-who-helped-restore-mozambiques-wildlife-following-its-civil-war-has-died-at-65/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For a man who spent his life studying the movements of wildlife, Roberto Zolho was most at peace when not moving at all—drifting in a kayak down the Guacheni channels, pausing to admire an egret, a kingfisher, or a sunlit curve in the reeds. In these secluded corners of Mozambique’s wetlands, he was not a former government official or a decorated scientist. He was simply a witness, content to observe the “amazing birdlife,” as he once wrote with characteristic understatement. Zolho’s legacy lies most visibly in Gorongosa National Park, once a paradise gutted by civil war. Appointed its administrator in 1996, he inherited a landscape where over 90% of large mammals had vanished. Rather than despair, he set about recovery with meticulous care—counting what was left, building systems for what might return, and working closely with the local community. It was his 2005 proposal for species reintroduction that laid the groundwork for one of the most remarkable wildlife restorations in history. By 2025, Gorongosa’s plains were again teeming with tens of thousands of animals, its predators prowling and its forests mending. Zolho saw conservation not as an exercise in nostalgia, nor as a fortress to be built against humanity. His career, spanning more than three decades across Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, and Australia, reflected a broader conviction: that biodiversity could only endure if local communities shared in its benefits. Whether coordinating climate resilience programs or leading cross-border conservation corridors, he insisted on integrating ecological goals with the aspirations of rural…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: For a man who spent his life studying the movements of wildlife, Roberto Zolho was most at peace when not moving at all—drifting in a kayak down the Guacheni channels, pausing to admire an egret, a kingfisher, or a sunlit curve in the reeds. In these secluded corners of Mozambique’s wetlands, he was not a […] authors: | ||
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Endangered Andean cat is imperiled by climate change and its solutions 10 Jul 2025 14:58:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/ author: Glenn Scherer dc:creator: Sean Mowbray content:encoded: Many conservationists dedicated to protecting the endangered Andean cat have never seen one in the wild, with the species known to science by just a few photos until the late 1990s. And it took Juan Reppucci, leader of the Andean Cat Alliance’s In the Field 24/7 program, nine years to spot one of these elusive cats in its natural habitat. The Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) is one of South America’s most endangered small cat species, roaming the high Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. About the size of a domestic cat, it resembles a miniature snow leopard. Thick fur and an elongated tail make it well adapted to the harsh alpine environment it calls home and for chasing its favorite prey — vizcacha, a rabbit-resembling rodent — across rocky landscapes. Reppucci’s sighting happened on a very “weird” day, he recalls. While out looking for a radio collar that had fallen from a Pampas cat (L. colocolo) in Jujuy province, Argentina, the researcher’s dog Monty (an ever-present companion and guide on field trips) got spooked by a herd of llamas and went missing. Juan Reppucci and his dog Monty, who acts as both field trip companion and guide for AGA research teams. “If it’s dark, I follow the dog because he knows the way,” Reppucci says. Image courtesy of AGA. Reppucci walked for hours searching for both the collar and Monty. Eventually he reached a cliff edge and paused to catch his breath. “I was super tired, because I was…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Andean cat is an endangered and elusive wildcat species found in the high Andes Mountain regions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. - The species is exceedingly rare across its entire range and researchers must endure high altitudes, reduced oxygen levels and adverse weather conditions to study and monitor widely scattered populations. - Climate change and our attempts to curb it both put this small cat at risk. As the world warms, the Andean cat’s cold mountain habitat shrinks ever smaller. Global warming is also driving up demand for lithium and other rare metals for electric vehicles, with extractive industries pushing ever deeper into alpine zones. - With low numbers and low density, addressing local threats is vital to protecting felid populations, making every single Andean cat important for species survival, researchers say. Innovative local community programs have contributed to conserving this small Latin American cat. authors: | ||
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Brazil court halts plan to blast 35-km river rock formation hosting endangered species 10 Jul 2025 14:41:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/brazil-court-halts-plan-to-blast-35-km-river-rock-formation-hosting-endangered-species/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: A federal court in Brazil has blocked the start of planned explosions along a 35-kilometer (22-mile) rock formation called Pedral do Lourenço in the Tocantins River, pausing a major infrastructure project until a judge can inspect the site. The decision suspends the federal government’s attempt to clear the way for large cargo ships to travel year-round through the Tocantins-Araguaia waterway, which runs from the Cerrado savanna in central Brazil, an agricultural stronghold, north to the Amazonian state of Pará. “The suspension is necessary to avoid irreversible damage,” the judge wrote in his June 26 ruling, calling the rock formation in the Tocantins River an area of “high socio-environmental relevance.” The Pedral do Lourenço rock formation is considered a “significant refuge” for turtles such as the Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis expansa), at least 10 endangered fish species, as well as the critically endangered Araguaian river dolphin (Inia araguaiaensis). One catfish identified in the region, Baryancistrus longipinnis, exists nowhere else in the world. Establishing the Tocantins-Araguaia waterway, which includes blasting rocks and dredging the river before and after the formation, is expected to take 36 months and cost 1 billion reais ($178 million), according to Brazil’s National Department of Transport Infrastructure. Pedral do Lourenço currently blocks the passage of large ships during the dry season, June to December, when water levels are lower than the rest of the year. The federal government says opening up the waterway would allow the equivalent of around 500,000 trucks to traverse the Araguaia and Tocantins rivers…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A federal court in Brazil has blocked the start of planned explosions along a 35-kilometer (22-mile) rock formation called Pedral do Lourenço in the Tocantins River, pausing a major infrastructure project until a judge can inspect the site. The decision suspends the federal government’s attempt to clear the way for large cargo ships to travel […] authors: | ||
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Suspicions surround international legal trade in Galápagos iguanas 10 Jul 2025 13:29:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/suspicions-surround-international-legal-trade-in-galapagos-iguanas/ author: Alexandrapopescu dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: In 2013, when Sandra Altherr, co-founder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, began looking into the reptile trade in Europe, she wondered why people paid thousands of euros for little-known reptiles whose trade wasn’t regulated by CITES, the international agreement on wildlife trade. On investigating further, she found many of the expensive reptiles sold were protected in the countries of their origin. While they were illegal to trade in their range countries, they could still be smuggled out and sold internationally, thanks to regulatory loopholes in EU wildlife trade regulations. What particularly struck Altherr were ads by an individual in Switzerland selling nationally protected reptiles from various parts of the world, including iguanas from the Galápagos, which have been illegal to remove from the archipelago since 1959, with the creation of the Galápagos National Park. “No one at the time in Europe even kept these animals. … It was clear he was special,” Altherr told Mongabay, referring to the individual that caught her eye. “Then we followed him, and collected data on him.” That digital sleuthing, which lasted for more than a decade, has now uncovered a “true crime” story of transnational trade in live Galápagos iguanas sought after by reptile collectors and private zoos worldwide, who are willing to pay top dollar. “Galápagos iguanas are at the top end of black market prices for reptiles,” Altherr said. In a recent study, Altherr and her colleagues — including herpetologists, wildlife trade experts and conservation scientists — present the case of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The mega-diverse Galápagos archipelago is home to more than 9,000 species, most of them endemic, including four species of threatened iguanas. - A new study has uncovered how traffickers obtain valid CITES permits for trafficked animals — Galápagos iguanas in this case — and trade them legally, highlighting the role of national CITES authorities in enabling illegal wildlife trade. - The study identifies a transnational trafficking network of Galápagos iguanas, with Uganda being a hub for the “legal” trade and raises questions on the origins of these animals. - Conservationists urge all CITES parties to exercise caution when issuing future permits for endemic species and to consult with countries where they are native. They also recommend canceling all previously issued export permits for Galápagos iguanas and refraining from issuing future export permits. authors: | ||
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How private funding helped one NGO survive the USAID cuts 10 Jul 2025 13:01:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-private-funding-helped-one-ngo-survive-the-usaid-cuts/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: Dramatic cuts to USAID funding earlier this year have slammed conservation organizations around the world. But some NGOs, like World Neighbors, have been able to continue their conservation projects with little disruption — thanks in part to their reliance on private rather than government funding. This approach, which focuses on funding from family foundations and corporate grants, has so far allowed World Neighbors to weather the unstable financial environment, Kate Schecter, the organization’s CEO, told Mongabay. Only its program in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which received funding from USAID, was impacted. “We don’t get millions and millions of dollars from these individual donors,” she added. “However, their passion and their commitment to our mission lasts much longer than a one- or two-year grant that you might get from USAID.” In the Peruvian Andes, WN found that its project to help communities build nine qochas, artificial water bodies constructed using ancient agricultural techniques to collect and store water, faced little disruption. The project, still ongoing, has helped save more than 56,000 cubic meters (12.3 million gallons) of water, improving water access for 31,664 people in 44 communities across the regions of Apurímac and Ayacucho. “We’re not a one-sector organization,” Schecter said. “We don’t just focus on water or agriculture. We believe that if these communities are going to be self-sustaining and if they’re going to be able to operate without our support, we need to address all the issues in the community.” For these purposes, private donors work because they allow the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - After the U.S. government announced large cuts to USAID funding earlier this year, NGOs that relied on it were left in a state of uncertainty, with some needing to suspend activities or lay off staff. - NGOs like World Neighbors that relied largely on private funding say this focus comes with several advantages and has helped it continue its work with little interruption after the USAID cuts. - While government funding is often vulnerable to fluctuations in national politics, private funding also comes with its own challenges, such as smaller grants and more competition. - Experts say a blend of government and private funding could be the best option for international NGOs seeking to support Indigenous peoples and other local communities to conserve or restore their lands. authors: | ||
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Mining spill highlights need to protect Zambia’s vital Kafue River & its fish 10 Jul 2025 12:04:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mining-spill-highlights-need-to-protect-zambias-vital-kafue-river-its-fish/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia – Biologist Mike Ross, balanced in a canoe beneath a star-filled sky in central Zambia, slaps the water with a net attached to a wooden pole and draws it toward him. In the net are several small silver fish. At dawn the next morning, as three snowy white cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) glide through the mist hanging low over the Kafue River, Ross and fellow scientists Lauren Searle and Katongo Kampamba identify the catch: among them, a banded tilapia (Tilapia sparrmanii), an orangefin minnow (Enteromius eutaenia) and a silver robber (Micralestes acutidens). All three are native to the Kafue — Zambia’s longest river — and documenting them contributes to a growing database of the river’s biodiversity, now under increasing threat. In February, a dam holding acidic mine waste near Kitwe, hundreds of kilometers upstream from the where the trio of scientists now work near Kafue National Park, failed. It released more than 50 million liters (13.2 million gallons) of acidic, heavy metal-laden sludge into a Kafue tributary. As the toxic plume moved downstream, it left at least one hippo dead, as well as numerous crocodiles, fish and monitor lizards. Zambia Air Force helicopters dumped lime into the river near the spill and upstream of the park in an effort to neutralize the acid. Biologist Katongo Kampamba identifies a fish caught at one of the team’s campsites along the Kafue river, while TWP’s Kyle Gordon removes a clipping from one of the fish’s fins for DNA analysis.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Researchers from The Wilderness Project (TWP) are documenting fish diversity along Zambia’s Kafue River to build a DNA reference library. - The TWP scientists are collecting fin clippings and environmental DNA to help identify species, including some potentially new to science, without needing to catch them in the future. - The river, a vital source of food and income for local communities, suffered from major pollution in February when a mine waste dam failed upstream. - Protected stretches of the river within Kafue National Park offer crucial refuge for fish and other aquatic life, enabling recolonization after environmental shocks like toxic spills. authors: | ||
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Rare pygmy hippo born in Kansas zoo offers hope for endangered species 10 Jul 2025 11:58:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/rare-pygmy-hippo-born-in-kansas-zoo-offers-hope-for-endangered-species/ author: Hayat Indriyatno dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: A zoo in the U.S. state of Kansas has welcomed the birth of a healthy baby pygmy hippopotamus, raising hope for a species that’s becoming rare in the wild. The yet-to-be-named male pygmy hippo calf, born June 26, is the fifth offspring of parents Pluto and Posie since their arrival at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in the city of Goddard from different zoos in 2014. “Posie is an attentive mother, nursing well and keeping the baby close — a true professional,” Sierra Smith, a keeper at Tanganyika, said in a statement. The zoo had previously announced the birth of another male calf to the same couple in December last year. Pygmy hippos (Choeropsis liberiensis) are the lesser known — and more threatened — cousins of the common hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius). While the latter is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, pygmy hippos, named because of their much smaller size, are categorized as endangered. In the wild, pygmy hippos are only found deep inside the forests of four West African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. While the latest IUCN assessment, from 2015, puts the species’ population at roughly 2,500 individuals, “we don’t really know” the true numbers, Neus Estela, a technical specialist with Fauna & Flora in Liberia previously told Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance. Moreover, the forests where the small hippos live have experienced deforestation and are all fragmented, isolating the hippos and preventing gene flow, Hance reported. In Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire, for example, gold…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A zoo in the U.S. state of Kansas has welcomed the birth of a healthy baby pygmy hippopotamus, raising hope for a species that’s becoming rare in the wild. The yet-to-be-named male pygmy hippo calf, born June 26, is the fifth offspring of parents Pluto and Posie since their arrival at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in […] authors: | ||
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Iconic Brazil nut crop plunges after extreme drought, skyrocketing prices 10 Jul 2025 11:58:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/iconic-brazil-nut-crop-plunges-after-extreme-drought-skyrocketing-prices/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Fernanda WenzelKarla Mendes content:encoded: KARIPUNA INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil — Each year, the rainforest communities of Brazil eagerly await the arrival of harvest season for Brazil nuts, which typically begins in November and goes on until March. Also known as Pará nuts or Amazonian chestnuts, the seed is the primary source of income for many extractivist, Indigenous and riverine communities, who spend the remainder of the year living on small farms. “The money from the nuts is used to support the family, build houses, and buy food, shoes and clothes,” Elziane Ribeiro de Souza, from the Cajari Extractive Reserve in Amapá state, told Mongabay by phone. “When possible, it is used to buy a motorcycle, a car or a small boat. We survive on it. The nut is a sustainable product of the community.” Souza lives in Água Branca do Cajari, one of the 13 communities inside the extractive reserve, known in Brazil as a Resex, that’s dedicated to collecting Brazil nuts. This year, however, they collected 70% less than expected. That’s according to data from Embrapa, Brazil’s federal agricultural research company that runs the NewCast project, which assists four Amazonian communities working on nut harvesting. The shortage has already led to a sharp price surge. In March 2025, a 20-liter (5.3-gallon) haul of nuts cost 220 reais ($39.70), almost four times higher than usual. “The harvest here was very poor, and we think it’s because of the weather,” Souza said . Losses have also occurred in other parts of the rainforest, with some communities…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Communities in the Amazon reported severe cuts of up to 80% of Brazil nut crops, with some territories collecting “not even a single nut.” - The nut tree, which can live up to 800 years, is crucial for forest economies and ecosystems, but is increasingly vulnerable to extreme climate events, such as the historic droughts of 2023 and 2024. - Sold worldwide, the Brazil nut’s price soared fourfold, prompting experts to warn of market instability if buyers abandon it, urging recognition of their ecological value and continued inclusion in product lines. authors: | ||
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Inside Panama’s gamble to save the Darién 10 Jul 2025 11:21:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/inside-panamas-gamble-to-save-the-darien/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the dense, humid expanse of the Darién Gap — a forbidding swath of rainforest bridging Panama and Colombia — a tentative transformation is underway. Once synonymous with lawlessness and unchecked migration, this biologically rich frontier is now the focus of an ambitious conservation push by Panama’s government, reports Mongabay’s Maxwell Radwin. Since President José Mulino took office last July, Panama has poured resources into the region. The Ministry of Environment, in partnership with NGOs like Global Conservation, has trained and deployed 30 new guards to Darién National Park, increasing the total to 52. Equipped with Starlink satellite communications, smartphones and GPS mapping tools, the rangers now cover more terrain than ever before. “We now have more equipment, more personnel, and we can cover more area,” said Segundo Sugasti, director of the park. These steps are part of a broader campaign to regain control over a region long shaped by external pressures: migration, illegal logging, gold mining, and land grabbing for agriculture. This year alone, two major raids by SENAFRONT, a militarized police unit, dismantled illegal gold mining camps that had generated millions in profits while polluting waterways with mercury and phosphorus. Meanwhile, efforts to regulate logging are showing signs of traction. A moratorium on new timber permits, extended through 2029, has silenced many sawmills in the province. Dozens of forest technicians, many of them recent graduates, have been dispatched to remote Indigenous…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the dense, humid expanse of the Darién Gap — a forbidding swath of rainforest bridging Panama and Colombia — a tentative transformation is underway. Once synonymous with lawlessness and unchecked migration, this biologically rich frontier is now […] authors: | ||
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Scientists describe three new frog species from Peruvian Andes 10 Jul 2025 10:14:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/scientists-describe-three-new-frog-species-from-peruvian-andes/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Kristine Sabillo content:encoded: Peruvian scientists have identified three new-to-science frog species in the Andes, highlighting the mountains’ wealth of biodiversity, according to a recent study. The three species have been named Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi and P. yonke. “They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” study lead author Germán Chávez, from the Peruvian Institute of Herpetology (IPH), said in a statement. Between 2021 and 2024, Chávez and his colleagues embarked on several challenging expeditions around the remote Cordillera de Huancabamba, a rugged range of the Andes in northwestern Peru. During each nightly hike of five to six hours, the researchers would scan the ground, vegetation and water edges with headlamps for amphibians. This ultimately led them to find the three previously unknown frog species. The mountain range serves as a natural corridor for wildlife and is home to “many unique amphibian species,” the authors write. “Many of these mountain ridges are isolated, with no roads and extreme terrain,” Ivan Wong, study co-author from IPH, said in the statement. “The weather shifts within minutes, and the steep cliffs make every step a challenge. It’s no wonder so few scientists have worked here before. But that’s exactly why there’s still so much to find.” P. chinguelas was found on a cliffside of Cerro Chinguelas, the mountain it’s named after. The frog has distinctive, prominent wart-like bumps and makes a high-pitched “peep.” The male frogs the team analyzed were around 3.5 centimeters (1.4…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Peruvian scientists have identified three new-to-science frog species in the Andes, highlighting the mountains’ wealth of biodiversity, according to a recent study. The three species have been named Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi and P. yonke. “They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” […] authors: | ||
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Indonesian civil society urges probe after payout for mine recovery that never happened 10 Jul 2025 07:44:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/indonesian-civil-society-urges-probe-after-payout-for-mine-recovery-that-never-happened/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Muhibar Sobary Ardan content:encoded: SAMARINDA, Indonesia — The prosecution of a former head of mining in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province could reveal wider misuse of environmental restoration funds across the country’s coal heartland, a prominent environmental lawyer said in June. “I see that there’s the potential for there to be others, so I recommend that law enforcement officers audit all these mining pits,” said Muhammad Muhdar, an environmental lawyer at Mulawarman University in Samarinda, the provincial capital. Last month, the East Kalimantan prosecutor’s office announced it would charge Amrullah, the head of the provincial mining agency, in connection with an alleged decade-old conspiracy pertaining to coal miner CV Arjuna. Located in the east of Borneo Island, East Kalimantan accounts for more coal production than any other province in Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal. Coal production across Indonesia increased to 831 million metric tons in 2024, an all-time high. Amrullah had served as head of the energy and minerals department in East Kalimantan from 2010-2018. Arjuna operated a 1,452-hectare (3,588-acre) coal mine in Makroman village, within the Samarinda city limits, on the east coast of Borneo. The company was required by law to conduct environmental reclamation work to seal the mine on reaching the end of its operating permit. “To my knowledge, this is probably the first case where someone has been charged in relation to corruption of reclamation funds in East Kalimantan,” Muhdar said. “So it would be good for us to jointly monitor the process in order to assist our…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The former head of the East Kalimantan provincial mining agency is facing corruption charges, after he allegedly disbursed a guarantee payment used for environmental restoration to a company in East Kalimantan province. - Muhammad Muhdar, an environmental lawyer at Mulawarman University in Samarinda, the provincial capital, told Mongabay that gaps in land rehabilitation of closed mining pits are so extensive that there’s potential for further unlawful activity to come to light. - Data from the Mining Advocacy Network, a civil society organization known as Jatam, showed more than 1,700 former coal mine sites in East Kalimantan province, and that around 39 people had died in the excavations, most of them children. authors: | ||
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Community patrolling reduces crime numbers in the Amazon, study shows 10 Jul 2025 04:17:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/community-patrolling-reduces-crime-numbers-in-the-amazon-study-shows/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Fernanda Biasoli content:encoded: A study conducted in the Brazilian Amazon has found that community-based volunteer patrolling efforts in two protected areas were associated with an 80% reduction in recorded environmental crimes from 2003-13. During the same period, there was no clear decline in environmental violations detected by government-led operations outside those protected areas, suggesting that community-based patrols were more effective. For the study, researchers analyzed data collected between 2003 and 2013 by community patrol officers in 12 territorial units in two protected areas: Mamirauá and Amanã sustainable development reserves in Amazonas state. The data were recorded as part of the Voluntary Environmental Agents (VEA) program that began in 1995 and engaged local people to voluntarily patrol their territory to complement the federal surveillance and monitoring system. During the years analyzed, locals carried out 19,957 patrols, recording crimes in 1,188 of them. Overall, VEA program members recorded 1,260 environmental crimes, the majority related to fishing and hunting infractions. For comparison, researchers also analyzed government inspections of environmental crimes recorded by government-led enforcement operations between 2002 and 2012 in areas outside the reserves. During this period, authorities carried out 69 operations, detecting 917 crimes across all inspections. The decade of community patrols coincided with an 80% decline in recorded environmental crimes in 11 of 12 areas analyzed, the study found. By contrast, the government-led inspections were not associated with clear reductions in detected crimes over time. This difference between the two “underscores the importance of advocating for community-driven interventions” even beyond protected areas, the authors…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A study conducted in the Brazilian Amazon has found that community-based volunteer patrolling efforts in two protected areas were associated with an 80% reduction in recorded environmental crimes from 2003-13. During the same period, there was no clear decline in environmental violations detected by government-led operations outside those protected areas, suggesting that community-based patrols were […] authors: | ||
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Oil and plastic pollution from shipwreck raises concerns, legal scrutiny in India 09 Jul 2025 18:15:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/oil-and-plastic-pollution-from-shipwreck-raises-concerns-legal-scrutiny-in-india/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Max Martin content:encoded: As shiny, pearl-like white plastic pellets rode wave after wave and piled up on the beaches of Thiruvananthapuram in India’s southern state of Kerala, local residents were first bemused, then baffled. Some, more enterprising than others, began collecting them in sacks with help from the local police — a first step in heading off what many fear could potentially become an environmental “catastrophe.” While the oil slick from the MSC ELSA-3 — a Liberia-flagged cargo vessel that sank off Kerala’s coast in late May — was reportedly contained in a few days, it marked only the beginning of an unfolding environmental disaster. Within days, the scale of the crisis began to surface — quite literally. Plastic pellets, dirty debris, sacks and beams of wood began washing ashore. Containers were found along the coast, with some even catching fire in Kollam district. Plastic pellets, also known as nurdles, began washing up along Kerala’s southern beaches and drifting steadily towards the shores of Kanyakumari, mainland India’s southernmost town. Experts were able to spot and contain the patches of oil slick. “That the oil spill is only in patches, not continuous, is a feat,” media reports quoted defense officials in Kerala’s Kochi city as saying, referring to the swift containment efforts by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. Scientists, however, raised red flags about submerged containers believed to be carrying hazardous materials such as calcium carbide and marine fuel oil. Calcium carbide reacts with water, producing acetylene — a flammable and potentially…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The MSC ELSA-3 shipwreck, off Kerala’s coast in southern India, spilled oil and plastic pellets, with potential impacts on marine life, coastal ecosystems and fishing livelihoods. - Gaps in maritime law and weak enforcement leave India ill-equipped to handle plastic spills and wreck removal. - Experts call for stronger spill protocols, legal updates, transparent cargo data and long-term ecological monitoring. authors: | ||
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Antarctic coalition wins €1m prize for safeguarding a fragile frontier 09 Jul 2025 18:00:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/antarctic-coalition-wins-e1m-prize-for-safeguarding-a-fragile-frontier/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), an advocacy group focused on the world’s coldest and most remote region, has received the 2025 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The 1 million euro ($1.17 million) award, presented by the Portugal-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, recognizes the coalition’s decades-long efforts to preserve Antarctica’s ecological integrity and protect the Southern Ocean. Selected from 212 nominees across 115 countries, ASOC was honored for its leadership in science-based advocacy and international diplomacy at a time when Antarctica faces mounting threats. The prize jury, chaired by former German chancellor Angela Merkel, cited ASOC as a demonstration that “global collaboration is possible,” adding that the coalition “inspires hope for generations to come.” Founded in 1978, ASOC represents a network of more than 20 environmental organizations from more than 10 countries. It remains the only environmental NGO granted observer status at Antarctic Treaty meetings, giving it direct access to the intergovernmental processes that govern the continent and its surrounding seas. “Antarctica may seem distant, but it is central to the planet’s health and future,” ASOC executive director Claire Christian said in a statement. “This recognition affirms the power of collective action and the vital importance of protecting the Antarctic and Southern Ocean.” Among ASOC’s top priorities is the creation of new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Weddell Sea, East Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula. While these proposals are backed by strong scientific evidence, they continue to face opposition, primarily from Russia and China, at meetings of the Commission for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), an advocacy group focused on the world’s coldest and most remote region, has received the 2025 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The 1 million euro ($1.17 million) award, presented by the Portugal-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, recognizes the coalition’s decades-long efforts to preserve Antarctica’s ecological integrity and protect the Southern […] authors: | ||
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Culture and spirit belong at the center of wildlife conservation (commentary) 09 Jul 2025 16:07:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/culture-and-spirit-belong-at-the-center-of-wildlife-conservation-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Beth Allgood / John Waugh / Craig Talmage content:encoded: Conservation is often framed as a scientific or technical challenge — a matter of policies, protected areas and enforcement. But that lens has led conservation astray. Around the world, biodiversity continues to decline. Communities are too often displaced in the name of conservation. And conservation efforts sometimes fail because they ignore what matters most to the people who live closest to the land, including meaning, memory, and relationship. It’s time to change course. If we want conservation to succeed — not just in halting species loss, but in building a sustainable, just future — we must place cultural and spiritual connections at its core. That’s the central argument of our newly published paper in Community Development, co-created by more than 20 conservationists, Indigenous leaders, researchers and community practitioners across five continents who generously shared their experiences, insights and lived wisdom. Together, we developed a thematic model that demonstrates how community well-being, cultural identity, and biodiversity protection are not separate goals — they are mutually reinforcing. Drone view of flooded forest in the Amazon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for Mongabay. Drawing from case studies in Tajikistan, Belize, South Africa, India, Indonesia, China and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we found that conservation thrives when it honors local traditions, respects spiritual relationships to species and land, and empowers women and other historically marginalized voices. These aren’t just nice-to-haves — they are central to success. In the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, herding communities once retaliated against snow leopards that preyed on livestock.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - If we want conservation to succeed, we must place cultural and spiritual connections at its core, the authors of a recently published paper argue. - Drawing on examples from Tajikistan, Belize, South Africa, India, Indonesia, China and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they found that conservation thrives when it honors local traditions, respects spiritual relationships to species and land, and empowers women and other historically marginalized voices. - “The next phase of conservation must be rooted in reciprocity. That means listening more, sharing power, and valuing the stories, beliefs, and wisdom already alive in communities. Only then can we create conservation that truly sustains life — both human and wild — for generations to come,” they write in a new commentary. - This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Indigenous Amazonians win landmark ruling against mercury pollution in Colombia 09 Jul 2025 15:41:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/indigenous-amazonians-win-landmark-ruling-against-mercury-pollution-in-colombia/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Iván Paredes Tamayo content:encoded: Colombia’s Constitutional Court has issued a historic ruling, finding in favor of Indigenous leaders who say their communities in the country’s Amazonian region are at risk of losing their identity and disappearing due to mercury contamination from gold mining. The court ordered the protection of these communities due to the high risk they peoples face from the contamination of the water and fish they consume from the Caquetá and Apaporis rivers. The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development will monitor the contamination studies ordered by the court. The case was brought to the country’s highest court by five shamans, or “jaguars,” representing 30 Indigenous groups from the Yuruparí region that covers the eastern Colombian Amazon and overlaps into Brazil. Those affected by mercury contamination from mining have since 1989 complained about the serious consequences and problems they’ve faced as a result. “The Indigenous peoples in the Jaguars of Yuruparí Macroterritory emphasize that the Constitutional Court notes that gold mining and the use of mercury have caused a risk to our traditional knowledge system, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage,” the plaintiffs said in a press release after the ruling. Their legal action dates back to 2019, when they filed for protection in light of what they allege was the state’s failure or complicity in allowing gold mining in Indigenous territories. At the time, they said that more than 30 Indigenous communities were at risk. Representatives of the Indigenous peoples celebrated the Constitutional Court’s decision. Image courtesy of Rodrigo Durán.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of 30 Indigenous communities in the Amazon, ordering protection measures due to mercury contamination from gold mining that threatens their health, food security and cultural survival. - The contamination affects key rivers and fish consumed by the communities, with mercury levels found up to 17 times above safe limits, putting traditional knowledge systems, recognized by UNESCO, at serious risk. - The ruling suspends new gold mining licenses in the Yuruparí macroterritory until intercultural dialogue is held and a remediation plan is established. Various government ministries are assigned specific responsibilities. - The court also mandated regular monitoring and inclusive implementation, with biannual hearings and Indigenous participation, marking a judicial precedent for Indigenous-led environmental justice and the protection of ancestral knowledge. authors: | ||
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Nearly half of tree species in Mexico and Central America threatened with extinction 09 Jul 2025 13:48:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/nearly-half-of-tree-species-in-mexico-and-central-america-threatened-with-extinction/ author: Lizkimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: Lions have been dubbed the king of the jungle, but one could argue the real royalty are the trees, the massive woody beasts that hold down the land and root the web of life that teems around them. In Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America), which hosts 10% of all plant life on Earth despite covering only 0.5% of the planet’s land surface, nearly half of all tree species are in trouble. Of the 4,046 known tree species found only in Mesoamerica, 1,867, or 46%, are threatened with extinction, according to a new study published in the journal Plants, People, Planet. The research represents the first comprehensive assessment of Mesoamerican trees. The study was part of the Global Tree Assessment, a decade-long initiative to evaluate the conservation status of all the world’s tree species. Researchers used the standards of the IUCN Red List, which tracks how close species are to disappearing worldwide. The IUCN Red List categorizes species into nine groups, ranging from not evaluated to extinct, by considering factors such as population decline, habitat loss, and population size. Before this assessment, less than 20% (700) of the tree species of the region had been assessed on the IUCN Red List before 2019. Fungi in Costa Rica. Through their entire life cycle and beyond, tropical trees host an abundance of life. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for Mongabay.com. “It’s an important study — essentially a clarion call for conserving endangered tree species in Mesoamerica,” William Laurance, a tropical ecologist at James…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Of the more than 4,000 known tree species found only in Mesoamerica, nearly half are threatened with extinction, according a new assessment. - Agriculture emerges as the primary threat across the region from both small- and large-scale farming, while logging represents the second major threat in five countries. - While 72% of threatened tree species occur within protected areas, only 16% of endemic threatened species have recorded conservation actions, and just 18% are protected in botanical collections, highlighting significant gaps in active conservation efforts. - With 515 threatened tree species shared between countries, researchers emphasize the need for international collaboration and incorporating native threatened species into large-scale tree-planting efforts rather than focusing solely on fast-growing nonnative species. authors: | ||
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What it’s like to live with tigers 09 Jul 2025 12:34:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2025/07/what-its-like-to-live-with-tigers/ author: Samanthalee dc:creator: Arathi Menon content:encoded: MAHARASHTRA, India — In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, human-tiger conflict is escalating, with attacks becoming increasingly common. A mix of factors—including the effects of climate change—is driving tigers out of their natural habitats and into closer contact with people. For those living on the frontlines, the toll goes beyond physical danger: fear, anxiety, and unprocessed grief weigh heavily on families who have lost loved ones or survived tiger encounters. This video was produced by the Mongabay India team; find more environmental stories from India on their YouTube channel. Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions and topics that matter to you. Are there any inspiring people, urgent issues, or local stories that you’d like us to cover? We want to hear from you. Be a part of our reporting process—get in touch with us here! Banner image: Female tiger. Image ©Saroshlodhi via Envato. Inside the human-bear conflict in northern IndiaThis article was originally published on Mongabay description: MAHARASHTRA, India — In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, human-tiger conflict is escalating, with attacks becoming increasingly common. A mix of factors—including the effects of climate change—is driving tigers out of their natural habitats and into closer contact with people. For those living on the frontlines, the toll goes beyond physical danger: fear, anxiety, and unprocessed grief […] authors: | ||
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A new data hub helps small-scale fishers adapt to climate change 09 Jul 2025 11:22:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/a-new-data-hub-helps-small-scale-fishers-adapt-to-climate-change/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Lee Kwai Han content:encoded: Roughly 40% of the global fish catch comes from small-scale fisheries. It’s one of the food production systems most vulnerable to climate change, and governments are lacking data to help fishers adapt. To help address that gap, the global research partnership CGIAR recently launched its Asia Digital Hub at WorldFish’s headquarters in Penang, Malaysia. The Hub brings together policymakers, scientists, communities and the private sector to develop and scale digital solutions for food systems. One of their key tools is Peskas, an open-source system that allows near real-time monitoring of small-scale fisheries. In Zanzibar, WorldFish scientist Pascal Thoya is working with the government to integrate Peskas with the existing system. Currently, 100 fishing boats out of Zanzibar are equipped with trackers and at 30 landing sites, data collectors use tablets to record catch information including species, weight and length, Thoya said. Peskas then analyzes the data and displays statistics automatically. Before Peskas, data were recorded on paper and only reported annually. “Initially, there is always a challenge to know where fishermen really fish,” Thoya told Mongabay in a video call. Peskas displays fishing grounds along with their productivity. Arthur Tuda, the executive director of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, a WorldFish partner in Zanzibar, said in an email, “This integration fills a big hole. It gives decision-makers the timely, reliable information they need to manage fisheries better and meet their reporting duties at home and abroad.” First developed in Timor-Leste in 2016, Peskas is now being expanded to Zanzibar,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Roughly 40% of the global fish catch comes from small-scale fisheries. It’s one of the food production systems most vulnerable to climate change, and governments are lacking data to help fishers adapt. To help address that gap, the global research partnership CGIAR recently launched its Asia Digital Hub at WorldFish’s headquarters in Penang, Malaysia. The Hub […] authors: | ||
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Youth and women find success in taking climate cases to court 09 Jul 2025 09:42:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/youth-and-women-find-success-in-taking-climate-cases-to-court/ author: Kristine Sabillo dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Citizens from around the world are increasingly holding governments and businesses accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions by filing lawsuits that frame climate change impacts as human rights violations, according to a recent episode of Mongabay’s Against All Odds video series. César Rodríguez-Garavito, chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University’s School of Law, who’s featured in the video, says the climate movement has seen groundbreaking victories in recent years with cases filed by both the youth and elderly women. Between 2005 and 2024, more than 300 cases were litigated on behalf of ordinary citizens experiencing the impacts of climate change. One of the successes came in 2024, when an international court for the first time formally acknowledged climate change as a human rights issue, Rodríguez-Garavito says. The European Court of Human Rights in April last year ruled in favor of KlimaSeniorinnen Switzerland, a group representing 2,500 women aged 64 and older, who argued the Swiss government’s inadequate actions had put them at risk of dying due to heat waves made more intense and frequent by climate change. The court recognized that climate protection is a human right and that the government violated such a right by not taking the necessary steps to combat climate change. The court ordered the Swiss government to hasten and expand its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. “It’s boosted the efforts of climate activists around the world who are taking note of the fact that judges are updating their…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Citizens from around the world are increasingly holding governments and businesses accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions by filing lawsuits that frame climate change impacts as human rights violations, according to a recent episode of Mongabay’s Against All Odds video series. César Rodríguez-Garavito, chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New […] authors: | ||
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Rescuers search for 19 missing and recover 9 bodies after flooding in Nepal 09 Jul 2025 08:31:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/rescuers-search-for-19-missing-and-recover-9-bodies-after-flooding-in-nepal/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Dozens of rescuers searched the banks of a mountain river Wednesday looking for people missing after monsoon floods swept away Nepal’s main bridge connecting the country to China and caused at least nine deaths. Police said dozens of rescuers were already at the area and more are expected to join the rescue efforts. Nine dead bodies have been recovered from the river. Security forces have rescued 55 people, including four Indians and a Chinese person so far, according to the Rasuwa District Administration Office. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, along with top ministers and officials, flew to the area. Oli called an emergency meeting Tuesday night and instructed all security forces and government offices to assist the rescue and recovery efforts. The flooding on the Bhotekoshi River early Tuesday destroyed the Friendship Bridge at Rasuwagadi, which is 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, Kathmandu. Several houses and trucks that were parked at the border for customs inspections also were swept away. Hundreds of electric vehicles imported from China had been parked at the border point. The 19 missing are 13 Nepali citizens and six Chinese nationals, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The Chinese and eight of the Nepalis were workers at a Chinese-assisted construction project on the Nepali side of the border, according to the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, quoted by state media. The destruction of the bridge has halted all trade from China to Nepal through this route. The longer alternative…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Dozens of rescuers searched the banks of a mountain river Wednesday looking for people missing after monsoon floods swept away Nepal’s main bridge connecting the country to China and caused at least nine deaths. Police said dozens of rescuers were already at the area and more are expected to join the rescue efforts. […] authors: | ||
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Out-of-range albatross makes a highlight in the revival of seabird watching in Sri Lanka 09 Jul 2025 07:14:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/out-of-range-albatross-makes-a-highlight-in-the-revival-of-seabird-watching-in-sri-lanka/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Malaka Rodrigo content:encoded: COLOMBO — Young birder Lahiru Walpita begins most of his days at dawn by scanning the skies for seabirds along the coastline in northern Sri Lanka. In July 2024, during one of his routine beach surveys, Walpita noticed a large bird trailing a fishing vessel. It circled gracefully with wings outstretched, before vanishing into the horizon, he says, just long enough for him to capture a few photographs. From its shape and size, he had a hunch about its identity, and consultations with experts confirmed it was a grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma). This marked a groundbreaking moment — not only was it the first-ever albatross recorded in Sri Lankan waters, but also the first confirmed sighting north of the equator, says ornithologist Sampath Seneviratne, a professor of zoology at the University of Colombo. “These albatrosses typically dwell in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and rarely stray far from their home range. This is a truly remarkable observation,” he tells Mongabay. This grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) was the first-ever confirmed albatross recorded in Sri Lankan waters as well as to the north of the equator. Image by Lahiru Walpita. Over the past few years, Walpita’s diligent ocean-watching — especially around Mannar Island in northern Sri Lanka — has led to sightings of elusive seabirds such as the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), tropical shearwater (Puffinus bailloni) and Jouanin’s petrel (Bulweria fallax). During his beach surveys, Walpita has rescued over 150 pelagic birds. He has also collected over 60 dead pelagic birds that…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Sri Lanka has recorded over 50 species of seabirds — birds that spend much of their lives at sea — within its territorial waters, including several long-distance migratory birds that travel thousands of kilometers across oceans. - As observation of seabirds is challenging, only a small group of Sri Lankan birders have focused on this unique group. In the past decade, seabird studies in the island have seen a notable revival, led by enthusiastic young birders. - Among last year’s remarkable observations is the sighting of a grey-headed albatross off Sri Lanka’s northern coast, marking the first-ever record of the species north of the equator, well beyond its usual Southern Ocean range near Antarctica. - World Seabird Day, observed every year on July 3, commemorates the tragic extinction of the great auk, marking the last known pair of which was killed on that day in 1844 and highlighting the vulnerability of seabirds and the urgent need for their conservation. authors: | ||
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Restoration, protection aim to save Belize’s coral reef from extreme heat and disease 09 Jul 2025 04:48:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/restoration-protection-aim-to-save-belizes-coral-reef-from-extreme-heat-and-disease/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Marco Lopez content:encoded: PLACENCIA, Belize — After Hurricane Iris decimated the coral reef at Laughing Bird Caye National Park in 2001, many wrote off the UNESCO World Heritage site as a coral graveyard. But a small group from the coastal village of Placencia, Belize, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the island, saw hope. In 2006, the park had just 6% live coral cover. By 2023, it had reached approximately 60% — the result of the group planting more than 92,000 fragments of coral within the 1-hectare (2.5-acre) shallow fringing reef. The group, Fragments of Hope (FOH), is a Belize-based nonprofit organization focused on restoring coral reef habitats. Their work at Laughing Bird Caye is widely regarded as the best example of reef restoration in the Caribbean. But while the park stands as a beacon of hope for coral restoration, it has not been immune to the onslaught of record-breaking temperatures occurring globally. “2024 was the worst bleaching event since we’ve been recording around 2008,” Lisa Carne, FOH’s founder, said during an interview with Mongabay. Many of the corals planted at Laughing Bird have succumbed to extreme heat stress and disease. At Moho Caye, another restoration site, live coral cover dropped from more than 50% to less than 5%, “likely reflecting similar declines at Laughing Bird,” Carne said. It’s not just Laughing Bird and Moho. Unprecedented coral bleaching, a relatively new illness called stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), and other threats to corals are negatively impacting reef health across Belize, and it…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Charles Darwin described the Belize Barrier Reef, a complex system of coral reefs, atolls and cayes spanning 300 kilometers (186 miles) and cradling the nation’s coast, as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies.” - Today, unprecedented coral bleaching, a relatively new illness called stony coral tissue loss disease and other threats to corals are negatively impacting reef health across Belize, according to local organizations and a recent reef health assessment. - The government is looking to identify 20% of the reef for full protection, part of an effort to roughly triple coral reef protection from 7% to 20%. - Meanwhile nonprofit and scientific groups are doubling down on restoration and monitoring efforts. authors: | ||
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Indonesia tests shows blood mercury rising at ground zero of world energy transition 09 Jul 2025 03:26:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/indonesia-tests-shows-blood-mercury-rising-at-ground-zero-of-world-energy-transition/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Rabul Sawal content:encoded: MALUKU, Indonesia — Just four months after Mongabay reported on a dramatic surge in diagnoses of respiratory illness near Indonesia’s second-largest nickel industrial estate, new data indicate that up to half the local population may have been exposed to unsafe levels of mercury — and one in three to harmful arsenic. “This study is a serious warning of the long-term threat of heavy metal exposure, to both public health and environmental sustainability,” said Darmawati Darwis, a professor at Indonesia’s Tadulako University, which conducted the research in partnership with Nexus3, a Bali-based nonprofit. The researchers from Nexus3 and Tadulako University took blood samples last year from 46 residents of Gemaf and Lelilef villages. These two villages are particularly close to the Weda Bay Industrial Estate, commonly known by its Indonesian acronym IWIP, on the island of Halmahera. The results of those blood tests, which were published in April, showed 22 people (47%) had mercury levels above the safe limit of 9 micrograms per liter (µg/l) of blood — and the samples from 15 people (32%) exceeded the arsenic threshold of 12 µg/l. “These findings emphasize the need for routine environmental and health monitoring, as well as law enforcement against polluting industries,” Darmawati said. IWIP was established by Chinese mining conglomerates Huayou, Tsingshan and Zhenshi in 2018 as a smelting hub for the rapidly expanding nickel mining taking place on Halmahera Island. The IWIP site currently processes up to 30,000 metric tons of ferronickel ore per year, and is powered by…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Pathology results from a sample size of 46 people living near Indonesia’s Weda Bay Industrial Estate (IWIP) showed a large share in the community around the nickel-processing center had unsafe levels of arsenic and mercury in blood samples. - The precise cause of these elevated levels of a heavy metal is difficult to determine, but researchers suspect the health effects could be due to IWIP’s coal-fired power sources, pollution from the smelting process, and other environmental factors, such as accumulation in the food chain. - Globally, research has shown links between heavy metals in the blood of people living alongside mining operations and elevated risks of chronic health conditions, as well as impairment of cognitive development in children. authors: | ||
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Can conservation go viral in Africa? Peter Knights thinks so. 08 Jul 2025 23:11:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/peter-knights-changed-asias-appetite-for-ivory-can-he-do-the-same-for-africa/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Few conservationists have shaped the public conversation around wildlife protection quite like Peter Knights. Best known for co-founding WildAid and helping to redefine conservation as a communications challenge as much as an ecological one, Knights built a career not by tracking poachers in the field but by shifting minds on a mass scale. His campaigns, often fronted by celebrities such as Yao Ming and Jackie Chan, have helped to dramatically reduce demand for products like shark fin and ivory across Asia, leveraging over a billion dollars’ worth of donated media airtime in the process. Now, after decades of work focused primarily on consumer markets in Asia, Knights has turned his attention to Africa with a new initiative: Wild Africa. Co-founded with his wife, Corie, the effort marks both a continuation of their long-standing communications-based strategy and a significant geographic and cultural pivot. “My wife Corie and I wanted to focus solely on Africa, working with an all-African team,” Knights says. Corie and Peter Knights. Photo courtesy of Wild Africa. The goal is not just to protect species, but to embed conservation into the cultural mainstream—using African voices, African media, and African institutions. The need, he argues, is urgent and distinct. “The challenge in Asia was to persuade people that wildlife needed to be conserved rather than consumed. The need in Africa is to essentially popularize or mainstream conservation,” he explains. In Knights’ view, the continent stands at a crossroads. As agriculture expands and populations grow, Africa remains the last stronghold…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Wild Africa aims to “mainstream conservation” across the continent by using local ambassadors, pro bono media, and entertainment-based campaigns to build public and political support for wildlife protection. Peter Knights believes that shifting cultural attitudes is essential to ensure lasting conservation outcomes. - The organization partners with over 80 media outlets and 200 ambassadors to create and distribute content—from music shows to chatbots—that addresses issues like human-wildlife conflict, illegal bushmeat, and poaching. These efforts are designed to inform, inspire, and empower local communities. - Knights draws on lessons from his work with WildAid, where he helped slash demand for shark fin and ivory in Asia, to catalyze a pan-African movement. He argues that small, strategic teams can have outsized impact by focusing on communication, awareness, and coalition-building. - Knights spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in June 2025. authors: | ||
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Why is Lula still silent on Brazil’s ‘Bill of devastation?’ (commentary) 08 Jul 2025 21:31:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/why-is-lula-still-silent-on-brazils-bill-of-devastation-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Philip M. Fearnside content:encoded: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was silent while the “bill of devastation” (formally PL 2159/2021) moved through the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, and passed by a vote of 290 to 115 on May 13. The silence continued while the Senate, the upper house, added damaging amendments and passed the revised bill on May 23 by a vote of 54 to 13. With the bill back in the Chamber of Deputies, a motion approved by the Chamber’s Commission on the Environment requiring a public hearing has been overridden by a measure invoking an “urgency” regime, and the president of the chamber has stated that he plans to put the bill to a plenary vote before the July 18-31 congressional recess. President Lula is not expected to try to avert the bill’s advancing to a vote. When his minister of the environment and climate change, Marina Silva, came under a misogynistic attack by three senators on May 23, President Lula expressed his solidarity with Silva with regard to that, but failed to comment on any of the environmental issues that she was defending. President Lula has stated that he has not yet read the bill and will only do so and form an opinion when it reaches his desk. How can the president of Brazil remain deliberately uninformed about a matter that threatens the country’s future? The assault on Brazil’s environmental licensing system being perpetrated by anti-environmental forces in Congress opens the country to devastation beyond…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A bill that would essentially eliminate Brazil’s environmental licensing system is moving rapidly toward approval by a large anti-environmental majority in Congress. - An amendment has been added to the bill allowing “strategic” projects, such as the mouth-of-the-Amazon oilfields and the BR-319 highway, to get accelerated licensing with a deadline for approval, after which approval would be automatic. - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not supported his environment minister in opposing the bill, and has not mobilized his supporters in Congress to push against it. - This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Will temperate seas act as refuge for coral reefs? Not in time, study says 08 Jul 2025 16:55:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/will-temperate-seas-act-as-refuge-for-coral-reefs-not-in-time-study-says/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Edward Carver content:encoded: Climate change has already caused significant declines in coral reef coverage globally and is expected to do much further damage in coming decades. Some scientists have held out hope that tropical corals could improve their viability by expanding their range — by finding refuge in more temperate seas. But a new study throws cold water on the idea. Coral reef decline will far outpace expansion into temperate waters, the study finds. Most of the damage to corals will be done in the next 40 to 80 years, but expansion will take centuries, according to the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances on June 6. The “mismatch between the timescales,” as the authors call it, could spell bad news for corals and the ecosystems that depend on them, though the severity of the loss will depend on levels of greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades. “The main finding is that we’re probably talking about centuries plus, in terms of how long it takes them to move to high latitudes,” Noam Vogt-Vincent, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. This finding shows “the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the study says. Coral reef and reef fish in Marsa Alam, Egypt. Image by Pascal van de Vendel via Unsplash (Public domain). It’s well understood that coral reefs are at risk from rising temperatures. They’re currently facing the fourth mass bleaching event since 1998. Bleaching involves corals expelling…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Some scientists have held out hope that, given the threats tropical corals face from climate change, they could improve their viability by expanding their range — by finding refuge in more temperate seas. - However, a new study found that coral reef decline will far outpace expansion into temperate waters. Most of the damage to corals will be done in the next 40 to 80 years, but expansion will take centuries. - The severity of coral loss will depend on levels of greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades. authors: | ||
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Indigenous rubber bounces back for Amazon conservation and higher income 08 Jul 2025 14:15:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/indigenous-rubber-bounces-back-for-amazon-conservation-and-higher-income/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Sarah Brown content:encoded: In the Igarapé Lourdes Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon, community members gather to listen to José Palahv Gavião. An Indigenous teacher and cooperative leader, he speaks about the past and the future of Amazonian rubber. Rubber extracted from forest trees was a major Brazilian commodity in the 1800s and early 1900s. But for the Indigenous Gavião people of this part of Rondônia state, it also meant exploitation and suffering. Today, however, the community has reclaimed it as an opportunity for income and forest protection, especially for Indigenous youths. According to José, many young people seek better economic opportunities outside the community. But he says it’s important to balance these ambitions with efforts to protect the forest that sustains them. “In every meeting I go to, I always highlight this point: If we don’t give value to the rainforest’s products, it won’t take long before it’s gone,” José tells Mongabay. “It helps reverse that mindset. Because when a seed collector earns income from that tree, they won’t want to cut it down.” The Gavião of Rondônia worked under exploitative conditions imposed by rubber extractors following their first contact with outsiders. Due to land conflicts and the advance of external development projects, they eventually abandoned rubber tapping in the late 1980s. By then, rubber was being harvested at industrial scales from vast plantations of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), obviating the need to venture into the forest to collect it. The process of tapping rubber in the wild starts with making incisions…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Rubber tapping in the forest was once the main Amazonian economic activity, and now an Indigenous group is bringing it back. - Partnering with Brazilian organizations, Indigenous Gavião communities find they can simultaneously protect the forest and its cultural heritage while boosting their own livelihoods through the wild rubber trade. - The initiative is part of a broader Indigenous-led bioeconomy movement in the Amazon that attracts younger generations by combining traditional practices with technical training and earning opportunities. - Despite promising results, challenges such as drought and limited private sector engagement highlight the need for increased investment to scale up forest-based alternatives. authors: | ||
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Forest connectivity key to preserving PNG’s spectacular rainforest birds: Study 08 Jul 2025 12:55:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/forest-connectivity-key-to-preserving-pngs-spectacular-rainforest-birds-study/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Carolyn Cowan content:encoded: From pollinating plants to dispersing seeds, birds play a variety of crucial roles that help to keep ecosystems in balance. But when we degrade and fragment their habitats, some species disappear much quicker than others — taking their specific ecosystem functions with them. New research from Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s last havens of intact tropical forest, suggests that forest-specialist insectivores and ground foragers are among the first to go. Given these vulnerable groups of birds include various bird-of-paradise species along with bowerbirds and cassowaries, which are important emblems of PNG, the authors urge conservationists to focus on retaining forest-dependent birds as a strategy that would protect species of both ecological and cultural significance, as well as their forest home. “PNG derives much of its cultural power from birds, as sources of Indigenous clothing, pride as national animals, [or the focus of] ecotourism,” study lead author Krystof Korejs, a zoologist at the University of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic, told Mongabay in an email. Covering the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, PNG is a global epicenter of avian biodiversity. Some of the world’s most ornate and behaviorally complex species are found in its megadiverse old growth rainforests. However, mounting pressure from agricultural expansion and commercial logging are putting stress on these crucial ecosystems, sparking concerns among conservationists about how species will cope. A sulphur-crested cockatoo in New Guinea. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Specialists out, generalists in To find out how PNG’s bird communities…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Papua New Guinea is a global hotspot of avian biodiversity, home to spectacular and behaviorally complex bird species that occur nowhere else on the planet. - A new study shows that forest fragmentation reduces unique forest-specialist birds, but boosts generalist species like pigeons, sunbirds and bulbuls. - Birds suffered greater declines in habitats cut off from the surrounding landscape, compared to degraded habitats that remained connected to nearby intact forests. - The shift in the bird community in degraded and isolated habitats undermines ecosystem stability and resilience, as birds that once performed vital pollination, seed dispersal and insect control services are lost. authors: | ||
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Listings of Indonesian islands renew fears of privatization for coastal communities 08 Jul 2025 12:40:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/indonesia-small-islands-sale-privatization-fishers-coastal-communities-kkp/ author: Basten Gokkon dc:creator: Basten Gokkon content:encoded: A Canada-based website’s listing of Indonesian islands for sale has reignited fears of privatization, long linked to conflicts between companies and coastal communities. On June 18, 2025, listings appeared for several islands in Indonesia’s Anambas archipelago, in Riau Islands province, on the site Privateislandsonline.com. Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has denied the validity of the listings, pointing out that national laws prohibit the sale of islands to foreign entities. The ministry confirmed that four of the listed islands are in Anambas — Rintan, Mala, Tokong Sendok and Nakob — while others appearing on the site are located in East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and Bangka-Belitung provinces. The government has since blocked the site for internet users in Indonesia, although it remains accessible elsewhere around the world (including in Indonesia, through VPN). The ministry says the listings were most likely offers for foreign investment, not outright sales. It said commercial use of islands is legal if businesses have the right permits, though strict limits would still apply. For instance, developers may only use up to 70% of a small island’s area, with at least 30% of that portion reserved for green space, effectively limiting control to 40%. Nusron Wahid, the Indonesian minister for land and zoning, said foreign parties could only obtain land use rights, not ownership, under Indonesian law. He added the Anambas islands in question lie within areas zoned for development, not forest land. Seliu Island in Bangka-Belitung is similarly classified, while Panjang Island in West…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Listings of Indonesian islands on a foreign real estate site have sparked concerns about privatization, prompting the government to block the site domestically and clarify that islands cannot be sold to foreign entities under national law. - Officials said the listings were likely aimed at attracting investment, not outright sales, but critics warn such practices enable control over island and offshore areas, often displacing fishers and triggering land conflicts. - A 2021 regulation allows foreign investors to lease small islands for up to $1,900 per km² per year, and a government portal launched in 2024 streamlines permits for islands smaller than 2,000 km², accelerating commercialization. - Watchdogs say 254 small islands have already been privatized, often without adequate oversight, and warn that unchecked investment could jeopardize fisher livelihoods and national sovereignty over maritime territories. authors: | ||
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The aardvark and the melon (cartoon) 08 Jul 2025 11:48:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2025/07/the-aardvark-and-the-melon-cartoon/ author: Nandithachandraprakash dc:creator: Rohan Chakravarty content:encoded: Camera trap footage and scent analysis confirm a unique symbiosis between an ant-eater and a subterranean fruit. Looks like the ant-eating aardvarks of the African savanna do not need to be taught the benefits of a balanced diet! Study confirms that ant-eating aardvarks have a craving for buried melonsThis article was originally published on Mongabay description: Camera trap footage and scent analysis confirm a unique symbiosis between an ant-eater and a subterranean fruit. Looks like the ant-eating aardvarks of the African savanna do not need to be taught the benefits of a balanced diet! Study confirms that ant-eating aardvarks have a craving for buried melons authors: | ||
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From apps to Indigenous guardians: Ways we can save rainforests 08 Jul 2025 09:18:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/from-apps-to-indigenous-guardians-ways-we-can-save-rainforests/ author: Kristine Sabillo dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Deforestation figures can be frustrating to look at, but there are a number of success stories when it comes to protecting tropical forests that we can learn from, Crystal Davis, global program director at the World Resources Institute, says in a recent Mongabay video. “We know what works. We know how to do it,” Davis says. “We have more tools than ever to help us combat deforestation.” One of those tools is Global Forest Watch, an online platform that uses satellite data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to track where exactly deforestation is happening and where forests are growing back. Part of the tool is the Forest Watcher app, which allows forest rangers like those working for Madagascar’s National Parks Association to monitor deforestation. The app has led to swifter responses to drivers of deforestation, such as fires, WRI said in a 2024 post. “Data and transparency of data play an incredibly important role in protecting tropical forests,” Davis says. In Peru, the Rainforest Foundation US helped train more than 30 communities in using Forest Watcher. Data visualized on Global Forest Watch showed that in the first year alone, the territories of those 30 communities had 50% fewer deforestation alerts compared to another 30 communities that didn’t use the app. Another map shown in the Mongabay video reveals the critical role of local communities and Indigenous peoples in conservation in the Amazon, with much lower deforestation within their territories than outside. “You can see that the areas where Indigenous peoples…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Deforestation figures can be frustrating to look at, but there are a number of success stories when it comes to protecting tropical forests that we can learn from, Crystal Davis, global program director at the World Resources Institute, says in a recent Mongabay video. “We know what works. We know how to do it,” Davis […] authors: | ||
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Bangladesh to save critically endangered orchids and trees 08 Jul 2025 06:29:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/bangladesh-to-save-critically-endangered-orchids-and-trees/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Bangladesh has initiated efforts to revive five species of plants currently listed as critically endangered on the country’s red list, as well as bring back two species declared locally extinct, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The critically endangered plants include two species of orchids: bulborox or the Sikkim bulb-leaf orchid (Bulbophyllum roxburghii), and the small-bulb orchid (Bulbophyllum oblongum), both found only in parts of the country’s Sundarbans wetland. The three other critically endangered species are the dwarf date palm (Phoenix acaulis), a small palm species currently present only in Dinajpur district’s sal (Shorea robusta) forest; chaulmoogra (Hydnocarpus kurzii), an evergreen tree found in the forests of Bandarban, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts; as well as bash pata (Podocarpus neriifolius), a conifer with only 111 individuals known to exist across several districts. To help these five species recover, the Bangladesh Forest Department in collaboration with the Bangladesh National Herbarium, National Botanical Garden and IUCN Bangladesh are working to grow their seedlings in nurseries, before moving them to suitable habitats. “Our team is working to protect the species from extinction. Besides the conservation of the five critically endangered species, we are trying to collect two [locally] extinct plants — gola anjan [Memecylon ovatum] and fita champa [Magnolia griffithii] — from our neighboring countries as we share nearly similar ecosystems,” Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, told Mongabay. All five plant species identified for revival were categorized as critically endangered in Bangladesh’s first-ever plant…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Bangladesh has initiated efforts to revive five species of plants currently listed as critically endangered on the country’s red list, as well as bring back two species declared locally extinct, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The critically endangered plants include two species of orchids: bulborox or the Sikkim bulb-leaf orchid (Bulbophyllum roxburghii), and the small-bulb orchid […] authors: | ||
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Young secondary forests may be the planet’s most overlooked carbon sink 08 Jul 2025 06:20:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/young-secondary-forests-may-be-the-planets-most-overlooked-carbon-sink/ 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. As governments and corporations scramble to meet climate pledges, the search for reliable and scalable carbon removal strategies has turned increasingly toward forests. But while tree planting captures the public imagination, a new study suggests a simpler, less costly strategy may deliver better results: Protecting young secondary forests already on the landscape. In the study, researchers led by Nathaniel Robinson from the environmental nonprofit The Nature Conservancy mapped aboveground carbon accumulation across more than 100,000 forest plots worldwide, spanning a century of regrowth. The work confirms that forests don’t store carbon at a constant rate — carbon removal rates vary wildly by forest age, region and ecological conditions. In fact, the study finds a 200-fold difference between the slowest- and fastest-growing sites. The sweet spot? Forests aged 20 to 40 years. At this stage, many exhibit peak carbon uptake — far exceeding the removals achieved in the first few decades of new regeneration. Tropical forests, in particular, perform best, reaching maximum sequestration levels around 23 years of age. Mediterranean and savanna ecosystems, by contrast, peak later and less dramatically. This temporal dynamic has practical implications. If natural regeneration began in 2025 across 800 million hectares (1.98 billion acres) of degraded land — an area larger than Australia — the study estimates that 20.3 billion metric tons of carbon could be sequestered by 2050. Delaying that timeline by just five years could slash the…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. As governments and corporations scramble to meet climate pledges, the search for reliable and scalable carbon removal strategies has turned increasingly toward forests. But while tree planting captures the public imagination, a new study suggests a simpler, less […] authors: | ||
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Nepal sees positive outcome from reforestation project using local knowledge 08 Jul 2025 04:53:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/nepal-sees-positive-outcome-from-reforestation-project-using-local-knowledge/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Sonam Lama Hyolmo content:encoded: KATHMANDU — A decade ago, people from Salija village in western Nepal traveled several hours into the uphill forests to gather firewood and feed for their livestock, Shakhamani Khorja recalls. “[Now], we have a forest growing on about 13 hectares [32 acres] of land less than a kilometer [0.6 miles] away that helps meet our needs for fuelwood and animal feed,” says Khorja, a Salija local and a member of a community forest group. As part of a reforestation project that began in 2010, local communities in six study sites across the western Gandaki province planted 131,186 native trees on a total of about 76 hectares (187 acres) of government-owned land. Nearly a decade after the reforestation project, researchers found that the density of vegetation, analyzed using a satellite imagery tool — known as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) — consistently increased in all six study sites since the project ended in 2016, suggesting increased canopy cover as trees continue to grow. According to NDVI metrics, vegetation improved from 0.0341 in value in 2018 (suggesting sparse vegetation) to 0.0737 in value in 2022 (meaning highly dense vegetation). This reforestation of native species, says Korja, was necessary not only due to their gradual decline because of climatic factors impacting natural growth, but also to support communities with non-timber resources that could build local enterprises, like selling lokta paper produced using material from the lokta plant (Daphne bholua), also called the Nepalese paper plant. According to the authors of the study published…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A reforestation project that integrated local communities and their ecological knowledge in Nepal is showing the fruits of success, almost one decade since the completion of the project. - Local communities in six study sites across the western Gandaki province planted 131,186 trees of 44 native species on a total of about 76 hectares (187 acres) of government-owned land. - According to a study, the density of vegetation on the study sites increased from being ‘sparse’ to ‘dense’ between 2018 and 2022. - Although researchers say they acknowledge the role of local ecological knowledge in the reforestation process, the manner in which this knowledge contributed to the outcomes is yet to be determined. authors: | ||
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U.S. federal agency clears ways for deep-sea mining — and companies are lining up 08 Jul 2025 00:57:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/u-s-federal-agency-clears-ways-for-deep-sea-mining-and-companies-are-lining-up/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Elizabeth Claire Alberts content:encoded: This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. On June 25, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), a department within the federal government that manages the nation’s natural resources, announced plans to accelerate the initiation of deep-sea mining in U.S. waters, effectively enacting President Trump’s executive order that calls for fast-tracking the industry. As part of this effort to briskly move things along, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), an agency within DOI, will be introducing various policy changes, such as expediting the permitting process, extending the duration of prospecting permits and reducing the timelines for environmental reviews. Critics have raised concerns over these developments, not only due to the controversial nature of deep-sea mining, but also because of the hurried pace at which BOEM is advancing these plans. While deep-sea mining has not yet started anywhere in the world, many experts warn that the industry could cause irreversible harm to marine ecosystems that are already under substantial stress from human-driven climate change and other environmental pressures. Industry proponents, however, argue that deep-sea mining is vital for securing reliable supplies of critical minerals needed for the green transition, energy security and defense. The majority of deep-sea mining interest has focused on polymetallic nodules — potato-sized rocks containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese — but mineral deposits can also be found on the cobalt-rich crusts of seamounts or ridges, or the sulfide deposits around hydrothermal vents. These unassuming brown…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) recently announced rule changes that would accelerate deep-sea mining in U.S. waters. - The move includes shortened environmental review timelines and extended prospecting permits, which will implement President Trump’s executive order on the development of offshore critical minerals and resources. - U.S.-based deep-sea company Impossible Metals has already submitted a mineral lease sale application to BOEM, while other companies — such as Wetstone, Odyssey Marine Exploration, and Transocean — are actively engaging with the agency about seabed minerals. - The rapid push to open the U.S. outer continental shelf to mining has alarmed some experts, who warn of potential harm to fragile deep-sea ecosystems and insufficient oversight amid increasing industry influence. authors: | ||
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Droughts are a ‘slow-moving global catastrophe,’ report finds 07 Jul 2025 20:09:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/droughts-are-a-slow-moving-global-catastrophe-report-finds/ author: Lizkimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: “Drought is a silent killer. It creeps in, drains resources and devastates lives in slow motion,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. “Its scars run deep.” A comprehensive new report released this week documents what experts call some of the most widespread and damaging droughts in recorded history, affecting millions of people across Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America and Southeast Asia between 2023 and 2025. The report prepared by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification describes how severe droughts have led to poverty, hunger, energy insecurity and ecosystem collapse worldwide. The report draws on more than 250 peer-reviewed studies, official data sources and news reports across more than a dozen countries and regions. Lake Tefé was completely dry in October of 2023 during the extreme Amazon drought. Image courtesy of Miguel Monteiro. “This is not a dry spell,” Mark Svoboda, report co-author and NDMC director said in a statement. “This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen. This report underscores the need for systematic monitoring of how drought affects lives, livelihoods, and the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on.” More than 90 million people across Eastern and Southern Africa face acute food insecurity or need food assistance, according to the report. In Somalia alone, the government estimated 43,000 people may have died in 2022 due to drought. As of early 2025, 4.4 million Somalis, a quarter of the population, face…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new report documents some of the most widespread and damaging droughts in recorded history, between 2023 and 2025, affecting millions across Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America and Southeast Asia. - More than 90 million people across Eastern and Southern Africa face acute food insecurity or need food assistance, while women and children bear disproportionate burdens. - The droughts caused agricultural failures, such as Spain’s 50% olive crop loss, and energy crises in countries like Zambia, where power outages lasted up to 21 hours daily. - Drought episodes today cost twice as much as they did in 2000, with costs expected to rise by another 35-110% by 2035. authors: | ||
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