|
Rare alpine herb confirmed in India after 158 years 24 Jul 2026 03:59:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-alpine-herb-confirmed-in-india-after-158-years/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: In the rugged, high-altitude meadows of the Eastern Himalayas in India, researchers have confirmed the presence of a tiny plant with purple-blue flowers, last documented in the country more than 150 years ago. The plant, Cyananthus hookeri, was previously recorded in India by British botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker who collected some specimens from the northeastern state of Sikkim in 1867. Last year, a research team located the species at an altitude of 3,600 meters (11,811 feet) in Chuna Valley in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh state, also in northeast India. This milestone, documented in a recent update in Oryx, marks the first confirmed record of the species in Arunachal Pradesh and the first record from India in 158 years, the researchers write. Sudhanshu Sekhar Dash, one of the botanists on the research team from the Botanical Survey of India, told Mongabay over email that the rediscovery of Cyananthus hookeri “is an exciting and significant botanical finding.” “What impressed us most was that such a distinctive species had remained undetected despite extensive botanical exploration in the eastern Himalaya,” Sekhar Dash said. “This highlights how remote alpine ecosystems still harbor poorly documented plant diversity.” C. hookeri is a small, short plant that grows in mat-like clumps. It has densely hairy stems, and striking purple-blue flowers with hairy throats. Sekhar Dash said the plant is a highly specialized herb that’s adapted to harsh mountain climates. “It creates robust, hairy cushions that protect it from the severe mountain conditions,” he said. Despite the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In the rugged, high-altitude meadows of the Eastern Himalayas in India, researchers have confirmed the presence of a tiny plant with purple-blue flowers, last documented in the country more than 150 years ago. The plant, Cyananthus hookeri, was previously recorded in India by British botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker who collected some specimens from the […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Beavers restored a volcano-scarred river. Now it’s at risk again 24 Jul 2026 03:50:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/beavers-restored-a-volcano-scarred-river-now-its-at-risk-again/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: More than 40 years after sediment from a volcanic eruption filled up a stretch of the North Fork Toutle River in the U.S. state of Washington, beavers are turning the smothered waterway into a thriving wetland. However, a planned infrastructure project now threatens to undo five years of restoration progress, reports contributor Isabel Gil for Mongabay. Following the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Mark and Dawn Smith, owners of the Eco Park Resort, watched as volcanic sediment accumulated over native vegetation and wildlife along the river. The degradation was exacerbated when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1989 built a sediment retention structure (SRS) to hold back sediment to protect shipping routes and downstream communities from flooding. The structure trapped volcanic material, creating a massive sediment plain on the Smiths’ property. In 2021, the Smith family began collaborating with natural resource experts from the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, the Cascade Tribe, and conservation groups to reintroduce beavers (Castor canadensis) to the area. Emily Fairfax, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, told Mongabay that 58 beavers have been relocated to the resort in the last five years. Many of them were at risk of being euthanized after coming into conflict with humans in other areas. The relocated beavers have established a complex network of dams and what Smith described as “honeycomb” canals, deepening ponds and allowing native willows and alders to take root. Smith said he’s seen ducks and elk return to his property. Moreover, the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: More than 40 years after sediment from a volcanic eruption filled up a stretch of the North Fork Toutle River in the U.S. state of Washington, beavers are turning the smothered waterway into a thriving wetland. However, a planned infrastructure project now threatens to undo five years of restoration progress, reports contributor Isabel Gil for […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Scientists call on countries to act on ‘forgotten’ sawfish teeth trade 23 Jul 2026 22:12:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-call-on-countries-to-act-on-forgotten-sawfish-teeth-trade/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: Sawfish, a group of large marine rays, derive their name from a striking appendage: Their long, saw-like snout lined with teeth-like scales. Nature intended these fish to use their snout, also called a rostrum, to send out electric signals that shock unsuspecting prey, slice it like a sword to impale it, and devour the catch. Humans, on the other hand, use these sharp teeth as cockfighting spurs — a spiky object strapped to a game cock’s legs so it can deliver lethal blows to its opponent and win the fight. For centuries, practitioners of the sport in Latin America have carved sawfish (fam.Pristidae) teeth into spurs. But in the 2000s, as sawfish became overfished for their fins, many cockfighting associations in the region officially banned using their teeth as spurs. In 2007, all sawfish species were added to CITES, the global wildlife trade agreement, and their commercial international trade was banned. A sawfish’s rostrum is lined with sharp teeth-like scales, which are carved into cockfighting spursCredits: Vassil – CC0. A recent study, published in the journal Conservation Letters, found that international commerce in sawfish rostra and teeth continues in Latin America despite bans. Talking to cockfighting practitioners and association representatives, the researchers found most rostral teeth entering the trade came from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Central America and Colombia. Peru topped the list as a destination. They call for stricter law enforcement and coordination in these countries, and urge CITES to take action to curb the “hidden” trade. Although the peak…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Teeth of critically endangered sawfish species continue to be used as cockfighting spurs in Latin America despite bans from cockfighting organizations, a new study found. - Researchers interviewed cockfighting practitioners in Peru, where the sport is widely prevalent, and leaders from cockfighting associations in Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and Puerto Rico to understand the dynamics of this illegal trade. - The study found sawfish teeth are sold for anywhere between $25 and $400 per pair, making them some of the most valuable wildlife products. Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia supply most of the teeth, while Peru tops the list of consumers. - All commercial international trade in sawfish is prohibited under CITES, and the fish is a protected species across Latin America. Scientists call on countries to enforce their laws and on CITES to act against hidden illicit trade. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
In Michoacán, Mexico, drying soil threatens water supplies and avocados, says study 23 Jul 2026 21:28:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-michoacan-mexico-drying-soil-threatens-water-supplies-and-avocados-says-study/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Caitlin Cooper content:encoded: MEXICO CITY — In the heart of Mexico’s southwestern state of Michoacán, Juan Madrigal spends his free time organizing to protect the city of Uruapan’s urban ecological park, a 50-hectare (124-acre) plot of land at the edge of the Río Santa Bárbara. A state-protected area since 1995, the park’s marshlands help to purify the surrounding Cupatitzio watershed, where nine natural springs provide drinking water to approximately half a million people. According to Madrigal, the park, a habitat of the ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush (Catharus frantzii), the endangered Michoacán pocket gopher (Zygogeomys trichopus) and the endemic Pátzcuaro frog (Lithobates dunni), is a victim of neglect. “The authorities have never paid any attention to it, and it’s us citizens who’ve been speaking out,” Madrigal, who in 1993 founded Ecocentro del Río Cupatitzio, a nonprofit educational center, tells Mongabay by phone. The movement to protect the park gained momentum after it involved the ranchers that grow fruit and corn downstream, Madrigal says. “They realized the importance of us supporting each other in defending the vital sources of life,” he says. “Without trees, there is no water.” For a certain type of tree, however, the inverse occurs: Without water, there are no avocados. Defending native forests, urban or otherwise, is a small but important fight in Michoacán, where avocado orchards have replaced nearly 700,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) of tree cover, an area almost three times the size of Cape Town, between 1993 and 2023. Michoacán is the top avocado exporter in Mexico and the only…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Avocados are grown year-round in the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacán, which exports more than 1 million metric tons of avocados annually. - A recent study in Michoacán found that between 2001 and 2018, soils with high avocado productivity lost 38 liters per cubic meter of water annually. - Illegal logging of high-altitude forests to accommodate new avocado plantations simultaneously depletes the aquifer, as avocado trees consume 4-5 times more water than native pines. - If the trend continues, Michoacán’s avocado-growing areas are expected to suffer increased water stress in the short term, negatively affecting both agricultural production and drinking water access in the region. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Sea salt in Lombok Island, Indonesia is contaminated with microplastics: study 23 Jul 2026 19:28:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sea-salt-in-lombok-island-indonesia-is-contaminated-with-microplastics-study/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Sea salt sold in markets across Lombok Island, Indonesia, is contaminated with microplastics, according to a recent study. Microplastics are small plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in length that form when larger plastic waste breaks down. Microplastics have been found everywhere scientists have looked for them, including seafood and table salt, raising concerns for public health. Much of the plastic waste generated on land ends up in the ocean where it can break down into microplastics. Because sea salt is created by evaporating salt water, it is particularly vulnerable to microplastic contamination when the source water contains suspended microplastics. Scientists estimate that there are millions of tons of plastic pollution in the ocean, by far the largest form of marine pollution. The research team lead by Anna Ida Sunaryo Purwiyanto collected 20 salt samples from vendors at 10 markets across Lombok Island. They extracted potential microplastic particles from the samples and identified the particles using a stereo microscope. Every salt sample contained microplastics, “indicating widespread contamination across the surveyed markets,” the study notes. The researchers found some variation in microplastic contamination levels in different markets and in crystal versus fine sea salt. However, the results consistently showed that the source material for the salt, the ocean surrounding Lombok Island, is contaminated with microplastics. The researchers note that crystal sea salt had higher levels of microplastics than fine salt, likely because fine salt is washed and filtered, which removes some microplastic particles. They conclude that additional washing and filtering of salt…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Sea salt sold in markets across Lombok Island, Indonesia, is contaminated with microplastics, according to a recent study. Microplastics are small plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in length that form when larger plastic waste breaks down. Microplastics have been found everywhere scientists have looked for them, including seafood and table salt, raising concerns for public […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Wildfire spreads near popular French tourist town as thousands are evacuated 23 Jul 2026 17:54:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/wildfire-spreads-near-popular-french-tourist-town-as-thousands-are-evacuated/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: PARIS (AP) — About 20,000 people were evacuated from towns and vacation resorts along the French Atlantic coast Thursday as the latest in a series of wildfires raged and hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to tackle it. Local authorities said the fire in a forest near the town of Lège-Cap Ferret, southwest of Bordeaux, spread over more than 31 square kilometers (12 square miles), though no injuries have been reported. The prefect, or head of the surrounding Gironde region, Sophie Brocas, said some 700 firefighters have been deployed, including forces sent from the Paris region. The fire came within 300 meters (980 feet) of the first homes in Lège, and water bombers were being used. Later in the day, the prefect’s office said the wildfire had not yet been brought under control but remained contained to the north of Lège. More than 10,000 people, including tourists staying at holiday camps and campgrounds, were moved to safety overnight, along with more than 1,000 residents living in residential areas along the forest edge. Authorities later evacuated the village of Claouey, including residents staying at several campsites, as a precautionary measure. Brocas said the evacuation involved 8,800 people. Several municipalities have opened reception and respite centers for evacuees, the prefecture said. Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Following a succession of heat waves that started even before the summer, wildfires…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: PARIS (AP) — About 20,000 people were evacuated from towns and vacation resorts along the French Atlantic coast Thursday as the latest in a series of wildfires raged and hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to tackle it. Local authorities said the fire in a forest near the town of Lège-Cap Ferret, southwest of Bordeaux, spread […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
How saline drinking water raises preeclampsia risks in coastal Bangladesh (commentary) 23 Jul 2026 16:59:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-saline-drinking-water-raises-preeclampsia-risks-in-coastal-bangladesh-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Ashik Rubaiyat content:encoded: Hypertensive or high blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of maternal deaths in low-income countries. A pregnancy complication known as preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder, is listed among the top five causes of maternal deaths in Bangladesh. For expectant women with preeclampsia, timely treatment is required; otherwise, it can lead to issues such as elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count syndrome, hepatic failure, coma or loss of life.The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the U.N. set an ambitious target to reduce the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by the end of 2030. While many developed nations have already achieved the U.N. target, low- and middle-income countries are yet to achieve these goals. In Bangladesh, the maternal mortality rate is 196 per 100,000 live births and rates remain significantly higher in the neighboring countries . A recent study reported an association between hypertension, preeclampsia and high-salinity drinking water. The same study argues that, in Bangladesh, preeclampsia is associated with high-salt drinking water. Epidemiological evidence links high salt intake to hypertension in both adults and children. The scarcity of safe drinking water has become a serious global issue due to agricultural expansion, sea level rise caused by global warming and population growth. The IPCC, in its sixth Assessment Report (AR6), stated that climate change affects water availability and water quality. Globally, around 4 billion people face water scarcity for at least one month each year. Storm surges and rising sea levels make it easier for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Climate change and rising sea levels are driving salt water intrusion into drinking water sources in coastal Bangladesh, which research links to an increased risk of preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal mortality. - Rural communities lack adequate freshwater infrastructure, which means pregnant women are often forced to consume saline water, making them particularly vulnerable to the life-threatening effects of excessive sodium intake. - To address this hidden health crisis and prevent further maternal deaths, Bangladesh’s government and partner organizations must take urgent action by subsidizing household rainwater harvesting tanks for the most vulnerable coastal families. - Since this article is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Mongabay. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Ten years of Mongabay Latam 23 Jul 2026 15:48:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ten-years-of-mongabay-latam/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: When Mongabay Latam began publishing in 2016, the decision felt like a logical next step. Mongabay Indonesia, launched four years earlier, had shown that a locally led, local-language newsroom could build an audience for sustained environmental reporting. Spanish offered the chance to apply that approach across a region extending from Mexico through Central America and the Andes to Chile and Argentina. The political and ecological conditions varied widely, but the need was similar: important environmental stories were going unreported, or receiving attention only after a crisis became difficult to ignore. Latin America and the Caribbean are the most biologically diverse region on Earth, holding nearly half of the world’s tropical forests and unusually large shares of its mammals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and plants. The Spanish-speaking countries in Mongabay Latam’s coverage area include some of the richest parts of the Amazon rainforest, the tropical Andes, Mesoamerica, the Chocó, and the eastern Pacific. These landscapes face growing pressure from mining, agriculture, infrastructure, organized crime, and climate change. Macaws in Peru. Image by Rhett Butler for Mongabay. I was also drawn to the region’s cultural and intellectual range. Latin America has produced many responses to these pressures, including Indigenous territorial governance, community forestry, new legal approaches to nature, and locally designed conservation programs. A regional news service could document environmental damage while also examining how people were responding to it. Mongabay Latam’s staff and contributors built the newsroom that followed. Editors developed the judgment, relationships, and institutional memory needed to…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mongabay Latam marks ten years of providing daily environmental news across Spanish-speaking Latin America, with stories distributed through a broad network of mainstream and independent media partners. - Its locally led reporting has documented environmental change across some of the world’s most biologically and culturally diverse landscapes, while placing Indigenous peoples and other affected communities at the center of the coverage. - Investigations by the bureau and its partners have contributed to government interventions, land restitution, enforcement action, and greater scrutiny of illegal mining, deforestation, organized crime, and other environmental threats. - These achievements reflect the work of Mongabay Latam’s staff, contributors, and media partners throughout the region, supported by funders who have sustained independent public-interest journalism. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
For Brazil’s Xokleng people, saving a sacred tree means saving their culture 23 Jul 2026 13:17:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/for-brazils-xokleng-people-saving-a-sacred-tree-means-saving-their-culture/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Letícia Klein content:encoded: IBIRAMA-LA KLÃNÕ INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil — Zág, pronounced “zã,” is the Xokleng word for the Brazilian pine. This tree species, Araucaria angustifolia, is typical of the Atlantic Forest that runs along Brazil’s south and southeastern coast, and has been evolving on the planet for about 200 million years. Each female tree produces dozens of cones, which in turn carry hundreds of seeds. Known in Brazil as pinhão, the Brazilian pine seed is a nut eaten by at least 22 animal species as well as humans, who rely on it for both nutrition and income. For some Indigenous peoples, however, it means more than food. It’s part of their culture, history, and origin myths. That’s the case for the Xokleng people, also known as the Laklãnõ, in what is today Santa Catarina state. In their villages, people are even named after the tree. “Brazilian pines are sacred to us,” says Carl Gakran, executive director of the Zág Institute. “You can’t tell the story of our people without speaking of them. Our creation myth says the protective animal was made from that tree, so it appears in the very first story.” Carl decided to do something for the pines in 2016, after learning that the species was critically endangered as a result of deforestation, urban expansion, and logging. Currently, Brazilian pine forests are estimated to cover less than 3% of their original range, which once stretched across much of the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, with small patches…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Zág Institute, an initiative of the Laklãnõ/Xokleng Indigenous people, is restoring the Brazilian pine on their traditional territory in the state of Santa Catarina. - Sacred to the Indigenous people, the Brazilian pine is a critically endangered species; replanting it is seen as a way of strengthening their identity. - Nearly 100,000 seedlings have been planted across 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres), in the process restoring water sources and degraded land. - The reforestation project involves the whole community in planting the seedlings, which is done through collective efforts throughout the year and also by donating them to Indigenous families. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
New bird species identified on remote Indonesian island 23 Jul 2026 05:13:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-bird-species-identified-on-remote-indonesian-island/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: A songbird species previously thought to occur across two Indonesian islands has turned out to be two distinct species, according to a recent study. For more than 120 years, many scientists believed that Indonesia’s Babar Islands in eastern Banda Sea, and Tanimbar Islands, roughly 135 kilometers (84 miles) east of the Babar Islands, were both home to the cinnamon-tailed fantail (Rhipidura fuscorufa). But a team of researchers led by James A. Eaton of Birdtour Asia Limited and Alex J. Berryman of BirdLife International has confirmed that the songbird on Babar Islands is a distinct species, which they’ve named the cheerful fantail (Rhipidura laguceria). To confirm these findings, the researchers analyzed 19 museum specimens of birds labeled cinnamon-tailed fantail, historically collected from both Tanimbar and Babar islands. They also recorded songs of the birds on both islands, then played the recorded calls back to the wild birds 132 separate times over several years. The researchers found that physical differences between the populations on the two islands are subtle: The cheerful fantail possess slightly darker upperparts and less extensive cinnamon plumage below than the cinnamon-tailed fantail. However, their songs vary considerably. The researchers said in the study that songs of the birds on Babar typically consist of “single whistles that rise in pitch towards the end.” By contrast, the Tanimbar birds combine very short and longer whistles, which gives their songs a “much more rhythmic cadence,” with pitch that typically goes up and down. The song recording experiments also revealed that birds…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A songbird species previously thought to occur across two Indonesian islands has turned out to be two distinct species, according to a recent study. For more than 120 years, many scientists believed that Indonesia’s Babar Islands in eastern Banda Sea, and Tanimbar Islands, roughly 135 kilometers (84 miles) east of the Babar Islands, were both […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Third year of wildfires threaten isolated Indigenous group in Bolivia 22 Jul 2026 21:59:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/third-year-of-wildfires-threaten-isolated-indigenous-group-in-bolivia/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Wildfires have burned thousands of hectares of forest and savanna in the Chacobo-Pacahuara Indigenous territory in the Beni department of northern Bolivia, according to satellite imagery and on-the-ground sources. The fires likely resulted from illegal burns in pastures surrounding the Indigenous territory. The fires hit Chacobo-Pacahuara in September and October 2025, the third consecutive year of unusually high fire activity in the Indigenous land, according to the most recent data released by Global Forest Watch, a platform that uses satellite data to track forest loss worldwide. The flames consumed Indigenous subsistence crops and homes. Locals also expressed worry for the safety of isolated Indigenous communities. “We have Indigenous relatives who live in voluntary isolation, and we do not know what has happened to them because the forest and the forest islands where they lived burned,” Constantino Toledo Ortiz, a leader of the Chácobo people, told Mongabay in a voice message. “We think they may have crossed into Brazil.” According to a bulletin published by the Center for Legal Studies and Social Research (CEJIS), 1,141 heat hotspots, typically caused by fire, were recorded in the territory between Jan. 1 and Sept. 12, 2025. CEJIS recorded an additional 845 heat hotspots between Sept. 29 and Oct. 16, 2025. The sharp increase is in line with the Bolivian Amazon’s typical fire season, which usually peaks around August and September when the climate is at its driest. Chacobo-Pacahuara was the most affected Indigenous territory in the Bolivian Amazon in 2025. Map by Andrés Alegría/Mongabay. In 2024,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Wildfires have burned thousands of hectares of forest and savanna in the Chacobo-Pacahuara Indigenous territory in the Beni department of northern Bolivia, according to satellite imagery and on-the-ground sources. The fires likely resulted from illegal burns in pastures surrounding the Indigenous territory. The fires hit Chacobo-Pacahuara in September and October 2025, the third consecutive year […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
As Australia expands seismic testing, experts warn of profound effects on sealife 22 Jul 2026 18:38:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-australia-expands-seismic-testing-experts-warn-of-profound-effects-on-sealife/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Theoné van der Merwe content:encoded: It was spring, 20 years ago now, but he remembers it clearly. On the deck of the Geco Resolution, wind tearing spray from the waves, Robert McCauley stood gazing out onto an ocean blackened by night. The ship had been firing seismic airguns all day, thunderous blasts punching through the water and into the seabed. Over time, the rhythmic boom reverberating through the hull had almost faded into the background. But then night fell, and the sound revealed itself. “Every time the airgun went off, the sea would light up,” McCauley told Mongabay. Each blast was triggering a burst of bioluminescence — dinoflagellates and other microscopic life igniting in unison. “A sheet of light would shoot out, like a wave traveling at the speed of sound. It went out for about a kilometer at least,” he said. As Australia’s leading expert in marine bioacoustics, McCauley, a research scientist at the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University, was there to study how whales responded to the noise. But watching the bioluminescent glow pulse outward and fade, then pulse again, he found himself wondering less about whales and more about the tiny organisms that sustain them. “It made me think, what’s happening to all those little animals? How are they being stimulated? And what happens if they’re being stimulated every five or 10 seconds, repeatedly?” McCauley wondered. For decades, marine seismic surveys have echoed through the world’s oceans, largely in search of oil and gas. Research has shown the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Research has shown the intense, impulsive underwater noise from marine seismic surveys can harm marine animals up and down the food chain. Yet marine scientists say major gaps remain in understanding how the effects of repeated exposure may accumulate across ecosystems over time. - Even so, the technology is becoming embedded in Australia’s energy transition plans, as projects increasingly rely on seismic surveys not only to search for gas, but also to repeatedly monitor sites where carbon dioxide captured during gas production would be injected permanently into seabed rock formations. - The process, known as carbon capture and storage, is relatively new, and while proponents say it is the only way to reach net zero goals, major economic and performance challenges remain. - The expansion of carbon capture and storage could make seismic surveys a recurring feature of Australia’s net-zero ambitions. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Why a New England city is building tunnels to protect an imperiled salamander 22 Jul 2026 18:29:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/why-a-new-england-town-is-building-tunnels-to-protect-an-imperiled-salamander/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Alex Megerle content:encoded: NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S. — It’s a mild March night in Keene, New Hampshire, and the salamander brigade is out in full force. A constellation of flashlight beams wink and flash along a dark street, as rain falls onto the jackets and reflective vests of the assembled crew. Tonight, a veritable army of amphibians is trekking from the upland forests, where they spend the winter, toward the wetlands where they breed. In their path lies a two-lane asphalt road, North Lincoln Street. Animals need to move for a variety of reasons, but in a world crosshatched by motorways, that’s not an easy task. Each spring in Keene, wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus), spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) must navigate roads to reach their natal spawning grounds. This particular road in Keene is routinely closed to cars during nights of amphibian migration. At other crossing sites in the region, volunteers are the only thing standing between these slow-moving critters and the danger posed by passing traffic. Carrying animals across the road by hand gets the job done, but it’s limited by human availability and energy. The hope has always been that “crossing brigades are the first step, not the last step,” said Brett Amy Thelen, who organizes these efforts and serves as science director for the Harris Center for Conservation Education, a regional nonprofit. That hope is being realized: Thelen and her salamander squadron are at the center of a new initiative to build small…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In the small U.S. city of Keene, New Hampshire, plans are underway to build small underpasses to help amphibians safely cross a road, including hybrid Jefferson/blue-spotted salamanders, an imperiled species complex. - In the neighboring state of Vermont, salamander crossings constructed in 2015 have reduced the number of amphibian deaths at that site by 80%. - Habitat connectivity is crucial: Animals need to move to find water and food, to mate or to escape extreme, climate-change-driven weather events. - With growing human populations, wild lands are increasingly fragmented and relinking habitat with wildlife crossings has become an important conservation tool. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Smithsonian ornithologist John Rappole reconsidered why birds migrate 22 Jul 2026 16:31:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/smithsonian-ornithologist-john-rappole-reconsidered-why-birds-migrate/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For much of the year, migratory songbirds were treated as temporary visitors to the tropics. They arrived from the north, spent the winter, and departed again. Ornithologists paid more attention to their journeys and breeding grounds than to the months they passed farther south. The birds were often described as transients, moving through tropical forests without becoming part of them. What they did there, and how firmly they occupied those places, remained poorly understood. Years of catching, banding, and watching them suggested a different account. In the forests of southern Mexico, individual birds returned to familiar patches and defended feeding territories. They were regular members of tropical bird communities for months at a time. A bird that appeared to be a passing visitor might return to the same small area year after year. Its life in the tropics was structured, local, and essential to its survival. Migration could not be explained only as an escape from northern winters. Its origins might instead lie in dispersal from warmer regions, as birds gradually extended their ranges toward seasonal food and breeding opportunities. John Hilton Rappole, who died on June 30th, aged 79, pursued this argument for much of his career. It became known as the dispersal theory of bird migration. The theory challenged a long-standing explanation for why birds crossed continents. His commitment to it reflected his approach to science. He relied on sustained field observation, questioned established assumptions, and was prepared to defend an idea over many years. He was less…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - John Hilton Rappole helped reshape the study of bird migration by showing that migratory songbirds were established members of tropical ecosystems during winter. - His dispersal theory argued that migration may have developed as tropical birds expanded into seasonal northern habitats, challenging a long-standing scientific explanation. - Across five decades of fieldwork, he studied birds in the United States, Mexico, Central America, and Myanmar, and spent 20 years at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. - Colleagues knew him as a rigorous, generous, and modest scientist who trusted sustained observation, questioned established assumptions, and revised his conclusions when the evidence required it. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
An Indigenous take on Colombia’s new gov’t: Interview with a Putumayo Indigenous leader 22 Jul 2026 14:12:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/an-indigenous-take-on-colombias-new-govt-interview-with-a-putumayo-indigenous-leader/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: In just a few weeks, Colombia will have a new leader. Right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia’s runoff election on June 11 with 49.6% of the vote, securing a razor-thin victory over the left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda, who received 48.7%. De la Espriella has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining in the country, leaving the future of conservation in the Colombian Amazon, the fossil fuel phaseout commitments made by current President Gustavo Petro’s administration and the rights of Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities open to question. Ahead of de la Espriella’s inauguration on Aug. 7, Mongabay interviewed Marino Peña, an Indigenous Inga leader and president of the Indigenous Zonal Organization of Putumayo (OZIP), to get his take on how the incoming president’s policies might impact communities in the department of Putumayo, in southwestern Colombia. De la Espriella has also promised to reduce the state budget to a minimum and tackle violence using greater force and militarization. For communities in Putumayo, the implications of these promises hold weight. Colombia’s Putumayo region, which has historically been a drug production and trafficking hotspot, is “one of the deadliest regions in Colombia for social leaders.” Illegal mining by armed groups has also grown exponentially in recent years, fueling conflicts, violence, mercury contamination and accelerated deforestation. Due to their critical role as vocal defenders of their territories and of environmental and Indigenous rights, social leaders have frequently found themselves in the crossfire between armed groups and the state. In addition,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mongabay interviewed Marino Peña, a prominent Indigenous leader from Colombia’s Putumayo region, to hear his take on the incoming government’s plans and how it might affect Indigenous communities and forests in Colombia. - Abelardo de la Espriella, from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party, won Colombia’s runoff election on June 11 and will be inaugurated on Aug. 7. - De la Espriella says he will expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country and has promised to tackle violence using greater force and militarization. - In this interview with Mongabay, Peña explains that the atmosphere on the ground is tense, in part because de la Espriella’s policies might exacerbate existing conflicts linked to a controversial copper mine in the region. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
How to stitch a massive wildlife corridor through the Rocky Mountains 22 Jul 2026 12:07:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-to-stitch-a-massive-wildlife-corridor-through-the-rocky-mountains/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Jane Palmer content:encoded: BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada — On a sunny Thursday in May, Kent Kebe had to scrape yet another bighorn sheep carcass off Highway 93/95 running through Radium, British Columbia. The necropsy confirmed what Kebe, the village’s protective service manager, already knew: A car collision killed the ram. Roadkill deaths hit this community hard. Residents love their sheep so much that the village center sports a huge steel sculpture of sheep horns that stands roughly 12-meters- (39-foot-) wide and 6-meters- (19-feet-) tall. The Big Horn Cafe on the main drag features artwork of bighorn rams and serves custom-blended “Headbanger tea.” In the 1990s, about 350 bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) milled around, drawn to the golf course and the grasses along the highway. “It’s like a candy store for them,” Kebe says. But by 2022, the herd’s numbers had dwindled to 140. While some sheep died from natural causes, vehicle collisions played a big role in the death toll. “There’s a tension where the sheep are the mascots of the village, but the traffic is killing them,” says wildlife scientist Clayton Lamb, who works with the nonprofit Biodiversity Pathways and the University of British Columbia. He helped bring attention to the issue in 2022. Habitat loss is a major threat to species, but highways, railways and towns impact how animals move to eat, meet and mate — and that can endanger their survival. A 2025 review in the journal Science warned that while the world aims to protect 30% of the planet by…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Across the world, roads, railways, towns and farms sever habitat, preventing wildlife from moving across the landscape. Cutting off animals’ ability to connect can limit genetic exchange and cause entire populations to decline — and ultimately, collapse. - The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, or Y2Y, is trying to create a giant connected area stretching across the Rocky Mountains from the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem in the U.S. to Canada’s Yukon Territory. It will allow animals to move, meet and mate. - Across Canada, the U.S. and the world, countries are building wildlife crossings that reconnect habitat and keep motorists safe from costly, potentially deadly collisions with animals. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Vietnam’s coffee boom fueled by decades of deforestation, report finds 22 Jul 2026 07:20:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/vietnams-coffee-boom-fueled-by-decades-of-deforestation-report-finds/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Decades of unchecked deforestation for coffee production has devastated Vietnam’s Central Highland forests, according to a new investigation by the Berlin-headquartered watchdog group Coffee Watch. Vietnam is currently the world’s second largest coffee producer, supplying nearly 40% of the world’s exports of Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora). The investigation, which analyzed satellite data and government records, found that tropical forest cover in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, which produces 95% of the country’s coffee, plummeted from 42.8% in 1990 to just 19% by 2020. Forest loss was most rapid between 1995 and 2010, and stabilized at low levels in the 2020s, the investigation found. Much of the remaining tropical moist forest is now confined to “steeper, less accessible terrain, often at higher elevations and within formally designated protected areas,” the Coffee Watch’s report notes. Historically, government policy and international development financing incentivized the rapid expansion of coffee in the Central Highlands, according to Coffee Watch. The ecological cost has been severe, the nonprofit adds, resulting in fragmented habitats, accelerated soil erosion and a “nutrient treadmill” where farmers must use increasing amounts of fertilizer to maintain yields in exhausted soils. The Coffee Watch report notes that forest loss has affected water flow and recharge, soil stability and moisture, carbon storage and pests in the Central Highlands. It warns that 50% of Vietnam’s robusta belt could become unsuitable for coffee owing to the added impacts of climate extremes such as rising temperatures and erratic rainfall. Ly Thi Minh Hai, Vietnam country director at the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Decades of unchecked deforestation for coffee production has devastated Vietnam’s Central Highland forests, according to a new investigation by the Berlin-headquartered watchdog group Coffee Watch. Vietnam is currently the world’s second largest coffee producer, supplying nearly 40% of the world’s exports of Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora). The investigation, which analyzed satellite data and government records, […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
In southern India, beekeeping helps Indigenous women earn more 22 Jul 2026 07:11:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/in-southern-india-beekeeping-helps-indigenous-women-earn-more/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: A beekeeping initiative is enabling women in India’s Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot that runs parallel to India’s west coast, to strengthen their livelihoods with more reliable honey harvests. The 50 women are part of the Women for Bees project, launched in India in April 2025 by UNESCO in partnership with local nonprofit the Keystone Foundation. The project provides training and equipment to women from the Irula, Kurumba and Kattunayaka Indigenous communities across the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, reports Mongabay-India’s Arathi Menon. Traditionally, many of these communities were skilled wild honey hunters, a practice that is often risky and increasingly restricted by forest protection laws. Managed beekeeping, using hive boxes, offers a safer, more predictable alternative. The women are trained to rear the native Asian honey bee (Apis cerana indica), which is more resistant to local diseases and parasites than the commercially dominant European honey bee (Apis mellifera). A 2023 study comparing the two species suggests that, while the life cycles are generally similar, A. cerana colonies are better able to defend themselves against threats, diseases and disruptions. The economic impact of the honey harvests from the hive boxes has been immediate, providing many participants with their first taste of financial independence. Neelavathi, an Irula woman from Tamil Nadu state, has used her earnings to support her family and purchase household goods. “Since I am the beekeeper at home, my family lets me keep the income for my own needs,” she told Mongabay-India. Malavika Jayakrishnan, who leads…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A beekeeping initiative is enabling women in India’s Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot that runs parallel to India’s west coast, to strengthen their livelihoods with more reliable honey harvests. The 50 women are part of the Women for Bees project, launched in India in April 2025 by UNESCO in partnership with local nonprofit the Keystone […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
A Tunisian phosphate plant that sickens children so US, Europe can get fertilizer 22 Jul 2026 02:00:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-tunisian-phosphate-plant-that-sickens-children-so-us-europe-can-get-fertilizer/ author: Andy Lehren dc:creator: Dawn KikelElisângela MendonçaKhadija Ben Salah content:encoded: Dalila grew up in the Tunisian coastal city of Gabès and is accustomed to the heavy, acrid smell from the state-owned phosphate processing plant about a 10-minute walk from her home. On days when noxious fumes fill the air, Dalila rushes to tightly shut the windows and tells her children to hurry indoors. She washes them, believing it lessens harmful effects from chemicals. Emissions can last all day. Residents may get little or no advance warning. But one day in September 2025, children were at school when gases spread. Some students fell to the ground, complaining they had difficulty breathing. Others said they felt like they were suffocating. Dalila’s daughter said she felt like she was choking. Dalila rushed her to a government-run hospital. When she asked about test results or the type of substances that may have caused her difficulty breathing, Dalila said she did not get clear answers. The incident sickening the schoolchildren helped spark mass protests in the streets of Gabès, with people waving banners that read “Stop Pollution” and “Move The Plant.” It is not the first time that residents have protested water and air pollution from the factory. Dalila feels that she and others in Gabès are being ignored. They are far from alone. Fishermen report coastal waters were once abundant with fish, but, now, their nets come up empty. Scientific studies provide evidence that environmental damage poses a danger to the health of those living nearby. People take part in a demonstration against pollution…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Toxic emissions from a phosphate processing plant in the Tunisian port city of Gabès have left residents reporting respiratory problems and other illnesses. Children are among the hardest hit. - A Mongabay and ARIJ analysis of Sentinel-5 satellite imagery found concentrations of air pollutants in the area that may have reached up to nine times the World Health Organization’s recommended limits. - The city’s coastal waters – historically a biodiversity hotspot and a fish and shellfish nursery – have suffered severe damage from phosphate-related pollution, according to scientific studies and local fishermen. - Phosphate is one of Tunisia’s most valuable exports and a key ingredient in fertilizer shipped to overseas markets, including the United States, Europe and India. Companies buying phosphate products from the Gabès factory, including giants EuroChem and U.S.-based Koch Fertilizer, did not respond to requests for comment. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Oil has harmed the nature and people of the Niger Delta; human rights may save it 21 Jul 2026 23:06:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/oil-has-harmed-the-nature-and-people-of-the-niger-delta-human-rights-may-save-it/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, I speak with travel writer Noo Saro-Wiwa. She has documented the violence and natural destruction that the presence of oil companies have brought to the people of the Niger Delta in her latest book, The Burning Ground: Oil and Militancy in Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa is also the daughter of the late activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by the Nigerian government in 1995. Her father led a peaceful resistance against the oil companies’ presence in the Niger Delta by mobilizing 300,000 people from Ogoniland in 1993. It is fair to say his activism started the movement against the destruction and exploitation led by oil companies in the nation. While peaceful at first, Noo Saro-Wiwa says many people gave up hope on peaceful resistance when the government failed to hold the companies accountable, and men turned to forming violent militant groups. “Oil has been literally the worst thing that’s happened to the Niger Delta. If I could go back in time and I had the power, I would never have allowed oil to have been discovered,” she says. “ The amount of instability, political, economic instability it causes. And the damage to the environment … that goes without saying. So we really need to shift to solar power … oil companies do not have this kind of leverage over people, and governments will have no incentive to go in and destroy people’s lives.” While her latest book chronicles the harm of oil and the resulting…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, I speak with travel writer Noo Saro-Wiwa. She has documented the violence and natural destruction that the presence of oil companies have brought to the people of the Niger Delta in her latest book, The Burning Ground: Oil and Militancy in Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa is also the daughter […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Health fears linger in a Brazilian neighborhood built over oil waste 21 Jul 2026 20:06:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/health-fears-linger-in-a-brazilian-neighborhood-built-over-oil-waste/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Leandro Barbosa content:encoded: SÃO SEBASTIÃO, Brazil — In front of the house where she has lived for decades, Cosma da Silva points to nearby homes in her Itatinga neighborhood and lists a string of cancer cases. “There’s a woman with cancer over there. Another one lives in that building. And yet another one there [points at the place]. People in this area only die of cancer.” She sees illness as an integral part of the neighborhood’s landscape and includes her own family in the tally. Her husband Paulo José da Silva died at age 51 from a brain tumor. Cosma herself recently underwent surgery to remove a nodule. As she deals with the consequences of the treatment — a wound that burns and itches on the side of her chest — she continues to observe several sick relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. The connection between these cases and the environmental contamination that has marked Itatinga’s history has never been proven or investigated the way residents expected it to be. From the 1970s to the 1980s, part of the neighborhood was used for the disposal of oily sludge associated with oil exploration. Years later, homes were built on the land. Environmental investigations by public agencies found contaminants in the soil and groundwater. For almost 20 years, documents from the São Paulo State Environmental Company (CETESB), the State Prosecution Service (MPE), the Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) and Petrobras itself — the Brazilian state-controlled oil company, which the investigations accused of being responsible for the disposal — pointed to toxic substances…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Official documents show the historic presence of benzene and other contaminants in São Sebastião’s Itatinga neighborhood. Despite reports of illnesses, an epidemiological study planned for assessing the impacts on the population has never been conducted. - Documents from multiple agencies show the historic presence of oil-derived contaminants, including benzene, in a residential area of the Itatinga neighborhood in São Sebastião, São Paulo. - For decades, locals have reported cases of cancer, vision loss and respiratory and neurological problems, but a main study intended to look into the health impacts of exposure has never been conducted. - In 2025, the Cross-Sectional Health Study planned under a Conduct Adjustment Commitment was replaced with funds to be transferred to the city, leaving one of the community’s core demands unanswered. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Amazon tree rings reveal more intense drought and rainfall in the rainforest 21 Jul 2026 16:39:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/amazon-tree-rings-reveal-more-intense-drought-and-rainfall-in-the-rainforest/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Tree rings from the Amazon show that the world’s largest rainforest has developed wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons over the past four decades. The findings point to intense seasonal swings that can cause significant harm to biodiversity and suggest that widespread drying out across the entire Amazon basin is unlikely. Researchers collected tree cores from two species of floodplain trees; one species only grows in the wet season and another that only grows in dry conditions. They analyzed oxygen isotopes and the chronology of chemical marks left along the annual growth rings from each tree. They found that wet-season rainfall increased by 15-22% since 1980, while dry-season rainfall declined by 5.8-13.5%. “For a long time, there has been talk that it will dry up, and climate models created in the 1990s and early 2000s did indeed show that the Amazon was following that path,” study lead author Bruno Cintra, a biologist at the University of Birmingham, said, reported Mongabay contributor Luís Patriani. “But when we observe how the climate has developed over the last 40 or 50 years, what we see is that there is no clear pattern indicating that the biome as a whole is drying up.” The biome isn’t drying up entirely, because changes in weather patterns are not impacting all regions across the massive forest in the same way. The northern portion of the rainforest is receiving more rain during the wet season, while the southern Amazon region is facing longer and drier dry seasons.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Tree rings from the Amazon show that the world’s largest rainforest has developed wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons over the past four decades. The findings point to intense seasonal swings that can cause significant harm to biodiversity and suggest that widespread drying out across the entire Amazon basin is unlikely. Researchers collected tree […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
‘We couldn’t breathe’: DRC villagers revive protest against Perenco over pollution 21 Jul 2026 14:54:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/we-couldnt-breathe-drc-villagers-revive-protest-against-perenco-over-pollution/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: “I had diarrhea and dizziness. Food no longer tasted the same. … I wasn’t the only one who noticed it — it was the same for everyone in the village; we couldn’t breathe,” Benoît Packera, secretary of the vigilance committee of Kitombe, told Mongabay. He was recounting what happened in April 2025, when toxic gases were released by a Perenco facility in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The committee raised the alarm about the impacts, which led to a parliamentary commission visiting the area and confirming the existence of pollution in a report. Things went quiet for a while. Perenco continued its flaring operations and the residents claimed they did not receive any treatments or compensation. In May this year, Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities, temporarily disrupting oil operations. Kitombe is a village located in the Muanda territory. Besides being the only territory giving the country access to the ocean, Muanda is also home to oil reserves exploited by Perenco REP (Perenco’s subsidiary in the DRC) since the early 2000s, where it extracts around 4,500 barrels of crude oil per day. However, this exploitation has not come without conflict. The company has repeatedly faced allegations of pollution and adversely impacting agricultural yields, villagers say. But on April 12, 2025, tensions reached a breaking point. “It smelled extremely bad and very strong, like rotten eggs. I coughed a lot and felt like vomiting,” Packera recalled. That day, gas was released into the atmosphere from the tank farm,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Residents of Kitombe, in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, accuse multinational oil giant Perenco, controlled by the French Perrodo family, of causing severe air and soil pollution linked to oil extraction activities. - Villagers reported respiratory problems, dizziness, diarrhea and crop failures after a major gas release from a crude oil storage facility in April 2025. - A parliamentary investigation supported residents’ claims and flagged missing evidence at the site after the incident. - One year later, communities say they received no medical support or compensation and environmental remediation hasn’t been done. Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities in May, temporarily disrupting oil operations. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Extreme heat is eroding health, productivity and incomes of Dhaka’s informal workers 21 Jul 2026 13:11:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/extreme-heat-is-eroding-health-productivity-and-incomes-of-dhakas-informal-workers/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Md Jahidul Islam content:encoded: DHAKA — On June 28, as the afternoon sun beat down on Bangladesh capital Dhaka’s sprawling Tejgaon neighborhood, Samiha Begum gathered her two school-aged children and headed for the shade of Hatirjheel Lake. Their narrow one-room home in a nearby slum had become unbearable. She said, “The room starts heating up as soon as the sun rises. Even if it rains in the morning, the heat becomes like a boiler once the sun comes out. My children cannot stay inside after returning from school. Thus, I come to the lakeside and take the trees’ shade. Here, the air is cooler than in my house.” Like Samiha Begum, for millions of informal workers across Bangladesh’s capital, extreme heat is no longer merely a seasonal discomfort. It is becoming a growing threat to health, livelihoods and survival. Samiha Begum works as a cook in a family home near her slum. A new study by People’s Courage International (PCI) on informal workers in South and Southeast Asia found that 74% of surveyed migrants in Dhaka reported being negatively affected by increasing temperatures, making heat one of the city’s most significant climate threats. The study also found that 100% of surveyed migrants in Dhaka reported being affected by extreme weather events, highlighting the growing vulnerability of low-income urban residents. Researchers analyzed the reality of informal workers in five cities: Dhaka, Delhi, Jakarta, Kathmandu and Quezon City and “how the precarity of their lives and livelihoods is being dangerously intensified due to heat.” Dhaka recorded…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Nearly 75% of migrants in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, reported being negatively affected by rising temperatures, while 100% reported being affected by extreme weather events. - Bangladesh’s maximum temperature has increased by 1.1°C since 1980, while the country’s “feels-like” temperature has risen by 4.5°C. - In 2024 alone, heat-related illnesses and productivity losses contributed to the loss of 250 million workdays, costing Bangladesh an estimated $1.78 billion, equivalent to 0.4% of GDP. - Bangladesh’s informal economy employs approximately 85% of the national workforce, nearly 60 million people making heat stress not only a public health issue but also a major economic concern. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Report reveals Cambodia’s appetite for tigers, rhinos and other endangered wildlife 21 Jul 2026 13:02:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/report-reveals-cambodias-appetite-for-tigers-rhinos-and-other-endangered-wildlife/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: Tiger bone wines in exquisite bottles. Tiger cubs sold alive as pets or served as a culinary delicacy alongside pangolin and cobra meat at exclusive restaurants. Rooms filled with rhino horns and elephant ivory, stacks of freshly skinned tiger pelts and bags of pangolin scales. Jewelry made from protected corals and ivory. This is just a glimpse of the thriving illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia discovered by undercover investigators from Earth League International (ELI), a U.S.-based NGO that probes environmental crime. From 2025-26, ELI investigators mapped out the people involved in this illicit enterprise and identified five main kingpins allegedly running it. They gathered details on how cartels smuggle wildlife and their parts, what they sell and who their main customers are. They also linked this black-market trade with human and drug trafficking networks and scam centers operating out of Cambodia that defraud their targets. The investigators’ findings of this operation — named Sandokan after a fictional 19th-century pirate from Southeast Asia — are published in a new report. The yearlong investigation revealed a huge demand for wildlife products within Cambodia, fueled by wealthy Chinese and Cambodian buyers. An elephant tusk offered for sale to undercover investigators. Image courtesy of Earth League International. “It’s a trafficking enterprise, and a good example of what happens when you don’t do anything … they grow and grow and grow, and at the end, the damage is substantial,” said Andrea Crosta, executive director of ELI. “The big surprise was the incredible quantity of wildlife…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Illegal wildlife trade, primarily catering to Chinese nationals, is thriving in Cambodia, according to a new undercover investigation by Earth League International, a U.S.-based NGO fighting environmental crime. - Investigators identified five kingpins allegedly running transnational criminal networks in Cambodia that are involved in wildlife smuggling, human and drug trafficking and operate scam centers that defraud targets of money. ELI also mapped trade networks and gathered information on what species are sold and who buys them. - The report found many endangered animals and their parts, including tigers, elephants, rhinos and pangolins, openly sold mostly to high-ranking government officials, Chinese expats, wealthy businessmen and Chinese tourists. - The report urges China to act against Chinese scam center owners and corrupt officials who facilitate illegal activity and wildlife trade, along with reducing demand for endangered species within its borders. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Pangolin DNA study links local wild meat markets to global trafficking networks 21 Jul 2026 11:39:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/pangolin-dna-study-links-local-wild-meat-markets-to-global-trafficking-networks/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Pangolin scales and other body parts trafficked internationally appear to come from the same areas that supply the animals for local wild meat markets, a new study has found. It created a DNA database and location-prediction model for three threatened species: the white-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis), Sunda (Manis javanica) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked wild mammals; estimates suggest more than 1 million animals have been captured from the wild over the past decade. The new database contains DNA information from 711 samples collected from museum specimens and seized pangolin parts. “Our dense sampling of the white-bellied pangolin … revealed that both forms of trade (domestic and international) draw from the same source regions,” the study’s authors wrote. “This overlap is also found, albeit less pronounced, in the two Asian species and suggests a shared supply chain and common actors at the point of pangolin harvest, and possibly beyond.” In Cameroon, DNA samples from the endangered white-bellied pangolin showed that international seizures in China and Europe overlapped with the same sourcing locations for the two largest domestic wild meat markets in Cameroon: the capital Yaoundé, and the port city of Douala. The study identified the Ebo Wildlife Reserve in western Cameroon as a main sourcing site for both domestic markets, as well as international traffickers. Other key sourcing areas include the forests near the southern city of Ebolowa, near the border with Equatorial Guinea, and near the town of Eseka, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Pangolin scales and other body parts trafficked internationally appear to come from the same areas that supply the animals for local wild meat markets, a new study has found. It created a DNA database and location-prediction model for three threatened species: the white-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis), Sunda (Manis javanica) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins. Pangolins are […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
What happened to the vessels Panama busted in 2025 for fishing in its flagship MPA? 21 Jul 2026 11:10:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/what-happened-to-the-vessels-panama-busted-in-2025-for-fishing-in-its-flagship-mpa/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Edward Carver content:encoded: On Jan. 22, 2025, Panama’s government announced it had caught 16 vessels fishing illegally inside the country’s flagship marine protected area, declaring it the largest such enforcement operation in the country’s history. Publicizing the case helped Panama show its commitment to ensure 30% of its waters are “effectively conserved and managed” by 2030, in compliance with the “30 by 30” goal under a 2022 international treaty. Yet Panama’s government has released little information about the case over the past year and a half, leading observers to ask if the vessel owners were ever held to account. Much of the information in this article, including about the number and nature of the vessels involved and the status of legal proceedings, hasn’t previously been reported. It comes from government files obtained via freedom of information requests by the Environmental Advocacy Center of Panama (CIAM), a nonprofit based in Panama City, and shared with Mongabay, and from Mongabay’s communications with two government agencies involved in the case: the Ministry of Environment, and the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP). Together, those sources provide new details about the vessels, including that they number 21 rather than 16, and are all Panamanian-owned longliners. They also show that Panama’s government has quietly taken steps to hold the vessel owners accountable. The Ministry of Environment and ARAP have each issued fines for many of the vessels. The fishers involved have protested publicly and appealed the fines, arguing that they weren’t fishing in the protected area and that…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In January 2025, Panama’s government announced it had caught more than a dozen vessels fishing illegally inside the country’s flagship marine protected area, declaring it the largest such enforcement operation in the country’s history. Yet the government has released little information about the case over the past year and a half. - To find out what happened, Mongabay sought information from Panamanian government agencies and reviewed government files that a local nonprofit obtained in freedom of information requests. Much of the information in this article, including about the number and nature of the vessels involved and the status of legal proceedings, hasn’t previously been reported. - Two government agencies have issued fines against many of the vessel owners, though certain cases have been dismissed and the fines in other cases were reduced upon appeal. The status of criminal proceedings led by the public prosecutor’s office, a third government authority, isn’t known. - The fishers involved protested the fines on multiple grounds; for one, they’ve said they weren’t in fact fishing. Meanwhile, a representative of the Panama-based nonprofit said the government hadn’t been strict enough in enforcing the MPA’s rules and hasn’t conducted the cases with full transparency. The agencies have rejected the criticisms. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
As Sri Lanka braces for El Niño, national parks are a concern amidst encroachment 21 Jul 2026 08:47:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-sri-lanka-braces-for-el-nino-national-parks-are-a-concern-amidst-encroachment/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Kamanthi Wickramasinghe content:encoded: COLOMBO — Around 14% of Sri Lanka’s total land area is dedicated to wildlife protected areas, which includes more than 20 national parks. However, due to natural and anthropogenic factors, protected species such as leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) and elephants (Elephas maximus maximus) living in these protected areas face continuous threats as their habitats continue to shrink. Wildlife authorities say they have worked hard to strengthen law enforcement in the past decade to reduce encroachment of national parks and other protected areas but have had limited success. As Sri Lanka braces for an El Niño that is expected to hit the Indian Ocean island hard in November, wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists are expressing concern over managing animal populations inside these protected areas. A decade of encroachments The history of encroachment in Sri Lankan national parks dates to the colonial era and resettlement pressures following the armed conflict, which ended in May 2009. Srinath Dissanayake, a wildlife ranger with the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), said that over the past 10 years, there had been limited encroachments in most national parks except for parks situated near the former conflict zones in the island’s North and East. “The boundaries of most nature reserves and national parks were demarcated according to the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance (FFPO) No. 2 of 1937, which came into operation in 1938,” he told Mongabay. For example, the boundaries of Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve were demarcated in 2019, according to new regulations.“The DWC offices were established during…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Encroachments of national parks in Sri Lanka had occurred as early as the 1950s and 1960s, shrinking park terrain. - Studies indicate that the resettlement of those displaced as a result of the nearly three-decade long armed conflict had contributed significantly to the deforestation in national parks such as Wilpattu. - Grasslands in many national parks need to be managed through methods such as prescribed burning to ensure availability of fodder for the herbivores, researchers say. - The national wildlife conservation agency, meanwhile, says the need to allow natural selection processes to strike a balance in ecosystems inside national parks should not be ignored. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Activists allege Cambodia has resumed sea sand exports to Singapore 21 Jul 2026 08:40:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/activists-allege-cambodia-has-resumed-sea-sand-exports-to-singapore/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Gerald Flynn content:encoded: BANGKOK — Environmental activism group Mother Nature Cambodia on July 14 posted a new video alleging that Cambodia has quietly resumed sand exports to Singapore after the trade was banned in 2017. The prohibition followed a scandal involving environmental degradation along Cambodian rivers linked to shipments of sand sold to Singapore for land reclamation projects. In its latest video, Mother Nature Cambodia documented sand dredgers operating in waterways in Koh Kong province in Cambodia’s southwest, with footage appearing to show barges belonging to Catalyst Marine and Resources (Cambodia), a Singaporean-directed sand mining company that’s been registered in Cambodia since December 2024. Footage shows large-scale sand mining operations, including barges bearing the logo of Catalyst Marine and Resources, dredging sea sand from the coastal waterways of Koh Kong. Catalyst Marine and Resources’ barges were then tracked by Mother Nature Cambodia to two large cargo boats located just off the coast of Koh Kong Krao, Cambodia’s largest island, which is largely controlled by the Cambodian navy. Tracking devices on the cargo boats show those vessels are bound for Singapore, reigniting old fears that environmentally unsustainable sand dredging has resumed in Koh Kong to fuel land reclamation projects. “I have many questions, but today I will ask just one to Minister [of Mines and Energy] Keo Rattanak,” Lisa Mean, an activist with Mother Nature Cambodia, asks in the group’s latest video. “When did you quietly scrap the 2017 ban on sea sand exports?” Lisa then called on Cambodians to join the activist group…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - An environmental group in Cambodia alleges that sea sand exports to Singapore have quietly resumed despite a 2017 government ban, citing new footage of dredging operations and cargo vessels bound for the city-state. - The allegations by Mother Nature Cambodia revive long-standing concerns over sand mining in Koh Kong province, where dredging has been linked to environmental damage and declining fisheries, and where a previous export scandal prompted the 2017 ban. - Cambodia’s minister of mines defended sand mining as important for navigation and construction, while acknowledging environmental concerns, but did not address claims that exports to Singapore have resumed. - The dispute comes as Mother Nature Cambodia continues to face pressure from the government, with several of its members imprisoned on charges widely viewed as retaliation for exposing environmental abuses. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Zero roadkill as Amazon canopy bridges secure 15,000 crossings 21 Jul 2026 07:00:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zero-roadkill-as-amazon-canopy-bridges-secure-15000-crossings/ author: Alexandre de Santi dc:creator: Suzana Camargo content:encoded: Around 7 a.m., with dense fog blanketing the landscape, biologist Gabriel Falquetto had already come across several road-killed animals along ES-164 highway in Brazil’s Espírito Santo state. He was on his way to Kaetés Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN), in the Atlantic Forest, where he monitors wildlife and roadkill in the region. Suddenly, he spotted the lifeless body of a primate on the pavement. It was a buffy-headed marmoset (Callithrix flaviceps), a species listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. An estimated 2,500 individuals remain in the wild, making it one of the world’s most threatened primates. “It was extremely painful and discouraging,” Falquetto told Mongabay. “We travel through this region every day monitoring wildlife, and we celebrate every encounter with groups of buffy-headed marmosets in the forest.” “Finding an individual in those conditions brings a feeling of sadness and helplessness. Beyond the loss of that animal, the incident reminds us of the impacts our activities have on biodiversity.” About 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) away, on the road that leads to Alta Floresta, a small Amazon town in the far north of Mato Grosso state, cases like the buffy-headed marmoset’s roadkill have not been recorded since 2024. That year, eight canopy bridges were installed, connecting fragmented forest patches. Camera trap footage revealed that, over 15 months, the aerial wildlife crossings enabled 15,000 safe crossings by arboreal animals — and not a single roadkill. Installation of the first canopy bridges in Alta Floresta,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Project Reconecta installed eight rope bridges in a municipality in Brazil, and a 15-month study used camera traps to document thousands of arboreal wildlife adapting to new aerial crossings. - Safe road passages enable seed dispersal and gene diversity, reversing the “domino effect” of biodiversity loss that begins when highways split habitats. - Reconecta’s creator, biologist Fernanda Abra, a National Geographic Explorer and winner of the Whitley Award, is now expanding these low-cost conservation tools to other Brazilian biomes and neighboring Suriname. - Brazil’s federal transport department has officially designated the rope bridge design as the recommended national standard for highways to curb the millions of wildlife deaths recorded on roads annually. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Renato Moraes de Jesus was a pioneer of Atlantic Forest restoration in Brazil 21 Jul 2026 00:41:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/renato-moraes-de-jesus-obituary/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: In 1977 a young forest engineer arrived at a neglected tract of Atlantic Forest in northern Espírito Santo. A mining company had acquired the property as a source of hardwood for railway sleepers. Two hundred hectares had already been cut. Some specialists proposed harvesting more of the forest or replacing it with eucalyptus. The new arrival found little infrastructure and no settled plan for the land. He moved alone into a deteriorating house inside the forest. At night he heard animals moving through the roof. The supposed ghosts proved to be opossums. One of his first ambitions was to obtain a working telephone. Renato Moraes de Jesus, who died on May 23rd, aged 74, stayed for more than three decades. The property at Linhares became the Vale Natural Reserve, a major center for Atlantic Forest research and restoration. He helped protect almost 23,000 hectares, established biological collections and laboratories, brought scientists into the reserve, and developed methods for returning native trees to land damaged by mines, roads, farms, and industry. Vale gave him no precise instructions. He decided that the first tasks were to prevent fires and hunting, document the forest’s species, and apply what was learned there to damaged land elsewhere. He later joked that the company had forgotten him at Linhares. Its limited attention gave him considerable freedom. The early years could be dangerous. The region was violent, and he dismissed many workers during a reorganization. He carried a revolver for a time and later recalled receiving death…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Renato Moraes de Jesus helped transform the Vale Natural Reserve in Espírito Santo into a leading center for Atlantic Forest conservation, research, and restoration. - Over more than three decades, he established scientific collections, laboratories, nurseries, and long-term research programs while protecting nearly 23,000 hectares of forest. - He later helped design the restoration of Fazenda Bulcão and the technical program that became Instituto Terra. - A practical forester and scientist, he developed methods, trained others, and documented his work so that forest restoration could continue without depending on him. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Tourism and infrastructure threaten habitat of India’s Himalayan salamanders 20 Jul 2026 23:38:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tourism-and-infrastructure-threaten-habitat-of-indias-himalayan-salamanders/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Every monsoon season, in the misty hills of Darjeeling, in West Bengal, eastern India, the elusive Himalayan salamander emerges from beneath the forest floor. The ancient amphibians (Tylototriton himalayanus) engage in a delicate dance, a mating ritual that lasts up to 90 minutes before they attach their eggs to semi-submerged vegetation, such as denseflower knotweed (Persicaria glabra). The survival of the next generation of salamanders is, however, increasingly at risk as their critical wetland habitats disappear, report contributors Subhrajit Sen and Soham Das for Mongabay. According to Koushik Deuti of the Zoological Survey of India, the salamander’s future is tethered to small, shrinking water bodies, known locally as pokhris. “Most of these small wetland areas have been converted due to excessive housing and tourism in the Darjeeling hills, and these wetlands have been drained and there is no water,” Deuti tells Mongabay. “So, this conservation of the Himalayan salamander is directly related to the conservation of these small wetlands.” Beyond physical habitat loss, remaining ponds are contaminated by wastewater and detergents. Infrastructure also poses a direct physical threat: New roads frequently divide migration paths and salamanders are crushed by vehicles as they attempt to reach breeding sites. Nirmal Tamang, a resident of Namthing Pokhri, says locals have requested culverts to allow safe passage for the amphibians but none have been built so far. India’s first salamander sanctuary, established in 1985, serves as a cautionary tale. Once a thriving habitat, officials built tourist infrastructure in the area which made it impossible…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Every monsoon season, in the misty hills of Darjeeling, in West Bengal, eastern India, the elusive Himalayan salamander emerges from beneath the forest floor. The ancient amphibians (Tylototriton himalayanus) engage in a delicate dance, a mating ritual that lasts up to 90 minutes before they attach their eggs to semi-submerged vegetation, such as denseflower knotweed […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Malaysia clamps down on toxic trade with total e-waste import ban 20 Jul 2026 20:31:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/malaysia-clamps-down-on-toxic-trade-with-total-e-waste-import-ban/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Ashley Yeong content:encoded: KLANG, Malaysia — On the morning of July 7, 2026, a shipping container declared to contain tin ore caught fire shortly after offloading at Port Klang, Malaysia. After firefighters doused the flames, they pried open the steel doors and found no industrial metals — only a cargo packed full of scorched electrical and electronic waste, or e-waste. Investigators and NGOs have long raised concerns about containers with falsely declared documents regularly slipping into Malaysia’s illegal recycling yards. To slip past customs, smugglers often falsify paperwork, declaring hazardous waste as legitimate raw materials. However, this particular shipment met with a strict new rule: an absolute ban on e-waste imports that took full effect on April 1, 2026, under Malaysia’s new Customs Order. But enforcing this rule means combing through millions of containers a year, playing a game of whack-a-mole against a black market that disguises itself as honest green businesses. Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal, the chief of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS), has told reporters that the sheer volume of containers passing through national ports daily makes manual detection challenging. Between Jan. 26 and July 7, a specialized e-waste joint task force called Op Green Shield has inspected 685 containers, an AKPS spokesperson told Mongabay. Among these containers, 143 containers packed with 3,370 short tons (3,057 metric tons) of e-waste have already been sent back to their countries of origin since operations began. Another 531 containers, including backlog from previous operations, are earmarked for the next phased repatriation…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In April 2026, Malaysia began enforcing an absolute ban on e-waste imports, having previously been one of the main recipients of imported electrical and electronic waste. - Enforcing the ban requires customs authorities to discover and turn back cargoes of e-waste falsely declared as industrial metals or other commodities — a daunting task given the volume of containers passing through Malaysia’s ports every day. - While enforcement efforts are underway, including a joint task force that has already sent thousands of tons of e-waste back to origin countries this year, loopholes remain, such as top exporter the U.S. not being a signatory to the Basel Convention on hazardous waste. - Meanwhile, local recyclers say the e-waste ban levels the playing field for companies trying to legally recycle domestic e-waste, while residents of areas near ports complain that illegal incineration remains a persistent problem. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
WHO evacuated health workers from Ebola treatment center due to armed clashes 20 Jul 2026 18:43:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/who-evacuated-health-workers-from-ebola-treatment-center-due-to-armed-clashes/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: On July 15, gunfire erupted between armed groups near an Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Nyankunde (or Nyakunde), located 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Bunia in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following the fighting, medical personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC and the NGO Samaritan’s Purse evacuated from Nyankunde, further slowing the Ebola response there. “There was an attack yesterday and there are frequent attacks, actually since the end of 2025. The armed conflict has intensified,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, during a press briefing the day after the attack. Since May 2026, the DRC has been enduring its 17th Ebola outbreak. Although the Bundibugyo strain is not considered the deadliest Ebola variant, cases continue to rise rapidly. In just two months, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) recorded 2,124 cases and 828 deaths, making it the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. The current outbreak is in a mining town populated by migrant workers that travel across the region, increasing spread of the disease. The area is also the site of ongoing armed conflict, which makes it difficult for aid workers to safely respond. “Due to this chronic conflict and other factors, the community mistrust is also serious. I have been to Beni during the 2018-2020 outbreak. I have traveled there many times. But compared to this one, I think Beni is nothing. North Kivu was nothing,” Ghebreyesus said. “The difficult environment that makes the response really complicated.” Dr. Desire Duabo, head…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On July 15, gunfire erupted between armed groups near an Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Nyankunde (or Nyakunde), located 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Bunia in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following the fighting, medical personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC and the NGO Samaritan’s Purse evacuated from Nyankunde, […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Tiny trackers reveal where migratory shorebirds need protection across Africa 20 Jul 2026 18:23:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/tiny-trackers-reveal-where-migratory-shorebirds-need-protection-across-africa/ author: Victoriaschneider dc:creator: Ryan Truscott content:encoded: They have names like Victoria, Makgadikgadi, Wembere and Dwarskersbos — but unlike their namesakes, they’re not landmarks in Africa. Instead, they’re small birds flying halfway across the world, showing conservationists the places that should be protected to sustain them on their journeys. Earlier this year, an international team of scientists and conservationists trapped 20 curlew sandpipers (Calidris ferruginea), small to medium-sized shorebirds characterized by their distinct downward curving bill, and fitted them with tiny, lightweight satellite transmitters. The researchers also captured and fitted GPS tags on three gray plovers (Pluvialis squatarola), birds thought to have similar migratory patterns to the curlew sandpipers. With these trackers, the researchers are recording the birds’ migratory routes, or flyways, from South Africa to their Arctic breeding grounds. “Historically we had supported a large percentage of the global population for both species, but we have seen a marked decline over the last few years,” Jessica Wilmot, BirdLife South Africa’s flyways and migrants project manager, told Mongabay in a video interview. She added the findings provide novel insights into these birds’ migration patterns. Team members attach a micro-telemetry device — a satellite transmitter weighing less than 2 grams — to the back of a curlew sandpiper. Image courtesy of Cassie Carstens. While the threats the birds face at both ends of their migration routes are well-documented, less is known about what they have to deal with at the stopover sites along their 13,000-kilometer (about 8,100-mile) journey. Identifying such sites and determining whether they can be protected,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - For the first time in South Africa, scientists monitored the migrations of 23 small wading birds from the country’s west coast as they embarked on a migration to the Arctic tundra, uncovering stopover sites they say could benefit from protection. - In February 2026, the researchers captured 23 birds in Western Cape province and tagged them with tiny satellite transmitters to followed their movements, tracing different routes across Africa. - Six of the birds have since reached their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra, while six stayed in Africa, and eight stopped transmitting. - The research project, a collaboration between BirdLife South Africa and other partners, is helping to shed light on the routes the birds take, and inform conservation action. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Clean cooking expands at record pace in Africa, but lags behind population growth 20 Jul 2026 16:13:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clean-cooking-expands-at-record-pace-in-africa-but-lags-behind-population-growth/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Ini Ekott content:encoded: Sub-Saharan Africa is on track to record its fastest-ever annual expansion in access to clean cooking in 2026, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. But population growth continues to outpace those gains, leaving more than 1 billion people without access to clean cooking. The region is home to the world’s largest population still reliant on firewood, charcoal and kerosene for everyday cooking, according to the IEA. The World Health Organization says household air pollution, much of which is generated by these polluting cooking fuels, is linked to around 2.9 million premature deaths annually, with women and children bearing the greatest burden. The “Clean Cooking in Africa 2026: Progress Report” estimates that around 15 million people gained access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, about 35% above the average annual gains recorded for the previous five years. If confirmed, this would be the highest annual increase on record. Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Nigeria made the most notable gains. The estimate is based on a mathematical model that combines data on imports of cookstoves (cooking appliances combining a stove and an oven) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), investments in the infrastructure, fuels and technology needed for clean cooking, and policy tracking, rather than household surveys, which remain the most reliable measure of clean cooking access but take years to compile. The IEA said the 2025 figures should, therefore, be treated as preliminary until confirmed by future household surveys. Even so, Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Around 15 million people gained access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, and the region is set for its fastest-ever expansion in access to clean cooking in 2026. - One billion people, however, continue to cook with highly polluting fuels like firewood, charcoal and kerosene, as population growth outpaces progress. - Of the $2.2 billion pledged to furthering clean cooking access in Africa at the 2024 Summit on Clean Cooking Africa, $740 million has been disbursed across 30 countries, according to an International Energy Agency report. - The report estimates that Africa could reach universal access by 2040 if it matches the fastest historical rates of progress, backed by sustained investment and stronger policies, but the ongoing Middle East crisis has seen a surge in prices of cooking gas. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Scientific & traditional knowledge are key for effective & community-centered conservation (commentary) 20 Jul 2026 15:52:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientific-traditional-knowledge-are-key-for-effective-community-centered-conservation-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Charudutt Mishra content:encoded: A group of women often climbs steep cliffs to set up camera traps for snow leopards around Kibber in Spiti Valley, India. The senior women know the landscape intimately, like what areas the animals use and where cameras are likely to capture movement. They have walked these mountains all their lives and know how to navigate the most rugged and inaccessible terrain safely, even in snow and ice. This is a kind of access that visiting researchers simply cannot replicate. Back at the village, they gather around two computer screens. The younger women, who are typically more adept at handling technology, organize and sort the photographic data. Together, they identify individual snow leopards from their coat patterns, building scientific monitoring skills over time. Their work contributes directly to regional and global assessment and monitoring of snow leopard populations. Women hold up their camera traps after completing training. Image courtesy of Kibber women/NCF/HPFD. Who are these scientists conducting camera-trap monitoring of snow leopards? They are not trained researchers. They are women from the Indigenous community of Kibber in Spiti Valley. This work is done alongside their other chores: Livestock rearing, farming, household responsibilities, and community work. They do this, because they are interested in knowing how many snow leopards they are helping protect on their community lands; they take pride in learning research techniques; and they see themselves as part of the global effort to study and protect them. Lobzang Yangchen, the coordinator of the Kibber team of 11 women, says,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Both scientific and traditional knowledge are indispensable to effective, ethical, and community-centered conservation, the director of Snow Leopard Trust argues in a new op-ed. - “When communities, scientists, and conservation practitioners become co-producers of knowledge, science and stewardship become stronger, and so does the future of nature,” he writes. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Oystercatchers, known for sharp bills and beady eyes, are making a comeback thanks to conservation 20 Jul 2026 15:27:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/oystercatchers-known-for-sharp-bills-and-beady-eyes-are-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-conservation/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — A shorebird known for its sharp, orange bill and beady eyes is making a comeback in North America thanks to a yearslong conservation effort. The American Oystercatcher was nearly wiped out on the East Coast at the turn of the 20th century due to hunting and egg collecting. But the bird’s numbers have increased by 45% in North America since 2008. Much of the credit for this recovery goes to several nonprofits that raised $10 million. The money went into efforts to boost protections at the birds’ beach nesting sites, including limiting vehicle traffic and roping off beaches during breeding season. Newly banded oystercatcher chicks are released at Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown, R.I., June 19, 2026. Image by Jessica Hill, Associated Press A juvenile oystercatcher is tagged by United States Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Biologist Maureen Durkin, left, as Shorebird Crew Lead Mary Bertschi holds the bird at Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown, R.I., June 19, 2026. Image by Jessica Hill, Associated Press United States Fish and Wildlife Service Shorebird Monitor Allison Ruhl carries an adult oystercatcher at Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown, R.I., June 19, 2026. Image by Jessica Hill, Associated Press Shorebird Crew Lead Mary Bertschi of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service tracks down a juvenile oystercatcher that took off running at Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown, R.I., June 19, 2026. Image by Jessica Hill, Associated Press…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — A shorebird known for its sharp, orange bill and beady eyes is making a comeback in North America thanks to a yearslong conservation effort. The American Oystercatcher was nearly wiped out on the East Coast at the turn of the 20th century due to hunting and egg collecting. But the […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
From rivers to mangroves, microplastics are contaminating the Amazon 20 Jul 2026 12:42:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/from-rivers-to-mangroves-microplastics-are-contaminating-the-amazon/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Tiago da Mota e Silva content:encoded: MANAUS, Brazil — On June 20, a 50-member team led by NGO Asas de Socorro and Rede Reviva walked about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) along the shoreline of the Puraquequara Lake in eastern Manaus during a garbage-collection effort. When the activity finished covering a stretch of beach on a lake with a water surface estimated at 20-25 km2, the group had gathered a dumpster full of plastic waste. A similar effort in June 2023 had collected two dumpsters. The group’s experience helped illustrate the results of Eletuza Uchôa Farias’s master’s research: Half of the fish collected at the lake, from two jaraqui species (Semaprochilodus insignis and Semaprochilodus taeniurus), had ingested microplastics. Once inside an organism, the particles can remain in the intestinal tract, reach other tissues and organs, and move through the food chain — from the base to predatory fish — potentially ending up in humans. The jaraqui is the most consumed fish in Amazonas state. All particles found in the fish intestines were fibers: 0.5-4.37 millimeter-thin, elongated filaments. Most of them — 85.7% — were identified as polyamide, a polymer widely used by the textile industry for its strength and flexibility. The Puraquequara’s surroundings are home to communities with no effective basic sanitation. Water from sinks, tanks and washing machines is dumped directly into water bodies, which may explain the presence of polyamide that reach the jaraquis — which, in turn, end up on the plates of Amazonian residents. The Puraquequara case serves as a snapshot of plastic contamination in the Amazon. While microplastics are extensively…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Recent studies show that microplastics are already present in a variety of Amazonian environments: Major rivers such as the Amazon, urban streams, floodplain areas and mangroves in the Amazon’s Mouth. - In a single lake in eastern Manaus, researchers found microplastics in the intestines of half the jaraquis — the most consumed fish in Amazonas state - The contamination is related to irregular waste disposal and lack of sewage collection and treatment, which allow household residues to flow directly into water bodies. - This is the first story in a three-part special series on microplastics in the Amazon region; upcoming pieces will look into the effects of these particles on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Peru’s only penguin species at risk from upcoming El Niño and bird flu, experts warn 20 Jul 2026 11:11:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/perus-only-penguin-species-at-risk-from-upcoming-el-nino-and-bird-flu-experts-warn/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Dan Collyns content:encoded: SAN JUAN DE MARCONA, Peru — First, there was the H5N1 avian influenza of 2022, then El Niño arrived in 2023, disrupting coastal waters and fish availability. For Peru’s Humboldt penguins, the only species of penguins that breeds in the country, the burden was too heavy: Its population dropped by two-thirds between 2022 and 2025. Still recovering, the species is now facing a super El Niño that could further undermine its future. In early June, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, warned: “The science is clear: El Niño is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90% certainty. The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. Impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed.” Scientists studying the Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in Peru say that they are already feeling the impact of the 2026 El Niño as warmer coastal waters drive the cold current carrying the main prey fish, Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) or anchoveta, deeper and further offshore. That means the penguins and other seabirds are forced to undertake longer fishing trips to get enough food to breed or feed chicks. Scientists studying El Niño say the gaps between the events are getting smaller and the effects are more unpredictable. “Climate change is driving more frequent and more severe El Niño events,” Andres Lescano, director of Clima, the Latin American Center of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Humboldt penguin is the only penguin species to breed in Peru, inhabiting the country’s coastal deserts. But since 2022, the species’ has been under pressure from the spread of avian influenza, followed by El Niño. - Between 2022 and 2025, the population of Humboldt penguins has dropped by two-thirds across 34 islands and peninsulas on the Peruvian coast. - Experts monitoring the species say penguins are abandoning their nests as they already feel the impacts of the upcoming El Niño episode, which changes temperatures in coastal waters and diminishes the amount of prey fish available. - Scientists are asking both the national government and the IUCN to revise the species’ status to reflect the increasing threats and boost conservation efforts. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
White-rumped vulture returns to a Cambodian sanctuary after a decade’s absence 20 Jul 2026 08:42:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/white-rumped-vulture-returns-to-a-cambodian-sanctuary-after-a-decades-absence/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: For the first time in 10 years, a critically endangered white-rumped vulture has been spotted in Cambodia’s Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary. However, this conservation milestone is unfolding just as the sanctuary stares down new threats from mining operations and hydropower dams. During a June 2026 census, surveyors recorded the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) at a supplementary feeding station, known as a “vulture restaurant,” operated by the NGO NatureLife Cambodia. The census also confirmed the presence of five red-headed vultures (Sarcogyps calvus), including two juveniles — a sign of successful breeding in the sanctuary. “The return of the white-rumped Vulture shows that our conservation efforts are making a difference by improving habitat conditions and ensuring reliable food source,” Bou Vorsak, CEO of NatureLife Cambodia, said as reported by local media. Yet the sanctuary’s Veal Kambor Community Protected Area (CPA), a zone designed to balance local livelihoods with forest management, is simultaneously being dismantled by industrial interests. Mongabay previously reported that since 2020, the Cambodian government has granted at least five companies mining concessions in designated community-protected areas adjoining the Lomphat sanctuary. Satellite imagery and on-the-ground reports indicate that firms such as CHHC Investment Co. have continued quarrying marble in conservation zones, despite licenses for the work reportedly expiring in 2022. Local residents were granted rights to manage these resources for 15 years, but have reported losing fallow rice fields and forest access with little to no compensation. Beyond the quarries, an even larger threat looms: the proposed 376-megawatt Lower Srepok 3 hydropower…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: For the first time in 10 years, a critically endangered white-rumped vulture has been spotted in Cambodia’s Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary. However, this conservation milestone is unfolding just as the sanctuary stares down new threats from mining operations and hydropower dams. During a June 2026 census, surveyors recorded the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) at a supplementary […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
America’s retreat from wildlife protection will be felt far beyond its borders 20 Jul 2026 07:54:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/americas-retreat-from-wildlife-protection-will-be-felt-far-beyond-its-borders/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For more than half a century, the United States treated the protection of habitat as part of protecting endangered wildlife. The Endangered Species Act prohibited killing protected wildlife, and the government interpreted that protection to include severe damage to the habitat needed for feeding, breeding, and shelter. A developer could violate the act by removing a nesting tree if doing so caused a protected animal to die or fail to reproduce, even if no animal was struck by the machinery. On July 10, the Trump administration finalized a rule removing the regulatory definition of “harm” from the act. Under the discarded definition, destroying or degrading habitat counted as harm when it killed or injured wildlife by disrupting feeding, breeding, or sheltering. The new policy takes effect on September 14. Direct injury and killing remain prohibited. Habitat destruction, on its own, will no longer count as an illegal “take” under the law. The administration says the change follows the statute more faithfully and will reduce permitting costs for landowners, farmers, energy producers, and other businesses. The distinction between harming an animal and destroying the habitat it needs does not reflect how wildlife survives. A manatee can starve if dredging and coastal development destroy the seagrass on which it feeds. An ocelot can lose the dense thornscrub on which the remaining South Texas population depends. Salmon may survive the machinery that alters a river, then fail to reproduce because the changed river no longer supports spawning. Ocelot. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Trump administration has removed habitat destruction from the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. - The change could make it easier for farming, drilling, mining, logging, and development to proceed in places where endangered species live. - Because habitat loss is one of the main drivers of extinction, protecting animals while allowing the destruction of the places they need offers limited protection in practice. - The decision also weakens the United States’ standing when it asks other countries to conserve forests, wetlands, rivers, and other important habitats. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Conservationists urge caution over Bangladesh’s plan to plant 250 million trees 20 Jul 2026 07:10:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conservationists-urge-caution-over-bangladeshs-plan-to-plant-250-million-trees/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Abu Siddique content:encoded: With an aim to increase the country’s green cover in line with the current government’s election manifesto, Bangladesh is preparing for a nationwide plantation of 250 million trees across the country in the next five years. “Currently, we are coordinating with various government agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture; the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives; the Road Transport and Highways Division; the Ministry of Education; and the Bangladesh Army to finalize the number of saplings that will be planted by each of them,” said Shaikh Faridul Islam, state minister of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). “The plantation program is a coordinated approach,” he said. “Since the plantation does not require huge amount of funds, we will not spend extra money for the initiative, rather will allocate fund from the regular budget. Here, all government agencies will plant a set number of trees within their own annual budgets.” “At the same time, we are coordinating with different non-government development agencies working in the country and directing them to plant a specific number of trees at their own cost,” he added. The government has already formed a task force committee, led by the MoEFCC, to coordinate and monitor the program. The task force is now developing an internet-based application and dashboard where one can see the update of the activities, including the number of trees planted, their statuses, which agency planted them, the species of planted trees, and the area coverage. Islam said that the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees across the country over the next five years, including in mangrove forests, in hill forests, along roadsides and riverbanks, and in campuses of educational and government institutions. - The initiative follows the current government’s election manifesto trees, aiming to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide in the region by creating a nationwide green belt. - Conservationists have reacted to the initiative with mixed observations since many say they believe it may be wasting resources rather than successfully creating greenery in the country. - They suggest caution during the planning and implementation stages in order to achieve the best output. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Félix Guillermo Moncada Gavilán helped move Cuba from sea turtle fishing to protection 20 Jul 2026 03:35:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/felix-guillermo-moncada-gavilan-helped-move-cuba-from-sea-turtle-fishing-to-protection/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For much of the 20th century, Cuba’s sea turtles were treated as a fishery. Green turtles were taken for meat, and hawksbills for the patterned shell used in jewelry and ornaments. In the 1980s, legal fisheries landed an average of 836 metric tons a year. Research focused in part on how the catch might be sustained. The catch was later reduced. From 1994, legal capture was confined to two traditional fishing communities, Nuevitas and Cocodrilo. Minimum sizes and quotas followed. By the time Cuba closed the fishery in 2008, the annual legal catch had fallen below 15 metric tons. A further regulation in 2011 prohibited the capture, use, or trade of sea turtles except for research and conservation. Félix Guillermo Moncada Gavilán spent his career through much of this shift. The Cuban marine biologist, who died in Havana on June 28th, had worked for more than 40 years at the country’s Fisheries Research Center (Centro de Investigaciones Pesqueras). He led its sea turtle program and served as Cuba’s coordinator for WIDECAST, the regional conservation network. He had entered turtle research, he once said, with more enthusiasm than certainty. He had little time to prepare and many demands to meet. None of that discouraged him. Colleagues recalled that any mention of marine turtles made him smile and begin explaining them. His early work was closely tied to fisheries. As Cuba moved towards protection, he studied nesting grounds, migrations, population trends, illegal hunting, and accidental capture. He helped recommend the successive restrictions…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: For much of the 20th century, Cuba’s sea turtles were treated as a fishery. Green turtles were taken for meat, and hawksbills for the patterned shell used in jewelry and ornaments. In the 1980s, legal fisheries landed an average of 836 metric tons a year. Research focused in part on how the catch might be […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Something strange is happening in Liberia 19 Jul 2026 18:31:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/something-strange-is-happening-in-liberia/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Ashoka MukpoJuan Maza content:encoded: Liberia is losing its rainforest at an alarming rate. Satellite data reveals rapid deforestation across one of West Africa’s last remaining intact rainforests, driven largely by illegal cocoa plantations supplying the global demand for chocolate. To find out more, we travel deep into Liberia’s forests to speak with migrant cocoa workers, forest rangers, and community landowners. From a protected chimpanzee habitat to the European Parliament, the story traces the historical migration that helped make Côte d’Ivoire the world’s largest cocoa producer—and the environmental cost that followed. Today, southeastern Liberia could be on the way to repeating that history.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Liberia is losing its rainforest at an alarming rate. Satellite data reveals rapid deforestation across one of West Africa’s last remaining intact rainforests, driven largely by illegal cocoa plantations supplying the global demand for chocolate. To find out more, we travel deep into Liberia’s forests to speak with migrant cocoa workers, forest rangers, and community […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Why are forests vanishing in southeastern Liberia? 18 Jul 2026 08:34:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/07/why-are-forests-vanishing-in-southeastern-liberia/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Ashoka MukpoJuan Maza content:encoded: GRAND GEDEH, Liberia – In the past century, most of West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest has been lost to commercial agriculture, infrastructure development and logging. More than half of what’s left is in Liberia, and the remaining rainforest now faces a threat that’s already driven much of the region’s deforestation: cacao production. In the past few years, the rush to plant cacao has been on in southeastern Liberia, destroying vast tracts of forest. After reviewing satellite data that shows massive forest loss, Mongabay visited the region to investigate what’s driving the industry’s rapid expansion and who is profiting from it. In this episode of Chasing Deforestation, we travel deep into Liberia’s rainforests to speak with migrant cocoa workers, forest rangers and community landowners. Join us in our journey from a protected chimpanzee habitat to the European Parliament, as we examine whether these forests will survive the world’s appetite for chocolate. 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: A collage featuring Ashoka Mukpo, a Mongabay reporter, and a cocoa bean. Honduras taps armed forces to eliminate deforestation by 2029. Is it working?This article was originally published on Mongabay description: GRAND GEDEH, Liberia – In the past century, most of West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest has been lost to commercial agriculture, infrastructure development and logging. More than half of what’s left is in Liberia, and the remaining rainforest now faces a threat that’s already driven much of the region’s deforestation: cacao production. In the past […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Can ‘fog harvesting’ help solve water scarcity in Chile’s Atacama Desert? 17 Jul 2026 20:09:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world. Some areas only see rainfall a few times in a century, while others have never recorded rainfall at all. In many rural communities there, local governments have to truck in water from other parts of the country or extract it from deep underground wells. But in harder-to-reach settlements, these solutions still aren’t cost-effective or reliable. To address the problem, residents and researchers have looked for more innovative methods of getting water out of the environment. Some have begun using the fog that often blankets northern Chile. Off the Pacific coast, cold air currents cool into low cloud cover that blows inland, getting stopped by coastal mountains and settling at ground level. With the right approach, groups have found ways to “capture,” or “harvest,” the fog, turning it into useable freshwater. “In a very simple way, we have to understand that clouds are made up of water droplets,” Camilo del Río, director of the Catholic University’s Atacama Desert Center in Chile, told Mongabay. “They’re already formed, they’re already condensed. So whenever a cloud is transported by wind and comes into contact with the Earth’s surface, what is touching the surface is thousands and thousands of liters [of water].” Local groups have found ways to harvest enough fog to supplement drinking water and bolster agricultural projects. But many challenges with the strategy still remain. Researchers want to harvest the fog more efficiently and at scale, one day convincing local officials…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Communities living in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, look for creative ways to fight water scarcity, including “harvesting” water droplets from the foggy climate. - Local groups erect large mesh structures that can intercept thousands of liters of water droplets per day from fog being carried by the wind. The water is used for drinking and cultivating fruits and vegetables. - Researchers have studied the factors that increase harvesting results, including sea level, temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed. - With more research and support for pilot programs, they say local governments could one day adopt the strategy into their water management plans. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
US government announces plans to lease deep-sea mining rights in American Samoa 17 Jul 2026 19:45:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/us-government-announces-plans-to-lease-deep-sea-mining-rights-in-american-samoa/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Elizabeth Claire Alberts content:encoded: The U.S. government has taken another definitive step toward launching a deep-sea mining industry, starting in the waters of American Samoa, despite public opposition. On July 17, the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA), a new U.S. agency formed by merging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, announced intentions to hold a lease sale for seabed mining on Nov. 19 in Camarillo, California. The MMA also stated that the proposed lease “does not guarantee that a lease sale will be held” or that “exploration or collection activities will occur should MMA move forward with a sale.” Still, opponents see the proposal as a major step toward commercial deep-sea mining — an industry that has drawn widespread criticism over its potential impacts on marine ecosystems. If the lease sale moves forward, the proposal indicates that companies will be able to secure 20-year leases across nearly 127,500 square kilometers (approximately 49,000 square miles) of seabed in the ocean surrounding American Samoa, a U.S. territory in the Pacific. The minimum bid for each of the two lease areas will be $3 million, and royalties in year 11 of the lease will be $1.25 per acre and increase over time. The lease sale itself won’t be open to the public, but will be live streamed, according to the announcement. The MMA indicated that the governor of American Samoa will have 60 days to comment on the proposed lease sale. “Advancing this notice is an important step toward building…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The U.S. government has taken another definitive step toward launching a deep-sea mining industry, starting in the waters of American Samoa, despite public opposition. On July 17, the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA), a new U.S. agency formed by merging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, announced intentions […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Beavers flourish in tidal habitats in the Pacific Northwest, study finds 17 Jul 2026 18:23:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/beavers-flourish-in-tidal-habitats-in-the-pacific-northwest-study-finds/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: Beavers are well-known residents of rivers, lakes and streams across North America. New research finds they are also far more common in estuaries and tidal wetlands than was previously understood. The study suggests the rodents are critical ecosystem engineers in a habitat where twice-daily tides raise and lower water levels, bringing saltwater inland from the sea. Estuarine ecologist and self-described “accidental beaver biologist” Greg Hood surveyed estuaries and tidal wetlands across coastal British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. He found beavers (Castor canadensis) in those ecosystems by surveying places other scientists tend to overlook. “Estuarine scientists and beaver biologists are generally working in other areas — the beaver biologist in normal streams and lakes where they expect to find beavers; the estuarine ecologists typically in herbaceous tidal marshes or even in eelgrass,” Hood told Mongabay in an email. Adding that scientists rarely work in “tidal shrub and forest habitats (tidal swamps) where beaver are most likely, because tidal swamps are very hard to move around in.” Hood found that beavers are widespread in tidal habitats across the Pacific Northwest. In some tidal channels of the Snohomish and Skagit rivers, he found beaver dams at twice the density of such dams on non-tidal rivers. Beaver dams in tidal habitats are shorter than those on non-tidal rivers, according to Hood’s research. He hypothesizes that since these dams are flooded at high tide, that their main function is to trap water at low tides, which allows beavers to continue…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Beavers are well-known residents of rivers, lakes and streams across North America. New research finds they are also far more common in estuaries and tidal wetlands than was previously understood. The study suggests the rodents are critical ecosystem engineers in a habitat where twice-daily tides raise and lower water levels, bringing saltwater inland from the […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
How Costa Rica’s extreme climate changes the social behaviors of white-faced capuchin 17 Jul 2026 18:15:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-costa-ricas-extreme-climate-changes-the-social-behaviors-of-white-faced-capuchin/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Adam Litchkofski content:encoded: COSTA RICA: Dawn is yet to break when primatologist Susan Perry and her field research team move through Costa Rica’s tropical dry forest for a day in the field studying Central American white-faced capuchin monkeys. Despite the darkness, the forest is humming. Perry calls this juncture “the changing of the guard,” when nocturnal animals end their day and diurnal species are just beginning theirs. As the team approaches the site where the capuchin (Cebus imitators) sleep, the location of which changes nightly, spiders’ glittering eyeshine emblazons the ungraspable dark of the forest. Perry, an evolutionary anthropology professor at UCLA, has researched capuchin monkeys living in and near the Lomas de Barbudal Biological Reserve for the past 33 years. She documents their complex social behaviors and group dynamics with a revolving team of scientists, capturing the intricacies of capuchin society while remaining on the periphery. A new study analyzing Perry’s observations of 12 neighboring capuchin groups over her 33 years in the field documents how extreme climate events, such as El Niño, alter the costs and benefits of living in large groups for capuchins. In the field, the researchers go through a highly intentional process to remain separate: Perry leaves her study subjects untagged and uncollared, and instead, identifies and gets to know each individual. These monkeys are listed as vulnerable by IUCN. They live in one of the most endangered and biodiverse habitats in the world:tropical dry forest. Due to deforestation and fire damage, just 1% of the original primary…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - For 33 years, a research team has studied white-faced capuchin monkeys in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica, gathering data on their complex social lives. - A new study from the team shows that during extreme climate events, large groups of capuchins may go hungry, while smaller groups may fare better. - Climate extremes alter the physical landscape, causing animals to change their societal behaviors. For capuchins, this means greater competition for food, heightened territorial sensitivity and fluctuating group sizes. - While capuchins can adapt to environmental changes over time, there are limits to their resilience, as seen during the severe droughts caused by the El Niño in 2014-2016, when dwindling food sources caused capuchins to abandon societal norms in search of food. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Can harpy eagles attack humans? Amazon case rekindles scientific debate 17 Jul 2026 17:54:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-harpy-eagles-attack-humans-amazon-case-rekindles-scientific-debate/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Tiago Mota e Silva content:encoded: In a remote area of French Guiana, a 29-year-old woman was attacked by a harpy, considered the world’s largest eagle, in October 2023. In an area with extensive tracts of preserved forest, such interactions between humans and wildlife are extremely rare but garner widespread media attention and scientific interest. A recently published study highlighted this incident. The attack took place about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the closest village, near the Kourou River, as a group of 11 tourists and a local guide walked a trail. The harpy (Harpia harpyja) had perched about 6 meters (20 feet) high when it was spotted. Seeing no apparent signs of aggressive behavior, part of the group kept walking, while the woman and her partner stayed behind for a few minutes to photograph it. When the couple resumed their walk on the trail, the harpy dove and struck the back of her head. Since 2016, biologist Everton Miranda has been monitoring harpy eagles, considered a flagship species for Amazon conservation. He stressed how rare these cases are: “It’s extremely uncommon, just as it is for other large South American predators such as jaguars or crocodiles,” he explained. Miranda has co-authored a recent scientific article on the case, together with French-Guianan experts. This was the first harpy eagle attack ever recorded and described by researchers. In academia, there is resistance to publish cases like this, according to the biologist. “They fear that giving visibility to attacks will increase stigma, because we know there are many harpies killed because people…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - An attack by a harpy against a tourist in French Guiana has sparked a debate about interactions between humans and the world’s largest eagle. - Field reports indicate that these episodes are uncommon and usually associated with defending prey, but they can result in serious injuries. - Although rare, these cases expose a conservation dilemma: They may reinforce stigma against the species but also reveal real conflicts about which there is little public debate. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
India launches first hydrogen-powered train built in the country to expand clean energy on railways 17 Jul 2026 17:34:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/india-launches-first-hydrogen-powered-train-built-in-the-country-to-expand-clean-energy-on-railways/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: NEW DELHI (AP) — India rolled out its first domestically built, hydrogen-powered train on Friday, a move aimed at expanding the use of clean energy in its vast rail network. The train made up of two hydrogen-powered driving cars and eight passenger coaches will operate in the northern state of Haryana. It can run at speeds of up to 75 kph (47 mph) and carry a maximum of about 2,600 passengers, railway officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the “NaMo Green Rail” at Haryana’s Jind railway station on Friday. “NaMo” is a common abbreviation of Modi’s first and last names. “This is a very significant day in the direction of self-reliant India and sustainable development,” Modi said in a post on X. The pilot project includes hydrogen storage and refueling infrastructure to test the use of the technology in India’s rail network, according to officials. Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, producing water vapor as the only direct emission. Several other countries have introduced hydrogen-powered trains as an alternative to diesel on routes that are not fully electrified. The launch is part of India’s broader efforts to develop green hydrogen and reduce carbon emissions. India has set a target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070, with Indian Railways exploring hydrogen as an alternative to diesel on some routes. By Associated Press Banner image: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off India’s first indigenously built hydrogen-powered train named the “NaMo Green Rail,” at Jind, in the Indian state of Haryana, Friday,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: NEW DELHI (AP) — India rolled out its first domestically built, hydrogen-powered train on Friday, a move aimed at expanding the use of clean energy in its vast rail network. The train made up of two hydrogen-powered driving cars and eight passenger coaches will operate in the northern state of Haryana. It can run at […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
How a community is helping sea turtles hatch in the Philippines 17 Jul 2026 17:23:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-a-community-is-helping-sea-turtles-hatch-in-the-philippines/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Rachel Duckett content:encoded: When Jerald Mahusay was a kid, he and his friends saw turtle eggs so often, they treated them like toys. “We were always playing with the eggs,” Mahusay recalled of his childhood in Santo Niño, a village in the Philippines’ Palawan province. “We didn’t know why they are important.” Mahusay’s relationship with turtles has changed. In 2023, he started working as a patroller for the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), an NGO that conducts marine research around the country, including a turtle monitoring project in Palawan. This year, Mahusay was promoted to head of the local patrol unit and research assistant for LAMAVE’s turtle project. Santo Niño is located in San Vicente, an agriculture and fishing municipality that is a vital nesting ground for olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. However, nesting turtles here face a myriad of challenges. The most prevalent is a largely unchecked stray dog population, but higher tides and more frequent storms caused by climate change loom large, as do plans to develop the area for mass tourism. LAMAVE patrollers find a predated nest in Santo Niño, San Vicente, Palawan, April 2026. Image by Rachel Duckett for Mongabay. On patrol During peak nesting season, volunteers and local patrollers walk more than 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) in five shifts each night and early morning. When they find a turtle, they’ll wait for her to finish nesting, shooing away dogs when necessary. Before she re-enters the water,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The municipality of San Vicente in the Philippines’ Palawan is a vital nesting ground for Olive Ridley sea turtles. - Nesting turtles and their eggs face an array of challenges. Predation by dogs is the most immediate threat, but rising sea levels, more severe storms and tourism development plans also loom large. - To try to protect the turtles, Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, a Philippine-based NGO, runs a research project and works with paid patrollers to monitor and protect turtles and their nests. - Community involvement is key to the group’s conservation efforts. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Melanesian nations announce intention to create massive ocean reserve corridor 17 Jul 2026 17:16:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/melanesian-nations-announce-intention-to-create-massive-ocean-reserve-corridor/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Ashley Yeong content:encoded: A group of Pacific island nations have agreed to formally establish the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves (MOCOR), a massive transboundary marine protected area (MPA) that will span their territorial waters. Papua New Guinea (PNG), Vanuatu and Fiji made a joint declaration announcing plans for the corridor at the first Melanesian Ocean Summit in May. Solomon Islands joined the initiative in late June. Melanesia, a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific that also includes the French territory of New Caledonia and parts of Indonesia, is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. Located in the Coral Triangle, its ocean waters contain an estimated 75% of known coral species, along with iconic marine megafauna, including sharks, rays, dugongs and whales. This part of the ocean is also a hotspot for the discovery of new species. “The initiative represents a bold and timely step forward, recognizing that our oceans do not end at national boundaries, and that our stewardship responsibilities must therefore extend across them,” Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told leaders at the summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The U.S.-based NGO National Geographic Pristine Seas, which has partnered with governments throughout the region to conduct research on priority protection areas, has confirmed to Mongabay that the MOCOR is an entirely separate initiative from the Melanesian Ocean Reserve (MOR) announced by Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and PNG at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in France. A variety of corals in the shallows off Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Image…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Solomon Islands is the latest Pacific island nation to sign on to a new network of marine protected areas (MPAs) known as the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves, or MOCOR, which was announced by Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Fiji at the first Melanesian Ocean Summit in May. - Located in the southwestern Pacific, Melanesia is a hotspot for marine biodiversity and the discovery of new species. - While large marine corridors can be more effective than isolated MPAs, researchers caution that robust management and enforcement are necessary to prevent them from becoming so-called “paper parks.” - Details about MOCOR’s size, configuration, precise location, governance, enforcement mechanisms and community consultation processes are scarce. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Fighting new oil blocks in the Congo Basin: Interview with activist Pascal Mirindi 17 Jul 2026 15:49:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Dan Yessa content:encoded: Pascal Mirindi is a young environmental activist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in Goma. He was a member of a nonviolent movement, La LUCHA, fighting for democracy in the DRC. La LUCHA initiated him into nonviolent activism, but he used that opportunity to fight for Congolese ecosystems. Since 2024, Mirindi has been one of the main resistance forces against mineral, oil and gas exploitation inside the Congo Basin. Through campaigns and community awareness, he and his colleagues have successfully driven out oil exploration inside Virunga National Park. Now, Mirindi is fighting against the exploitation of 30 new oil blocks that cover 72% of the Congo Green Corridor, the country’s most emblematic conservation project, which spans a large part of the Congo Basin, home to thousands of animals and a lifeline for many communities in the DRC. Mirindi spoke with Mongabay in June, discussing what it means to resist from the inside and make a difference on a global scale, protecting the homes of endangered species such as mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and okapis (Okapia johnstoni), endemic to the region. Pascal Mirindi’s first visit with the director of Virunga National Park, Emmanuel de Merode, in 2022. Image courtesy of Pascal Mirindi. This interview has been translated from French and edited for length and clarity. Mongabay: Who is Pascal Mirindi? Pascal Mirindi: I am Congolese; I was born in Goma in 1999. I have been an activist since I was 15 years old. I started in the citizen…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Pascal Mirindi is a Congolese environmental activist fighting oil exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. - In 2022, as the Congolese government promoted new oil blocks in eastern DRC, Mirindi and his friends created a movement to raise community awareness of the dangers of fossil fuel exploitation. - In late 2024, the Congolese government initiated a green corridor extending from the eastern to the western side of the country, aiming to establish the “largest protected tropical forest in the world,” yet a few months later, the country launched new oil blocks covering 60% of the country’s surface. - Mirindi spoke with Mongabay in June about his activism and the future of the DRC. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Rivers are not just water bodies: Interview with the Waterman Of Odisha 17 Jul 2026 15:07:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/rivers-are-not-just-water-bodies-interview-with-the-waterman-of-odisha/ author: Karen Coates dc:creator: Stephin Thomas content:encoded: Rivers are not just seen as water bodies in India, they are considered religious. From taking holy dips (a sacred act of faith in Hinduism, also called snan) for spiritual purification to scattering ashes after one’s death, it all starts and ends with rivers. While some see them as religious spaces, others consider them recreational spaces. For some, there is no life without rivers. But others have forgotten to see how deeply connected rivers are to everyday lives. With rivers like the Ganga (considered the holiest river in the country) drying up and urban Indian cities like Bengaluru facing water crises, Ranjan Panda, popularly known as the Waterman of Odisha, has spent more than three decades working on water conservation and climate advocacy closely with communities in Odisha, eastern India. “I want to be a living Earth citizen and not a dead Earth citizen,” Panda says. Panda’s work is especially important at a time when rural India faces groundwater depletion. India’s share of the world’s population is roughly 18%, while its share of renewable freshwater resources is only about 4%, a gap that increases the consequences of river degradation. Panda, a trained sociologist, has written widely on water, disasters and climate change-related mental health challenges affecting coastal communities in Odisha. He shares his insights on issues like coastal cities, displacement and the effects of climate change on communities. He is not just a researcher but has also been a journalist for a decade of his early life. He has been…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Ranjan Panda — social ecologist, journalist and researcher — is popularly known as the Waterman of Odisha. - Panda highlights the invisible and noneconomic losses that communities living in coastal areas deal with due to climate change. - In this interview, he highlights how rivers should be seen beyond their two boundaries of flow; how there is a stark difference in the ways rural and urban India see rivers. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Ancient rock structures help restore biodiversity on the US-Mexico border 17 Jul 2026 10:49:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ancient-rock-structures-help-restore-biodiversity-on-the-us-mexico-border/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Rose Shimberg content:encoded: CANANEA, Sonora — The day was windless. Long brown grasses speckled the landscape, and a stray tree erupted from the earth. The river channel was rusty, bone-dry. A pond that swells with summer rain glimmered on the horizon, but local rancher Eduardo Ríos Colores pointed toward the mountains, his finger tracing the route of a bone-dry streambed cutting through the landscape. “There was a time when this stream didn’t exist,” he said. “There used to be a lot of trees, and all the trees prevented erosion from the water. But … the trees have been drying up.” It was difficult to imagine the streambed swollen, rain-choked. But water in this region comes in all at once, in a deluge. As it races across the landscape, it forms deep channels like this one, creating sandy areas where new plants can’t grow. The land soon fails to support life, from the native grasses to migratory birds to the cattle that are the lifeline of ranchers like Ríos Colores. “Many people say that when water flows, it shouldn’t flow straight,” he continued. “Those serve to divert the water … so the current flows like a snake.” He was referring to his trincheras — hundreds of small rock structures peppering the streambed. The small, permeable barriers go on for more than a mile, spanning the channel, each small weir composed of dozens of fist-sized rocks. The trincheras, the Spanish word for “entrenchments,” were built in 2021 to slow down water, raising the water table…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - On the border between the United States and Mexico, ranchers are struggling under shifting climatic conditions, including extreme drought and intense flooding. - Small rock structures known as trincheras are an ancient method of slowing water flow, reducing erosion and improving subsoil quality, allowing life to rebound in degraded rangelands. - A growing body of research indicates that rock detention structures like trincheras help improve drought resilience, increase biodiversity and water yields. - In Sonora, a state dominated by private rangelands, momentum is growing to build these structures and adopt a wider range of “regenerative ranching” practices, as conservationists and ranchers work together. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Nepal’s birdwatchers can fill gaps in conservation data 17 Jul 2026 04:28:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-can-fill-gaps-in-conservation-data/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Nepal’s expanding birdwatching community offers a vital lifeline for both biodiversity monitoring and ecotourism, reports contributor Bibek Bhandari for Mongabay. According to a recent study, a growing interest in birdwatching, particularly among younger generations, is helping bridge gaps in ecological data while promoting Nepal as a birdwatching destination. Nepal is home to more than 900 bird species, including the endemic spiny babbler (Turdoides nipalensis). Of these, 172 species are nationally threatened owing to urbanization, infrastructure development and climate change. The study surveyed 135 birdwatchers and found that only 37% shared their observations on citizen science platforms, such as eBird, or with bird conservation organizations, while 46% kept their records private. This lack of participation limits the overall impact of citizen science on regional conservation efforts, the study said. Hem Bahadur Katuwal, study co-author and an assistant professor at China’s Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, said birdwatchers should record their observations of the species they spot, the number of individuals seen and where they saw the birds. These data are helpful in conservation, he said. “This helps in fulfilling the data gaps related to bird population and habitat,” Katuwal said. He added that the records also help researchers like him in assessing species’ risk levels for Nepal’s national Red Data List. Beyond science, birdwatching presents an untapped economic opportunity for the country. While some birdwatchers spend up to 40,000 rupees ($260) per trip, according to the study, the travel sector remains dominated by trekking and religious tourism, said Ishana Thapa, CEO of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Nepal’s expanding birdwatching community offers a vital lifeline for both biodiversity monitoring and ecotourism, reports contributor Bibek Bhandari for Mongabay. According to a recent study, a growing interest in birdwatching, particularly among younger generations, is helping bridge gaps in ecological data while promoting Nepal as a birdwatching destination. Nepal is home to more than 900 […] authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
Ronald Sanabria sought to make tourism more sustainable 17 Jul 2026 00:13:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ronald-sanabria-sought-to-make-tourism-more-sustainable/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Tourism often reaches small places with large promises. It can bring money to forests, beaches, villages, parks, and old towns. A family guesthouse may become viable. A young person may have a reason to stay. It can help persuade a government that a forest has value if left standing. The same industry can also strain the places it sells. In many places, roads arrive before rules. Hotels take the best land. Water and waste are handled after the money has begun to flow. Wildlife, wages, and culture are folded into the business later, if they are dealt with at all. The traveler leaves with photographs. The community is left with the consequences. Ronald Sanabria spent much of his career between what tourism said it could do and what it actually did. For him, sustainable tourism meant work: credible standards, training, certification, purchasing decisions, local capacity, and steady persuasion. Tourism, he knew, was too fragmented for simple answers. The same trip might involve a hotel, a guide, a tour operator, a booking platform, a transport company, and a village association. The work had to reach those relationships, or sustainability would remain a claim. Sanabria, who died on July 1st, aged 57, was a Costa Rican engineer who became a central figure in sustainable tourism in Latin America and beyond. He joined the Rainforest Alliance in 1998, first in sustainable agriculture. Two years later, he began building its sustainable-tourism program. Over the next two decades, he worked with hotels, tour operators, community…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Ronald Sanabria helped turn sustainable tourism from a set of good intentions into a discipline of standards, training, certification, and market access. - His work at the Rainforest Alliance focused on making tourism useful to the places it depended on, especially small businesses and community-based enterprises. - He understood that tourism could protect forests and support local livelihoods only if hotels, tour operators, governments, and buyers changed how they worked. - His influence endured less through public recognition than through the institutions he helped build and the many people he helped make sustainability usable. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |
|
‘Chasing Deforestation’ in Liberia: Behind the scenes with Mongabay 16 Jul 2026 21:46:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/chasing-deforestation-in-liberia-behind-the-scenes-with-mongabay/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Ashoka Mukpo content:encoded: Mongabay’s investigation into deforestation in Liberia started with a tip from a source last year. “There’s deforestation, and a migrant rights issue,” they said. Areas along the border with Côte d’Ivoire were losing vast swaths of rainforest to cacao farming. It was the beginning of a months-long journey that led us from the Liberian jungle to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and through the history of West African labor migration. As a features writer for Mongabay’s Africa bureau, my work has brought me across the world. I’ve covered conservation conflicts, climate change, and the legacy of commodity extraction. These stories are always a window into the interconnected forces of modern life: economic inequalities, history, ecological change, geopolitics, and so on. I often joke that environmental reporters are really on every beat at once. Our societies were built on the exploitation of nature, and control over resources is one of the most fundamental expressions of power. Scratch the surface of an environmental story, and you’ll find one about how decisions are made, who gets to sit at the table, and what really matters to them. But few stories I’ve covered in my career pulled as many threads together as this one did. Mongabay Features Writer Ashoka Mukpo interviewing FDA rangers in Grand Gedeh, Liberia. Photo by Ashoka Mukpo for Mongabay. The tip wasn’t the first I’d heard of land deals for cocoa production in southeastern Liberia, an area where I’ve worked and reported in the past. Since 2024, civil society…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In a new episode of “Chasing Deforestation,” Mongabay investigates the emergence of a cocoa industry in southeastern Liberia that is destroying its forests. - Mongabay reporters traveled deep into the Liberian rainforest to find illegal cacao farms with the help of forest rangers and eco-guards. - The investigation was led by Mongabay Africa bureau features writer Ashoka Mukpo. authors: | ||
| Search Facebook | Check Twitter | |