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Turning the tables on lionfish: How Honduran divers are fighting back 29 Aug 2026 16:24:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/turning-the-tables-on-lionfish-how-honduran-divers-are-fighting-back/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Fritz PinnowSandy Watt content:encoded: TELA, Honduras — Mario never set out to become a lionfish hunter. An engineer by training and founder of the local dive center Tela Divers, he simply wanted to do something about the growing number of invasive lionfish appearing on the reef where he learned to dive. Native to the Indo-Pacific and thought to have arrived in the Caribbean through the aquarium trade, lionfish have spread rapidly across the region. With few natural predators, they consume large numbers of native reef fish. In Tela, Mario and a group of fellow divers began experimenting with their own specialized spears, then turned their hunts into community derbies, with teams competing to catch the biggest, smallest and greatest number of lionfish. It was a fun way to get more people involved. Regular, community-led hunting is one of the most effective ways of helping keep local populations in check. But the fight is a constant one. By the time the divers return to a site they’ve already hunted, lionfish may have repopulated it. Now they’re looking for other ways to keep the pressure on, including encouraging local fishers to catch lionfish for restaurants. For Mario, it’s a long-term effort to protect the reef he calls home. 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…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: TELA, Honduras — Mario never set out to become a lionfish hunter. An engineer by training and founder of the local dive center Tela Divers, he simply wanted to do something about the growing number of invasive lionfish appearing on the reef where he learned to dive. Native to the Indo-Pacific and thought to have […] authors: | ||
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Siraya language, deemed ‘extinct’ over a century ago, finds its voice again in Taiwan 29 Aug 2026 12:52:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-language-deemed-extinct-over-a-century-ago-finds-its-voice-again-in-taiwan/ author: Yenni Kwok dc:creator: Aylin Ho content:encoded: TAINAN, Taiwan — Since she was old enough to understand it, Uma Talavan has known she belongs to the Indigenous Siraya people. She knew almost nothing of her ethnicity, however, the identity of which was dissolved by centuries of forced assimilation, save for a handful of words her parents used to speak. In search of “who she is,” as she puts it, the Siraya activist decided to bring her language back to life nearly 200 years after it died out. “Language is an extremely important part of a people’s soul,” she says. “It lets us know the past and connect it to the present.” Her work to revitalize the Siraya language, which began more than 20 years ago, helped secure the community’s legal recognition as Taiwan’s 17th Indigenous group. Uma Talavan, her activist father Wan Cheng-hsiung, also known as Cheng-hiong Talavan, and other members of the community traveled from Tainan to Taipei to attend a ceremony announcing the recognition on July 30. Siraya activist Uma Talavan at Koupi Experimental Elementary School, the first school where learning Siraya is mandatory, in Sinhua district, Tainan, Taiwan, on Aug. 21, 2026. Image by Aylin Ho for Mongabay. The Siraya, one of Taiwan’s Austronesian-speaking Indigenous peoples, are the largest of the Pingpu groups, the peoples who have traditionally inhabited the island’s lowland plains and coastal areas. When the Dutch arrived in southern Taiwan in the 17th century, the Siraya were the first people they came into contact with. The story of the Siraya language’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A family of Siraya activists in Taiwan is a major driving force behind the revival of their ancestral language — more than a hundred years after it was last spoken. - The work to revitalize the Siraya language, which began more than 20 years ago, helped secure the community’s legal recognition as Taiwan’s 17th Indigenous group. - The story of the Siraya language’s revitalization began as a love story between Siraya activist Uma Talavan and Filipino musician Edgar Macapili. - While she could not understand a Dutch missionary’s Siraya translation of the Gospel of Matthew, her husband recognized similarities between the Siraya language and his mother tongue, Bisaya, both of which belong to the Austronesian language family. authors: | ||
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7 Indigenous Guarani killed after loose grain trailer hits car in central Brazil 29 Aug 2026 01:05:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/7-indigenous-guarani-killed-after-loose-grain-trailer-hits-car-in-central-brazil/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Seven Indigenous Guarani, including two children and a prominent community leader, were killed Aug. 14 in a crash with a grain cargo trailer that reportedly broke loose from the truck pulling it in central Brazil. All seven were from Kalipety village in the Tenondé Porã Indigenous Territory in São Paulo state. A fisher who witnessed the crash told police that the corn-filled cargo trailer detached from the truck and “violently” struck the passenger car, according to a police report seen by Mongabay. The force of the collision caused both vehicles to catch fire, killing everyone in the car and incinerating the bodies. The truck driver fled the scene of the accident, the witness said. The bodies have not yet been officially identified but community members confirmed that the victims were Karaí Tiago Honório dos Santos, 34; his wife, Kerexu Laudiceia Benites, also a community leader, 31; their children, Jaxuka Luna Benites Santos, 7, and Tadeu Hiago Werá Mirim Benites dos Santos, 14; his sister, Kerexu Cleonice Honório dos Santos, 42; Ileo Benites, 32; and Genilson Euzébio Karay Mirim, 30. Karaí Tiago Honório dos Santos was the executive coordinator of the Guarani Yvyrupa Commission and Guarani Inter-Village Committee, where he worked to further the rights of the Guarani and other Indigenous peoples in Brazil. He also spearheaded environmental recovery and agrobiodiversity efforts. “[Tiago’s] journey was interrupted in such a brutal way, and what a sad coincidence that [it was] by a truck loaded with corn.” Tatiane Klein, an anthropologist and friend…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Seven Indigenous Guarani, including two children and a prominent community leader, were killed Aug. 14 in a crash with a grain cargo trailer that reportedly broke loose from the truck pulling it in central Brazil. All seven were from Kalipety village in the Tenondé Porã Indigenous Territory in São Paulo state. A fisher who witnessed […] authors: | ||
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First Nations in Canada call for emergency order to protect southern mountain caribou 29 Aug 2026 00:04:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/first-nations-in-canada-calls-for-emergency-order-to-protect-southern-mountain-caribou/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Ruth Kamnitzer content:encoded: “Under our Syilx Okanagan law, everything is sacred to us. We believe that Mother Earth is alive, all of kʷuləncutn, the creator’s creation, that it’s all alive,” Chief Dan Wilson of the Okanagan Indian Band, a Syilx Okanagan Nation, told Mongabay in a phone call. “That’s why the caribou are so important to us … they reflect on the job we’re doing for preserving kʷuləncutn as a creation for the next generation.” Southern mountain caribou are a type of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) found in mountainous regions of Western Canada, and until recently, parts of the U.S. They live in mature forests, and depend on lichen as a winter food. Three caribou herds — all imperiled — remain within Syilx-Okanagan territory in southern British Columbia. The Columbia North herd is the strongest with 185 individuals. The Central Selkirk herd has just 27 individuals, and the Frisby-Boulder herd, with eight individuals, is considered too small to remain viable. A fourth herd, the Columbia South, was extirpated from Syilx-Okanagan territory in 2023. The situation is mirrored across the southern mountain caribou’s range, where logging has chipped away at their mature forest habitat. In the past 20 years, 15 out of 40 herds once found in British Columbia and Alberta have disappeared or are too small to stand a chance, with numbers falling from nearly 10,000 in 1991 to just over 4,700 in 2023. In British Columbia alone, 11 of the province’s 32 herds have either vanished completely or become so small…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Southern mountain caribou are a type of caribou found in mature forests of western Canada, where they subsist on lichen as a winter food. - Habitat loss — primarily driven by logging — has transformed their mature forest habitat, upsetting the predator-prey balance and leading to caribou declines. - In the past 20 years, 15 of 40 southern mountain caribou herds in British Columbia and Alberta have winked out, including a transboundary herd that once ranged into the U.S. states of Idaho and Washington. - In June, the Syilx Okanagan Nation asked the Canadian government to issue an emergency order to protect caribou, with a spokesperson calling provincial efforts insufficient to stop logging of caribou habitat within Syilx Okanagan traditional territory; the Xatśūll First Nation joined the petition in July. authors: | ||
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Global sea surface temperatures reach a record high, again 28 Aug 2026 20:14:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/global-sea-surface-temperatures-reach-a-record-high-again/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Global sea surface temperatures have reached a record high, raising serious concerns for global Earth systems, according to new data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). On Aug. 22, the daily global average sea surface temperature, outside polar regions, reached 21.1° Celsius (69.98° Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record set in March 2024 of 21.09° C (69.96° F). Even small temperature increases represent a huge gain in heat energy in the ocean because of its vast volume, noted the 2025 European state of the climate report. In 2025, too, the global ocean heat content — that is, the total amount of heat stored in the ocean — reached a new record high, passing the previous record set in 2024. The increase in ocean warming is having far-reaching consequences. “Our [latest] report highlights how sea surface temperatures contribute to sea-level rise, increase the likelihood and intensity of marine heatwaves, put critical ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass under greater stress, and threaten fisheries and food security,” Samantha Burgess told Mongabay in an email. Burgess is the strategic lead for climate with the C3S at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which produced the report. She added that increased sea surface temperatures “can also increase the potential for some extreme weather events, putting coastal communities at risk, all the while reducing the ocean’s ability to act as a carbon sink for the planet.” The world’s oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat produced by…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Global sea surface temperatures have reached a record high, raising serious concerns for global Earth systems, according to new data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). On Aug. 22, the daily global average sea surface temperature, outside polar regions, reached 21.1° Celsius (69.98° Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record set in March […] authors: | ||
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Why a newly formed lake is sparking fears of more flooding along the Nepal-China border 28 Aug 2026 17:51:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/why-a-newly-formed-lake-is-sparking-fears-of-more-flooding-along-the-nepal-china-border/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: BENGALURU, India (AP) — Even as rescuers worked through mud and debris Friday in areas devastated by a catastrophic flash flood along the Himalayan border between Nepal and China, authorities warned that a newly formed, overflowing lake could trigger further flooding. Nepalese authorities said all security personnel, rescue workers and members of the public deployed in rescue and relief efforts have been told to remain on high alert and immediately move to a safe location if necessary. Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press that the rescue operation is continuing but with authorities remaining on high alert. “It hasn’t stopped,” he said. Where is the lake? Satellite imagery shown by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV seems to indicate that the newly formed lake was in the same area as where the glacial detachment event happened on Wednesday that resulted in the chain of events leading to catastrophic damage downstream. Nepal’s disaster management authority said that satellite imagery and preliminary assessments indicate that the river has been blocked upstream, creating a growing lake that could burst and trigger a sudden downstream flood. CCTV reported Friday morning that the lake’s barrier was more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Gyirong Port, the border crossing with Nepal that was engulfed by mud and floodwater. The broadcaster said that the lake was at an elevation of 2,950 meters (9,680 feet), about 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above Gyirong Port. How did it form? Climate scientists tracking developments in the Himalayan region said that Wednesday’s glacial collapse has resulted in several small…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: BENGALURU, India (AP) — Even as rescuers worked through mud and debris Friday in areas devastated by a catastrophic flash flood along the Himalayan border between Nepal and China, authorities warned that a newly formed, overflowing lake could trigger further flooding. Nepalese authorities said all security personnel, rescue workers and members of the public deployed in rescue and relief efforts have been told […] authors: | ||
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As Photo Ark turns 20, Joel Sartore photographs 18,000 animal species 28 Aug 2026 15:16:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-the-photo-ark-turns-20-joel-sartore-photographs-18000-animal-species/ author: Liz Kimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: For 20 years, Joel Sartore has been on a quest: to photograph every animal species in human care, and then some. This year, on the 20th anniversary of the Photo Ark somewhere in Australia, Sartore photographed the project’s 18,000th animal. He’s not totally sure which one pushed the project over the threshold, but gives it to the critically endangered red handfish (Thymichthys politus) a grumpy, red Muppet of a fish that could use the publicity. When Mongabay asked Sartore, just a few days after the official anniversary, about the last animal he had photographed, he got very excited about a small moth on the screen door of his home in the U.S. state of Nebraska. He coaxed it into an old cup and photographed it. He was still waiting on an identification from a couple of moth experts, who, he notes, are night owls. Portrait of National Geographic photographer and PhotoARK founder Joel Sartore with frill necked lizard, (Chlamydosaurus kingii). Photo by Douglas Gimesy for National Geographic Photo Ark. If you find Joel, you’ll likely find him working. Midwestern-friendly, practical, and optimistic, the National Geographic photographer shoots wherever animals turn up. This includes zoos and aquariums, pet shops, bioblitzes — where scientists and volunteers race to find and document as many species as they can — stream samplings by the Tennessee Valley Authority (a power utility), a cave in Kenya, and, as in the case of the moth, on his porch. When it comes to scheduling, “I would say we…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Wildlife photographer Joel Sartore’s National Geographic Photo Ark turned 20 this year and reached its 18,000th animal, a critically endangered red handfish. - The project aims to photograph every species living in the world’s zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries, so the portraits can move people to care about extinction. - Some animals Sartore has photographed, including the northern white rhino Nabiré and the frog Toughie, were among the last of their kind, and have since gone functionally or entirely extinct. - After more than 30 years as a photographer, Sartore keeps a relentless pace and is preparing his son Cole to carry the Photo Ark forward. authors: | ||
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Failed environmental safeguards leave coastal Bangladesh facing coal pollution 28 Aug 2026 15:15:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/failed-environmental-safeguards-leave-coastal-bangladesh-facing-coal-pollution/ author: Abu Siddique dc:creator: Rashidul Hasan content:encoded: Riaz Panchayet used to farm papaya, cucumber, okra and bananas on his land in Madhupur village, located in southern Bangladesh’s coastal Patuakhali district. These days, he runs a small tea stall near one of the gates of the Payra Power Plant, and worry has replaced the seasonal rhythm of harvests. “I notice a layer of ash on the leaves of the plants and low production,” he says. “There are coconut trees on my farm; I climb them for pruning or collecting coconuts, and my shirt turns black due to the ash. We are used to bathing in an open pond, but for the last several years there has been an itching problem. My eyesight is affected, too. It is all happening because of the coal power plant.” Panchayet says he lost almost 1 hectare (2.4 acres) of land to the plant. The reaming 1 hectare, he says, is waterlogged by an ill-planned drainage system that leaves the power station’s discharge sitting stagnant on his fields. Across a large area of Kalapara subdistrict in Patuakhali, where the coal-fired Payra Power Plant is located, residents tell versions of the same story. A recent study linked local suffering related to air quality and fly ash to the power plant authority’s failure to maintain proper environmental guidelines for protecting the local environment and ecology. The Payra 1320 MW Thermal Power Plant, operated by Bangladesh-China Power Company Ltd., a joint venture between Bangladesh and China, started operations in 2020. The plant consumes 10,000 to 12,000…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A major thermal power plant, located in coastal Bangladesh, has been operating without regular air-quality testing, allegedly causing suffering among nearby residents. - A recent study also found a significant decline in air and water quality around the coal-fired thermal power plant. - Meanwhile, the government recently exempted the power plant authority from conducting air-quality tests, as officials say they believe such plants do not generate significant air pollution. - In addition, the plant’s chimney is shorter than the height approved in the initial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). authors: | ||
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Hà Đình Đức, guardian of Hanoi’s legendary turtle, died at 86 28 Aug 2026 15:10:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/ha-dinh-duc-guardian-of-hanois-legendary-turtle-died-at-86/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: On March 15th 1991 Hà Đình Đức happened to be passing Hồ Gươm, the small lake at the center of Hanoi, when he saw its giant softshell turtle surface. Đức went home and marked the date on his calendar. He was a zoologist, but the encounter created an “invisible bond” between himself and the turtle, almost “hypnotizing” him. He said it changed the course of his life. A research project later gave him an official reason to study the animal. When the project ended, he carried on. For the next quarter-century he photographed it, recorded its appearances and worried about its health. Hanoians came to know him as “Professor Turtle” or simply “Đức Rùa”. Very few of these enormous freshwater turtles survived and little was known about the individual in Hồ Gươm. But Đức also saw the turtle as inseparable from the lake and the legend associated with it. According to the 15th-century story, Lê Lợi led a rebellion that drove Ming forces from Vietnam with the help of a magical sword. After his victory he was boating on the lake when a golden turtle surfaced and reclaimed the weapon for its divine owner. The lake became Hồ Hoàn Kiếm, the Lake of the Returned Sword. For Đức, the survival of a giant turtle in the lake made the old story tangible. The animal was the lake’s “soul”, by his telling. Đức traveled Vietnam looking for other turtles that might be related to the one in Hồ Gươm. He hoped…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On March 15th 1991 Hà Đình Đức happened to be passing Hồ Gươm, the small lake at the center of Hanoi, when he saw its giant softshell turtle surface. Đức went home and marked the date on his calendar. He was a zoologist, but the encounter created an “invisible bond” between himself and the turtle, […] authors: | ||
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A sea cucumber venture in Zanzibar seeks to balance business and conservation 28 Aug 2026 14:45:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-sea-cucumber-venture-in-zanzibar-seeks-to-balance-business-and-conservation/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: David Akana content:encoded: PEMBA, Tanzania — Like many coastal communities across East Africa, the residents of Shamiani have grown accustomed to watching the sea yield less and less. Warming waters, degraded marine habitats and decades of fishing pressure have all taken a toll on the resources that once sustained local livelihoods, according to community members. On Tanzania’s Pemba Island, a part of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, Shamiani is no exception. Here, however, residents are trying something different. Ropes now mark out protected sections of shallow seagrass meadows, the result of months of community meetings and negotiations over how the area should be managed. For generations, the island’s coastal waters have supported fishing families. But in recent years, many residents say nearshore resources have steadily declined. Sea cucumbers, once abundant enough to be harvested and processed locally, have become increasingly scarce. Fishers and gleaners now work harder for smaller returns, trying to make a living from coastal waters that many say are less productive than they once were. A view of the no-take zone operated by Asili in Shamiani, on Pemba Island, where protected sections of shallow seagrass meadows are used to grow sea cucumbers. The area was established following months of community meetings and negotiations over its management. Image by David Akana/Mongabay. That decline is what led Asili, a Tanzania-based aquaculture company working with communities in Pemba since 2022 to ranch sea cucumbers inside locally protected marine areas. The model aims to restore depleted coastal ecosystems, generate income from a high-value export…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - For decades, conservationists have argued that protecting nature cannot rely indefinitely on donor funding. To endure, conservation efforts must generate enough economic value to sustain themselves. - That search for sustainable financing has prompted governments, investors and conservation organizations to experiment with models that seek to align commercial returns with environmental protection. - On Tanzania’s Pemba Island, a company called Asili is betting that sea cucumber ranching can do both. The venture is building the infrastructure needed to cultivate and process sea cucumbers for sale while supporting the restoration and protection of marine ecosystems. - Yet, significant questions remain. Can enough sea cucumbers be produced to make the business commercially viable? Can profits be shared equitably with local communities? And can a model built around conservation and commerce truly deliver on both promises? authors: | ||
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Under protection: The environmentalist’s widow in Brazil who had to disappear to survive 28 Aug 2026 14:20:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/under-protection-the-environmentalists-widow-in-brazil-who-had-to-disappear-to-survive/ author: Xavier Bartaburu dc:creator: Felipe Sabrina content:encoded: At around 1 a.m. on April 29, 2026, in a courtroom in Maranhão’s Bom Jardim district, Judge Philipe Silveira da Cunha publicly decided the fate of former military police officer Francisco da Silva Sousa. “The defendant is sentenced to 35 years and four months in prison, to be served initially in a closed facility,” he announced into the microphone. Judge Cunha stood before the defendant, jurors, prosecutors and defense and prosecution lawyers under the white lights of the courtroom, ending a trial that had lasted more than 16 hours since it began the previous morning. The 66-year-old former police officer went straight from the courtroom to prison. A jury found Da Silva, as he is known, guilty of orchestrating the murder of 54-year-old environmentalist and peasant farmer Raimundo dos Santos Rodrigues and the attempted murder of his wife Maria*, who was 37 at the time. The crime took place on Aug. 25, 2015, in the Bom Jardim district, inside the Gurupi Biological Reserve in northeastern Brazil. The reserve is a federally protected area and managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the federal agency overseeing protected areas. Since 2009, Raimundo, Maria, their six children and about 38 other peasant families had been living in the Brejinho Rio da Onça II community encampment inside the reserve. They were waiting for the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) to regularize their status as formal settlers, either on that site or on another plot of land where they…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In 2015, environmentalist Raimundo dos Santos Rodrigues was murdered in an ambush inside the Gurupi Biological Reserve in Brazil’s Maranhão state, where he served as a member of the advisory board. - A local rancher, who was illegally logging inside the reserve, orchestrated the killing. - Rodrigues’ wife Maria survived the attack but has spent more than 10 years living in another state in a government protection program. - Maria experiences a contradiction in her new life: She had to be made invisible by the state to survive the state’s failure to investigate and prosecute socio-environmental crimes. authors: | ||
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The conservation population of Australia’s endangered eastern quoll welcomes joeys 28 Aug 2026 12:35:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-conservation-population-of-australias-endangered-eastern-quoll-welcomes-joeys/ author: Yenni Kwok dc:creator: Paul Harvey content:encoded: SYDNEY — The endangered eastern quoll, one of Australia’s species of quoll, is a nocturnal carnivorous marsupial that is small in stature with a ferret-like pointed face and a bushy tail. The mammal has two primary color variants: Light fawn and blackish-brown, with white spots on the body. Once so widespread along the eastern coastal fringe of Australia, the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) was described as being in “plague abundance” and was occasionally kept as a pet and prized by farmers for its skills in hunting rodents. It was even called a native cat in the 1800s due to its resemblance in both size and hunting behavior to the domestic feline, brought by settlers from Europe. Despite its onetime abundance on the Australian mainland, by the 1960s the last known remaining eastern quoll population was lost. Disease, habitat loss, car strikes and predation by cats, dogs and invasive foxes led to the demise of the species. However, a taxidermied specimen of an eastern quoll emerged in 2016, purportedly originally picked up as roadkill in the Barrington Tops, northwest of Sydney, in 1989 and handed over to the National Parks and Wildlife Service nearly three decades later. This could mean that the species survived for decades longer than official records suggest. Although now considered extinct in the wild on the mainland, the eastern quoll has not been lost entirely. The southern Australian island of Tasmania, free of the predatory invasive foxes, is home to a number of wild populations of eastern…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The endangered eastern quolls are functionally extinct in the wild on the Australian mainland, but wild populations still survive in Tasmania. - In fox-free Tasmania, predation by cats is likely a driver of wild population decline. - Released captive-bred eastern quolls in Tasmania are now demonstrating successful interbreeding with wild populations. - Meanwhile, work to rewild eastern quolls on the mainland has seen captive-bred quolls released into predator-proof conservation reserves, with plans to scale up over the coming years. authors: | ||
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Singapore made a crow-friendly city. Now it wants to shoot them 28 Aug 2026 05:05:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/singapore-made-a-crow-friendly-city-now-it-wants-to-shoot-them/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: The resumption of a crow-shooting campaign in Singapore has revived intense debate over lethal wildlife management in the highly urbanized city-state. Government officials revived the culling program in response to public complaints about crow attacks on pedestrians and cyclists, reports contributor Robin Hicks for Mongabay. In a public statement in March announcing the resumption of crow shooting, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said that alternative measures such as trapping the birds, tree pruning, and removing nearly 9,000 nests in 2025 had proved insufficient. How Choon Beng, director of wildlife management at the National Parks Board, told Hicks that shooting, combined with other measures, would lead to a “gradual and sustained reduction” in crow numbers. But some experts say culling is merely a reactive measure that fails to address the underlying drivers of the bird boom. Albert Liu, assistant director for conservation at the nonprofit Nature Society Singapore, told Hicks that culling primarily serves “to show the public that something is being done” and “treats the symptoms, not the cause.” Ecologists point out that the hyperabundance of “nuisance” birds, such as house crows (Corvus splendens), Javan mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) and common pigeons (Columba livia), is driven entirely by human-made urban conditions. A global review of more than 400 studies found that most crow species grow more abundant as cities expand because urban areas provide plenty of food, nesting spots, and few predators. A Singapore-specific study from 2003 supports these findings. For example, crows often nest in the yellow flame trees (Peltophorum pterocarpum)…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: The resumption of a crow-shooting campaign in Singapore has revived intense debate over lethal wildlife management in the highly urbanized city-state. Government officials revived the culling program in response to public complaints about crow attacks on pedestrians and cyclists, reports contributor Robin Hicks for Mongabay. In a public statement in March announcing the resumption of […] authors: | ||
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Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19 28 Aug 2026 02:03:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/ author: Basten Gokkon dc:creator: Basten Gokkon content:encoded: Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell sharply during the pandemic, as weak timber demand and travel restrictions made logging less profitable and harder to carry out. At the same time, villages with access to alternative livelihoods and other support were less reliant on forests for income, the paper adds. The researchers say their study is among the first to combine household surveys with detailed satellite data to examine how the pandemic affected rural livelihoods and forest loss in the same communities, offering a closer look at how economic shocks and social support can influence pressure on tropical forests. “As the pandemic started, we expected economic hardships to cause illegal logging to increase again,” Skylar Hopkins, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and the lead author for the new study, said in a statement. Mapping deforestation trends Before the pandemic, average forest loss was 52% lower in NGO-affiliated villages than in unaffiliated villages, the study finds. Indonesia has the world’s third-largest tropical forest area, a major store of biodiversity and carbon, long threatened by logging, agricultural expansion and fires. The researchers surveyed 10 villages in West Kalimantan in late 2021: six communities supported by…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - As climate and economic shocks put pressure on tropical forests, a new study suggests support for rural communities could help protect forests while strengthening their ability to withstand crises. - Forest loss in protected areas of West Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a larger decline in villages receiving health and livelihood support, the study finds. - The findings point to health care, alternative livelihoods and other social support as potential tools for easing pressure on forests and helping forest-dependent communities adapt to future economic and environmental shocks — although the study does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship. authors: | ||
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South Africa’s new gold rush: Big money, high stakes in emerging spekboom restoration sector 27 Aug 2026 21:34:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/south-africas-new-gold-rush-big-money-high-stakes-in-emerging-spekboom-restoration-sector/ author: John Cannon dc:creator: Leonie Joubert content:encoded: This is the first article in Mongabay’s three-part investigation of spekboom-led ecosystem restoration in South Africa. It is part of an award-winning collaboration between independent science writer Leonie Joubert, the Stellenbosch University School for Climate Studies, and the Henry Nxumalo Foundation which supports investigative journalism in Africa. GQEBERHA, South Africa — The spekboom is to goats what ice cream is to a toddler, say the locals in this little nook of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. This explains why roughly 90% of the Albany thicket plant biome has been stripped by generations of livestock farming, mostly mohair-producing goats. Where there once was impenetrable bush, many farmlands now look like a desert. This particular plot of cultivated spekboom (Portulacaria afra) — literally, bacon tree in Afrikaans — carries the weight of expectation, though. “These are the old ones,” says Nick Hamp-Adams, gesturing to a dense line of bushes, each a spray of boughs that erupts from the ground like fireworks. After half a century, they stand a little higher than a tall person’s head. Their plush, water-laden leaves create a pointillist hedge that’s hard to see through. Where the lower branches dip to the ground, some send out roots, which allows the plant to spread and further carpet the soil. “The farmer planted them because mud [kept] flooding his barn,” says Hamp-Adams, an environmental policy graduate and general manager at Return to Thicket, a small restoration initiative in this emerging sector. From those humble beginnings in 1976 — a farmer needing…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - After decades of livestock pressure, 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of farmland in South Africa’s Albany thicket biome need rehabilitation — the way a burn victim needs lifesaving skin grafts. - Carbon finance seems the most likely source of funding, kickstarting the process with the mass planting of an endemic drought-tolerant succulent called spekboom (Portulacaria afra). - Until now, restoration projects have been artisanal, but that’s changed with a $91 million loan to a new entrant and tech giant Amazon throwing its hat into the ring. - A flush of new funding shows growing faith in a business model for ecosystem restoration, but there’s concern that if projects grow too fast and promise more carbon dioxide drawdown than the emerging science can account for, it could leave projects on shaky ground. authors: | ||
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Costa Rica to require wildlife crossings for roads when they impact fauna 27 Aug 2026 21:05:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/costa-rica-to-require-wildlife-crossings-for-roads-when-they-impact-fauna/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Costa Rican lawmakers unanimously voted to require wildlife crossings for new and existing road infrastructure when evidence shows the infrastructure interrupts natural connectivity and threatens wildlife safety. The measure, approved in August 2026, will help wildlife avoid being struck by cars while crossing roads and connect habitat, the regulation notes. Once signed into law by the president, the regulation will require that new infrastructure projects must include wildlife crossings in the earliest stage of development and budgeting. Costa Rica’s National Environmental Technical Secretariat will be responsible for confirming such plans are sufficient and appropriate before they grant approval for new projects. Existing roads may also require new wildlife crossings if the government is presented with information showing they are necessary. “Anyone can contribute scientific data to show that a bridge is needed,” Rebecca Cliffe, the founder and director of the Costa Rica-based Sloth Conservation Foundation, told Mongabay in a video call. Cliffe is planning a citizen science project to compile data from rescue centers and community reports in the South Caribbean and request bridges where they are needed. Costa Rican roads are dotted with bright yellow wildlife crossing signs featuring sloths, tapirs and coatis. But a 2025 study from Brazil found such signs do little to actually slow down drivers. Cliffe said these signs amount to “greenwashing” in Costa Rica. “No one’s slowing down when they see those signs.” In contrast, wildlife crossings — which can include bridges, culverts, tunnels and ropes for arboreal species — are known lifesavers. Beyond saving animals, and…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Costa Rican lawmakers unanimously voted to require wildlife crossings for new and existing road infrastructure when evidence shows the infrastructure interrupts natural connectivity and threatens wildlife safety. The measure, approved in August 2026, will help wildlife avoid being struck by cars while crossing roads and connect habitat, the regulation notes. Once signed into law by […] authors: | ||
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Australia’s 30×30 conservation promise matters a lot, but how it’s achieved is key (commentary) 27 Aug 2026 19:12:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/australias-30x30-conservation-promise-matters-a-lot-but-how-its-achieved-is-key-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Tim Nicol content:encoded: Australia has just four years to meet a global biodiversity promise: Protect 30% of its land and seas by 2030. What happens here in one of the planet’s megadiverse nations, which is also an extinction hotspot, will signal whether the world’s most ambitious conservation commitment can succeed. Australia is a wealthy country with abundant resources, so the question is not only if it can meet its target goal, but whether it’s protecting the right places. Global example In 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030 under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, known as 30 by 30. The pact calls for at least 30% of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments to be effectively conserved and managed to help reverse biodiversity loss. In addition, the conserved areas need to be biodiverse, ecologically representative, well connected, well managed, and equitably governed, while the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities are recognized and respected. Australia’s biodiversity crisis is already severe. The country is home to globally distinctive species and ecosystems, yet it has one of the world’s worst records for mammal extinctions driven by land clearing, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, changed fire regimes, water extraction, climate change, and poorly-controlled development. Lyndal Scobell of Cape York Natural Resource Management Ltd and Roderick Doughboy, an Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger, discuss land management issues at the Split Rock Escarpment overlooking the Kennedy Valley near Laura in Outback Queensland. Image courtesy of Kerry Trapnell. But…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - How Australia — one of the planet’s most megadiverse nations — tackles its goal to conserve 30% of its land and seas by 2030 (30×30) may signal whether this, the world’s most ambitious conservation commitment, can succeed. - With just four years to meet its promise, Australia has a way to go, but has also achieved some important milestones in part by involving Indigenous communities closely in the effort. - “If Australia meets the target well, it will help demonstrate that conservation can be representative, rights-based, well-funded, and effective,” a new op-ed argues. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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13 peccaries sail home to heal a Costa Rican forest 27 Aug 2026 18:30:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/13-peccaries-sail-home-to-heal-a-costa-rican-forest/ author: Liz Kimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: It’s after midnight, and veterinarian Dennise Ortiz Angulo is in the middle of Golfo Dulce, surrounded by shooting stars, bioluminescent water, and 13 boar-like beasts. “That moment, it felt like the movie Life of Pi,” Ortiz told Mongabay. After years of preparation, hours of fast-paced decision-making, and a tedious truck drive, Ortiz, 13 white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari), and a few other humans were midway through a voyage from Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula to Piedras Blancas National Park. The peccaries had finally settled, and Ortiz had a moment to catch her breath and take in the scene: stars, glowing water, and a boat full of gently breathing threatened mammals. This group had been carefully captured on the Osa Peninsula, where the species still ranges in strong numbers. White-lipped peccaries also used to be found in Piedras Blancas until hunters wiped them out roughly 18 years ago. The plan: reintroduce the peccary to a forest across the water, an ecosystem the animals themselves had helped build. After crossing the Golfo Dulce on boat, white-lipped peccaries are unloaded at the shores of Piedras Blancas National Park. Photo courtesy of Ian Rock. Peccaries are a force. You often smell them before you see them, a musky, garlicky scent that clings to the forest after the herd has passed. They travel in tight, noisy groups that, in Costa Rica, can number 70 to 100 animals, and elsewhere in their range, up to 300. On the night the herd reached Piedras Blancas, the animals began to…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Costa Rica’s Osa Conservation moved 13 white-lipped peccaries by truck and boat across the Golfo Dulce to reintroduce the threatened species to Piedras Blancas National Park, where hunters had wiped it out roughly 18 years ago. - The peccaries function as ecosystem engineers, churning soil, dispersing seeds, and digging wallows that become microhabitats, and serve as key prey for jaguars, which had also vanished from the park. - The translocation followed more than a decade of population study, community outreach, and patient corral-baiting, culminating in a 16-hour, 20-person relay to capture, transport, and soft-release the herd, which now appears healthy and cohesive based on tracking data and camera-trap monitoring. - The herd’s long-term safety still hinges on curbing poaching and sustaining local support, and Osa Conservation plans further translocations this year toward a target of 25-30 peccaries in the park. authors: | ||
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More than 380 coastal World Heritage Sites may face climate risks, new data shows 27 Aug 2026 18:20:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/more-than-380-coastal-world-heritage-sites-may-face-climate-risks-new-data-shows/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: María Paula Rubiano A. content:encoded: Whenever coastal engineer Robert Nicholls looks outside one of his home’s windows, he can see the Hurst Castle Spit on the south coast of England slowly eroding across the sea. “In a way, Hurst Castle is a part of me, because I did all my Ph.D. work on the spit.” Although this particular castle doesn’t have an international heritage status, it inspired Nicholls to study how climate change and weather events threaten the survival of such sites across the globe. Now, Nicholls has co-created the first global high-resolution digital dataset of UNESCO World Heritage Sites located along coastlines. Together, the included sites cover more than 235 million hectares (~581 million acres). Nicholls and his colleagues say the database can be used as a tool to help assess vulnerabilities of coastal sites that possess great natural and cultural significance, and local authorities can make them more resilient in the face of climate change and other threats posed by weather extremes. “The surprising thing, I suppose, was the number of sites in the coastal zone,” Nicholls, a professor of climate adaptation at the University of East Anglia, told Mongabay over a video call. The database, published in the journal Scientific Data in July, includes 386 locations and maps cultural landmarks; biocultural sites deemed to have both ecological and cultural value; and unique ecosystems, biodiversity fortresses and geological marvels. All are threatened by climate change and other environmental factors that might not be directly tied to it, such as erosion, according to co-author…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Coral reefs, medieval coastal castles and mangrove forests on UNESCO’s World Heritage list now share something in common: Precise digital boundaries. - A new dataset maps 386 coastal World Heritage Sites, offering the clearest picture yet of what stands to be lost as the world’s climate changes. - Covering 235 million hectares (~581 million acres) of coastline, the new high-resolution, open-access dataset can be used by researchers and local managers to study flooding, erosion and other climate risks faced by heritage sites. - The tool is a critical first step to understand climate risks, but not a substitute for the local knowledge needed to help these places survive, some experts say. authors: | ||
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‘Devastating’ rush for critical minerals has little to do with green energy: Report 27 Aug 2026 17:14:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/devastating-rush-for-critical-minerals-has-little-to-do-with-green-energy-report/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Victoria Schneider content:encoded: A new report published by U.S.-based think tank the Oakland Institute warns that the rush for critical minerals comes with massive implications for the world, especially African countries. The report, “RUSH: Global Scramble for Minerals Wages War on People and Planet,” challenges the popular narrative that an expansion of mining operations is necessary for the global green energy transition. “The intensification of mineral extraction has already had devastating consequences around the world, destroying land, livelihoods, and waters,” Oakland Institute policy director Frederic Mousseau told Mongabay in an email. He added the projected expansion of mining to meet global mineral demands will only perpetuate this devastation. Global demand for critical minerals is projected to increase drastically over the next two to three decades. Between 2000 and 2024, nickel production rose by 187%, rare earth extraction by 329%, and lithium production by 1,602%. According to projections by the International Energy Agency, demand for six key minerals — copper, graphite, lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, and nickel — will further skyrocket in the coming decades. The IEA forecasts that total mineral demand from clean energy technologies will at least double by 2040. However, the Oakland Institute report found that currently, most of the critical minerals produced end up in industries unrelated to the green energy transition. Solar, wind, battery storage, and power networks for renewables together make up around a fifth of the demand, while defense and aerospace, conventional transport, AI data centers, and construction account for the rest. In Africa, home to…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A new report published by U.S.-based think tank the Oakland Institute warns that the rush for critical minerals comes with massive implications for the world, especially African countries. The report, “RUSH: Global Scramble for Minerals Wages War on People and Planet,” challenges the popular narrative that an expansion of mining operations is necessary for the […] authors: | ||
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US environmental groups plan to sue to relist gray whales under Endangered Species Act 27 Aug 2026 15:51:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/us-environmental-groups-plan-to-sue-to-relist-gray-whales-under-endangered-species-act/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: David Brown content:encoded: A group of environmental organizations announced their intent to sue the United States National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) for failing to consider protections for Eastern Pacific gray whales under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation success. In 2019, there were roughly 20,500 gray whales; by 2023, the population had declined to just 14,526 individuals, “nearly 30% of the entire population” gone in four years, according to nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Like many whale species, gray whales are being killed by ship strikes and entanglements, but scientists attribute most of the recent mortality to climate change and disruptions to the Arctic food web on which the gray whales depend. They “seem to be starving” to death, PEER said. The whale’s population was greatly reduced by a century of whaling, but in 1973, ESA protections helped the species recover and they were delisted in 1994. Given the recent population collapse, environmental groups petitioned NMFS in 2025 to relist the whales, which would afford them additional protections. The agency should have published a 12-month finding by Aug. 24, 2026. They didn’t, so the group has sent a notice of intent to sue for violations of the ESA. “The Trump administration has once again broken one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws — the ESA — by failing to respond to our August 2025 petition to list gray whales under the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A group of environmental organizations announced their intent to sue the United States National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) for failing to consider protections for Eastern Pacific gray whales under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation […] authors: | ||
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Nepal floods highlight growing glacier risks in warming Himalayas 27 Aug 2026 15:26:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/nepal-floods-highlight-growing-glacier-risks-in-warming-himalayas/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: BENGALURU, India (AP) — Scientists say a deadly flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday was likely caused by a glacier chunk breaking off and temporarily damming a river. This may have led to a surge of water downstream, killing at least 353 people and leaving over 1,300 missing. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse, causing catastrophic debris flow. Researchers are still analyzing satellite and ground-level data to understand the event. Experts say it’s too early to directly link the disaster to global warming, but note that rising temperatures increase such risks, especially in the rapidly warming Himalayan region. By Sibi Arasu, Associated Press Banner image: Earthmovers clear the debris of flash flooding in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)This article was originally published on Mongabay description: BENGALURU, India (AP) — Scientists say a deadly flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday was likely caused by a glacier chunk breaking off and temporarily damming a river. This may have led to a surge of water downstream, killing at least 353 people and leaving over 1,300 missing. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude […] authors: | ||
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Cambodia defies UN call to free ‘arbitrarily jailed’ environmental activists 27 Aug 2026 10:30:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-defies-un-call-to-free-arbitrarily-jailed-environmental-activists/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Gerald Flynn content:encoded: CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Cambodian government has defended its continued imprisonment of five environmental activists, after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared the five had been arbitrarily detained and called for their immediate release. The activists, from environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia, have since 2024 been serving prison sentences of between six and eight years for allegedly plotting against the government. In a 16-page opinion published in February, the U.N. working group said it had found that the imprisonment of Long Kuntha, 28, Ly Chandaravuth, 26, Phuon Keoraksmey, 25, Thun Ratha, 34 and Yim Leanghy, 37, met the conditions for arbitrary detention on the grounds that there was no legal basis for the arrests. It said authorities had targeted the activists for exercising their fundamental freedoms, making the detention discriminatory and resulting in severe violations of their right to a fair trial. The opinion asked Cambodia to take immediate action on the matter in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the latter of which Cambodia ratified in 1992, and to provide evidence of having done so within six months. Contacted by Mongabay in August, six months since the working group’s findings, a government spokesperson said the activists would remain behind bars. “I have no comment on [the working group’s] rulings against us as all detentions have been made under legal and judicial proceeding,” Chan Rothona, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Cambodia insists five environmental activists jailed in 2024 will remain behind bars, after a U.N. working group called their detention arbitrary and urged their immediate release. - The five members of Mother Nature Cambodia were sentenced to six to eight years in prison for allegedly plotting against the government. - The U.N. working group found no legal basis for their detention and said their prosecution and trial violated their rights, including through discriminatory treatment and a lack of a fair trial. - Cambodian officials maintain the activists were detained through lawful judicial proceedings, while rights advocates say the case reflects a broader government crackdown on environmental defenders. authors: | ||
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In Java’s hills, former bird hunters are rebuilding a songbird haven 27 Aug 2026 10:29:30 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-javas-hills-former-bird-hunters-are-rebuilding-a-songbird-haven/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Triyo Handoko content:encoded: PURWOREJO, Indonesia — As a young man, Parman hunted songbirds here in the Menoreh Hills, a landscape of karst valleys near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but back then Parman would raid nests for rare birds, taking fledglings before they had learned to fly, then raising them himself until they were old enough to sell. “Most buyers came from outside the area, especially Yogyakarta and Magelang,” Parman told Mongabay Indonesia in June, referring to the two nearest cities to his home in Donorejo village. “They’d ask local people to catch them, and we’d sell them — for a pretty good price.” The colorful Javan blue flycatcher (Cyornis banyumas), for example, used to be a common sight and sound here in the Menoreh Hills. But the species is now critically endangered, a sad reflection of the depth of Indonesia’s songbird trade. Today, many more of these birds are held in cages than live freely in forests. “Remarkably, the population in captivity likely numbers in the tens of thousands, while the wild population is now suspected to number fewer than 1,000, and maybe much lower,” notes the most recent assessment of the Javan blue flycatcher, published in 2022 by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “It became really difficult to find birds here,” Parman said. “So that’s why we stopped, and chose to focus on raising goats instead.” But after Parman and his peers stopped hunting for the songbird trade, they found outsiders…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Some former hunters on the Indonesian island of Java have abandoned catching birds for the songbird trade and have since become notable local conservation figures. - The Menoreh Hills is a karst biosphere in Central Java province where sightings of songbirds have declined over several years due to hunting and land-use change. - One local songbird, the Javan blue flycatcher, has become critically endangered due to hunting, with population assessments indicating the number of caged birds is at least an order of magnitude greater than the total population living freely in low- and mid-lying forests in Java. authors: | ||
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A ‘leading’ Chinese miner of Mozambique’s heavy sands linked to environmental destruction 27 Aug 2026 08:35:43 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-leading-chinese-miner-of-mozambiques-heavy-sands-linked-to-environmental-destruction/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Malavika Vyawahare content:encoded: A sand mining operation along the coast of central Mozambique’s Zambezia Province decimated hundreds of hectares of mangroves in just a few years, a Mongabay investigation has found. The area is under the control of Mozambique Heavy Sand Company VIII, part-owned by the Jinan Yuxiao Group, an influential Chinese mining group claiming to hold more than 500,000 hectares (1.24 million acres) of land in mining concessions in Mozambique. That’s an area larger in size than 700,000 soccer fields. These concessions mostly target heavy mineral sands that primarily yield titanium ores that are used in the production of everything from paints to plastics and sunscreen. Environmental activists are raising the alarm about the risks from heavy minerals mining along Mozambique’s coast and local media has documented the growing threat from it. “All of our coastal zones have these heavy mineral sands projects,” Fatima Mimbire, an advocate for transparency in Mozambique’s mining sector, told Mongabay, adding that. most mineral sand mining companies in Mozambique were Chinese. “These companies are destroying without concern for the environment, without concern for the people.” Global Mangrove Watch (GMW), a platform built to track where mangroves are recovering and where they are in retreat, first signaled the losses in the Chinde district of Zambezia. Lammert Hilarides, an earth observation specialist at Wetlands International (WI), told Mongabay how he started noticing an uptick in mangrove deforestation alerts from the region in late 2023. WI is one of the organizations that designed and now helps run GMW. In the years…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Rapid loss of mangroves in Mozambique’s Zambezia Province is linked to the activities of Mozambique Heavy Sand Company VIII, which is part-owned by an influential Chinese mining group, Mongabay has found. - The mangrove loss occurred inside a site considered “one of the most diverse and productive river delta systems in the world.” - Satellite imagery suggests it was caused by what appears to be a blocked waterway where sand mining activities took place between 2022 and 2026. - Increasingly, environmentalists are raising the alarm about the environmental impacts of heavy minerals prospecting and mining in vast sections along Mozambique’s coast. authors: | ||
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A Sumatran villager lost ground to the sea. So he planted mangroves 27 Aug 2026 08:12:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/a-sumatran-villager-lost-ground-to-the-sea-so-he-planted-mangroves/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In a coastal village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an oil palm and pineapple grower named Harisyah is fighting rapid coastal erosion. The region’s northern coastline, which sits on carbon-rich tropical peat soils, is losing ground to the sea at a rate of more than 6 meters (20 feet) annually. Researchers attribute the retreat to a combination of subsiding drained peatland and the loss of mangrove forests cleared for charcoal production, aquaculture, and oil palms. Harisyah’s hands-on activism began in 2011 after he attended an aquaculture training course in the Meranti Islands, off the eastern coast of Sumatra, reports contributor Suryadi for Mongabay Indonesia. He spent the next few years learning how to restore mangrove forests, from raising seedlings to organizing community volunteers. In 2018, when he became the head of Tanjung Kuras village, on the Sumatran mainland, he used local funds to kick-start mangrove restoration efforts around his village. In 2024, after leaving office, he partnered with local and international nonprofits to scale up restoration in Tanjung Kuras, aiming to revive 25 hectares (62 acres) of degraded mangrove forest. A key part of Harisyah’s current strategy is involving local youths to ensure long-term stewardship. One of the restoration sites is near an elementary school, and local schoolchildren and residents joined him to plant seedlings along the riverbanks. “This new generation will grow up close to mangroves, and they can learn more about them through playing and activities,” Harisyah said. The replanting efforts highlight a shift from unmet national…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In a coastal village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an oil palm and pineapple grower named Harisyah is fighting rapid coastal erosion. The region’s northern coastline, which sits on carbon-rich tropical peat soils, is losing ground to the sea at a rate of more than 6 meters (20 feet) annually. Researchers attribute the retreat […] authors: | ||
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China’s Tianmu Mountain reserve tackles modern conservation amid religious tradition 27 Aug 2026 04:38:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/chinas-tianmu-mountain-reserve-tackles-modern-conservation-amid-religious-tradition/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions have long guided the protection of plants and wildlife in a nature reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China. Local temples enforced strict rules and punishments against forest destruction, but, following the reserve’s recent expansion, state regulations now provide the formal legal framework for the area. Local officials say religious traditions from the past continue to shape public attitudes, reports contributor Keith Anthony Fabro for Mongabay. The Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, located on the eastern coast of China, expanded from 4,300 hectares (10,630 acres) to become the 54,700-hectare (135,170-acre) Tianmushan-Qingliangfeng UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2025. It represents a landmark expansion, the first of its kind in China. Long known as the “kingdom of big trees” and home to the ancient, endangered Ginkgo biloba, the biosphere reserve is a crucial biodiversity haven for thousands of species including the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons), Chinese golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) and Tianmu ironwood (Ostrya rehderiana). Religion has been one of Tianmu’s most steadfast guardians, like many mountainous regions in China, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “This place is special not only because of its nature,” Lu Senhong, head of the publicity and education division at the Tianmu National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, told Mongabay in an interview. “It is also because people here have long believed that every tree, flower, and bird carries a spirit. That respect has kept the mountain alive.” Today, the administration formally manages the now expanded reserve, but…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions have long guided the protection of plants and wildlife in a nature reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China. Local temples enforced strict rules and punishments against forest destruction, but, following the reserve’s recent expansion, state regulations now provide the formal legal framework for the area. Local officials say religious […] authors: | ||
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Brazil relaxes Belo Monte water rule amid El Niño-fueled Amazon drought risk 26 Aug 2026 23:30:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/brazil-relaxes-belo-monte-water-rule-amid-el-nino-fueled-amazon-drought-risk/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Brazilian authorities have temporarily relaxed an environmental rule for the Belo Monte hydropower plant on the Xingu River in the northeastern Amazon. The change comes in anticipation of another potentially severe, El-Niño-fueled dry season. Under the temporary measure, Belo Monte’s operator Norte Energia can cut the flow of the dam’s 119 square-kilometer (46 square-mile) intermediate reservoir from the current minimum of 300 cubic meters per second (10,600 cubic feet per second) to 100 m³/s (3,530 ft³/s). It has already begun the gradual cuts to reduce flow. They will remain until Nov. 30. Regulators told Mongabay the change will allow the plant to both preserve electricity generation and water flows through the Volta Grande do Xingu, a large bend in the Xingu River where Indigenous and riverine communities depend on the river for fishing, transport and daily life. Reduced water flow in the reservoir increases the risk of poorer water quality, with potential consequences for both aquatic life and people as the river flows downstream. “Between a worse option and a bad one, they chose the bad one,” André Oliveira Sawakuchi, a geoscientist at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, told Mongabay by phone. Norte Energia said the measure will ensure that the required flow through the Volta Grande will remain unchanged. They also said that they will monitor water quality and fish movements and report back to regulatory agencies. “Significant social and environmental impacts are not expected.” IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environment agency, told Mongabay by email. “If the measure were…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Brazilian authorities have temporarily relaxed an environmental rule for the Belo Monte hydropower plant on the Xingu River in the northeastern Amazon. The change comes in anticipation of another potentially severe, El-Niño-fueled dry season. Under the temporary measure, Belo Monte’s operator Norte Energia can cut the flow of the dam’s 119 square-kilometer (46 square-mile) intermediate […] authors: | ||
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Pastoralists in a Changing World 26 Aug 2026 21:03:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/08/pastoralists-in-a-changing-world/ author: Alejandroprescottcornejo dc:creator: content:encoded: Pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions, pastoralist cultures rely on freedom of movement and shared arrangements over how to graze rangelands. Today, pastoralists are navigating profound environmental changes to the lands that have sustained their communities for generations. This Special Issue explores many of the tensions influencing pastoral livelihoods including climate change, conflict with wildlife, access to land, water and traditional migration routes, as well as the adaptation and innovation sustaining hundreds of millions of people worldwide. This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions, pastoralist cultures rely on freedom of movement and shared arrangements over how to graze rangelands. Today, pastoralists are navigating profound environmental changes to the lands that have sustained their communities for generations. This […] authors: | ||
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Kenya’s clothing waste raises concerns about potential public health risks 26 Aug 2026 17:57:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyas-clothing-waste-raises-concerns-about-potential-public-health-risks/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Ouma Elvine Tina content:encoded: Kenya’s secondhand clothing trade, locally known as mitumba, clothes millions of people and supports an estimated 2 million livelihoods, making it one of Africa’s largest markets for used garments. That makes Kenya a useful lens for understanding the growing global public health problems associated with textile waste disguised as reusable clothing. More than 4.5 billion used garments are shipped to Africa each year, according to a recent letter published in Science. Many end up in dumpsites or are burned when local sorting systems are overwhelmed. The researchers argue that discarded textile waste can become reservoirs for harmful bacteria, including Escherichia (which includes E. coli) and Klebsiella. These bacteria are linked to illnesses ranging from diarrheal disease and urinary tract infections to pneumonia, bloodstream infections and, in severe cases, life-threatening sepsis. A growing body of research links health risks with textile waste. A recent review found that discarded textiles can harbor pathogenic microorganisms and antimicrobial-resistant genes. Another study showed that microplastics released from degrading synthetic textiles can transport pathogens and toxic chemicals through the environment. Recent reporting by Mongabay highlighted evidence that microplastic pollution may contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance. For Kenya, the enormous scale of the secondhand clothing trade is at the root of the problem. A 2023 report estimates that Nairobi’s largest dumpsite receives roughly 86 metric tons of textile waste each day. Once discarded, synthetic textiles can fragment into microplastics that pollute both the air and waterways. To combat the problem, the authors of the Science…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Kenya’s secondhand clothing trade, locally known as mitumba, clothes millions of people and supports an estimated 2 million livelihoods, making it one of Africa’s largest markets for used garments. That makes Kenya a useful lens for understanding the growing global public health problems associated with textile waste disguised as reusable clothing. More than 4.5 billion […] authors: | ||
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As hay fever sufferers grow in Japan, the country is looking to plant no-pollen trees 26 Aug 2026 16:09:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-hay-fever-sufferers-grow-in-japan-the-country-is-looking-to-plant-no-pollen-trees/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Jonathan Vit content:encoded: TOKYO — For Mariko Aoki, the new year began with an itch. “Right after the New Year in January, my nose starts to get a little itchy,” Aoki said. “It peaks in March, and the sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat and itchy eyes are really bad. It lasts all the way until just before Golden Week [April 29-May 5].” Aoki, like many in Japan, suffers from hay fever, or kafunsho, an annual affliction that affects more than 40% of the population — nearly double the rate in the U.S. The seasonal allergies leave many with red eyes, a stuffy nose, a sore throat and feelings of exhaustion. The combined lassitude annually costs Japan an estimated 245 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in economic losses per day during hay fever season, according to one survey. “My head feels so foggy that I can’t concentrate,” said Aoki, who works as a secretary at the National Diet — Japan’s legislature. “When it gets really bad, I go to the doctor.” In Japan, hay fever has been called a national disease. But it’s a man-made one. The majority of Japan’s hay fever sufferers are allergic to the pollen of two trees: sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Both trees were widely planted in the years following World War II as a much-needed source of timber. Sugi cones. Image by Plant Image Library via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). The trees helped fuel Japan’s post-war recovery. Now, decades later, they’re fuelling a national health crisis. “People…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - More than 40% of the population in Japan suffers from hay fever, or kafunsho, an annual affliction. - The majority of Japan’s hay fever sufferers are allergic to the pollen of two trees — sugi and hinoki. Both trees were widely planted in the years following World War II as a much-needed source of timber. - In 2023, the Japanese government announced a solution: Fell 750,000 hectares of sugi and hinoki trees in a bid to cut the problem off at the root. - After decades of work, researchers have developed more than 30 strains of low-pollen and no-pollen sugi trees, which will replace some of the trees cut down. authors: | ||
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Nigeria can build the new coastal highway and also protect natural areas (commentary) 26 Aug 2026 16:03:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nigeria-can-build-the-new-coastal-highway-and-also-protect-natural-areas-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Mahmoud Ibrahim Mahmoud content:encoded: Nigeria needs road infrastructure for improved living conditions. Anyone who has watched trucks crawl out of Lagos, farmers and fishermen struggle to reach markets, or small coastal businesses lose value to poor logistics, knows that road infrastructure in Nigeria is not a luxury. The proposed Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, running roughly 700 kilometers (about 435 miles) from Badagry toward Calabar, is therefore easy to sell as a nation-building project: faster trade, more jobs, increased tourism, port access, socioeconomic development, and a stronger southern economic corridor. However, the same road could also become a long concrete trigger for ecological loss. Nigeria’s coast is not empty land waiting for asphalt. It is a living system of mangroves, freshwater swamps, tidal channels, floodplains, fishing settlements, and remnant forests. These ecosystems store carbon, buffer storms, nurse fisheries, serve as breeding grounds for marine life, and support livelihoods that rarely appear in road-cost spreadsheets. The question is not whether Nigeria should develop. It is whether development will be intelligent enough to avoid destroying the natural infrastructure that already protects coastal communities. The answer depends on whether environmental and social impact assessments, or ESIAs, are treated as honest decision-making tools rather than administrative rituals. A mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona), is one of the many species inhabiting Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, which the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is proposed to be routed through. Image courtesy of AlexisENVN via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Recent developments have already raised serious concerns. Mongabay has noted that the highway passes through or…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - To improve living conditions in Nigeria, new roads like the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway are needed. - But these can and must be built in such a way that protects mangroves, swamps, and remnant forests, using knowledge and tools like environmental and social impact assessments. - “The question is not whether Nigeria should develop. It is whether development will be intelligent enough to avoid destroying the natural infrastructure that already protects coastal communities,” a new op-ed argues. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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At least 75 killed and hundreds missing after flash floods in Nepal and China 26 Aug 2026 15:18:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/at-least-75-killed-and-hundreds-missing-after-flash-floods-in-nepal-and-china/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: UDIN DHUNGA, Nepal (AP) — Flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China have killed at least 75 people and left hundreds missing. On Wednesday, officials in Nepal reported 403 people missing, including 341 foreign nationals. Many were said to be on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in China’s autonomous region of Tibet. China’s state broadcaster said a mudslide in Tibet killed at least three people and left 265 missing. The floods have destroyed villages, roads, and hydropower projects. Nepal said it has asked India and China to help with rescue efforts. Rescuers carry a victim of flash flooding to safety along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Damaged houses stand precariously near the swollen, debris-choked banks of the Trishuli River after flash floods in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) By Niranjan Shrestha and Sibi Arasu, Associated Press Banner image: Rescuers use an earthmover to carry a victim of flash flooding to safety along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. Image courtesy of Niranjan Shrestha, Associated Press. This article was originally published on Mongabay description: UDIN DHUNGA, Nepal (AP) — Flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China have killed at least 75 people and left hundreds missing. On Wednesday, officials in Nepal reported 403 people missing, including 341 foreign nationals. Many were said to be on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in China’s autonomous region of Tibet. […] authors: | ||
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Blast fishing destroys reefs. Underwater microphones can help detect it 26 Aug 2026 14:22:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/blast-fishing-destroys-reefs-underwater-microphones-can-help-detect-it/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Syris Valentine content:encoded: When he went for a dive between the tiny islands off the coast of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, marine biologist and AI researcher Ben Williams could often hear as many as three fish bombs detonate. “But the thing is, because sounds travel so far underwater, the bombing is often happening quite far away,” he said. “So you could hear one that feels like a kick in the chest, then you look up [above the water], and you can’t even see a boat on the horizon.” Those islands, the Spermonde Archipelago, were once home to a pristine and vibrant network of coral reefs. But from 1990 to 2022, some three-quarters of this coral was killed, primarily by the illegal practice of blast fishing. In it, fishers toss improvised explosives into the sea to kill and stun fish en masse and scoop up the mostly intact ones, leaving underwater wreckage behind. “If you look at the rubble after a city’s been blown up in a war zone,” Williams told Mongabay in a video call, “it’s not too dissimilar.” Since 2013, local communities, conservation organizations and scientists have collaborated on the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Project, an effort to restore those damaged reefs. Williams joined researchers studying the effectiveness of those efforts in 2019. His particular contribution focused on using recent advances in data science to investigate Spermonde’s marine soundscape: Where a healthy reef sings like an alien jungle come to life at night, a dead one crackles like a forest smoldering after a…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Once home to a pristine and vibrant network of coral reefs, the Spermonde Archipelago off the coast of South Sulawesi in Indonesia has had its coral decimated by the illegal practice of blast fishing, in which improvised explosives are tossed into the sea to kill and stun fish en masse. - A new study harnesses acoustic data to produce what is likely the first rigorous estimate of the frequency and intensity of bomb fishing in the archipelago. - Using low-cost microphones and an easy-to-run algorithm, the researchers detected more than 3,500 so-called fish bombs going off in their study area within the archipelago — an average of 23 blasts a day, or almost one every hour. - The scientists believe their approach could help communities and NGOs around the world design targeted interventions to combat the practice, which can devastate not only reefs but the broader marine ecosystems. authors: | ||
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Scientists discover 149 new deep-sea species at remote Indian Ocean seamounts 26 Aug 2026 11:53:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/scientists-discover-149-new-deep-sea-species-at-remote-indian-ocean-seamounts/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Emma Smith content:encoded: The Indian Ocean accounts for about a fifth of global ocean area, with 90% of it reaching deeper than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). Yet compared to the Pacific and Atlantic, its deep-sea biodiversity is relatively understudied — particularly the seamounts of the ocean’s central eastern region. An expedition that surveyed dozens of these volcanic underwater mountains around the Christmas and Cocos islands, located southwest of the Indonesian island of Jakarta between Australia and Sri Lanka, has revealed remarkable marine animal biodiversity along the Indian Ocean seafloor. Published in Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography in June, the resulting study details 149 new species, including a sea cucumber from the genus Oneirophanta, a new fish from the greeneye family (Chlorophthalmus), and a parasitic barnacle from the genus Rhizolepas. Researchers surveyed at depths ranging from 94 to 5,431 m (308 to 17,818 ft), mapping a dark abyssal seafloor punctuated by 40 to 120-million-year-old volcanic seamounts that can be up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) across. They had never been studied before, study lead author Tim O’Hara, a marine scientist at Museums Victoria in Melbourne, told Mongabay. “People had been around the islands in shallow water before, but no one had looked at life in the deep. It was a massive hole in the data,” O’Hara said. Mapping remote underwater mountains Getting to these sites required time. The islands are so remote that, leaving from Darwin on the northern coast of Australia, it took nearly seven days to arrive at Christmas…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A new study details a deep-sea expedition near the remote Christmas and Cocos islands, where researchers visited unexplored seamounts and identified 149 previously unknown marine species, including black corals, sea worms, sea cucumbers and a variety of fish. - At a site they dubbed “The Shark Tooth Graveyard,” researchers discovered around 1,000 shark teeth, covering more than 22 million years of evolution. - Researchers from institutions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. surveyed the seafloor down to 5,431 meters (17,818 feet), where conditions are cold, dark and high-pressure with limited food options for benthic species. - Deep-sea research is notoriously challenging, but scientists stress the importance of exploring these ecosystems as they face growing threats from warming oceans, pollution, overfishing and deep-sea mining. authors: | ||
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‘They will do it legally or illegally’: Interview with James Giahyue on Liberia’s cocoa boom 26 Aug 2026 11:05:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/they-will-do-it-legally-or-illegally-interview-with-james-giahyue-on-liberias-cocoa-boom/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ashoka Mukpo content:encoded: In 2024, the price of cacao on world markets spiked dramatically, nearly quintupling from what it had been a year earlier. Prices have since dropped, but along with a land crunch in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top producer of the commodity, the prospect of high financial rewards have helped to drive a rapid expansion of new plantations in the forests of southeastern Liberia. This region contains some of West Africa’s last intact rainforest. The land on which these plantations are being developed is customarily owned by local communities, and many of their residents have been eager to reap the rewards of the cacao market. Handshake deals between them and migrants from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso is now driving a wave of deforestation. “The people of the southeast, where you have a lot of forests, have realized or seen that cocoa can give them more money than they get from other traditional things like charcoal burning and subsistence farming,” says Liberian journalist James Giahyue. “It’s like a new phenomenon, and a new opportunity.” As editor-in-chief of news outlet The DayLight, Giahyue has guided extensive coverage of environmental issues in Liberia. He was an integral member of a Mongabay reporting team that published an investigation into deforestation there this past July. He spoke to Ashoka Mukpo from his base in Monrovia. The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Mongabay: A big part of the cocoa story in Liberia is migration. So many of these cocoa workers that…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In July, Mongabay published a feature investigation and video report about deforestation in southeastern Liberia dude to cacao cultivation. - The remote region contains some of West Africa’s last intact rainforests, many of which are under threat due to the emergence of the cacao industry there. - Liberian journalist James Giahyue told Mongabay that poverty and the involvement of local politicians are helping to drive deforestation there. authors: | ||
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Kenyan investigators arrest 4 people linked to 18 Amboseli elephant deaths 26 Aug 2026 10:52:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyan-investigators-arrest-4-people-linked-to-18-amboseli-elephant-deaths/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Lynet Otieno content:encoded: At least four suspects have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 18 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem in southern Kenya, near the border with Tanzania. Preliminary investigations by a multiagency team suggest poisoning from agricultural pesticides, authorities say. In July, 16 elephants were found dead at Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Group Ranch in the Amboseli ecosystem. The death toll rose to 18 in August, after two more elephant carcasses were found in Kitenden B reserve, near the Amboseli National Park. On Aug. 21, Kenya Wildlife Service’s (KWS) communication director Duncan Wanyama told Mongabay by phone that another elephant was in critical condition in Amboseli and under close watch by animal experts. The KWS has previously said that most of the elephants found dead were female and their calves. Investigations have led to the recovery of substances, including chemicals that are potentially toxic, and “unlabelled materials”, which have been secured for further scientific analysis, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Rebecca Miano said in a statement seen by Mongabay. “Although the investigations remain active, the arrest of persons of interest and the recovery of exhibits do not in themselves establish criminal culpability,” she said. Miano added that a suspect believed to have crucial information about the killings of the elephants was still at large. Initial investigations indicated that the elephants died after ingesting a toxic substance, with laboratory tests pointing to cyanide. The elephants were thought to have come into contact with the chemical in pesticides sprayed on tomatoes…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: At least four suspects have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 18 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem in southern Kenya, near the border with Tanzania. Preliminary investigations by a multiagency team suggest poisoning from agricultural pesticides, authorities say. In July, 16 elephants were found dead at Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Group Ranch in […] authors: | ||
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In South Africa, renewable energy latest part of timber industry’s green efforts 26 Aug 2026 10:09:21 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys-green-efforts/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Mkhululi Chimoio content:encoded: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — York Timber Holdings signed a 10-year renewable electricity agreement with electricity trader Discovery Green for power for its Jessievale sawmill in June 2026. Renewables will now make up approximately 90% of the mill’s electricity use, and the agreement is a trend that is spreading amongst commercial users in South Africa. “The 10-year agreement gives York Timbers access to renewable electricity at scale, while improving long-term certainty regarding electricity costs,” said Linmari Pelser, the company’s group risk and compliance officer. Discovery Green is a subsidiary of one of South Africa’s largest health insurance schemes; Discovery’s renewable energy division works with companies that want to increase energy efficiency and shift to renewables, including “wheeling” agreements like the one with York Timber. Under the agreement, York Timber’s electricity will still arrive over the same infrastructure, but Discovery Green will coordinate the equivalent amount of power being fed into the national grid from a range of solar and wind producers across the country. York Timber also operates a 700 kW solar farm at the mill. Pelser said the agreement will reduce the sawmill’s greenhouse gas emissions, while reducing its exposure to electricity tariff hikes and potential future carbon-based costs, such as South Africa’s Carbon Tax. This tax on greenhouse gas emissions was introduced in 2019, and generous allowances that allowed most polluters to pay only a fraction of their assessed costs are scheduled to be lifted this year. Dan Ginsberg, head of actuarial and research and development at Discovery Green,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A 10-year agreement provides York Timber Holdings with access to renewable electricity “at scale,” an official with the timber company said. - The agreement will reduce the sawmill’s greenhouse gas emissions, while reducing its exposure to electricity tariff hikes and potential future carbon-based costs, according to the company. - “Renewable energy is just one element of sustainability. Responsible management of plantations, conservation of biodiversity and water stewardship are just as important,” a forestry specialist said. authors: | ||
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El Niño is disrupting the Pacific’s marine food web from the bottom up 26 Aug 2026 10:07:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/el-nino-is-disrupting-the-pacifics-marine-food-web-from-the-bottom-up/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: As the 2026 El Niño strengthens in the equatorial Pacific, satellites are capturing the first major signs of disruption to the marine food web. According to by NASA’s Earth Observatory observations, satellite measurements show a substantial drop in surface concentrations of chlorophyll across the Central Pacific compared with neutral conditions in June 2025. Chlorophyll is the pigment that helps plants absorbs sunlight to generate energy, and its reduction indicates a decline in phytoplankton, the base of the ocean’s food webs. Hyung-Gyu Lim, an associate professor of oceanography at Chonnam National University in South Korea, told Mongabay by email that a developing El Niño can slow the process of upwelling, where nutrient-rich cold waters rise from the ocean depths to the surface. “This may trigger less nutrient supply. It is not surprising for me,” Lim said. Matthew Kehrli and Graham Trolley, oceanographers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, wrote in a NASA Earth Observatory article that El Niño can suppress upwelling because easterly equatorial trade winds weaken, causing the warm surface layer of the ocean to extend deeper. They added that as El Niño progresses, chlorophyll concentrations will likely decrease further over a broader region. The ecological consequences of this nutrient decline would mean less food available for zooplankton, as well as for fish, seabirds, and marine mammals, the NASA Earth Observatory article said. This affects fisheries: Peru’s anchovy fisheries, for example, saw significant declines in catch during previous El Niño events, driven by warmer surface waters, reduced upwelling, and lower…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: As the 2026 El Niño strengthens in the equatorial Pacific, satellites are capturing the first major signs of disruption to the marine food web. According to by NASA’s Earth Observatory observations, satellite measurements show a substantial drop in surface concentrations of chlorophyll across the Central Pacific compared with neutral conditions in June 2025. Chlorophyll is […] authors: | ||
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Indigenous water systems gain ground as climate pressures intensify in Bolivia 26 Aug 2026 10:00:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-water-systems-gain-ground-as-climate-pressures-intensify-in-bolivia/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Anastasia Austin content:encoded: SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, Bolivia — When Rolando Ágreda was 16, a severe drought hit his community of Ascensión de Guarayos in the Bolivian Amazon in 2022. Rumors spread that the municipality’s only water reservoir was dwindling. But it was the communal spring-fed pool, or paúro, that Ágreda had been visiting since childhood that evaporated first. “Confusion was the strongest feeling,” Ágreda says in a video call. “But also sadness, because for everyone I know that place represents joy.” According to the Guarayú Indigenous People, who settled the area around Ágreda’s village of Ascensión de Guarayos in the 18th and 19th centuries, woodland spirits guard the paúros, and the community is responsible for maintaining them. But with urbanization, the arrival of non-indigenous Bolivians, and modern water infrastructure, this Indigenous knowledge had nearly disappeared. Ágreda says only three of his 28 classmates knew about paúros. “The others didn’t. It was easy not to know because [the paúros] had been neglected: The grass was so overgrown that they looked like abandoned lots. You would never imagine that there was a pool of water in the middle,” he says. A mural in Ascensión de Guarayos, where ranching is putting pressure on nature. Image by Douwe den Held. With help from his teachers, Ágreda launched a districtwide competition during the spring semester of 2022 to restore paúros across the municipality, which involved locating them, removing trash and clearing vegetation from the walls so water could filter through. By June 2022, they had restored…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - When a 2022 drought hit Bolivia’s Ascensión de Guarayos, restoring traditional paúros helped the community survive after the municipal reservoir ran dry. - The youth-led effort to revive paúros has grown into a broader conservation project, including a legally protected urban ecological corridor. - The initiative is part of a global trend to restore Indigenous water systems as low-cost, climate-resilient solutions to growing water scarcity. - Experts say blending traditional and modern approaches can strengthen water security — but only if local communities lead and retain control. authors: | ||
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Tracing the origins of tulips: Interview with botanist Brett Wilson 26 Aug 2026 06:32:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/tracing-the-origins-of-tulips-interview-with-botanist-brett-wilson/ author: Yenni Kwok dc:creator: Shreya Dasgupta content:encoded: The universally beloved tulips are synonymous with the Netherlands. The low-lying European country dominates the global market, producing nearly 90% of the world’s tulips. Every year, from March to May, tourists flock to tulip gardens and fields in the Dutch countryside to see the flowers in full bloom. The origins of Tulipa, however, are believed to lie elsewhere. A massive genetic analysis of wild tulips has confirmed that broader Central Asia is the birthplace of tulips, dating back roughly 32.5 million years. The researchers also traced the closest ancestors of the popular garden tulips down to two possible candidates. This study “is a foundational piece of our understanding of the [Tulipa] group,” study lead author Brett Wilson, co-founder of the IUCN SSC Wild Tulip Specialist Group, told Mongabay by email. “We now know — rather than assume — that tulips originated in Central Asia, and that urgent action is needed there if we are not going to lose a great many of these species.” Wilson, a botanist and conservationist whose Ph.D. research was focused on tulips at the University of Cambridge, U.K., spoke with Mongabay’s Shreya Dasgupta about the new study. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. Botanist and conservationist Brett Wilson. Image courtesy of Brett Wilson. Mongabay: It’s been generally believed that tulips originated in Central Asia. Why is this study important now? Brett Wilson: Central Asia has always been the obvious suspect — it holds more wild tulip species than anywhere else on Earth…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A massive genetic analysis of wild tulips has confirmed that Central Asia is the birthplace of tulips, but no single country can rightfully claim the flower originated within its borders. - The researchers of the study also traced the closest ancestors of the popular garden tulips down to two possible candidates, Tulipa suaveolens and T. scardica. - Brett Wilson, the study’s lead author and co-founder of the IUCN SSC Wild Tulip Specialist Group, told Mongabay that “urgent action is needed … if we are not going to lose a great many of these species.” - More than half of all wild tulips assessed on the IUCN Red List are threatened with extinction. authors: | ||
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Can big tech stop wildlife crime? 26 Aug 2026 05:41:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/can-big-tech-stop-wildlife-crime/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Sam Lee content:encoded: There’s a new, unlikely ally in the fight against illegal wildlife crime: Big tech. Earlier this year, new commitments from household names including Paypal, Meta, eBay and Etsy were announced at the United For Wildlife Business Forum to End Wildlife Trade. Wildlife trafficking is a sophisticated international crime worth billions of dollars. As wildlife trade increasingly moves online, traffickers are using social media, e-commerce platforms and even cryptocurrency to operate across borders. The involvement of these organisations will be crucial in disrupting the networks behind wildlife crime and experts have welcomed these pledges but the question remains: will these new commitments be enough? Especially when some of the same technologies being enlisted to fight wildlife trafficking have also helped enable its growth, as shown by recent reports watchdog organizations.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: There’s a new, unlikely ally in the fight against illegal wildlife crime: Big tech. Earlier this year, new commitments from household names including Paypal, Meta, eBay and Etsy were announced at the United For Wildlife Business Forum to End Wildlife Trade. Wildlife trafficking is a sophisticated international crime worth billions of dollars. As wildlife trade […] authors: | ||
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Polluted waterways and water shortages complicate the fight against Ebola in the DRC 26 Aug 2026 05:30:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/polluted-waterways-and-water-shortages-complicate-the-fight-against-ebola-in-the-drc/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: In Ndrele, a commercial center in Ituri with nearly 40,000 inhabitants, there is virtually no access to safe drinking water. Children leave home at 5:30 a.m. to fetch water for their families and often spend hours doing this activity. They usually don’t return before 11 a.m. or noon. “It’s a serious problem, and it’s the same everywhere,” Jacques Pithua, deputy coordinator of civil society group “Forces vives des Djukoth,” told Mongabay by phone. Pithua lives near Ndrele, in Mahagi, in Ituri province bordering Lake Albert in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In May 2026, the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in the province. To prevent Ebola transmission, health authorities recommend frequent handwashing, among other measures, but in many parts of Ituri, clean water remains scarce. The current Ebola outbreak is the largest in terms of case numbers for the DRC, and it is also the fastest spreading. The rising number of cases, over 5,000 recorded as of Aug 17 and more than 2,400 deaths in three months, has prompted health agencies including the Africa CDC to adapt its strategy. A joint response plan also calls for an assessment and strengthening of water, sanitation and hygiene services in health facilities within communities and provides training. Oxfam, a confederation of NGOs, which is also involved in the response to the outbreak, warned in a statement that “most health facilities in the areas hardest hit by Ebola still lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation facilities.” Ebola is not…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Safe access to water is scarce across parts of Ituri province, which is the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. - The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood, saliva and urine of an infected person. It is, therefore, crucial, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, to be able to wash regularly. Response teams also need access to water to clean equipment and areas used by patients. - People sometimes use taps and showers installed at Ebola treatment centers to collect water, potentially increasing contact between healthy and infected people. - Artisanal and small-scale mining in the region also put pressure on local water resources, by turning some waterbodies muddy. authors: | ||
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Ashéninka leader reportedly killed while patrolling Indigenous territory is found alive 26 Aug 2026 03:24:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/asheninka-leader-killed-while-patrolling-indigenous-territory-in-peru/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: UPDATE (Aug. 27, 2026): The Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali (ORAU) has clarified that Américo Pascual Tumisha is alive and with his family. ORAU said the initial report of his killing originated with a community member who told Tumisha’s son that he had been killed. Because communications and access are limited in this remote part of Yurúa, a commission from ACONADIYSH’s Border Indigenous Guard traveled by river to verify the report and confirmed that Tumisha was alive. ORAU said Indigenous leaders in the region continue to face threats linked to illegal activities and organized crime. We have amended the title and text of this piece accordingly. ORAU aclara que líder indígena Américo Pascual Tumisha se encuentra con vida y alerta sobre amenazas en Yurúa Amended story: The Ashéninka leader Américo Pascuala Tumisha who was reportedly was shot and killed on Sunday while patrolling the territory of the Onconashari Indigenous community in Peru’s Ucayali region has been found alive. According to an initial report from the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali (ORAU), Pascuala had encountered people who were allegedly extracting copaiba oil without permission inside the community’s territory. That report said a confrontation followed, and he was fatally shot. Pascuala was serving as coordinator of Onconashari’s territorial surveillance committee at the time, and was previously chief of the community. ORAU subsequently clarified that Pascuala was found to be alive and with his family. It said the initial report of his killing originated with a community member who told Tumisha’s son that he had…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Ashéninka leader Américo Pascuala Tumisha was reportedly shot and killed Aug. 23 while patrolling the territory of the Onconashari Indigenous community in Peru’s Ucayali region. He was subsequently found to be alive. - Onconashari residents have reported incursions linked to unauthorized copaiba extraction since at least 2020, including threats against community members who objected. - The community has a long history of territorial monitoring and in 2025 received formal government recognition for its Forest Surveillance and Control Committee, which Pascuala later coordinated. - Global Witness has documented more than 60 killings and disappearances of environmental and land defenders in Peru since 2012; AIDESEP says at least 38 Indigenous defenders were killed in the Peruvian Amazon between 2014 and 2026. authors: | ||
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Can REDD+ deliver for Philippines’ Iraya Mangyan? 26 Aug 2026 02:01:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/can-redd-deliver-for-philippines-iraya-mangyan/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Keith Anthony Fabro content:encoded: PUERTO GALERA, Philippines — Before sunrise, Bernito Pampilo shoulders a backpack carrying a mobile phone, flashlight and enough food — he hopes — for a day’s patrol through the forests of Puerto Galera in northern Mindoro, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Manila. By around 6 a.m., the 56-year-old Iraya Mangyan patroller and two companions leave their mountain outpost in Aninuan village after praying to Apo Iraya, the creator, for protection. Their route crosses rivers, steep ridges, dense vegetation and deep natural holes known locally as balahaw. “If you walk too quickly, sometimes you won’t see the hole,” Pampilo told Mongabay. “If you fall into it, you could die.” Some patrols continue into the night, forcing the team to cross rivers and climb ridges by flashlight. Mobile apps point them toward assigned coordinates, but not toward the safest path. The forest lies within the 14,661-hectare (36,228-acre) Puerto Galera Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 1977. For Pampilo, the work is more than a job. It is part of an effort to protect forests his community has depended on for generations while testing whether an international climate mechanism can deliver lasting Indigenous benefits. Led by the Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines Inc. (CCIPH), the Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme (MFBCP) aims to conserve more than 40,000 hectares (nearly 99,000 acres) of ancestral forest, while supporting about 2,500 Iraya Mangyan households. Running from 2020 to 2049, it combines ancestral-domain recognition, carbon monitoring, Indigenous patrols and livelihood projects under the United…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme combines Indigenous forest patrols, ancestral-domain support, carbon monitoring and livelihood projects to protect more than 40,000 hectares (nearly 99,000 acres) of Iraya Mangyan forest. - Indigenous patrollers and local officials say the program has already strengthened monitoring and helped reduce timber poaching and small-scale mining, while surveys have documented hundreds of plant and animal species across the project area. - Community nurseries and paid conservation roles are creating early livelihood opportunities, but many benefits remain limited and uneven while the project awaits verification, a finalized benefit-sharing agreement and carbon revenue expected no earlier than around 2029. - Whether the program can deliver lasting benefits will depend on finalizing a transparent revenue-sharing agreement, sustaining patrols and livelihoods during the long wait for carbon income, and ensuring the Iraya retain a meaningful role in decisions over their forests. authors: | ||
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At global desertification conference, pastoralists call for greater recognition 25 Aug 2026 20:36:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/at-global-desertification-conference-pastoralists-call-for-greater-recognition/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Joseph Lee content:encoded: Cattle are a central part of the identity of Andrew Msami’s Maasai community in northeast Tanzania. Herd size determines social position, and many people keep all their wealth in livestock, not banks. In recent years, however, Msami and others have been forced to sell the animals and buy goats, which can handle drought better but are less financially and culturally valuable. Msami says adapting to a shifting climate has been a part of Maasai life for generations, but recent conditions represent an existential threat. “We have to adapt because it’s like desertification is attacking our identity,” Msami told Grist. a U.S.-based nonprofit media organization. “If you lose your identity, it means you have lost everything.” The Maasai are pastoralists, a term that describes the roughly 500 million people around the world who tend herds of livestock including cattle, goats and sheep. They often move with the animals as they seek grass and water. Because they live and work in places with arid conditions and extreme temperatures, they are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Around the world, drought and land degradation threaten rangelands, which make up roughly half of the planet’s landmass, and the pastoralists from Tanzania and Sudan to Nepal and Mongolia that rely on them. The pace of arable land degradation is 30 to 35 times the historic average, threatening even the most resilient communities, according to the U.N. Pastoralists also face an influx of invasive species, extractive industries, tourists and other threats. To address these overlapping crises, Msami…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Hundreds of pastoralists are in Mongolia for the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD, from Aug. 17 to 28, 2026. - They want stronger protections for Indigenous pastoral traditions, greater access to funding and resources to address climate change, and official recognition of Indigenous knowledge of how to adapt to a hotter, drier world. - The pace of arable land degradation is 30 to 35 times the historic average, threatening even the most resilient communities, according to the U.N. - Pastoralist delegates say that though their traditions offer biodiversity benefits, traditional knowledge is not always enough as climate change and land degradation accelerate. authors: | ||
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In Bhutan, a philosophy of happiness guides a push for food self-sufficiency 25 Aug 2026 20:29:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/08/in-bhutan-a-philosophy-of-happiness-guides-a-push-for-food-self-sufficiency/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between China and India. Forty percent of its 800,000 citizens work in the agriculture sector. The mountainous country is famous for its breathtaking landscapes and its unique policy of “Gross National Happiness,” instituted in 1972 by Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth king of Bhutan. My guests on the Newscast this week say this philosophy is the backbone of the nation’s food system, and its plan for full food self-sufficiency by 2029. “Our food system isn’t just about producing food. It’s about sustaining our landscapes, our communities, and our culture,” says renowned chef and restaurateur Bleu Tshering Dorji. She owns two restaurants in the nation’s capital, Thimphu. She explains the unique challenges farmers she works with face due to climate change and steep mountain terrain. “We are a mountainous landlocked country, and only a small percentage of our land is, I think, actually suitable for agriculture. We don’t have the luxury of just expanding farmland. We have to make better use of the land that we sort of already have,” she says. “Labor is becoming extremely scarce as young people sort of move away from agriculture, and farmers still have to deal with issues like wildlife conflict, unpredictable weather, and also getting their produce to the market,” Bleu says. She adds the outflow of young people from rural areas, where most of the population currently lives, presents its own set of challenges. “We need our young Bhutanese people to be able to see farming as…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between China and India. Forty percent of its 800,000 citizens work in the agriculture sector. The mountainous country is famous for its breathtaking landscapes and its unique policy of “Gross National Happiness,” instituted in 1972 by Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth king of Bhutan. My guests on the Newscast […] authors: | ||
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US proposes rescinding Roadless Rule protections for national forests 25 Aug 2026 19:31:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/us-proposes-rescinding-roadless-rule-protections-for-national-forests/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Aug. 25 is a National Day of Action to support U.S. national parks and public lands. One focus of the event is the U.S. government’s intention to rescind a rule that bans road construction and industrial logging across more than 23 million hectares (57 million acres) of national forest land. The 2001 Roadless Rule, has helped protect some of the country’s most wild public lands, including Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest and the ancestral homeland of several Indigenous peoples. “A rollback on the Roadless Rule means cultural genocide for our people,” Yolanda Fulmer of the Tlingit Indigenous nation and a Tongass representative with the California-based NGO Women Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), said in a statement. “Every part of our culture is intimately intertwined with the Tongass Forest, our traditional homelands.” The Tongass spans 6.8 million hectares (17 million acres) of mountains, rivers, rugged coastline and old-growth forest. Nicknamed “America’s Climate Forest,” the Tongass holds 20% of all the carbon stored in the country’s national forests and provides habitat for some 400 wildlife species including bears, wolves and moose. It also supports roughly 40% of North American bird species. If the Roadless Rule is rescinded, roughly 3.6 million hectares (9 million acres) of the Tongass could lose protections against new road development. Nationwide, 18 million hectares (45 million acres) of national forest system land could be affected. In an Aug. 18 statement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers national forests through the U.S.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Aug. 25 is a National Day of Action to support U.S. national parks and public lands. One focus of the event is the U.S. government’s intention to rescind a rule that bans road construction and industrial logging across more than 23 million hectares (57 million acres) of national forest land. The 2001 Roadless Rule, has […] authors: | ||
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Indonesia charges 72 over fires as haze chokes Borneo and Sumatra 25 Aug 2026 18:00:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/indonesia-charges-72-over-fires-as-haze-chokes-borneo-and-sumatra/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Indonesian authorities have charged 72 individuals with intentionally igniting forest fires across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra. Fires across both islands have burned nearly 286,000 hectares (about 707,000 acres) of land from January to Aug. 24 alone, according to FireWatch, a satellite-based monitoring tool developed by forest-mapping platform Nusantara Atlas. That’s an area half the size of the island of Bali. Officials say prolonged dry conditions and a powerful El Niño this year have severely worsened the wildfires. In a statement, local law enforcement alleged that the 72 suspects used fire to clear land in preparation for planting. Police seized lighters, fuel containers, machetes, axes, and samples of burned soil and tree trunks among various items of evidence. The smoke from the wildfires has caused choking haze clouds that have reduced visibility to just 10 meters (33 feet) in one province, according to the Associated Press. Mongabay previously reported that the fires have also caused hazardous air quality, and the destruction of vegetation has led to food shortages for wildlife like long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). The smoke has even drifted across the border to neighboring Malaysia. The wildfires have also affected critical conservation work, Mongabay previously reported. In Borneo’s West Kalimantan province, fires came close to an orangutan rehabilitation facility run by the nonprofit YIARI, where more than 60 critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are housed after being rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss. Meanwhile, the health toll is rising…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Indonesian authorities have charged 72 individuals with intentionally igniting forest fires across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra. Fires across both islands have burned nearly 286,000 hectares (about 707,000 acres) of land from January to Aug. 24 alone, according to FireWatch, a satellite-based monitoring tool developed by forest-mapping platform Nusantara […] authors: | ||
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Only 1,325-1,648 wild elephants left in Indonesia, government says 25 Aug 2026 17:41:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/only-1325-1648-wild-elephants-left-in-indonesia-government-says/ author: Philip Jacobson dc:creator: Dyna Rochmyaningsih content:encoded: A new 10-year plan for elephant conservation released by the Indonesian government places the country’s wild elephant population at an estimated 1,325-1,648 individuals. The previous figure, published in 2007, was 2,400-2,800 individuals, meaning the new estimate represents a decline of 41-45%. The launch of the 2026-2036 strategy and action plan comes after a long wait. After the 2007-2017 elephant plan expired, the government was supposed to release a new one. While a draft 2019-2029 plan was completed in 2017, then-President Joko Widodo’s administration never finalized the plan or shared it with the public. The draft 2019-2029 plan, seen by Mongabay, placed Indonesia’s elephant population at just 928-1,379 individuals, Mongabay reported in 2022. The plans are drafted by the Indonesian Elephant Conservation Forum (FKGI), a multi-stakeholder group composed of conservationists from NGOs and government agencies, and submitted to the forestry ministry for approval. FKGI deputy head Wishnu Sukmantoro suggested the discrepancy between the new plan and the previous unreleased one was due to the incorporation of new data. “The higher figure [in 2026] doesn’t mean the elephant population has increased” since 2017, Wishnu told Mongabay. The updated number better represents the situation on the ground, he said. “It is a combination of scientific analysis and agreements among elephant conservationists.” Nearly all of Indonesia’s elephants are Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus), a critically endangered subspecies of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which is itself endangered. Fewer than 52,000 Asian elephants are left, most of them in India, according to WWF. Indonesia’s new…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The new estimate represents a decline of 41-45% over the 2,400-2,800 estimate published by Indonesia in 2007. - The launch of the new 2026-2036 strategy and action plan for elephant conservation comes after a long wait since the current plan expired in 2017. - The new plan sorts Indonesia’s wild elephants into 21 population pockets in Sumatra and one in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. authors: | ||
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Congo’s Ebola outbreak records one of its highest weekly death tolls yet 25 Aug 2026 17:29:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/congos-ebola-outbreak-records-one-of-its-highest-weekly-death-tolls-yet/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: BUNIA, Congo (AP) — More than 300 people died of Ebola in eastern Congo in the past week, one of the highest weekly tolls yet, government data showed Monday, as health workers struggle to catch up with an outbreak that is spreading at unprecedented speed. Ministry of Health data showed that as of Saturday, the outbreak had recorded 5,514 cases and 2,642 deaths, including 317 deaths reported in the previous seven days. But Congolese experts have said the outbreak that started weeks before it was confirmed could be three times the known size. This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, with many people dying outside treatment centers. It has recorded seven times more deaths at this stage than the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak that is the deadliest in history with over 11,000 in all. Most new cases in Ituri province, the current epicenter, still come from outside monitored contacts. Nearly half of people infected have died — 47.9% — but the government data shows much higher rates in hard-to-reach areas such as North Kivu province, which has a fatality rate of 68.6%. Frontline workers to receive vaccine used in past outbreaks A key challenge has been the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak. On Friday, Congo received more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type. The World Health Organization says it also will be used in clinical trials for a Bundibugyo virus vaccine. WHO…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: BUNIA, Congo (AP) — More than 300 people died of Ebola in eastern Congo in the past week, one of the highest weekly tolls yet, government data showed Monday, as health workers struggle to catch up with an outbreak that is spreading at unprecedented speed. Ministry of Health data showed that as of Saturday, the outbreak had recorded […] authors: | ||
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EU’s deforestation rule could derail Liberia’s cocoa trade 25 Aug 2026 15:12:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/eus-deforestation-rule-could-derail-liberias-cocoa-trade/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: In Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county, deforestation for cocoa has soared since 2020, pushing the region’s cocoa trade into an uncertain future. The EU is Liberia’s biggest cocoa customer, but is set to implement the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans the import of forest products, including cocoa, made on land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. “If cocoa from Liberia was produced on land cleared after that EUDR cutoff date, it would fail on deforestation grounds,” Owen Gibbons, senior manager for global advocacy and UK public affairs, at the Rainforest Alliance, told Mongabay. In 2024, the EU imported more than 17,000 metric tons of cocoa from Liberia, a 30% increase in two years. Soon, Liberian cocoa producers will have to show their beans weren’t produced on forest land cleared after December 2020. However, most cacao plantations in Grand Gedeh are deep inside forests. In fact, much of the forest loss in the region has occurred since 2020. Before that, 99% of the county was covered by forests. Primary forest loss in Grand Gedeh, 2015-2025. Image by Ashoka Mukpo for Mongabay. Some forests are communally owned and private individuals can lease them out. However, cacao plantations have also encroached into other forests, including the proposed Kwa National Park area, where commercial agriculture is currently banned. To meet the EUDR requirements, cocoa producers will have to show their EU customers exactly where the cocoa plantations are and when they started production. Tracing every plantation and its production is a massive…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: In Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county, deforestation for cocoa has soared since 2020, pushing the region’s cocoa trade into an uncertain future. The EU is Liberia’s biggest cocoa customer, but is set to implement the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans the import of forest products, including cocoa, made on land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020, […] authors: | ||
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Inspiring young herpetologists in Sri Lanka: Interview with Anslem de Silva 25 Aug 2026 14:53:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/inspiring-young-herpetologists-in-sri-lanka-interview-with-anslem-de-silva/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Malaka Rodrigo content:encoded: COLOMBO — Sri Lankan-born conservation biologist and National Geographic explorer Ruchira Somaweera is internationally recognized for his award-winning wildlife research, photography and storytelling. Despite his global achievements, Somaweera treasures an old journal copy containing a prophecy. When he was 13 years old, Somaweera received a copy of the research journal Lyriocephalus with a handwritten note which read: “One day you will be a great herpetologist,” signed by Anslem de Silva. “Almost 30 years ago, I got hooked into herpetology after reading a series of newspaper articles written by de Silva on Sri Lankan snakes in a local science publication. Those articles inspired me to prepare a small booklet on snakes as my school science project. Most of the herpetologists of my generation were groomed by de Silva, and hundreds, if not thousands, of students have been inspired by him, just like I was,” Somaweera told Mongabay. In 1995, Ruchira Somaweera received a copy of the research journal Lyriocephalus from Anslem de Silva with the signed inscription: “One day you will be a great herpetologist.” Image courtesy of Ruchira Somaweera. Anslem de Silva is widely regarded as as the father of modern herpetology in Sri Lanka, having dedicated more than six decades to studying the island’s reptiles and amphibians. His pioneering research, publications and conservation efforts have transformed scientific understanding of Sri Lanka’s remarkable herpetofauna. Sri Lanka’s herpetofauna represents the island’s extraordinary diversity of reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles, frogs, toads and caecilians, with many species found nowhere…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Anslem de Silva, Sri Lanka’s pioneering herpetologist, has spent over six decades studying reptiles and amphibians while inspiring generations of conservationists through his work. - He has authored more than 25 books and 350 scientific papers, shaping global understanding of Sri Lanka’s unique herpetofauna. - From launching scientific journals such as Lyriocephalus to organizing international crocodile and herpetological conferences, de Silva has created platforms for research and conservation in Sri Lanka and beyond. - At 86, he is preparing to host the world’s first ever snake conference in Sri Lanka, continuing his lifelong mission to advance snake conservation and awareness. authors: | ||
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Cambodia targets online wildlife trade on social media, but experts say it’s not enough 25 Aug 2026 12:42:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cambodia-targets-online-wildlife-trade-on-social-media-but-experts-say-its-not-enough/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: Cambodia’s environment ministry has urged the public and social media content creators to stop making or sharing content that encourages the commerce, consumption or capture of wildlife. It has warned that such actions are illegal and pose risks to human health and the country’s wild animals and plants. At a press conference on Aug. 7, 2026, ministry spokesperson Khvay Atitya called on social media users to refrain from posting wildlife content to garner clicks and promote trade, including sharing photos and videos of eating or preparing dishes made from wildlife and rare plants. “Promoting love for wildlife does not mean keeping wild animals in cages,” Atitya reportedly said in response to questions from the press. “Eating wildlife meat provides no benefit and can pose serious health risks to consumers.” Atitya urged relevant ministries and authorities to take legal action against those involved in online wildlife commerce, stressing that online sales are as illegal as physical trading, according to a report from The Phnom Penh Post. Russell Gray, head of ECO-SOLVE at the Swiss-based Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), who studies the online illegal wildlife trade, said this was a welcome move. “One challenge we consistently see in the online illegal wildlife trade is that it can be treated as separate from the physical wildlife trade, when in reality the two are increasingly inseparable,” Gray said. “Social media, messaging applications and online marketplaces are now the primary infrastructure through which wildlife is advertised, buyers and sellers connect, and trafficking…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Cambodia’s environment ministry has called on content creators and social media users to stop posting content that promotes the online sale of wildlife products, to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in the country. - The ministry’s statement comes after a recent undercover investigation by the NGO Earth League International revealed rampant illegal wildlife trade of endangered species products such as rhino horns, ivory, pangolin scales, and tiger bones, claws, skin and meat. - The investigation found that most consumers of these products in Cambodia were wealthy Chinese government officials and businessmen, while the trafficking was run by “kingpins” who also operate scam centers to defraud people of their money. - Conservationists say Cambodia’s statement is encouraging, but doesn’t address the bigger issue: organized criminal syndicates that traffic wildlife as part of their business model. authors: | ||
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DNA analysis of Asiatic wild dogs scat in India reveals wild prey preference 25 Aug 2026 11:14:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/dna-analysis-of-asiatic-wild-dogs-scat-in-india-reveals-wild-prey-preference/ author: Naina Rao dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: Endangered Asiatic wild dogs in central India almost entirely eat wild prey, even where they overlap with livestock, according to a recent study. The findings show that maintaining healthy wild prey populations is key to conserving the species, reports contributor Rajeev Tyagi for Mongabay India. The study, led by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru and the Maharashtra Forest Department, analyzed the feces or scat of dholes or Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) inside the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the state of Maharashtra. Instead of scooping up entire piles of dhole scat, forest staff and researchers collected only small pinches of material during the monsoon and winter of 2022-2023. Researchers then used a method called DNA metabarcoding to analyze what the dholes had eaten. It’s a technique that extracts genetic material from fecal samples and matches it against a massive reference database containing information from tens of thousands of species. Traditional methods for analyzing carnivore diets rely on microhistology — examining prey hairs found in animal feces of scat under a microscope. But this method is vulnerable to observer bias, said study co-author and molecular ecologist Abhinav Tyagi. “Different people can categorise hair differently, and it induces a human or an observer’s bias,” Tyagi said. Arjun Srivathsa, a wildlife biologist affiliated with the Wildlife Conservation Society – India and not involved in the study, said that traditional methods are also prone to errors like misidentification of species or non-detection of certain species. However, the DNA barcoding method…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Endangered Asiatic wild dogs in central India almost entirely eat wild prey, even where they overlap with livestock, according to a recent study. The findings show that maintaining healthy wild prey populations is key to conserving the species, reports contributor Rajeev Tyagi for Mongabay India. The study, led by the National Centre for Biological Sciences […] authors: | ||
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Palm oil firms kept zero-deforestation pledges, but forests saw little extra benefit 25 Aug 2026 09:46:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/palm-oil-firms-kept-zero-deforestation-pledges-but-forests-saw-little-extra-benefit/ author: Hans Nicholas Jong dc:creator: Hans Nicholas Jong content:encoded: JAKARTA — A new study of palm oil concessions linked to Indonesian supply chains finds no evidence that corporate zero-deforestation commitments have led to additional reductions in deforestation. Tropical countries such as Indonesia continue to lose their forests at an alarming pace. In 2025, the world lost 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary forest, equivalent to more than 11 football fields of forest a minute . To curb this trend, palm oil-producing countries have introduced national policies in the past decade, while companies have increasingly adopted zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs). When viewed through a before-and-after lens, Indonesian palm oil ZDCs appear highly successful at reducing deforestation. To determine how effective these commitments actually are, an international team of researchers compared deforestation trends in Indonesia’s palm oil sector — the world’s largest producer and exporter of the commodity — between concessions linked to supply chains with ZDCs and those without them. Using public databases to identify companies that have adopted ZDCs, the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that companies had largely complied with their commitments. However, it found no evidence that those commitments produced an additional reduction in deforestation in Indonesian palm-oil concessions beyond broader changes affecting the sector. In both ZDC-linked and non-ZDC concessions, the study says, . During the full implementation period for ZDCs from 2018 to 2020, annualized deforestation fell to around 0.5% in both groups. In the researchers’ preferred, the decline was 6.5 percentage points in ZDC-linked concessions and 6.63…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In the past decade, palm oil-producing countries, such as Indonesia, have introduced policies and company-level commitments to curb deforestation. - In both concessions linked to companies with zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs) and those not linked to ZDCs, data suggests annualized deforestation has dropped dramatically from the 2000s. - Despite this drop, a new study suggests ZDCs have not, in fact, led to additional reductions in deforestation. - A decline in palm oil prices and historic deforestation in concessions may have contributed to this contrasting picture, say researchers. authors: | ||
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Plans of Peru’s new administration spur concern among environmentalists 25 Aug 2026 09:38:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/plans-of-perus-new-administration-spur-concern-among-environmentalists/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Aimee Gabay content:encoded: Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi from the Popular Force Party was sworn in as the new president of Peru on July 28. Fujimori, who has pledged to tackle insecurity using greater force and militarization, narrowly defeated her left-wing opponent Roberto Sánchez by fewer than 50,000 votes on June 7. The new president has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country, raising concerns among environmentalists and Indigenous leaders about the future of the Peruvian Amazon, as well as its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — a national climate action plan under the Paris Agreement. The country submitted its first NDC in 2016, which was then updated in 2020 and 2025. In its plan, it has committed to diversify renewable energy sources, strengthen sustainable transportation, reduce deforestation, protect natural areas and support Indigenous and local communities, among other mitigation priorities. Experts, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders expressed concerns about the government’s plans, particularly Fujimori’s promise to expand the exploration and exploitation of energy resources, such as the promotion of new lots in the Amazon and the northern coast. Peru’s President Keiko Fujimori, center, poses for a group photo with members of her cabinet at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo) “The current government is a bit pragmatic in its decisions because they are really driven by wanting development without considering the consequences for the Amazonian peoples,” Matsés Indigenous leader Leo Chuma Teca Beso told Mongabay…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - On July 28, Peru inaugurated its new leader, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, from the Popular Force Party. - Fujimori says she will expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country, as well as road, rail and port networks to facilitate extractive and productive projects. - Mongabay spoke with legal experts, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders about the government’s plans and what it might mean for the country’s energy transition commitments and the environment. authors: | ||
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Bogong moths support Australia’s alpine ecosystems, but face uncertain future 25 Aug 2026 08:45:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/bogong-moths-support-australias-alpine-ecosystems-but-face-uncertain-future/ author: Yenni Kwok dc:creator: Hannah Thomasy content:encoded: At first glance, Australia’s bogong moth is a decidedly unspectacular-looking creature. The moths are typically a dark, mottled brown and each weighs less than a Tic Tac mint or half a gram. But looks can be deceiving. Every spring in the Southern Hemisphere, from September to November, billions of bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) undertake an epic journey. Using the stars and the Earth’s magnetic field, these tiny insects navigate hundreds of kilometers across Australia. Their destination is the Australian Alps, located in the far southeast corner of the country, where they will shelter in cool caves for the duration of the summer. The moths are a critical resource for the many rare and wonderful species that live in these mountains. “The whole [alpine] zone relies on the bogong moths,” said Marissa Parrott, a senior conservation biologist at Zoos Victoria. “They’re the second largest influx of nutrients into the Alps every year, beaten only by the sun.” But the moth’s future is far from certain. Their numbers have been slowly declining since the 1980s, and in 2017, populations crashed, likely due to extreme drought across much of southeastern Australia. A bogong moth in Sydney. Image by John Tann via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). At several locations, cave walls that had once been densely blanketed with moths — several thousand occupying each square meter (equivalent to 11 square feet) — were all but empty. “They went from four billion to nearly undetectable,” Parrott said. Population collapse The population collapse threatens the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Bogong moths are a critical resource for the many rare and wonderful species that live in the Australian Alps, but their future is far from certain. - The IUCN classifies the bogong moth as an endangered species, but Australia, the only country where the moth is habitually found, has refused to recognize it as such, categorizing it instead as “data deficient”. - Currently, a network of entomologists, ecologists, data scientists, First Nations peoples, and volunteers is working to address the data gaps, hoping to reapply for a national endangered species listing and identify the best strategies to protect the bogong moth. - However, tracking a tiny creature that migrates hundreds of kilometers in the dark of night is no easy task. authors: | ||
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In Raja Ampat, children learn that their knowledge can help protect their islands 24 Aug 2026 23:31:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-raja-ampat-children-learn-that-their-knowledge-can-help-protect-their-islands/ author: Hans Nicholas Jong dc:creator: Hans Nicholas Jong content:encoded: ARBOREK, West Papua, Indonesia — “Rockhead fish, salamander fish, starfish and coral.” That’s what dozens of children from Arborek, a small island in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago, said when asked what they see in nature that is yellow and orange. The children rattled off the fish and other marine life they encounter when they play in the sea, during a reading of a children’s book about Raja Ampat and the threat of nickel mining. A coral reef and marine life in the waters off Raja Ampat in Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Econusa. Research suggests that children who grow up closely connected to their surroundings can develop sophisticated understandings of their local environment. A 2014 study of children in 22 villages in Indonesian Borneo, for example, found that they recognized relationships among forests, rivers, wildlife and other environmental changes. So Sekar Bestari, the book’s illustrator, wasn’t surprised by the children’s answers. “Most of the time when we read the books to children, they understand them, so don’t underestimate children’s knowledge,” she said after the reading in Arborek. “We’re not surprised anymore today.” The reading was part of a three-day gathering of Indigenous communities in Arborek that brought together representatives from 20 Indigenous subtribes in Raja Ampat, as well as Indigenous people from other parts of Indonesia and abroad. The gathering, organized by Greenpeace Indonesia and local NGO Institut USBA, was intended to strengthen solidarity among Indigenous communities in protecting their lands, waters and biodiversity. The children’s knowledge of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Research suggests that children who grow up closely connected to their surroundings can develop sophisticated understandings of their local environment. - A recent children’s book reading was part of a gathering of Indigenous communities in Arborek that brought together representatives from 20 Indigenous subtribes in Raja Ampat, as well as Indigenous people from other parts of Indonesia and abroad. - The book turns the biodiversity of Indonesia into a visual story about what could be lost if mining damages the environment. - The author and illustrator hope that seeing their home, animals and stories represented in a book will encourage the children to tell more stories of their own. authors: | ||
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How a rare bird sparked a wildlife movement across 16 villages in Guyana 24 Aug 2026 23:26:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-a-rare-bird-sparked-a-wildlife-movement-across-16-villages-in-guyana/ author: Latoya Abulu dc:creator: Gentry Hale content:encoded: WICHABAI, Guyana — At sunrise in Guyana’s South Rupununi, Leroy Ignacio stops beside a tree scored with large claw marks. The animal responsible was a giant anteater. “They even rub their backs on the trunk to leave a scent behind,” says Ignacio, president of the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), as he demonstrates the motion. Indigenous researchers had long observed anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) climbing and marking trees, behaviors previously documented by scientists only in isolated cases. Working with four Indigenous communities, SRCS placed cameras at trees identified by locals. The resulting 883 recorded visits suggested the solitary animals use the trees to communicate. For nearly a quarter-century, SRCS has built a multi-community approach to conservation grounded in traditional knowledge. Its members are villagers, farmers and teachers who work with participating communities to research wildlife, develop conservation guidelines and teach local ecology. Before SRCS, Indigenous-led conservation in the Rupununi was mostly in the form of scattered projects and traditional stewardship by Makushi and Wapichan communities. But the discovery of an endangered bird, the red siskin (Spinus cucullatus), gave several South Rupununi communities a reason to organize across village boundaries. A flock of red siskins in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana. Image by Nick Athanas via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). A multi-community movement It all began with a scientific trip, recounts Ignacio. In 2000, researchers from the Smithsonian and the University of Kansas, both in the U.S., came to the South Rupununi to survey birds. Duane De Freitas and other young Indigenous residents…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The documentation of the endangered red siskin, a rare bird, in Guyana inspired the creation of the South Rupununi Conservation Society. - The organization has built a multi-community grassroots conservation approach that is grounded in traditional knowledge, organizes across 16 village boundaries and includes Indigenous villagers, farmers and teachers who research wildlife, develop conservation guidelines and teach local ecology. - Projects include community conservation zones to protect wildlife such as giant anteaters, the genetic documentation of species and monitoring. - Short-term funding, development pressure and cultural change threaten the model, even as communities invest their own money into projects. authors: | ||
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