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Davis “Yellowash” Washines, Yakama elder who spoke for the river and salmon 30 May 2026 14:35:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/davis-yellowash-washines-yakama-elder-who-spoke-for-the-river-and-salmon/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: At Bradford Island, near Bonneville Dam, the river carried more than water. Beneath the surface of the Columbia were toxic sediments, dumped near a place where Yakama people had fished since time immemorial. To officials, it was a cleanup site. To the Yakama Nation, it was a usual and accustomed fishing place, protected by treaty. To Davis Washines, known to many as Yellowash, it was also a crime scene. The victims, he said, were first the water, then the salmon and other life that depended on it, and then the people who depended on them. He did not speak that way for emphasis. He spoke from a life spent moving between law enforcement, ceremony, public service, and the river. Evidence mattered to him. So did harm, responsibility, and the obligations carried through Yakama law, culture, and memory. Yellowash died on May 1st, at his home in White Swan, Washington. He was 74. By then he had held many titles: Yakama Tribal Police chief, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission police chief, member of the Yakama Tribal Council, chairman of the Yakama Nation General Council, government relations liaison in the Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources, trustee, board chair, counselor, teacher, and ceremonial leader. The titles marked a long public life. They did not fully describe it. He began that life in public service in 1973 with the Yakama Tribal Police Department and rose to chief in 1986. He later returned to that role, and then became chief of police for the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Davis “Yellowash” Washines, a Yakama elder, public servant, ceremonial leader, and former police chief, devoted much of his life to defending Yakama treaty rights, clean water, and the Columbia River, known to the Yakama people as Nch’i-Wána. - Drawing on his background in law enforcement, he described the toxic pollution at Bradford Island near Bonneville Dam as a crime scene, with the water, salmon, and people who depended on them as victims. - His work joined law, culture, education, and public service: he served as Yakama Tribal Police chief, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission police chief, Yakama Nation General Council chairman, counselor, language instructor, trustee, and board chair. - The 2022 designation of Bradford Island as a Superfund site reflected years of persistence, but he saw the deeper goal as clean, healthy fish, safe water, and the fulfillment of responsibilities to future generations and those unable to speak for themselves. authors: | ||
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Hidden ‘bubble cave’ may help world’s rarest seal steer clear of humans: Study 30 May 2026 06:45:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/hidden-bubble-cave-may-help-worlds-rarest-seal-steer-clear-of-humans-study/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Megan Strauss content:encoded: On the Greek islet of Formicula, researchers have found rare Mediterranean monk seals will take refuge in an air-filled “bubble cave,” according to a recent study. This type of hidden chamber, accessible via underwater passages, allows the seals to breathe, and possibly hide from tourists, the researchers said. Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), the world’s rarest pinniped, are the only seals found in the Mediterranean Sea. Fewer than 1,000 of them remain, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Historically, these seals hauled out on open coastal beaches to rest, molt and give birth to pups. But with increasing human disturbance from tourism, fishing and land development, they retreated to marine caves along the Mediterranean coastline to rest and breed. Study lead author Joan Gonzalvo of the Ionian Dolphin Project at the Tethys Research Institute in Italy described the “ideal cave” to Mongabay as one with a pool, a dry beach for hauling out, an entrance corridor and protection from adverse weather and choppy seas. Typically, these caves are accessible by entrances above or below water level. During a habitat assessment in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, the team was setting up a camera to monitor one of these “comfortable” marine caves on Formicula when they discovered that an underwater corridor connected to it led to a second smaller chamber. This “bubble cave” had water and a pocket of air on top, but no dry beach or platform to haul out. The team placed an underwater camera in the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On the Greek islet of Formicula, researchers have found rare Mediterranean monk seals will take refuge in an air-filled “bubble cave,” according to a recent study. This type of hidden chamber, accessible via underwater passages, allows the seals to breathe, and possibly hide from tourists, the researchers said. Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), the world’s […] authors: | ||
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What is happening to Thailand’s famous giant nets 30 May 2026 06:13:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/05/what-is-happening-to-thailands-famous-giant-nets/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Lucia Torres content:encoded: SONGKHLA LAKE, Thailand — Jampen tends her Yo Yak lift nets and grandkids amid vanishing Luk Bre fish. As pollution threatens this ancestral tradition, villagers join researchers to build fish shelters, map routes with GIS, and innovate processing. Can local wisdom and science revive a fading way of life? Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions and topics that matter to you. Are there any inspiring people, urgent issues, or local stories that you’d like us to cover? We want to hear from you. Be a part of our reporting process—get in touch with us here! Banner image: Yo Yak at Songkhla Lake, Thailand. ©Thomas Cristofoletti. These tiny houses are designed to stand in extreme floodsThis article was originally published on Mongabay description: SONGKHLA LAKE, Thailand — Jampen tends her Yo Yak lift nets and grandkids amid vanishing Luk Bre fish. As pollution threatens this ancestral tradition, villagers join researchers to build fish shelters, map routes with GIS, and innovate processing. Can local wisdom and science revive a fading way of life? Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover […] authors: | ||
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‘People kept dying’: Interview with Dr. Macky Mbavugha on DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak 29 May 2026 19:00:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: On May 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, sent an open letter to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling to the country for a field visit: “I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know that you are not alone,” he wrote, before recalling his involvement during the deadly Ebola outbreak that struck the northeastern DRC between 2018 and 2020. Since May 15, the country has been facing a new outbreak, this time caused by the Bundibugyo variant, a strain of the disease for which there is currently neither treatment nor vaccine. Since the outbreak was declared, the death toll has continued to rise. According to the latest figures, DRC authorities recorded 121 confirmed cases with 17 confirmed deaths, as well as more than 1,077 suspected cases and 238 suspected deaths. The hemorrhagic fever first emerged in Ituri province, on the border with Uganda, before spreading to North Kivu province and to Uganda. That prompted Uganda to close its border with the DRC. While Ituri remains the worst-hit province, the risk of regional spread is high. On May 23, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) identified 10 other African countries at risk from this Ebola outbreak: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. As a result, the international response is intensifying. Dr. Macky Mbavugha is…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a new Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. - More than 1,000 suspected cases and more than 238 suspected deaths have already been recorded in the DRC, while the disease has also spread into neighboring Uganda. - Armed groups, population displacement and intense mobility around gold mining areas are accelerating transmission risks, says Dr. Macky Mbavugha of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). - Mongabay spoke to Dr. Mbavugha about why it took so long for authorities to identify the rarer Ebola strain, and how USAID funding cuts have severely weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and emergency response capacity. authors: | ||
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Sri Lanka flamingo deaths raise concerns over power infrastructure in wetlands 29 May 2026 16:25:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/sri-lanka-flamingo-deaths-raise-concerns-over-power-infrastructure-in-wetlands/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Malaka Rodrigo content:encoded: MANNAR, Sri Lanka — Each year, the arrival of greater flamingos transforms the lagoons of northern Sri Lanka into a mesmerizing spectacle of pale pink and white. Their synchronized movements across the shallow waters of Mannar attract birdwatchers, photographers, tourists and nature lovers from around the country and abroad. But behind this beauty lies a growing crisis. Recently, three flamingos were killed in Mannar after a collision with overhead power lines that crossed their flight path. Initial reports suggested electrocution, but according to Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) veterinary surgeon Balachandran Giritharan, who conducted the necropsies, the birds were not electrocuted. Instead, their long necks were slashed mid-flight when they struck the cables. The incident has renewed concerns among conservationists who have previously warned against energy infrastructure cutting across sensitive wetland habitats such as Vankalai Sanctuary, another Ramsar wetland in Mannar. Environmentalists had identified large waterbirds such as flamingos as being vulnerable to collisions. The latest flamingo deaths also add to the mounting environmental concerns surrounding development projects, particularly in Mannar, including proposed wind power projects. The issue drew international attention after the withdrawal of developer Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) from a disputed wind power project in Sri Lanka earlier this year. The Mannar region, with its strategic wind resources, has increasingly become a battleground between renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation. Flamingos are more vulnerable to collisions with power cables during dusk and early morning hours. Image courtesy of Indika Jayathissa. A global threat to flamingos Across the world,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Three flamingos were recently killed following a collision with overhead power lines in Mannar, in northern Sri Lanka, highlighting the threat posed by wind power structures to migratory birds. - Flamingos also disappeared from Bundala, a popular Ramsar wetland in the island’s south, after irrigation-driven freshwater changes reduced salinity and eliminated their food base. - Globally, flamingos face threats from habitat loss, collisions due to infrastructure, and wetland degradation, despite their ecological and ecotourism importance. - Meanwhile, International Flamingo Day is observed on April 26 to honor U.S. ornithologist John James Audubon, whose iconic “American Flamingo” painting helped popularize the bird and has highlighted its global cultural and conservation significance. authors: | ||
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IMF lending programs linked with deforestation should be rethought (commentary) 29 May 2026 15:34:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/imf-lending-programs-causing-deforestation-should-be-rethought-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Kevin P. GallagherRishikesh Ram BhandaryTimon Forster content:encoded: The price of financial stability should not be environmental destruction. Yet when countries turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help, their forests may quietly suffer. The IMF is currently reviewing the design of its lending programs, and it is time for change. Its recipe for getting economies back on track often features required reforms such as cutting government expenditure, increasing revenue collection through taxes or utility tariff increases, winding down public ownership of state-owned enterprises and encouraging the private sector to step up: austerity in other words. These policies are meant to restore stability in times of crisis, but growing evidence shows that IMF programs often fall short in helping countries break out of the cycle of economic and financial distress. Instead, they can trigger collateral damage in the form of negative health outcomes, worsened poverty and inequality and eroded social protection. Image by Forster et al., 2026 (CC BY 4.0). Our new research provides evidence that these programs also have an important and often overlooked environmental dimension, revealing that countries experience 9.2% higher annual tree cover loss during years in which they are under an IMF program. In a typical three-year IMF program, this amounts to forest loss the size of Barbados. This finding comes as no surprise as IMF programs are known to generally cut government spending, and environmental protections are often the first to go. These conditions that come in exchange for financial assistance are a major shortcoming when it comes to effects on forests,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The IMF provides financial assistance to countries to balance their books but recent research by the co-authors of a new commentary shows this support comes at an environmental cost: an increase in deforestation. - The co-authors reveal countries experience 9.2% higher annual tree cover loss during years in which they are under such programs, which is an unnecessary cost; and thus, the IMF should consider how to fix this issue while it’s currently reviewing the design of its lending programs, they argue. - As the IMF rethinks its lending approach, these groundbreaking new findings underscore the need to deepen understanding of the impacts of forest and biodiversity loss on economic systems, the co-authors write. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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As African cities heat up, a new book argues trees are part of the solution 29 May 2026 15:25:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-african-cities-heat-up-a-new-book-argues-trees-are-part-of-the-solution/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: David Akana content:encoded: A newly released book documenting urban forestry efforts across Africa argues that trees and green spaces are no longer a luxury for African cities, but a critical response to climate change, biodiversity loss, and urban inequality. Published by Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ), Urban Forests and Green Spaces in Africa: Case Studies and Lessons from Across the Continent brings together 34 case studies from 14 African countries, covering everything from restoring biodiversity around wetlands in Rwanda’s capital Kigali, creating Miyawaki forests (forests with native trees planted closely together) in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, greening heat-stressed neighborhoods in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, transplanting baobabs in Senegal to rehabilitating degraded urban land in South Africa. Hot days, hot nights, and heatwaves have become more frequent across Africa, concludes the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s most authoritative scientific assessment on climate change. The report also finds that coastal cities are vulnerable to floods related to rainfall events and sea level rise. Palm-lined trees provide near-continuous canopy cover along a boulevard in Bahir Dar, the capital of Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The book notes that canopy closure along some of the city’s main streets approaches 100%, making Bahir Dar one of the most heavily treed urban centers in Africa. Image courtesy of Cathy Watson/CIFOR-ICRAF. As African cities experience rising temperatures, worsening floods, biodiversity loss, and rapid urbanization, the book argues that urban forests and green infrastructure are essential tools for climate resilience. Beyond storing carbon, trees and green spaces…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Africa’s population is now estimated at nearly 1.5 billion people; the continent is urbanizing faster than any other region in the world and projections suggest that nearly 80% of future population growth will take place in urban areas. - As the climate continues to warm, scientific evidence shows with high confidence that hot days and nights will become more frequent, while many coastal cities are expected to face increasing flood risks related to rainfall events and sea level rise. - Across the continent, national authorities, city councils and local governments are increasingly turning to trees and green spaces as part of the solution. But the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of many of these initiatives continue to raise questions. - A new book documenting 34 case studies from Southern, Eastern, Western and Northern Africa places trees and urban green spaces at the center of efforts to address the continent’s intertwined climate, biodiversity and inequality challenges. authors: | ||
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Report alleges élite ties behind logging permits in Cameroon’s Ebo Forest 29 May 2026 14:46:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/report-alleges-elite-ties-behind-logging-permits-in-cameroons-ebo-forest/ author: Terna Gyuse dc:creator: Ashoka Mukpo content:encoded: A newly released report alleges that well-placed elites in Cameroon’s government are enabling a cluster of timber and agribusiness companies to log primary forest in the country. These companies include Sextransbois, which was awarded a controversial 68,000-hectare (168,000-acre) logging concession in the Ebo Forest in 2023. The report by Swiss-based advocacy group Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) also named SCIEB, which controls another concession in the Ebo Forest covering 65,000 hectares (161,000 acres). The report used corporate registry documents, trade records, and sources in Cameroon’s forestry sector to link both companies, along with Boiscam and Camvert, to prominent businessman Aboubakar Al Fatih. According to an “informal broker” who has worked to connect logging companies with forestry officials and was interviewed by GI-TOC, Al Fatih’s companies have benefitted from his ties to the minister of economy, Alamine Ousmane Mey. Mey is considered an ally of Cameroonian President Paul Biya’s eldest son Franck, who reportedly recommended him for a cabinet post in 2011. Sextransbois was incorporated by relatives of Franck Biya’s in 2014, before being transferred to then-20-year-old Mahmoud Mourtada, Al Fatih’s half-brother. The report implies that Al Fatih’s connections to figures in Franck Biya’s circle helped Sextransbois and SCIEB obtain their concessions in the Ebo Forest. Those concessions were awarded despite a global campaign to protect the forest, which is a biodiversity-rich habitat for threatened gorillas and chimpanzees. After initially walking back its decision to reclassify the forest as government land in 2020, the government quietly reissued the two…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A report by a Swiss advocacy group says a timber company logging Cameroon’s Ebo Forest is tied to a wider network of political élites in Yaoundé. - The company, Sextransbois, is part of a network of logging and agriculture interests owned by prominent businessman Aboubakar Al Fatih. - Corporate registry documents analyzed by the group show that Sextransbois was incorporated by relatives of President Paul Biya’s eldest son before being transferred to Al Fatih’s half-brother in 2014. - Environmental groups have accused a number of companies owned by or linked to Al Fatih of breaking Cameroonian law. authors: | ||
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The new burden of proving wildlife is real 29 May 2026 13:34:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/the-new-burden-of-proving-wildlife-is-real/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Conservation journalists are facing a new issue: AI-generated wildlife imagery. The issue is not just that fake images exist. That has long been true. What has changed is how convincing synthetic wildlife photos and videos have become, how cheaply they can be made, and how quickly they can spread. A clip can move through Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, or even LinkedIn before anyone has checked whether it shows a real animal, a real place, or a real event. That matters because wildlife images carry an implicit claim. A photograph of a rare animal, a camera-trap still, or a video of unusual behavior usually tells the viewer: this happened. As generative AI improves, that assumption needs more scrutiny. The risks are not theoretical. False videos of animal attacks can deepen fear in places where human-wildlife conflict is already difficult to manage. Fabricated images of wild animals behaving like pets can feed demand for the exotic pet trade. Misleading footage of rare species can absorb the time of researchers, journalists, NGOs, and public agencies that have to determine whether an event actually occurred. It also changes the work of newsrooms. At Mongabay, we now spend more time looking at sourcing, provenance, metadata, reverse-image searches, forensic tools, and whether a photographer, researcher, or institution is known and trusted. AI detectors can occasionally help in some cases, but they cannot settle the question. False positives and false negatives…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Conservation journalists are facing a new issue: AI-generated wildlife imagery. The issue is not just that fake images exist. That has long been true. What has changed is how convincing synthetic wildlife photos and videos have become, how […] authors: | ||
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For Honduran coffee growers, EUDR compliance means changing old habits 29 May 2026 12:22:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/for-honduran-coffee-growers-eudr-compliance-means-changing-old-habits/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Sandra Weiss content:encoded: CONCEPCIÓN DE SOLUTECA, Honduras — In the 1970s, the Honduran government granted a piece of land in the mountains of Concepción de Soluteca to Roberto González’s parents. They duly grabbed a chainsaw and a machete to clear the forest. On the 12 hectares (30 acres) they received as part of a land reform, they planted corn, beans and bananas, the basic staple foods. It was a hard life up in the mountains, allowing the farmers and their families to just survive. There wasn’t much public infrastructure, and most children had to help with farmwork early on. This included González, who only attended elementary school for three years. When González inherited the land 20 years later, coffee cultivation was just taking off. Middlemen promised the farmers good money for the export crop, and the banks provided loans for cultivation. At first, this worked well, González, now 39, remembers. Coffee helped the farmers to generate income and improve living conditions. But it didn’t last long. They grew coffee much the same way they did other crops, without adequate soil or shade management. When harvests dwindled, they expanded their area, cutting the last standing forests and damaging water sources. Around 2012, they faced an outbreak of coffee rust, a fungal disease. It was a complete disaster: many farmers were thrown into poverty and forced to migrate. “We destroyed the foundations of our livelihoods, but it was out of ignorance; we just didn’t know better,” González tells Mongabay. Under the EUDR, coffee farmers step…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The EU Deforestation Regulation requires companies importing coffee from Honduras into the European market to track their supply chains all the way back to the small-scale farmers who grow the crop. - For many farmers, the urgency of complying has led to the modernization of farming practices, providing a competitiveness boost to a supply chain historically based on informality. - Digitalization could help to halt Honduras’s rural exodus and make coffee farming attractive to younger generations, but challenges remain around accessibility, managing digital tools, and data ownership. authors: | ||
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The Amazon’s path from crisis to durability 28 May 2026 23:05:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-amazons-path-from-crisis-to-durability/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: In the Amazon, a forest can remain on the map while losing much of what makes it function. The Amazon rainforest is often discussed through a few familiar measures: deforestation, carbon, protected areas, and tipping points. Each is useful. But they do not fully explain why biodiversity continues to decline even where maps still show forest, laws exist, and international pledges sound ambitious. A territory can be recognized and still be invaded. A satellite can detect illegal clearing and still fail to trigger a penalty. A story can describe crisis and still leave readers unsure what can be done. Six gaps help explain the problem: finance and forest economy, governance, enforcement, forest function, Indigenous rights, and narrative. They overlap in ways that make each harder to close. The finance and forest-economy gap Protecting forests costs money every year. It requires staff, transport, monitoring, community work, legal support, fire control, restoration, and the ability to respond when illegal actors arrive. Yet the money available for those tasks remains far below the scale of the problem. Globally, UNEP estimates that forest investments need to reach about $300 billion a year by 2030 to meet climate, biodiversity, and land-degradation targets. The report also notes that this figure excludes some enabling conditions, including governance and law enforcement, which means the true need is probably higher. The Brazilian Amazon shows the imbalance more clearly. WWF and Conservation Strategy Fund estimate that Brazil needs about $12.8 billion a year to meet forest policy goals. Current positive…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Amazon biodiversity protection depends on more than keeping forests standing; a forest can remain on the map while losing ecological function, governance protections, enforcement capacity, or public support. - Six connected gaps shape Amazon conservation: finance and forest economy, governance, enforcement, forest function, Indigenous rights, and narrative. - Progress is possible. Brazil has reduced deforestation before, satellite alerts can strengthen enforcement, Indigenous land rights can protect forests, and better finance and monitoring can make protection more durable. - The central challenge is making the systems around the forest pull in the same direction: finance that favors protection, governance that reduces impunity, enforcement with consequences, rights that hold on the ground, monitoring that reveals what tree cover hides, and stories that show where action is possible. authors: | ||
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‘World’s deepest banner protest’ launched at the bottom of the sea 28 May 2026 22:27:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/worlds-deepest-banner-protest-launched-at-the-bottom-of-the-sea/ author: Lizkimbrough dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: Deep below the ocean surface, at roughly the depth of 130 five-story buildings stacked end to end, a robot has unfurled a protest sign that reads: “LISTEN TO THE SCIENCE!” A Greenpeace remotely operated vehicle (ROV) holds the banner more than 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) below the surface of the Norwegian Sea, in front of a hydrothermal vent field known as Loki’s Castle. “This marks the deepest banner protest in history, to speak for ecosystems that have no voice of their own,” Sandra Schöttner, chief scientist for the Deep Arctic Expedition, Greenpeace International, said in a press release. The protest, carried out on May 27 during Greenpeace’s Deep Arctic Expedition, targeted an area of the Arctic seabed that the Norwegian government opened to deep-sea mining in early 2024 before reversing course under political pressure. Loki’s Castle was discovered in 2008 in the Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Norway. Here in the depths, hot fluid, between 300 and 320 degrees Celsius (572 and 608 degrees Fahrenheit), pours from mineral chimneys on the seafloor. These vents support a rich and unusual community of life, including microbes that resemble the distant ancestors of complex life on Earth. A 2024 study in Scientific Reports documented the animals living around the vents, including five new-to-science species. The authors suggested areas like this along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge should be treated as “vulnerable ecosystems” and protected. In January 2024, the government of Norway opened roughly 281,000 square kilometers (108,000 square miles) of Arctic waters (an area…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Deep below the ocean surface, at roughly the depth of 130 five-story buildings stacked end to end, a robot has unfurled a protest sign that reads: “LISTEN TO THE SCIENCE!” A Greenpeace remotely operated vehicle (ROV) holds the banner more than 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) below the surface of the Norwegian Sea, in front of […] authors: | ||
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As economic case for deep-sea mining weakens, industry should halt urgency to begin operation (commentary) 28 May 2026 21:18:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-economic-case-for-deep-sea-mining-weakens-industry-should-halt-urgency-to-begin-operation-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Andy Whitmore content:encoded: Why do we need deep-sea mining? Given the potential consequences for the health and biodiversity of the ocean, that seems a vital question to answer before any commercial mining starts. The question is even more important as the economic case for deep-sea mining is being increasingly undermined by financial evidence, and is nowhere near strong enough to justify the risks to ecosystems we barely understand. Deep-sea mining in international waters is a unique proposition given that the international seabed is not owned by any state. Instead, it is considered the ‘global commons,’ belonging to all of us, so that any extraction should be justified for the benefit of all humankind. Given deep-sea mining companies also have financially-mandated deadlines, the arguments for it also have to address why there is a supposed urgency. This is especially true given that scientists stress the many unknowns, both about the deep-sea environment itself and the likely cumulative impact of the industry. Over the years, those proposing deep-sea mining have come up with a number of reasons why such mining is necessary and urgent, beyond potential profit. The arguments have evolved to claim that minerals will primarily feed into the energy transition away from fossil fuels. A squat lobster in the deep sea. Image by Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). As covered by Mongabay, effective counter-arguments have questioned how necessary the specific minerals from deep-sea mining are for the energy transition, including whether ongoing changes in battery technology and demand will negate any estimated…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Deep-sea mining in international waters is a unique proposition, given that the seabed is considered a global commons, so any extraction should be justified for the benefit of all humankind. - But given the likely environmental and social costs and the increasingly weak economic arguments for it, its proponents must address why there is a supposed urgency to begin commercial production. - “The financial case for deep-sea mining is being dismantled one argument at a time. As a small number of actors attempt to rush toward seabed mining, it is only a matter of time until more financial institutions join the momentum against [it],” 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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Brazil Congress passes bill to bar use of Amazon deforestation satellite tool 28 May 2026 18:13:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/brazil-congress-passes-bill-to-bar-use-of-amazon-deforestation-satellite-tool/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: Brazil’s Congress has passed a bill prohibiting environmental agencies from using satellite images to restrict the commercial use of illegally deforested lands. Instead, areas suspected of illegal deforestation will have to be confirmed by authorities on the ground. Supporters say satellite-only enforcement infringes upon farmers’ right to a fair defense. Its critics, which include the environment ministry, warn the measure will weaken environmental protection and create unsafe conditions for IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environmental police. The bill, passed May 20, could jeopardize around 70% of IBAMA’s actions in the Brazilian Amazon, Jair Schmitt, director of environmental protection with IBAMA, told Agência Pública. IBAMA currently uses satellite imagery to detect illegal deforestation and issue land-use restrictions, which prohibit farmers from selling products from illegally deforested land. DETER, the satellite monitoring system run by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, processes georeferenced forest cover imagery every 15 days to identify deforestation hotspots and send alerts to IBAMA, which can immediately block the area from commercial activity. If the bill is signed into law, officials would need to send inspectors to the site in person to take immediate action. On the ground enforcement is already a significant challenge. Brazil has about 1,250 agents to patrol a forest roughly the size of Western Europe. IBAMA officials warn banning satellite technology makes enforcement in such remote areas significantly slower and more expensive. “It’s like wanting to put down our cellphones and go back to sending messages by fax,” Schmitt told Mongabay journalist Fernanda Wenzel. Between January…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Brazil’s Congress has passed a bill prohibiting environmental agencies from using satellite images to restrict the commercial use of illegally deforested lands. Instead, areas suspected of illegal deforestation will have to be confirmed by authorities on the ground. Supporters say satellite-only enforcement infringes upon farmers’ right to a fair defense. Its critics, which include the […] authors: | ||
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Risk of saltwater intrusion into coastal groundwater spans the globe: Study 28 May 2026 17:26:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/risk-of-saltwater-intrusion-into-coastal-groundwater-spans-the-globe-study/ author: Autumn Spanne dc:creator: Edward Carver content:encoded: Globally, about half of drinking water and a quarter of irrigation water comes from under the ground. Yet many coastal sites throughout the world are seeing notable declines in their groundwater levels, putting them at risk of saltwater intrusion, a new study says. The study, published April 14 in the journal Nature Water, found that more than 10% of monitored locations showed a significant years-long decline in groundwater levels, indicating a susceptibility to saltwater intrusion, which can render water unusable. Annika Nolte, a data scientist at the University of Bremen in Germany and lead author of the study, said the results amounted to a “warning” and the work offered a “broad global look at the existing risks” while also identifying “specific regions where we should prioritize management and monitoring.” Sections of a cornfield in the eastern United States. The areas with elevated salt (left) yielded far fewer crops than areas with normal salt. Image courtesy of Jarrod Miller/Delmarva Saltwater Intrusion. A field in Delaware, in the eastern United States. Salt along the edges affected crop growth. Image courtesy of Jarrod Miller/Delmarva Saltwater Intrusion. Groundwater’s role as a key source of freshwater makes it essential for human existence, according to co-author Robert Reinecke, a professor of earth sciences at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany. “Generally speaking, the availability of drinking water is a prerequisite for people to be able to live anywhere, grow food, and for us to have healthy ecosystems,” Reinecke told German news program Tagesschau. The insidious creep…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Coastal sites throughout the world are seeing notable declines in groundwater levels, putting them at risk of saltwater intrusion, according to a new study. - About half of drinking water and a quarter of irrigation water comes from groundwater, so this trend threatens a vital source of freshwater for humanity. - The study authors found that more than 10% of monitored locations showed a significant years-long decline in groundwater levels, indicating a susceptibility to saltwater intrusion, which can render water unusable. - Many large-scale studies on groundwater and saltwater intrusion are model-based, but this one analyzed data from wells across much of the world. authors: | ||
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Household mosquito repellents may stop bumblebees from finding their way home 28 May 2026 16:55:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/household-mosquito-repellents-may-stop-bumblebees-from-finding-their-way-home/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: A chemical used in mosquito repellents may disorient bumblebees, stopping them from finding their way back to their nests, a recent study found. Researchers in Finland exposed 123 buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), one of the most abundant bumblebee species in Europe, to a standard consumer mosquito repellent containing prallethrin, a type of pyrethroid insecticide. One group of 44 bees was exposed to the repellant for 1 minute; 35 were exposed for 10 minutes; while 44 were exposed for 20 minutes. A control group of 43 bees was exposed to an identical device that did not release the insecticide. After exposure, the researchers released the bees 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away from their colonies. They found 16 bees from the control group made it home. However, only six bees exposed to the repellant for 10 minutes and just two bees exposed for 20 minutes returned. “Bumblebee colonies depend on workers collecting food,” lead author Kimmo Kaakinen, a biologist at the University of Turku in Finland, wrote in a statement. “So if they cannot find their way back to the nest, the colony’s ability to obtain nutrition deteriorates.” Usually, the buff-tailed bumblebee forages around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from its colony and has been found to return home from distances reaching 9.8 km (6 miles), the study noted. Researchers suggested the reduction in homing success, or even increased travel time, could be due to a disruption to the bees’ spatial navigation and memory, compromised flight capacity or a combination. The study’s results…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A chemical used in mosquito repellents may disorient bumblebees, stopping them from finding their way back to their nests, a recent study found. Researchers in Finland exposed 123 buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), one of the most abundant bumblebee species in Europe, to a standard consumer mosquito repellent containing prallethrin, a type of pyrethroid insecticide. One […] authors: | ||
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Has Ecuador started fracking? New oil project causes confusion and concern 28 May 2026 16:44:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/has-ecuador-started-fracking-new-oil-project-causes-confusion-and-concern/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: Earlier this month, state-owned oil company Petroecuador announced a new project involving “hydraulic fracturing” in an oil block in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As a result, some observers spoke out against the environmental risks of high-volume shale “fracking,” in which water and chemicals are injected at high pressures into the tight bedrock to release trapped oil and gas. Shale fracking tends to cause air pollution, uses high quantities of water, and can result in contamination that creates public health risks for surrounding communities. But while “hydraulic fracturing” and shale “fracking” involve similar processes, they’re carried out at entirely different intensities, with different designs, the observers later said. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and the government didn’t explain the distinction or follow up when the groups asked for clarification, they said. “It’s striking because, for us, one of the concerns is the lack of information associated with this announcement,” Sebastián Valdivieso, Ecuador country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told Mongabay. The announcement concerned oil in Block 57, also known as the Shushufindi Libertador block, located in Sucumbíos province, which is largely covered by Amazonian rainforest. New drilling there would yield 930 barrels a day, extracted with the help of service provider Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Corporation (CCDC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation. In its announcement, Petroecuador said it was the first time in the country’s history that hydraulic fracturing would be used on subsurface limestone, where those kinds of operations aren’t usually carried out. A group of…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - State-owned oil company Petroecuador announced a new project involving “hydraulic fracturing” in an oil block in the Ecuadorian Amazon, creating confusion about the level of risk posed to the environment. - The announcement concerned oil in Block 57, also known as the Shushufindi Libertador block, located in Sucumbíos province, which is largely covered by Amazonian rainforest. - Conservation groups said they want more transparency from the government as it attempts to boost sagging oil production numbers. authors: | ||
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How much suffering do invasive species cause? Researchers are measuring that 28 May 2026 13:03:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-much-suffering-do-invasive-species-cause-researchers-are-measuring-that/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Daniel Shailer content:encoded: Avian vampire flies (Philornis downsi) were not discovered in the Galápagos Islands for almost three decades after they were thought to have arrived from mainland Ecuador in the 1960s. Even then, the first were found by accident. Birgit Fessl, a landbird ecologist, was surveying for native species on the island of Santa Cruz in 1997 when she reached into the branches of a tree to take down the huge, domed nest of a woodpecker finch. Inside was a surprise. “We found one dying chick, another dead one which just looked sucked dry and 20 large maggots full of blood,” said Fessl, who now leads the Charles Darwin Foundation’s Landbird Conservation program. “I was stunned — the first dead baby in my hands. Then I realized it wasn’t an accident: It was everywhere,” she told Mongabay over a WhatsApp call. Across each of the Galapagos’ human-inhabited islands, vampire flies had already wrought havoc, killing some chicks in nests they infiltrated and leaving others maimed for life. “But it went unseen because people didn’t really know what to look for.” Around the world, more than 37,000 invasive species have been introduced to new environments. Many of these cause suffering, from vampire flies maiming finches to yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) spraying acid at the eyes of shrikes (Laniidae) on Minami-Daitō Island, Japan, and Australian quolls (Dasyurus) bleeding from the nose after eating toxic cane toads (Rhinella marina). But none of these are measured by the current global standard for assessing the impact…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Researchers have developed a new framework for measuring the suffering caused by invasive species, which they hope will complement the existing global standard for assessing these species’ impact on native biodiversity. - Initial case studies from around the world assessed by the Animal Welfare Impact Classification for Invasion Science (AWICIS) suggest that the suffering caused by invasive ants and flies has been systematically overlooked. Focusing on welfare impacts also challenges conservationists to consider how management might harm invasives themselves. - Results from AWICIS were, however, skewed by a relative lack of research describing invasive welfare impacts in lower-income countries. Its authors hope AWICIS’ adoption will encourage conservationists to record suffering more regularly and systematically. authors: | ||
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A Nigerian teen is turning agricultural waste into biodegradable sanitary pads 28 May 2026 07:36:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-nigerian-teen-is-turning-agricultural-waste-into-biodegradable-sanitary-pads/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Aimable Twahirwa content:encoded: For many Nigerian women, access to sanitary pads remains a challenge. Even those who can obtain them, the prevalence of single-use menstrual products creates problems of its own. They contain plastics and chemicals and are not eco-friendly generating large amounts of waste. After learning that many traditional sanitary pads used contain up to 90% plastic and can take hundreds of years to decompose, Nigerian teenager Raheema Auwal-Panti saw an opportunity to support women while helping the environment. The 15-year-old decided to use low-grade agricultural waste to make sanitary pads. She was motivated by a desire “to sweep up plastic pollution” in Nigeria. “[Even] if no one does something about it, I could do something about it,” said Auwal-Panti, who hails from Minna, the capital of Niger state in Nigeria. She founded ‘PantiPads’ in 2025. Auwal-Panti’s project was selected in a shortlist of 35 global teams for the 2026 Earth Prize, organized by the Earth Foundation, a Switzerland-based nonprofit that empowers, educates and inspires young people to tackle environmental challenges. In northern Nigeria, cassava processing generates significant agricultural waste, which poses environmental risks, particularly to soil quality. The waste includes solid and liquid components, such as cassava peelings, dried with non-dried banana leaves and corn husks. The biomass-rich waste, if poorly managed, can lead to environmental degradation, including organic pollution of water bodies and soil contamination. “Using these wastes to develop eco-friendly pads is currently helping to address menstrual stigma which remains a significant public health challenge that affects girls’ education and overall well-being…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Nigerian teenager Raheema Auwal-Panti founded ‘Pantipads’ to tackle the problem of access to sanitary products and the prevalence of non-eco-friendly sanitary pads. - She designed pads that use low-grade agriculture waste that decomposes easily. - Auwal-Panti’s project was selected in a shortlist of 35 global teams for the 2026 Earth Prize, instituted by the Earth Foundation, a Switzerland-based non-profit that empowers, educates and inspires young people to tackle environmental challenges. authors: | ||
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Most wildlife AI focuses on the ground. This model looks up in the trees 28 May 2026 06:46:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/most-wildlife-ai-focuses-on-the-ground-this-model-looks-up-in-the-trees/ author: Abhishyantkidangoor dc:creator: Abhishyant Kidangoor content:encoded: When it comes to decoding camera-trap images, artificial intelligence has become all the rage, especially for terrestrial animals, or those that dwell on the ground. But for more evasive species living high up in trees, the technology is still lacking. A newly developed AI model aims to fill that gap. TropiCam-AI was developed to detect and identify arboreal, or tree-dwelling, species in a part of the world where they abound: the tropical forests of the Americas. Scientists built the model to address the voids that exist in identifying arboreal mammals and birds. “We set up TropiCam-AI with the objective of developing a tool that is specifically meant for neotropical camera-trapping surveys targeting the canopy,” Andrea Zampetti, lead author of the study and Ph.D. candidate in animal biology at the Sapienza University of Rome, told Mongabay in a video interview. Zampetti’s work was done in collaboration with the TROPECOLNET project at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, led by Ana Benítez-López. Arboreal species play a key role in ecosystems. They serve as important seed dispersers, with studies finding that primates, small mammals and birds consume up to 90% of plant species in tropical rainforests. However, these are tree-dependent species that, by their very nature, are especially threatened by deforestation, underscoring the need to study, track and monitor them for conservation purposes. A study published earlier this year by Zampetti and colleagues notes that “arboreal camera trapping remains severely underrepresented compared to AI trained on terrestrial images.” AI models for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence model that can detect and identify tree-dwelling species. - TropiCam-AI can recognize 84 taxa, including 63 species, with the tool showing an accuracy of 95% with the majority of the taxa. - AI is widely used to automate the detection of animals from camera-trap data sets that can run into millions of images. - However, the existing AI models developed for this purpose focus primarily on ground-dwelling animals, with tree-dwelling species largely overlooked. authors: | ||
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New species of ghost pipefish named after Sesame Street character found in Australia 28 May 2026 03:00:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-species-of-ghost-pipefish-named-after-sesame-street-character-found-in-australia/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: It’s “hairy,” bright orange or red and “exceptional” at camouflaging. Meet the hairy ghost pipefish, whose recent formal description demonstrates that even well-studied marine environments like the Great Barrier Reef still hold remarkable secrets for science. In a recent study, researchers shared the name of the ghost pipefish, Solenostomus snuffleupagus, for its “conspicuously shaggy appearance,” and long, trunk-like snout that makes it resemble the beloved Sesame Street character, Mr. Snuffleupagus. Ghost pipefish, with their long pipe-like snouts, are distantly related to pipefishes and seahorses. But they differ in how they reproduce: while males in pipefish and seahorses brood eggs in specialized abdominal pouches; in ghost pipefish, it’s females who do the same. Found across the tropical Indo-Pacific, ghost pipefish are also very well-camouflaged in their environments of coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and algal beds. Until recently, there were just six known species. The discovery of a seventh species, the hairy ghost pipefish, led by marine biologists Graham Short and David Harasti, is the culmination of a two-decade search. Harasti, a senior research scientist at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute in Australia, told Popular Science he first spotted the animal in 2001 while diving near Papua New Guinea. “I was perplexed,” Harasti said, adding that after checking his reference books, he realized they “might be looking at something entirely new to science.” Since 2005, local divers had also regularly reported seeing the orange-red animal on the Great Barrier Reef on Facebook groups and citizen science platforms like iNaturalist, the authors wrote.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: It’s “hairy,” bright orange or red and “exceptional” at camouflaging. Meet the hairy ghost pipefish, whose recent formal description demonstrates that even well-studied marine environments like the Great Barrier Reef still hold remarkable secrets for science. In a recent study, researchers shared the name of the ghost pipefish, Solenostomus snuffleupagus, for its “conspicuously shaggy appearance,” […] authors: | ||
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European Commission linked leather to deforestation, then ignored it 28 May 2026 01:00:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/european-commission-linked-leather-to-deforestation-then-ignored-it/ author: Andy Lehren dc:creator: Elisângela MendonçaEmmanuelle Picaud content:encoded: The clock is ticking in Brussels. By June 1, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, is set to receive feedback on its proposal to remove leather, hides and skins from the EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Officials, however, are trying to push this amendment even after the commission’s own research confirmed that cattle hides also drive forest loss, a Mongabay analysis shows. According to the commission’s Staff Working Document, research designed to support proposed regulations, leather can be associated with up to 390 square kilometers (149 square miles) of deforestation per year. That area is roughly twice the size of the city of Pisa, in the heart of Italy’s leather production and trade. This means that bovine hides could account for up to 17% of the total 2,280 km2 (880 mi2) deforestation risk linked to all commodities covered by the new regulation. Although the evidence is part of the documentation, the commission decided to ignore it and balance out “quantitative and qualitative considerations,” it said in the document. The commission’s Staff Working Document was published May 4, alongside a delegated act, as part of a proposed simplification package Brussels is putting forward ahead of the EUDR being enacted at the end of the year. After the public consultation, the commission could formally adopt the draft delegated act. Then the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union generally have two months to object. If they don’t, the changes will automatically be enacted. In its working documentation, the commission argues…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - According to the European Commission’s own research, leather could account for up to 17% of the deforestation footprint tied to European Union Deforestation Regulation-covered imports. This is roughly 390 square kilometers (149 square miles) of forest lost a year, an area twice the size of the Italian city of Pisa. - Despite the evidence, Brussels moved earlier this month to drop bovine hides from the scope of the EUDR. The commission says it considered “qualitative considerations” in its decision. - The move comes after intense lobbying by the leather industry. The main groups representing the sector held at least 22 meetings with European lawmakers since 2021, according to lobbying records, with more than a third occurring in the past year as the regulation neared implementation. - Environmental campaigners argue that removing leather would create a loophole: beef remains covered, but leather — a high-value product in the same supply chain — could still enter EU markets without the same traceability obligations. authors: | ||
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Loopholes undermine palm oil industry’s antideforestation pledges 27 May 2026 21:51:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/loopholes-undermine-palm-oil-industrys-antideforestation-pledges/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Hans Nicholas Jong content:encoded: JAKARTA — More than a decade after the palm oil industry embraced a pledge to not deforest, clear tropical peatlands, or use exploitative practices, policies to that end now cover most of the global palm oil trade, as major traders, refiners and consumer brands have pledged to keep deforestation-linked palm oil out of their supply chains. However, deforestation linked to palm oil continues, particularly in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of the commodity. Satellite analysis by forest-mapping initiative TheTreeMap shows 31,073 hectares (76,783 acres) of forest were cleared for palm oil in Indonesia in 2025, slightly higher than the 30,956 hectares (76,494 acres) recorded in 2024 — highlighting persistent gaps in how the industry enforces its zero-deforestation pledges. In some cases, palm oil from newly cleared land still enters supply chains that companies describe as deforestation-free. “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) policies aim to eliminate three major sources of harm in palm oil production: clearing natural forests, developing plantations on carbon-rich peatlands, and exploiting workers or local communities. By 2020, these commitments covered roughly 83% of palm oil refinery capacity in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s main producing region. In recent years, companies have also built systems to enforce these pledges. Many now publish grievance mechanisms where violations can be reported, while third-party monitoring groups use satellite imagery to track forest loss and flag suspicious activity. Large-scale corporate deforestation in Indonesia has fallen compared to the mid-2010s, when some plantation companies were clearing vast areas of rainforest. Deforestation for…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - More than a decade after the palm oil industry adopted “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) commitments, new satellite data show forest clearing for palm oil in Indonesia persists, with more than 31,000 hectares (nearly 77,000 acres) lost in 2025. - Campaigners say deforestation increasingly slips through structural gaps in the system, including incomplete traceability, fragmented smallholder supply chains, and loopholes that allow companies linked to forest clearing to continue selling into supposedly deforestation-free markets. - Investigators cite cases in Indonesia, the top producer of the commodity, as examples of how palm fruit from deforestation-linked plantations can still enter global supply chains through third-party mills and opaque ownership structures. - Analysts warn these unresolved weaknesses could create major problems for compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will require firms to prove commodities sold in the EU are not linked to recent deforestation. authors: | ||
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A ‘symphony’ of wildlife suggests carbon financing is working in Sierra Leone 27 May 2026 20:36:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-symphony-of-wildlife-suggests-carbon-financing-is-working-in-sierra-leone/ author: Morgan Erickson-Davis dc:creator: Claudia Geib content:encoded: One of the first things H.S. Sathya Chandra Sagar noticed in Gola Rainforest National Park was its profusion of sound. Standing amid the tallest trees he’d ever seen, Sagar could hear the calls of countless birds, the hoot of primates, and in the distance, drumming: chimpanzees, beating fists and sticks on tree roots to check in with faraway friends. The din was a chorus of good news. Sagar, a conservation biologist, had traveled to the Sierra Leone national park as part of his Ph.D. research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the U.S. to try and figure out if economic measures aimed at conserving carbon in the Gola Rainforest also helped protect its animal biodiversity. In a study published in Conservation Science and Practice, Sagar and his co-authors find that its noisy soundscape suggests that it does. “We see that if it’s done well, carbon financing initiatives do have the capability to protect both biodiversity, beyond just habitat, and carbon markets,” Sagar says. Gola Rainforest National Park is one of the largest remaining portions of the Upper Guinean Tropical Rainforest, which once covered some 700,000 square kilometers (about 270,000 square miles) of West Africa. After a century of mining and logging, and a devastating civil war in the 1990s, Sierra Leone protected 700 km2 (270 mi2) of this forest that remained within its borders in 2010. In 2012, Sierra Leone established the Gola REDD+ project, a framework created through the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+)…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A study conducted in Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park found that the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) financing program, set up to ensure that forests sequester carbon, also confers some benefits to the park’s animal biodiversity. - Compared to a neighboring protected area without REDD+ funding and a bordering community-owned agroforestry area, the national park had higher soundscape saturation, a proxy for biodiversity. However, the authors also found that the agroforestry area had a higher diversity of insects than the two other study areas. - The study emphasizes that carbon financing programs can provide benefits outside of storing carbon, but experts also highlight that it shows that on-the-ground monitoring can be cheaply, effectively added to programs like REDD+ to help better conserve forests as whole ecosystems. authors: | ||
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US prepares to auction leases for seabed mining blocks in federal waters 27 May 2026 20:29:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/us-prepares-to-auction-leases-for-seabed-mining-blocks-in-federal-waters/ author: Rebecca Kessler dc:creator: Elizabeth Claire Alberts content:encoded: This is part 1 of a two-part series examining the U.S.’s efforts to begin deep-sea mining in federal waters. Part 1 explores the process behind proposed lease sales in U.S. federal waters and reactions to those plans. Part 2, to be published soon, will examine the regulations that would govern the industry. The U.S. agency responsible for overseeing deep-sea mining in federal waters is preparing to auction off seabed blocks within months — a step that could kick-start commercial-scale deep-sea mining and make the U.S. one of the first countries to allow it. Deep-sea mining has not yet begun anywhere in the world. Opponents say it could cause widespread and irreversible damage to the marine environment if it begins, while supporters say it could provide an important source of critical minerals. In a budgetary document released in April 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) indicated it intends to hold at least three offshore lease sales during the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. The lease sales will take place through competitive auctions, providing a pathway for winning companies to gain exclusive rights to explore and exploit minerals in designated tracts of seabed. The first sale is slated for the federal waters of American Samoa in August 2026; a second in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in November 2026; and a third in Alaska in 2027. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the U.S. agency currently responsible for the development of offshore energy…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The U.S. government is preparing to conduct lease sales to auction off blocks of the seabed for deep-sea mining in federal waters of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Alaska. - If the lease sales proceed, they would mark a major step toward commercial-scale deep-sea mining, making the U.S. one of the first players in the industry. - While many oppose these plans to start mining the deep sea and say the government’s timeline is rushed, others are more supportive. - A spokesperson for the U.S. agency managing the sales, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told Mongabay it is pursuing this process in a responsible manner. authors: | ||
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Brazil to invest $75 million in highway through Amazon and unveils environmental protection plan 27 May 2026 20:16:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/brazil-to-invest-75-million-in-highway-through-amazon-and-unveils-environmental-protection-plan/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s government has announced a $75 million investment in the BR-319 highway, a move environmentalists fear could speed up Amazon deforestation. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claims it will be the most environmentally advanced road in the world. The highway, linking Amazonas and Rondonia, remains mostly unpaved since its 1976 inauguration. The government also unveiled an environmental protection plan that includes monitoring and conservation units. Critics argue the project lacks necessary safeguards and could worsen deforestation. The Amazon plays a crucial role in regulating the global climate. By Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Associated Press Banner image: A man walks down an unpaved stretch of highway BR-319 in the Brazilian Amazon between the cities of Manaus and Porto Velho on Aug. 10, 2018. Image by Fabiano Maisonnave, Associated PressThis article was originally published on Mongabay description: SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s government has announced a $75 million investment in the BR-319 highway, a move environmentalists fear could speed up Amazon deforestation. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claims it will be the most environmentally advanced road in the world. The highway, linking Amazonas and Rondonia, remains mostly unpaved since its 1976 […] authors: | ||
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Nepal’s infrastructure risks wildlife habitats beyond protected areas, study warns 27 May 2026 13:25:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-infrastructure-risks-wildlife-habitats-beyond-protected-areas-study-warns/ author: Abhaya Raj Joshi dc:creator: Deepak Adhikari content:encoded: KATHMANDU — As Nepal expands highways, railways and power lines across the country, a new nationwide study warns the infrastructure boom is cutting through habitats and movement routes used by threatened species. The mapping study, published by WWF Nepal, identifies 515 “biodiversity important areas” (BIAs) and finds extensive overlap between those landscapes and the sites of existing or planned infrastructure projects. A total of 6,529 kilometers (4,057 miles) of roads and 4,862 km (3,021 mi) of power lines already pass through these areas. Nearly a quarter of Nepal’s proposed railway network could also cut across them once completed. The findings sharpen a growing policy dilemma for Nepal: how to build the transportation and power networks needed for economic growth without fragmenting the forests, wetlands and rivers that wildlife depend on, especially outside the country’s protected areas. The BIAs identified in the report fall under 11 categories, including key biodiversity areas, important bird areas, Ramsar wetlands, forest conservation areas, and ecological corridors. Together, they form habitats and ecological zones that allow wildlife to move, breed and survive. Jhamak Bahadur Karki, a former chief warden at Chitwan National Park and faculty member at the Kathmandu Forestry College, who wasn’t involved in the study, said its significance lies in the fact that it highlights biodiversity important areas outside of Nepal’s national parks and wildlife reserves. “The study is eye-opening,” Karki said. “It clearly shows why Nepal needs to pay attention to biodiversity important areas that lie outside protected areas.” Distribution of all infrastructure…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A WWF Nepal mapping study has identified 515 “biodiversity important areas” across Nepal, many of which overlap with existing or planned road, railway and power line projects. - Conservationists warn that Nepal’s infrastructure boom could fragment wildlife habitats and movement corridors, especially in wetlands, river valleys and mid-hill forests outside protected areas. - Experts say Nepal doesn’t need to halt development, but must integrate wildlife safeguards early, including route changes, underpasses, overpasses, canopy bridges, and bird-safe power-line designs. authors: | ||
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Ebola outbreak draws attention to longstanding virus spillover risks in western Uganda 27 May 2026 06:37:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ebola-outbreak-draws-attention-to-longstanding-virus-spillover-risks-in-western-uganda/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Malavika VyawahareSharon Muzaki content:encoded: KAMPALA — In the hills and trading centers of western Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities are racing to limit the spread of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a rare species of Ebola for which there is currently no vaccine or cure. The number of suspected cases in the DRC is fast approaching 1,000, with Uganda reporting seven cases, as of May 25. The first cluster of cases of the ongoing outbreak was detected in early May in Ituri province in the DRC, which shares a border with Uganda. The close community and economic ties between people residing on both sides of the border has complicated efforts to contain the outbreak, with Uganda taking measures to stem the flow of people. The Ebola virus driving the current outbreak is named for Uganda’s Bundibugyo district, where it was first detected almost two decades ago. (International health bodies including the World Health Organization have since moved away from naming disease-causing pathogens after places, citing stigmatization.) Most Ebola outbreaks to date have been caused by the Zaire ebolavirus, which also drove the 2014-2016 epidemic centered on West Africa. The Bundibugyo ebolavirus has been linked to two outbreaks in the past. The second outbreak emerged in the DRC in 2012 remained limited to the country, before subsiding later that year. This time may be different, since cases have emerged in Uganda, and the risk of regional spread is high. On May 23, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) identified 10 other…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In western Uganda, especially in districts bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, human-bat interactions are frequent and can increase viral spillover risk, experts say. - The Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a genetically distinct Ebola strain first identified in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district in 2007-2008, is driving the current outbreak. - Experts warn that current Ebola vaccines and treatments, largely developed for the Zaire strain of ebolavirus, may offer limited protection against the Bundibugyo strain, underscoring major preparedness gaps. - Field research highlights how humans may be exposed to these viruses including through hunting and consumption of bats in some communities, raising concerns about potential transmission of zoonotic pathogens. authors: | ||
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Reintroduced platypus population ‘tracking well’ in Australia’s oldest national park 27 May 2026 03:51:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/reintroduced-platypus-population-tracking-well-in-australias-oldest-national-park/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Megan Strauss content:encoded: Platypuses reintroduced to Australia’s oldest national park are breeding and appear to be on a good population trajectory with 20 known individuals now, scientists say. For more than 50 years, the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal, had been absent from Royal National Park, a protected area located just south of Sydney in the Australian state of New South Wales. A reintroduction program was initiated in 2023, led by Gilad Bino from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and a co-founder of the Platypus Conservation Initiative. “It is a privilege to be part of bringing platypuses back to a part of their former range where they had been missing for generations,” Bino said in a statement. In 2023, researchers first introduced a founding group of 10 platypuses to the Hacking River that flows through the national park. A second group of three animals followed in 2025. Each animal was fitted with a transmitter to allow scientists to monitor their survival, movements, and breeding. In May 2026, researchers introduced four more platypuses sourced from healthy populations: two males they named Absinthe and Duckie, and two females they named Dawn and Hydra. At the same time, the researchers carried out extensive surveys and found 20 known individuals. More individuals could be present that were missed. Researchers Gilad Bino and Tahneal Hawke during a platypus survey in Royal National Park. Image courtesy of Gilad Bino/Platypus Conservation Initiative. Visitors are also reporting platypus sightings in the park, especially around the river. “That public connection…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Platypuses reintroduced to Australia’s oldest national park are breeding and appear to be on a good population trajectory with 20 known individuals now, scientists say. For more than 50 years, the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal, had been absent from Royal National Park, a protected area located just south of Sydney in the […] authors: | ||
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Luxury yacht maker Sunseeker pleads guilty to violating a US environmental law 27 May 2026 03:46:18 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/luxury-yacht-maker-sunseeker-pleads-guilty-to-violating-a-us-environmental-law/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Naina Rao content:encoded: Luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker has pleaded guilty to violating a U.S. environmental law by using illegally sourced teak from Myanmar on two of its yachts imported into the U.S. The U.K.-based Sunseeker International Limited, which describes itself as “the world’s leading brand for luxury motor yachts,” along with its U.S. subsidiary pleaded guilty on May 13, 2026, to violating the U.S. Lacey Act. The regulation prohibits trade in wildlife and plant products, including timber, that have been sourced in violation of domestic or foreign laws. Sunseeker had not responded to Mongabay’s request for comment at the time of publishing. As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Sunseeker agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and implement a compliance plan. The U.S. DOJ said in a news release that illegally sourced timber was identified in components of two yachts priced at approximately $2.98 million and $1.07 million, respectively. The company is scheduled for sentencing in the U.S. on Aug. 20, 2026. Sunseeker, which manufactures its yachts in the U.K., previously pled guilty to violating the U.K. Timber Regulation in a U.K. court in 2024. The company was accused of using illegally obtained teak in its yachts. It was fined 358,759.64 pounds (about $454,300) for 11 specific timber exports, according to previous Mongabay reporting. U.S. authorities noted the teak imported into the country originated from the same illegal imports prosecuted in the U.K. While highly prized in the luxury yacht industry, much of the teak from Myanmar,…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker has pleaded guilty to violating a U.S. environmental law by using illegally sourced teak from Myanmar on two of its yachts imported into the U.S. The U.K.-based Sunseeker International Limited, which describes itself as “the world’s leading brand for luxury motor yachts,” along with its U.S. subsidiary pleaded guilty on May […] authors: | ||
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Building bridges for human-wildlife coexistence: Interview with Yap Jo Leen 27 May 2026 00:54:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/building-bridges-for-human-wildlife-coexistence-interview-with-yap-jo-leen/ author: Isabel Esterman dc:creator: Isabelle LeongPhilip Jacobson content:encoded: TANJUNG BUNGAH, Malaysia — When Yap Jo Leen was tracking dusky langurs in the forests of Penang for her master’s degree in 2016, she watched a langur they called Towkay Soh — Hokkien for “lady boss” — get hit by a car while trying to cross a busy coastal road. Dazed, the langur managed to get back on its feet and retreat into a tree while Yap and her colleagues blocked traffic. As Towkay Soh recuperated over the next few days, the langur group’s empathy for each other was on full display, Yap says. “Female individuals, they would approach her and groom her and even try to make her feel better,” Yap says. “I always believe that the primates, humans and monkeys, we all share a similarity, which is connection.” Two dusky langurs called “Kim” (left) and “Sunny” (right) named by the Langur Project Penang at a playground near a residential area in the Tanjung Bungah area of George Town on Malaysia’s Penang Island. For Malaysia’s endangered dusky langurs, recognizable by the characteristic white “eye masks” that stand out against their black fur, survival increasingly depends on manmade crossings across urban landscapes and the work of “citizen scientists”. Image by Mohd Rasfan / AFP. Other langurs weren’t so lucky. From 2016 to 2018, Yap recorded eight langur roadkill deaths in the same area. So, in 2019, Yap and her collaborators built an artificial canopy bridge over the road, made from old fire hoses. Since then, they’ve recorded zero langur roadkill…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Conservationist Yap Jo Leen launched the Langur Project Penang after witnessing dusky langurs, an endangered monkey she was studying for her Ph.D. research, getting struck by vehicles on Malaysia’s Penang Island. - Since 2019, her group has built three canopy bridges made from repurposed fire hoses to help langurs and other tree-dwelling wildlife safely cross busy roads, with no recorded langur roadkill deaths at the first bridge site since its installation. - The project combines wildlife conservation with citizen science and environmental education, training volunteers to track langur movements, collect ecological and social data, and work with local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict. - Yap says the long-term goal is not simply to build more wildlife bridges, but to foster a broader culture of coexistence and community stewardship for urban wildlife across Malaysia. authors: | ||
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Australia is failing to meet its environment targets, argues ecologist 26 May 2026 20:52:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/05/australia-is-failing-to-meet-its-environment-targets-argues-ecologist/ author: Mikedigirolamo dc:creator: Mike DiGirolamo content:encoded: Australia is one of 17 “megadiverse” countries that account for 70% of Earth’s biodiversity. However, Australia is unique in having the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world. That makes conservation on the island continent, where most of the wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth, all the more urgent. Conservation and environmental scientists have come out against the Australian federal government’s claim that it’s “on track” to meet most of its targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon at the U.N. biodiversity summit in 2022. This week on the Mongabay Newscast, Euan Ritchie, a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Australia’s Deakin University, and a councilor with the Biodiversity Council, an academic alliance in the country, argues why conservationists say the Australian government is failing its commitments. “The short answer, unfortunately, is that Australia is doing terribly in terms of honoring its international obligations to meet those targets in the agreement. If we look at the number of threatened species in Australia, it’s more than 2,200 now, and that list continues to increase,” Ritchie says. Despite being a relatively wealthy nation by gross domestic product per capita, Australia funds conservation at a diminutive scale compared to other industrialized countries. The latest annual budget allocates 0.06% of federal spending to nature. Ritchie and some 60 fellow experts suggest that it would only take about 1% of the federal budget to save most threatened species and restore soils and rivers. In 2024, the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Australia is one of 17 “megadiverse” countries that account for 70% of Earth’s biodiversity. However, Australia is unique in having the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world. That makes conservation on the island continent, where most of the wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth, all the more urgent. Conservation and environmental scientists have […] authors: | ||
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Tracking Lucero: Scientists follow a rare Eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtle 26 May 2026 20:33:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/tracking-lucero-scientists-follow-a-rare-eastern-pacific-leatherback-sea-turtle/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Bobby Bascomb content:encoded: Fewer than 1,000 leatherback sea turtles remain in the Eastern Pacific, nesting along the coastline that runs from Mexico to Ecuador. Scientists have previously fitted tracking devices to leatherbacks on other beaches across Latin America and from bycatch near Ecuador. However, they recently tagged the first nesting leatherback in Ecuador, the southern limit of the species’ nesting range. Scientists named the turtle Lucero, “morning star” in Spanish, and estimated her age at 25-40 years. They plan to gather data on her migration and feeding patterns, which should help inform conservation policies for the critically endangered subpopulation. (Globally, the species, Dermochelys coriacea, is listed as vulnerable.) Researchers from Ecuador-based Fundacion Reina Laud were at sea when they first spotted Lucero heading toward a remote stretch of beach to nest. They alerted Callie Veelenturf, a marine conservation biologist and founder of the U.S.-based Leatherback Project. The team didn’t know where Lucero would emerge, so they stationed people the length of the beach with radios to watch out for her, according to Veelenturf. “It was really quite an adventure because we just spent multiple nights out on the beach waiting for her,” she told Mongabay in a video call. When sea turtles lay eggs, they enter a trance-like state in which they don’t seem to notice activity around them, Veelenturf said. That’s when the team attached a satellite tag to the top of Lucero’s shell. Now, each time she surfaces to breathe, the tag pings a satellite and transmits information about her movements. Leatherbacks…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Fewer than 1,000 leatherback sea turtles remain in the Eastern Pacific, nesting along the coastline that runs from Mexico to Ecuador. Scientists have previously fitted tracking devices to leatherbacks on other beaches across Latin America and from bycatch near Ecuador. However, they recently tagged the first nesting leatherback in Ecuador, the southern limit of the […] authors: | ||
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Peru’s Quellaveco mine tied to water scarcity, contamination, investigation finds 26 May 2026 18:13:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/perus-quellaveco-mine-tied-to-water-scarcity-contamination-investigation-finds/ author: Alexandra Popescu dc:creator: Maxwell Radwin content:encoded: A copper mine in southern Peru that took decades to complete environmental assessments has been contaminating local watersheds with harmful metals, critics say. In its first few years of operation, the mine has allegedly endangered wildlife, threatened the local economy, and created health concerns in communities. Developers of the Quellaveco mine in Peru’s Moquegua department spent more than 20 years conducting and revising environmental assessments to responsibly extract copper and molybdenum, a metal used in industrial alloys. But after the mine started operating in 2022, the impacts from pollution, erosion and other issues became difficult to ignore, residents say. “[The project] has exhibited the tensions that are typical of large-scale mining in the Andean south: disputes over water in fragile basins, distrust in environmental evaluation and enforcement procedures, promises of employment and local development that are difficult to verify,” said a recent investigation by several advocacy groups, including Red Muqui, a collective of 32 NGOs in Peru. The mine is operated by Anglo American Quellaveco S.A., a subsidiary of British mining company Anglo American. The company received its first environmental impact assessment approval for the project in 2000, but then spent another two decades revising it and finishing technical permitting and negotiations with local communities. The Quellaveco mine. Image courtesy of Red Muqui. More than half of Moquegua department is covered by mining concessions, some of them causing contamination and water scarcity. Residents around the Quellaveco mine said they wanted to avoid the problems that had emerged from earlier large-scale…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Pollution and water scarcity from the Quellaveco mine in Peru’s Moquegua department have killed wildlife, hurt the local economy, and created health problems in communities, according to a new investigation by several advocacy groups. - The mine is operated by Anglo American Quellaveco S.A., a subsidiary of British mining company Anglo American, and is expected to produce around 300,000 tons of copper on average until the end of the decade. - Studies have found high levels of metals, arsenic and mercury in human testing and water assessments. The company maintains the readings don’t exceed the standards for drinking and vegetable irrigation. authors: | ||
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Kenyan agency responds to protests rejecting proposed nuclear power plant near Lake Victoria 26 May 2026 18:04:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/kenyan-agency-responds-to-protests-rejecting-proposed-nuclear-power-plant-near-lake-victoria/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Lynet Otieno content:encoded: About a year ago, Kenya announced plans for its first nuclear power plant to be built in Siaya County, on the shores of Lake Victoria. However, following local protests, Kenya’s state-run Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) announced plans to conduct “a robust, transparent, and multi-layered educational campaign” to address concerns. The facility would produce roughly 2,000 megawatts of energy and cost roughly KSh500 billion ($3.85 billion) to build. “As the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, we hear and respect the voices of the residents of Siaya. Public participation is not a mere procedural formality. It is a constitutional right,” the agency said in a statement shared on social media. The agency said the project wouldn’t proceed “without the broad informed consent of the community.” The statement came two days after protests from residents living near the proposed nuclear power project. They voiced concerns about potential nuclear contamination and ecological risks to Africa’s largest fresh-water lake. Many locals depend on the lake for food and their livelihoods. Kenya’s President William Ruto has previously assured the public that the flagship energy project will be safe. Power Shift Africa (PSA), a Pan-African think tank focused on climate change, has condemned the proposed shift toward nuclear energy, saying it risks diverting attention and resources from Kenya’s readily available renewable energy solutions, which are cleaner and safer. In a statement sent to Mongabay, PSA Director Mohamed Adow said a nuclear facility can take more than a decade to become operational. “For comparison, the 55MW…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: About a year ago, Kenya announced plans for its first nuclear power plant to be built in Siaya County, on the shores of Lake Victoria. However, following local protests, Kenya’s state-run Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) announced plans to conduct “a robust, transparent, and multi-layered educational campaign” to address concerns. The facility would produce […] authors: | ||
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Parts of Europe swelter in record May heat as deaths at amateur sports events spur warnings 26 May 2026 17:47:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/parts-of-europe-swelter-in-record-may-heat-as-deaths-at-amateur-sports-events-spur-warnings/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Associated Press content:encoded: PARIS (AP) — Europe is baking under unseasonal heat that is shattering temperature records, including in the United Kingdom on Monday, and prompting government warnings after deaths were reported at amateur sports events in France. The French sports minister, Marina Ferrari, posted condolences to the loved ones of a runner who died Sunday in a Paris race. Le Parisien newspaper reported that the 53-year-old man suffered a heart attack during the run in the capital’s 20th arrondissement, and that firefighters were unable to revive him. It wasn’t yet known if the cause of the runner’s death was heat-related, but Ferrari suggested a possible link. Temperatures in Paris went as high as 32 C ( 90 F) in the afternoon. “The events that occurred today (Sunday) during running races are a reminder that practicing sports in extreme heat requires absolute vigilance,” Ferrari said in an X post. “My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the runner who died in Paris, as well as with the people who were treated by emergency services.” In the southeastern city of Lyon, local media Actu Lyon on Monday reported the death of a woman who suffered heat stroke there during another sports competition, also on Sunday. The national weather service, Meteo France, said temperatures are breaking records for the month of May, soaring past 30 C (86 F) in many parts of the country and forecast to last into the week. The United Kingdom broke its record Monday for the hottest temperature…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: PARIS (AP) — Europe is baking under unseasonal heat that is shattering temperature records, including in the United Kingdom on Monday, and prompting government warnings after deaths were reported at amateur sports events in France. The French sports minister, Marina Ferrari, posted condolences to the loved ones of a runner who died Sunday in a […] authors: | ||
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Indonesia seizes mercury shipment bound for illegal mines in the Philippines 26 May 2026 16:23:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesia-seizes-mercury-shipment-bound-for-illegal-mines-in-the-philippines/ author: Mongabay Editor dc:creator: Anggita Raissa content:encoded: JAKARTA — Authorities at Indonesia’s largest port seized hundreds of kilograms of the toxic heavy metal mercury in late April. The bust reflects the vast scale of illegal mining underway in forests across much of Southeast Asia amid record-high gold prices. “This mercury was to be shipped to the Philippines using manipulated customs documents, so that the cargo appeared to be textiles, clothing and carpets,” Victor Dean Mackbon, special investigations lead with the Jakarta Police, told Mongabay Indonesia. Police and customs officials said the 760 bottles of mercury were packed in cardboard and concealed within 145 rolls of carpet. Investigators allege the mercury was procured in Indonesia for a buyer in Davao, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Mercury is widely used to separate gold from crushed ore by miners in the illegal sector. But the heavy metal is also a potent neurotoxin linked to developmental disorders in children, as well as severe cognitive, neurological and physical impairment in adults. The seized mercury bottles displayed by authorities in Jakarta at a press conference. Image courtesy of Jakarta Police. Authorities have questioned nine people over the Jakarta seizure, and charged two — the alleged supplier and alleged exporter — with violations of trade and mining laws, for which they could face up to four years in jail. Victor said the suspected trafficking route may have been used to ship mercury to the Philippines since 2021. Davao, the alleged destination of the mercury consignment, is the political stronghold of the Duterte…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Inspectors at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port found hundreds of individual containers of mercury hidden in carpets in a shipment bound for the Philippines in late April. - Mercury is used in the so-called artisanal and small-scale mining sector to separate gold particles from ores recovered at illegal mines. However, the heavy metal is a severe neurotoxin that causes developmental disorders in children as well as devastating cognitive and physical impairments in adults. - Pollution from mining has contaminated rivers, crops and fisheries, with studies linking exposure to serious health risks and reporting suggesting increased incidences of malaria transmission. - Experts say the all-time high price of gold reached this year is driving more people to illegal mining sites, undermining international efforts to restrict the use and trade of mercury. authors: | ||
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White rhinos are back in Uganda 26 May 2026 15:16:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/white-rhinos-are-back-in-uganda/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Juan Maza content:encoded: Uganda was home to around 300 Northern white rhinos, but after years of intense poaching, the population disappeared, with the last wild rhino killed in 1983. But now, they are back. In 2005, a breeding program for rhinos was established at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and authorities are now reintroducing them to Kidepo Valley National Park in the north of the country. Conservationists believe that this will not only create a stronghold for rhinos, but their presence will also support the local economy through tourism and conservation-related activities.This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Uganda was home to around 300 Northern white rhinos, but after years of intense poaching, the population disappeared, with the last wild rhino killed in 1983. But now, they are back. In 2005, a breeding program for rhinos was established at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and authorities are now reintroducing them to Kidepo Valley National Park […] authors: | ||
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Iceland must protect wild salmon and reject new aquaculture legislation (commentary) 26 May 2026 14:56:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/iceland-must-protect-wild-salmon-and-reject-new-aquaculture-legislation-commentary/ author: Erik Hoffner dc:creator: Yvon Chouinard content:encoded: In a little more than 50 years, the population of wild North Atlantic salmon has plummeted by 75%. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 60,000 exist in and around Iceland. Unless we do something soon, we may be condemning what Icelandic environmentalist and wild fish advocate Orri Vigfússon has called the “king of fish” to extinction. Warmer waters caused by climate change already pose a potential mortal threat to wild salmon (Salmo salar). If Iceland’s legislature passes the latest draft of its aquaculture bill and opens the country to more salmon farms, the fish will be headed toward disappearance even faster. I’ve visited Iceland regularly since 1960 and have personally seen the decline of wild salmon in the rivers. Expanding open net-pen fish farming in Iceland would compound an already critical problem and open the country to disaster, both for wild fish and the environment. It is no secret that these farms are ecological scourges, even when they function as designed. But when they fail, the effects are catastrophic. A wild Atlantic salmon returning to its home river. Image via IRD Duhallow/Raptor LIFE. If you’ve never seen an open net-pen salmon farm before, picture an array of massive floating cylindrical cages that run 30-50 meters (about 100-160 feet) down from the surface of the water. There may be 16 pens on a farm, each holding 100,000 salmon or more. Feeding such huge numbers of carnivorous fish takes millions of pounds of food made with fishmeal and oil sourced from…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Aquaculture and other factors like climate change pose a potentially mortal threat to wild Atlantic salmon, so a new bill in the Icelandic parliament should be rejected, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard argues in a new op-ed. - More than 65% of Icelanders polled agree with him in opposing open-net salmon farming, which the bill would allow to expand despite the fact that it employs a small fraction of those working in the tourism sector, and which relies heavily on the nation’s natural beauty and healthy wildlife populations. - “Icelandic ministers can listen to reason and citizens and set an example of responsibility, rather than giving in to the worldwide aquaculture industry,” Chouinard writes. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Amid efforts to save Australia’s southern cassowaries, their numbers remain unknown 26 May 2026 12:46:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/amid-efforts-to-save-australias-southern-cassowaries-their-numbers-remain-unknown/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Cooper Williams content:encoded: With a striking blue neck, jet black plumage and bright red drooping wattles, the southern cassowary cuts an imposing figure in the dense tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland, Australia. Standing up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall and armed with razor-sharp claws, it is often labeled as the world’s most dangerous bird. In reality, it’s a shy, gentle and solitary animal rarely seen by people. While it’s listed as endangered under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) populations have always been difficult to track. “They occupy very rugged and remote terrain. So, to be able to find scats, get sightings through camera traps or collect DNA is very challenging,” said Wren McLean, a cassowary researcher and member of the Cassowary Recovery Team. Estimates have changed dramatically since the turn of the 21st century, growing from fewer than 1,500 birds in the early 2000s to around 4,400 in the most recent national survey, which was conducted between 2012 and 2014. Led by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, that survey recommended that population monitoring become a “central component” of the species’ management and should be carried out more frequently. More than a decade later, that hasn’t happened. A camera trap image of an adult female cassowary roaming the Apudthama National Park in the Cape York Peninsula. Image courtesy of Wren McLean, Ipima Ikaya Aboriginal Corporation and Cape York NRM. The Cassowary Recovery Team has produced a new conservation plan for the species, set to be…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The southern cassowary, a rare and elusive rainforest bird that lives along Queensland’s northern coast, once faced extinction. Now, its numbers are stable, but scientists still lack an up-to-date estimate of how many remain. - Shrinking habitat was a key factor in the bird’s decline, but designation of the northeast coast “Wet Tropics” as a World Heritage Site protected both the ecosystem and the cassowaries that live there. - As an important seed disperser, this bird helps sustain this rainforest’s plants and trees, but its slow breeding and need for large, connected habitats make it vulnerable. - Growing threats from road collisions and intensifying cyclones, heat waves and other climate impacts are putting renewed pressure on this bird and increasing urgency for better monitoring and conservation. authors: | ||
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Nepal’s rhododendron tourism sparks unchecked liquor trade concerns 26 May 2026 08:59:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-rhododendron-tourism-sparks-unchecked-liquor-trade-concerns/ author: Abhaya Raj Joshi dc:creator: Mukesh Pokhrel content:encoded: TINJURE-MILKE-JALJALE, Nepal — Every April, Nima Sherpa’s family used to picnic in a rhododendron (lali guras in Nepali) forest about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from her home at Basantapur Bazaar in Tehrathum in the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which stretched across the eastern districts of Tehrathum, Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha. It has been five years since her family has done so as they no longer have the time. Instead of enjoying their time in the forest, they said, they are busy running their hotel in Basantapur Bazaar, which sees a big surge in tourism for only a few weeks. This is when the hillsides get covered in crimson, pink and white blooms of at least 26 species of rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.), the national flower. All family members get busy welcoming guests with smiles and souvenirs. This year alone, local officials estimate that around 500,000 visitors entered the TMJ area between April 1-15. One of the “souvenirs” growing in popularity among visitors is the flower-based alcohol, bottled in reused containers with handwritten labels and openly displayed in shops across. But authorities remain unaware of where the flowers are harvested, whether extraction levels are sustainable, and of the safety of the unlabeled products. Rhododendron trees in Tinjure. Image by Nirmal Dulal via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). A trade hiding in plain ssight In April this year, Mongabay found bottles of rhododendron liquor displayed openly in shops catering to tourists in Basantapur Bazaar and nearby Gufa Pokhari, in Chainpur municipality, Sankhuwasabha district. Several shopkeepers…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mongabay found unlicensed rhododendron liquor being sold openly in tourist shops across eastern Nepal’s Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which is home to at least 26 rhododendron species, with no official labeling, no health testing and no tracking of sources. - Nepal’s conservation laws prohibit commercial harvesting of rhododendrons from community forests without approval, but legal ambiguity over privately cultivated flowers has left officials uncertain about how to enforce existing rules. - Some rhododendron species contain grayanotoxins that can be toxic, even fatal in rare cases. Yet none of the bottles being sold in the TMJ region have been tested for safety, according to local officials and vendors. - Local residents say the practice emerged roughly three years ago alongside a post-pandemic tourism rebound; some producers say it gives them extra income. authors: | ||
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Asia’s overlooked leopard cat 26 May 2026 08:28:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/asias-overlooked-leopard-cat/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Asia’s mainland leopard cat is easy to overlook. It’s small, nocturnal, and often mistaken for a domestic cat or a leopard cub. On paper, it appears secure. The species ranges from India to the Russian Far East, and is listed as “least concern” on the IUCN Red List. It may be one of the world’s most abundant wildcats. That status is reassuring, though only to a point. The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is a generalist, able to live in forests, plantations, and other human-shaped landscapes. This adaptability has helped it persist where more specialized animals have declined. It also makes the species easy to misread. A wildcat can be widespread and still poorly understood, reports contributor Annelise Giseburt for Mongabay. Much of the uncertainty lies in the gap between maps depicting the cat’s global range and field data. Country-level population figures are often thin or missing. Researchers rely on small local studies and extrapolation. In some places, the cat may be doing well. In others, it faces habitat loss, hunting, road deaths, and genetic isolation. Local declines can disappear inside a global assessment that looks stable across a large range. The pattern is familiar in conservation. Big cats draw funding, monitoring technology like camera traps, and political attention. Smaller cats, even common ones, receive far less. That leaves the leopard cat in a strange position: present across much of Asia, yet still scientifically…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Asia’s mainland leopard cat is easy to overlook. It’s small, nocturnal, and often mistaken for a domestic cat or a leopard cub. On paper, it appears secure. The species ranges from India to the Russian Far East, and […] authors: | ||
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Polar bears off the ice: Photo of the week 26 May 2026 07:36:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/polar-bears-off-the-ice-photo-of-the-week/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: A polar bear, captured above, sits on a grassy expanse on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukotka district of far-eastern Russia. Several bears made themselves at home in the empty buildings of a Soviet-era research station, abandoned by humans in 1992. Photographer Vadim Makhorov took photos using a drone operated from an expedition vessel about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away from the bears in September 2025. “At first, [the bears] showed a lot of curiosity and even tried to catch [the drone],” Makhorov told Mongabay by email. “Eventually, though, they lost interest and simply went back to their daily routines: resting on porches and inside the abandoned houses, basking in the sun, while some wandered around exploring the surrounding area.” Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are listed as vulnerable on Red List maintained by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Current estimates place the worldwide population between 22,000 and 31,000 individuals, split into 20 subpopulations. According to the most recent report by the IUCN’s Polar Bear Specialist Group, the loss of Arctic sea ice due to human-driven climate change is the most serious threat to polar bears throughout their range in the Arctic. Since 1979, the extent of Arctic sea ice has shrunk by 12.2% each decade, according to NASA. Polar bears typically depend on ice shelves for hunting. When that ice thins out in late summer and early autumn, the bears search for alternative places to survive, Makhorov said. He said he presumes that by late autumn, the bears leave…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: A polar bear, captured above, sits on a grassy expanse on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukotka district of far-eastern Russia. Several bears made themselves at home in the empty buildings of a Soviet-era research station, abandoned by humans in 1992. Photographer Vadim Makhorov took photos using a drone operated from an expedition vessel about 1 […] authors: | ||
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Brazil has protected much of the Amazon. It now has to pay for it. 26 May 2026 00:35:10 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/brazil-has-protected-much-of-the-amazon-it-now-has-to-pay-for-it/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: For protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon, one of the most basic questions is not where the boundary lies. It is whether anyone has the money to manage what sits inside it. A reserve may exist in law. It may appear on maps, in international pledges, and in official counts of how much of Brazil is under protection. On the ground, though, management depends on less visible things: staff, fuel, boats, radios, boundary markers, fire brigades, monitoring, community work, and the ability to respond when illegal miners, loggers, poachers, or land-grabbers arrive. A protected area without these things is still protected, but only in a narrow administrative sense. A gap measured in money A new paper in Environmental Conservation puts numbers to this gap. The study, by Helenilza Ferreira Albuquerque Cunha and colleagues, examined funding deficits in 300 federal protected areas in Brazil between 2014 and 2023. Together, those areas cover nearly 750,000 square kilometers, representing most of the protected areas managed by ICMBio, Brazil’s federal biodiversity agency. The researchers compared actual spending with evidence-based estimates of the minimum cost of managing each site. In 2023, 72% of the protected areas they studied were underfunded. The combined shortfall was equivalent to about $958 million in purchasing-power terms. The gap was largest in the Amazon. According to the paper, Amazonian protected areas had an average funding deficit of 79.2% in 2023. In practical terms, they received about one-fifth of what they needed. In the Atlantic Forest, the average deficit was 27.6%.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Brazil has built one of the world’s most important protected-area systems, but a new study finds that most federal protected areas remain underfunded, with the largest shortfalls in the Amazon. - The funding gap reflects more than the size of Brazil’s conservation estate: remote Amazon reserves are costly to manage, politically less visible, and often receive far less support than protected areas near cities and institutions. - Underfunding has practical consequences, limiting staff, patrols, fire response, monitoring, community engagement, and the ability of protected areas to prevent deforestation and other threats. - Tourism, ARPA, the Amazon Fund, and rising federal environmental budgets can help, but Brazil needs stable, transparent, long-term financing that matches the recurring cost of turning legal protection into management. authors: | ||
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Countries push new protections for the Amazon’s iconic migratory catfish 25 May 2026 13:11:33 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/countries-push-new-protections-for-the-amazons-iconic-migratory-catfish/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Gustavo Faleiros content:encoded: The background was right for the announcement of the bad news. Fish swam in a wall-sized tank that framed a table of scientists and environmentalists in the auditorium of the Pantanal Biopark, the world’s largest freshwater public aquarium, in the Brazilian city of Campo Grande. They’d gathered for the launch of a report on the state of the world’s freshwater migratory fish. The event opened with a dire statement from a top official from Brazil’s environment ministry: “The numbers are chilling,” said Rita Mesquita, the ministry’s secretary of biodiversity. Mesquita was there to address the 15th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP15), a treaty adopted in 1979 that focuses on conservation of migratory animals and their habitats. Currently, 132 nations and the European Union are signatories. The meeting, which took place in Campo Grande, the capital of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, from March 23-29, also drew experts and civil society representatives from across the globe. This was the first time in more than a decade that experts analyzed data on global ichthyofauna: fish life. The last assessment, conducted in 2011, examined the status of 3,000 species. The new round was far more comprehensive, covering 15,000 species. Of these, 349 are migratory, almost all of them threatened. The CMS report recommended that 325 of those species be added to the convention’s appendices. Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I, giving strong protections, while species that need international…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Around the world, migratory freshwater fish are in peril from activities including overfishing and, more recently, dams blocking their migratory routes. - The most threatened species include two large Amazonian catfish, and an inaugural conservation plan will be implemented by the five countries where they range. - Connected river habitat is crucial for the gilded catfish and Laulao catfish: They undertake some of the longest known river migrations in the world, traveling up to 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) over their lifetimes. - The main challenge in saving these migratory catfish and many other aquatic species is maintaining connectivity among rivers, which in the Amazon are increasingly being affected by dams and shipping. authors: | ||
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Carbon cowboys and unpaid pledges: Ex-Gabon environment minister Lee White on conservation in Africa 25 May 2026 10:22:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/carbon-cowboys-and-unpaid-pledges-ex-gabon-environment-minister-lee-white-on-conservation-in-africa/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: On May 11 and 12, 2026, the Africa Forward Summit took place in Nairobi, with several heads of state from across the continent and beyond attending. Thousands of political, economic and civil society actors also gathered in the Kenyan capital to discuss potential investments, particularly in the fields of energy transition and international financial assistance. Lee White, Gabon’s former minister of water, forests, marine and environment, was in Nairobi on the sidelines of the summit to discuss carbon markets and Africa’s development. Originally from the United Kingdom, White is a naturalized Gabonese citizen. A scientist and zoology Ph.D., he took over the reins of Gabon’s National Parks Agency (ANPN) in 2009, and 10 years later was appointed environment minister under the controversial presidency of Ali Bongo Ondimba. Following the 2023 coup d’état that ousted Bongo from power, White left Gabon and his ministerial position, but did not leave Central Africa behind. During the COP30 U.N. climate summit in Belém, Brazil, he served as a special envoy for the Congo Basin. Mongabay spoke to White over video call about the challenges facing the Congo Basin and the paths African countries should take to address them. The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Mongabay: During the Africa Forward Summit, France announced that it would sign agreements with several African countries generating up to 23 billion euros ($26.7 billion) in investments. These investments will target climate and energy transition sectors, among others. What do you think about this? Lee…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - In an interview with Mongabay, the former Gabon environment minister Lee White makes the case that the Congo Basin should be treated as “critical national infrastructure” to be protected for Africa’s future water and climate security. - He also defends nuclear energy as a “necessary evil” to generate the energy that Africa needs while avoiding catastrophic climate and water crises across the continent. - White says weak governance, not mining itself, is the main driver of environmental destruction linked to mineral extraction. - He criticizes the current carbon finance system, saying developed countries failed to honor their pledges to pay developing ones like Gabon for protecting their forests. authors: | ||
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China solar exports hit all-time record in March as Africa, Asia demand jumps 25 May 2026 10:03:23 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/china-solar-exports-hit-all-time-record-in-march-as-africa-asia-demand-jumps/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Shanna Hanbury content:encoded: China exported a record volume of solar components in March 2026, comprising photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, according to data from the Chinese customs authority analyzed by U.K.-based energy think tank Ember. The 68 gigawatts in solar capacity was a 49% increase from the previous export record, set in August 2025. Experts at Ember attributed the recent surge in demand to rising fossil fuel prices due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and China ending tax rebates for clean technology from April 1, which resulted in a 9% cost hike on solar panels from the country. “The volumes exported are absolutely gigantic,” Euan Graham, senior analyst at Ember, told Climate Home News. “We will see over the coming months how much of that was linked to the tax rebate and how much of that is additional demand.” Graph by Andrés Alegría/Mongabay. The solar exports of 68 GW were double the amount exported the previous month, and equivalent to Spain’s entire solar energy capacity. In March 2026, 50 countries set all-time records for Chinese solar imports. African nations were among the countries whose demand for solar components surged. Nigeria’s demand in March 2026 was 519% higher than in February 2026, a total of 1.2 GW. Ethiopia imported 1.1 GW, up 391% from February. Map by Andrés Alegría/Mongabay. Several African nations have been rapidly expanding their solar energy capacity over recent years, as the continent hosts around 60% of the world’s best solar potential. The Central African Republic already generates more than…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: China exported a record volume of solar components in March 2026, comprising photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, according to data from the Chinese customs authority analyzed by U.K.-based energy think tank Ember. The 68 gigawatts in solar capacity was a 49% increase from the previous export record, set in August 2025. Experts at Ember attributed […] authors: | ||
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In India’s Nagaland, communities turn to Indigenous law to protect pangolins 25 May 2026 09:48:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-indias-nagaland-communities-turn-to-indigenous-law-to-protect-pangolins/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: To protect pangolins in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, conservationists are turning to community-driven customary laws, reports contributor Kasturi Das for Mongabay India. In February this year, the United Sangtam Likhum Pumji (USLP), the apex tribal body of the Sangtam Naga community, passed a resolution banning pangolin hunting in 42 villages in Nagaland’s Kiphire district. Village councils are responsible for enforcement, and customary courts will handle violations. Pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, are protected under national laws in India, which prohibits hunting. However, enforcement is challenging in states like Nagaland, where land and resource management is largely governed by local customary laws. Monesh Tomar, assistant manager at the conservation group Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), told Mongabay India that many communities there aren’t fully aware of the national laws. Moreover, officials and community members frequently belong to the same social networks, making enforcement difficult, he said. Traditionally, pangolin hunting in parts of Nagaland was driven by cultural beliefs. “Our forefathers would say that if a pangolin enters a house, it was considered a bad omen or curse,” L. Kipitong Sangtam, 61, a Kiphire resident and member of the USLP, told Mongabay India. “In the past, if someone encountered a pangolin, they would try to catch and kill it, sometimes by digging it out of its burrow.” Now, hunting is mostly for local demand for meat and scales to make ornaments, according to Mukesh Thakur, wildlife forensic expert with the Zoological Survey of India. Pangolin scales are also targeted…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: To protect pangolins in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, conservationists are turning to community-driven customary laws, reports contributor Kasturi Das for Mongabay India. In February this year, the United Sangtam Likhum Pumji (USLP), the apex tribal body of the Sangtam Naga community, passed a resolution banning pangolin hunting in 42 villages in Nagaland’s Kiphire […] authors: | ||
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Great Koala National Park tests whether protected forests can stay connected 25 May 2026 05:27:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/great-koala-national-park-tests-whether-protected-forests-can-stay-connected/ author: Shreya Dasgupta dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The case for Australia’s new Great Koala National Park rests on a practical point: koalas need more than scattered trees. They need connected habitat that can support populations over time. The national park, planned for the state of New South Wales, is meant to link fragmented eucalyptus forests along the east coast, giving koalas a better chance to disperse, feed, and breed. It would also protect habitat used by dozens of other threatened native species, reports contributor Johan Augustin for Mongabay. The park comes at a difficult time for one of Australia’s best-known animals. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) have declined as forests have been cleared, divided by roads and development, and exposed to hotter, more severe fires. In some places, the question is no longer only how much forest remains. It is whether the remaining forest still functions as habitat. That makes connectivity more than a planning concept. A patch of forest can look useful on a map while being too isolated to sustain a local population. Corridors between forest remnants allow animals to move as food, shelter and climate conditions change. For koalas, which depend on particular eucalypt species, that movement can help determine whether a local population persists. The park will also test what protection means in practice. Conservationists have welcomed the proposal, while warning that logging pressure, development, land-use loopholes, and weak enforcement could limit its effect. A park declared on…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The case for Australia’s new Great Koala National Park rests on a practical point: koalas need more than scattered trees. They need connected habitat that can support populations over time. The national park, planned for the state of […] authors: | ||
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The most underfunded climate opportunities may be at sea 25 May 2026 00:45:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-most-underfunded-climate-opportunities-may-be-at-sea/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: Ocean philanthropy remains a small field. Funding directed specifically toward ocean-climate solutions is smaller still. At last week’s “Sea Change” panel on ocean-climate solutions in Asia, convened as part of the Philanthropy Asia Summit, the discussion kept returning to this mismatch: the ocean is central to the climate transition, yet ocean-climate philanthropy remains a rounding error in global giving. Ocean-climate philanthropy’s funding gap The numbers are stark: Less than 1.5% of global philanthropic giving goes to climate mitigation. About 0.25% goes to ocean issues. At the intersection of the two, the figure is roughly 0.05%. That is a narrow base of support for work that touches power generation, shipping, food systems, coastal protection, marine biodiversity, and the future of many island and coastal economies. The ocean has long been treated by funders primarily as a conservation concern. Grants have supported marine protected areas, fisheries management, coastal livelihoods, scientific research, and habitat protection. Much of that work remains essential. It has helped create institutions, protect places, and improve the management of fisheries and reefs. Climate change is now the force most likely to overwhelm many of those gains. Warming, acidification, rising seas, stronger storms, and shifting fish stocks are changing the conditions under which ocean conservation operates. Foundation Funding for Ocean-Climate (2015–2024). Foundation ocean-climate funding shown here is inclusive of all mitigation and sequestration-focused funding, including cross-cutting policy work. Funding to blue carbon is included in this chart as a sequestration strategy. Labels represent 2024 funding amounts. Graphic from “Funding Trends…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - At the Philanthropy Asia Summit’s “Sea Change” panel on ocean-climate solutions in Asia, speakers highlighted a mismatch between the ocean’s importance to the climate transition and the tiny share of philanthropic funding directed to ocean-climate work. - Ocean philanthropy has long focused on conservation, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods, but climate change is now threatening many of those gains while also making the ocean central to mitigation through offshore wind, cleaner shipping, blue carbon, and coastal resilience. - Philanthropy cannot finance offshore wind farms or the decarbonization of global shipping, but it can play a catalytic role by funding policy design, marine spatial planning, community engagement, technical research, coordination, and local capacity. - Some of the strongest opportunities for funders lie in Asia, where offshore wind, ports, shipbuilding, shipping routes, and coastal communities converge, and where early philanthropic support can help make large-scale transitions faster, more inclusive, and more credible. authors: | ||
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Will my president save the Amazon? (commentary) 24 May 2026 23:50:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/will-my-president-save-the-amazon-commentary/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Enrique Ortiz content:encoded: In the coming months, voters in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia will elect new presidents. Together, these three countries contain roughly 82% of the Amazon rainforest, making their elections consequential far beyond national borders. The future of the world’s largest tropical forest — and, by extension, global climate stability — will depend in large measure on the choices their citizens make at the ballot box. More than 35 million people living in the Amazon region of these countries also depend directly on those outcomes. Brazil, home to about 62% of the Amazon, offers a stark example of how presidential policies can shape the fate of the forest. The country has experienced dramatic swings in deforestation over the past two decades. While commodity prices, global markets, climate conditions, and geopolitics all play a role, government policy has often been the decisive factor. In 2004, for example, Brazil lost more than 10 million acres of Amazon forest. By 2012, stronger environmental measures had gradually reduced that loss to less than one-sixth of that level. Those efforts relied not only on stricter enforcement, but also on cooperation with agricultural and business sectors long associated with deforestation. More recent data suggest Brazil’s renewed environmental policies have again reduced forest loss by more than 30% from the previous year. Annual deforestation in the Legal Amazon (Amazonia) from 1988-2025, according to a preliminary estimate from Brazil’s national space research institute, INPE. Annual primary forest loss in the Colombian Amazon from 2002 to 2025 (hectares). Data from the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Voters in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia will soon choose presidents whose policies could shape the future of roughly 82% of the Amazon rainforest. - Environmental issues have been largely absent from recent presidential debates, even as droughts, floods, deforestation, illegal mining, and organized crime increasingly threaten public well-being and national economies. - Protecting the Amazon should be treated as an economic, social, and public health priority, argues Peruvian American ecologist Enrique Ortiz, because the forest helps sustain water supplies, food production, energy systems, and climate stability across South America. - This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. authors: | ||
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Mike Salisbury, wildlife filmmaker who made plants behave like characters, has died, aged 84 23 May 2026 23:28:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/mike-salisbury-wildlife-filmmaker-who-made-plants-behave-like-characters-has-died-aged-84/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: To Mike Salisbury, patience was not a virtue so much as a working method. Lions did not hunt on cue. Plants did not move at a human pace. Polar bears did not respect production schedules, or much else. The task was to wait, improvise, and find a way to show television audiences that the natural world was stranger, livelier and more intricate than they had thought. Salisbury, who died on May 13th aged 84, spent more than four decades turning that patience into television. His route into that work was suitably unpolished, according to an obituary in The Guardian. He did not go to university. He worked as a mechanic with Voluntary Service Overseas in Africa, where he developed his interest in photography. Back in Britain, he pressed the BBC for a chance until Horizon gave him a brief research opening. He worked first on Parkinson, then on science documentaries, before moving to Bristol and the BBC’s Natural History Unit. There he found the place where persistence, practicality, and curiosity could become a career. His breakthrough came with Life on Earth, David Attenborough’s 1979 account of evolution. Salisbury helped produce some of its most memorable sequences, including a lion hunt that had defeated him once before. He went back and got it. That became part of his reputation: not bluster, but refusal to be beaten by weather, animals, equipment or logistics. In 1985 he made Kingdom of the Ice Bear, filmed in Arctic conditions that tested both people and kit.…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Mike Salisbury helped shape modern wildlife television through landmark BBC series including Life on Earth, The Private Life of Plants, The Life of Birds, The Life of Mammals and Life in the Undergrowth. - His work depended on patience, persistence and technical ingenuity, whether filming lions, polar bears, plants or insects. - He helped make plants and other overlooked forms of life compelling on screen, using time-lapse and other techniques to reveal behavior most viewers had never noticed. - Colleagues remembered him not only for his determination and talent, but also for his warmth, humor, generosity and mentorship of younger filmmakers. authors: | ||
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West Asia conflict brings Norwegian marine research vessel back to Sri Lanka 23 May 2026 16:53:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/west-asia-conflict-brings-norwegian-marine-research-vessel-back-to-sri-lanka/ author: Dilrukshi Handunnetti dc:creator: Malaka Rodrigo content:encoded: COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s marine research efforts have benefited in a rare instance where geopolitical unrest owing to the ongoing conflict in West Asia created an unexpected scientific opportunity. A United Nations-flagged Norwegian research vessel Fridtjof Nansen was redirected to Sri Lankan waters after security concerns forced the cancellation of a planned survey in Oman, giving the country a second chance to conduct a long-awaited study of its marine ecosystems and fishery resources. The Norwegian research vessel was originally scheduled to carry out a marine survey in the Sri Lankan waters last year as part of its planned scientific program. However, delays in granting national approvals meant the expedition could not proceed as intended. The vessel canceled the Sri Lanka leg of the voyage scheduled for 2025, an important opportunity lost in marine research efforts. The Nansen Program is a long-running international marine research initiative led by the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO) of the United Nations in partnership with Norway. Established in 1975, it operates through the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen, named after Norwegian explorer, scientist and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his extraordinary humanitarian work during the First World War. This longheaded eagle ray (Aetobatus flagellum) was caught by a sampling net. Image courtesy of Cruising with Dr. Fridtjof Nansen Facebook group. The Nansen missions survey marine ecosystems in developing countries to support sustainable fisheries management combining oceanographic research, fisheries stock assessment, and ecosystem monitoring while building scientific capacity in…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - The West Asia conflict unexpectedly redirected Norway’s state-of-the-arts Fridtjof Nansen research vessel to Sri Lanka after a planned survey in Oman was disrupted. - The month-long expedition surveyed Sri Lanka’s marine ecosystems, fish stocks biodiversity and ocean conditions using advanced acoustic and oceanographic methods. - Scientists documented around 800 species, including about 125 that may be new records from Sri Lankan waters, along with a few species that could be new to science, pending further detailed analysis of the collected specimens. - The survey revived a previously cancelled mission due to approval delays and offered Sri Lankan researchers some rare hands-on training aboard the United Nations-flagged research vessel. authors: | ||
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Why are people buying pet ants? 23 May 2026 05:39:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/05/why-are-people-buying-pet-ants/ author: Sam Lee dc:creator: Abhishyant Kidangoor content:encoded: Move over cats and dogs. There’s a new hot favorite pet in town: ants. More and more people are raising pet ants around the world. They are small, low-maintenance and display complex behaviors that fascinate humans. But this fascination is leading to a bigger issue: an underground global trade of ants. Wild ants are now popping up in places where they are not supposed to. This trade could have serious environmental and financial repercussions, and is also making pet ants very expensive. In the latest episode of Mongabay Explains, we look at why people are obsessed with pet ants and why these insects are costing a fortune. Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions and topics that matter to you. Are there any inspiring people, urgent issues, or local stories that you’d like us to cover? We want to hear from you. Be a part of our reporting process—get in touch with us here! Banner image: Collage, Giant African Harvester Ant. Lab-made jaguar: Is cloning a solution to extinction?This article was originally published on Mongabay description: Move over cats and dogs. There’s a new hot favorite pet in town: ants. More and more people are raising pet ants around the world. They are small, low-maintenance and display complex behaviors that fascinate humans. But this fascination is leading to a bigger issue: an underground global trade of ants. Wild ants are now […] authors: | ||
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Rhino-poaching suspect, repeatedly freed on bail, shot dead in South Africa 23 May 2026 02:29:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rhino-poaching-suspect-repeatedly-freed-on-bail-shot-dead-in-south-africa/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Spoorthy Raman content:encoded: A former South African police officer who became a notorious alleged rhino-poaching kingpin has been killed by unknown gunmen, police announced. Joseph “Big Joe” Nyalungu was shot dead at his office in the town of Mkhuhlu, near Kruger National Park, at around 2:30 p.m. on May 16, according to authorities. It was the second attempt on his life in eight days. He survived the first attack despite being reportedly shot in the shoulder, stomach and thigh. Nyalungu, 62, faced multiple charges related to rhino poaching and trafficking, kidnapping and murder, as well as money laundering and unlawful possession of firearms and explosives. He was arrested at least five times between 2010 and 2024, though he was never convicted of any crimes during that time. His latest arrest came in October 2024, when police found explosives in his offices. At the time of his death, he was reportedly out on bail of 20,000 rand (about $1,140 at the exchange rate at the time), with investigations into his alleged illegal activities ongoing. Police said they haven’t identified the gunmen and are still investigating the motive behind the killing. Nyalungu was declared dead at the scene. Conservationists say the only way to save rhinos from is by creating stronger deterrents through tougher sentences for poaching and trafficking. Image by Thomas D. Mangelsen. ‘Too kind of a death’ Nyalungu was accused of poaching rhinos in the Greater Kruger Area, said Jamie Joseph, director of the South African NGO Saving the Wild. Joseph has tracked…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Alleged rhino-poaching kingpin Joseph “Big Joe” Nyalungu was shot dead by unknown assailants on May 16 near South Africa’s Kruger National Park, following a failed attempt on his life eight days earlier. - Nyalungu, a former police officer, faced more than 40 counts of rhino horn trafficking from 2016-2019 alone, and was allegedly responsible for killing thousands of rhinos in South Africa’s Greater Kruger Area. - He had been arrested multiple times, dating back to at least 2011, and faced charges related to murder, kidnapping, money laundering and unlawful possession of firearms and explosives used in poaching — though he was never convicted and was released on bail each time. - Conservationists say the country’s justice system failed to effectively prosecute him and call for reforms in the country’s laws to save the remaining rhinos from poaching. authors: | ||
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Kenyan communities protest planned nuclear plant near Lake Victoria 22 May 2026 21:47:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/kenyan-communities-protest-planned-nuclear-plant-near-lake-victoria/ author: Bobbybascomb dc:creator: Elodie Toto content:encoded: On May 21, residents of Sakwa, in southeastern Kenya, gathered to protest the government’s plan to install a nuclear power plant near their homes, along Lake Victoria. Sakwa, in Siaya County, is home to the Luo tribe and lies along the shores of Africa’s largest freshwater lake, which Kenya shares with Uganda and Tanzania. In late March 2026 during the International Conference on Nuclear Energy, Kenyan President William Ruto announced the construction of a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the area. There is currently no information about the plan available on the national Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) website. However, Ruto said construction would begin next year, and the plant is expected to start producing electricity by 2034. “No country in the world has ever achieved its development ambitions without adequate and reliable energy,” Ruto said. He also stressed nuclear energy is considered by the United Nations to be a low-carbon source of energy and integral to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “The integration of nuclear energy into our national grid therefore represents a strategic transition towards securing a stable long-term solution for Kenya’s rising electricity demand,” he said. In his speech, Ruto said he had already consulted residents of Siaya County and suggested that local communities supported the project. However, the recent protest indicates the reality on the ground is quite different. Additionally, a petition against the project launched in April gathered more than 400 signatures before being submitted to NuPEA and the county governor. Mongabay reviewed…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: On May 21, residents of Sakwa, in southeastern Kenya, gathered to protest the government’s plan to install a nuclear power plant near their homes, along Lake Victoria. Sakwa, in Siaya County, is home to the Luo tribe and lies along the shores of Africa’s largest freshwater lake, which Kenya shares with Uganda and Tanzania. In […] authors: | ||
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‘Corporate capture’ of critical minerals risks repeating DRC’s extractive past, warns indigenous leader 22 May 2026 20:46:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/corporate-capture-of-critical-minerals-risks-repeating-drcs-extractive-past-warns-indigenous-leader/ author: Malavikavyawahare dc:creator: David Akana content:encoded: The global rush for minerals needed for the green energy transition risks repeating the same old extractive patterns that have long left communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo bearing the costs while others reap the benefits, a lawmaker from the country warns. Robert Agenong’a, a civil society leader and also politician from the Ituri Province, spoke to Mongabay at a major international cobalt meeting in Madrid earlier this month. He criticized what he described as the growing “corporate capture” of the country’s critical minerals sector. He said discussions at the May 13-15 conference — hosted by the U.K.-based Cobalt Institute and sponsored by mining giants Glencore, IXM and CMOC Group Limited, among others — focused heavily on securing cobalt supplies for electric vehicles and clean energy markets, while giving far less attention to the environmental and social fallout in mining areas. Robert Agenong’a, an Indigenous politician and civil society leader from Ituri Province in northeastern DRC. Photo courtesy of Robert Agenong’a. Previous Mongabay reporting has highlighted the severe impacts of mining on local communities, particularly on the health and well-being of women and youth. “The concern is that everyone is interested in getting Congolese cobalt to the world market because it is of very high quality,” Agenong’a said. “But nobody pays attention to the environmental harms, the social impacts, and the communities’ grievances.” A miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. Image by Electronics Watch via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0). The DRC produces roughly 70% of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - From May 13-15, the Cobalt Institute, a London-based organization, hosted a conference in Madrid to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the cobalt industry. - Cobalt has emerged as a critical mineral in the global transition to green energy: widely used in electric vehicles, smartphones and battery technologies, about 70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo. - Robert Agenong’a, an Indigenous politician and civil society leader from Ituri Province in northeastern DRC, near the border with Uganda, attended the Madrid conference to better understand how multinational corporations are positioning themselves within the country’s rapidly expanding critical minerals sector. He criticized the conference as an example of “corporate capture,” where the business interests of the mining sector dominate. - “The concern is that everyone is interested in getting Congolese cobalt to the world market because it is of very high quality,” he said. “But nobody pays attention to the environmental harms, the social impacts, and the communities’ grievances.” authors: | ||
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Givaldo Santos, Kaiowá and Guarani leader, was killed on May 1st, aged 40 22 May 2026 19:46:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/givaldo-santos-kaiowa-and-guarani-leader-was-killed-on-may-1st-aged-40/ author: Rhett Butler dc:creator: Rhett Ayers Butler content:encoded: The MS-289 runs through the Taquaperi Reserve in southern Mato Grosso do Sul, between Coronel Sapucaia and Amambai. For the Kaiowá and Guarani, it is both a road and a reminder of the land disputes that have shaped life there for generations. It passes through territory where thousands of indigenous people live crowded into a reserve established nearly a century ago, while many of their traditional lands remain outside its boundaries. Violence has long accompanied these disputes. Over the past two decades, Kaiowá and Guarani communities have endured killings, threats, evictions, and recurring confrontations linked to efforts to reclaim ancestral territories. The conflicts have stretched across generations of leaders, officials, ranchers and judges. One of those leaders was Givaldo Santos. On the evening of May 1st, he was waiting for his brother near a bus stop inside the Taquaperi Reserve, between Coronel Sapucaia and Amambai. According to witnesses, two armed men arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire. He was hit several times and died before help could reach him. He was 40 years old. He left behind a wife and five children. Santos served as vice-chief of the Kaiowá and Guarani community in Taquaperi. Those who knew him struggled to explain the attack. Residents said he had no known personal enemies and had not reported receiving threats. The circumstances of the killing led many in the community to suspect it was an execution. Investigations remain ongoing. His responsibilities included representing families before authorities, helping organize community responses to disputes…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - Givaldo Santos, vice-chief of the Kaiowá and Guarani community in Taquaperi, was shot dead on May 1st inside the Taquaperi Reserve. - His killing came amid longstanding land disputes, overcrowding in the reserve, and recent police operations linked to contested territory. - Santos had reportedly been seeking accountability after a collision on the same highway killed two Indigenous people, including a 12-year-old boy. - He leaves behind a wife, five children, and a community still seeking answers about his death. authors: | ||
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World Turtle Day: Important conservation wins amid turtle extinction crisis 22 May 2026 15:59:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/world-turtle-day-important-conservation-wins-amid-turtle-extinction-crisis/ author: Shanna Hanbury dc:creator: Mongabay.com content:encoded: World Turtle Day is celebrated every May 23 to raise awareness about the threats faced by turtles and tortoises. Turtles, tortoises and terrapins, which together make up the order Testudines, have evolved over millions of years, dating back to the Triassic period. However, recent reports show that more than half of the world’s 359 turtle and tortoise species now face extinction. They have outlived dinosaurs and survived multiple ice ages, but they can’t evolve quickly enough to keep up with human pressures, including climate change, researchers have concluded. The IUCN has logged a total of 68 turtle, terrapin and tortoise species that are critically endangered. One of the most endangered, the Burmese roofed turtle (Batagur trivittata), is estimated to have just 10 mature individuals left in the wild. However, this past year was not all bad news. Floreana giant tortoises (Chelonoidis niger niger), were once believed extinct after disappearing from Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands roughly 180 years ago. In February, they returned to Floreana Island thanks to a long-running breeding program using tortoises from another island that still carried Floreana tortoise DNA. In addition, green turtles (Chelonia mydas), whose range is global, were moved from the endangered list to least concern after its population increased by around 28% since the 1970s. In Mexico, a massive turtle trafficking bust in November 2025 put more than 2,300 live, wild-caught freshwater turtles back on the path to living freely. The month-long police operation was launched after 55 critically endangered Vallarta mud turtles (Kinosternon vogti), the world’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: World Turtle Day is celebrated every May 23 to raise awareness about the threats faced by turtles and tortoises. Turtles, tortoises and terrapins, which together make up the order Testudines, have evolved over millions of years, dating back to the Triassic period. However, recent reports show that more than half of the world’s 359 turtle […] authors: | ||
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In Kyrgyzstan, a climate-ready corridor gives snow leopards and herders room to roam 22 May 2026 15:19:51 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-kyrgyzstan-a-climate-ready-corridor-gives-snow-leopards-and-herders-room-to-roam/ author: Sharon Guynup dc:creator: Liz Kimbrough content:encoded: Snow leopards haunt the rocky ridgelines of Central Asia, vanishing into terrain so rugged that researchers rarely catch more than a brief glimpse on camera traps. Locals call them “ghosts of the mountains.” Their elusive nature, paired with the remote landscapes the cats inhabit, make them notoriously difficult to count. An estimated 3,500 to 7,500 snow leopards (Panthera uncia) remain across 12 countries. The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, lists the species as vulnerable to extinction. Kyrgyzstan, where the snow leopard is a national symbol, is thought to be home to around 300. Now, a stretch of high-altitude terrain in central Kyrgyzstan has been stitched into an ecological corridor linking several of the country’s protected areas. The Ak Ilbirs corridor covers roughly 800,000 hectares (nearly 2 million acres) of pastureland, forest and other ecosystems across 14 rural municipalities. Ak ilbirs translates to “white leopard” in Kyrgyz. A snow leopard (Panthera uncia) caught on camera trap by Ilbirs Foundation. Set up in 2025, it’s the first corridor in the region designed with the future climate in mind, project officials say. People still live, herd and work inside it, and the rules are built around them as much as around the wildlife. “Projects like this are good for hope, because you can see changes at the policy level and changes in people’s mindsets on the ground,” Maarten Hofman, associate program management officer at the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), told Mongabay in a video call. “You can see people from many backgrounds…This article was originally published on Mongabay description: - A stretch of high-altitude terrain in central Kyrgyzstan has been officially designated as the Ak Ilbirs ecological corridor, connecting protected areas to give snow leopards and other wildlife room to move as climate change alters their habitat. - Unlike typical protected areas, the corridor allows herding, forestry and other land uses to continue under a monitoring system that tracks compliance with grazing rules and other requirements. - Designed using climate models projected through 2070, the corridor captures more than 60% of suitable habitat for snow leopards, argali sheep, Asiatic ibex and gray wolves. - To ease pressure on pastures, local NGOs are training herders in alternative livelihoods, such as beekeeping and fruit and vegetable cultivation, while volunteer rangers monitor wildlife and watch for illegal activity. authors: | ||
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