WORLD RAINFOREST

New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches (Oct 4 2024)
Researchers in Brazil are lobbying to register archaeological sites as national monuments, which would confer a new layer of protection status to parts of the rainforest.

Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate (Oct 3 2024)
For the Indigenous Vungu people living along the border of Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, the forest here has long been a source of traditional medicines. So when researchers set out to determine the bioactive properties of plants consumed by the park’s western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and which the Vungu also use for medicine, […]

In Madagascar, Taniala Regenerative Camp aims to heal deforestation scars (Oct 3 2024)
The Menabe Antimena Protected Area in midwestern Madagascar is badly scarred by deforestation; farmers from the surrounding communities have encroached on this unique dry forest ecosystem in search of new and fertile land to grow crops like maize and peanuts. But amid the damage, in the village of Lambokely, is a carefully tended exception. Roland […]

EU considers postponing anti-deforestation law as pressure from agro-industry mounts (Oct 3 2024)
An ambitious anti-deforestation law in the EU could be delayed for at least a year following pressure from foreign governments and producers, who said they were struggling to meet upcoming deadlines for the new trade regulation. The EU deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR) was scheduled to go into force on January 1, requiring exporters to prove […]

‘Old ladies’ against underwater garbage and the Zen of trash picking (Oct 3 2024)
In August, a group of self-described “old ladies” fished out a toilet bowl from a pond in Massachusetts, U.S., and have gained local fame since then. The group is named Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG), and so far, they’ve cleaned up 18 ponds, removing everything from tires and beer bottles to the bright blue […]

Follow the prey: How servals adapt to an industrialized landscape (Oct 3 2024)
Why did the serval go to the petrochemical complex? For the refinery rodents, of course. These swift and slender wildcats that call the marshes and reedbeds of sub-Saharan Africa home have a penchant for rats and mice, though they’ll also feed on a mix of birds, insects and reptiles. But for their preferred prey, they’ll […]

Past failures can’t stop Indonesia from clearing forests, Indigenous lands for farms (Oct 3 2024)
JAKARTA — Indigenous Papuans say they’ve been caught off guard by helicopters flying over their villages and excavators tearing down their forests in their area, all while accompanied by the Indonesian military. What they’re being subjected to is one of the largest deforestation projects in the world, which will see the development of 1 million […]

In Ecuador, booming profits in small-scale gold mining reveal a tainted industry – investigation (Oct 3 2024)
About a quarter of Ecuador’s gold exports from small-scale mining in 2023 originated from just three companies: Rockgolden, Rocadorada and Soul Metals. Their exports of $268 million in gold just to the United Arab Emirates and India was about 20 times more than the same trade the year before. A months-long investigation of their activities […]

For ranchers in Costa Rica, jaguars and pumas become unexpected allies (Oct 3 2024)
In February this year, a jaguar walked onto Wagner Durán’s family ranch, located near Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica, and, in an unusual event, killed a calf. This area has the highest density of jaguars in Costa Rica, so it wasn’t unusual for that reason. What made it stand out was that it was […]

Cost-benefit analysis exposes ‘bogus’ promises of palm oil riches for Papuans (Oct 3 2024)
JAKARTA — A study by an Indonesian NGO challenges government claims that oil palm cultivation is a driver of economic welfare and development, showing that the environmental and social damage from plantations in the country’s Papua region vastly outweigh any benefits. Researchers at the Pusaka Bentala Rakyat Foundation carried out a cost-benefit analysis to determine […]

Bangladesh’s new government implements strong measures to eliminate single-use plastic (Oct 2 2024)
The newly formed government in Bangladesh is about to implement the existing law regarding plastic usage by strictly banning — initially — single-use plastic and, gradually, all possible plastic uses. Civil society members formed the current non-political government on Aug. 8, 2024, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet left the country on […]

Across reforestation organizations, best practices claims abound, but details are scarce (Oct 2 2024)
Growing global interest in tree planting as a climate solution has prompted an influx of inexperienced organizations with opaque strategies, leading to numerous failures and unintended negative consequences. Awareness of this issue has inspired many reforestation organizations to follow best practices to ensure tree-planting initiatives achieve their goals. Still, far fewer report in detail the […]

In the battle against plastic pollution, Asia’s informal workers are critical allies (commentary) (Oct 2 2024)
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, a waste worker from Binh Dinh, Vietnam, has worked in the waste collection industry for four decades. She has spent every day at the landfill – her home and source of income – since she was a child. Like many developing economies in the region, Vietnam has limited household waste separation. […]

UK & Dutch banks invest $55 million in controversial Cerrado tree farms (Oct 2 2024)
The U.K. government and Dutch development bank FMO committed $55 million toward commercial tree plantations primarily in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna. The agreement, announced Sep. 24, was struck with Latin America’s largest investment bank, BTG Pactual, through its forestry project, the Timberland Investment Group (TIG). However, Mongabay investigations have raised concerns about the project. The reforestation […]

Controversial US marine geoengineering test delayed until next year (Oct 2 2024)
A controversial experiment to field-test a way to quickly sequester more carbon in the world’s oceans has been pushed back until 2025, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The LOC-NESS project, headed by WHOI, had planned to disseminate 20 metric tons of sodium hydroxide (commonly known as lye) along with tracer dye into […]

‘Mermaids’ dive to study and protect Mexican fishing grounds (Oct 2 2024)
Esmeralda Albañez used to be afraid of the sea. Just thinking about it would conjure up images of darkness, of how deep and unknown it was to her. Coming from a family of fishers and having grown up on Isla Natividad, in Baja California Sur, Mexico, it was clear that there was a connection between […]

Third edition of Satellites for Biodiversity Award opens for applications (Oct 2 2024)
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation have announced the third edition of the Satellites for Biodiversity Award, which aims to encourage the use of cutting-edge satellite data to monitor and protect biodiversity. The two organizations have called for applications from individuals as well as nonprofit organizations around the world that use satellite imagery […]

High CO2 levels are greening the world’s drylands, but is that good news? (Oct 1 2024)
The increased concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times isn’t just driving climate change — it’s also making much of the world’s drylands greener with increased plant growth. This is known as the CO2 fertilization effect, and politicians sometimes cite it to rhetorically downplay the negative global impacts of climate change, saying it’s […]

Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns (Oct 1 2024)
The environmental risks of dredging include ecosystem disruption, increased erosion, water contamination, and harm to aquatic species such as manatees and river dolphins.

Patent filings help scientists predict patterns in wildlife trade (Oct 1 2024)
Economists have long made the case that regulations foster greater innovation by business players. This apparently also applies to businesses involved in the wildlife trade, new research suggests. In their recently published study, researchers from the University of Oxford in the U.K. found that stricter regulations haven’t led to a reduction in patents filed for […]

In the Pacific depths, an underwater mountain hosts a bonanza of new species (Oct 1 2024)
Flying spaghetti monsters, Casper octopus, and a fish that looks like a Muppet are just a few of the rare creatures found on a previously unknown underwater mountain off the coast of Chile. During ocean expeditions in the Southeast Pacific this year, scientists found an underwater wonderland, including more than 100 potentially new-to-science species. “We […]

NGOs say EU Commission must act on Greece oil activity in whale habitat (Oct 1 2024)
Environmental NGOs are urging the European Commission to pursue their complaint about Greece’s approval of offshore oil and gas concessions in a crucial habitat for whales, after the executive body previously said the matter did not need it’s intervention. “The Greek state is persistently avoiding carrying out the required assessments on marine biodiversity and marine […]

Social media influencers’ bad behavior with marine wildlife is risky for animals, too (commentary) (Oct 1 2024)
Many of us have likely come across that viral video on social media – a young woman touching the back of a large, possibly pregnant, great white shark, swimming alongside it for about 10 seconds. The woman in question, Ocean Ramsey, has two million followers on Instagram and has been capturing attention by demonstrating that […]

Celestún refuge fights illegal fishing & helps revive species in Mexico’s Yucatán (Oct 1 2024)
A decade ago, the overfishing of sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) was the center of controversy in Celestún, a small community in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Extraction of the coveted species allowed local fishers to grow but also attracted ambitious businessmen and illegal fishing. Yanely Jasaai May, a biologist from the community, said violence broke […]

S. Korea dune merchant, 72, held over sand mining in Indonesia mangrove forest (Sep 30 2024)
MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities have arrested a 72-year-old South Korean national for allegedly running a sand quarrying operation in a protected forest area in West Sulawesi province. The incident marks a rare instance of a foreign citizen charged with environmental crimes in the world’s largest archipelagic country. The operation involved multiple agencies, including the […]

Canada’s 2023 wildfires doubled the previous burning record (Sep 30 2024)
Canada’s 2023 wildfire season was the worst in the nation’s history. More than 15 million hectares (37 million acres), an area roughly the size of Ireland, burned between April and October, a new study found. The ferocity of the fires was fueled by unusually hot and dry conditions across the boreal forest, which spans much […]

Ever-smarter consumer electronics push world toward environmental brink (Sep 30 2024)
In recent decades, the electronics industry experienced meteoric growth as it swiftly invented and marketed a galaxy of novel products for consumers hungry for the next innovation, better performance and greater convenience. In 2024, the consumer electronics market alone is expected to top $809 billion, exceeding $1.4 trillion by 2034. But there’s a dark side […]

In Mexico, scientists race to save Marietas Islands’ corals from ocean warming (Sep 30 2024)
The corals of the Marietas Islands, a pair of small islands in Mexico’s Pacific Ocean, have survived record-high temperatures and uncontrolled tourism triggered by the sudden international fame of “the beach of love,” a picture-perfect quarry where people like to take selfies. Today, the corals of Islas Marietas National Park, created in 2005, are recovering […]

Cambodian environment minister bans logging at tycoon’s Cardamoms hydropower project (Sep 30 2024)
PHNOM PENH — In a rare move to combat forest crimes, Cambodian Environment Minister Eang Sophalleth on Sept. 2 banned all forest clearance at the site of a dam project in the country’s southwest. The ban came after multiple incidents of illegal logging inside a protected area were reported, including by Mongabay, in connection to the […]

The Amazon is ablaze again. What it means for us (commentary) (Sep 30 2024)
In 2019, the world watched in horror as images of the Amazon rainforest ablaze flooded the news. Over 70,000 wildfires raged uncontrollably, killing wildlife, filling hospitals with patients struggling to breathe, polluting rivers, halting air traffic, and casting a dark pall over Brazil’s largest cities. And now, it’s happening again. Climate change is no longer […]

Canine distemper likely infecting & killing Nepal’s leopards, study shows (Sep 29 2024)
KATHMANDU — Canine distemper virus is likely circulating among Nepal’s common leopards (Panthera pardus), causing deaths, according to a recent genetic study that also traced the virus lineage in deceased individuals across the country. While a previous study established that leopards had been exposed to the virus, evidenced by antibodies to CDV found in the […]

Brazil’s race to approve the end of the Amazon: The BR-319 highway needs a new environmental impact assessment (commentary) (Sep 28 2024)
The proposed reconstruction of Brazil’s BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho) highway (Figure 1) needs a new environmental impact assessment (EIA). No rational decision can be made on going ahead with this project without considering all its major impacts, and everything points to the project being a monumental disaster for the environment, among other negative effects (see here […]