Smallholders offer mixed reactions to calls for delay in EU deforestation law
Smallholder farmers’ views on a proposed delay to a key EU forest conservation law remain mixed as the union’s Parliament is set to vote on a decision Nov. 13 and…
With rare mammal tourism, observing means conserving (commentary)
At the turn of this century, seeing a wild jaguar was exceptionally difficult. People driving through the Jaguar Ecological Reserve in the Pantanal in Brazil would very occasionally get a…
Evolution of the Pan Amazon in the post-Jesuit era
Because of their privileged status as a transnational religious institution and their allegiance to the pope, the Jesuits enjoyed considerable autonomy from both the Spanish and Portuguese crowns. This status…
Defending the hidden forest gems of Zambia’s Copperbelt Province
MPONGWE, Zambia – The Chimfuneme swamp forest in central Zambia’s Copperbelt province got its name — which means “hiding place” in the local language, Lamba — long ago when strife…
New brown bear ‘stronghold’ in Nepal redraws species’ range map
KATHMANDU — Researchers have discovered brown bears in a part of Nepal not previously known to host the species, prompting a call to protect this area as a bear “stronghold.”…
In Colombia, guerrilla groups decide the fate of the Amazon
Colombia President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022 with ambitious plans to combat climate change and lead a clean energy transition — a major challenge for a country that has…
JBS broke its own rules while buying cattle from deforested areas in Pantanal
JBS, the world's largest meatpacking company, has over the last five years been buying cattle from farms that were caught illegally deforesting Brazil's Pantanal wetlands despite the company's claims of environmental responsibility.
China’s plans to trace wildlife trade risks inflaming trafficking, critics warn
Chinese authorities are considering changes to wildlife trade regulations that govern the live trade in 18 parrot and reptile species, several of which are gravely threatened by poaching and illegal…
Canopy bridges serve a lifeline for Sumatra’s tree-dwelling primates
JAKARTA — In Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, conservation groups and authorities have built canopy bridges that stitch back together primate habitat, including for orangutans, that were fragmented by roads over…
NGOs, officials trade blame as Malaysian forest conservation project is scrapped
With an internationally backed project to protect core forest in Malaysia’s Sarawak state now quashed at the request of the state’s forest department, both NGOs and Sarawak forestry officials cite…
COP16: ‘A fund unlike any other’ will pay tropical nations to save forests
CALI, Colombia — The hunger for new, reliable forms of finance to save biodiverse forests in developing tropical countries was palpable here at a jam-packed event during the COP16 United…
As Nepal counts its snow leopards, even the best estimate is still a guess
KATHMANDU — Scientists and government officials have embarked on the uphill task of coming up with a number, or even just a range, for the population of snow leopards in…
Colombia decree recognizes Indigenous people as environmental authorities
Indigenous peoples in Colombia have been granted the authority to protect, manage and conserve biodiversity within their territories according to their knowledge. On Oct. 15, Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued…
For Tanzania’s Maasai, adapting to climate change may mean less livestock, more trees
The village of Terrat, a settlement of around 14,000 people in the semiarid grassland and acacia forests of the Maasai Steppe, is one of many across northern Tanzania that has…
Inclusive tracking and recognition of area-based conservation helps people & planet (commentary)
To help address the biodiversity crisis, momentum has been gaining around establishing and tracking protected areas (PAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to achieve 30-by-30, the conserving of…
‘Glimmers of promise’ for 30×30 goal as UN report calls for boosted efforts
In December 2022, nearly 200 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, committing to protect 30% of Earth's lands and waters by 2030. Now, two years into this initiative, a…
NGOs ask to include Brazilian Cerrado in the EUDR at next review
As it stands, about 74% of the Brazilian Cerrado falls outside the scope of the EU’s anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), legislation to protect forests worldwide. To avoid greater pressure on these…
Calls for caution as enhanced rock weathering shows carbon capture promise
It sounds like a simple solution: Spread some crushed silicate rock atop the world’s vast agricultural lands to absorb atmospheric carbon and thereby tackle climate change at a large scale.…
Action against forest biomass subsidies gains momentum at COP16
CALI, Colombia – For years, at annual United Nations climate summits, forest advocates eager to draw critical attention to the scientifically dubious benefits of burning forest biomass to make energy…
For DRC’s artisanal miners, promise of formalization has yielded little
Some 200,000 people work in artisanal copper and cobalt mining the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Katanga region. Most of them scrape a livelihood from the soil with manual tools, often…
In Kenya, a river restoration initiative pays for itself, and then some
NAIROBI — The water supply for Nairobi’s five million people — and four million others besides — depends on the Tana river, which flows for 1,000 km from the Aberdare…
Satellite firm Planet’s ‘biodiversity subscription’ aims to make tech accessible
Marcos Terán has worked in and around the Matos River in Bolivia for years, collecting data and collaborating with local communities as part of his organization’s conservation initiatives. Designated a…
Startups replace plastics with mushrooms in the seafood industry
Mycologists believe the solution to some of our biggest pollution issues is under our feet. Humble fungi are now being used as meat alternatives, eco-friendly leather and to help break…
Local reps should lead Nepal’s conservation education: Interview with Anil Adhikari
KATHMANDU — When discussing conservation in Nepal — home to iconic species such as the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and red panda (Ailurus fulgens) —awareness-raising…
DR Congo: environmental activist faces 5 years in prison
LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — An environmental activist in the Democratic Republic of Congo faces five years in prison over allegations that he threatened a logger allegedly engaged in…
At COP16, the ocean needs action, not more promises (commentary)
Our ocean is being hit hard by global warming. Marine heatwaves are devastating coral reefs, triggering the largest global mass bleaching event on record last year, while ocean wildlife —…
Six months after its worst floods, Rio Grande do Sul works to bounce back
Santa Maria, RIO GRANDE DO SUL— On the evening of April 29, Jean Paolo Gomes Minella, a hydrologist at the Federal University of Santa Maria in southern Brazil headed to…
Trial begins in U.K. for victims of Minas Gerais dam disaster
A civil trial began October 21 to determine whether several mining companies are liable for the collapse of a dam that released toxic sludge into communities in rural Brazil, resulting…
Chilean Indigenous association participates in key study for lawsuit against mining
The town of San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile’s Antofagasta region is surrounded by natural wonders such as volcanoes, colorful lagoons, geysers, salt flats, gigantic dunes and rock formations.…
Inbreeding adds to growing threats to Africa’s smallest wildcat, study finds
Populations of the black-footed cat, a little-known feline in Southern Africa, have been declining for the last half a million years and exhibit very high degrees of inbreeding. This could…
Global biodiversity financiers strategize at COP16 to end ‘perverse subsidies’
CALI, Colombia — At COP16, an international conference here on the edge of the Amazon that is devoted to enacting plans to protect forests, oceans and the biodiversity living in…
More krill fishing and no new protected areas for Antarctic seas after latest talks
The international body in charge of conserving marine life in Antarctic waters has failed again to reach agreement on creating new marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean and rolled…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Conservationists mobilize to save Sierra Leone national park and its chimpanzees
- In Brazil’s Amazon, land invasions — and fires — threaten a protected reserve
- A Guatemalan reserve turns from civil war refuge to deforestation hotspot
- Narco activity takes heavy toll on Colombia’s protected forests, satellite data show
Oceans
- As tidal power rides a wave of clean energy optimism, pitfalls persist
- Plan for close season rings alarm bells for Liberia’s artisanal fishers
- Lab-grown corals resisted bleaching during Caribbean’s worst marine heat wave
- Six months after first Houthi ship sinking, attacks slick Red Sea with oil
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
- A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
- Can nations ever get artisanal gold mining right?
Endangered Environmentalists
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
- Mongabay video screening at Chile’s Supreme Court expected to help landmark verdict in Brazil
- Indonesian activist freed in hate speech case after flagging illegal shrimp farms
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
