Do cheetahs scavenge? Yes, research says, but also not really
NAIROBI — Cheetahs are known to be selective in their feeding habits — “clean eaters” that only go after the prime parts of their kill, such as the liver. But…
Conservation News
Salmon farms under fire on U.S. East Coast after being shuttered on West Coast
This month Washington became the last state on the U.S. West Coast to reject salmon aquaculture over environmental concerns. A new lawsuit now takes aim at operations on the country’s…
Digitizing 6 million plant specimens: Interview with Gunter Fischer & Jordan Teisher
How can dried plant specimens protect a rainforest? In myriad ways. Kept in collections known as herbariums, they store critical data on the physical characteristics, or morphology, of plants, as…
In Uganda, a women-led reforestation initiative fights flooding, erosion
KASESE DISTRICT, Uganda — In western Uganda’s Kasese district, where the Rwenzori Mountains meet the sprawling plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Janet Nyakairu Abwoli is on a mission to…
Scientists are tracking global wildlife’s contributions to humanity
In October 2020, the hoofbeats of American bison thumped across the prairie of the Rosebud Reservation for the first time in more than a century. Years in the works, the…
In Panama, major port construction begins at key mangrove site
Conservation groups in Panama are trying to halt the construction of a new port in the Pacific province of Chiriquí that they say could destroy breeding grounds and nurseries for…
Mexico misses one-year deadline to submit new protected areas’ management plans
It’s been one year after Mexico’s government announced the creation of 20 new protected areas, covering roughly 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres). But the country’s environment ministry, Secretariat of…
Birdwatchers rally behind endemic hummingbird, spurring conservation movement in Mexico
Nestled in the thorny shrubs of the dry forests of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, a small bird lights a spark for a promising future. After flying under scientists’…
World Bank cancels $150m tourism project in Tanzania after abuse claims
The World Bank has cancelled a $150 million project to boost tourism to Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, following allegations of human rights abuses by park authorities. Under the Tanzanian government’s…
Rising deforestation threatens rare species in Indonesia’s ancient Lake Poso
Over the course of just eight years, the forests surrounding Indonesia's Lake Poso, an ecological and evolutionary “gem” on the island of Sulawesi, have been whittled away, satellite data and…
Survey uncovers ‘wildlife treasure’ in Cambodian park — but also signs of threats
The first biodiversity survey ever conducted in one of northwestern Cambodia’s last forest frontiers has found potentially new-to-science species and recorded direct threats to what conservationists call a “small but…
As Gálapagos ecotourism booms, top naturalist guide urges sustainability
GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS — Marco Andres Vizcaino Garcia is probably the most qualified naturalist guide a person could hire during their visit to Galápagos National Park and its adjacent marine reserve.…
Traditional ecological knowledge isn’t dying — it’s adapting and transforming (Commentary)
Several years ago, I took a solo trip to the Huánuco region of the central Peruvian Amazon. After traveling five hours from the nearest town by car, boat and tuk-tuk,…
New study assesses threat to wildlife from cacao expansion in Congo Basin
Cacao cultivation is a major threat to the Congo Basin rainforest, with new research showing just where expanding cultivation could imperil the region’s rich wildlife. “We found areas within the…
Helicopters slash the trek to Earth’s highest peak, but leave Sherpas grounded
KATHMANDU — When Pasang Nuru Sherpa recalls his childhood in the quiet village of Pangboche, in the foothills of Sagarmatha, the Nepali name for Everest, his memories take him back…
‘An oval with legs’: In search of Tanzania’s tiny island antelope
PEMBA ISLAND, Tanzania — Pemba Island’s Ngezi Forest Reserve, a complex of moist evergreen and coastal forests, mangroves and heathland in the Zanzibar archipelago, is the last refuge of the…
Growing conservation and community: Interview with Ngezi reserve chief
The people living around the Ngezi Forest Reserve on Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania, depend on its resources for many things: timber for building materials, a place to…
Probe details the playbook of one of Amazon’s top land grabbers
According to the Brazilian Federal Police, Bruno Heller is one of Amazon's largest deforesters and relied on legal and technical advice, including a fake contract, bribing police officers, and near-real-time monitoring of deforestation work through satellite imagery, investigators said.
River culture is the rhythmic pulse of the Bengal Delta (commentary)
Rivers, as Bengal's nurturing mother, shaped the soul of this land and cultural landscape. The ever-flowing water and fertile sediments formed the entire Bengal region, nourishing the Indus Valley civilization…
In Bangladesh, a botanist brings quick, fun lessons to social media
In the bustling city of Dhaka, Azharul Islam Khan is developing a growing community of plant enthusiasts, one video at a time. With a degree in botany from Dhaka University…
Plans for bauxite mine in Suriname reignite Indigenous land rights debate
Plans for a major mining project in western Suriname have sounded alarms in nearby Indigenous communities, who say that the project will destroy local ecosystems, violate their land rights and…
Ogoni women restore mangroves and livelihoods in oil-rich Niger Delta
A women-led reforestation effort has planted millions of mangrove trees with a high survival rate across swamps in Nigeria’s oil-rich and severely degraded Niger Delta. For decades, the Ogoni people…
Elephants, gorillas and chimps hold out in Cameroon’s largest protected landscape
A survey has found populations of elephant, gorillas and chimpanzees in and around two national parks in southeastern Cameroon has remained relatively stable since 2016. Conservation officials have welcomed this…
Satellite ‘backpacks’ help keep track of parrot migration in Mexico
When James Sheppard set out to deploy tiny backpacks fitted with satellite transmitters to track endangered thick-billed parrots in 2019, doubts abounded. His colleagues were concerned it wasn’t going to…
African Parks closes deal to manage Ethiopia’s Gambella National Park
South Africa-based conservation NGO African Parks has signed a long-term deal with Ethiopian authorities to manage Gambella National Park. The park is Ethiopia’s largest protected area, a 4,575-square-kilometer (1,766-square-mile) landscape…
Mining in a forest conservation site clouds Republic of Congo’s carbon credit scheme
Environmentalist Justin Landry Chekoua says he’s shocked by images of century-old trees uprooted and rivers contaminated in the northern Sangha region of the Republic of Congo. Mongabay had taken photos…
The paradox of balancing conservation efforts for Himalayan wolves and snow leopards (commentary)
The Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) and snow leopard (Panthera uncia) are apex predators in alpine ecosystems. By controlling the numbers of meso-predators and herbivores, these top predators can have…
‘LIFE’ scores map out where habitat loss for crops drives extinction
Across the globe, no other human activity currently affects the survival of wildlife species more than where we choose to grow our food. Alongside other impacts like hunting and climate…
Global ocean temperatures set new record in 2024
Average temperatures across the world’s oceans reached an all-time high in 2024, a new multi-team study shows. The temperatures surpassed even those of 2023, which themselves represented a marked uptick…
Cameroon aims to double cacao, coffee production, yet also save forests
Cameroon’s government says it plans to invest heavily in agriculture over the next decade and combine economic growth and sustainable development, while preserving its forests. A recent agreement signed between…
Krahô women lead Indigenous guard to protect territory in Brazil
Across South America, Indigenous communities have often considered territorial protection to be the main responsibility of men, while women typically assume roles as caretakers of the household, family, and community.…
El Salvador reverses landmark mining ban, setting up clash with activists
Lawmakers in El Salvador have voted to reintroduce industrial mining in the country, ending a landmark ban that was meant to protect freshwater and public health. The law, pushed through…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- Scientists, Māori experts uncover new insights into rare spade-toothed whale
- Coral reefs could survive climate change, but in altered state, study says
- Conservationists see progress for swordfish, problems for sharks at Atlantic fisheries summit
- As tidal power rides a wave of clean energy optimism, pitfalls persist
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
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- 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
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- 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
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
