Sri Lankan waters under ‘close watch’ following wreckage of Iranian warship
GALLE, Sri Lanka — On March 4, an Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena sank some 40-50 nautical miles off the southern coast of Galle, an important maritime route in Sri…
Activism News
Emotional and psychological stresses beleaguer conservation professionals (commentary)
Nested within the current biodiversity crisis sits an equally complex and concerning human crisis, but one that receives even less attention: the poor mental health and well-being of the conservation…
‘An epidemic of suffering’: Why are conservationists breaking down?
In December 2024, Rachel Graham, executive director of the Belize-based marine nonprofit MarAlliance, posted on LinkedIn that she knew “5 wildlife & conservation scientists who have taken their lives this…
Indigenous communities oppose Papua forest rezoning for palm oil
JAKARTA — Indigenous communities in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua accuse the government of underhanded zoning changes to expand the so-called food estate program there to include large-scale oil palm…
Panama NGOs face lawsuits, asset seizures in fight over port construction
For more than a year, dozens of environmental groups have been fighting the construction of a controversial port in Panama, arguing that it will harm marine life and the mangroves…
Texas sea turtles have lost a conservation hero (commentary)
Carole Allen — founder of HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles) and the first director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network’s Gulf of Mexico office — passed away at the…
Successful campaign proves Ghana’s forests are worth more than gold (commentary)
On Dec. 10, 2025, Ghana’s government revoked one of the worst pieces of environmental legislation in our country’s history. The Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations passed in 2022…
The long struggle of women farmers to halt a zinc mine in North Sumatra
SILIMA PUNGGA-PUNGGA DISTRICT, Indonesia — Rainim Purba first heard the rumor in 1996. Back then, in her mid-30s, villagers were saying a zinc mining company was going to operate near…
Philippines hosts new Asia-Pacific hub for sustainable agriculture, cuisine
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — For five days last November, the city of Bacolod in the central Philippine province of Negros Occidental became a crossroads of food cultures from across Asia…
Guatemala’s eco defenders reel from surge in killings and persecution
Environmental and territorial defenders in Guatemala face a critical moment as violence targeting them increases across the country. In 2024, at least 20 such defenders were killed for their work,…
Fights against development projects marks 2025 for Nepal’s Indigenous people
As Indigenous peoples and local communities globally struggle to safeguard their rights over their land and forests, Nepal hasn’t been an exception. In the face of socioeconomic and environmental threats,…
Environmental defenders & conservationists who died in 2025
I write short obituaries for people who spent their lives protecting parts of the natural world. I work on them in the margins of other responsibilities, yet they have become…
Kenyan woman hugs tree for 72 hours in protest against loss of beloved trees
A 22-year-old woman is the subject of celebration after she hugged a tree continuously for 72 hours amid fluctuating temperatures and rainfall on the foot of Mount Kenya. Truphena Muthoni’s…
Hope, solidarity & disappointment: A familiar mix for Indigenous delegates at COP30
BELÉM, Brazil — Brazil promoted COP30 as both the “Indigenous COP” and the “Amazonian COP,” a summit that would finally center the peoples who have protected the rainforest for millennia.…
From COP30 to Sri Lanka, indigenous voices shape climate & food sovereignty
COLOMBO — When Indigenous groups converged at the entrance of the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP30) summit in Belém, Brazil, halting the flow of delegates, it became clear that this…
A fragile Sri Lankan island fights back against the threat of mineral extraction
COLOMBO — “Cries in silence, her veins robbed by greedy hands, each grain of stolen sand buries a future beneath the lands” — these lines from the song Karunilam (‘black…
As Sri Lanka continues new elephant drive, scientists warn against creating new conflicts
COLOMBO — Playful 7-year-old Thinuli loved accompanying her father to his chena fields in a remote village in Hambantota, in Sri Lanka’s deep south. In August, she joined him as…
As Zambia eyes green minerals, Kabwe’s poisoned past looms large
LUSAKA — As Zambia looks to profit from the growing global demand for copper and other transition minerals — essential for the world’s green energy future — the story of…
Ecuador freezes bank accounts of Indigenous leaders, land defenders
Since September 2025, dozens of Indigenous leaders and organizations, land rights activists and nonprofits in Ecuador have reportedly been unable to access their funds, after a state institution blocked their…
Coal-dependent South Africa struggles to make just energy transition real
In the coal towns of northern KwaZulu-Natal, the promise of South Africa’s “just transition” feels like a distant dream. While government plans speak of a fair shift to clean energy…
To fix the climate, simply empower Indigenous people (commentary)
Climate change is the defining issue of our age. While nations search for complex technological solutions at this year’s high-stakes climate meeting in the Amazon city of Belém, a simpler…
After 6 years, trial in Indigenous forest guardian killing pushed to 2026
Six years after the killing of Indigenous forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara and the attempted killing of fellow guardian Laércio Guajajara in the Brazilian Amazon, the trial of the two…
Landmark conviction exposes Sri Lanka’s deep-rooted illegal elephant trade
COLOMBO — In a landmark ruling hailed as a major victory for Sri Lanka’s wildlife conservation, the Colombo High Court in September convicted a person for the illegal possession of…
Jane Goodall quotes: Words from a reluctant global icon
Over the years, Mongabay staff and contributors have conducted numerous interviews with Jane Goodall. The following is a recap of her ideas and reflections, organized by theme. A list of…
Philippine tribes revive reforestation to defy coal mining expansion
SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines — It’s been three years since production began at a coal mine in the mountain village of Ned, some 1,500 kilometers, nearly 1,000 miles, south of Manila,…
Can courts combat plastic pollution? Lessons from Indonesia (commentary)
In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a new resolution laying the first groundwork toward a new legally binding international agreement to end plastic pollution. The treaty will contain…
As Sri Lanka struggles with ghost nets, volunteer youth lead seabed cleanup
COLOMBO —Galle Face Beach in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo, is a popular spot among city dwellers, watched over by lifeguards assigned by the coast guard unit of the Sri…
Indonesia reopens Raja Ampat nickel mine despite reef damage concerns
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has allowed a controversial nickel mine to resume operating in the marine haven of Raja Ampat, despite a company-commissioned study finding the project has harmed…
Death of activist critical of geothermal project raises alarm in Indonesia
JAKARTA — The mysterious death of Vian Ruma, a 30-year-old activist opposing a geothermal project on Flores Island, has intensified calls for stronger protection of environmental defenders in Indonesia, where…
New coalition focuses on ‘reuse’ to tackle top polluter Indonesia’s plastic waste problem
JAKARTA — Thirteen organizations and businesses have launched the Indonesian Reuse Association, or AGUNI, a coalition dedicated to building a sustainable reuse system to curb the country’s worsening waste crisis.…
Borneo killing linked to coal industry stays unsolved as Indonesia VP visits Dayak village
MUARA KATE, Indonesia — More than eight months after the bloody killing of an Indigenous elder in eastern Borneo, police in Indonesia have yet to name a suspect, while community…
Sri Lanka plans restoring revoked protection for an important mangrove patch in the island’s North
Mannar, SRI LANKA — The Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve, nestled along Sri Lanka’s northwestern coast in the Mannar district, is home to one of the island country’s largest and most ecologically…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Satellite data show burst of deforestation in Myanmar rare earth mining hotspots
- 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
Oceans
- Mongabay shark meat exposé wins national journalism education award in Brazil
- Indigenous concerns surface as U.S. agency considers seabed mining in Alaskan waters
- Methane chasers: Hunting a climate-changing gas seeping from Earth’s seafloor
- Scientists call for stronger action to save Indonesia’s vanishing seagrass meadows
Amazon Conservation
- Researchers eye jaguar conservation wins under Brazil Indigenous stewardship project
- ‘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
Land rights and extractives
- What’s happening with the global treaty to trace critical minerals?
- In the race for DRC’s critical minerals, community forests are on the frontline
- Lithium mining may threaten a precious resource — water: Voices from the land (commentary)
- Indigenous guardians successfully keep extractives out of Ecuador’s Amazon forests
Endangered Environmentalists
- José Albino Cañas Ramírez, a defender of Indigenous territories, aged 44
- A killing with precedent: Kaiowá man’s murder fits a pattern in Brazil
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
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
- Flores’ geothermal ambitions collide with justice, culture & local resistance
- 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
