In Côte d’Ivoire a changing climate hits farmers and markets alike
ABIDJAN — In recent months, the town of Soubré in the southwest of Côte d’Ivoire has experienced a shortage of staple products in local markets. Some of the most widely…
Africa News
Top 25 most threatened primates highlighted in new report urging action
Nearly two-thirds of all primates are in danger of disappearing, including 100 that have only been described by science in the last 25 years. To spotlight their plight, leading conservation…
Dredging and pollution threaten fishing in the Niger River
BAMAKO — Bourama Traoré and his brother, now aged 20 and 29, grew up along the banks of the Niger River. Their daily routine has always been simple: cast their…
Report shows policy gaps in safeguarding the carbon rights of forest communities
An absence of government legal and policy reforms is impacting the rights of Indigenous, Afro-descendant peoples and local communities associated with carbon programs in 33 countries in Asia, Africa and…
Trophies, body parts & live animals dominate global lion trade, data show
As apex predators, lions (Panthera leo) roam the African savanna, and occasionally even the rainforests, as the only social big cats. A small, isolated population of Asiatic lions (Panthera leo…
In Cameroon’s forgotten forests, gorillas and chimps hang on
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss the ecological significance of Mbalmayo Forest Reserve in southern Cameroon, one of several degraded forest patches scattered across the country. Located on the…
Protected parks in peril as Republic of Congo ramps up oil drilling
The Republic of Congo’s recently announced plans to double oil production over the next three years puts it “fatally at odds” with its own stated goals for a clean energy…
Poaching intensifies in M23-occupied areas of Virunga National Park
The intensifying security crisis in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the years is undermining wildlife protection in Virunga National Park, say officials and local residents.…
Rwanda’s Olivier Nsengimana inspires protection for gray crowned cranes in East Africa
Just 10 years ago, spotting a gray crowned crane in Rwanda’s wetlands had become a rarity. These elegant birds — tall and statuesque, with golden plumes fanning from their heads…
PHOTO ESSAY Wind-blown sand scouring life off a Southern African landscape
A nasty wind rips across Cornell’s Kop one afternoon in October 2024, driving professor emeritus Timm Hoffman and his team to abandon the hilly study site a few clicks west…
Through colonization, conflicts and conservation: 100 years of Virunga National Park
“For me, the 100th anniversary of Virunga National Park is the fruit of resistance. A peaceful resistance led by local activists [and] environmentalists,” says François Kamaté, environmental activist and founder…
Côte d’Ivoire cacao farmers struggle as climate havoc devastates crops
SOUBRÉ, Côte d’Ivoire — “Dry periods never used to last this long before," says Célestin Oura, a farmer in southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. "The dry season used to last a month…
Discovery of critically endangered bat in Rwanda leads to conservation talks
KIGALI, Rwanda ― Following the recent rediscovery of the critically endangered Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) at Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda, researchers are calling for actions and policies…
In West Africa, hooded vultures vanish as abattoirs modernize
Critically endangered hooded vultures in Nigeria that once fed on the carcasses of wild animals are now largely dependent on scraps discarded by people. But changes in the way waste…
Global agarwood trade heavily dependent on wild, threatened trees: Study
Agarwood, a fragrant resinous wood commonly referred to as oud, is a prized constituent in incense, perfumes, medicines and ornaments and remains in high demand across East Asia and the…
Loss of great white sharks triggers domino effect down food chain, study shows
CAPE TOWN — South Africa’s False Bay was once known as a global hotspot for great white sharks. But within the span of a few years, between 2015 and 2019,…
Meet the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners
Seven environmental activists from around the world will be awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on April 21. Known as the “Green Nobel Prize,” the Goldman Prize honors activists from the…
Mongabay mourns the loss of Ochieng’ Ogodo, our East Africa Editor
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of Ochieng’ Ogodo, Mongabay’s East Africa editor, who died early Thursday morning in Nairobi, Kenya, at the age of…
Africa’s growing cities are endangering birdlife (commentary)
As urbanization reshapes global landscapes, ecological balance is increasingly at risk, especially in Africa. The primary drivers are rapid development and expanding human settlements, often without proper environmental considerations, posing…
Fishing rights, and wrongs, cast small-scale South African fishers adrift
LANGEBAAN LAGOON, South Africa — Deon Warnick’s three chest freezers stood silently in his living room, lids open. Without any fish to keep frozen, he was using them as cupboard…
Seychelles becomes first country to comply with fisheries transparency standard
In February, Seychelles became the first country to comply with an international standard that aims to make governments’ management of their fisheries more transparent. The goal of the Fisheries Transparency…
The colonial ghosts of Uganda’s ‘Queen Elizabeth’ park
KATWE, Uganda — In 1889, the British journalist Henry Morton Stanley stumbled out of the forests of Central Africa into the town of Katwe, a settlement on the shore of…
Conserving vultures in Southern Africa may provide substantial economic gain: Report
Vulture populations in Southern Africa are dwindling, yet the birds could bring large economic benefits to the region, according to a recent report by the NGO BirdLife. Assessing the “value”…
Palm oil company uses armed forces, tear gas against protesting villagers in Cameroon
Villagers in Cameroon have denounced the use of tear gas by authorities to break up their protest on March 25 against the replanting of oil palm trees by the plantation…
Farmers turn to living ‘yam sticks’ to grow their crop and spare the forest
Yams are considered one of the world’s most important crops. A starchy, nutrient-rich root vegetable of the genus Dioscorea, the yam thrives in a tropical belt across West Africa, with…
Maltese Falcon Poachers: European hunters endanger Egypt’s birds
The New Arab and The Shift co-published a set of edited versions of this investigation. As the sun hung low over the Nile, casting golden ripples across the water, we…
An oil-rich West African island offers decades of insight into the wild meat trade
The volcanic island of Bioko, about 160 kilometers, or 100 miles, northwest of mainland Equatorial Guinea, is carpeted in lush green tropical rainforest. This forest is home to many endemic…
New strategy launched to protect Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot
Conservationists have launched a 20-year-long project to protect what is arguably Tanzania’s most biologically rich landscape: the Udzungwa Mountains. The strategy places notable emphasis on communities living here, with more…
Madagascar highway pushes on through controversy
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — The Malagasy government is pushing ahead with a controversial highway linking Antananarivo and the port city of Toamasina, 260 kilometers (162 miles) away. Construction has already begun…
How a young beekeeper’s initiative brought hope and profit to Sierra Leone communities
In 2022, little did Aruna Bangura know that observing the changing environment and land use practices around his community would make him start beekeeping. The area just outside Tiwai Island,…
Chain-link fencing protects livestock from big cat attacks in Tanzania: Study
NAIROBI ― For the last two decades, Matambire Mgemaa, a pastoralist in southern Tanzania in the environs of Ruaha National Park, nighttime has meant staying vigilant to protect his goats,…
Smallholder agriculture blossoming with the use of renewables in Africa
KIREHE, Rwanda — Victor Ndwaniye, a smallholder farmer from Nasho, a small lakeside village in Kirehe district in eastern Rwanda, used to irrigate his vegetable farm by collecting water in…
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
- Southeast Asia’s fisheries thrive despite decades of overfishing warnings: Study
- Peruvian fishers sue for additional compensation after big December oil spill
- Smuggling networks exploit migrant debt to fuel tiger poaching in Malaysia, study shows
- Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
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
- ‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- 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
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- 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
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
