‘It has been worth it’: The local women saving Yucatán’s mangroves
The women of Chelem, a fishing community on the northern coast of the Mexican state of Yucatán, hadn’t planned to work in mangrove restoration. At first, it was simply an…
Community-based Conservation News
Mangroves mount a fragile green revival in Iraq’s toxic south
BASRA, Iraq — The air in Basra carries a strange weight: part saline mist from the nearby Persian Gulf and part acrid smoke from the towering oil refineries that loom…
How Mexican fishers are protecting an endemic oyster — and its ecosystem
Over the past few decades, the harvesting of the Cortez oyster in western Mexico’s Marismas Nacionales — or the Marshes Biosphere Reserve — in Nayarit state has shifted from suffering…
Where war once raged in Iraq, Yezidi women plant hope
KHANKE, Iraq — In the wind-swept town of Khanke in northern Iraq, a fragile tree stands as a quiet symbol of resilience. Its slender trunk bends slightly in the dry…
As Acapulco’s mangroves disappear, Mexico takes strides to protect its coastal forests
In the Mexican port city of Acapulco, in southwestern Guerrero state, human activities have put so much pressure on the most important lagoons that the mangrove areas in this city…
A Kichwa women’s collective uses ecotourism to safeguard Ecuador’s Amazon
For members of the Sani Warmi collective in Amazonian Ecuador, the day begins before sunrise. They tend to the chacra — their agroforestry garden — and harvest plantain, yuca, palm…
Colombia’s women clam collectors protect Pacific mangroves and mollusks
In the green-fringed inlet of Bahía Málaga, tucked along Colombia’s Pacific coast in the department of Valle del Cauca, Marlin Valencia’s melodic voice drifts among the tangled roots of the…
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,…
The effort to save Syria’s northern bald ibis population failed, but much can be learned (analysis)
The northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) is an extravagant waterbird adapted to forage in dry, open habitats, and is included in the list of the most genetically and evolutionarily unique creatures…
Kenya’s cities adopt Miyawaki method to restore lost ecological glory
NAIROBI, Kenya — Many African cities are now characterized by deafening traffic noises and suffocating gas emissions, and are becoming limitless concrete jungles as urbanization takes hold and human settlements…
Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
JAKARTA — A thresher shark conservation effort in eastern Indonesia focusing on alternative sources of income has reduced up to 90% of catches of the globally endangered species, a new…
African forum on urban forests calls for greater access to green spaces
JOHANNESBURG — Urban forests create employment, provide quality space for recreation and tourism and strengthen city neighbourhoods’ capacity to adapt to extreme heat, flooding, and pollution that are exacerbated by…
Caribbean reef sharks rebound in Belize with shark fishers’ help
Rosie knows the Lighthouse Reef Atoll like the back of her fin. She calls this atoll home and is a matriarch of the thriving population of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus…
Chauffeur at Indonesia energy nonprofit drives uptake of biogas by Java farmers
SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in…
10 unique community-led conservation solutions in the face of environmental despair
Numerous events and policy decisions across the world in the last several months are causing despair among many environmentalists. The abrupt freeze, and potential termination, of international funds for conservation…
Women in Ghana plant ‘diversion’ trees to protect shea trees and their livelihoods
As the growing demand for charcoal and firewood hastens the decline of shea trees in Ghana, communities living on the fringes of the country’s Mole National Park are planting fast-growing…
Collaboration, data and tracking move Africa’s Great Green Wall toward its goal
The Great Green Wall in the Sahel, a mosaic of forests, farmlands and grasslands dotting the arid fringes of Sahara, was launched by the African Union in 2007 to fight…
DRC conflict so far ‘devastating’ to Indigenous lands & people: Interview with Samuel Ade Ndasi
The resumption of hostilities since the M23 (March 23 Movement) rebel group resurged and captured territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2021 has had a devastating…
Ugandan researcher wins ‘Emerging Conservationist’ award for work on golden cats
The Indianapolis Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes leaders in wildlife conservation, has awarded its second Emerging Conservationist Award to Mwezi Badru Mugerwa. A Ugandan researcher and conservationist who combines…
Indigenous Dayak community makes strides on Borneo toward forest autonomy
MEKAR RAYA, Indonesia — Yulius Yogi kneels under the forest canopy here on the island of Borneo, surveying land he plans to reclaim for his Dayak Simpan Indigenous community. “Our…
Pause to USAID already having impacts on community conservation in the Amazon
A wide range of sustainability, health and environmental programs in the Amazon Rainforest are at stake after the U.S. government announced a 90-day pause on all foreign aid funding, including…
Volunteer radio station brings old media to remote Sumatran tiger habitat
KAMPAR, Indonesia — The information from Radio Komunitas Lintas Subayang 107.7 FM reaches the remote corners of the Sumatran forest from a small broadcasting house in a market. “Accessing telecoms…
In the high Andes, a dream to restore a special forest takes root
Three years ago, while exploring the Mojanda mountain range in Ecuador, a team of researchers from a local NGO and a government research institute stumbled upon a small, unusual mouse.…
Forest communities craft recommendations for better ART TREES carbon credit standard
For Indigenous peoples and local communities across Central and South America, financial opportunities from voluntary carbon markets come with both benefits and risks. Working with the Rainforest Foundation Norway and…
In Ecuador, a mountain shrub could hold the key to restoring a precious ecosystem
EL ÁNGEL, Ecuador — The view outside from this eco-hotel in northern Ecuador reveals vast hillsides still scarred by fires. In late January 2024, large flames roared past the wooden…
A cattle ranch is the unlikely scene for saving a fox found only in Brazil
CORUMBAÍBA, Brazil — They appeared at dusk. The day was ending in a pink-and-yellow sky when a cub moved in the grass. Its mother appeared next, red as the earth,…
On a São Paulo eco-farm, Brazil’s landless movement makes its case for occupation
Comuna da Terra Irmã Alberta, a small oasis of green fields and trees, sits on the outskirts of São Paulo and is home to 65 small farmers who help supply…
Uganda’s tree-climbing lions grow scarce amid nationwide decline of the big cat
NAIROBI ― Poisoning, poaching and loss of habitat have significantly reduced populations of lion prides in Uganda, signaling the need for long-term commitments to conservation action, researchers write in a…
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…
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’…
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…
Sustaining a 400-year-old Ethiopian farming tradition: Interview with elder Gehano Guchoir
KONSO, Ethiopia — Across rugged highlands, terraces crafted from stone and earth stretch over steep hillsides like giant ripples of water. They’re part of a 400-year-old agricultural system in southern…
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
- 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
- With climate change, cryosphere melt scales up as a threat to planetary health
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 & 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
