Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024
BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost…
Drivers Of Deforestation News
Peru court upholds 28 years in prison for loggers in Indigenous murders
After 11 years, the Alto Tamaya Saweto community has finally received confirmation of convictions in the 2014 murders of Indigenous Ashéninka leaders Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintanísima and Francisco…
Brazil’s first private Amazon road paves new trade route to China
A road that once opened the Amazon to destruction is being expanded, and critics fear history will repeat itself.
Religion at a crossroads in Indonesia as Islamic groups bid to operate large-scale mines
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s two biggest Islamic organizations usually seize the country’s attention twice a year, when they gather to determine when the religious holidays of Idul Fitri and Idul Adha…
Marfrig’s bonds funded beef from illegally deforested areas in Brazil
Tied to clearing in Amazon and Cerrado, shipments from 'world's largest hamburger producer’ reach Europe and Asia.
The mire of Brazil’s BR-319 highway: Deforestation, development, and the banality of evil (commentary)
The continued failure to halt the BR-319 highway cutting through the Brazilian Amazon is an example of the systemic problem identified by Hannah Arendt in her study of the minister…
Satellite data show burst of deforestation in Myanmar rare earth mining hotspots
Myanmar’s Kachin state, near the border with China, is a global hub for rare earth minerals. But the dearth of regulations over mining these resources has come at a steep…
Critics say FSC update risks weakening accountability for forest harm
JAKARTA — The world’s largest sustainable timber label is under fire for revising how it applies its rules on corporate accountability — a move activists say could let forestry giants…
An ancient Indigenous civilization endures beneath an Amazon urban soy hub
Santarém’s ceramics grace museums around the globe, yet the city’s heritage remains largely unknown in Brazil.
Rare earth rush endangers rural communities and conservation areas in Brazil
Brazil ranks among the countries with the largest reserves of rare earth elements. But scaling up the extraction of these metals, used in various high-tech applications and essential to the…
More deforestation leads to a drier dry season, Amazon study finds
In Brazil’s southern Amazonian region, where the notorious “arc of deforestation” has been expanding since the 1970s, forest loss is reshaping the region’s atmospheric water cycle. As the Amazon Rainforest…
Cambodian irrigation dam construction threatens riverine communities in the Cardamoms
BANGKOK — Forest clearance has begun to make way for a new irrigation dam deep in the heart of the Cardamom Mountains, in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat, Mongabay has learned.…
Americans’ love of RVs tied to destruction of orangutan habitat: Investigation
JAKARTA — Global calls are mounting for RV companies in the U.S. to change their policies following new revelations that some of America’s best-selling RVs are built with plywood from…
‘Independent’ auditors overvalue credits of carbon projects, study finds
A hidden incentive structure may be driving the approval of questionable carbon credits.
Report sees $20B in revenue for Amazon REDD+ projects despite unmet promises
Amazon states are eager to reap vast revenues, but carbon projects often fail to fix root causes of deforestation.
Brazil’s land registry holds farmers accountable, but enables deforestation
The CAR is an obligatory land registry for all rural properties in Brazil. The CAR was created because the national rural land registry (Sistema Nacional de Cadastro Rural (SNCR) developed…
Pulp and paper giant APP moves closer to regaining FSC stamp despite pending review
JAKARTA — Asia Pulp & Paper, one of the world’s biggest forestry groups, has effectively been given the green light to seek ethical certification from the Forest Stewardship Council —…
Who is clearing Indonesia’s forests — and why?
JAKARTA — While most tropical countries experienced record-high deforestation rates in 2024, Indonesia’s forest loss is slowing, bucking a global trend. But beneath the headline figures lies a troubling mystery:…
Soy crops squeeze Amazon park with 11,000-year-old rock paintings in Brazil
Remarkable discoveries in an Amazon cave rewrote human history, but it remains largely unknown as farmers advance closely.
Illegal roads expand in Colombia’s deforestation hotspots
MOCOA, Colombia — From the air, the forests in Putumayo, Colombia’s southwestern Amazonian department, look scarred. Light brown lines snake through the canopy. In the eastern part of Putumayo’s Puerto…
Brazil’s Congress passes ‘devastation bill’ in major environmental setback
As Brazil gears up to lead COP30, its Congress pushes the worst environmental setback in 40 years.
Now on Wall Street, JBS eyes growth amid scrutiny on deforestation & graft
The world's largest meatpacker had a long journey to the U.S. stock market, one full of reports of greenwashing and corruption.
Amazon deforestation spikes as Brazil blames criminal fires
A new and alarming pattern of destruction is emerging in the rainforest, challenging Brazilian authorities ahead of COP30.
Amazon’s ‘tipping point road’ gets new push with ease on licensing rules
As a controversial bill passes in Brazil, environmentalists prepare for the "last stand" to save the Amazon.
Rising heat and falling yields plague an Amazon island near COP30 host
A short boat ride from Belém, an Amazon island offers a living lesson of the climate crisis that leaders will debate.
Meat giant profits from carbon market without halting deforestation
Since the first scientific critiques of fossil fuels, oil companies have gone from being the "wealth of nations" to "destroyers of the planet." In financial market terms, they have become…
Organized crime & gold trade are increasingly connected, report shows
Latin American cartels once were masters of the drug trade, but spikes in prices led them into controlling a new venture.
‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal under fire as Amazon prosecutors seek repeal
A Brazilian state was set to close a massive $180 million carbon credit deal, but now faces an escalating legal battle, accused of violating national laws and Indigenous rights, potentially ruining the project.
New environmental licensing will build a power plant in the Cerrado and demolish a school
The most deforested biome in Brazil, the Cerrado lost 700,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) of native vegetation in 2024. Now, it is about to receive a thermoelectric plant 30 kilometers…
Indonesia halts most nickel mining in Raja Ampat, but allows one controversial permit
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has revoked four out of five nickel mining permits in the Raja Ampat archipelago following a public outcry over mining in one of the world’s…
Pushback grows against nickel mining in Indonesian marine paradise of Raja Ampat
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has suspended nickel mining in the Raja Ampat archipelago, citing multiple environmental violations by companies operating in the ecologically sensitive islands. The move follows viral…
EU appetite for EVs drives new wave of deforestation in tropical forests
Brazil, which accounts for large reserves of nickel, graphite, rare earths, lithium and niobium, would be one of the most affected countries.
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
- Post-Blob, California’s kelp crisis isn’t going away
- Global tracking study reveals marine megafauna hotspots lie largely unprotected
- First-ever assessment highlights threats to Atlantic cold-water corals
- Major coral loss in Vietnam’s first marine protected area: 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
- Amid Venezuela’s illegal gold heist are armed groups, gangs & elites, report says
- Indigenous women in Peru use technology to protect Amazon forests
- In Argentina, lithium exploration proceeds amid community disputes
- Indigenous Amazonians win landmark ruling against mercury pollution in Colombia
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
