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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
NAIROBI ― A new killifish species, scientifically known as Nothobranchius sylvaticus, has been documented in seasonal swamps of Kenya’s ancient Gongoni Forest, research shows. In a study published this month…
KONSO, Ethiopia — As the first light of the morning sun breaks over the hills of Konso, Kawadaya Oldisha, 45, begins his daily routine of inspecting his terraced fields. His…
KIMANA, Kenya — Lush, fertile and green, the Laikipia highlands of Kenya are renowned for their beauty and abundant grasses that feed its wildlife and livestock. They’re also the theater…
Marine protected areas in Tanzania boosted living standards in nearby communities over a span of nearly 20 years, a recent study in Conservation Letters found. Near MPAs, living standards improved,…
Africa’s remaining tropical glaciers are rapidly disappearing as greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. In the Rwenzori Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the border between the Democratic Republic…
LAKE CHILWA, Malawi — When fishers on Lake Chilwa cast their nets, they don’t know whether there are fish below, or something else entirely. “We don’t go out in the…
Botanist Andrea Bianchi and local plant experts Aloyce Mwakisoma and his brother Ruben were exploring two tiny village forest reserves in the Udzungwa mountains in 2019, when they stumbled upon…
A moving coming-of-age story of two Kenyan teenagers brought together in friendship by a murder, the documentary film Searching for Amani opens a window into complex tensions between conservationists, crop-growing…
At this point in history, the hubristic belief that people are above nature has allowed humans to bring immeasurable change to the natural systems that all of life depends upon…
The resurgence of the M23 (March 23 movement) rebel group has once again drawn global attention to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The humanitarian crisis—millions displaced, thousands…
ISIOLO, Kenya — A hot wind sweeps across the rocky brush of Camp Simpirre in northern Kenya’s Isiolo county. Baboons cross the pathway to the dinner hall; vervet monkeys patter…
From the Tibetan plateau to the African Sahel, pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions,…
NAIROBI ― Temperature can increase bee colony loss in dry, hot and wet seasons, but a study has found that beekeepers practicing water provision to the bees experience up to…
In March 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi, unleashing six months of rain in six days. Freddy was the largest and longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded, and the impacts were…
NAIROBI ― Grassland restoration, which uses nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, can help farmers adapt to climate change by improving human security through reducing conflicts, which may lessen retaliatory actions…
“Since Goma fell, I've lived in fear. I don't dare leave my house.” These are the words of Justin Shamutwa Masumbuko, general coordinator of the Indigenous rights NGO ADELIPO-Congo. For…
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — “I fled the fighting in Bweremana between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo [FARDC] and the M23 armed group. I saw…
The past three years have been turbulent for the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region that has experienced prolonged conflict for many years. The recent advancement of M23, a…
MICHEWENI, Tanzania — Botanists have found a stand of rare trees in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago not known to grow wild anywhere else in Africa. The intsia trees (Intsia bijuga) were…
MOROGORO, Tanzania — Often dismissed as pests, rats have long been misunderstood. But the African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys ansorgei), the world’s longest, is challenging that perception. With its intelligence…
PADER DISTRICT, Uganda — As the early morning mist lifts over the plains of northern Uganda, women gather at the Pader Shea Nut and Agro-processing Society's nursery. Grown from seeds…
PADER DISTRICT, Uganda — In northern Uganda's Pader district, farmers are working to preserve agricultural landscapes that have fed their communities for generations. These shea parklands, where carefully maintained trees…
NAIROBI ― An environmental disaster is unfolding in Isiolo county, in northeastern Kenya, following a recent wildfire outbreak that devastated large swaths of the region, according to experts who are…
NAIROBI, Kenya — Leopards often produce a unique, deep, guttural roar commonly described as “sawing” due to its resemblance to the sound of a person sawing wood by hand. Researchers…
