Malaysian farmers demand transparency over proposed seed quality bill
This is Part 2 of a two-part series on proposed changes to Malaysia’s seed laws. Part 1 published Sept. 29 here. In a farmland surrounded by oil palm and rubber…
Farming News
In DRC’s Kivu region, the moringa tree offers valuable health benefits
Moringa, most often associated with its native region of India, is also a valuable plant found thousands of miles away in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.…
Women in Mexico step up to protect the island farms traditionally inherited by men
This story is a collaboration between The Associated Press and Mongabay. MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Jasmín Ordóñez looks out at the water as the wooden boat she is in crosses…
Fears of major locust swarms wane in the Sahel but agencies step up monitoring
NAIROBI — In May and June, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s commission for controlling desert locust outbreaks in West and Northwest Africa warned that heavy rainfall and vegetation in North…
Malaysian small-scale farmers worry about rights under proposed seed law changes
This is Part 1 of a two-part series on proposed changes to Malaysia’s seed laws. Part 2 reports more on Malaysia’s seed quality bill. On an August Sunday morning, a…
Burkina Faso’s women farmers reviving the land with fertilizer trees
CASSOU, Burkina Faso — With her daba in hand, her back bent from decades in the fields, Maan — meaning “grandmother” in the local Nuni language of Burkina Faso’s Centre-Ouest…
Maluku coconut growers cry crisis as Indonesia land-grabs feed energy transition
SOUTH WASILE, Indonesia — Rudy said South Wasile district police officers visited his home with PT Arumba Jaya Perkasa staff three times in June to recommend he take the company’s…
EUDR implementation comes laden with potential unintended consequences
Set to enter into force Dec. 30, 2025, the European Union’s deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR) aims to halt the bloc’s contribution to global forest loss. Experts Mongabay spoke to agree…
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…
Ethiopian initiatives try to mainstream traditional and resilient enset crop in diets
ARBA MINCH, Ethiopia — On a late May morning, as the chill of dawn gives way to sunlight warming the hills of Hareba village in southern Ethiopia, 56-year-old Almaz Achamo…
Amazon jambu blends tradition and science for numbing flavors and healthcare
Brazil's bioeconomy efforts are unlocking surprising global applications for a homegrown plant known as a local remedy and seasoning.
Agroecological market gardening: Benin’s climate-resilient farming solution
OUÈDO AHOUANSSODJA, Benin — It was a cool, quiet morning in March 2025 when we visited the lush green Agro-Eco farm, and a dozen young people were already hard at…
A forest garden project attempts to expand into the Sahel
Drought, irregular rainfall, deforestation, and the legacy of unsustainable human activities have left vast areas across the arid and semiarid regions of sub-Saharan Africa degraded, causing major challenges for the…
Agencies race to prevent new food crisis as locusts return to northern Africa
NAIROBI — Swarms of desert locusts are moving across parts of North Africa. With unusually heavy rains in late 2024 supporting growth of vegetation, and rising temperatures since February 2025…
As Thailand’s fishing cats face habitat loss & conflict, experts seek resolution
Pacing paw-to-paw, the fishing cat hisses. About twice the size of a domestic cat, its grey-green eyes fix on the keeper who carries a tub of tilapia on the other…
As a fishing port rises in Kenya, locals see threats to sea life, livelihoods
This is Mongabay’s first story in a short series about the new Shimoni Fish Port. Read the second story here. SHIMONI, Kenya — Behind the gates of a small, forested…
Bring the forest to the farm or the farm to the forest? Agroforestry faces a dichotomy
Not all agroforestry projects are funded equally, suggests a new comment paper published in Nature Climate Change. Integrating crops into existing forests is an often overlooked agroforestry method to store…
On remote Indonesia karst outpost, Indigenous farmers fear the silence of the yams
BANGGAI ISLANDS, Indonesia — Dewdrops cling to weeds in the Banggai archipelago as Deslin Kalaeng grasps a large round root vegetable from the ancient karst. “That’s the Banggai yam,” she…
Critically endangered chameleon discovered outside its known habitat in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO — At the end of April, a team of researchers scouring a scarred area of spiny forest in southwestern Madagascar came across three individuals of a critically endangered chameleon…
In Pakistan, desert irrigation plans spark protests & fears among Sindh farmers
On April 6, Wajahat Hussain, a Sindhi human rights lawyer, spoke at a protest against the planned Cholistan Canal Project on the Indus River in Pakistan. “We will continue fighting…
Delay in land reform fuels new wave of settlers and violence in the Amazon
Grassroots organizations are settling new areas in the Brazilian Amazon amid disappointment that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been slow to jump-start the stalled land reform agenda.
From chickens to cassava, Brazil’s Munduruku seek alternatives to mining
This is part four of a series on the operation to evict illegal gold miners from Munduruku Indigenous territories. Read part one, part two and part three and part five.…
Concrete sprawl in Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal threatens sarus cranes
LUMBINI, Nepal — Legend has it that before he became the Buddha, a young Prince Siddhartha Gautama nursed an injured sarus crane (Antigone antigone) back to health. Since then, the…
Invasive whiteflies pose a new threat to Bangladesh’s cash crops
The mass invasion of a new insect, the whitefly, in Bangladesh’s agricultural farms — especially in coconut, banana and guava farms — has put farmers at risk due to its…
Solutions needed as climate change & land use fuel global crop pest menace
Climate change, land use change and biodiversity loss are combining to drive an increase in agricultural pests and expansion of their ranges with concerning implications for future global food security.…
Study reveals untold, and unprotected, wildlife wealth of Nepal’s Madhesh province
KATHMANDU — The most extensive biodiversity survey yet of Nepal’s little-studied Madhesh province has revealed a wealth of wildlife facing threats from infrastructure development — and with virtually no protected…
In Borneo village, Indigenous Dayaks leave farming amid stricter fire rules
MANTANGAI, Indonesia — The last time Remie recalled a good harvest season here in Central Kalimantan province was in 2018, when 20-liter bags of rice seed were piled against the…
Colombian farmers switch from coffee to cacao as temperature and prices soar
RISARALDA, Colombia — “Before, anyone who wanted to grow cacao at 1,200 or 1,500 meters [3,900 to 4,900 feet] altitude was considered crazy,” says Orlando Quintero Gonzales, an agronomist in…
Uttarakhand’s extreme weather wreaks havoc on crops, livelihoods & futures
Rita grew up in a small village in Uttarakhand with mountains forming the backbone of her childhood. In a recent call with her sister, she laughed, repeating a little rhyme…
Colombia’s coffee farmers try to balance innovation and tradition to adapt to climate change
CHINCHINA, Colombia — “Before, the seasons seemed etched into the calendar, with well-defined periods of drought and rain. Today, the climate has gone completely mad!” says coffee grower Oscar Gomez from…
As US agroforestry grows, federal funding freeze leaves farmers in the lurch
Agroforestry, the ancient agricultural system of integrating trees and shrubs with crops and livestock, has seen a revival in recent decades in the U.S. Around the country, agroforestry projects have…
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
- 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
