Across the globe, no other human activity currently affects the survival of wildlife species more than where we choose to grow our food. Alongside other impacts like hunting and climate…
Humanity achieved a fateful milestone last year. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has officially declared 2024 the hottest year on record, and the first year in history with…
Attending the UN climate (COP28) and biodiversity (COP16) conferences during the past two years, it strikes this observer that the UN specialist environmental agreements on climate, biodiversity, pollution, hazardous waste,…
Say you want to see how the world is faring when it comes to biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Is it progressing fast enough? Are we on track to meet the…
1. Long-awaited plastics treaty flops, for now Despite around-the-clock efforts from delegates, negotiators and numerous advocacy groups, the fifth session of the U.N. Environment Programme’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on…
Evolution has perfected the world’s sharks and rays for more than 420 million years. Unlike the ammonites or pterosaurs that they once shared the oceans with, sharks and rays persevered…
This year, Mongabay published in-depth investigations on critical environmental issues. Our reporting revealed evidence of ecosystem destruction and its consequences for people worldwide, showcasing the importance of journalism in protecting…
The weight of the crises our planet faces can feel overwhelming and disempowering. And the books that made Mongabay’s annual list take a hard look at the challenges — deforestation…
As 2025 dawns, here is a look at some of the storylines that could shape the fate of tropical forests this year. More reading: The year in tropical rainforests: 2024…
Indigenous and local knowledge systems’ ability to nurture human-nature interconnection can play an important role in creating the type of transformative change needed to address the underlying causes of biodiversity…
The world lost many conservationists, Indigenous leaders, and environmentalists in 2024. Their lives were devoted to safeguarding the planet’s biodiversity, protecting vulnerable communities, and advocating for justice in the face…
A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific…
The year 2024 saw significant developments in tropical rainforest conservation, deforestation, and degradation. While progress in some regions provided glimmers of hope, systemic challenges and emerging threats highlighted the fragility…
2024 was a big year for Indigenous lands worldwide, whether through land rights gains, land grabbing, restoring spiritual connections to lands, or analyzing how these lands support biodiversity conservation. Land…
Ocean-based carbon dioxide removal technology is ramping up, with startups and existing companies racing to develop electrochemical techniques that either remove carbon from seawater or prompt oceans to suck up…
Major banks, including Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, are still failing to implement the full scope of U.N. human rights principles, a new report has found. The report by finance watchdog…
Next-generation geothermal technologies are gaining steam as a source of clean, renewable energy and an alternative to fossil fuels. With demonstration projects across the globe now showing strong potential, enhanced…
In 2022, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the “lifeline of renewable energy can steer [the] world out of climate crisis.” In saying so, he echoed a popular and tantalizing…
Pulling carbon dioxide directly from the air with giant vacuum-like devices is an enticing solution to the climate crisis, with governments and industry funneling billions of dollars into direct air…
“Just wait till next year!” goes the slogan often attributed to disappointed sports fans. Those same words could equally apply to proponents of an internationally binding U.N. agreement to phase…
Over the course of his career, Peter Houlihan has hauled light traps across dense jungles to study insects, even climbing up trees to string them up in the canopy. Earlier…
Satellite data have long told us where forests are and how they’re faring. Lidar, laser-based radar mounted on planes or satellites like the International Space Station, has helped us map…
Conservation photography occupies a unique space, blending the art of visual storytelling with the urgency of environmental advocacy. Cristina Mittermeier, a pioneering figure in this field, has spent decades capturing…
Forests are an essential ally in combating climate change. Trees consume carbon dioxide in order to grow, pulling the gas out of the air and storing it in wood, bark…
Rocks play a vital yet often unrecognized role in the carbon cycle. Through a natural process that has helped regulate Earth’s temperature for millennia, chemical reactions transform atmospheric carbon dioxide…
Where are mangrove restoration projects taking place? How many of them are successful? If they’ve failed, what happened? Finding answers to these questions isn’t easy. But those answers are critical…
The international community is struggling to come up with enough funding to adequately address climate change, especially for developing countries that are impacted the most. At the latest climate change…
Despite the 2024 U.N. climate conference, or COP29, concluding on a mixed note, attendees pushed forward greater ambitions to accelerate the clean energy transition. While the summit called on world…
Swift action must be taken to address human-caused land-system change and land degradation, which is now having wide ranging impacts on planetary health and human health, according to a first…
Imagine you purchased a swanky new chair. The paperwork claims the piece of furniture was made from legally sourced wood. But how can you be sure? After all, global supply…
There have been 29 United Nations Climate Change Conferences (UNFCCC COPs) so far. The first COP meeting was held in Germany in 1995, and the 29th meeting of the Conference…
Australia’s vibrant biodiversity is hanging by a thread, but citizen scientists have stepped up with passion and purpose. More than 100,000 volunteers are mapping species and gathering essential data, playing…
