Bolivia’s former ‘death road’ is now a haven for wildlife
In Bolivia, the infamous “Death Road” has become a haven for life. Once the only route north from La Paz, the narrow and treacherous old road to the Yungas claimed…
Amazon deforestation on pace to roughly match last year’s rate of loss
Deforestation in Earth's largest rainforest is on track to rival last year's 15-year-high according to data released today by the Brazilian government. INPE, Brazil's national space research institute, today published…
‘Protection too small, pressure too high’ for tree species globally, study finds
Trees play a critical role in supporting life on Earth, and over the past few years, everyone from governments to companies to celebrities has been talking about tree planting as…
‘Birds are messengers’, says BirdLife’s Patricia Zurita
Next month BirdLife International, a global partnership of 115 organizations working to protect birds and their habitats, will mark its 100th anniversary by holding the BirdLife World Congress in London.…
We’ve crossed the land use change planetary boundary, but solutions await
Just weeks after visiting a patch of Malaysian rainforest, Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler learned it had been logged for wood chips to supply a paper plant. A teenager at…
Farmer-to-farmer agroecology: Q&A with Chukki Nanjundaswamy of Amrita Bhoomi Learning Centre
Nestled in a verdant valley in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, about a four-hour drive southwest of Bengaluru, the agroecology learning center Amrita Bhoomi is one of dozens of…
In Japanese waters, a newly described anemone lives on the back of a hermit crab
In deep waters off the coast of Japan, a hermit crab is wearing haute couture. On its shell is the new-to-science anemone species Stylobates calcifer, named after the fire demon…
In world first, Chile to ban single-use food and beverage products over three years
New legislation passed by the Chilean government in May 2021 aims to rid the nation of all single-use products in the food and beverage industry, including plastics, within three years.…
From agribusiness to oil to nuclear power and submarines: welcome to anti-environmental Putin-Bolsonaro alliance (commentary)
As if all the strategic and political aspects of the Putin-Bolsonaro alliance weren’t detrimental enough, underlying environmental considerations add yet another undesirable dimension. Meeting with Putin at the Kremlin literally…
Deforestation intensifies in northern Malaysia’s most important water catchment
Spanning more than 1,600 square kilometers (620 square miles), the Ulu Muda rainforest is one of the last large, continuous tracts of forest in the Malay Peninsula, and provides vital…
Rains quell fire risk around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, but the future looks fiery
PREK TABAEK, Cambodia — The roots of the forests surrounding Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake spend half the year submerged in water. But in the past five years, they’ve been catching…
Did Wall Street play a role in this year’s wheat price crisis?
War, supply chain breakdowns, and climate change-driven weather disasters are pushing wheat prices up and increasing the threat of global hunger. Some analysts say financial speculation is making things worse.
Stingrays can ‘talk’ when they get riled up, new study suggests
In 2018, marine scientist Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons received an unusual stingray video from a colleague. It showed a mangrove whipray (Urogymnus granulatus) gliding over a reef in the Gili Islands of…
Industrial soy drives deforestation spike in Brazil, satellite images show
Deforestation is rising in a vulnerable part of the Amazon rainforest due to increased activity by industrial agricultural producers, who are burning down large pieces of territory to create new…
Monarch butterflies are officially endangered
The iconic monarch butterfly has been listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global authority on the conservation status of species. An endangered listing…
Sri Lankan environmental policy failures helped fuel people power revolution
COLOMBO — When Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced from office this month, among those leading the people power movement against Sri Lanka’s deeply unpopular president were the country’s environmental activists. For…
Wildlife ‘rehabbers’ wage herculean fight for a noble cause
Driving down a quiet street in Idaho Falls in the spring of 2021, I hadn’t yet noticed the wide gap between wildlife’s various needs and the slim ranks of wildlife…
Amazon deforestation is off to the fastest start to a year since 2008
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is off to the fastest start for the first half of any year since 2008 according to government data published today. Deforestation alert data from…
Return to agroforestry empowers women in Nepal
KAVRE, Nepal – Srijana Karki still remembers her childhood when she visited her grandfather's farm. "The green fields were dotted with various fruit trees and we would get to eat…
Scientists strive to restore world’s embattled kelp forests
Earth’s vast underwater kelp forests are a vital source of food, pharmaceuticals, and more, while storing huge amounts of carbon. These undersea forests are also at risk, but researchers are working to restore them.
‘Beenome’ project aims to boost bee conservation with genetic mapping
From tiny, jewel-toned metallic bees to cartoonish and lumbering bumblebees, the United States is home to more than 4,000 native and 55 non-native bee species. Now, scientists have announced a…
Mongabay’s new-look Reforestation.app makes finding the right tree-planting project easier
Reforestation initiatives are more popular than ever, with thousands of projects across the globe led by private companies, nonprofits, institutions, governments and communities. So how can an investor or donor…
Mennonite colony builds bridge, clears forest in Bolivian protected areas
CUARIRENDA, Bolivia — In October 2020, residents of a Mennonite colony began clearing a road through the forest in the Cordillera province of the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz. By…
Beyond boundaries: Earth’s water cycle is being bent to breaking point
Freshwater’s life-giving benefits are being gravely threatened by humanity’s manipulations of the hydrological cycle, impacting the climate and biodiversity, and undermining Earth’s operating system.
The war on journalists and environmental defenders in the Amazon continues (commentary)
Since I became an environmental journalist six years ago, my family, friends and acquaintances all labeled me “crazy”. Why? Because they were extremely scared after reading my articles and hearing…
Overexploited and underprotected: Study urges action on Asia’s rosewoods
Rosewood trees are a mainstay of tropical forests across parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. But their future looks bleak. Their fragrant, red-hued heartwood is prized by makers of…
For companies shopping for quality carbon credits, a new guide offers help
A new guide published in May is helping companies make smarter decisions about purchasing tropical forest credits, a strategy for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, slowing deforestation and mitigating climate change.…
Satellites show deforestation surging in Indonesia’s Tesso Nilo National Park
PEKANBARU, Indonesia — Reportedly home to 3% of the planet's mammal species and one of the highest levels of lowland plant diversity known to science, Indonesia’s Tesso Nilo National Park…
End old-growth logging in carbon-rich ‘crown jewel’ of U.S. forests: Study
The Tongass National Forest in the U.S. state of Alaska is a special place for conservation biologist Dominick DellaSala, even after decades of traveling the world to study temperate rainforests.…
Why Russia should not win the bid for Bolivia’s lithium (commentary)
The Arce government is currently negotiating with various foreign companies from countries including Argentina, the United States, China, and Russia, for the handling of its lithium extraction. The bidding war…
