‘3,000 year-old’ trees in Tanzania are new species
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…
Happy-upbeat Environmental News
Caribbean reef sharks rebound in Belize with shark fishers’ help
Rosie knows the Lighthouse Reef Atoll like the back of her fin. She calls this atoll home and is a matriarch of the thriving population of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus…
Chauffeur at Indonesia energy nonprofit drives uptake of biogas by Java farmers
SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in…
Iranian scientist names new praying mantis species for freedom
A new-to-science species of praying mantis found in Iran has been named as a symbol of universal freedom. Sinaiella azadi was found in the mountainous region of central Iran in…
10 unique community-led conservation solutions in the face of environmental despair
Numerous events and policy decisions across the world in the last several months are causing despair among many environmentalists. The abrupt freeze, and potential termination, of international funds for conservation…
Collaboration, data and tracking move Africa’s Great Green Wall toward its goal
The Great Green Wall in the Sahel, a mosaic of forests, farmlands and grasslands dotting the arid fringes of Sahara, was launched by the African Union in 2007 to fight…
In the drylands of northern Kenya, a ‘summer school’ for young researchers
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…
World Wildlife Day 2025: What I learned speaking spider monkey
I’ve learned to speak some spider monkey over the years. As a conservationist working out of the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, I’ve spent years of my life in the jungle. I…
To benefit biodiversity & climate, restoring lost forests works best: Study
Tree-planting has become a go-to tool for taking carbon out of the atmosphere and repairing deforested habitats. And indeed, reforestation — planting trees or fostering tree regrowth in historically forested…
An Ecuadorian hotspot shows how forests can claw back from destruction
Can a tropical forest mend itself? After trees are cut down and wildlife flees, do microbes on the dank, leafy floor and woody giants with epiphyte-laden crowns come back; do…
Vicuña poop creates biodiversity hotspots as glaciers retreat rapidly
The vicuña’s social habit of pooping in the same place could help Andean ecosystems adapt as glaciers rapidly retreat due to climate change. Researchers found that communal loos for vicuñas…
Study says land restoration worldwide can be funded with tiny fraction of global GDP
Restoring degraded land around the world would cost a fraction of a percent of global GDP to fund, a new study shows, but the inequitable distribution of restoration needs means…
Lessons from successful mangrove forest restoration in El Salvador (analysis)
The intrinsic value of mangroves and their related coastal ecosystems is getting more recognition than ever before, while actions to conserve and restore our planet’s coastal wetlands are gaining in…
As Gálapagos ecotourism booms, top naturalist guide urges sustainability
GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS — Marco Andres Vizcaino Garcia is probably the most qualified naturalist guide a person could hire during their visit to Galápagos National Park and its adjacent marine reserve.…
In Bangladesh, a botanist brings quick, fun lessons to social media
In the bustling city of Dhaka, Azharul Islam Khan is developing a growing community of plant enthusiasts, one video at a time. With a degree in botany from Dhaka University…
Ogoni women restore mangroves and livelihoods in oil-rich Niger Delta
A women-led reforestation effort has planted millions of mangrove trees with a high survival rate across swamps in Nigeria’s oil-rich and severely degraded Niger Delta. For decades, the Ogoni people…
Four new tarantula species found in India’s Western Ghats mountains
A researcher described four new species of tarantulas, including one new genus, from India's Western Ghats, a chain of mountains running along the country's west coast. "Most people in India…
Photos: Top new species from 2024
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…
Sani Isla: A Kichwa community that found alternatives to oil in conservation and tourism
In the late 1990s, the Kichwa community of Sani Isla, in northern Ecuador's Amazon region, learned that the oil company Occidental (Oxy) had plans to conduct exploration on their communal…
A Bali farm lights up the night with a one-of-a-kind firefly lab
BALI, Indonesia — “We didn’t have electricity in our village of Taro, near Ubud, until I was 12 years old,” says conservationist Wayan Wardika. To find their way through the…
Top Mongabay podcast picks for 2024
It was another busy year for Mongabay’s podcast team, featuring many fresh interviews, a new season of the Mongabay Explores series, an award, and its first year featuring a two-person…
Endangered seabirds return to Pacific island after century-long absence
Small seabirds skim the open ocean at night, patting their legs on the surface as they hunt for small fish. Now, for the first time in more than 100 years,…
How conservation photographer Cristina Mittermeier uses visual storytelling to inspire action
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…
After historic 2024 coral bleaching, hope remains for Mesoamerican Reef
2024 brought the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever recorded, only narrowly surpassing the record set in 2023. The trend, driven largely by human-caused climate change, according to NASA, caused the…
‘Bear’s-eye camera’ reveals elusive Andean bear cannibalism and treetop mating
In the mountains of Peru, where ancient cloud forests meet the Amazon Rainforest, an Andean bear made scientific history. For four months, a camera collar captured the wild male’s daily…
That Cuban rodent species you never knew about? Turns out it’s two species
Hutias are a strange group of rodents living on various islands of the Caribbean. Although big, and sometimes looking a little plump, they’re active climbers and spend a considerable amount…
In Colombia, a simple fencing fix offers a win-win for wildlife and ranchers
In the Orinoco River Basin straddling Venezuela and Colombia, biodiversity and agriculture are at odds. Cattle ranching is one of the leading causes of deforestation in Colombia’s Orinoquía region and…
Citizen scientists can boost IUCN species assessments, but need better guidance from ecologists
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…
Rappahannock Tribe first in US to enshrine rights of nature into constitution
The Rappahannock Tribe has become the first tribal nation in the United States to successfully recognize the rights of nature in their constitution, giving legal protection to the river they…
Borneo’s ‘omen birds’ find a staunch guardian in Indigenous Dayak Iban elders
Deep in the rainforests of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, the piercing calls of birds reverberate to the rhythm of the gushing Utik River that has long nourished wildlife and the…
From landfill to limelight, Ghana waste entrepreneurs win Earthshot Prize
When Desmond Alugnoa and Jacob Attakpah stepped onto a celebrity-studded green carpet at the Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town last week, they had a good feeling. “Not if we…
Gibbons found to perform dance routines akin to ‘the robot,’ but why?
Gibbons are famed for their graceful agility high in the forest canopy. Swinging effortlessly from branch to branch, their bodies spilling through the trees, the small apes seem to defy…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- 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
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- With climate change, cryosphere melt scales up as a threat to planetary health
- Indonesia seeks alternative funding as USAID freeze delays marine conservation efforts
- Funerary practices in Fiji protect marine areas while honoring the deceased
- Tourists are back at this Instaworthy Philippine town, but can its sewage system keep up?
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
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
- A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
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
