Illegal Logging News

BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost…

Tied to clearing in Amazon and Cerrado, shipments from 'world's largest hamburger producer’ reach Europe and Asia.

JAKARTA — The mysterious death of Vian Ruma, a 30-year-old activist opposing a geothermal project on Flores Island, has intensified calls for stronger protection of environmental defenders in Indonesia, where…

In 2013, a small group of Brazilian forestry engineers ecologists, and other scientists formed a special operations unit. Known as the Grupo de Especialização de Fiscalização (GEF), the unit operates…

Rainforests have long played a central role in Liberia. Home to hundreds of thousands of people, they’re a source of sustenance, a site for cultural practice and habitat for forest…

Around half of West Africa’s remaining rainforests are in the small coastal nation of Liberia. They’re home to species like western chimpanzees and pygmy hippos, valuable stands of hardwood —…

MEXICO CITY – About two dozen police officers, government officials and a data specialist sat side by side in a command center in northern Bogotá, Colombia’s capital. For two weeks,…

Six months ago, the M23 rebel group seized Goma, one of the largest cities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the time since, local activists and…

In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, local communities are leading the charge against environmental crime — and they’re succeeding. Our new peer-reviewed study published in Conservation Biology has found…

While supporting conservation research in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental with teams from the U.S.-based Columbia University and San Diego Zoo Global, I assisted in work involving the endangered thick-billed parrot.…

Agricultural expansion in two Brazilian states has cleared a U.K -sized area of jaguar habitat, nearly a fifth of which occurred in the last decade alone, a new report shows.…

BANGKOK — Ouk Mao, a Cambodian environmental journalist, was reporting on the continued logging of Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary when he was attacked on March 24 by a group of men…

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s efforts to ensure its commodity exports are free of deforestation are ramping up as the European Union Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, nears enforcement. One of the biggest…

A Mongabay investigation that revealed an illegal cattle boom amid a record-high number of killings of Indigenous Guajajara has been cited by Brazilian authorities to remove thousands of head of cattle from the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in the Amazon Rainforest.

"They're curious about us, and we're curious about them." That’s how Daniel Cangussu describes the recent interaction with a small Indigenous group that had just contacted non-Indigenous society in the…

PURSAT, Cambodia — The Cambodian government has approved at least three new irrigation dams across the Cardamom Mountains, carving even deeper into forests currently being used for the Southern Cardamom REDD+…

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…

Highly prized teak from Myanmar continues to be imported into Poland, despite EU sanctions on the Southeast Asian country’s state-run timber monopoly following the 2021 military coup and violent crackdown…

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s president has drafted the military to lead the reclamation of illegally occupied forest areas throughout the country, while the Ministry of Forestry has partnered with it to…

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…

Zooming in on the Peruvian jungle, many hectares of deforestation can be seen amid the thick vegetation, like huge scars hidden among the foliage. They’re dispersed between the forests in…

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — Chhoeung Chheng, a journalist covering environmental issues for local online news outlet Kampuchea Aphiwat News, has died of his injuries after being shot in Siem Reap province…

The boat comes to a halt, shuddering against the dirt bank that rises from the edge of the Ucayali River. Sixto, tanned and with a frown cutting deep furrows across…

The hum of a small plane is heard overhead during a community assembly, but no one looks up. Conversation rises naturally over the sound as the engine’s intense roar fades…

The audience erupts into cheers and applause. The emcee has just announced the four finalists of the “Miss Juan Chávez Muquinuy” beauty pageant, who take the stage for their final…

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…

STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — Six environmental activists in Cambodia have been released without charge after being arrested and held for nearly three days by Cambodian military. The activists, including Ouch Leng,…

Parties members of the European People’s Party (EPP), a large center-right political party, received political donations from influential companies linked to illegal deforestation and which are likely to benefit from…

Nov. 1 marked the five-year anniversary of the killing of Indigenous forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara and the attempted killing of fellow guardian Laércio Guajajara in an alleged ambush by loggers in the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon; the suspects haven’t been tried yet.

This is the second part of a Mongabay series investigating Cambodia's illicit timber trade. Read Part One. Several Cambodian journalists helped to report this investigation, but have requested not to…

This is the first part of a Mongabay series investigating Cambodia’s illicit timber trade. Read Part Two. Several Cambodian journalists contributed to this report, but have requested anonymity due to…

PHNOM PENH — In a rare move to combat forest crimes, Cambodian Environment Minister Eang Sophalleth on Sept. 2 banned all forest clearance at the site of a dam project in…