It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of Ochieng’ Ogodo, Mongabay’s East Africa editor, who died early Thursday morning in Nairobi, Kenya, at the age of…
As urbanization reshapes global landscapes, ecological balance is increasingly at risk, especially in Africa. The primary drivers are rapid development and expanding human settlements, often without proper environmental considerations, posing…
NAIROBI, Kenya — Many African cities are now characterized by deafening traffic noises and suffocating gas emissions, and are becoming limitless concrete jungles as urbanization takes hold and human settlements…
NAIROBI ― A new killifish species, scientifically known as Nothobranchius sylvaticus, has been documented in seasonal swamps of Kenya’s ancient Gongoni Forest, research shows. In a study published this month…
KIMANA, Kenya — Lush, fertile and green, the Laikipia highlands of Kenya are renowned for their beauty and abundant grasses that feed its wildlife and livestock. They’re also the theater…
A moving coming-of-age story of two Kenyan teenagers brought together in friendship by a murder, the documentary film Searching for Amani opens a window into complex tensions between conservationists, crop-growing…
At this point in history, the hubristic belief that people are above nature has allowed humans to bring immeasurable change to the natural systems that all of life depends upon…
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…
From the Tibetan plateau to the African Sahel, pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions,…
NAIROBI ― Temperature can increase bee colony loss in dry, hot and wet seasons, but a study has found that beekeepers practicing water provision to the bees experience up to…
NAIROBI ― Grassland restoration, which uses nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, can help farmers adapt to climate change by improving human security through reducing conflicts, which may lessen retaliatory actions…
NAIROBI ― Introduced to East Africa in 1891, in Zanzibar, to deal with domestic food waste, Indian house crows are now wreaking havoc in Kenya: killing native small birds, likely…
NAIROBI ― An environmental disaster is unfolding in Isiolo county, in northeastern Kenya, following a recent wildfire outbreak that devastated large swaths of the region, according to experts who are…
NAIROBI ― Poisoning, poaching and loss of habitat have significantly reduced populations of lion prides in Uganda, signaling the need for long-term commitments to conservation action, researchers write in a…
NAIROBI — Cheetahs are known to be selective in their feeding habits — “clean eaters” that only go after the prime parts of their kill, such as the liver. But…
Climate change is not an equal player; neither is environmental degradation. Research shows that both disproportionately affect populations that are already vulnerable. The effects of floods, fires, heat waves and…
On June 13, 1959, the Waata hunter Galogalo Kafonde surrendered himself to colonial Kenya’s “Field Force,” Africa’s first militarized antipoaching unit. For centuries, the ethnic Waata had hunted elephants. Killing…
NAIROBI — There are 22,000 buses on Nairobi’s crowded streets, the backbone of commuter transit for the Kenyan capital’s population of 5.3 million. The city’s matatus, privately owned public transport,…
In a landmark ruling in May 2017, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights affirmed the Indigenous Ogiek’s status as ancestral owners of the Mau Forest in Kenya and…
Encompassing some 2,700 square kilometers, Mau Forest is considered the most important water catchment in western Kenya, providing water to millions of people. But recent satellite data reveal that Mau…
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…
This is Part 2 of a two-part series on Kenya’s Eldoret-Iten Water Fund. Part 1 is available here. Two years into the program, Kenya’s Eldoret-Iten Water Fund (EIWF) has seen…
This is Part 1 of a two-part series on Kenya’s Eldoret-Iten Water Fund. Part 2 is available here. When farmers in the upstream Moiben catchment of Kenya’s Cherangany Hills Water…
Cattle and conservation don’t typically mix. For centuries, East African pastoralists like the Maasai trudged across the region’s savannas with their herds, passing by elephants and lions in their search…
NAIROBI — The water supply for Nairobi’s five million people — and four million others besides — depends on the Tana river, which flows for 1,000 km from the Aberdare…
How do you secure the future of one of Africa’s most endangered large mammals, a species with only an estimated 3,000 remaining in the wild? You protect its habitat –…
Across Africa, numerous ecosystems are under pressures degrading their ecological, economic and cultural value. The Niger Delta in the continent’s west and Mount Elgon in the east are two examples…
After years of delays, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) will soon meet for the first time to discuss Kenya’s failure to implement rulings recognizing the Ogiek…
Three years into an ambitious wetland restoration project in East Africa, conservationist Julie Mulonga says she’s learned the value of small steps. The Source to Sea project set out to…
In recent years, there has been a significant trend in young people from around the world joining the fight against environmental threats and climate change. These educated youths have played…
LOITA FOREST, Kenya — Wrapped in fingers of moss, where the spindly upper branches of giant trees tickle the clouds, a highland tropical forest conceals secret groves. These are where…
Conservationists have called for a halt to trophy hunting of elephants from Kenya’s Amboseli National Park that cross over into neighboring Tanzania, following the killing of at least five males…