Hotel built without permits on disputed land riles neighboring Paracas reserve in Peru
PARACAS, Peru — As the sun set over Paracas Bay on April 7, 2023, a beachside hotel flashed with the lights of an electronic music party. Seen from afar, the…
Marine Conservation News
Norway poised to sail past opposition with deep-sea mining licensing plans
Norway is poised to move forward with plans to mine for seabed minerals along its continental shelf despite public opposition. On June 26, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy released a…
Cambodian fishers-turned-citizen scientists monitor marine mammal deaths
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — Cambodia has a marine mammal problem. Dolphins, dugongs and other species are caught and killed in fishers’ nets or wash up dead on beaches regularly, but no one…
‘Mermaids’ dive to study and protect Mexican fishing grounds
Esmeralda Albañez used to be afraid of the sea. Just thinking about it would conjure up images of darkness, of how deep and unknown it was to her. Coming from…
In the Pacific depths, an underwater mountain hosts a bonanza of new species
Flying spaghetti monsters, Casper octopus, and a fish that looks like a Muppet are just a few of the rare creatures found on a previously unknown underwater mountain off the…
Social media influencers’ bad behavior with marine wildlife is risky for animals, too (commentary)
Many of us have likely come across that viral video on social media – a young woman touching the back of a large, possibly pregnant, great white shark, swimming alongside…
Celestún refuge fights illegal fishing & helps revive species in Mexico’s Yucatán
A decade ago, the overfishing of sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) was the center of controversy in Celestún, a small community in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Extraction of the coveted…
In Mexico, scientists race to save Marietas Islands’ corals from ocean warming
The corals of the Marietas Islands, a pair of small islands in Mexico’s Pacific Ocean, have survived record-high temperatures and uncontrolled tourism triggered by the sudden international fame of “the…
Plan for close season rings alarm bells for Liberia’s artisanal fishers
ROBERTSPORT, Liberia — “We depend only on the sea for our survival. How will we manage when the sea is closed?” Mamie Freeman was seated atop a beached canoe in…
Clock ticks on Indonesia shark skinners as predator population plunges
LAMONGAN, Indonesia — Sulaiman is so practiced at stripping a zebra shark that he can skin the animal in just a few minutes. He sticks a knife into the meter-long…
Amid haze of war, Lebanese activists helped turtle hatchlings journey to sea
BEIRUT — Baby loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) made their way from their sandy nests in South Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, their flippers seemingly too…
NGOs raise concerns over oil exploration in Republic of Congo national park
Oil exploration in the Republic of Congo’s Conkouati-Douli National Park threatens the local biodiversity, communities and environment, according to U.S.-based NGO Earth Insight. The Conkouati oil block was awarded by…
Mexico loses phosphate mining lawsuit in controversial arbitration process
MEXICO CITY — A mining company trying to launch a controversial phosphate project in Mexican waters has won a lawsuit against the country claiming officials wrongfully rejected its environmental permits,…
Inaugural Planetary Health Check finds ocean acidification on the brink
The first ever pulse check of the planet’s health shows that the Earth is far beyond it’s safe operating space for humanity. Six of nine key planetary boundaries are already…
Lab-grown corals resisted bleaching during Caribbean’s worst marine heat wave
In mid-2023, the Caribbean Sea simmered as air temperatures soared, marking the hottest days ever recorded in Puerto Rico and Barbados. Beginning in March, sea surface temperatures throughout the region…
The ocean ‘belongs to all of us’: Interview with Palau President Whipps
Surangel S. Whipps Jr., president of the tiny Pacific island nation of Palau, wants more countries to join him in calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining. This prospective industry,…
A Mexican marine park shelters giant manta rays: Interview with Madalena Pereira Cabral
Swimming with giant manta rays (Mobula birostris) feels like an underwater dance. Their slow, rhythmic movements are astonishing to Madalena Pereira Cabral. She describes her dives alongside manta rays, which…
Not merely ‘exploration’: PNG deep-sea mining riles critics & surprises officials
A deep-sea mining operation that recently took place off the coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has raised alarm bells for environmentalists and called into question the validity of the…
$35m debt-for-nature deal aims to protect Indonesia’s coral reefs
JAKARTA — A milestone debt-for-nature agreement to conserve coral reefs in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic country, has drawn a mix of optimism and skepticism from environmentalists. While welcoming the…
Argentina weighs new MPA to curb international fishing frenzy in ‘Blue Hole’
A law that would protect a massive stretch of Argentina’s seafloor is running out of time for a parliamentary vote, and conservationists are racing to raise awareness before they run…
As waterbodies lose oxygen, are we breaching a potential planetary boundary?
The Earth is in crisis — a reality made increasingly clear by intensifying heat, drought and storms, worsening pollution, land stripped of forests, and the ramping up of the sixth…
On Canada’s West Coast, clam gardening builds resilience among Indigenous youth
VANCOUVER ISLAND, B.C., Canada — Three young men follow a winding trail through a lush spruce, hemlock and western cedar forest. Their destination is a clam garden they look after…
Mexican fishing industry rep killed after denouncing illegal fishing
MEXICO CITY — The representative of a prominent advocacy group for Mexico’s fishing industry was killed in July after speaking out against organized crime in Baja California, where illegal fishing…
Brazil’s Carvalho to lead seabed-mining authority following predecessor’s controversial term
Brazilian oceanographer Leticia Carvalho has been named the next secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) after winning an election that could change the course of the deep-sea mining industry.…
WTO negotiations flounder — again — over banning unsustainable fishing subsidies
Hopes for closure on a fair deal to stop governments bankrolling overfishing flopped yet again at the recent General Council meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. Scheduled…
Cambodia’s largest mangrove forest is ‘teeming with life,’ biodiversity survey finds
A recent deep-dive biodiversity survey in Cambodia identified hundreds of unique species swimming, flying, crawling and prowling within one of mainland Southeast Asia’s largest mangrove forests. The abundance of animals…
Conservationists look for new ways to fight oil pipelines in southern Mexico
Mexico has pledged to more than double its clean energy output by 2030, investing in solar and wind power while transitioning away from fossil fuels. Yet the country continues to…
Shaping the next generation of Indigenous rangers: Interview with Manni Edwards
Manni Edwards credits his journey to preserving the wisdom of his elders to an encounter with goondoi 40 years ago. At the age of 8, Edwards says, he saw up…
‘Trust needs to be rebuilt’: Interview with candidate to head U.N. seabed-mining authority
For Leticia Carvalho, change is needed at the International Seabed Authority, the regulator of deep-sea mining in international waters. Carvalho, 50, a Brazilian oceanographer and international civil servant for the…
French Polynesians revive traditional rāhui to protect fish — and livelihoods
TAHITI — It's Mass Day in Fenua Aihere. There are no roads to this part of the island of Tahiti — it’s only reachable by boat. It's Monday, not the…
For the first time ever, we’re farming more seafood than we’re catching: FAO
For the first time in history, we now farm more seafood than we catch from the wild. At the same time, overfishing of wild fish stocks continues to increase even…
‘It is indeed our problem’: Interview with Mário Soares on Brazil’s mangroves
As a child, Mário Soares ventured into a mangrove in the Guaratiba neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro for the first time. Throughout his life's journey, this place remained with him.…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- In Brazil’s Amazon, land invasions — and fires — threaten a protected reserve
- A Guatemalan reserve turns from civil war refuge to deforestation hotspot
- Narco activity takes heavy toll on Colombia’s protected forests, satellite data show
- Photos confirm narcotraffickers operating in Peru’s Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve
Oceans
- Plan for close season rings alarm bells for Liberia’s artisanal fishers
- Lab-grown corals resisted bleaching during Caribbean’s worst marine heat wave
- Six months after first Houthi ship sinking, attacks slick Red Sea with oil
- $35m debt-for-nature deal aims to protect Indonesia’s coral reefs
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
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
- In the DRC, a government commission is taking funds owed to people relocated by mines
- A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
- Can nations ever get artisanal gold mining right?
Endangered Environmentalists
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
- Mongabay video screening at Chile’s Supreme Court expected to help landmark verdict in Brazil
- Indonesian activist freed in hate speech case after flagging illegal shrimp farms
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
- 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
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
