On Feb. 13, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to suspend a cooperation agreement with Rwanda on a trio of minerals critical to the clean energy transition, citing their links to…
Ever since the Cobre Panamá mine was forced to shut down in 2023, the copper mine’s infrastructure has been eroding away in a biodiverse jungle on Panama’s Atlantic coast —…
ANDRANOTSIMATY, Madagascar — On an August afternoon, a conspiracy of golden-crowned sifakas made their way across Andranotsimaty, a settlement inside Loky Manambato Protected Area in Madagascar. There are other kinds…
JAKARTA — More than 75% of the nickel refining capacity in Indonesia, home to the biggest reserves of this critical mineral, is controlled by Chinese companies, many with affiliations to…
“Since Goma fell, I've lived in fear. I don't dare leave my house.” These are the words of Justin Shamutwa Masumbuko, general coordinator of the Indigenous rights NGO ADELIPO-Congo. For…
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — “I fled the fighting in Bweremana between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo [FARDC] and the M23 armed group. I saw…
The past three years have been turbulent for the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region that has experienced prolonged conflict for many years. The recent advancement of M23, a…
The return of the floating structures shows the resilience of illegal gold mining in the Amazon, which destroys the riverbeds and contaminates the water with mercury.
The Amazon is renowned for its cultural diversity, particularly the ethnic diversity of its Indigenous nations, but also the cultural traditions of numerous other distinctive groups that have migrated into…
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s deforestation is once again rising after several years of decline, with 2024 marking the highest rate since 2021. The data also show that the vast majority of…
On Jan. 28, the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 captured Goma, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich North Kivu province. The fall of Goma marks a shocking chapter…
Each year, thousands of migratory birds such as the colorful African pygmy goose, maccoa duck and African spoonbill stop at the Cleveland Dam wetland in Zimbabwe to breed and rest.…
Gold mining has exploded in Nicaragua over the past few years, bringing in billions of dollars and becoming the country’s top export, surpassing even coffee and beef. International sanctions against…
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s parliament is fast-tracking amendments to the country’s mining law, in a move that could reshape the country’s mining landscape for the worst, say activists who warn of…
One of the main social and economic challenges facing Amazonian countries is inequality. Although the standard of living of the lower economic strata is better now than at any time…
In Nagasaki prefecture, on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, J-Power, the operator of the aging Matsushima coal-fired power plant, has an idea to keep the unit operating despite the…
Plans for a major mining project in western Suriname have sounded alarms in nearby Indigenous communities, who say that the project will destroy local ecosystems, violate their land rights and…
As the demand for critical minerals intensifies with the energy transition, the need for a rights-based approach to mining, focused on respect, is more relevant than ever. This approach relies…
Environmentalist Justin Landry Chekoua says he’s shocked by images of century-old trees uprooted and rivers contaminated in the northern Sangha region of the Republic of Congo. Mongabay had taken photos…
JAKARTA — Prominent Indonesian environmental forensic expert Bambang Hero Saharjo faces yet another potential lawsuit for serving as a state witness against alleged violators, this time in a high-profile tin…
Lawmakers in El Salvador have voted to reintroduce industrial mining in the country, ending a landmark ban that was meant to protect freshwater and public health. The law, pushed through…
Throughout a year in which Latin America saw elections in six countries and prepared for the biodiversity COP16 in Colombia, the region continued its struggle with extreme weather events, criminal…
Nearly 100 underground tunnels, running a combined length of more than 84 kilometers, or 52 miles, crisscross and plunge into the depths of the mountain that hosts the Zijin gold…
2024 was a year marked by a COP climate summit so dismal that many governments and analysts questioned whether the annual meetings are even worth holding. While world leaders failed…
The modern history of internal migration in Colombia began in a manner that was not unlike the processes organized by the governments in Brazil and the other Andean countries in…
Martin Cheek first entered the Boyboyba Forest in southeastern Guinea in September 2022 to look for an extremely rare plant whose entire population is estimated to number just 100. The…
EAST HALMAHERA, Indonesia — Halik Fanen and his wife, Fatimun, spent much of the day sifting the couple’s inheritance into seven plastic sacks near the east of Indonesia’s Halmahera Island.…
2024 was a big year for Indigenous lands worldwide, whether through land rights gains, land grabbing, restoring spiritual connections to lands, or analyzing how these lands support biodiversity conservation. Land…
In 15 conservation units, illegal gold miners destroyed 330 hectares (815 acres) — an area close to the size of Central Park in New York City — in only two months.
You could be forgiven for thinking there’s no water in the Atacama Desert. In fact, the driest desert on Earth has underground springs that feed the Chaxa, Cejar and Tebenquiche…
Researchers suggest that recycling gold could dramatically reduce harmful emissions, along with other solutions such as formalizing mining, adopting clean technologies, and improving gold supply chain transparency.
Foreign investors in Honduras enjoy “extraordinary privileges” that hinder the government’s ability to implement reforms that could benefit human rights and the environment, a report has found. These advantages allow…
