New study finds young forests have a huge climate impact
Forests store vast quantities of carbon and play a huge role in the world’s carbon cycle – as well as in human hopes of mitigating global warming. Tropical rainforests, the…
Conservation groups press world leaders to protect 30% of the planet
Thirteen conservation organizations have banded together to ask policymakers to protect the world’s last wilderness areas by setting aside nearly one-third of the Earth for conservation. “The planet is losing…
In the belly of the beast: journalist delves into wildlife trafficking
Ivory, pangolin scales, bear bile: Rachel Nuwer, author of the new book “Poached,” saw it all as she trekked from rainforests to posh restaurants on the trail of wildlife traffickers.
A living planet begins with thriving forests (commentary)
In my lifetime, global wildlife populations have seen an overall decline of more than half. That’s a statement of such enormity that it’s hard to process. The evidence comes from…
Deforested, degraded land restoration a top priority for African leaders
African leaders came together on Nov. 13 to back the restoration of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of degraded ecosystems ahead of the start of the U.N. Biodiversity Conference.…
Bear-human conflict risks pinpointed amid resurgent bear population
Scientists have mapped out instances of human-black bear conflict in a part of the U.S. state of Nevada where bears are returning decades after they vanished. The results of their…
Absent for decades, zebras reintroduced to park in southern Tanzania
A herd of zebra now roams the southern highlands of Tanzania for the first time since the 1960s. Staff from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and its partners released 24…
Massive loss of mammal species in Atlantic Forest since the 1500s
South America’s Atlantic Forest was once home to an “exuberant … megadiverse” swath of animal and plant life, according to ecologist Juliano Bogoni. But in a paper published in the…
Why keep Africa’s dryland forests alive?
About 10 years ago, the average millet farmer in Boromdougou village along the Niger River in Mali produced about 170 kilograms of cereals per hectare per season, according to Pierre…
Audio: The ‘Godfather of Biodiversity’ on why it’s time to manage Earth as a system
On this episode we welcome the godfather of biodiversity, Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, to discuss some of the most important environmental issues we’re currently facing and why he believes the next…
Q&A: Esther Mwangi on why voices of local community members will be featured at GLF Africa conference
The 2018 Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Africa Conference is set to kick off in Nairobi, Kenya this week, bringing together representatives from both the public and private sectors, as well…
Researchers are looking into the past to help ensure a future for tropical forests
At 1,200 to 3,200 meters above sea level, the montane cloud forests on the eastern Andean flank in Ecuador lie between the Andes’ high-elevation grasslands (known as páramo) and the…
Plant communities roar back after rat removal from Pacific islands
Plant numbers have surged in a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean following the eradication of invasive rats that gobbled up seeds and gnawed away at vegetation, a new…
Farmer-managed natural regeneration: the fastest way to restore trees to degraded landscapes?
Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) of trees made headlines several years ago when 5 million hectares of Niger were found to have re-greened via the practice. FMNR is the encouragement of regeneration…
Study reveals China’s new forests aren’t really forests
In 1998, severe flooding caused by heavy rains and exacerbated by deforestation killed more than 4,000 people in southern China. To reduce the chances of such an event happening again,…
Pangolins on the brink as Africa-China trafficking persists unabated
The pangolin trade remains brisk, as conservationists scramble to identify populations and lobby for tough protections, while U.S. zoos make a controversial try to raise them.
In Brazil, an island laboratory for Atlantic Forest restoration
ANCHIETA ISLAND, Brazil - From a distance, Anchieta Island is a mosaic of different shades of green. The lighter ones correspond to areas where ferns and a handful of broad-range…
Animal trainers are teaching wildlife to conserve themselves
Chimps have been taught to sound an alarm when poachers approach; polar bears and condors have been trained to avoid towns; and even butterflies can learn new tricks.
Vine-like lianas alter the edges of fragmented forests: New study
Carving up rainforests to make room for farming, ranching and other uses induces a host of changes into the ecosystem, many of which scientists are only just beginning to understand.…
Study: Indonesia’s ambitious peat restoration initiative severely underfunded
JAKARTA — High costs and a lack of funding stand in the way of Indonesia achieving its target for the restoration of degraded peatland across the country, a new study…
Pearl Jam invests in Amazonian reforestation to offset emissions from current Brazil tour
Rock band Pearl Jam is voluntarily offsetting the carbon emissions of its current tour in Brazil. The band has partnered with Conservation International (CI) in purchasing carbon offsets for the…
Sharp-eyed Mongabay readers spot a jaguarundi (commentary)
Mongabay does its very best to be accurate in its reporting, but sometimes we need a little help from our friends.
Audio: How effective is environmental restoration?
How effective is environmental restoration? On today’s episode, we seek answers to that question through the lens of a much needed new project at the University of Cambridge collecting restoration…
Restoration optimism: Bringing nature back (commentary)
I sit huddled in the hide, the sharp winter air stinging my cheeks and making my eyes tear up. Blinking, I catch sight of movement in the reeds. Out steps…
Indonesian palm, pulp companies commit to peatland restoration
JAKARTA — More than a hundred palm oil and pulp companies in Indonesia have pledged to restore a combined area of peat forest the size of the state of Connecticut,…
Indonesia prepares to adopt standardized peat-mapping technology
JAKARTA — The daunting task of mapping Indonesia’s vast peatlands in painstaking detail has entered the home stretch, as competing proposals vie for selection as the standard to be adopted…
U.S. zoos learn how to keep captive pangolins alive, helping wild ones
The Pangolin Consortium is mastering the art of helping pangolins thrive in captivity, which allows researchers to study the animals, aiding in their survival in the wild.
Nigeria pledges to restore nearly 10 million acres of degraded land
The government of Nigeria has announced its plans to restore four million hectares, or nearly 10 million acres, of degraded lands within its borders. The West African nation is now…
Indonesians race to save their disappearing lakes, before it’s too late
LAKE LIMBOTO, Indonesia — Anton Kui has fished here since he was in fifth grade. He remembers he could quickly catch a day’s worth of fish close to his home.…
Audio: Margaret Atwood on her conservation-themed graphic novel, dystopian futures, and how not to despair
Today’s episode features best-selling author and environmental activist Margaret Atwood as well as the founder of a beverage company rooted in the Amazon whose new book details the lessons he’s…
