In October 2023, a delegation of La Gente de Centro — the Andoke (Pɵɵsiɵhɵ), Nonuya (Nonova), Muinane (Féénemɨnaa) and Uitoto (Nɨpode) peoples of the Middle Caquetá River Basin — traveled…
JAKARTA — A palm oil company is ramping up its destruction of forests that are home to critically endangered orangutans in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the island of Borneo,…
Austrian director and cinematographer Richard Ladkani knew little about the Amazon Rainforest before he decided to make a film about it. It was 2019. Fires raged across the Amazon. Ladkani…
Locals warned Belo Monte would kill the river, and now the plant faces a turning point as prophecies become real.
Planting trees is a vital strategy to combat both climate change and the biodiversity crisis. As forests grow, they sponge carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide renewed habitat for…
BRASÍLIA — Indigenous leaders and researchers in Brazil say an end to a key zero-deforestation agreement, the Amazon Soy Moratorium, will increase deforestation around Indigenous lands and encourage the invasion…
The tropical forests of the Amazon and Andes are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet, but across both regions, changes in climate and landscape conditions are driving…
JAKARTA — Indigenous communities in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua accuse the government of underhanded zoning changes to expand the so-called food estate program there to include large-scale oil palm…
Tucked into Brazil’s Amazon forest, along the Maici River where recently contacted Pirahã people live, journalists observed a dramatic uptick in forest loss. According to data from Global Forest Watch,…
JAKARTA — Satellite imagery recorded more than 5,000 fire hotspots on peatlands across Indonesia in January, despite the fact that much of the country remains firmly in the grip of…
As global soy giants walk away from a landmark pact, land grabbers move in to clear the forest for new crops.
JAKARTA — Indigenous rights activists have condemned the Indonesian government’s decision to grant 328,000 hectares (810,505 acres) of cultivation rights for a massive rice plantation project in Papua, warning that…
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has revoked the permits of 28 companies over environmental violations that authorities say exacerbated the deadly floods and landslides that struck the island of Sumatra…
When U.S. forces entered Venezuela earlier this month and removed President Nicolás Maduro, officials framed the intervention as a strategic economic opportunity. President Donald Trump repeatedly pointed to the country’s…
JAKARTA — In the wake of the deadly floods and landslides that struck Indonesia in late 2025, the nation’s environment ministry has sued six companies, seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($284…
JAKARTA — Indonesia has reclaimed more than 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres, about the size of Switzerland) of land nationwide that had been used for plantations, mining or other…
After years of uneven progress, deforestation in Indonesia is poised to accelerate, owing to widespread logging, expanding plantations and mining. In December, Indonesia’s forestry minister, Raja Juli Antoni, indicated the…
JAKARTA — Best known as the home of the world’s rarest great ape, the mountainous Batang Toru forest landscape on the island of Sumatra has become a test case for…
More than 145,000 African forest elephants roam the rainforests of Africa, according to a recent population assessment. Published in December by the African Elephant Specialist Group at the IUCN, the…
BANGKOK — 2025 saw global conservation plunged into chaos, with an estimated $500 million in funding from the United States government abruptly slashed after Donald Trump returned to office. The…
The story of the world’s tropical forests in 2025 was not one of dramatic reversal, but one shaped by accumulated pressure. In several regions, deforestation slowed. In others, loss continued…
As Belém's COP30 ended in compromise, political forces moved swiftly to accelerate destruction far from the global spotlight.
A recent scientific review of forest maps used to ensure compliance with the European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-free products, known as the EUDR, suggests that most may over- or underestimate…
Restoration in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest is finding success on private lands, according to a newly published study. Researchers evaluated the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, a collaborative initiative launched in 2009…
JAKARTA — A major global forestry certification body is under scrutiny for endorsing one of Indonesia’s largest recent deforesters, raising concerns that consumers may be misled about the origins of…
Note: this piece was written prior to 2025, but was only published in December 2025. Jennifer Geerlings-Simons is currently president of Suriname and spoke to Mongabay in November 2025. Both…
BELÉM, Brazil — A new analysis warns that the world is overlooking a major source of future emissions hidden beneath tropical forests — and that Brazil’s newly launched Tropical Forest Forever…
Phaseout plan gained unexpected momentum at the summit, only to vanish from the final deal and unlock a new stage.
Operational rifts and budget constraints choked ambitious funding from rich nations for TFFF at Belém’s summit.
The first time Virgilio Viana saw the Amazon up close, he was a 16-year-old with a backpack, two school friends and very little sense of what he was walking into.…
A large forest in eastern Bolivia is on the verge of being sold to an international agriculture company, raising concerns that it might be razed to make room for new…
The Tapajós supported Indigenous people for millennia, but now vessels, pollution and waves may disrupt their lives.
