test feed

Three communities in Papua New Guinea are waiting for the country’s Supreme Court to decide whether their concerns about the dumping of mine waste in the sea near their homes merit cancellation of an environmental permit for mining that the government issued in 2020. U.S.-based Newmont Corporation and South Africa’s Harmony Gold Ltd., the partners

Tropical forests help regulate the global climate, host irreplaceable biodiversity and provide fresh water resources. Plus forests in general are the source of livelihoods for more than a billion people — so our very existence depends on them. However, because their value is not reflected in markets, these areas are often converted to other uses. Conserving our tropical forests

Mongabay India’s 2024 podcast miniseries “Wild Frequencies” bagged the “Best Science and Medical” category at the Publisher Podcast Awards ceremony in London on June 11. The podcast is a three-episode series that tells stories of how researchers in India use the science of bioacoustics, or animal sounds, to better understand the lives of wildlife, such

French Polynesia has announced the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area. Speaking on the first day of the United Nations Ocean Conference in France, French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson said the MPA will cover the territory’s entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or 4.8 million square kilometers (roughly 1.9 million square miles). “We have

Tanzania will establish two new marine protected areas off the eastern coast of Pemba Island in the semiautonomous region of Zanzibar, the fisheries minister for Zanzibar announced at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, on June 10. Zanzibar’s minister for blue economy and fisheries, Shaaban Ali Othman, said at the conference that the

This story is the first article of a two-part Mongabay mini-series exploring possible climate futures. Read Part One. Humanity stands at a critical juncture in the climate emergency: As countries worldwide prepare to submit their climate commitments for the next decade, scientists report mounting evidence that we are very close to breaching the 1.5° Celsius

KATHMANDU– Snow leopards (Panther uncia) in Nepal have home ranges that are significantly larger than previously documented and frequently cross international borders, according to the country’s first GPS telemetry study, highlighting the need for cross-country collaborations in conserving one of the world’s most elusive species. Data from four snow leopards fitted with GPS collars in

Crystal Davis, Global Program Director at the World Resources Institute, highlights positive strides in rainforest conservation worldwide. From successful protection efforts in Brazil and Colombia to the critical role of Indigenous communities in safeguarding rainforests, we explore how technology, like Global Forest Watch, and strong political leadership are helping to combat deforestation. While acknowledging the

For the first time in its history, Bangladesh is attempting to protect five species from extinction by increasing their numbers and strengthening their population in the wild. The floral species are bulborox (Bulbophyllum roxburghii), the small-bulb orchid Bulbophyllum oblongum, dwarf date palm (Phoenix acaulis), chaulmoogra (Hydnocarpus kurzii) and bash pata (Podocarpus neriifolius). All of them are

A golden eagle has been spotted in northern England for the first time since 2015, indicating the birds may soon be expanding their range south from Scotland into England, where they’re currently considered locally extinct. Conservationists and scientists working in a remote area of rural Northumberland, an English county that borders Scotland, reported seeing the

A new study using citizen science data via eBird — an app used by birdwatchers to record sightings — has found that declines in bird populations in North America are the steepest where the respective species have historically been most abundant.

In May, both Iceland and Greenland experienced record-breaking heat. A new rapid analysis has found that the heat wave in both regions was made worse and more likely in today’s warmer climate. The analysis was conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers that evaluates the role of climate change in extreme

Mongabay contributor Glòria Pallarès earned an honorable mention in the 2025 Trace Prize for Investigative Reporting, announced May 28, for her investigation into how Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were misled into handing over their rights to millions of hectares of forest. The January 2024 investigation, “False claims of U.N. backing see Indigenous

A new assessment finds that the world’s oceans crossed the safe threshold for acidification in 2020, breaching a key planetary boundary and posing serious threats to marine life. Ocean acidification is caused when excess atmospheric carbon dioxide, resulting from human activities like burning fossil fuels, dissolves in seawater, forming carbonic acid that increases the water’s

This story is the first article of a two-part Mongabay mini-series exploring possible climate futures. Read Part Two. The last two years brought record-shattering temperatures globally and a whirlwind of destructive weather, from catastrophic flooding in Europe and drought in Southern Africa to devastating wildfires in California. 2024 saw more than 600 major extreme weather

The wildlife trade, both legal and illegal, depletes biodiversity, with research indicating it results in a staggering two-thirds decline in the populations of some traded species. Which is why, when a filmmaker friend asked environmental science professor Jennifer Jacquet if she could “do something” about the widespread wildlife trade, especially the online sale of wildlife

Growing up, Taily Terena lived between two worlds: Brazil’s capital, Brasília, where she was born, and the Taunay Ipegue Indigenous Territory, more specifically in the Bananal community, located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the Brazilian wetlands. Even spending most of her time in Brasília, Taily never stopped returning to the Indigenous

NICE, France — At the 2025 U.N. Ocean Conference (UNOC), taking place in Nice, France, between June 9 and 13, world leaders renewed their call for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining, an emerging industry that many experts say could seriously and irreversibly damage marine ecosystems. At the opening plenary, French President Emmanuel Macron denounced

The dark rosettes dotting the golden-brown fur of the jaguar are no longer a rare sight in Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park. In 2010, the protected area’s population of jaguars (Panthera onca) was on the brink of local extinction. Now, thanks to persistent conservation efforts led by Yara Barros, a biologist and executive coordinator of the

The recent killing of a juvenile great white shark on a drum line — a shark control method consisting of baited hooks attached to floating drums — off the east coast of South Africa has sparked a debate over the measures employed to protect swimmers at the expense of the threatened species. The 2.2-meter (7.2-foot)

The World Bank recently approved an initial $250 million in financing for the controversial Inga 3 mega dam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a move that worries civil society organizations. Inga 3 has long been planned as part of the Grand Inga hydropower project, a series of dams at Inga Falls on the

A recent study suggests that ocean changes are the primary nutrient source for sargassum blooms since 2011, challenging previous hypotheses.

I’m in Nice, France, this week attending the U.N. Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. If my Tiaki Moana colleagues have any say over it, stars and lighthouses are going to be a main topic of conversation here

The vital role forests play in providing habitat for biodiversity, storing carbon and supporting cultures also buttresses global society economically and socially, according to a new report by authors at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. But in making those vital connections, the authors also bring together data showing how humanity’s cumulative negative impacts

NUSA PENIDA, Indonesia — Storm clouds loom overhead as Nyoman Mitri peers out at rows of seaweed lines stretching across the shallow tidal waters of Nusa Penida. Her weathered hands move with practiced ease as she secures a strand of green seaweed to a rope. “It never used to be like this,” she says. “It’s

Carlos Zorrilla has been living in an Ecuadorian cloud forest since the 1970s, and his last 30 years there have been spent fighting mining companies seeking to extract its large copper deposits. He and his community have successfully fought proposals by multiple firms in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, but sometimes

Mongabay now produces podcasts in four languages: Indonesian, English, Spanish and, the latest addition, French. “Producing podcasts in multiple languages is part of our nonprofit news outlet’s strategy to reach people where they are, in the mediums they prefer, and in the language that they use,” Rhett Ayers Butler, founder and CEO of Mongabay, said in

Seventy southern white rhinos have successfully completed a journey from South Africa to Rwanda’s Akagera National Park. It’s the first international translocation from Platinum Rhino, a massive captive breeding operation that was put up for auction in 2023, after years of financial difficulties. When no bidders came forward, African Parks bought the 7,800-hectare property, which

From one U.N. climate summit to the next, the struggle has intensified to secure sufficient financing from wealthy, industrialized nations to aid the world’s poorest, climate-vulnerable countries in their efforts to avoid climate catastrophe — even as the gulf widens between what has been paid out for climate adaptation and resilience, and what is truly

In 2006, Farina Othman heard a loud boom when she was observing a group of Bornean elephants in a forest in the Lower Kinabatangan area, one of the largest floodplains in Malaysia. She recognized that it was the sound from a bamboo cannon. It’s a type of homemade firecracker locals use to chase elephants away.

There are those whose lives accumulate significance slowly, the way sediment builds into shoreline. And then there are those whose devotion etches meaning into every year. Shiloh Schulte, a biologist who spent his life chasing birds across hemispheres, belonged to the latter group. He died in the North Slope of Alaska when the helicopter he

In Antarctica, penguin poop, or guano, can cover the ground for miles, especially around penguin colonies with thousands of individuals. In fact, large, brown guano stains on Antarctica’s white ice have even helped scientists discover new penguin colonies from space. A recent study now finds that the massive amounts of guano play a critical role: