Mongabay

In December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than a dozen mega cruise ships were stationed in Bahía de La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, due to the tourism shutdown. This led to pollution of the ecosystem and the displacement of marine species such…

Saltwater fishing is both big business and a pastime in the U.S., with millions of Americans working in the industry – from commercial trawlers to professional fishing guides and gear manufacturers – and many more pursuing this passion recreationally,…

MAFIA ISLAND, Tanzania — His white beard streaming in the turquoise waters, Waziri Mpogo dives under the surface a few hundred meters offshore of a palm-lined beach. Holding his breath, he heads for the seagrass below, emerging with a slimy yellow tube in…

This is the last of three interviews with Indigenous representatives at the United Nations about the latest issues in their country’s Amazon forests. Read the interview about the Peruvian Amazon here and Colombian Amazon here. NEW YORK CITY — In the…

Narrow strips of flowering plants along road edges can support high butterfly diversity, a recent study from Singapore has found. In late 2023, researchers surveyed 101 road verges — strips of green planted along the side of roads —  across the tropical…

In the space of six months, Xamã the jaguar had crisscrossed more than 14,000 hectares of the Amazon Rainforest, or about 35,000 acres — an area a tenth the size of Rio de Janeiro. During that time, he avoided open areas and farms. Xamã may look like any…

Renewable diesel is a biofuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats touted by proponents as an almost miraculous “drop-in” transition fuel able to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions while easily replacing fossil diesel in all manner of engines.…

BANGKOK — Ouk Mao, a Cambodian environmental journalist, was reporting on the continued logging of Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary when he was attacked on March 24 by a group of men he identified, including a former police officer. Mao, who has previously…

COLOMBO — As October drew to a close last year, ardent birdwatcher Moditha Kodikarachchi eagerly awaited a special guest in his garden — a migratory Asian paradise flycatcher. Since 2021, the same male flycatcher, identified by three distinct white dots on…

Researchers in Hawaiʻi have described an unusual species of carnivorous caterpillar that scavenges in spiderwebs while wearing cast-off bits of the spider’s prey. Nicknamed the “bone collector,” the caterpillar belongs to the genus Hyposmocoma, commonly…

The World Bank has released the first-ever framework to address environmental and social harms caused by projects the bank financed through its private sector branches, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC). “This is historic. It’s the…

A regional fishery body is seeking to reduce cormorant numbers across Europe through  “coordinated” culling, citing the aquatic birds’ reported impacts on fisheries and aquaculture. The European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission…

This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance. In mid-April, the Trump administration cleared the way for a controversial copper mine proposed for western Arizona. The mine would destroy parts of Chi’chil Biłdagoteel — known as “Oak…

The “blue economy” emerged as a popular vision for sustainable ocean development during the 2010s, as communities across the world grappled with challenges of declining ocean health, economic crises and stalling development outcomes. Today, it is a…

A new report by the Mining Observatory finds key mining states in Brazil, including Pará, the host state of the upcoming 2025 U.N. climate summit (COP30), are highly exposed to climate risks, water insecurity and environmental degradation. Mining, combined…

Researchers have for the first time filmed wild chimpanzees feasting on alcoholic fruits together. It’s the “first evidence for ethanolic food sharing and feeding by wild nonhuman great apes,” they say in a new study. The research team, led by scientists…

In South Africa’s Kruger National Park, a mass poisoning attack this week has left 123 threatened vultures dead and another 83 recovering with the aid of a veterinary team. On the morning of May 6, a team consisting of the South African National Parks…

Ozone as a layer several kilometers up in the atmosphere protects living beings, including humans, from ultraviolet rays. But its accumulation at ground level can be very dangerous, Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray explains in an article published in April.…

ABIDJAN — In recent months, the town of Soubré in the southwest of Côte d’Ivoire has experienced a shortage of staple products in local markets. Some of the most widely consumed foods, such as plantain, cassava and tomato, have become scarce or…

As billion-dollar climate disasters pile up, and world leaders fail to act against global warming, lawsuits on behalf of impacted states, cities and other government entities have increased in number with the intent of holding the fossil fuel industry…

Avid hiker Maria* and her boyfriend were among the dozens of travelers who booked a tour of the Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo for April 18. Pinatubo, an active volcano, had its last major eruption in 1991, altering the surrounding landscape and producing a…

A Mongabay feature on Indigenous-led reforestation efforts in southeastern Brazil’s Atlantic Forest has been longlisted for the environmental reporting category of the 2025 One World Media Awards, a leading journalism prize. Mongabay senior editor Xavier…

The 28 most populous cities in the United States are all at least partly sinking. That’s according to a new study from the Columbia University Climate School. Researchers used U.S. census data from 2020 to pinpoint the country’s most populous cities,…

Across the Pan-Amazon region, communities who developed the bioeconomy concept centuries ago and practice it today still have a hard time accessing its benefits.

The search for intelligent life is looking in the wrong direction. There are billions of stars in our galaxy, some of them older than our sun and with Earth-like planets orbiting around them. Hypothetically, these other solar systems could have started their…

The world’s biggest seafood companies might seem to have a vested interest in healthy marine ecosystems and plentiful fish stocks. Many claim a commitment to biodiversity in their public messaging. Yet a new report shows they mostly lobby against…

Nearly two-thirds of all primates are in danger of disappearing, including 100 that have only been described by science in the last 25 years. To spotlight their plight, leading conservation organizations compiled a list of 25 of the most endangered primates in…

BAMAKO — Bourama Traoré and his brother, now aged 20 and 29, grew up along the banks of the Niger River. Their daily routine has always been simple: cast their nets and provide for their family. But now, the wait has grown long and the catch scarce. Six…

For about 2% of the world’s amphibian species, it’s already getting too hot to survive in their natural habitats, according to a new study in Nature. If the planet keeps warming unchecked, this number is expected to jump to 7.5% by the end of the century.…

An absence of government legal and policy reforms is impacting the rights of Indigenous, Afro-descendant peoples and local communities associated with carbon programs in 33 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, according to a recent report. The report,…