Mongabay · Page 15

MIRISSA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan waters are considered a haven for the largest creatures ever to have lived, the blue whale, a rare place for a resident, year-round population to thrive. In 2021, however, news headlines claimed a population decline, and in…

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. While most people are familiar with monkeys, the great apes, and possibly lemurs, fewer may realize that there are more than…

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. Mere days after the Trump administration rolled out a controversial executive order directing the U.S. government to expedite the launch of…

In an era marked by climate urgency and an escalating demand for sustainable alternatives, Bangladesh has introduced a notable innovation in the textile industry: lotus silk — a rare, biodegradable luxurious fabric derived from the stems of the Asian lotus…

A nasty wind rips across Cornell’s Kop one afternoon in October 2024, driving professor emeritus Timm Hoffman and his team to abandon the hilly study site a few clicks west of |Ai-|Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. The team has only three days to complete…

Madagascar’s Indri indri lemurs can carry a tune. Through collecting songs and calls produced by 20 indri groups in Madagascar’s rainforests over the span of 15 years, scientists have found that indri songs exhibit rhythmic patterns that are common in…

Founder’s Commentary: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis and perspectives. This month marks 20 years since I started the Mongabay news service. At the time, it was just me — writing, editing and publishing from a…

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s national human rights commission has found a slew of legal and rights violations in a government-backed project to establish large-scale plantations in the eastern region of Papua. The so-called food estate project, categorized by the…

The ocean has long been treated as the world’s forgotten frontier—out of sight, out of mind, and dangerously overused. Yet efforts to reverse decades of neglect are gathering speed. Last week saw the launch of Revive Our Ocean, a new initiative aimed at…

Biological oceanographer John Ryan joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his team’s multiyear study that examined vocalizations of baleen whales, including blue (Balaenoptera musculus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and fin whales (Balaenoptera…

This is Part 2 of a two-part series on fisheries management and oceans governance under the second Trump administration, which took office Jan. 20. Part 1 looks at the potential impacts that cuts and deregulation at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric…

Coral restoration won’t save reefs from global warming, according to a recent study – at least, not the way we’re doing it now. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Helsinki and published earlier this month in Nature Ecology &…

By 2075, we will be living on a planet that is much hotter, possibly 3-5° Celsius (5.4-9° Fahrenheit) hotter than the preindustrial average. But how can humanity help nature improve its climate resilience in the years to come? Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance found…

Many everyday items could be connected to deforestation, from your morning coffee to chocolate snacks, leather shoes and wooden furniture. Only 3% of major companies are taking action to stop forest destruction, according to a new report from Global Canopy.…

Alto Jequitinhonha, Brazil — No photographs remain of João Gomes de Azevedo’s village before eucalyptus plantations radically transformed it. Instead, fragments of its past live on in a song that Seu João, as he’s better known, composed to remember…

Brazilian prosecutors are calling for the cancellation of the largest carbon credit deal in the Amazon Rainforest, saying it breaks national law and risks harming Indigenous communities. The 1 billion real ($175 million) contract, signed last year by the state…

In Native Hawaiians’ genealogical stories, says Solomon Kahoʻohalahala, the coral polyp is considered the oldest ancestor, and they hold spiritual relationships with migratory animals, including the Koholā, or humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).…

When aging infrastructure failed to protect coastal farmland in southwest England from sea level rise, conservationists chose to embrace the flooding and created a new wetland reserve. Mongabay’s Leo Plunkett and Sandy Watt report in a recent Mongabay video…

Overfishing in Southeast Asia’s coastal waters has been reported since the 1970s, driven by overcapacity, high demand and population growth. While most studies point to the depletion of nearshore fisheries, new research offers a more optimistic outlook.…

JAKARTA — A palm oil company is gearing up to expand into critical orangutan habitat in Indonesian Borneo, raising alarms over the survival of the critically endangered great apes. PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) is part of Jakarta-based First Borneo Group,…