Mongabay · Page 30

Latin America, a biodiversity hotspot home to 40% of the world’s species, is witnessing an alarming decline in its wildlife. Illegal wildlife trafficking to wealthier parts of the world, such as North America and Europe, is one of the factors driving the…

Plastic waste is increasingly causing problems for fishers. Fishnets bring up bottles, propellers get tangled in bags, water pumps get clogged with debris, and boats collide with bags of trash. Until recently, research on plastics in the oceans has focused on…

Indigenous entrepreneurs in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand are popularizing traditional tribal foods with urban restaurants, reports Mongabay India’s Kundan Pandey. One such restaurant is Ajam Emba in Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi. The name means…

PALEMBANG, Indonesia – The pempek restaurants in the Plaju neighborood were full to the gills in early March. Palembang chefs pulverized mudfish caught from the Musi River into subtle variations of the historic city’s specialty fish cake. “They’re sold…

A new report by the NGO Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) reviewed national laws and regulations across 35 countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. It found that since RRI’s 2017 assessment, there’s been little progress in securing women’s rights…

For the Akit tribe of Bengkalis and Pelalawan districts in Riau province, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, land is more than just soil beneath their feet: it is their identity, their lifeblood, and their heritage. As one elder has said, “Adat is like a…

In the last decade, the Pan Amazon has seen a substantial increase in the presence of Chinese companies, either as direct investors or as contractors building infrastructure for governments financed by loans from China. The lack of transparency that…

“They’re curious about us, and we’re curious about them.” That’s how Daniel Cangussu describes the recent interaction with a small Indigenous group that had just contacted non-Indigenous society in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon. “We don’t…

Deforestation in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco, driven largely by agribusiness and infrastructure development, poses an increasing threat to the Indigenous Ayoreo people. The communities, living in isolation, risk losing their ancestral lands and customs, and could…

As Nepal’s reptiles are one of the least studied among the country’s diverse flora and fauna, researchers have long been saying that it could be home to numerous species waiting to be discovered by science. Herpetologist Santosh Bhattarai, a PhD student at…

A community conservation team saw not one but two baby Cao-vit gibbons, one of the world’s rarest apes, in the remote forests of northern Vietnam in 2024, the NGO Fauna & Flora announced this month. The first infant sighting was in February 2024 and the…

Africa’s remaining tropical glaciers are rapidly disappearing as greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. In the Rwenzori Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the retreat of glaciers…

What’s new: Your recently imported ornamental tree might have a stowaway spider or lizard hidden in its branches, a recent study warns. What’s more, these accidentally transported wildlife can turn into invasive pests in their new environment, researchers…

More than 2 billion people around the world live without access to safe drinkable water, as rivers, groundwater, lakes and glaciers face continued threats of pollution and overexploitation due to urbanization, environmental destruction, and climate change.…

Minneriya, SRI LANKA — With a single tusk that made him stand out, the majestic bull elephant Unicorn was a true king among the wild herds of Minneriya, a biodiversity hotspot in the island’s north-central region, globally known as the home of the…

Conservation NGOs and commercial sardine and anchovy fisheries in South Africa have reached an out-of-court settlement agreeing to extents of fishing closures around six key African penguin breeding colonies. The agreement, endorsed by the environment…

Earth’s frozen places — ice sheets, glaciers and permafrost — are melting: a clear sign of climate change and a planet quickly exiting the stable state that gave rise to human civilization. This great thaw is having far-reaching consequences for…

JAKARTA — Palm oil companies in Indonesia continue to operate on protected peatlands and clear forests, despite having their forestry permits revoked and being certified as sustainable, a new report alleges. Local environmental NGOs Pantau Gambut and Kaoem…

Basic logic dictates that the more accurate and detailed knowledge one has about a problem, the better one can solve it. Take Europe’s forests. The bigger picture is clear: over the past half century, logging and climate change have eroded our forests’…

Fisheries observers hold a job little known by the general public but essential to the health of the oceans: monitoring the work on industrial fishing vessels. The sector has its share of illegal fishing and even other illicit activity, so the job comes with…