Mongabay · Page 74

In 2016, Finland became the first nation to design a circular economy roadmap, and has set specific goals to reach “maximum circularity” by 2035. While the nation has made great progress, significant challenges remain. For this second episode of a new…

It’s been clear for some time: We’re in the midst of a rapidly escalating global plastics crisis. More than 11 billion metric tons of virgin plastics were produced worldwide from 1950 to 2022. And the rate of production has soared, with at least 71% of all…

Having lived in Guyana for more than a decade, Dutch botanist Hans ter Steege spends his time these days mostly on home soil. Yet his heart and mind very much remain among the trees of the tropics, which he considers his “personal pet plants.” A professor…

In the two years since biodiversity credits garnered a prominent mention in the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aimed at halting the loss of wildlife, a flurry of projects and methods that underpin those credits have sprung onto the scene. Numerous…

In a historic 2022 ruling, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that the forced eviction of the Indigenous Batwa community from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park was a violation of their rights. With this communication, made public in June…

U.S. President Joe Biden made a historic visit to the Brazilian Amazon on Nov. 17, where he pledged $50 million for the state-led Amazon Fund to help conserve the world’s largest and most biodiverse rainforest. “It’s often said that the Amazon is the…

NAGEKEO, Indonesia — The land weighed on Mateus Bhui as he sifted the Rendubutowe soil through his fingers into a traditional container. “To our ancestors: please don’t be angry,” Mateus said, repeating the lament as he clasped another handful of…

Born and raised in the locality of one of Bangladesh’s Ramsar site Tanguar Haor, 58-year-old farmer Bazlur Rahman says he feels proud to belong to the scenic swamp. A wetland that the country’s fisheries department says is a crucial hub of breeding fishes.…

ANTONINA, Brazil — In the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, the small coastal town of Antonina gets abundant and high-quality water for its nearly 20,000 inhabitants from a nearby water reserve, one of three that the NGO Wildlife Research and…

In 2018, Han Xue-song, then a researcher with the Beijing-based Shan Shui Conservation Center, was in the Sanjiangyuan region on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, surveying black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis). At an elevation of more than 4000 meters (13,000…

‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is a typical approach to waste and is one of the main reasons why the waste trade persists. The world discovered that toxic waste was being dumped in Africa and other developing countries in the 1980s, and since 1988, more than…

TELA, Honduras — “These lionfish are so confident,” says Mario Motiño Jr., co-founder and divemaster for Tela Divers, a community group in the small city of Tela on the northern coast of Honduras. He’s talking about Pterois volitans and P. miles,…

Carbon markets are among the proposed solutions for financing the protection of forests that sequester carbon and hold biodiversity. In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, carbon credit projects cover some 54 million hectares (more than 133 million acres),…

ITINGA, Minas Gerais, Brazil — It is the middle of the night in Minas Gerais, and work at the lithium mine in Jequitinhonha Valley does not stop. Noise from hundreds of machines churning up the soil echoes off the mountains, destroying the peace and quiet of…

KOLWEZI,  Democratic Republic of the Congo – A Mongabay investigation found that industrial and artisanal mining of cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo could pose risks to women’s reproductive health. Both cobalt and copper are critical…

LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Our investigation begins at the Trinité Medical Center, less than 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the city of Kolwezi, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just 100 meters (330 feet) away, a copper…

Cobalt is a critical mineral for lithium-ion batteries that power a range of renewable energy storage systems, including electric vehicles and consumer electronics. In the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt capital, southeastern Katanga…

The increasing presence of lobbyists for coal, oil and gas at the global climate talks is raising concerns about the United Nations’ ability to adequately design policies aimed at phasing out fossil fuels. The number of fossil fuel lobbyists at the United…

JAKARTA — When Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called on U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House earlier this week, the two leaders spoke of their shared commitments on a range of issues, including the clean energy transition, sustainable…

A new study conducted in Kenya is challenging the conventional wisdom that cattle are inherently bad for wildlife, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. In contrast to previous research, the recent study found that a limited number of cattle — grazing illegally…