tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:/xml/happy-upbeat_environmental1 happy-upbeat environmental news from mongabay.com 2012-05-23T17:29:32Z tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9555 2012-05-23T17:03:00Z 2012-05-23T17:29:32Z Blue tarantula, walking cactus, and a worm from Hell: the top 10 new species of 2011 <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/Pterinopelma_sazimai_3.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A sneezing monkey, a blue tarantula, and an extinct walking cactus are just three of the remarkable new species listed in the annual Top Ten New Species put together by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. This year's list includes a wide-variety of life forms from fungi to flower and invertebrate to primate. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9536 2012-05-18T20:36:00Z 2012-05-19T02:52:05Z Brazilian deforestation lower in 2012 to date Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is lower in 2012 relative to the same period last year according to satellite-based data released by Imazon, an NGO. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9530 2012-05-17T14:20:00Z 2012-05-17T22:50:56Z Tribe partners to protect Argentina's most endangered forest <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/wlt.atlantic.girl.RS12754_IMG_1821.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Last month, three Guarani communities, the local Argentine government of Misiones, and the UK-based NGO World Land Trust forged an agreement to create a nature reserve connecting three protected areas in the fractured, and almost extinct, Atlantic Forest. Dubbed the Emerald Green Corridor, the reserve protects 3,764 hectares (9,301 acres) in Argentina; although relatively small, the land connects three protected other protected areas creating a combined conservation area (41,000 hectares) around the size of Barbados in the greater Yaboti Biosphere Reserve. In Argentina only 1 percent of the historical Atlantic Forest survives. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9526 2012-05-16T15:41:00Z 2012-05-16T15:55:22Z New population of Myanmar snub-nosed monkey discovered in China Scientists in China have located a second population of the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri), a primate that was only first discovered two years ago in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Long Yongcheng, scientist with the Nature Conservancy in China, told the China Daily that his team have discovered 50-100 Myanmar snub-nosed monkeys in the Gaoligong Mountain Natural Reserve near the border with Myanmar in Yunnan Province. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9511 2012-05-14T16:08:00Z 2012-05-14T16:39:45Z Educating the next generation of conservation leaders in Colombia <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/guardians.Fieldtrip-to-the-reefs.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Colombia's northern departments of Cordoba and Bolivar are home to an abundance of coral reefs, estuaries, mangroves forests, and forests. Rich in both marine and terrestrial wildlife, local communities depend on the sea and land for survival, yet these ecosystems are imperiled by booming populations, overexploitation, and unsustainable management. Since 2007, an innovative education program in the region, the Guardians of Nature, has worked to teach local children about the ecology of the region, hoping to instill a conservation ethic that will aid both the present and the future. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9487 2012-05-07T16:47:00Z 2012-05-07T16:57:19Z Cambodia suspends economic land concessions Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced today that Cambodia would be temporarily suspending new economic land concessions and would revoke any concessions from companies involved in illegal logging, the evictions of locals or land-grabbing. The announcement comes two week after the high-profile death of local forest activist, Chut Wutty, who was shot and killed by military police while investigating illegal logging with two journalists. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9456 2012-04-30T12:47:00Z 2012-04-30T16:53:03Z Does the Tasmanian tiger exist? Is the saola extinct? Ask the leeches <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://travel.mongabay.com/malaysia/150/borneo_3683.JPG" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The use of remote camera traps, which photograph animals as they pass, has revolutionized research on endangered and cryptic species. The tool has even allowed scientists to document animals new to science or feared extinct. But as important as camera traps have become, they are still prohibitively expensive for many conservationists and require many grueling hours in remote forests. A new paper in Current Biology, however, announces an incredibly innovative and cheaper way of recording rare mammals: seek out the leeches that feed on them. The research found that the presence of mammals, at least, can be determined by testing the victim's blood for DNA stored in the leech. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9435 2012-04-25T16:26:00Z 2012-04-25T20:56:09Z Rare leopard photographed in China Camera traps in China's Hunchun Amur Tiger National Nature Reserve have captured an image of the critically endangered Amur leopard, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society. The photograph, coupled with a recent study that suggests the presence of 8-11 leopard in Jilin Province, suggests that Amur leopards may be rebounding in China. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9428 2012-04-23T12:35:00Z 2012-04-23T12:47:45Z Mexico passes aggressive climate bill <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/mexico/150/cancun_0113.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Last week, Mexico's Senate passed an aggressive and comprehensive climate change bill, making it the first developing nation and only the second country to do so, after the UK. The bill, which far outshines anything achieved by its far wealthier northern neighbors, sets ambitious targets for cutting emissions while creating new incentive programs for clean energy. Largely dependent on fossil fuels, Mexico is approximately the 11th highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9426 2012-04-22T14:49:00Z 2012-04-22T15:11:42Z Earth Day to do list Earth Day To Do List. 1. Solve climate change. 2. Conserve our wild places. 3. Save the world's species from extinction. 4. Learn from the wisdom of the world's indigenous peoples ... Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9425 2012-04-22T14:46:00Z 2012-04-23T20:56:47Z Featured video: How to save the Amazon The past ten years have seen unprecedented progress in fighting deforestation in the Amazon. Indigenous rights, payments for ecosystem services, government enforcement, satellite imagery, and a spirit of cooperation amongst old foes has resulted in a decline of 80 percent in Brazil's deforestation rates. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9418 2012-04-19T18:05:00Z 2012-04-19T18:26:20Z Mad frog bonanza: up to 36 new frogs discovered in tiny Madagascar forest <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/Platypelis-sp.2.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A forest less than half the size of Manhattan sports an astounding number of frogs, according to a new paper in <i>Biodiversity Conservation</i>. Two surveys of Madagascar's Betampona Nature Reserve, which covers 2,228 hectares, has uncovered 76 unique frogs, 36 of which may be new to science. To put this in perspective: the U.S. and Canada combined contain just 88 frog species, but cover an area nearly a million times larger than Betampona. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9400 2012-04-17T16:31:00Z 2012-04-18T10:11:06Z Two-foot-long cloud rat rediscovered after missing for forty years in the Philippines <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/1334648056_201204170028_PRG_1.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Czech computer programmer, Vaclav Rehak, was the first person to see a living Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat (Crateromys australis) in nearly forty years, reports GMA News. Rehak was traveling on Dinagat Island with his new wife, Milada Rehakova-Petru, a specialist on Philippine tarsiers, when he stumbled on the rodent, which has only been recorded once by scientists in 1975. Found only on the Dinagat Island, the rodent was feared extinct, but is now imperiled by mining concessions across its small habitat, which is thought to be less than 100 square kilometers. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9399 2012-04-16T20:46:00Z 2012-04-16T20:51:53Z David vs. Goliath: Goldman Environmental Prize winners highlight development projects gone awry <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/2012Group_ouro.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A controversial dam, a massive mine, poisonous pesticides, a devastating road, and criminal polluters: many of this year's Goldman Environmental Prize winners point to the dangers of poorly-planned, and ultimately destructive, development initiatives. The annual prize, which has been dubbed the Green Nobel Prize is awarded to six grassroots environmental heroes from around the world and includes a financial award of $150,000 for each winner. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9395 2012-04-16T12:53:00Z 2012-04-16T15:16:54Z Camera traps discover tigers, elephants in "empty" forest park <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/01-Bengal_Tiger.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Although it's named Namdapha Tiger Reserve, conservationists had long feared that tigers, along with most other big mammals, were gone from the park in northeast India. However, an extensive camera trap survey has photographed not only Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), but also Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), which were also thought extirpated from the park. Once dubbed an "empty forest" due to poaching, the new survey shows that Namdapha still has massive conservation potential. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9393 2012-04-13T18:33:00Z 2012-04-13T18:37:00Z Russia creates massive park for rare cats Russia has created a massive national park to protect some of the world's rarest big cats, the critically endangered Amur tigers and leopards, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9391 2012-04-12T19:17:00Z 2012-04-12T19:45:08Z Amazon tribe becomes first to get OK to sell REDD credits for rainforest conservation An Amazon tribe has become the first indigenous group in the world's largest rainforest to win certification of a forest carbon conservation project, potentially setting a precedent for other forest-dependent groups to seek compensation for safeguarding their native forests. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9383 2012-04-10T14:26:00Z 2012-04-10T14:50:52Z Whole Foods bans 'red' fish from its stores <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/bigstock_Octopus_29405825.568.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Whole Foods has announced it will be the first grocery chain in the U.S. to no longer sell any seafood in the "red." Based on sustainability ratings by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Blue Ocean Institute, fish labeled red are those that are considered either overfished or fished in a manner that impacts other species or damages marine ecosystems. Beginning Earth Day, April 22nd, Whole Foods will no longer be selling Atlantic halibut, grey sole, skate, octopus, tautog, sturgeon, among others. Already, the store doesn't sell some unsustainable catches such as bluefin tuna and orange roughy. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9381 2012-04-09T15:34:00Z 2012-04-10T11:53:47Z How a crippled rhino may save a species <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/puntung.inpittrap.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>On December 18th, 2011, a female Sumatran rhino took a sudden plunge. Falling into a manmade pit trap, the rhino may have feared momentarily that her end had come, but vegetation cushioned her fall and the men that found her were keen on saving her, not killing her. Little did she know that conservationists had monitored her since 2006, and for her trappers this moment had been the culmination of years of planning and hope. A few days later she was being airlifted by helicopter to a new home. Puntung, as she has become called, was about to enter a new chapter in her life, one that hopefully will bring about a happy ending for her species. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9380 2012-04-09T14:15:00Z 2012-04-09T14:25:42Z Gabon to burn ivory stockpiles The government of Gabon has announced it will burn its stockpiles of ivory later this year in a bid to undercut illegal elephant poaching, which is decimating populations in central Africa. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9372 2012-04-06T17:58:00Z 2012-04-06T18:12:10Z Baby boom: 18 of the world's rarest duck born The global population of one of the world's rarest birds just increased 43 percent. The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is reporting that 18 Madagascar pochards &#8212; the world's rarest duck &#8212; hatched and are now being reared at a facility in Madagascar. The breeding program is a joint effort between Durrell, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), the Peregrine Fund, Asity Madagascar and the Government of Madagascar. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9320 2012-03-28T11:15:00Z 2012-03-28T11:20:50Z Government policy contributes to huge drop in Amazon deforestation in Brazil Roughly half of the 70 percent decline in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2005 and 2009 can be attributed to policies enacted by the Brazilian government, finds an analysis published by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a group funded by George Soros. The measures helped avoid 62,000 square kilometers of deforestation and 620 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would have otherwise occurred. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9316 2012-03-27T22:47:00Z 2012-03-27T23:01:56Z Photos: the aye-aye of frogs rediscovered after 62 years <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/C_cyaneospila_(Blackburn).150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A pair of researchers have rediscovered a long-lost frog in the tiny African country of Burundi. Known as the Bururi long-fingered frog (Cardioglossa cyaneospila), the species hadn't been seen for over 60 years&#8212;since the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon in 1949&#8212;but was rediscovered in Bururi Forest Reserve. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9314 2012-03-27T20:01:00Z 2012-03-27T20:10:37Z Mining cancellation throws wrench into Sarawak dam-building spree <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/800px-BakunDam.568.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The world's third largest mining company, Rio Tinto, and a local financial and construction firm, Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), have cancelled plans for a $2 billion aluminum smelter to be constructed in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The cancellation calls into question Sarawak's plan to build a dozen massive dams&#8212;known as the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) initiative&#8212;that were proposed, in part, to provide power to the massive aluminum smelter. However, the mega-dam proposal has been heavily criticized for its impact on Sarawak's rivers, rainforest and indigenous people. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9286 2012-03-20T18:54:00Z 2012-03-20T19:12:09Z Picture of the day: tarsier rescued from palm oil plantation <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/tarsier.borneo.insecteat.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Earlier this month, biologists with Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo, found and rescued a tarsier from a locally owned palm oil plantation. "For a day, we kept the animal in a cage at the field centre and fed him with insects", explained Alice Miles, a Cardiff University student leading a project on tarsier and slow loris ecology at DGFC. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9276 2012-03-19T16:48:00Z 2012-03-19T17:05:15Z Tink frog calls allow researchers to measure population Given their often tiny size and cryptic nature, how does one determine frog populations in the rainforest? Just eavesdrop. A new study in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Society (TCS) employed automated recorders to listen to amphibian calls to determine if the common tink frog (Diasporus diastema) could be found in recovering secondary forests in Costa Rica. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9218 2012-03-08T14:04:00Z 2012-03-08T14:28:39Z Solar cells cross new threshold Imagine powering your cell phone by leaving it on the window sill. Sounds like science fiction? Actually, this might soon turn into reality. Scientists have been exploring the potential of solar energy for decades. One of the cheapest ways to turn solar energy into electricity is by creating solar cells from organic polymers, which are easily manipulated by scientists. However, such cells are not efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. But now, researchers at UCLA’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering have come up with a new type of solar cell that sets the record in changing sunlight into power. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9212 2012-03-07T21:24:00Z 2012-03-07T21:29:58Z United Nations meets clean water goal Over the past two decades (1990-2010) over two billion people have received access to improved drinking water, bringing the current number of people worldwide who have access to better water up to 89 percent. This accomplishment meets the UN's Millennium Development Goal's (MDG) target of cutting in half the amount of people worldwide who do not have access to safe and sustainable drinking water. According to a report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), the goal was met in 2010, five years before its target year of 2015. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9211 2012-03-07T19:37:00Z 2012-03-07T20:09:31Z Niger creates desert park bigger than Hungary Yesterday, the Niger government formally created the Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature and Cultural Reserve in the Sahara Desert, reports the Sahara Conservation Fund. The reserve, now one of the largest in Africa, expands existing protected areas to 100,000 square kilometers (38,610 sq. miles), an area bigger than Hungary and nearly twice the size of Costa Rica. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9208 2012-03-06T19:06:00Z 2012-03-06T20:04:25Z Animal photos of the day: green sea turtle saved in China <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/fyeh-turtle-release-beach-water.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Last month, an organization devoted to marine turtles in the China, Sea Turtle 911, released a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) back into the wild in an event that included adoring crowds and a lecture on sea turtle conservation. The sea turtle, dubbed "Crush," had been rescued from a local fishing village. Green sea turtles are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. "Despite the endangered status of sea turtles, there remains a thriving illegal market for sea turtle meat and products in China," a press release from Sea Turtle 911 notes. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9203 2012-03-05T15:39:00Z 2012-03-05T15:50:53Z World's most toxic frog gets new reserve <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/GoldenPoisonFrog02.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Touching a wild golden poison frog could kill you within minutes: in fact, a single golden poison frog, whose Latin name Phyllobates terribilis is even more evocative than its common one, is capable of killing 10 humans with its one milligram dose of poison. Yet the deadly nature of this tiny frog has not stopped it from nearing extinction. Now, in a bid to save the species, the World Land Trust (WLT) and Colombian NGO ProAves have teamed up to establish a 50 hectare (124 acres) reserve in the Chocó rainforest. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9181 2012-02-27T14:57:00Z 2012-02-27T15:00:14Z Featured video: scientists capture first footage of Shepherd's beaked whale Scientists have captured what is believed to be the world's first footage of the cryptic Shepherd's beaked whale (<i>Tasmacetus shepherdi</i>), one of a number of beaked whale species about which scientists know almost nothing. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9142 2012-02-22T18:26:00Z 2012-02-22T18:55:25Z Amazon.com stops selling whale meat Amazon Japan, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, pulled all whale meat products (and possibly dolphin meat) from its site after a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Humane Society International highlighted the issue. Last December the organizations recorded 147 whale products on sale at Amazon Japan despite an international whaling moratorium since 1986. Japan, along with Iceland and Norway, continues to industrially hunt whales. Japan says their whale hunt is for scientific purposes only, but environmentalists dispute this. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9129 2012-02-20T17:51:00Z 2012-03-08T19:11:53Z Six nations, including U.S., set up climate initiative to target short-term greenhouse gases With global negotiations to tackle carbon emissions progressing interminably, nations are seeking roundabout ways to combat global climate change. U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced in India last week a new six nation initiative to target non-carbon greenhouse gases, including soot (also known as "black carbon"), methane, and hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs). Reductions of these emissions would not only impact short-term climate change, but also improve health and agriculture worldwide according to a recent study in Science. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9127 2012-02-20T14:45:00Z 2012-02-22T14:44:13Z Innovative conservation: wild silk, endangered species, and poverty in Madagascar <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/sepali.target-mosth-Antherina-suraka.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>For anyone who works in conservation in Madagascar, confronting the complex difficulties of widespread poverty is a part of the job. But with the wealth of Madagascar's wildlife rapidly diminishing&#8212; such as lemurs, miniature chameleons, and hedgehog-looking tenrecs found no-where else in the world&#8212;the island-nation has become a testing ground for innovative conservation programs that focus on tackling entrenched poverty to save dwindling species and degraded places. The local NGO, the Madagascar Organization of Silk Workers or SEPALI, along with its U.S. partner Conservation through Poverty Alleviation (CPALI), is one such innovative program. In order to alleviate local pressure on the newly-established Makira Protected Area, SEPALI is aiding local farmers in artisanal silk production from endemic moths. The program uses Madagascar's famed wildlife to help create more economically stable communities. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9122 2012-02-16T20:19:00Z 2012-02-16T20:19:41Z Republic of the Congo expands park to protect fearless chimps <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/fearlesschimp.727553.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Republic of the Congo has expanded its Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park by 37,295 hectares (144 square miles) to include a dense swamp forest, home to a population of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) that show no fear of humans. Known as the Goualougo Triangle, the swamp forest is also home to forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The expansion of the park to include the Goualougo Triangle makes good on a government commitment from 2001. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9117 2012-02-15T19:43:00Z 2012-02-15T20:25:07Z 'Gold' standard for REDD forest conservation project in Colombia's Choco A pioneering project to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in a former conflict zone in Colombia has won gold certification under the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity (CCB) standard. The accreditation will help local communities access carbon finance in their efforts to safeguard biologically-rich forests. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9116 2012-02-15T18:25:00Z 2012-02-15T18:26:29Z New sanctuaries declared for Asia's freshwater dolphins <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/Ganges-1-Rubaiyat-Mansur.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Bangladesh has declared three new sanctuaries to help protect the south Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. Split into two subspecies, the Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and the Irrawaddy River dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor), the new sanctuaries will benefit both. Listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, the south Asian freshwater dolphin has disappeared from much of its habitat. Already Asia has its other freshwater dolphin species: the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) was declared functionally extinct into 2006 after a survey of the Yangtze River failed to find a single individual. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9069 2012-02-07T19:49:00Z 2012-02-07T19:50:15Z Sumatran rhino pregnant: conservationists hope third time's the charm <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/Andalas-1.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is in the eleventh month of her third pregnancy raising hopes for a successful birth of one of the world's most imperiled big mammals. Ratu suffered two prior miscarriages, but researchers believe the current pregnancy&#8212;which still has four to five months to go (for a total term of around 15-16 months)&#8212;could produce what Indonesian officials have long hoped for: a bundle of joy at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Sumatra. With only around 200 Sumatran rhinos surviving today in Indonesia and Bornean Malaysia, many conservationists see such breeding efforts as the last and best chance to save the Critically Endangered species from extinction. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9066 2012-02-07T17:39:00Z 2012-02-07T17:39:25Z New rainforest and indigenous reserve established in Peru On February 4th, the Peruvian government and a small indigenous group created a new Amazon reserve, dubbed the Maijuna Reserve. Located in northeastern Peru, the 390,000 hectare (970,000 acres) reserve is larger than California's Yosemite National Park and over three times the size of Hong Kong. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9044 2012-02-02T18:22:00Z 2012-02-05T13:39:30Z Photo of the day: super-abundance of life found in Amazon park <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/Baertschi-A-_7TP4584.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Surveying a little-explored park in the Peruvian Amazon has paid off in dividends: researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have cataloged 365 species that had not yet been recorded in Bahuaja Sonene National Park. The never-before recorded species included two bats, thirty birds, and over two hundred butterflies and moths. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9033 2012-01-30T23:30:00Z 2012-02-26T06:07:02Z Rainforests store 229 billion tons of carbon globally finds new 'wall-to-wall' carbon map <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/12/0130whrc_biomass150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Tropical rainforests store some 229 billion tons of carbon in their vegetation &#8212; about 20 percent more than previously estimated &#8212; finds a new satellite-based assessment published in the journal <i>Nature Climate Change</i>. The findings could help improve the accuracy of reporting CO2 emissions reductions under the proposed REDD program, which aims to compensate tropical countries for cutting deforestation, forest degradation, and peatlands destruction. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9026 2012-01-30T15:20:00Z 2012-01-30T15:21:25Z California sets tough new clean car standards The U.S. state that takes climate change most seriously&#8212;California&#8212;has unanimously approved new rules dubbed the Advanced Clean Cars program to lower carbon emissions, reduce oil dependence, mitigate health impacts from pollution, and save consumers money in the long-term. According to the new standards, by 2025 cars sold in California must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent and smog emissions by 75 percent. The program will also require 15.4 percent of all cars sold in California to be zero or near-zero emissions by 2025. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9017 2012-01-26T18:08:00Z 2012-01-26T18:09:08Z Photo of the Day: Critically Endangered brown spider monkey discovered in park <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/brown-spider-monkey-1.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Researchers with The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Colombia’s National Parks Unit have located at least two individuals of brown-spider monkey (Ateles hybridus) in Colombia's Selva de Florencia National Park. The discovery is important because its the only known population of this particular subspecies (Ateles hybridus brunneus) in a protected area. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8992 2012-01-23T20:51:00Z 2012-01-23T20:58:08Z Leatherback sea turtles granted massive protected area along U.S. west coast <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://travel.mongabay.com/images/jeremy_hance/150/Suriname_135.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The U.S. federal government has designated 108,556 square kilometers (41,914 square miles) as critical habitat for the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the largest of the world's marine turtles and one of the most endangered. The protected area, around the size of Guatemala, spans coastal sea waters from California to Washington state, but does not protect the migration routes environmentalists hoped for. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8980 2012-01-20T00:30:00Z 2012-01-20T14:55:30Z Feared extinct, obscure monkey rediscovered in Borneo <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/millersgrizzledlangur.IMG_4246.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A significant population of the rarely seen, little-known Miller's grizzled langurs (Presbytis hosei canicrus) has been discovered in Indonesian Borneo according to a new paper published in the American Journal of Primatology. Feared extinct by some and dubbed one of the world's 25 most threatened primates in 2005 by Conservation International (CI), the langur surprised researchers by showing up on camera trap in a region of Borneo it was never supposed to be. The discovery provides new hope for the elusive monkey and expands its known range, but conservationists warn the species is not out of the woods yet. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8974 2012-01-18T21:51:00Z 2012-01-18T22:05:50Z Obama rejects Keystone pipeline, but leaves door open for tar sands <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/tarsand.ge.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Obama administration today announced it is scrapping TransCanada's Keystone pipeline after Republicans forced a 60-day deadline on the issue in a Congressional rider. The State Department advised against the pipeline arguing that the deadline did not give the department enough time to determine if the pipeline "served the national interest." The cancellation of the pipeline is a victory for environmental and social activists who fought the project for months, but Republicans are blasting the administration. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8972 2012-01-18T18:54:00Z 2012-01-18T19:07:25Z Picture of the day: nearly-extinct turtle released into the wild in Cambodia <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/j/southernriverterrapin.IMG_2405-Edit-(2)-small.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Only around 200 southern river terrapins (Batagur affinis) survive in the wild, but today at least the species got some good news. A female terrapin was released back into the Sre Ambel River with much fanfare after being caught by a local fishermen in Cambodia. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8949 2012-01-12T18:39:00Z 2012-01-12T18:50:58Z Cute animal picture of the day: pygmy killer whale saved after stranding On Tuesday a female pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) was found stranded on Tanjung Aru beach, in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. After being moved to a swimming enclosure at a local resort for recuperation, the whale was released back into the wild with aid from the Sabah Wildlife Department, marine biologist Lindsay Porter, the local NGO LEAP, and WWF Malaysia. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8945 2012-01-11T22:11:00Z 2012-01-12T17:07:20Z Bycatch-reducing fish trap wins $20,000 An innovative fish trap that allows small non-target fish to escape won a new content by RARE Conservation and National Geographic to fund solutions to overfishing. Developed through studies in Curaçao and Kenya with the Wildlife Conservation Society, the trap has gaps for juvenile fish to swim out of reportedly reducing bycatch by 80 percent. The entry won a $20,000 grant. Jeremy Hance