Giant pines a tourist draw, cash cow for Yogyakarta farmers
MANGUNAN, Indonesia — Not long ago, people would come to Mangunan only to tap the giant trunks of reddish pine for sap, used as everything from antiseptic to glue. But…
Environmental headlines
Mongabay is a non-profit provider of conservation and environmental science news.
Report: Turkish carrier is ‘poacher’s airline of choice’ for parrot trade
Wildlife traffickers rely heavily on airlines to smuggle endangered species. Now, in a recent report, the U.K.-based charity World Animal Protection (WAP) has named Turkish Airlines as one of the…
The view from the bottleneck: Is nature poised for a big comeback?
As an environmental journalist I’m bombarded every day with headlines like “The Insect Apocalypse is Here” or “Half of Global Wildlife Lost.” The end of nature, at least as previous…
Corruption-riddled caviar trade pushes fish closer to extinction
Corruption fuels the illegal harvest and sale of caviar, potentially hastening the slide of many fish species toward extinction. That’s the conclusion of a report published Feb. 13 by the…
Guyana: The school where indigenous youth learn about their land
ANNAI, Guyana — It’s 8:30 a.m. and the main school building of the Bina Hill Institute’s Youth Learning Centre is strangely quiet. The classrooms are deserted, the newly built dormitories…
10 reasons U.S. must hold Peru to trade deal and protect Amazon (commentary)
Peru’s placing of its independent OSINFOR forest inspection agency in the Ministry of Environment – likely a U.S. trade agreement violation – is a serious setback in Amazon illegal logging fight.
Latam Eco Review: Twilight for Darwin’s foxes, nightlife for jaguarundis
Jaguarundis caught on camera in Peru, hydropower choking Colombia’s Cauca River, and Darwin’s foxes on the brink of extinction were among the recent top stories from our Spanish-language service, Mongabay…
In other news: Environmental stories from around the web, February 15, 2019
Tropical forests A photographer snapped black leopards, which haven’t been seen in the wild in Africa since 1909, with a set of camera traps (The New York Times, National Geographic).…
Nepal court blocks road construction in rhino stronghold of Chitwan Park
KATHMANDU — Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered the government not to construct any new roads inside Chitwan National Park without approval from UNESCO, park authorities and other stakeholders. Chitwan National…
Sri Lanka gets its first data-based elephant distribution map
For a large, charismatic and endangered species such as the Asian elephant, you might think scientists would have figured out where they hang out and when. But it turns out,…
For Indonesian presidential hopefuls, burning coal is business as usual
JAKARTA — Usman’s been glued to the TV news lately. A young fisherman living in Batang, along the northeastern coast of Indonesia’s main island of Java, Usman is closely following…
Few eco commitments and suspect funding for Indonesia presidential hopefuls
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and his rival in this year’s election, Prabowo Subianto, are expected to address the issues of environmental protection and management during the second of…
Invaded Uru-eu-wau-wau indigenous reserve awaits relief by Brazil’s new government
A mid-January land grabber invasion of a Rondônia state indigenous reserve prompted urgent indigenous calls for Bolsonaro administration law enforcement assistance.
A snapshot of camera traps reveals user frustrations and hopes
Camera trapping has become an important conservation and research tool worldwide. Photos from remote cameras have afforded us insights into the lives of rare, shy, cryptic, nocturnal, or otherwise seldom-seen…
Peru: Report reveals high rates of illegality in timber extraction
According to a recent report by Global Witness, there is evidence of disarray and illegality in Peru’s timber industry. The report focuses on the regions of Loreto, Ucayali, and Madre…
DRC’s Virunga to welcome visitors again after 8-month closure
Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will reopen its gates to tourists on Feb. 15 after officials closed them more than eight months ago. A spate…
Graphic anti-wildlife-trafficking campaign tackles Vietnam’s pangolin problem
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — On Jan. 28, a graphic new anti-wildlife-trafficking campaign called “Be Their Bodhisattva” launched at a major pagoda here in Vietnam’s commercial center. Under the…
‘Beautiful legislation’ fails to protect PNG’s environment, landowners
Papua New Guinea is a canopy-covered country, with a substantial chunk of the world's third-largest rainforest and some 7 percent of global biodiversity. It is home to many endemic species,…
The good luck black cat, revealed by camera traps
Sometimes, a black cat can bring good luck. A professional photographer, together with leopard researchers from San Diego Zoo and Kenya’s Loisaba Conservancy, used camera traps to document the presence…
Massive pangolin seizure in Borneo smuggling operation bust
Police and wildlife officials confiscated nearly 30 metric tons (33 tons) of pangolin carcasses, meat and scales, as well as dozens of the live animals, in Malaysian Borneo on Feb.…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Arson attack in Indonesia leaves activist shaken
- For embattled environmental defenders, a reprieve of sorts in 2018
- 7 convicted of killing Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres
Indonesias forest guardians
- In West Papua, a development plan that doesn’t require clearing forest
- Smartphone app helps indigenous communities fight deforestation
- Papuan chef Charles Toto serves up sustainability and environmental protection in a platter
Amazon infrastructure
- Amazon at risk: Brazil plans rapid road and rail infrastructure expansion
- New appointments, new policies don’t bode well for Brazilian Amazon
- Will President Bolsonaro withdraw Brazil from the Paris Agreement? (commentary)
Asian rhinos
- Nepal court blocks road construction in rhino stronghold of Chitwan Park
- Conservation couture: Batik artisans make rhinos a fashion statement
- Rhinos or roads? Nepal deals with a tricky balancing act
