Belo Monte dam Xingu River Management Plan violates human rights: finding
The UN Inter-American Commission on Human Rights upheld a motion filed by civil society organizations condemning Brazil’s continued development of the Belo Monte mega-dam.
Environmental headlines
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‘Light for everyone’: Indigenous youth mount a solar-powered resistance
CUETZALAN, Mexico — Rain clouds thicken overhead as a small crew finishes the installation of a pair of rooftop solar panels. The house stands along a dirt road in a…
Ground-feeding birds in Southeast Asia may be going extinct outside protected areas
Nature reserves in large parts of Southeast Asia may be the last strongholds for charismatic ground-feeding birds such as quails, partridges and pheasants, together called galliforms, according to a recent…
COP24: US, Russia, Saudis downplay IPCC report in display of disunity
Vulnerable nations were eager to praise the IPCC report, the US was not. Environmental activist Tom Steyer sees another blue wave as the only route to global climate action.
Pesticides could be painting black howler monkeys yellow in Costa Rica
Pesticide use on agricultural plantations may be shifting the color palette of howler monkey fur in Costa Rica, a team of scientists has found. Mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) are…
COP24: Human rights concerns cast a shadow over U.N. climate summit
KATOWICE, Poland — Concerns about the apparent sidelining of human rights have been aired as the United Nations climate summit in Poland enters its second week. According to the Climate…
Graphic video reveals brutality of pangolin poaching in northeast India
Hunters in India are helping supply the illegal pangolin trade, and new research that probes their motivations might point to measures that can reduce the poaching and sale of the…
Secondary forests in Costa Rica are re-cleared within decades
Secondary forests — those that regrow naturally after being cleared or degraded — constitute more than half of existing tropical forests. When they are old enough, they support a wide…
Latam Eco Review: Whale attacks, palm oil woes, and hope for vaquitas
Peruvian palm oil, orca attacks on humpback whales, and mining in an Amazon national park are among the recent top stories from Mongabay Latam, our Spanish-language service. Orcas attack young…
The second time couldn’t be worse than the first (insider)
Madagascar also has great frogs, but what fascinated me about the island was a more unusual type of beast: the chameleon. Since the first time I laid eyes on a…
In other news: Environmental stories from around the web, December 7, 2018
Tropical forests Authorities in Cambodia are weighing stricter penalties for illegal logging (Asian Correspondent, Phnom Penh Post). The executive director of Conservation International Guyana has been asked to step down…
Tropical forest conservation in the Bolsonaro era (commentary)
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s President-elect, represents a globally significant threat to the world’s biggest tropical forest conservation legacy and the biggest tropical forest. If he does what he says he will…
‘There are no laws’: Cattle, drugs, corruption destroying Honduras UNESCO site
While many people from Atlantida, Honduras, are attempting to escape desperate poverty and deepening political violence by traveling some 3,000 miles to reach the border of the U.S., a few…
Amazon indigenous groups and truckers ally to oppose Brazil’s Grainrail
Agribusiness desperately wants Grainrail built, but it poses a clear threat to 20 indigenous territories, and to the livelihoods of Amazonia’s truckers. A battle could be brewing.
Climate’s last stand: Why Extinction Rebellion protesters are breaking the law (commentary)
"A 4 degrees C future is incompatible with an organized global community," climate and energy professor Kevin Anderson once told Grist. Even if we cut emissions by 3.5 percent a…
Vast palm oil project in Papua must be investigated by government, watchdogs say
The Indonesian government must put an immediate halt to land clearing in the Tanah Merah project, a vast stretch of land earmarked to become the world’s biggest oil palm plantation,…
Peru’s Brazil nut harvesters learn to monitor forests with drones
Flor Rumayna and Sara Hurtado arrived in Lima this past August from their homes in the Amazon headwaters to learn more about aerial monitoring of forests. They’d been researching new technologies…
As the mammal tree of life suffers hits, should we prioritize which species to save?
The current mass extinction is eliminating whole branches of the mammal tree of life, which will take millions of years to replace, according to a recent study. Some researchers suggest…
Tiny bits of ocean plastic threaten the survival of sea turtle hatchlings
Plastic pollution in the ocean is a growing threat to the survival of sea turtles, endangering the life cycle of these ancient marine globetrotters, according to a new study. Researchers…
Extreme floods on the rise in the Amazon: study
Severe flood events have become five times more common over the last century as a result of natural atmospheric oscillations and human-driven climate change.
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- 7 convicted of killing Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres
- Five wildlife conservationists held by Iran could face the death penalty
- Peru cracks down after environmental defenders’ murders
Indonesias forest guardians
- Smartphone app helps indigenous communities fight deforestation
- Papuan chef Charles Toto serves up sustainability and environmental protection in a platter
- In eastern Indonesia, a forest tribe pushes back against miners and loggers
Amazon infrastructure
- Belo Monte dam Xingu River Management Plan violates human rights: finding
- Amazon indigenous groups and truckers ally to oppose Brazil’s Grainrail
- Extreme floods on the rise in the Amazon: study
Asian rhinos
- For elusive Javan rhinos, camera traps are a benevolent Big Brother
- First wild Sumatran rhino in Borneo captured for breeding campaign
- Jaw-dropping footage: conservationists catch Javan rhino in mud wallow
