Economic headwinds buffet once-resilient Sumatran forest-farms
For more than a century, agroforests in the Sumatran port town of Krui used to be a prime example of how interspersing native tree species among crops could give locals…
Environmental headlines
Mongabay is a non-profit provider of conservation and environmental science news.
Helmeted hornbill, on verge of extinction, finds respite in new zone outside of known range
A conservation area in western Borneo holds an unexpectedly rich population of the helmeted hornbill, a bird driven close to extinction by poaching for its distinctive casqued beak, a field…
Suite of free, open-source tools to help even non-experts monitor large-scale land use change
A recent study mapped the world’s dry forests using a relatively new tool that combines creative satellite image analysis with local- and national-scale knowledge. Natural resource agencies worldwide inventory their…
Estonia’s trees: Valued resource or squandered second chance?
When the last of the Russian troops pulled out of Estonia in 1994, for many their departure was bittersweet. While most Estonians were eager to join the Western world and…
Half-Earth Day to be celebrated next week
This Monday, October 23, marks the first-ever Half-Earth Day. The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and National Geographic timed the event to occur exactly half a year after Earth Day (April…
The Philippines commits to science-anchored fishery policies
The agency responsible for looking after the Philippines’ fish stocks has pledged to step up the science behind its management of the resource as it announced new reforms to the…
Another Madagascar environmental activist imprisoned
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar -- In Madagascar, speaking out against corporate wrongdoing or government corruption can be dangerous business. So it took some courage for Raleva, a 61-year-old farmer, to stand up…
Belo Monte dam-opposing Brazilian activist wins prestigious environmental award
Brazilian environmental and human rights activist Antônia Melo da Silva received the Alexander Soros Foundation Award earlier this month in recognition of her work organizing opposition to the Belo Monte…
Could fungi provide an alternative to palm oil?
Fungi – a kingdom grouping that includes mushrooms, mold and yeast – have long been heralded for their beneficial properties. They’ve been used to soak up oil spills, boost your…
Deforestation drops 16% in the Brazilian Amazon
Deforestation in the world's largest rainforest declined over the past year, reports the Brazilian government. According to preliminary data from Brazil's national space agency INPE, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon…
Amazonian manatee migration at risk from disruption by proposed dams
During the wet season, manatees swim Amazon basin floodplains; in dry times they migrate to lakes. Hundreds of planned dams could disrupt that cycle.
Road building threatens forests, water supplies in Kuala Lumpur area
AMPANG, Malaysia – Taman Rimba Ampang was once a peaceful retreat from the bustle of Malaysia’s capital, a place where Kuala Lumpur’s residents could paddle in the shallow waters of…
Leading US plywood firm linked to alleged destruction, rights violations in Malaysia
The sustainability and legality claims of the largest plywood importer in the US have come under question after it was found to have received shipments of Malaysian plywood worth more…
Seychelles home to new species of caecilian, a legless amphibian
A team of scientists from Seychelles, the United States and the United Kingdom has found a new caecilian, perhaps the smallest species of the legless amphibian on Earth. "As soon…
‘If it’s going to kill us, OK, we’ll die’: Villagers stand firm as Cambodian dam begins to fill
On Sept. 25, amid a continuing crackdown on media, political opposition and civil society described by commentators as “a slide into dictatorship,” Prime Minister Hun Sen officially launched Cambodia’s biggest…
Unfair trade: US beef has a climate problem
When Donald Trump pulled the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP), it dashed plans to increase beef exports to Japan. But trade deals like TTP, which don’t address climate change, remain a looming environmental threat, as does rising global beef consumption.
Audio: Indonesian rainforests for sale and bat calls of the Amazon
This episode of the Mongabay Newscast takes a look at our new investigative series, “Indonesia for Sale,” and also features a new acoustic study of Amazonian bats. We recently published…
Jakarta reclamation project allowed to resume, but opposition remains
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has allowed work to resume on a $40 billion project to build 17 artificial islands off the northern coast of the capital Jakarta, overturning a…
How small is too small? The uncertain fate of Madagascar’s forest fragments
ANKAFOBE, Madagascar — When he first told colleagues at the Missouri Botanical Garden that lemurs still lived in the forest in Ankafobe, Jean Jacques Rasolofonirina said he was met with…
One man’s quest to save the world’s wildest places: Hansjörg Wyss
In the late 1950s, a young graduate student from Switzerland named Hansjörg Wyss took a summer job with the Colorado Highway Department. In his free time, he explored, climbed, and…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Another Madagascar environmental activist imprisoned
- Indigenous group scores legal victory as dam floods their lands
- Yasuni indigenous peoples’ fight for survival depicted in new documentary
Global forest reporting network
- Estonia’s trees: Valued resource or squandered second chance?
- Leading US plywood firm linked to alleged destruction, rights violations in Malaysia
- Communities struggle to save Sabah’s shrinking mangroves
Amazon infrastructure
- Amazonian manatee migration at risk from disruption by proposed dams
- Munduruku standoff against Amazon dam builders potentially explosive
- Record Amazon fires stun scientists; sign of sick, degraded forests
Asian rhinos
- When a rhino calls in the forest, this guy hears it: Q&A with a Javan rhino researcher
- Audio: Is forest certification an effective strategy? Plus acoustic ecology of the Javan rhino
- A rhino called hope
