'Hidden' source of emissions from peat swamp destruction identified A canal draining peat forest in Indonesian Borneo Degradation of peat swamps for oil palm and timber plantations is a substantially…
Dan Childs filming in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo courtesy of Nick Werber. A new series of short films is celebrating the innovation of rural farmers in the Manu region of…
The newly created Ntokou-Pikounda National Park spans some 4,572 square kilometers (1,765 square miles) and will safeguard western lowland gorillas as well as elephants and chimpanzees. Photo credit: Thomas Breuer/Wildlife…
Three-month-old Bornean elephant calf next to dead mother. Officials suspect this elephant, and so far 13 others, were poisoned. Photo by: Sabah Wildlife Department. Wildlife officials in the Malaysian state…
Sun bear in a cage in Indonesia. Photo by: Chris R. Shepherd/TRAFFIC Southeast Asia. In the forests of Asia, bears are being captured. These captives will be sent to bear…
Chart courtesy of U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics. A new chart by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows how China's coal habit has grown to such an extent…
Mangroves are among the most important ecosystems in the world: they provide nurseries for fish, protect coastlines against dangerous tropical storms, mitigate marine erosion, store massive amounts of carbon, and…
According to a controversial theory, forests—such as this one in Borneo—drive winds bringing rain from the coasts to continental interiors. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. It took over two-and-a-half-years for…
Mato Grosso, Brazil A rural credit law that ties loans to environmental compliance made a significant contribution to reducing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2008 and 2011, argues a…
Rainforest in Borneo The World Bank's investments in forestry over the past decade have failed to meet key objectives of reducing poverty, preserving forests, slowing climate change, or benefitting local…
Killing machine Domesticated cats in the United States kill far more animals than previously thought — 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 – 20.7 billion small mammals per year…
Rainforest in Borneo 100 companies have reported on the impact of their operations on the world's forests. The Forest Footprint Disclosure Project released its fourth annual report this week. The…
The tiger is a globally endangered top predator occupying only 7% of its historic range and only 3000-3500 individuals are believed to be left in wild. Picture © Kalyan Varma.…
Rainforest-covered karst mountains with pristine mangroves beneath characterizes one of the most stunning protected areas in the Caribbean: Los Haitises National Park. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. For its stunning variety…
River and forest in Guyana's Amazon. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs. A judge in Guyana's high court has ruled that indigenous groups do not have the right to expel legal miners…
GloF-DAS alerts in Sumatra NASA satellites picked up signals of extensive potential deforestation in Sumatra, Borneo, Central Africa, the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon, the Chocó in Colombia and Ecuador, and…
Rainforest in Sumatra HarperCollins has established a policy that excludes paper sourced from destruction of tropical rainforests and old growth forests. The revised policy, posted on its web site earlier…
Juvenile orangutan in the Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, which, along with adjacent forests, supports an estimated 480 orangutans. Photo by: HUTAN/Dzulirwan bin Takasi @ Jolirwan. Three conservation groups warn that a…
European common frog (Rana temporaria). Photo by: Richard Bartz. Commonly used agrochemicals (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) kill frogs outright when sprayed on fields even when used at recommended dosages, according…
by 28 January 2013
Illegal loggers beware: trees will soon be calling—literally—for backup. The Brazilian government has begun fixing trees with a wireless device known as Invisible Tracck, which will let trees “contact” authorities…
by 28 January 2013
The Northern Pacific Elephant Seal was thought to be extinct until a small population was discovered on an island of Baja California in 1892. Since then, the species has staged…
by 28 January 2013
In a landmark report, the Kenyan Government and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) addressed the importance of forests to the well-being of the nation, putting Kenya among a ground-breaking…
How a sample payment for ecosystem services project works. Click to enlarge. Unlike cars, hamburgers, and computers, clean drinking water is a requirement for human survival. In a bid to…
by 28 January 2013
Great news for primate lovers! The number of the critically endangered Sulawesi black macaques is on the mend. Where as fifteen years ago the declining numbers of these majestic animals…
New species of agama lizard discovered in remote rainforest in Vietnam: Calotes bachae. Photo by Peter Geissler. A bold new paper in Science argues that the world's species could be…
The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WFCC.org) runs from January 30 – February 2, 2013. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with…
Energizing Sustainable Cities: Assessing Urban Energy, edited by Arnulf Grubler and David Fisk, is a very well written book describing challenges and opportunities to define, analyze, and implement sustainable energy…
The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WFCC.org) runs from January 30 – February 2, 2013. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with…
Deforestation in neighboring Brazil. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Bolivia has passed a land use law that aims to boost food security and slow deforestation in a region that is…
Rainforest in the Leuser Ecosystem Area The Indonesian province of Aceh on the western tip of the island of Sumatra may be preparing to lift the protected status of key…
