Human activities have taken a heavy toll on our environment. But there may be some hope, researchers say. Although human pressures continue to expand across our planet, their overall rate of increase…
In April 2012, Survival International launched a global campaign to save the Awá, an uncontacted indigenous people that has been called “Earth’s most threatened tribe.” Two years later, the campaign…
In 2013, Indonesia declared the whale shark a protected species, hoping to put a dent in the thriving trade in its body and parts which was pushing the world’s largest fish…
“I can get you a lemur if you want one,” said a sun-hardened Malagasy man after finishing up an interview, via translator, about his history of hunting lemurs. He could…
ydropower development is booming, with controversial projects unfolding across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. Though often presented as a green renewable energy option, dams can cause a litany of…
Ataúro Island, located just 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Dili, Timor-Leste's capital, may have the highest average fish diversity in the world, a new survey has found. Of the…
Scientists say their research shows that two subspecies of songbirds found only on the Galápagos Islands should be elevated to full species status. There’s one big caveat, however: One of…
Scientists have discovered two new species of bioluminescent deep-sea fish off New Zealand. Both species belong to the family Opisthoproctidae, also known as spook fish or “barreleyes”, named for the protruding cylindrical eyes that…
Corals around the world are bleaching. Australia's Great Barrier Reef, for example, suffered widespread bleaching this year due to rising sea surface temperatures caused by a combination of global warming and a strong El Niño. Bleaching occurs because…
The Indonesian parliament will form a task force to look into the cancelling of investigations against 15 companies alleged to be complicit in fires in Riau, the country’s top palm oil…
Staying up to date with rapid advances in remote sensing technology to help conserve the Amazon rainforest
Sarawak is making good on last year’s pledge by Chief Minister Adenan Satem to prioritize the protection of Sarawak’s tropical forests and the orangutans that inhabit them. The Malaysian state…
Illegal logging and cattle ranching in the Amazon, oil palm plantations in Indonesia, and other drivers of tropical deforestation may get all the press, but forest destruction is not limited…
Scientists have identified a new species of prehistoric dolphin from a fossil that lay undescribed in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History for the last 65 years. Researchers have…
Much of timber exported from Peru to the U.S. in January 2015 was illegally sourced, according to a verification report released yesterday by the U.S. government. The findings have prompted…
The Indonesian agency set up to prevent a recurrence of last year’s devastating forest and peatland fires is calling for all peat domes in the country to be designated as…
ne June 23 Mohammad Dehqani and Parviz Hormozi, two park rangers with a combined 35 years on the job, were patrolling a nearly impassable section of southern Iran’s Geno Biosphere…
According to data released on Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), July 2016 was the hottest July on record. It followed the hottest June on record and…
Most oil palm is grown in areas that were once species-rich and carbon-rich tropical forests, thanks to the fact that the crop’s natural range is limited to the humid tropics.…
On July 26, a Chinese court sentenced seven people to prison terms for smuggling more than 300 rare radiated tortoises. These critically endangered tortoises, popular as pets, were being smuggled…
Significant reductions in carbon emissions could be achieved by sustainable forestry practices in the tropics, researchers say — but so far, the world is not taking full advantage of this…
Air quality in Indonesia and peninsular Malaysia declined this week as prevailing southwesterly winds continued to blow smog over the water that separates the two countries. “Smoke from forest fires…
or much of the year, the painted terrapin’s name doesn’t make much sense. The carapace of this large Asian river turtle is usually an unremarkable grey/brown. But during the breeding…
In May 2011, two volunteer researchers had an unexpected visitor at the El Dorado Nature Reserve Ecotourism lodge in northwestern Colombia. A rare, tiny rodent called the Santa Marta Toro or the Santa Marta…
India is home to iconic wildlife like tigers, dholes and even lions, as well as many species found nowhere else in the world. But they share the subcontinent with the…
A new study finds that, contrary to popular belief, grassy biomes such as grasslands and savannas are species-rich ecosystems every bit as biodiverse as rainforests — yet little attention is…
he Paris Agreement marked the biggest political milestone to combat climate change since scientists first introduced us in the late 1980s to perhaps humanity’s greatest existential crisis. Last December, 178…
The UN’s REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) program was officially enshrined in the Paris Climate Agreement as a standalone article — as clear a signal as any…
Scientists have described a strikingly colored new species of snake from the mountains of east-central Mexico. This snake, with a vivid orange and black banding pattern on its body, belongs…
Greenland sharks, living in the cold, deep waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, are one of the largest sharks in the world -- they can grow up to…
