- There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
- Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
- If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.
Tropical forests
The “natural enemies” hypothesis, which argues that tropical forest biodiversity results from intense competition, isn’t the only factor (UPI).
The effects of the Mayans’ use of forests in Central America centuries ago still linger today (Smithsonian Magazine).
The chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sabah orders increased protection for Bornean elephants (The Sun Daily, Reuters).
Managers in India use drones to move an elephant herd back into the forest and away from potential conflict with people (The Hindu).
Anti-poaching forces have been deployed in areas with illegal logging in Thailand (Bangkok Post).
A scientist explains how indigenous forestry techniques can be leveraged to rescue degraded forests (Yale Environment 360).
A failed dam in Myanmar leaves 63,000 people homeless (Reuters).
More tree species in forests could mean a higher capacity to absorb carbon (Carbon Brief).
As urban areas explode in Central Africa, the incidence of disease outbreaks is rising as well (NIH/EurekAlert).
A U.S. environmental group is no longer welcome in Russia (U.S. News & World Report).
Hybrid pythons, the product of two Asian species, could be super predators when they invade wildlife-rich areas in Florida (The Guardian).
Honeybees are helping in the fight against deforestation on the island of Zanzibar (Wired).
Other news
Fishers double their efforts in the lead-up to the designation of a marine protected area, study finds (The Atlantic).
New research warns of the drastic potential impacts of climate change (The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic).
The U.S. EPA’s plan to bring back coal could lead to an additional 1,400 deaths a year from poor air quality, scientists say (The New York Times).
With warmer temperatures, crop-eating insect pests will become more active (The Guardian, BBC News, The New York Times).
A judge has stopped plans for the first grizzly bear hunt in the Yellowstone ecosystem in four decades (Reuters).
Logging may slow wildfires in some instances, but are the problems it causes for biodiversity worth it? (Pacific Standard).
Plastic particles carry invasive species into new territory (National Geographic News).
Dogs are helping authorities catch ivory traffickers in Kenya (BBC News).
Researchers find a new species of high-altitude tarantula (National Geographic).
Recent research links a drop-off in the ability to think with pollution in China (The New York Times).
Officials express their concern that drones are interfering with breeding birds and mammals (BBC News).
An underwater drone could protect the Great Barrier Reef from invasive (and coral-destroying) crown-of-thorns starfish (The Guardian).
Banner image of a Bornean elephant by John C. Cannon/Mongabay.
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