- 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.
- Mongabay does not vet the news sources below, nor does the inclusion of a story on this list imply an endorsement of its content.
Tropical forests
Authorities seized 8.2 metric tons (9 tons) of pangolin scales that had been smuggled from Nigeria through Vietnam to Hong Kong (The New York Times).
New research shows that Brazil might be able to continue growing crops for ethanol without causing deforestation if the industry uses the waste products for cattle feed (SciDev.Net).
A taste for durian in China is fueling deforestation in Malaysia, conservationists say (NDTV/AGP).
An okapi (Okapia johnstoni) calf had eye surgery in Florida (The Gainesville Sun).
The opposition to mining in Ghana’s Atiwa Forest is growing (Business Ghana).
India is planning new biodiversity park in the Kashmir region (Greater Kashmir).
Ten journalists have been charged with extorting payments from a charcoal manufacturer in Myanmar (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project).
The second stage of construction of the Pan Borneo Highway in the Malaysian state of Sarawak should begin in 2020, officials say (The Borneo Post).
A recent study has found that “poor land use practices” are degrading forests in Africa (The New Times (Rwanda)).
“Rewilding” is helping to restore ecosystems, but there are still pitfalls along the way (The Economist).
An investigation probes the illegal trade of rosewood from Madagascar to China (Yale e360).
Illegally and unsustainably harvested tropical timber is still finding its way into construction projects for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, conservation groups say (South China Morning Post).
Scientists are examining Africa’s wetlands in the hopes of finding the mysterious source of higher atmospheric methane levels (Nature News).
Other news
Key West in Florida will no longer allow common sunscreens containing chemicals harmful to the area’s coral reefs (The Washington Post, The New York Times).
DNA testing could help investigators find illegally harvested and traded shark fins (Hakai Magazine).
The “Green New Deal” introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week won’t cut out fossil fuels (Bloomberg).
Climate change is a factor in the increasing strength of Atlantic hurricanes, a new study has found (The Washington Post).
A 25-year-old plan to protect forests in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. isn’t doing much to help the region’s wildlife (Pamplin Media).
Climate change on its current path could lead to temperature rises of 4.4 degrees Celsius (8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Himalayas, wiping out nearly all of the mountain range’s glaciers by 2100 (The New York Times).
A former coal lobbyist clears a hurdle in the U.S. Senate toward confirmation as the next head of the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (Reuters).
Scientists have found six species of fish, previously unknown to science, with tentacles on their faces (Haaretz, Earther).
Why have African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) disappeared from the Serengeti? (EurekAlert/Norwegian University of Science and Technology).
Seismic oil exploration tests in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been postponed (The New York Times).
Despite rising concerns about climate change, the world is still addicted to oil as an energy source (The Economist).
Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) are the world’s deep-diving champions, plunging to depths of nearly 3.2 kilometers (2 miles), according to recently published research (The New York Times).
Banner image of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) by Bart Swanson (Bkswanson) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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