- 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
Climate change is contributing to a drought and famine crisis in Guatemala (The Guardian).
Coastal settlements in Honduras face the threat of rising sea levels (The Guardian).
Tanzania’s president is making part of the iconic Selous Game Reserve a national park where wildlife will be fully protected (Busiweek, Reuters).
The Congo rainforest is battling lengthening dry seasons (Earth & Space Science News).
The president of Brazil has questioned the validity of the data showing that deforestation in the country’s share of the Amazon has spiked (Science Magazine).
Ethiopia says it planted a record 350 million trees in a single day this week (The New York Times).
Losing large animals could exacerbate climate change (Anthropocene Magazine).
India’s tiger population has risen to 3,000 (The New York Times).
A new species of Amazonian monkey, the Munduruku marmoset, is threatened by the loss of forests (New Scientist).
Religious faith is helping to save forests in Cambodia (Reuters).
Other news
Biologists believe that climate change may have contributed to the starvation of reindeer in Norway (The New York Times).
Older islands have greater biodiversity, a study has found — unless invasive species have been introduced (Earth.com).
Defenders of the environment face increasingly dangerous conditions, a new report from Global Witness shows (Huffington Post).
A drought in central China is affecting more than half a million people (Environews Nigeria).
Young climate activist Greta Thunberg will travel to the U.S. by boat for the United Nations climate talks (The Guardian).
A sea lion ended up in the jaws of a humpback whale, but both animals likely left the encounter unscathed (National Geographic).
Drought in Zimbabwe is limiting millions of people to a weekly ration of water (The New York Times).
Women in West Africa are using plastic trash to build schools (The New York Times).
Can the hazards of nuclear energy be overcome in the quest for low-carbon energy? (Ensia).
Using wastewater for crops offers a promising solution to water shortages (Undark).
A scientist cautions that overestimates of the number of species threatened with extinction could be “counterproductive” for conservation (Science Magazine).
Banner image of a tiger in India by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.