Mongabay’s What-to-Watch list for July 2023

In June, Mongabay released videos showing the rodeo culture that’s developed in the Amazon, how wild jungle cat in India has adapted to an agricultural landscape, and why researchers are fitting the Amazon dolphins with radio transmitters.
A video documentation from Madagascar shows how NGOs and communities are trying to restore a reforestation effort that was destroyed by wildfires. From India, watch how renewable energy projects are rising in a district once famous for illegal mining.
Watch a video interview of a Munduruku Indigenous leader in Brazil at the “Free Land Camp” event, documented by a collective of young Munduruku people.
Get a peek into the various segments of the environment across the globe. Add these videos to your watchlist for the month and watch them for free on YouTube.

A group of young Munduruku Indigenous community in Brazil, forming a collective, covered news about Acampamento Terra Livre event and interviewed Indigenous leader Maria Leusa. Watch the video where she talks about the challenges of being a female Indigenous leader, the violence that her people have suffered from prospectors and the dream of seeing Munduruku territory finally demarcated.

Amazon river dolphins are at the top of the food chain in their ecosystem, playing important roles as regulators of Amazonian river life and as environmental indicators for potential zoonoses. Here’s how researchers are trying to save them.

Despite the looming threat of fires in Madagascar’s Kirindy Mitea, an NGO is trying to restore the landscape.

Watch the North American-style rodeos in the Amazon. In a region where cattle ranching is rampant — cattle are raised on clearings in the middle of the rainforest — an adapted culture has taken prominent shape.

The jungle cat (Felis chaus) is one of the ten small cat species found in India. Little is known about the ecology of this cat, but they’re playing a role in the human-dominated agricultural landscapes.

Meanwhile in India, a place once known for illegal iron ore is now a center of renewable energy projects. Mongabay-India‘s video shows how a lack of skills in the renewable sector and the need for just transitions pose challenges for local residents seeking employment in the new green economy.

A startup in India is working to improve waste management and combat plastic pollution in cities. Mongabay-India spoke with the CEO, who talks about it in this interview.

Add these videos to your watchlist for the month and watch them for free on Mongabay’s YouTube channel.

Rainforest cowboys: Rodeo culture sweeps the Amazon

Hot on the heels of the advancing deforestation sweeping across the Amazon region, a cultural phenomenon linked to cattle ranching is emerging in its wake: North American-style rodeos. Such events are becoming increasingly commonplace in the southern part of the Amazonian state of Pará. The stars of these rodeos are the ‘tropeiros,’ as the farmhands of the Amazonian cattle ranches are known locally, for whom the dream of becoming a rodeo champion contrasts with their generally low-paid, often informal day jobs.

Your pet cat’s wild relative in India has a new home | Jungle cat

What is the jungle cat doing in Gurugram’s farmlands in northern India? The elusive small cat that lives in grasslands, shrubland, wetlands, and dense vegetation areas has adapted to surviving in agricultural areas near Gurugram and other parts of India. But in a rapidly changing environment, it faces several threats.

Expedition catches Amazon river dolphins to help save this iconic pink species

In December last year, researchers gathered extensive data on a population of Amazon river dolphins in the Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. They fitted some of the dolphins with radio transmitters to help map their preferred zones and identify priority regions for species protection. Hydroelectric dams, fishing, and contamination from mining pose the greatest threats to the species across its range.

INDIGENOUS LEADERS AND POLITICS

Munduruku Collective interviews Maria Leusa on leading the Indigenous struggle

At the end of April, about 60 Munduruku Indigenous people from several villages in Pará traveled more than 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) to participate in the 19th Acampamento Terra Livre (the “Free Land Camp,” known as ATL) in Brasília. Among the group were the young people of the Wakoborũn Audiovisual Collective, who, in addition to documenting the event, conducted a long interview with one of their main leaders, Maria Leusa Munduruku.

RESTORATION AND REWILDING PROJECTS

Can an NGO restore the baobabs of scorched-Earth Kirindy forest?

In October 2022, a fire in Madagascar’s Kirindy Mitea National Park wiped out 45,000 saplings. The trees were planted as part of a reforestation effort by Dry Forest, a relatively new NGO. Many of the fires are started by farmers clearing their fields. These fires can spread from farms to the forests. There were over 180,000 fire alerts in Madagascar between August and December 2022, according to Global Forest Watch.

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN INDIA

The Rise of Renewables in Ballari, India: Opportunities and Challenges

The Ballari district in Karnataka, India, was once known for illegal iron ore mining but faced unemployment after a mining ban in 2011. In recent years, the district has seen a rise in renewable energy projects, offering hope for job opportunities. However, the transition has not been able to alleviate the unemployment faced by former mine workers.

POLLUTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Kabadiwalla Connect: Transforming Waste Management & Beating Plastic Pollution in India

Kabadiwalla Connect is a startup working to improve waste management and combat plastic pollution in cities. They integrate the informal waste sector with formal systems to create a sustainable solution. The challenges in waste management include high costs for municipalities and outdated models. Startups like Kabadiwalla Connect propose innovative approaches. Collaboration between citizens, governments, and the informal sector is crucial for effective waste management and creating a circular economy.