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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/author/christopheassogba/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:37:23 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Christophe Assogba, Author at Conservation news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/author/christopheassogba/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Fatal WWII bomb blast in Indonesia was a result of illegal fishing activity, police say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 09:03:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Asrida Elisabeth]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29084556/Explosives-and-other-remnants-of-World-War-II-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324751</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Culture, Disasters, Environment, Environmental Law, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Islands, Law, Oceans, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BIAK, Indonesia — The munition here had outlasted one of the Pacific&#8217;s fiercest World War II battles. Eight decades later, investigators in Indonesia said it exploded by the timber-framed houses in the coastal village of Fandoi on Indonesia&#8217;s Biak Island. Investigators and officials later concluded a group of local fishers were dismantling an unexploded munition [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BIAK, Indonesia — The munition here had outlasted one of the Pacific&#8217;s fiercest World War II battles. Eight decades later, investigators in Indonesia said it exploded by the timber-framed houses in the coastal village of Fandoi on Indonesia&#8217;s Biak Island. Investigators and officials later concluded a group of local fishers were dismantling an unexploded munition recovered from coastal waters off Papua, where some of the Pacific&#8217;s most intense fighting took place in 1944. “They take them and dismantle them on the island,” said Cliff Marlessy, who as director of the Indonesia Locally Managed Marine Area (ILMMA) works with communities to manage marine resources in Biak. Their deaths are the latest in a long legacy of unexploded wartime ordnance, which has killed or injured at least 25,000 people across neighboring Papua New Guinea since 1945, according to The HALO Trust, the world&#8217;s largest humanitarian mine-clearance organization. No concrete estimate exists for the death toll across Indonesia. Authorities have known about repurposing of unexploded bombs for decades, yet some fishers continue to recover wartime explosives for use in blast fishing despite the extreme danger. Goa Jepang — or &#8220;Goa Binsar,&#8221; as locals call it — is a Japanese military bunker from World War II. Image by Asrida Elisabeth/Mongabay Indonesia. Legacy of war New Guinea and its surrounding islands were among the Pacific&#8217;s most violent World War II theatres, while Allied forces advanced westward through Japanese-held territory. During this period, months of heavy bombing and naval combat left countless unexploded bombs and artillery&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fatal-wwii-bomb-blast-in-indonesia-was-a-result-of-illegal-fishing-activity-police-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324751</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kenyan teen leads charge on tree planting and climate awareness</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/kenyan-teen-leads-charge-on-tree-planting-and-climate-awareness/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/kenyan-teen-leads-charge-on-tree-planting-and-climate-awareness/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 09:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lynet Otieno]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ashoka]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28114108/Baraka-Main-photo-768x493.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324658</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Books, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Culture, Economics, Education, Environment, Forests, Health, Media, Plants, Research, Solutions, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Baraka Moruri has been passionate about the environment since he was 6. Now 13, the Kenyan climate champion says he has planted more than 7,600 trees with the help of family, friends and private organizations. “My goal is unlimited. I want to plant over 1 million trees before I turn 18,” he says. On March [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Baraka Moruri has been passionate about the environment since he was 6. Now 13, the Kenyan climate champion says he has planted more than 7,600 trees with the help of family, friends and private organizations. “My goal is unlimited. I want to plant over 1 million trees before I turn 18,” he says. On March 20 this year, Baraka and his family launched Go Green with Baraka, a book calling for young people in Africa to lead in protecting the environment. Baraka is Little Mister Environment Kenya, and the ambassador of Plant Your Age, an initiative started by the Green Africa Foundation following the death in 2011 of Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai at the age of 71. Her work inspired him to become involved in climate action. “Once, as I was doing my agriculture class assignment that involved researching about Prof Wangari Maathai, I watched a video in which she was being denied her rights. She later won a global award because of her love for the environment,” Baraka says. Baraka Moruri with his younger sister, as he holds ‘Go Green With Baraka’, a book he authored. Photo by Lawrine Moruri. Baraka’s father Arnold Warinda (left), his mother Lawrine Moruri and a friend during the launch of ‘Go Green With Baraka’ in Nairobi in January 2026. Photo by Lawrine Moruri. The impacts of climate change fall especially hard on children in countries like Kenya. The newly released “Children’s Climate Risk Report” by UNICEF describes how children in East and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/kenyan-teen-leads-charge-on-tree-planting-and-climate-awareness/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/kenyan-teen-leads-charge-on-tree-planting-and-climate-awareness/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324658</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>International Tiger Day: A complex landscape of recovery, conflict, and empty forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/international-tiger-day-a-complex-landscape-of-recovery-conflict-and-empty-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/international-tiger-day-a-complex-landscape-of-recovery-conflict-and-empty-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 07:32:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29073157/tigers-drink-water-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324746</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Development, Ecology, Environment, Extinction, Governance, Human-wildlife Conflict, Infrastructure, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Mining, National Parks, Protected Areas, Research, Tigers, Tourism, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[July 29 is International Tiger Day. Few species have benefitted from global conservation attention and funding like the tiger. Its numbers have seen a hopeful increase in recent years, yet the big cat continues to face localized pressures. Recent Mongabay coverage highlights three starkly different realities for tigers (Panthera tigris) across Asia. India’s corridors under [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[July 29 is International Tiger Day. Few species have benefitted from global conservation attention and funding like the tiger. Its numbers have seen a hopeful increase in recent years, yet the big cat continues to face localized pressures. Recent Mongabay coverage highlights three starkly different realities for tigers (Panthera tigris) across Asia. India’s corridors under pressure India remains the global stronghold for wild tigers, currently home to roughly 75% of the world&#8217;s remaining population. While India’s 2022 census shows numbers have rebounded to an estimated 3,682 cats, this success brings new challenges, reports contributor Nirmal Ghosh for Mongabay. As tiger numbers grow in protected areas, the big cats are forced to disperse out in search of new homes. They end up navigating human-dominated landscapes where they’re likely to run into conflict with people or infrastructure like roads and railways. Though India has invested heavily in building some of the world&#8217;s largest wildlife underpasses, Ghosh reports that vital ecological corridors remain under severe threat, and development proposals like mining and road infrastructure in protected habitats continue to be approved. Nepal’s controversial solution for ‘problem’ tigers Nepal has successfully tripled its tiger population since 2009 to 355 individuals, report Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi and contributor Mukesh Pokhrel. But this boom has led to a sharp rise in human-tiger conflict. Government records show 38 people died in tiger attacks between 2019 and 2023, leaving authorities struggling to manage the captured &#8220;problem&#8221; tigers, or individuals involved in killing and eating one or more humans.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/international-tiger-day-a-complex-landscape-of-recovery-conflict-and-empty-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324746</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare palm tree rediscovered in Madagascar after nearly 100 years</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-palm-tree-rediscovered-in-madagascar-after-nearly-100-years/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-palm-tree-rediscovered-in-madagascar-after-nearly-100-years/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 04:48:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29044003/Ravenea_latisecta_Louis_Aureglia-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324734</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Plants, Protected Areas, Rediscovered Species, Research, Science, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have tracked down 28 individuals of a palm tree species last recorded in Madagascar nearly 100 years ago. Nearly every tree of the species, Ravenea latisecta, was found within four protected areas in the Andasibe-Mantadia region of Madagascar, according to a recent study. “Andasibe–Mantadia is one of Madagascar’s best-explored botanical regions, and Ravenea latisecta [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have tracked down 28 individuals of a palm tree species last recorded in Madagascar nearly 100 years ago. Nearly every tree of the species, Ravenea latisecta, was found within four protected areas in the Andasibe-Mantadia region of Madagascar, according to a recent study. “Andasibe–Mantadia is one of Madagascar’s best-explored botanical regions, and Ravenea latisecta is not an inconspicuous plant, it is a palm several metres tall,” Louis Aureglia, study lead author with Aix-Marseille University in France, told Mongabay by email. “Yet confirmed populations remained undocumented for almost a century. This is a good reminder that botanical exploration is far from complete.” There are around 20 known species of palm trees in the genus Ravenea. All are only found in Madagascar and the Comoros, and nearly all are endangered or critically endangered. For the study, Aureglia and his colleagues launched a survey in Andasibe–Mantadia in 2024 to document Ravenea palm trees in the wild. They also examined historical specimens kept in herbariums. Palm trees are usually large and difficult to miss, yet some Ravenea species can be tricky to tell apart with confidence if they’re not flowering, Aureglia said. The “real turning point” in their fieldwork, he added, was when they found “fertile” plants: male or female trees containing inflorescences, or branched structures with clusters of flowers. “Ravenea latisecta is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are produced on separate plants,” Aureglia said. “Once we found both male and female individuals, with inflorescences matching the original description, we could&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-palm-tree-rediscovered-in-madagascar-after-nearly-100-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324734</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesian zoo corruption case renews scrutiny of animal welfare</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesian-zoo-corruption-case-renews-scrutiny-of-animal-welfare/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesian-zoo-corruption-case-renews-scrutiny-of-animal-welfare/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 04:18:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/04/01214955/800px-Surabaya_Zoo-520x227.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324730</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Java, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Corruption, Crime, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Wildlife, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An alleged corruption case at Indonesia&#8217;s Surabaya Zoo has renewed scrutiny of how the country&#8217;s wildlife conservation institutions are governed and prompted experts to warn that financial misconduct can have consequences that extend beyond public finances to the welfare of animals entirely dependent on human care. The investigation has also reignited calls for stronger oversight [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An alleged corruption case at Indonesia&#8217;s Surabaya Zoo has renewed scrutiny of how the country&#8217;s wildlife conservation institutions are governed and prompted experts to warn that financial misconduct can have consequences that extend beyond public finances to the welfare of animals entirely dependent on human care. The investigation has also reignited calls for stronger oversight and accountability to ensure conservation institutions protect both public resources and the wildlife entrusted to them. East Java prosecutors named Choirul Anwar a suspect on July 21, 2026, in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the operational budget of Surabaya Zoo between 2016 and 2024. Choirul was previously the president director of the Surabaya Zoo and Wildlife Park Regional Company. A preliminary audit conducted jointly with the East Java representative office of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) estimated state losses at 10.2 billion rupiah ($564,000), of which approximately 7.4 billion rupiah ($409,000) was allegedly diverted for the suspect&#8217;s personal benefit. Prosecutors said the alleged corruption had contributed to a deterioration in the management of Surabaya Zoo in the subsequent years, leading to declining services and facilities, while a number of animals reportedly died due to inadequate care. A 16-year-old tiger died in 2016 in Surabaya Zoo. Image courtesy of Surabaya Zoo. The case has renewed calls from zoo and conservation experts for stronger oversight of conservation institutions, including audits that assess not only financial compliance but also animal welfare outcomes and governance safeguards in hopes of detecting misconduct earlier. “Many people still&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesian-zoo-corruption-case-renews-scrutiny-of-animal-welfare/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324730</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tech helps Vietnam rangers turn the tide on poaching</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tech-helps-vietnam-rangers-turn-the-tide-on-poaching/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tech-helps-vietnam-rangers-turn-the-tide-on-poaching/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 03:55:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29035510/Anti-poaching-officers-and-forest-rangers-shared-how-they-use-the-SMART-application-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324728</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Conservation, Crime, data, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hope and optimism, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Poaching, Software, Technology, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park, which borders Laos, an antipoaching unit is integrating high-tech tools with on-the-ground patrols to help turn the tide on illegal wildlife poaching. The antipoaching unit (APU) was formed through a partnership in 2018 between the NGO Save Vietnam&#8217;s Wildlife (SVW) and the park, to address the widespread use of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park, which borders Laos, an antipoaching unit is integrating high-tech tools with on-the-ground patrols to help turn the tide on illegal wildlife poaching. The antipoaching unit (APU) was formed through a partnership in 2018 between the NGO Save Vietnam&#8217;s Wildlife (SVW) and the park, to address the widespread use of wire snares and the limited capacity of forest rangers, APU coordinator Huu Trung Nguyen told contributor Campbell Rusden in an interview for Mongabay. Nguyen said that about 70 forest rangers previously monitored more than 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of rugged terrain each on average. Patrol information was also recorded in written notes and patrol routes, and locations of illegal activities were described in narrative form, said Trung Hau Luong, the unit&#8217;s deputy head, in the interview. Now, the APU team uses SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) software and remotely monitored “PoacherCams.” Luong said that SMART allows patrol teams to record routes, wildlife observations, and snare locations via GPS-enabled smartphones, creating structured data to identify trafficking hotspots and guide strategic planning. Meanwhile, PoacherCams, which are cameras installed at certain locations such as forest entry points, ridge crossings, or trails frequently used by hunters, help the unit better understand people’s movements through the forest and identify potential illegal activities. In one instance, a camera captured footage of a man entering the forest with a gun. After the authorities spoke with the individual and explained the legal consequences of hunting, he voluntarily surrendered his hunting gun, Luong&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tech-helps-vietnam-rangers-turn-the-tide-on-poaching/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324728</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bill Oddie brought birdwatching into millions of homes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/bill-oddie-brought-birdwatching-into-millions-of-homes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/bill-oddie-brought-birdwatching-into-millions-of-homes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 03:27:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29032127/bill-oddie-bw-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324726</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Media, Obituary, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On television, Bill Oddie often seemed to forget the camera. A call came from a hedge, and his attention shifted toward it. He listened, peered through his binoculars, and said what he thought he had heard. Viewers shared the uncertainty, the waiting, and the excitement when the bird finally appeared. He showed that birdwatching could [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On television, Bill Oddie often seemed to forget the camera. A call came from a hedge, and his attention shifted toward it. He listened, peered through his binoculars, and said what he thought he had heard. Viewers shared the uncertainty, the waiting, and the excitement when the bird finally appeared. He showed that birdwatching could begin almost anywhere. The equipment was simple, and the wildlife was often close to home. A garden, park, reservoir, or patch of scrub provided enough to get started. Oddie, who died on July 25th, aged 85, had already been famous for many years. As one of The Goodies, alongside Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, he helped create a form of television comedy built around satire, songs, visual jokes, and cheerful disorder. Their series ran through the 1970s and made him especially familiar to children. Birds had occupied him long before television did. Raised in Birmingham, he recorded sightings for the West Midland Bird Club while still young. His initials appeared in its 1956 report, and his first article, on the birds of Bartley Reservoir, was published in 1962. He became a knowledgeable field ornithologist, skilled at identifying birds by sight and sound. In the 1990s, he began presenting programs that drew on both his ornithological knowledge and his experience as a performer. Birding with Bill Oddie followed him into hides, wetlands, and ordinary British landscapes. Bill Oddie Goes Wild covered a wider range of animals. Wild in Your Garden and Britain Goes Wild used live&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/bill-oddie-brought-birdwatching-into-millions-of-homes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/bill-oddie-brought-birdwatching-into-millions-of-homes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324726</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Forests in Liberia are falling to cocoa, in half a year the EU could ban imports</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/forests-in-liberia-are-falling-to-cocoa-in-half-a-year-the-eu-could-ban-imports/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/forests-in-liberia-are-falling-to-cocoa-in-half-a-year-the-eu-could-ban-imports/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 20:35:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike DiGirolamo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mikedigirolamo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/15114950/Photo-6-Cocoa-20-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=324541</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Global, Liberia, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Deforestation Alert System, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Monitoring, Politics, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforestation over a relatively concentrated period. Along with video production coordinator Juan Maza, Mukpo documented illegal cacao plantations in the rainforests in the county of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with features writer Ashoka Mukpo, who traveled to southeastern Liberia to investigate what satellite images indicated was a spike in deforestation over a relatively concentrated period. Along with video production coordinator Juan Maza, Mukpo documented illegal cacao plantations in the rainforests in the county of Grand Gedeh. In this interview, he explains how and why these plantations are appearing now in Liberia. “What we saw … probably the best metaphor for it is that there&#8217;s a kind of gold rush happening in this part of Liberia, except it&#8217;s not gold that people are after, it&#8217;s cocoa,” Mukpo says. “And this makes sense, given the context that in the last few years there was a huge price spike for cocoa, and this had to do with a lot of factors, including climate change and a poor harvest in Côte d&#8217;Ivoire. And so that&#8217;s pushing this huge number of migrant workers from Côte d&#8217;Ivoire into Grand Gedeh.” At the end of the year, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to take effect. The EU legislation would ban the importation of certain commodities produced via deforestation, and one of those commodities is cocoa. And much of the cocoa being grown in Liberia right now would potentially fall under this ban, Mukpo says. Furthermore, setting up the tracking infrastructure to ensure commodities meet EUDR standards is expensive. While nations like Côte d’Ivoire have already invested in this, Liberia has not. That leaves&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/forests-in-liberia-are-falling-to-cocoa-in-half-a-year-the-eu-could-ban-imports/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/07/forests-in-liberia-are-falling-to-cocoa-in-half-a-year-the-eu-could-ban-imports/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324541</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishers fight for solutions as Brazil lists tambaqui as threatened</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fishers-fight-for-solutions-as-brazil-lists-tambaqui-as-threatened/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fishers-fight-for-solutions-as-brazil-lists-tambaqui-as-threatened/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 19:34:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28103545/a.-Tambaqui-Colossoma-macropomum-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324655</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Food, food security, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Natural Resources, Overfishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amazon fishers fear a total ban on their most iconic catch could favor industrial farms over local communities.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An Amazon fisher for 38 years, Josué de Castro said he was very surprised when he learned that tambaqui, a fish that accounts for 20% of his income, is now a threatened species in Brazil, and he might not be allowed to fish it anymore. &#8220;It will ultimately have a big impact on the lives of the fishers and riverside communities who depend on fishing,&#8221; Castro, who lives in the São Raimundo do Jarauá community in northern Amazonas state, told Mongabay by phone. &#8220;In our area, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s actually facing extinction yet; there are still plenty of them around.&#8221; One of the most consumed fish in the Brazilian Amazon, the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) was included in the official national list of threatened fish and aquatic invertebrate fauna species published by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) in April. Starting at the end of October, its fishing could be prohibited in the entire country if a recovery plan isn&#8217;t implemented by then, said Braulio Dias, MMA&#8217;s director of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. &#8220;Inclusion on the list does not mean a fishing ban, provided that a population recovery plan — proposed by experts under MMA coordination — is approved,&#8221; Dias told Mongabay in a text message, adding that Ordinance Nº 1,666, published on the same day of the April 27 list, set a 180-day deadline for this to happen, which would be Oct. 25. Tambaqui, Manaus Fish Market, Brazil. Image by Thorke Østergaard via Wikimedia Commons&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fishers-fight-for-solutions-as-brazil-lists-tambaqui-as-threatened/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fishers-fight-for-solutions-as-brazil-lists-tambaqui-as-threatened/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324655</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Women&#8217;s collectives are protecting Nigeria&#8217;s gorilla wildlife sanctuary</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/womens-collectives-are-protecting-nigerias-gorilla-wildlife-sanctuary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/womens-collectives-are-protecting-nigerias-gorilla-wildlife-sanctuary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 15:01:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28150047/IMG_5349UlomWomen-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324708</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Nigeria]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Gender, Gorillas, Governance, Great Apes, Illegal Logging, Mammals, Primates, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the communities surrounding Nigeria&#8217;s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the communities surrounding Nigeria&#8217;s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led governance often struggled to curb illegal activities in and around the 100-square-kilometer (39-square-mile) sanctuary, reports contributor Orji Sunday for Mongabay. Village residents told Mongabay that because men were frequently the primary participants in hunting, logging and river pollution, they often lacked the moral authority to enforce communal bylaws that punish those activities. &#8220;Our men have failed to stop the threats,&#8221; Ofre Mary, founder of the Ulom Women’s Conservation Collective, told Mongabay. &#8220;That’s why women decided to take a stand. That’s why we decided to take the risk&#8221;. The collectives conduct regular and spontaneous patrols, sometimes late at night or at dawn, to track signs of hunting, wildfires or illegal logging. The groups also investigate allegations of wildlife crimes, either alone or together with other community leaders, state forestry officers and nonprofits in the region. In 2024, women in both Ulom and Buanchor successfully halted illegal timber deals, being made by men, Francis Akie, who heads the Traditional Rulers Council of Ulom, told Mongabay. The women threatened nude protests, a form of resistance that forced local leaders to refund timber dealers and cancel contracts. The women’s collectives also patrol the Afi River and other streams to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/womens-collectives-are-protecting-nigerias-gorilla-wildlife-sanctuary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/womens-collectives-are-protecting-nigerias-gorilla-wildlife-sanctuary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324708</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study investigates how to prevent viral spread from bat guano in Southeast Asia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 13:55:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/25102859/Banner_Rhinolophus_coelophyllus_Croslet-horseshoe-bat-e1784975703551-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324526</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Animals, Bats, Biodiversity, Business, Caves, Coronavirus, Diseases, Environment, Fertilizers, Health, Mammals, One Health, Public Health, Research, Science, Supply Chain, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As humans encroach further into ecosystems, people and wildlife are brought into closer proximity. One potential consequence is an increased risk of pathogens jumping from animals to humans, prompting researchers to explore the dynamics of how viruses circulate in nature and how best to prevent the risk of this transmission. New research from Thailand identified [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As humans encroach further into ecosystems, people and wildlife are brought into closer proximity. One potential consequence is an increased risk of pathogens jumping from animals to humans, prompting researchers to explore the dynamics of how viruses circulate in nature and how best to prevent the risk of this transmission. New research from Thailand identified genetic material belonging to Betacoronaviruses, a genus of viruses that includes the strains responsible for Covid-19, SARS and MERS, within commercially available agricultural products, raising concerns over a general lack of safety protocols to protect harvesters and handlers from exposure. In the study, published in PLOS One, researchers screened 41 samples of bat guano fertilizers commonly sold in Thai markets for the presence of coronaviruses. While all the samples were from products bought in Thailand, the researchers couldn’t determine the exact origins of the guano contained in each product, which may have been from outside the country. Two of the samples tested positive for Alphacoronaviruses, another genus of coronaviruses, and one tested positive for Betacoronaviruses. Genetic analysis showed the Betacoronavirus sample was closely genetically related to the sarbecovirus subgenus, the group that includes the Covid-causing pathogen, SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, the researchers note the viral strains detected are not known to infect humans. Moreover, they only detected a fragment of viral RNA, the genetic blueprint of viruses, and did not fully isolate a live virus in the samples. As a result, they couldn’t definitively confirm the genetic material detected is capable of posing risks to human health.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324526</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>India’s tiger numbers are rising. Protecting their pathways is next</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-tiger-numbers-are-rising-protecting-their-pathways-is-next/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-tiger-numbers-are-rising-protecting-their-pathways-is-next/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 13:16:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nirmal Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/23160557/Banner-image-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324368</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Habitat, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hope and optimism, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Protected Areas, Roads, Solutions, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[RAJAJI TIGER RESERVE, India — It is early morning in late May in the hardwood sal forests of Rajaji Tiger Reserve in north India, and the heat is rising. By afternoon it will reach 39° Celsius (102° Fahrenheit). I am squatting on the forest floor under National Highway 72, a steady rumble of traffic above, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[RAJAJI TIGER RESERVE, India — It is early morning in late May in the hardwood sal forests of Rajaji Tiger Reserve in north India, and the heat is rising. By afternoon it will reach 39° Celsius (102° Fahrenheit). I am squatting on the forest floor under National Highway 72, a steady rumble of traffic above, looking at the footprints of a wild elephant in a patch of moist mud that has thus far survived this scorching summer. This is the Teen Pani (Three Waters) underpass, just 400-odd meters (about 1,300 feet) in length, but good enough to allow everything from mice to elephants to pass safely beneath the highway. And it’s also good enough for T8, a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) that occasionally walks through the area on his nocturnal perambulations, safe from the speeding vehicles above. T8 was one of five tigers relocated to Rajaji from Corbett Tiger Reserve in May 2025, and now roams extensively, and elusively, across this often human-dominated landscape. The expressway above me dates back just to 2021, and it doesn’t have sound barriers, hence the noise. But it replaced the narrower, heavily trafficked old road running from Delhi to the holy Hindu town of Haridwar and on to Dehradun, the capital of the mountain state of Uttarakhand. T8, one of five tigers translocated from Corbett Tiger Reserve to Rajaji Tiger Reserve, will hopefully use the Teen Pani underpass. This photo was made before his release into Rajaji in 2025. Image courtesy of Rajaji&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-tiger-numbers-are-rising-protecting-their-pathways-is-next/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-tiger-numbers-are-rising-protecting-their-pathways-is-next/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324368</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>End of Brazil&#8217;s Soy Moratorium risks millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/end-of-brazils-soy-moratorium-risks-millions-of-hectares-of-amazon-rainforest-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/end-of-brazils-soy-moratorium-risks-millions-of-hectares-of-amazon-rainforest-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 13:07:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28130549/1_especial-ferrograo-59.jpg-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324701</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Business, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Governance, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Soy, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest are newly at risk of being legally deforested, a new study estimates. The potential increase in deforestation comes as soy companies have terminated their voluntary participation in the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a private-sector agreement that barred signatories from buying soy grown on land deforested after 2008. Researchers found 9.1 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest are newly at risk of being legally deforested, a new study estimates. The potential increase in deforestation comes as soy companies have terminated their voluntary participation in the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a private-sector agreement that barred signatories from buying soy grown on land deforested after 2008. Researchers found 9.1 million hectares (22.5 million acres) of private forest, a total area around three times the size of Belgium. Additionally, more than 28 million hectares (69 million acres) of public forests without any clear purpose or protection could now face additional pressure from rural land speculation, where people buy and hold land to sell later at a higher cost, and illegal conversion for agriculture. According to Tiago Reis, a conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil and co-author of the analysis, the positive impacts of the moratorium went beyond the direct prevention of soy-linked deforestation. &#8220;[The Soy Moratorium] also hindered illegal deforestation, land speculation, social conflicts and land conflicts,&#8221; Reis told Mongabay Brasil reporter Lucas Berti. In January 2026, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove) announced it was withdrawing from the pact. Abiove represents many of the largest grain traders operating in Brazil including Cargill, ADM, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus Company and COFCO International. Other companies not represented by Abiove, including Amaggi and Glencore, also left the agreement. The former signatories of the moratorium traded roughly 90% of the soy grown in the Brazilian Amazon. The decision to leave the soy moratorium was prompted by a new law&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/end-of-brazils-soy-moratorium-risks-millions-of-hectares-of-amazon-rainforest-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/end-of-brazils-soy-moratorium-risks-millions-of-hectares-of-amazon-rainforest-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324701</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘The shape of the land will change:’ South African villages resist heavy sands mine</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-shape-of-the-land-will-change-south-african-villages-resist-heavy-sands-mine/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-shape-of-the-land-will-change-south-african-villages-resist-heavy-sands-mine/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 12:09:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anna Weekes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/22132058/Phozi-4-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324290</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cattle, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Finance, Fishing, Freshwater, Governance, Land Conflict, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Tourism, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHOZI VILLAGE, South Africa — On a grassy mountainside overlooking the Indian Ocean on South Africa&#8217;s Eastern Cape coast, dozens of cattle graze freely. For generations, families in the small rural villages of Tyolomnqa, Phozi, and Qaga, about 30 miles from the nearest city, KuGompo, have relied on these communal lands for food, income, healing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHOZI VILLAGE, South Africa — On a grassy mountainside overlooking the Indian Ocean on South Africa&#8217;s Eastern Cape coast, dozens of cattle graze freely. For generations, families in the small rural villages of Tyolomnqa, Phozi, and Qaga, about 30 miles from the nearest city, KuGompo, have relied on these communal lands for food, income, healing and spiritual connection. Residents of the village say a planned open-cast mine complex spread over thousands of hectares of communal land threatens their way of life. The Tyolomnqa Heavy Mineral Sands Project, proposed by Johannesburg-based Vendicom Minerals Beneficiation Group, is targeting zircon, rutile, ilmenite and leucoxene — heavy mineral ores used in products ranging from ceramic tiles and paint pigments to titanium for aircraft, medical implants and some renewable energy technologies. Though, its initial application to prospect in the area was rejected by the government on procedural grounds, communications from a consultancy hired by Vendicom to conduct the environmental and social impact assessment show that the company is still keen to mine in the region. The area Vendicom is eyeing is spread across up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) of communal grazing land stretching across the Tyolomnqa, Keiskamma and Kiwane estuaries. The three rivers, all of whose names are derived from Indigenous words, flow through rolling grasslands before reaching estuaries fringed by dunes and sandy beaches. The word Keiskamma comes from the Khoekhoe language and is commonly translated as &#8220;place of sweet waters.&#8221; For generations, rural isiXhosa communities have relied on these connected ecosystems for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-shape-of-the-land-will-change-south-african-villages-resist-heavy-sands-mine/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324290</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mining, drilling, and fire are fragmenting the world’s largest forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/mining-drilling-and-fire-are-fragmenting-the-worlds-largest-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/mining-drilling-and-fire-are-fragmenting-the-worlds-largest-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 11:48:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28114139/peru_aerial_0166-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324669</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, boreal forests, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Fires, Forest Fragmentation, Forest Loss, Forests, Habitat Loss, Logging, Mining, Oil, and Oil Drilling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The world’s largest remaining stretches of undisturbed forest are shrinking. Fires now cause more of the loss than logging, while mining and oil and gas development have moved close to the top of the list. That’s the conclusion [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The world’s largest remaining stretches of undisturbed forest are shrinking. Fires now cause more of the loss than logging, while mining and oil and gas development have moved close to the top of the list. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis from the World Resources Institute, based on data developed with researchers at the University of Maryland, U.S., and the nonprofit Greenpeace. The report examines “intact forest landscapes,” large blocks of forests that show no readily detectable signs of industrial activity or fragmentation. Their global extent has fallen by more than 15%, or 195 million hectares (482 million acres) between 2000 and 2025, an area roughly the size of Mexico. Canada, Russia, and Brazil contain almost two-thirds of the remaining intact forests. They also recorded the largest reductions. Fires have become a major driver of recent decline in intact forest area, accounting for almost 40% of the reduction between 2020 and 2025, up from 21% during 2000-2013. Logging, previously the leading cause, accounted for around one-fifth since 2020. Mining, drilling, and exploration contributed nearly 19%, making extractive industries the third-largest cause. Drivers of intact forest landscape loss. Image courtesy of World Resources Institute. The figure for extractive industries requires some explanation. While agriculture remains the main cause of global deforestation, mines and oil wells directly clear a relatively small area. However, the WRI analysis measures the loss of intact forests: A road,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/mining-drilling-and-fire-are-fragmenting-the-worlds-largest-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/mining-drilling-and-fire-are-fragmenting-the-worlds-largest-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324669</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa&#8217;s smallest wildcat found using abandoned rodent burrows to raise kittens</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/africas-smallest-wildcat-found-using-abandoned-rodent-burrows-to-raise-kittens/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/africas-smallest-wildcat-found-using-abandoned-rodent-burrows-to-raise-kittens/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 10:25:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/09110116/black-footed-cat--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324660</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Namibia, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Baby Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Cats, Conservation, Mammals, Private Reserves, Research, Science, Small Cats, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Africa&#8217;s smallest wildcat uses abandoned springhare burrows to raise its kittens, according to new research. There are fewer than 10,000 black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) left in the wild and studies on these nocturnal animals are rare. To learn more about them, a team of researchers tracked five female black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) with radio collars [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Africa&#8217;s smallest wildcat uses abandoned springhare burrows to raise its kittens, according to new research. There are fewer than 10,000 black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) left in the wild and studies on these nocturnal animals are rare. To learn more about them, a team of researchers tracked five female black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) with radio collars and scanned more than 50 burrows in southern Namibia between 2020-21. The research found that 98% of the dens used by the cats had originally been dug, then abandoned, by springhares (Pedetes capensis), an endemic rodent which looks like a cross between a small kangaroo and a rabbit. The cats depend on springhares to provide the underground dens where the felines raise their kittens for the first six to seven weeks of life.  &#8220;I can&#8217;t prove black-footed cats would disappear without springhares, but at this site they would be much more vulnerable,” Harold Brindley, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, told Mongabay contributor María de los Ángeles Orfila. F. nigripes in a springhare burrow in southern Namibia. Image courtesy of Harold Brindley. Researchers used laser-based, remote-sensing technology to measure tunnel dimensions and determine which species created them. The cats selected burrows with tunnel entrances between 10 and 27 centimeters (4 and 11 inches) in diameter. They ignored smaller rodent holes and larger aardvark or porcupine burrows. After the kittens reached about seven weeks of age, mothers typically transitioned from staying in one location for nearly a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/africas-smallest-wildcat-found-using-abandoned-rodent-burrows-to-raise-kittens/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/africas-smallest-wildcat-found-using-abandoned-rodent-burrows-to-raise-kittens/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324660</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pat Lowe spent decades describing and defending the Kimberley</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/pat-lowe-spent-decades-describing-and-defending-the-kimberley/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/pat-lowe-spent-decades-describing-and-defending-the-kimberley/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 00:02:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27123449/pat-lowe-2560px-full-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324544</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Culture, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; The termites had built their towers long before roads crossed the Kimberley or companies proposed industrial projects along its rivers and coasts. Their colonies worked beneath the red earth, altering the soil and supporting other forms of life. Pat Lowe studied them closely. She asked Aboriginal knowledge-holders what they knew, spoke with scientists, read [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; The termites had built their towers long before roads crossed the Kimberley or companies proposed industrial projects along its rivers and coasts. Their colonies worked beneath the red earth, altering the soil and supporting other forms of life. Pat Lowe studied them closely. She asked Aboriginal knowledge-holders what they knew, spoke with scientists, read widely, and eventually wrote a book about them. She was drawn to subjects that were common and easily overlooked. The same attention led her to boabs, mammals, desert plants, and the pindan woodlands around Broome, where red soil lies beneath pale grasses and scattered trees. Her interest in conservation grew from long observation of how these landscapes worked. Pat Lowe, who died on July 2nd, 2026, aged 84, spent much of her life studying the Kimberley and helping others understand it. She was a psychologist, writer, editor, naturalist, and environmental campaigner. Her path to northern Western Australia began far away. Born in England in 1942, she trained as a teacher, worked in East Africa, and later moved to Australia, where she became a psychologist in the prison system. At Fremantle Prison, she met Jimmy Pike, a Walmajarri man who had grown up in the Great Sandy Desert and became one of Australia’s best-known Indigenous artists. After Pike’s release, they lived for three years at Kurlku, a remote desert camp. Water, weather, distance, and food governed daily life. Pike taught her about his Country: its routes, seasons, foods, history, and obligations. She learned Walmajarri words, listened&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/pat-lowe-spent-decades-describing-and-defending-the-kimberley/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324544</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>More than 100 queen ants destined for Laos seized in Mexico</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/more-than-100-queen-ants-destined-for-laos-seized-in-mexico/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/more-than-100-queen-ants-destined-for-laos-seized-in-mexico/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 22:52:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27225122/Fauna_paqueteria_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324651</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Mexico]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Governance, Illegal Trade, Insects, Invertebrates, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel delivery company reported a suspicious package to Mexico’s Federal Attorney for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel delivery company reported a suspicious package to Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa). They found the ants. Each one stuffed in a test tube with a cotton ball, hidden inside two plastic toys; 18 of the 105 queen ants were dead, authorities said. The surviving ants were released in the Cerro Viejo Protected Natural Area in Jalisco. An ant expert determined the harvester ants belonged to the genus Pogonomyrmex, according to the release, and are native to the deserts of the Americas, including Mexico. Further investigations related to this seizure are ongoing, authorities said. Insects, including ants, have become targets for wildlife trafficking in recent years. Harvester ants are particularly in demand for their complex colony-building skills and are kept in specialized artificial ant habitats known as formicariums. “This seizure is another indicator of the globally booming interest in ants,” Sandra Altherr, cofounder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, told Mongabay in an email. In 2025, Kenyan authorities confiscated more than 5,300 endemic harvester ants and arrested four suspects — two Belgians, one Kenyan national and one Vietnamese national.  In a recent online survey of ant trading websites, Altherr’s team found more than 360 different species of ants from all over the world for sale,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/more-than-100-queen-ants-destined-for-laos-seized-in-mexico/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324651</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How carbon markets can succeed &#038; also serve Global South communities (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-carbon-markets-can-succeed-also-serve-global-south-communities-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-carbon-markets-can-succeed-also-serve-global-south-communities-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 21:09:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pati Ruiz Corzo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27182742/Encinos-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324619</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Avoided Deforestation, Business, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Market, Carbon Sequestration, Certification, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Environment, Finance, Forest Carbon, forest degradation, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Mitigation, Nature-based climate solutions, Rainforests, Solutions, Temperate Forests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Carbon markets were designed around the compelling premise that private finance could flow where forests are most at risk, rewarding the communities and landowners who protect them while helping companies take responsibility for their emissions. For anyone working in climate or conservation, the underlying logic still holds. The world&#8217;s forests provide essential ecosystem services, capture [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Carbon markets were designed around the compelling premise that private finance could flow where forests are most at risk, rewarding the communities and landowners who protect them while helping companies take responsibility for their emissions. For anyone working in climate or conservation, the underlying logic still holds. The world&#8217;s forests provide essential ecosystem services, capture and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, face enormous pressure, and need sustained economic incentives if they are to survive. So why has the voluntary carbon market so consistently fallen short of this promise? Over the past decade, the sector has faced mounting evidence that many carbon credits, particularly those issued for forest conservation in the Global South, have not delivered the climate outcomes they claimed. There have been well-documented cases of social harm to Indigenous and local communities, scientific analysis has repeatedly found that the methodologies used to calculate emissions reductions were prone to significant overestimation, and trust in the market, among both buyers and civil society, has been eroded. Military macaws (Ara militaris) flying over a forest in the Sierra Gorda. They are one of the many iconic and endangered species that call the forests of the Sierra Gorda home. Image courtesy of Roberto Pedraza Ruiz / Sierra Gorda Alliance. However, this is not a reason to abandon the idea of climate finance for nature. It is a reason to understand what has gone wrong, and to ask what a more inclusive, just, and transparent model can look like. What hasn’t worked Before&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-carbon-markets-can-succeed-also-serve-global-south-communities-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324619</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Heat stress is rising globally, raising health concerns for billions: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/heat-stress-is-rising-globally-raising-health-concerns-for-billions-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/heat-stress-is-rising-globally-raising-health-concerns-for-billions-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 20:57:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Patricia Sia Ngevao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27205415/AP25363711153085-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324642</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fellows, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, One Health, Planetary Health, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Climate change is causing frequent, well-studied, extreme heat events. Less well understood is the additional heat stress experienced by billions of people as a result of those extreme heat events. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change aims to change that. The study analyzed more than 70 years of climate data stored in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Climate change is causing frequent, well-studied, extreme heat events. Less well understood is the additional heat stress experienced by billions of people as a result of those extreme heat events. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change aims to change that. The study analyzed more than 70 years of climate data stored in the ERA5-HEAT data set, which includes heat stress data going back to 1940. The researchers combined that climate information with population data to estimate human exposure to hazardous heat worldwide. The study found that nighttime &#8220;feels-like&#8221; temperatures have increased faster than daytime temperatures. Around 70% of the world&#8217;s population now experiences at least 90 days of strong heat stress annually, compared with 55% in the 1970s. They found that hazardous heat stress has intensified across every continent over the last five decades, including in places historically unaccustomed to such heat like parts of Europe. A recent heat wave in Europe is said to have caused more than 10,000 excess deaths. “Heat stress is already affecting lives worldwide and is no longer a future threat,” Rebecca Emerton, lead author of the study, and a senior scientist with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, told Mongabay in a video call. Extreme heat causes more human deaths than any other extreme weather event; children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Underlying health conditions including asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease can become deadly with heat. &#8220;This study provides strong evidence that heat stress is increasing globally and that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/heat-stress-is-rising-globally-raising-health-concerns-for-billions-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324642</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Listening to birdsong in a forest lowered a person’s stress during experiment</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listening-to-birdsong-in-a-forest-lowered-a-persons-stress-during-experiment/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listening-to-birdsong-in-a-forest-lowered-a-persons-stress-during-experiment/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 20:19:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27201807/robin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324625</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sitting in a small, restored forest while listening to birdsong lowered people&#8217;s stress and lifted their mood in the moment, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Conservation. Researchers asked 106 students at North Carolina State University in the U.S. to sit outdoors in noise-canceling headphones at two spots on campus: A [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sitting in a small, restored forest while listening to birdsong lowered people&#8217;s stress and lifted their mood in the moment, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Conservation. Researchers asked 106 students at North Carolina State University in the U.S. to sit outdoors in noise-canceling headphones at two spots on campus: A strip of riparian forest restored two decades ago and a paved plaza facing a road intersection. At each location, participants listened to 10 minutes of birdsong and 10 minutes of traffic noise, in random order, then rated their stress, their positive and negative feelings, and how mentally restored they felt. The design, swapping both the place and the soundtrack, let the researchers separate the effect of where someone sits from what they hear. Both mattered, and their effects stacked. Participants in the forest hearing birdsong reported an average stress score of 3.2 on an 11-point scale, compared with 6.4 for those on the plaza hearing traffic. Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) in Texas, U.S. Eastern bluebirds are commonly seen in agricultural lands. parks and neighborhoods in North America. Image by Shiva Shenoy via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). The forest-and-birdsong pairing also produced the highest positive emotion and the strongest sense of restoration. The two mismatched conditions (forest with traffic, plaza with birdsong) landed in between, better than the plaza-and-traffic combination but short of the full effect. &#8220;For participants who were in a green space listening to the birds, there were significant effects. Positive emotions went up,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listening-to-birdsong-in-a-forest-lowered-a-persons-stress-during-experiment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listening-to-birdsong-in-a-forest-lowered-a-persons-stress-during-experiment/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324625</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scaling up offshore wind requires overcoming global and local challenges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 20:12:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27121415/human-on-a-windmill-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324590</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Planetary Boundaries, Renewable Energy, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is Part Two in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One, published in April, described the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. The last year has highlighted both the vast potential of the growing offshore wind sector, and the major headwinds it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is Part Two in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One, published in April, described the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. The last year has highlighted both the vast potential of the growing offshore wind sector, and the major headwinds it must contend with. On one hand, the United Kingdom, a major offshore wind market, produced nearly 20% of the electricity it generated from offshore wind alone in 2025. Some 3,000 turbines generated enough electricity to power around 15.5 million homes. In 2025, 9.3 GW of offshore wind capacity was connected to the grid. By the end of 2026, it’s estimated that a further 18.8 GW will be added across the world. That would take total global capacity above 100 GW. In contrast to this positive backdrop are signs the industry is in a difficult period. 2025’s installations were dominated by China, at 6.6 GW, with European countries only adding around 3 GW. That’s off pace to meet many countries’ national targets, which must be fulfilled to meet climate goals. The Global Wind Energy Council, a trade industry association based in Portugal, also noted that just 11.4 GW of new projects were awarded contracts in 2025, down from 56 GW in 2024. That follows a series of failed auctions. Some developers also canceled large-scale projects. Notably, in May 2025 Danish developer Ørsted axed its U.K.-based Hornsea 4 project, which would have become one of the largest offshore&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324590</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Colorful birds are at greater risk of extinction than drab birds, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/colorful-birds-are-at-greater-risk-of-extinction-than-drab-birds-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/colorful-birds-are-at-greater-risk-of-extinction-than-drab-birds-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 20:02:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/28221759/ECG_9171-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324632</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Research, Science, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Habitat loss, climate change, hunting and the pet trade are well-known drivers of bird declines. A new study suggests the colors of the birds themselves may also influence their extinction risk: Birds with colorful plumage seem to be more threatened than those with dull colors. Researchers Montague Neate-Clegg and Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela were on a bird [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Habitat loss, climate change, hunting and the pet trade are well-known drivers of bird declines. A new study suggests the colors of the birds themselves may also influence their extinction risk: Birds with colorful plumage seem to be more threatened than those with dull colors. Researchers Montague Neate-Clegg and Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela were on a bird watching trip in Vietnam when they realized that some of the colorful birds they spotted were both highly threatened and prized for the pet trade, Neate-Clegg, an assistant professor at the University of California Davis told Mongabay in a video call. “So, we got talking about how more colorful birds might be at higher risk of extinction.” To test their idea, the researchers analyzed the conservation status for some 4,334 passerine bird species using data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.  Passerine birds make up more than half of all known bird species and include perching and songbirds such as canaries, finches, sparrows and bulbuls. The researchers then compared extinction risks for these species with colorfulness, or the number of distinct colors on each bird. They also looked at geographic threat patterns and controlled for other factors including body size, diet, ability to disperse and dependency on forest. The study found that colorful birds are indeed more threatened than dull birds, even after accounting for body size and other traits. In Southeast Asia, where brightly colored birds are heavily targeted for the pet trade, the pattern was especially clear. “If&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/colorful-birds-are-at-greater-risk-of-extinction-than-drab-birds-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324632</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>French wildfire created a monster cloud, unleashing lightning that ignited more fires</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/french-wildfire-created-a-monster-cloud-unleashing-lightning-that-ignited-more-fires/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/french-wildfire-created-a-monster-cloud-unleashing-lightning-that-ignited-more-fires/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 19:06:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27190035/AP26208406307164-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324627</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and France]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, and Global Environmental Crisis]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PARIS (AP) — A wildfire in southwest France grew so powerful that its towering smoke column became a thunderstorm, generating lightning that struck the ground and ignited new fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said. The so-called pyrocumulonimbus — which France’s national firefighters federation said had never before been seen in the country — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PARIS (AP) — A wildfire in southwest France grew so powerful that its towering smoke column became a thunderstorm, generating lightning that struck the ground and ignited new fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said. The so-called pyrocumulonimbus — which France’s national firefighters federation said had never before been seen in the country — also generated violent, erratic winds that could drive the flames in new directions. The inferno was no longer simply being propelled by the weather around it. It had begun creating its own. By Thomas Adamson, Associated Press Banner image: People watch a pyrocumulonimbus, a giant cloud created by large wildfires in Le Porge, western France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. Caroline Blumberg, Associated Press  &nbsp;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/french-wildfire-created-a-monster-cloud-unleashing-lightning-that-ignited-more-fires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/french-wildfire-created-a-monster-cloud-unleashing-lightning-that-ignited-more-fires/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324627</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Father Robert Athickal asked children to protect the living world</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 12:32:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27002049/Father-Robert-Athickal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324535</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Religion and Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Culture, Education, Obituary, and Religions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; The first members had no office, no money, and little authority. They were schoolchildren in Patna, a crowded city on the Ganges, worried about the trees being cut around them. They met after class, visited other schools, planted saplings, and spoke to anyone willing to listen. Some traveled by bicycle to carry their message [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; The first members had no office, no money, and little authority. They were schoolchildren in Patna, a crowded city on the Ganges, worried about the trees being cut around them. They met after class, visited other schools, planted saplings, and spoke to anyone willing to listen. Some traveled by bicycle to carry their message farther. Their organization had a name, Tarumitra, meaning “Friends of Trees,” though for a time it consisted mainly of students and a small circle of adults helping them. Among those adults was a Jesuit priest who believed that children could be trusted with serious work. Father Robert Athickal, who died on July 19th, aged 73, spent nearly four decades developing that idea. From its beginnings in Patna in 1988, Tarumitra grew into one of India’s largest student environmental movements. It established groups in schools and colleges across the country, trained generations of young campaigners, and created a reserve for threatened plants from the Gangetic plain. &nbsp; Athickal had few of the resources usually available to someone building a national organization. There was no large funder behind the project and no government mandate. He relied on his position as a Jesuit teacher, the cooperation of schools, and his ability to persuade students and adults that local environmental problems deserved their attention. Tarumitra’s early campaigns were designed to be practical and easy to reproduce. Students cleaned neglected plots, planted roadside gardens, and turned former garbage dumps into what they called “Oxygen Belts.” Other school groups could follow&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/father-robert-athickal-asked-children-to-protect-the-living-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324535</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Extreme weather dampens breeding success for marine predators in Tasmania: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/extreme-weather-dampens-breeding-success-for-marine-predators-in-tasmania-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/extreme-weather-dampens-breeding-success-for-marine-predators-in-tasmania-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 12:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Madeline Shaw]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27062833/h.-BANNER-52065723988_5bb208650e_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324558</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Global, Oceania, and Tasmania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Disasters, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Pollution, Predators, Research, Science, Seabirds, Storms, Temperatures, Weather, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the rocky shores of Tasmania, seals and seabirds can’t shelter indoors during a storm or turn on the AC during a hot spell. When extreme weather strikes, they’re exposed to the elements, especially when they’re tied to a clumsy pup or a nest of newly hatched chicks. The effects can be deadly. A study [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the rocky shores of Tasmania, seals and seabirds can’t shelter indoors during a storm or turn on the AC during a hot spell. When extreme weather strikes, they’re exposed to the elements, especially when they’re tied to a clumsy pup or a nest of newly hatched chicks. The effects can be deadly. A study published in Science Advances in June found that extreme weather events like storms, heat waves and floods can interfere with the breeding success of important marine predators like seals, shearwaters and albatross that raise their young along the coasts. As these events become both more frequent and increasingly intense due to climate change, the study authors stress the need to monitor predator populations to better protect them from the effects, especially during vulnerable times in the breeding season. “Extreme weather events are becoming a new normal,” study lead author Milan Sojitra, a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania, told Mongabay. “It is having an effect on ecosystems and species.” Marine ecosystems around the world are under stress from the effects of human-caused climate change, including heatwaves and warming ocean temperatures that can cause coral bleaching and mass die-offs of marine species. Tasmania, an island and Australian state 240 kilometers (149 miles) south of the mainland, is a climate change hotspot, with surface waters off its eastern coast warming three to four times faster than the global average, according to a 2018 study. The frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall and heat on the island&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/extreme-weather-dampens-breeding-success-for-marine-predators-in-tasmania-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324558</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cheetahs reintroduced to Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/cheetahs-reintroduced-to-zambias-greater-luangwa-ecosystem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/cheetahs-reintroduced-to-zambias-greater-luangwa-ecosystem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 12:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27120508/Cheetah-translocation-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324594</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Environment, Extinction, Mammals, Reintroductions, Rewilding, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs are back in Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem, nearly 30 years after the big cats’ last recorded presence in the massive landscape. Six cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), three males and three females, were earlier in July moved by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and several conservation groups, including the South Africa-based Endangered Wildlife [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs are back in Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem, nearly 30 years after the big cats’ last recorded presence in the massive landscape. Six cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), three males and three females, were earlier in July moved by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and several conservation groups, including the South Africa-based Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), to a remote part of North Luangwa National Park. The cheetahs were translocated from private reserves in South Africa. Another six will be moved in August, while a third batch of six will follow in August 2027, according to a statement by EWT. There haven’t been confirmed sightings of cheetahs in the Greater Luangwa Ecosystem since 1998, according to EWT’s fact sheet, which attributes the cat’s disappearance to successive outbreaks of anthrax disease and habitat disturbance. “Many of the threats that likely contributed to the disappearance of cheetahs from Luangwa in the 1990s have been significantly reduced,” Olivia Sievert, manager for EWT’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project, told Mongabay by email. Sievert said conservation efforts in North Luangwa and South Luangwa national parks, the two major protected areas in the ecosystem, have resulted in healthy prey populations, allowing large carnivores such as lions (Panthera leo) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) to flourish across the ecosystem. “However, cheetahs are unable to naturally recolonise the Luangwa valley because the nearest viable populations are too distant and disconnected for natural dispersal to occur,” Sievert said. “As a result, active reintroduction is the only realistic way to restore&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/cheetahs-reintroduced-to-zambias-greater-luangwa-ecosystem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324594</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh shipbreakers push back against stricter environmental standards</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-shipbreakers-push-back-against-stricter-environmental-standards/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-shipbreakers-push-back-against-stricter-environmental-standards/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 11:23:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashraful Haque]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27104547/shipbreaking-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324568</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Industry, Law, Pollution, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA — Ships sail oceans all over the world, yet as they reach the end of their lives, they mostly go to die on the beaches of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Around 85% of the world’s end-of-life ships are dismantled and recycled in these three South Asian countries, an industry that has long relied on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA — Ships sail oceans all over the world, yet as they reach the end of their lives, they mostly go to die on the beaches of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Around 85% of the world’s end-of-life ships are dismantled and recycled in these three South Asian countries, an industry that has long relied on low-cost manual labor but has also been criticized for its high disregard for worker safety and severe environmental pollution. Shipbreaking is so hazardous that the industry was shut down in industrialized countries in the 1960s, displaced to less-industrialized countries, particularly in South Asia. Data from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, which campaigns for improved ship-recycling standards, show that since 2009, 8,221 ships have ended up on South Asian beaches, 480 workers have died on the job, and 520 have been injured. The numbers don’t account for pollution so severe that fish stocks have declined in these areas, putting local fishers out of work. The future of Bangladesh’s ship recycling industry now hinges on a dispute over two international treaties: the Basel Convention, which regulates the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, and the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC), a sector-specific treaty adopted under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Bangladesh ratified both conventions: Basel in 1993, and HKC in 2023. The latter came into force in 2025, while the former entered into force in 1992. Shipbreaking in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Shipbreaking is so hazardous that the industry was shut down&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-shipbreakers-push-back-against-stricter-environmental-standards/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324568</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Finning the High Seas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/07/finning-the-high-seas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/07/finning-the-high-seas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 09:52:15 +0000</pubDate>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alejandroprescottcornejo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/02164247/south_africa_hermanus_1249-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=specials&#038;p=324573</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Finning the High Seas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, East Asia, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Crime, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine Animals, Oceans, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive work, substandard food and drinking water, illness, and deaths at sea. Their testimonies enabled Mongabay and its partners to determine that a tiny handful of DOF boats took more sharks than what China reported its entire longline fleet catching in the same place and time, which informed  U.S. sanctions against the company.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/07/finning-the-high-seas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324573</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Major orangutan study finds Sumatran population fell nearly 20% despite slower forest loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 08:30:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas JongJunaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/01134730/sabah_3983-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324552</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Global, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hydroelectric Power, Mammals, Mining, Orangutans, Peatlands, Poaching, Primates, Renewable Energy, Research, Tropical Deforestation, Wetlands, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species&#8217; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species&#8217; decline. While deforestation remains the primary driver, several orangutan populations in Indonesia’s island of Sumatra shrank by a far greater degree than the rate of forest loss might explain, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict with humans and habitat fragmentation. The findings come from the first comprehensive reassessment of both Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis) orangutans since the landmark 2016 range-wide survey led by primatologist Serge Wich. The study also signals a notable shift in the Indonesian government&#8217;s public approach to orangutan conservation. Between 2018 and 2022, then environment and forestry minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar repeatedly said &#8220;ground-based evidence&#8221; showed orangutan populations were growing and dismissed projections of continued decline. Those claims were challenged at the time by prominent primatologists, who argued that peer-reviewed research consistently showed that the populations of all three orangutan species, Sumatran, Tapanuli and Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), were declining and urged the ministry to release the data underpinning its assertions. The dispute escalated when the ministry temporarily barred several of the scientists from conducting research with Indonesia&#8217;s national parks and conservation agencies. The latest assessment of the animals presents a picture that’s markedly different from the previous&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai MP calls for new committee to scrutinize AI data centers’ environmental impact</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 02:48:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/10061600/20251222__DATA-CENTER_THAILAND_ANDY-BALL-RESIZED-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324542</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Health, Natural Resources, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Saltwater Fish, Software, Technology, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to data center development,” Sahassawat Kumkong, a member of the reformist People’s Party, told Mongabay in an interview. “The objective should not simply be to attract investment as quickly as possible. We also need to ensure that development is environmentally sustainable, that local communities are protected, and that the economic benefits are shared more fairly.” Sahassawat represents Constituency 7 in Chonburi, a coastal province in eastern Thailand where at least 13 data centers are in the construction or planning phases, with four more already operational, according to public records, news coverage and, in some cases, on-the-ground reporting by Mongabay. Part of his responsibility in this role, he said, was to safeguard the interests of his constituents, who largely depend on natural resources that data centers may put under strain. The MP said he intends to do this by forming a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the government’s approval and regulation of data centers. This will involve a comprehensive review of Thailand’s current policy framework, including long-term planning for water and energy resources, stronger environmental safeguards, greater transparency, meaningful public participation and mechanisms to ensure that communities sharing the costs of these projects also share in their benefits,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324542</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Khuiusi Khisêtjê helped his people recover their land and future in the Xingu</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/khuiusi-khisetje-helped-his-people-recover-their-land-and-future-in-the-xingu/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/khuiusi-khisetje-helped-his-people-recover-their-land-and-future-in-the-xingu/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 17:37:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/24173326/Khuiusi-Khisetje-Christian-Braga-ISA-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324519</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Obituary, Rainforests, and Soy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The plane sprayed the soy fields beside the forest. Residents of Khikatxi said the single-engine aircraft appeared several times during each harvest and passed over Wawi Indigenous Territory. They worried about pesticides reaching their water, gardens, animals, and homes. For years, Khuiusi Khisêtjê watched the farms advance around his people’s land. In 2018 he made [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The plane sprayed the soy fields beside the forest. Residents of Khikatxi said the single-engine aircraft appeared several times during each harvest and passed over Wawi Indigenous Territory. They worried about pesticides reaching their water, gardens, animals, and homes. For years, Khuiusi Khisêtjê watched the farms advance around his people’s land. In 2018 he made a decision.. The community would rebuild its village ten kilometers deeper in the forest. Leaving a village is difficult. Houses must be rebuilt, paths cleared, gardens planted, and daily routines restored. The old place contained years of work and memory. Khuiusi Khisêtjê had already lived through several such upheavals. He knew what was lost when people were forced from their land. He also knew when it had become unsafe to remain. The move took the Khisêtjê farther from the expanding agricultural frontier. It was one more decision in a life devoted to the survival of his people. Khuiusi, who died in Goiânia on July 3rd, at about 80, belonged to a generation that saw the Khisêtjê come close to extinction. He was born when his people still lived beyond the settled frontiers of central Brazil. Their villages lay among rivers, forest, and savanna in a region that would later form part of the Xingu Indigenous Territory and the adjoining Wawi Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso. Contact with outsiders brought disease, violence, and displacement. Epidemics killed older people who held knowledge of the land, ceremonies, songs, and family histories. Khuiusi lost his father and many of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/khuiusi-khisetje-helped-his-people-recover-their-land-and-future-in-the-xingu/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324519</doi>				</item>
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