Latoya Abulu

About

Latoya Abulu is a senior editor at Mongabay covering Indigenous news, nature-based solutions to climate change and stories about high conservation value ecosystems. / Latoya Abulu est une rédactrice en chef à Mongabay.

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A Shompen man at 35km in Great Nicobar Island in 1997. The Shompen are the original forest dwellers of the island. Images courtesy of Mandish Chandi.

‘They should choose their own destinies’: Manish Chandi on India’s isolated tribes

Latoya Abulu 15 Sep 2026
Mapuche Indigenous women prepare to commemorate the National Day of Indigenous People as part of celebrations of "We Tripantu," the Mapuche new year coinciding with the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, at the Original People's Ceremonial Park in Santiago, Chile, Monday, June 2023. Image by: AP Photo/Esteban Felix.

Indigenous land back in Chile brings mixed bag of environmental outcomes: Study

Aimee Gabay 9 Sep 2026
Members of the Arhuaco community observe a fire that threatens their homes, Donachuì, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 2025. The transition between the dry and rainy seasons has become increasingly unstable, resulting in strong winds that can cause small fires, typically set to manage weeds, to spiral out of control. Image by Roberto Maccariello.

Colombia’s Indigenous guardians adapt as pressures mount on the ‘Heart of the World’

Roberto Maccariello 9 Sep 2026
Chimpanzees at Mikeno Lodge in Virunga National Park, DRC. Image by Joseph King via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Indigenous peoples near Congo parks propose diverse solutions for the future of conservation

Blaise Kasereka Makuta, Latoya Abulu 8 Sep 2026
Installation of the technical equipment of the Congoflux tower. Image by Fiston Wasanga/CIFOR.

What conservation rumors reveal about climate projects in the Congo Basin (commentary)

Fergus O’Leary Simpson, Kristof Titeca, Papy Bambu, Eric Abanati, Andre Malekani 7 Sep 2026
Phillip “Bibido” McCarthy. Image courtesy of ABC Kimberley/Dunja Karagic.

Indigenous knowledge helps reveal the ties between reefs and mangroves

Anthony Ham 6 Sep 2026

Cherokee youth win legal rights for waterway in first all-female U.S. effort

Liz Kimbrough 3 Sep 2026
Cattle graze on land that has been burned and deforested by cattle farmers near Novo Progresso, Pará state, Brazil. Image by AP Photo / Andre Penner.

Invaders storm Indigenous Amazon land, threatening isolated people

Aimee Gabay, Elisângela Mendonça 2 Sep 2026
From July 25-26, 2026, the Matsés held their bimonthly community assembly in the San Mateo village, which Mongabay attended, along with leaders from all 29 Matsés communities in Peru. Image by Aimee Gabay/Mongabay.

Drought is deepening a health crisis among Peru’s recently contacted Indigenous Matsés

Aimee Gabay 2 Sep 2026
The Río Aguagrún Families Association, together with the technical team of the Toisán Corporation and the Futuro Foundation, during a day of construction of the hydroelectric plant in the Aguagrún river basin. Image by Fundación Futuro.

In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, communities build their own micro-hydropower plant

Aimee Gabay 1 Sep 2026

Indigenous rangers pull killer ‘ghost nets’ from Australia’s northern coast

Liz Kimbrough 31 Aug 2026

At global desertification conference, pastoralists call for greater recognition

Joseph Lee 25 Aug 2026
A red siskin (Spinus cucullatus)

How a rare bird sparked a wildlife movement across 16 villages in Guyana

Gentry Hale 24 Aug 2026
Representatives of the Huitoto and Ticuna indigenous communities

Drugs are becoming institutionalized: Interview with Ticuna leader in Peru’s Amazon

Aimee Gabay 20 Aug 2026
Wilfrido Arends, 46, an Indigenous Wayuu fisher known locally as “Caracas,” scans the horizon as he steers the onboard motor of his small fishing boat. Image by Euan Wallace.

Indigenous fishers rethink shark hunting & protect species on Colombia’s coast

Euan Wallace 20 Aug 2026
Members of the Kāi Tahu marine ranger team return from harvesting seaweed. Image by Edward Carver for Mongabay.

New Zealand opens marine reserves with groundbreaking Māori co-management model

Edward Carver 19 Aug 2026
The siruk, or Mindoro boobook (Ninox mindorensis), in Puerto Galera.

Elders, conservationists race to record fading sacred ties to Philippines’ endemic birds

Keith Anthony Fabro 18 Aug 2026
Green sea turtle swimming in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Image by ©Commonwealth of Australia (Reef Authority), photographer J. Sumerling. CC BY 4.0.

On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing

Cat Williams 18 Aug 2026

Texas activist’s claims of Indigenous ancestry face scrutiny

Mongabay.com 17 Aug 2026
Hemerson Dantas dos Santos Pataxó HaHaHãi and elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge in Brazil. From left to right: Marta Xavier de Oliveira, Maura Rosa Titiah Vieira, Hemerson Dantas dos Santos Pataxó HaHaHãi, Aniraldo Xavier Kariri-Sapuyá and Maria Creuza Fernandes Rodrigues Kariri-Sapuyá. Photos by Karla Mendes. Graphic design by Marilia Ferrari.

How a Brazilian Indigenous ethnobotanist & elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge

Karla Mendes 13 Aug 2026
A herd of deer on Tianmu mountain in the winter.

Decades after religions shaped China’s Tianmushan, authorities tackle protecting reserve

Keith Anthony Fabro, Latoya Abulu 12 Aug 2026
Indigenous representatives interviewed by Mongabay. Illustration by Nadiyah Suyatna.

‘This is what’s working’: Indigenous leaders on environment solutions in their communities

Latoya Abulu 9 Aug 2026
Volunteers carry bags of straw at a tree planting event in Minamisoma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan on June 7, 2026.

In coastal Japan, one project is planting forests to stand against tsunamis

Jonathan Vit 4 Aug 2026
Shuswap Band drummers at a ceremonial fry release in Invermere, May 2026. The ceremonial fry releases and Fish-in-School educational releases on the Upper Columbia River connect salmon and salmon people, bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members working for salmon reintroduction. Image by Ruth Kamnitzer.

First Nations lead the return of salmon to Canada’s Upper Columbia River

Ruth Kamnitzer 29 Jul 2026
United Nations Headquarters in Geneva. Image by Dionne Phillips.

Indigenous leaders push for stronger voice at UN as climate threats grow

Dionne Phillips 23 Jul 2026
Indigenous people walk through a part of the Amazon River that shows signs of drought in Santa Sofia, on the outskirts of Leticia, Colombia, 2024.

An Indigenous take on Colombia’s new gov’t: Interview with a Putumayo Indigenous leader

Aimee Gabay 22 Jul 2026

Can ‘fog harvesting’ help solve water scarcity in Chile’s Atacama Desert?

Maxwell Radwin 17 Jul 2026
Grist / Getty Images / Dionne Phillips.

Indigenous advocates push for rights protections around AI data centers

Aimee Gabay 16 Jul 2026
Patches of deforested land observed from the air within the Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve. Image courtesy of AIDESEP.

Roads, loggers close in on an unprotected refuge for isolated Kakataibo

Aimee Gabay 7 Jul 2026

In AI race, Indigenous values could guide environmental issues, researchers suggest

Shradha Triveni 7 Jul 2026
Firefighters from the Chico Mendes Institute work to contain a forest fire and prevent it from reaching Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, in Brazil’s northern Goiás state in 2025. Image by AP Photo / Eraldo Peres.

Fire surge in 2025 threatened isolated peoples in Brazil

Aimee Gabay 24 Jun 2026
North Slave Métis Alliance guardian Wayne Mercredi on caribou patrol on the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road. Image courtesy of the North Slave Métis Alliance.

As Canada eyes Arctic road expansion, Indigenous guardians race to understand caribou

Moira Donovan 23 Jun 2026

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