‘They took it over by force’: Corruption and palm oil in Sierra Leone
SAHN, Sierra Leone — The day they came, Margaret Fascia was in her forest garden of cocoa trees, pineapple plants, palms, ferns and cassavas. Like most days of the week,…
Articles by Morgan Erickson-Davis
Morgan has been writing for Mongabay since 2008 and came on full-time in 2014. Trained in biology, Morgan has taken any available opportunity to learn more about the world, from working as a fisheries biologist aboard longliners and freighters in the South Pacific to evaluating river health in western Montana. Morgan spent eight years editing technical papers before jumping into journalism, with more than 50 manuscripts under her belt. Currently, she manages Mongabay's forests and global palm oil reporting programs.
‘If they take our lands, we’ll be dead’: Cameroon village battles palm oil giant
MBONJO, Cameroon — The first time Emmanuel Elong wrote a letter to Vincent Bolloré was in 2013. “The impact of the group that you are controlling on our lives is…
How the legacy of colonialism built a palm oil empire
Between 1885 and 1908, Belgium’s King Leopold II exerted control over a vast area of Africa that would later become the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His rule was characterized…
‘Betting on impunity’: Brazilian Amazon under attack despite logging crackdown
In a corner of Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, a handful of clandestine roads neatly slice the dense jungle canopy into rectangles. From the sky, an entourage of bulldozers can be…
Indonesia struggles to restore peatlands as fires strangle national parks
In September 2019, the noon sky over a part of Jambi province in Indonesian Sumatra turned crimson. Fires had been raging through Indonesia for the past few months, and certain…
New data show world lost a Switzerland-size area of primary rainforest in 2019
Last year the world lost some 119,000 square kilometers (45,946 square miles) of tree cover – an area the size of Nicaragua – according to satellite data collated by the…
Marijuana cultivation whittling away Madagascar’s largest connected forest
Between the cacao fields of northwest Madagascar and the vanilla of the northeast, a chain of rainforests bob along the highland interior. Tsaratanana Reserve, home to the country’s highest peak,…
Illegal logging ‘mafia’ stripping hornbill habitat in Northeast India
On a wet August afternoon in 2015, Jorjo Tana Tara, 48, a member of the indigenous Nyishi community and an anti-logging activist, discovered illegal loggers and poachers at a large…
Tech made to find galaxies sets its sights on wildfires
In mid-October, 1991, a wildfire swept across the hillsides of northern Oakland, California, killing 25 people and injuring 150 more. By the time it was under control, around 1,500 acres…
‘They never intended to conserve it’: Outcry as loggers gut Cambodian reserve
In late February, conservationist Kheng Khou tried to enter Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, which he routinely patrols with other members of the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN). Instead, he and…
Takeover of Nigerian reserve highlights uphill battle to save forests
IJARE, Nigeria — The silver blade slides through the log laid over a metal bed beneath the sawmill machine. When the careful routine ends, one of the two operators pulls…
Healing the world through ‘radical listening’: Q&A with Dr. Kinari Webb
Dr. Kinari Webb believes this because she has witnessed it — up close: Amid this global pandemic, the health of the planet is intricately connected to public health around the…
As investment giant BlackRock pulls back from coal, NGOs urge the same for biomass energy
Responding to intense pressure from investors and environmental activists, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, signaled in January that it would reduce investments in coal for energy generation. Other fossil…
Colombian indigenous groups rush to protect elders, leaders from COVID-19
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world’s highest coastal mountain range, is an isolated massif in northern Colombia. Due to its unique geography, the steep mountain slopes ascend through…
A tale of two Nigerian reserves underscores importance of community
IKPAKO, Nigeria — Dark stumps of half-charred trees, dry cassava stems and dead tree trunks cover a large swath of land on the way to Ikpako, a small farming enclave…
Palm oil gains ground in Chiapas, Mexico
In the small community of Boca de Chajul just over the Guatemalan border in the Mexican state of Chiapas, Rafael Lombera recounts how he has seen large expanses of Lacandon…
Conservationists urge reforms in Bolivia after environmental, political crises
After enduring a fraught election process that resulted in the resignation of president Evo Morales in November 2019, Bolivia will once again be holding a general election in 2020. Meanwhile,…
National parks pay the price as land conflicts intensify in Colombia
Colombia is the world’s second-most biodiverse country after Brazil. Central Colombia’s Macarena region, in particular, is important for biodiversity as it serves as a transition zone between three major biomes:…
Conservationists cautiously optimistic after Bolivian government changes hands
Late last year, historic wildfires raged through Bolivia, holding the country hostage for two months between July and September and burning more than 5 million hectares (50,000 sq km or…
Fallout: Threatened species in Australia continue to struggle after fires
The landscape spanning the border region of the eastern Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland is ecologically rich and diverse, and home to ancient rainforest. However, despite…
‘Out of control’: Unprecedented fires ravage Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands
PORTO JOFRE, Brazil - Only fragile wisps of freshly-sprouted grass dotted the charred plot of farmland in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands. Standing amid the ash and burnt vegetation, Eledilson Nunes de…
Bolivia and Paraguay unite to protect critically endangered guanacos
The guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the spindly, wild forebear of the llama, ranges across a broad reach of western and southern South America. While the species as a whole is not…
Massacre in Nicaragua: Four indigenous community members killed for their land
An illegal armed group connected to land grabbers killed four members of the indigenous Mayangna people, left two injured and burned 16 houses in northern Nicaragua on Jan. 29, according…
Rare trees are disappearing as ‘wood pirates’ log Bolivian national parks
SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, Bolivia — “The day after tomorrow, a cargo of 8,000 board feet of timber must be shipped. As there is little water, they are waiting…
A national park takes shape in Argentina as the forest disappears
Two Darwin's rheas (Rhea pennata) run at full speed between the thorny bushes and tall grasslands that cover the paleobasin – an ancient river basin and floodplain near the Bermejo…
Colombia’s ‘Heart of the World’: Mining, megaprojects overrun indigenous land
Jaime Luis Arias grew up on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. An isolated coastal pyramid-shaped massif in northern Colombia, the Sierra Nevada is one of…
Communities in Ecuador fight back against palm oil
This story is a journalistic collaboration between Revista Vistazo and Mongabay Latam. Fifteen years ago, Martha Valencia relied on the nearby river for water and for food. But then…
Illegal tin mining leaves trail of ruin in protected Brazilian rainforest
The damage only became clear once the rain stopped and the clouds parted over Altamira National Forest in northern Brazil. Instead of dense jungle, large patches of bare land now…
Palm oil, fire pushing protected areas in Honduras to the ‘point of no return’
Residents of the community of París de Leán in Honduras say they have been dealing with dirty water for a decade. To demonstrate this, Concepción Aguilera dips a dish into…
Illegal gold rush causing ‘irreversible damage’ to rivers in the Brazilian Amazon
SÃO FÉLIX DO XINGU - As João Inácio de Assunção’s small boat sliced through the clay-colored waters of Rio Fresco in northern Brazil, he recalled a different time when the…
Special series
Forest trackers
- ‘Betting on impunity’: Brazilian Amazon under attack despite logging crackdown
- Indonesia struggles to restore peatlands as fires strangle national parks
- Marijuana cultivation whittling away Madagascar’s largest connected forest
- Illegal logging ‘mafia’ stripping hornbill habitat in Northeast India
Oceans
- Game changer? Antarctic ice melt related to tropical weather shifts: Study
- Dorsal de Nasca: Peru pledges to create a huge new marine reserve
- Science-backed policy boosts critically endangered Nassau grouper
- Vanishing sea ice in the Arctic could shake up seabird migrations
Amazon conservation
- Brazilian court orders 20,000 gold miners removed from Yanomami Park
- World’s biggest trade deal in trouble over EU anger at Brazil deforestation
- Discovery of fish never recorded in the Amazon shows richness of Brazil’s Calha Norte
- Brazil’s indigenous hit especially hard by COVID-19: why so vulnerable?
Land rights and extractives
- Cook Islands to grant seabed mining exploration licenses within a year
- Deep-sea mining: An environmental solution or impending catastrophe?
- Locals stage latest fight against PNG mine dumping waste into sea
- Mining company pressing to enter Ecuador’s Los Cedros Protected Forest
Endangered environmentalists
- In Philippines’ Palawan, top cop linked to assault on environmental officer
- Deaths, arrests and protests as Philippines re-emerges from lockdown
- In Brazil, COVID-19 outbreak paves way for invasion of indigenous lands
- On anniversary of nun’s murder Amazon land rights activists at high risk
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
- On the island of Java, a social forestry scheme creates jobs at home
Conservation effectiveness
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
- On a wing and a prayer? Evidence for ways to conserve bats (commentary)
- Audio: The sounds of a rare New Zealand bird reintroduced to its native habitat
- Eavesdrop on forest sounds to effectively monitor biodiversity, researchers say
Southeast asian infrastructure
- Experts see environmental, social fallout in Indonesia’s infrastructure push
- Bornean farmers and fishers brace as a new port opens in their midst
- Indonesian levee project serves industry over community, study says
- Forest clearing proceeds for dam in Sumatra despite locals’ land claims
