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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/author/sarahengel/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 22:24:40 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>sarahengel, Author at Conservation news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/author/sarahengel/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Extreme heat wave in France kills hundreds of thousands of poultry</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/extreme-heat-wave-in-france-kills-hundreds-of-thousands-of-poultry/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/extreme-heat-wave-in-france-kills-hundreds-of-thousands-of-poultry/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 22:24:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26222134/Poulet-768x500.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321939</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and France]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Birds, Climate Change, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Food Industry, Global Environmental Crisis, Heatwave, Impact Of Climate Change, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Record temperatures have been causing mass poultry deaths in western France since June 22, Reuters reported. The heat wave, with temperatures exceeding 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit), is also behind the drowning of 40 people. Météo-France, the French national weather service, wrote in a statement that June 24 and 25 were the hottest days recorded in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Record temperatures have been causing mass poultry deaths in western France since June 22, Reuters reported. The heat wave, with temperatures exceeding 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit), is also behind the drowning of 40 people. Météo-France, the French national weather service, wrote in a statement that June 24 and 25 were the hottest days recorded in France since records began in 1947. Yann Nedelec, head of ANVOL, a French poultry-sector organization, estimated that at least several hundred thousand poultry in both indoor and outdoor farms died, though he told Reuters it was too soon for a precise death count. Chicken farmer Clement Blanchard, based in Saint-Andre-Goule-d&#8217;Oie, a commune in Pays de la Loire, told Reuters that around 700 of his chickens had died over the span of a few days, compared to an average death rate of one or two per day. &#8220;We&#8217;re faced with the same thing with our animals as we ​are ourselves: they suffer enormously from the heat, and so at times like this there are abnormally high death rates,&#8221; he told Reuters. Stéphane Delapré, a poultry breeder in Beauvoir-sur-Mer in Normandy, northwestern France, told AFP that the heat on June 22 had killed roughly half of his 17,600 chickens.  “Half of the chickens died, suffocated by the heat: those that were in the buildings and also those that were under the trees,” he said. “In [my] 42-year … career, I have never seen anything like it.” The Chamber of Agriculture in both Brittany and Pays de Loire,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/extreme-heat-wave-in-france-kills-hundreds-of-thousands-of-poultry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321939</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>French court orders TotalEnergies to disclose climate impacts in vigilance plan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/french-court-orders-totalenergies-to-disclose-climate-impacts-in-vigilance-plan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/french-court-orders-totalenergies-to-disclose-climate-impacts-in-vigilance-plan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 20:03:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26200116/Screenshot-2026-06-26-at-3.59.17-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321937</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[France]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A French court has delivered a landmark judgment against oil and gas giant TotalEnergies SE, holding it accountable for the carbon footprint associated with its global operations. On June 25, the Paris Judicial Court ordered the multinational business to revise its vigilance plan in relation to its climate risk assessment. The order requires the company [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A French court has delivered a landmark judgment against oil and gas giant TotalEnergies SE, holding it accountable for the carbon footprint associated with its global operations. On June 25, the Paris Judicial Court ordered the multinational business to revise its vigilance plan in relation to its climate risk assessment. The order requires the company to include Scope 3 emissions, which encompasses those stemming from the use of its products and other indirect emissions, as well as measures to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with those activities. The case was brought in 2020 by the civil society organizations Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, Zéa and France Nature Environnement, together with the city of Paris. It was heard in January 2026. “The judgment sends a very clear message that fossil fuel companies are responsible for all of their emissions, including those generated by customers using their products,” Anne Stévignon, legal specialist in litigation and advocacy at Notre Affaire à Tous, said during an online press conference attended by Mongabay on the day of the ruling. Stévignon added that the decision confirms France&#8217;s Duty of Vigilance Law applies to climate risks generated by multinational corporations. The 2017 legislation requires large French companies to publish and implement annual vigilance plans identifying risks to human rights, health and safety, and the environment throughout their global operations. They must also present measures to prevent or mitigate such risks. The claimants had sought broader relief than the court granted. They argued that TotalEnergies should be&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/french-court-orders-totalenergies-to-disclose-climate-impacts-in-vigilance-plan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321937</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How snow leopards, wolves and leopards share the same Himalayan valley, study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-snow-leopards-wolves-and-leopards-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-snow-leopards-wolves-and-leopards-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 15:54:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/10052813/himalayan-wolf-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321933</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Camera Trapping, Cats, Cattle, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Leopards, Livestock, Mammals, Snow Leopards, Threatened species, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Three of Asia’s most formidable predators share territory in a remote Nepal valley by eating different prey, according to a new study. Researchers found that diet, not time or space, is what keeps snow leopards (Panthera uncia), common leopards (Panthera pardus), and Himalayan wolves (Canis lupus chanco) from coming into direct conflict. The study, published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Three of Asia’s most formidable predators share territory in a remote Nepal valley by eating different prey, according to a new study. Researchers found that diet, not time or space, is what keeps snow leopards (Panthera uncia), common leopards (Panthera pardus), and Himalayan wolves (Canis lupus chanco) from coming into direct conflict. The study, published in PLOS One, drew on more than six years of camera-trapping and scat analysis in the Lapchi Valley of the Gaurishankar Conservation Area in Nepal’ s central Himalayas. Researchers set 26 cameras across the landscape over three survey periods between 2018 and 2025 and identified each predator&#8217;s diet by analyzing fecal DNA and examining prey hair under a microscope. Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) are an important food source for the snow leopards in Nepal. Photo courtesy of Narayan Koju. Snow leopards, they found, fed mainly on wild ungulates, including blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), musk deer (Moschus leucogaster), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), and Himalayan serow (Capricornis sumatraensis). Blue sheep alone made up nearly half their diet. Himalayan wolves ate a mix of wild prey like blue sheep and musk deer as well as livestock such as goats, horses, and yaks (Bos grunniens). Leopards relied heavily on livestock and animals associated with human settlements, including dogs, though barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and goral (Naemorhedus goral) also appeared in their scats. Snow leopards and wolves shared roughly three-quarters of their prey, far more than either shared with leopards. Of the three, snow leopards had the narrowest diet, concentrating&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-snow-leopards-wolves-and-leopards-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-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-321933</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>India’s fishers confront homegrown ‘ghost gear’ problem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-fishers-confront-homegrown-ghost-gear-problem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-fishers-confront-homegrown-ghost-gear-problem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 15:21:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert Bociaga]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26113259/IMG_5502-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321907</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Habitat Degradation, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KOCHI, India — In the early light at Thoppumpady fishing harbor in the city of Kochi, coils of blue and green nylon nets lay heaped on the concrete docks, stiff with salt after a long night at sea. Many had been patched and repatched so often that they were barely holding together. Nets too damaged [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KOCHI, India — In the early light at Thoppumpady fishing harbor in the city of Kochi, coils of blue and green nylon nets lay heaped on the concrete docks, stiff with salt after a long night at sea. Many had been patched and repatched so often that they were barely holding together. Nets too damaged to mend are often cut loose offshore. Once they sink, few are ever recovered. Across India’s west coast, lost fishing gear known as “ghost gear” has become a significant source of marine pollution. Nets vanish whole or in fragments, slipping into the waters of the Arabian Sea where they continue trapping fish, turtles and other marine life long after fishers abandon them. India operates one of the world&#8217;s largest marine fishing sectors, supporting an estimated 14.5 million livelihoods along more than 7,500 kilometers (4,660 miles) of coastline. While national estimates are scarce, a 2022 study in the southwestern state of Kerala, where Kochi is located, found that fishers lost, abandoned or discarded about 21% of their fishing gear annually. That’s more than 10 times the global average of 1.82% estimated by another study, which highlights the scale of material entering India’s marine environment. Despite growing concern among researchers and conservationists, India lacks a systematic way to track, retrieve or recycle lost fishing gear, as well as accessible mechanisms to collect and safely dispose of end-of-life nets and other equipment before they are discarded at sea. The government regulates fisheries tightly in many respects — from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-fishers-confront-homegrown-ghost-gear-problem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321907</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Laser scanning forests may boost carbon estimates, but credibility questions linger</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/laser-scanning-forests-may-boost-carbon-estimates-but-credibility-questions-linger/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/laser-scanning-forests-may-boost-carbon-estimates-but-credibility-questions-linger/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 14:55:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shradha Triveni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26115840/Overlay1-1-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321918</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Credits, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Market, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Geology, Mapping, Research, Science, Soil Carbon, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forests are natural carbon sinks. But as reforestation of degraded land is becoming a global climate solution, a persistent question lingers: How do we know how much carbon a forest is actually storing? Researchers say ground-based laser scanning, or LiDAR, could improve the efficiency of measuring the outcomes of reforestation. And a recent paper published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forests are natural carbon sinks. But as reforestation of degraded land is becoming a global climate solution, a persistent question lingers: How do we know how much carbon a forest is actually storing? Researchers say ground-based laser scanning, or LiDAR, could improve the efficiency of measuring the outcomes of reforestation. And a recent paper published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence found that LiDAR scanning in Australia offered an improvement over other methods of carbon estimation. LiDAR instruments emit thousands of tiny laser pulses to create complex and intricate 3D maps of a forest’ structure, allowing researchers to more accurately estimate how much carbon is contained in its trees. Co-author of the paper Alexander W. Cheesman, a senior research fellow at James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia, calls the technology “transformative.” “Traditional field surveys heavily relied on manually measuring the height and diameter of a relatively small number of trees. But laser scanning captures the whole forest in 360 degrees, recording every stem, every branch and the shape of the canopy,” Cheesman told Mongabay during a virtual interview over Google Meet. In Australia, the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is the government’s main tool to track carbon stored in soil and roots (belowground carbon) and vegetation (aboveground carbon). It is used for national greenhouse gas reporting to the United Nations and to assess carbon credit within the country, through the government’s Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme. Rather than directly measuring carbon, FullCAM simulates the movement of carbon through ecosystems by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/laser-scanning-forests-may-boost-carbon-estimates-but-credibility-questions-linger/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321918</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A trailblazing Ugandan championing women in African fisheries: Q&#038;A with Lovin Kobusingye</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-trailblazing-ugandan-championing-women-in-african-fisheries-qa-with-lovin-kobusingye/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-trailblazing-ugandan-championing-women-in-african-fisheries-qa-with-lovin-kobusingye/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 13:45:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26090506/Ghana_-women-in-fisheries_a6c5141cc54bf13eb3cff9f60a7e5c1b-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321885</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine Animals, Oceans, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Speaking at a gathering of ocean conservation groups and development practitioners in Watamu, Kenya, Lovin Kobusingye had a simple message: The women who catch, process and sell fish are still largely missing from conversations about Africa&#8217;s growing blue economy. For Kobusingye, the challenges facing women in fisheries are part of her everyday life. “My reality [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Speaking at a gathering of ocean conservation groups and development practitioners in Watamu, Kenya, Lovin Kobusingye had a simple message: The women who catch, process and sell fish are still largely missing from conversations about Africa&#8217;s growing blue economy. For Kobusingye, the challenges facing women in fisheries are part of her everyday life. “My reality every day is that I wake up to an industrial person taking over my landing place, taking over my fishing zone,” she told the audience, describing how tourism developments and other coastal investments increasingly compete with traditional fishing communities for access to the sea. Kobusingye said many women face dangers in the fisheries sector, poor working conditions and growing pressure from developments that compete for access to the coast. In some communities, traditional rights are overlooked by the government; while rising seas, erosion and declining fish catches are making an already difficult livelihood even harder, she told the attendees of the meeting organized by the Ocean Resilience Climate Alliance (ORCA). Despite these challenges, Kobusingye said women remain central to sustaining fisheries and coastal economies. They process fish, trade seafood and support households, including paying school fees, from the income they earn. Yet despite their role in the sector, many women still have little say in how fisheries are managed. Lovin Kobusingye is also the founder and CEO of Kati Farms Ltd, an agro-processing firm. Image courtesy of Kati Farms Ltd. “If you are invisible, you receive invisible budgets. If you are invisible, you receive invisible&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-trailblazing-ugandan-championing-women-in-african-fisheries-qa-with-lovin-kobusingye/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321885</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach released after 5 years in prison</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/vietnamese-environmental-lawyer-dang-dinh-bach-released-after-5-years-in-prison/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/vietnamese-environmental-lawyer-dang-dinh-bach-released-after-5-years-in-prison/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 13:16:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/31154604/3160f414-972a-454c-a5b5-0bd36128c992-768x512-1.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321930</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Energy, Energy Transition, Environment, Human Rights, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was released from prison on June 24 after serving a full five-year sentence for tax evasion, charges advocates say were a pretext to silence his activism against coal mining. Bach, the founder and former director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center, was arrested in 2021 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was released from prison on June 24 after serving a full five-year sentence for tax evasion, charges advocates say were a pretext to silence his activism against coal mining. Bach, the founder and former director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center, was arrested in 2021 after he helped lead a 17-day protest against the expansion of coal mining in Vietnam. His release was confirmed by the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition (VCDC), a group of more than 30 international and regional human rights and climate justice organizations. In a statement released through the coalition, Bach expressed his appreciation for the global campaign for his freedom. “I&#8217;m grateful to be back home and reunited with my family,” he said, noting that his immediate priority was reconnecting with his wife and his young son, who was only 2 weeks old when they were separated. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out and shown support.” Bach’s legal work was highly influential in Vietnam’s environmental landscape. VCDC said he contributed to the country’s Environmental Protection Law and helped lay the groundwork for Vietnam’s $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). The VCDC noted that Bach’s expertise and dedication are vital to Vietnam’s climate goals, stating that such work is “best served by people of Bach&#8217;s expertise, integrity, and dedication working alongside government, not behind bars.” While celebrating Bach&#8217;s release, the coalition said it remains concerned about his security. It has called on Vietnamese authorities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/vietnamese-environmental-lawyer-dang-dinh-bach-released-after-5-years-in-prison/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/vietnamese-environmental-lawyer-dang-dinh-bach-released-after-5-years-in-prison/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321930</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>France confirms its first Ebola case as DRC outbreak continues to grow</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/france-confirms-its-first-ebola-case-as-drc-outbreak-continues-to-grow/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/france-confirms-its-first-ebola-case-as-drc-outbreak-continues-to-grow/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 12:36:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26123441/AP26173262551725-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321926</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[France]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Diseases, Health, Medicine, Public Health, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A positive case of Ebola disease has been identified in France, a first for the Western European country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the patient is a healthcare worker from the NGO Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) who contracted the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before returning to France. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A positive case of Ebola disease has been identified in France, a first for the Western European country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the patient is a healthcare worker from the NGO Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) who contracted the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before returning to France. &#8220;This case is a reminder of the risks faced by frontline defenders. Almost 80 health workers have been infected,&#8221; said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press conference on June 24, 2026, at the organization&#8217;s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. &#8220;The risk to the rest of the world remains low.&#8221; Since May 15, the DRC has been facing a new Ebola outbreak. This time caused by the Bundibugyo variant, a strain of the disease for which there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine. Since the outbreak was declared, the death toll has continued to rise. According to the latest figures, 1,048 confirmed cases have been reported, including 267 deaths. Mongabay contacted the French Ministry of Health, which declined to comment. During an interview given by the health minister, Stéphanie Rist, on national television. She said the infected health care worker had arrived in France at the very beginning of the illness. “He did not know he was sick; he showed no symptoms and was not contagious,” Rist said. “During the flight, he developed headaches and alerted the crew. He was taken into care upon landing and is currently in isolation at a hospital.&#8221;  &hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/france-confirms-its-first-ebola-case-as-drc-outbreak-continues-to-grow/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/france-confirms-its-first-ebola-case-as-drc-outbreak-continues-to-grow/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321926</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Three years after Cyclone Freddy, farms remain under water in Malawi’s Elephant Marsh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/three-years-after-cyclone-freddy-farms-remain-under-water-in-malawis-elephant-marsh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/three-years-after-cyclone-freddy-farms-remain-under-water-in-malawis-elephant-marsh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 10:39:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25170622/original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321815</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Community Development, Conservation, Disasters, Ecosystems, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Fishing, Flooding, Freshwater, Storms, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NSANJE DISTRICT, Malawi — From his canoe, floating in a shallow channel in a corner of southern Malawi’s Elephant Marsh, Fred Nsema points at two palm trees standing knee-deep in a sprawling cover of water lilies and water hyacinth. Nsema used to shelter from the heat under them, sipping a traditional fermented drink prepared from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NSANJE DISTRICT, Malawi — From his canoe, floating in a shallow channel in a corner of southern Malawi’s Elephant Marsh, Fred Nsema points at two palm trees standing knee-deep in a sprawling cover of water lilies and water hyacinth. Nsema used to shelter from the heat under them, sipping a traditional fermented drink prepared from millet by his wife. But along with more than a 1,000 other families here in the Lower Shire Valley, home to Elephant Marsh, he and his wife lost their farmland to floods caused by Cyclone Freddy in 2023. “That field was our lifeline,” Nsema says as he uses a long bamboo pole to stop the canoe before it’s drawn into a channel of water rushing past the submerged site of his former farm. “We would harvest half a ton of cabbages there. Beans too, and rice and sweet potatoes. Twice a year for some of the crops. That farm was everything to us.” Fred Nsema’s (left) farm was flooded by Cyclone Freddy in 2023. The waters have still not receded. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Lower Shire Valley rely on the wetland for their livelihoods. According to the 2018 census, the population of the two districts that Elephant Marsh spreads across is 860,000 — a startling five-fold increase from the population figure recorded 10 years earlier. “It’s a vital resource for many people here; but that is also why it is under severe strain, because farming has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/three-years-after-cyclone-freddy-farms-remain-under-water-in-malawis-elephant-marsh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/three-years-after-cyclone-freddy-farms-remain-under-water-in-malawis-elephant-marsh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321815</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Our Ocean Conference in Kenya ends with $6.4 billion in pledges, review of past promises</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/our-ocean-conference-in-kenya-ends-with-6-4-billion-in-pledges-review-of-past-promises/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/our-ocean-conference-in-kenya-ends-with-6-4-billion-in-pledges-review-of-past-promises/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 07:11:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25121317/Mangroves-Kwale-Kenya-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321802</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation Finance, Ecosystems, Finance, Fish, Freshwater Fish, Marine, Ocean Warming, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MOMBASA — Africa was front and center at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, the first time the annual gathering was held on the continent. The conference is built around voluntary commitments from a range of actors including governments, nonprofits, institutions and the private sector. The meeting in Mombasa, a port city on Kenya’s Indian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MOMBASA — Africa was front and center at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, the first time the annual gathering was held on the continent. The conference is built around voluntary commitments from a range of actors including governments, nonprofits, institutions and the private sector. The meeting in Mombasa, a port city on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, brought 6,000 delegates together under the theme &#8220;Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future.” The focus was on expanding protections, strengthening marine security, developing sustainable blue economies and fisheries, and addressing problems such as marine pollution and climate change. A preliminary roundup showed that more than 104 players came forward to announce commitments that would mobilize $6.4 billion. “When we launched this conference in 2014, we wanted more than speeches, we wanted people to come to the table with an announcement of specifically what they will do and when and how much it will cost,” John Kerry, the former U.S. secretary of state who founded the conference, said at the opening ceremony on June 17. Turning ambition into action was a recurring theme across the three-day conference. “We did not come to Mombasa to add our names to a longer list of promises. We came to turn the tide,” Kenya’s President William Ruto said at the closing ceremony on June 18. “Let the measure of this conference not be what we pledged on the shore, but what we deliver in the waters.” The East African nation laid out more than 40 commitments backed by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/our-ocean-conference-in-kenya-ends-with-6-4-billion-in-pledges-review-of-past-promises/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/our-ocean-conference-in-kenya-ends-with-6-4-billion-in-pledges-review-of-past-promises/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321802</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh tests a return to the wild for extinct peafowl populations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-tests-a-return-to-the-wild-for-extinct-peafowl-populations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-tests-a-return-to-the-wild-for-extinct-peafowl-populations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 06:45:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/26063453/a-peacock-showing-off-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321813</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Extinction, Reintroductions, Rewilding, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservation authorities in Bangladesh say they’re still on track to fully release peafowl back into the wild, under a program that began with a “soft” release of the birds last year. But experts warn against rushing the release, noting that because the species has long been extinct in the wild in Bangladesh, habituating captive-raised birds [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservation authorities in Bangladesh say they’re still on track to fully release peafowl back into the wild, under a program that began with a “soft” release of the birds last year. But experts warn against rushing the release, noting that because the species has long been extinct in the wild in Bangladesh, habituating captive-raised birds to life in the forest won’t be easy. The Bangladesh Forest Department, with the support of nongovernmental organization Creative Conservation Alliance, in May 2025 moved 20 captive-raised common Indian peafowls (Pavo cristatus) into a forest enclosure within Madhupur National Park, which falls under the jurisdiction of the forest department’s Tangail division. Since then, the five males and 15 females have produced a dozen eggs, with one wild-born chick successfully hatching, according to Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, an officer with the Tangail Forest Division. “Now the chick is 6 months old. This year, we are expecting more from the group,” he said. “Our plan is to release only the chicks in the wild as they are growing up in a natural condition and making themselves adaptive for the wild.” Hossain said the 20 birds initially moved into the enclosure will not be part of that full release into the wild since they grew up in captivity. Instead, they will serve as parent stock. The peafowl chick being considered for release in the wild. Image by Md Mosharraf Hossain. The peafowl&#8217;s history in Bangladesh According to a 2024 study, peafowls are a common wild bird across South&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-tests-a-return-to-the-wild-for-extinct-peafowl-populations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-tests-a-return-to-the-wild-for-extinct-peafowl-populations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321813</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Asia&#8217;s shark and ray hotspots remain poorly protected, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 03:52:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25201215/1-A-famiky-of-Critically-Endangered-Winghead-Hammerhead-sharks-and-a-threatened-Eagle-ray-died-due-to-fisheries-in-Baththalangunduwa-ISRA-c-BRT-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321855</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation Solutions, Environmental Policy, Extinction, Fish, Fisheries, Gillnets, Illegal Fishing, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Overfishing, Protected Areas, Rays, shark finning, Sharks, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — The majority of 122 marine areas identified across Asia as critical for the survival of sharks, rays and chimaeras remain largely unprotected despite supporting some of the world’s most threatened marine species, according to a new study. Published in Biodiversity and Conservation, the study assessed the network of important shark and ray areas [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — The majority of 122 marine areas identified across Asia as critical for the survival of sharks, rays and chimaeras remain largely unprotected despite supporting some of the world’s most threatened marine species, according to a new study. Published in Biodiversity and Conservation, the study assessed the network of important shark and ray areas (ISRAs) across 19 Asian countries and territories and found that only 5.4% of their total area overlaps with recognized marine protected areas (MPAs). Just 2.8% falls within fully protected no-take zones where extractive activities are strictly prohibited. Critically endangered sharpnose guitarfish landed from the Palk Bay ISRA are recorded in a fish market in the village of Mathagal, Sri Lanka&#8217;s Jaffna district. Fish markets and landing sites are valuable points for fisheries data collection and monitoring. Image courtesy of Blue Resources Trust. Together, these ISRAs cover more than 1 million square kilometers (approximately 386,102 square miles) of ocean and support sharks, rays and chimaeras, also known by the umbrella term elasmobranchs. Nearly three-quarters of these species are listed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN red list, highlighting the urgency of conserving these habitats, said study lead author Adriana Gonzalez-Pestana, a Ph.D. candidate at Charles Darwin University (CDU) in Australia and member of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group ISRA project. IUCN is the global wildlife conservation authority. Critically endangered stripenose guitarfish caught within the Pasikuda &amp; Kalkuda ISRA in Sri Lanka&#8217;s east and being sold at a local fishery. Image courtesy of Blue Resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321855</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chewing sounds can help decode an animal’s diet using AI, new study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/chewing-sounds-can-help-decode-an-animals-diet-using-ai-new-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/chewing-sounds-can-help-decode-an-animals-diet-using-ai-new-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 02:29:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25202550/Banner-Image-C-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321853</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Biology, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Food, Marine, Marine Animals, Molluscs, Oceans, Predators, Rays, Research, Science, Software, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[What does an eagle ray’s menu look like? An artificial intelligence model can now answer that question by listening to sounds of the animal chewing on food. Scientists developed the machine learning algorithm to detect the sound of shells being crushed by predators when they feed on mollusks. According to a study published in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[What does an eagle ray’s menu look like? An artificial intelligence model can now answer that question by listening to sounds of the animal chewing on food. Scientists developed the machine learning algorithm to detect the sound of shells being crushed by predators when they feed on mollusks. According to a study published in the journal Ecological Informatics, the model can also identify the prey based on the sounds. “A lot of animals out there, particularly marine animals, have the unique ability to crush shells open,” Matt Ajemian, assistant research professor at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University in the U.S. who was part of the research, told Mongabay in a video interview. “But we don’t know how much they eat and what they feed on. So we wanted to see if we could remotely detect an animal feeding on a clam versus a gastropod.” Keeping track of predator-prey interactions is crucial, especially in the face of rapidly changing marine habitats. Monitoring what and how much larger predators are eating is important to understand the resources they depend on and subsequently plan effective conservation action. Conversely, it’s also critical to have data on how much pressure there is on shellfish populations that serve as prey. “For example, in a clam bed or seagrass bed, we want to know how much prey is removed by a predator over the course of a year,” Ajemian said. However, gathering this data is not an easy task. Tracking predators underwater is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/chewing-sounds-can-help-decode-an-animals-diet-using-ai-new-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-321853</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seizures reveal macabre grey parrot blood trade in Cameroon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 18:50:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25162156/agp-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321827</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, and Central Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Ethics, Governance, Health, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Parrots, Pets, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The blood of African grey parrots is emerging as a new, macabre illegal wildlife product traded in Cameroon, analysts from TRAFFIC, a nonprofit that monitors wildlife trafficking, reported. This grim trade in grey parrots, an endangered species long coveted by exotic bird collectors, first came to light in 2025, when forest officials patrolling Cameroon’s Lobéké [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The blood of African grey parrots is emerging as a new, macabre illegal wildlife product traded in Cameroon, analysts from TRAFFIC, a nonprofit that monitors wildlife trafficking, reported. This grim trade in grey parrots, an endangered species long coveted by exotic bird collectors, first came to light in 2025, when forest officials patrolling Cameroon’s Lobéké National Park caught trappers with live birds and interrogated them. “Poachers entering the park trap live birds, then kill them, extract their blood and transport them,” said Biloa Donatien Joseph Guy, the park’s conservator, adding that they haul the blood in bottles and jerry cans — normally used to carry fuel. While park authorities haven’t seized blood from apprehended suspects, poachers have been caught with live birds. Further investigations into these cases are ongoing. When last assessed by the IUCN in 2020, grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), native to the rainforests of West and Central Africa, were declining, largely because of the pet trade. These beautiful, long-lived birds are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, thought to be as smart as a 5-year-old child. These parrots ‘talk,’ mimicking human speech with uncanny accuracy, making them a popular pet. They appear in videos across TikTok and YouTube, further fueling the demand. As a result, these birds have been poached to near-extinction, commanding exorbitant prices from collectors worldwide. Between 1982 and 2001, more than 1.3 million wild-caught grey parrots entered the international trade, according to IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, making them one of the most&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321827</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon floodplains cocoa offers a climate-resilient and sustainable chocolate</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-floodplains-cocoa-offers-a-climate-resilient-and-sustainable-chocolate/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-floodplains-cocoa-offers-a-climate-resilient-and-sustainable-chocolate/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 18:10:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cícero Pedrosa NetoSam Cowie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25143734/CPN_Chocolate_Mongabay-243-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321624</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Agroforestry, Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, Cacao, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Crops, Drought, Environment, Ethics, Extreme Weather, Food, Forest Products, Forestry, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, Sustainable Forest Management, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A river community in Pará uses ancestral secrets to beat the climate crisis one chocolate bean at a time.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BACARENA, Brazil — Sunlight peeps through dense Amazonian foliage as Elene Elda Mota and her husband Giovanne guide their small motorboat down a narrow stream. Equipped with machetes and baskets, they disembark and make their way through the thick forest until they reach a tree bearing dozens of bright yellow cocoa pods. Here, in the Amazon floodplains of Barcarena, in northern Pará state, near where some Amazon rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean, cocoa grows in a natural agroforestry system. “Our cocoa is native cocoa,” Elene said. “We don’t plant our cocoa, we just manage it.” Protected and irrigated by the forest canopy of the floodplains, Elene’s cocoa is more resistant to pests like vassoura de bruxa, a fungus that devastated Brazilian crops in the 1980s, as well as climate change impacts like droughts and heavy rains. It also offers a diverse range of earthy, fruity and acidic flavors, which Elene has utilized to produce an expanding range of artisanal cocoa and chocolate products. Caramelized cocoa nibs are her best seller, she said, and she also produces artisanal chocolate bars, creams and other sweet spreads, cocoa powders and oils. Cocoa and chocolate producer Elene Elda Mota navigates an Amazon river and a new artisanal scene. Image by Cícero Pedrosa Neto. In recent years, the Amazon state of Pará, Brazil’s largest cocoa producer, has emerged as a new frontier, or terroir, for fine and artisanal chocolate. Like Burgundy wine from France or Ethiopian coffee, the concept of its terroir flavor is rooted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-floodplains-cocoa-offers-a-climate-resilient-and-sustainable-chocolate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-floodplains-cocoa-offers-a-climate-resilient-and-sustainable-chocolate/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321624</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trump admin persists in quixotic quest against wind power despite legal defeat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/trump-admin-persists-in-quixotic-quest-against-wind-power-despite-legal-defeat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/trump-admin-persists-in-quixotic-quest-against-wind-power-despite-legal-defeat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 16:59:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25154555/4379-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321832</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environment, Natural Resources, Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy, Solutions, and Wind]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is continuing its campaign to end wind energy development through a series of executive orders, lawsuits, and lease buybacks. This is despite a recent court defeat and its own Department of Energy estimating the country could be powered by wind alone. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is continuing its campaign to end wind energy development through a series of executive orders, lawsuits, and lease buybacks. This is despite a recent court defeat and its own Department of Energy estimating the country could be powered by wind alone. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for renewable energy. “We don’t want wind, and we don’t want solar because they’re a blight on our country,” he said in 2025. On the first day of his second term, Jan. 20, 2025, Trump issued a presidential action to remove leasing opportunities for all new and renewed offshore wind projects. He also directed the government to “conduct a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.” In response, attorneys general from 17 states successfully sued the administration. A district court ruled the government’s action was “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” The administration appealed, but on June 10, the Department of Justice filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals did so on June 15. Andrea Campbell, the attorney general for the state of Massachusetts, one of the litigators behind the lawsuit, said in a statement: “Massachusetts has directed hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore wind development, and the court correctly protected those critical investments from the Trump Administration’s unlawful order.” While the administration abandoned the appeal, it has been buying back leases for wind farms. On June 17, the administration announced plans to pay&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/trump-admin-persists-in-quixotic-quest-against-wind-power-despite-legal-defeat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/trump-admin-persists-in-quixotic-quest-against-wind-power-despite-legal-defeat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321832</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s Central Zoo faces questions over its bird flu response</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 16:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deepak Adhikari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25161349/Sarus_Crane_Central_Zoo_Nepal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321835</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Diseases, Ex-situ Conservation, Health, Leopards, Owls, Wildlife, Zoonotic Diseases, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A dead crow was found inside Nepal’s Central Zoo around “mid-June,” the exact date remains unknown. Then birds including a barn owl (Tyto alba) tested positive for avian influenza (bird flu) in a rapid test. Zoo authorities then sent samples to the Central Veterinary Laboratory on June 15. The zoo and officials from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A dead crow was found inside Nepal’s Central Zoo around “mid-June,” the exact date remains unknown. Then birds including a barn owl (Tyto alba) tested positive for avian influenza (bird flu) in a rapid test. Zoo authorities then sent samples to the Central Veterinary Laboratory on June 15. The zoo and officials from the semi-government body running it have given conflicting accounts of when the first deaths were detected and when bird flu was suspected. The facility remained open for several days, raising questions over its disease response during a major outbreak in Kathmandu Valley, where infected crows and fowl had already been reported in nearby Kirtipur. Ganesh Koirala, spokesperson for the Central Zoo, said officials found a dead crow inside the zoo on June 13. “Although the rapid test had already indicated infection, laboratory confirmation was necessary,” Koirala said. “It took 72 hours for the lab to send the results.” That account differs from Rachana Shah, spokesperson for the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), the semi-government body that manages the zoo. She said a crow and a pigeon were found dead on June 12, a date also confirmed by a veterinary official. House crows make a nest on a tree in Kathmandu. Image courtesy of Dinesh Bhusal. “During summer, pigeons and crows can also die because of heat stress, so at that point we could not immediately conclude that it was bird flu,” she said. But Koirala’s timeline indicated the zoo had an early warning by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321835</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Not all coral reefs are doomed as a result of climate change, study suggests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/not-all-coral-reefs-are-doomed-as-a-result-of-climate-change-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/not-all-coral-reefs-are-doomed-as-a-result-of-climate-change-study-suggests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 15:03:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25145307/Screenshot-2026-06-25-at-10.52.41-AM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321828</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Coral Bleaching, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Marine, Mitigation, Ocean Acidification, Ocean Warming, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One third of the world&#8217;s coral reefs may be able to withstand the impacts of climate change by 2050, according to a study conducted by the conservation NGO Wildlife Conservation Society and researchers from Macquarie University in Australia. The findings of the study, yet to be peer-reviewed, were presented on June 16 during the Our [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One third of the world&#8217;s coral reefs may be able to withstand the impacts of climate change by 2050, according to a study conducted by the conservation NGO Wildlife Conservation Society and researchers from Macquarie University in Australia. The findings of the study, yet to be peer-reviewed, were presented on June 16 during the Our Ocean Conference held in Mombasa, Kenya. &#8220;This study proves that there is hope,” Joseph Maina, an associate professor at Macquarie University who contributed to the study, told Mongabay during a phone interview. For the study, Maina and colleagues combined more than 45,000 field observations of coral reefs from 1960-2025, with 42 different environmental and human-pressure factors, such as temperature, heat stress, cyclones, fishing pressure and connectivity. They used this data to train an artificial intelligence model to predict the future of coral reefs by 2050, in a scenario where greenhouse gas emissions stay high. The results were striking. The program mapped 552,969 square kilometers (213,503 square miles) of coral reef extent. Of this, one-third, or approximately 165,922 km2 (64,063 mi2) of the reefs could be climate-resilient; that is, they could maintain healthy coral communities in the face of climate change impacts. These coral reefs are spread across 71 countries, but more than a half occur in five countries: The Bahamas, Cuba, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. According to Maina, some African countries such as Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania also host a significant proportion of reefs that appear resilient to climate change. However, Maina said that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/not-all-coral-reefs-are-doomed-as-a-result-of-climate-change-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/not-all-coral-reefs-are-doomed-as-a-result-of-climate-change-study-suggests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321828</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How leopards and wolves share the same Himalayan valley, study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/how-leopards-and-wolves-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/how-leopards-and-wolves-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 14:34:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25143042/snowleopard_narayan-koju--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321820</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Behavior, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biology, Carnivores, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Leopards, Livestock, Research, Science, Snow Leopards, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Three of Asia’s most formidable predators share territory in a remote Nepal valley by eating different prey, according to a new study. Researchers found that diet, not time or space, is what keeps snow leopards (Panthera uncia), common leopards (Panthera pardus), and Himalayan wolves (Canis lupus chanco) from coming into direct conflict. The study, published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Three of Asia’s most formidable predators share territory in a remote Nepal valley by eating different prey, according to a new study. Researchers found that diet, not time or space, is what keeps snow leopards (Panthera uncia), common leopards (Panthera pardus), and Himalayan wolves (Canis lupus chanco) from coming into direct conflict. The study, published in PLOS One, drew on more than six years of camera-trapping and scat analysis in the Lapchi Valley of the Gaurishankar Conservation Area in Nepal’ s central Himalayas. Researchers identified each predator&#8217;s diet by analyzing fecal DNA and examining prey hair under a microscope. Snow leopards fed mainly on wild ungulates, including blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), musk deer (Moschus leucogaster), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), and Himalayan serow (Capricornis sumatraensis). Blue sheep alone made up nearly half their diet. Leopards relied heavily on livestock and animals associated with human settlements, including dogs, though barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and goral (Naemorhedus goral) also appeared in their scats. Himalayan wolves ate a mix of wild prey like blue sheep and musk deer as well as livestock such as goats, horses, and yaks (Bos grunniens). Dietary overlap between snow leopards and wolves was substantial, while leopards showed far less overlap with either species. All three predators were active mostly at night and used overlapping terrain. “The biggest surprise is that space and time are not what keep peace among the top three predators,” lead author Narayan Prasad Koju of Nepal Engineering College told Mongabay in an email. “The fact&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/how-leopards-and-wolves-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/how-leopards-and-wolves-share-the-same-himalayan-valley-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321820</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As temperatures soar, Paris court set to rule on landmark climate change case</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/as-temperatures-soar-paris-court-set-to-rule-on-landmark-climate-change-case/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/as-temperatures-soar-paris-court-set-to-rule-on-landmark-climate-change-case/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 13:57:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25135454/AP26175600523875-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321816</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[France]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Heatwave, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A day after France hit record high temperatures, a court in Paris is set to rule Thursday on a landmark climate change case that could see energy giant TotalEnergies forced to reduce its oil and gas production. The lawsuit, brought by a group of NGOs and the city of Paris, argues [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A day after France hit record high temperatures, a court in Paris is set to rule Thursday on a landmark climate change case that could see energy giant TotalEnergies forced to reduce its oil and gas production. The lawsuit, brought by a group of NGOs and the city of Paris, argues the French corporation is violating a 2017 law that requires companies to prevent human rights abuses and environmental risks. It is the first time that the so-called corporate duty of vigilance law is being applied to climate change. Environmental groups Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, ZEA, France Nature Environnement launched the proceedings in 2020. They claim that TotalEnergies is one of the largest historical emitters of greenhouse gas and have asked the court to require the company to reduce oil production by 37 percent and gas production by 25 percent by 2030. The lawsuit also asks for a halt to all new fossil fuel projects. The decision comes as Europe is in the midst of a brutal heatwave. Punishing temperatures extended to the United Kingdom and Spain, where weather agencies issued red alerts — like France — about the risks of extreme heat for tens of millions of people. The iconic Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum have been forced to restrict visiting hours and school and transportation schedules have been interrupted across the continent. Human-caused climate change is tied to increasingly extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years are likely to shatter more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/as-temperatures-soar-paris-court-set-to-rule-on-landmark-climate-change-case/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321816</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Crackdown on snares in Sumatra as elephant, sun bear and tiger rescued</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/crackdown-on-snares-in-sumatra-as-elephant-sun-bear-and-tiger-rescued/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/crackdown-on-snares-in-sumatra-as-elephant-sun-bear-and-tiger-rescued/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 13:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jaka Hendra BaittriVinolia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25125105/Sumatran-tiger-snare-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321801</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Poaching, Snares, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PADANG, Indonesia — Authorities in a stronghold for Sumatran tigers have warned the public against using snares to trap wild boar following the dramatic rescue of an 11-month old female tiger cub last month. While it is not illegal to set a snare for the purpose of trapping wild boar or animals that are not [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PADANG, Indonesia — Authorities in a stronghold for Sumatran tigers have warned the public against using snares to trap wild boar following the dramatic rescue of an 11-month old female tiger cub last month. While it is not illegal to set a snare for the purpose of trapping wild boar or animals that are not protected by law, the West Sumatra government said any protected species caught in a snare will now lead to criminal liability. The new clarification was set out in a letter issued in late May by the West Sumatra province office of Indonesia’s conservation agency, the BKSDA. It cites a 2024 amendment to Indonesia’s 1990 conservation law governing the protection of wildlife. “The situation has become dangerous because people are setting these snares,” explained Rizaldi, a conservation scientist at Andalas University in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. The evacuation of a Sumatran tiger trapped in a wild boar snare in Pasaman. Image courtesy of BKSDA West Sumatra. Renewed attention on snares The recent crackdown on snares was sparked after a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) was discovered in a wild boar snare in Padang Mantiggi Utara village located in West Sumatra’s Pasaman district. Officials from the West Sumatra BKSDA, the conservation agency, arrived at the scene at around 13:30 on May 21, where they found a young female tiger in distress and pain. A snare was wrapped around the animal’s neck, trunk and right foreleg, in about five loops. “She struggled for a while&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/crackdown-on-snares-in-sumatra-as-elephant-sun-bear-and-tiger-rescued/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321801</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Kenya’s Mida Creek, fishers confront a changing ocean with hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-kenyas-mida-creek-fishers-confront-a-changing-ocean-with-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-kenyas-mida-creek-fishers-confront-a-changing-ocean-with-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 09:24:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24205351/20260620_131355-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321793</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater Fish, Mangroves, Marine, Oceans, Research, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[WATAMU, Kenya — By midday, the fish still hadn’t arrived. Since 8 a.m., Alice Kazungu had been sitting at the Mida Creek landing site on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, waiting for fishers to return from the water. Hours later, she was still waiting. Around her, another woman scanned the creek for signs of approaching canoes. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[WATAMU, Kenya — By midday, the fish still hadn’t arrived. Since 8 a.m., Alice Kazungu had been sitting at the Mida Creek landing site on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, waiting for fishers to return from the water. Hours later, she was still waiting. Around her, another woman scanned the creek for signs of approaching canoes. Some fishers had already returned empty-handed. Others had not returned at all. For Kazungu, a fishmonger and vice chair of the newly formed Mida Beach Management Unit (BMU), the long wait has become part of daily life. BMUs are the building blocks of fisheries co-management in Kenya, bringing together stakeholders in the sector including fishers, fish sellers and traders. Alice Kazungu, a fishmonger and vice chair of the newly formed Mida Beach Management Unit (BMU), in Watamu, Kenya. Image by David Akana/Mongabay. “There was a time when there was so much fish around here,” she says, pointing to the creek around her. “Now they [the fishers] bring back only two or three kilograms.” For Kazungu, the dwindling catch has become a question of survival. Married and raising children, she depends almost entirely on selling fish for income. When there is no fish, she occasionally sells palm wine tapped from coconut trees. But that is not enough to replace a livelihood built around the ocean. “When I go home, the children ask for food,” she says. “That is what worries me.” Her story echoes across Mida Creek, a sprawling network of mangroves, mudflats and tidal channels&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-kenyas-mida-creek-fishers-confront-a-changing-ocean-with-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-kenyas-mida-creek-fishers-confront-a-changing-ocean-with-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321793</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/on-the-brink-of-extinction-the-javan-green-magpie-gets-a-conservation-lifeline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/on-the-brink-of-extinction-the-javan-green-magpie-gets-a-conservation-lifeline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 07:48:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24112135/critically-endangered-Javan-green-magpie-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321758</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Habitat Loss, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the wild. Javan green magpies (Cissa thalassina) are endemic to the upland forests of West Java province, but have been assessed as critically endangered, with as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the wild. Javan green magpies (Cissa thalassina) are endemic to the upland forests of West Java province, but have been assessed as critically endangered, with as few as 50 of the birds remaining in the wild. Habitat loss and poaching for the songbird trade have greatly reduced their numbers and led to local extinctions in some areas. “Very few have ever been recorded in the wild,” says Andrew Owen, head of birds at Chester Zoo in the U.K. “The fact that the Javan green magpie is now so rare is also a reason why some people want to catch them and keep them.” In recent years, the Javan green magpie has barely appeared in markets, experts say, though that’s likely due to its increasing rarity in the wild. Surveys carried out between 2018 and 2021 across 12 previously inhabited sites recorded no birds, raising the alarm. “We must assume that excessive trade has pushed this once reasonably widespread but perhaps never common species to the very brink of extinction,” the authors wrote in a 2023 study. These birds, known locally as ekek geling for their unique call, are sought after as so-called master birds in the songbird trade. Master birds rarely compete and instead are used to “train” competition birds. Javan green magpies received official protected status in 2019. With the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/on-the-brink-of-extinction-the-javan-green-magpie-gets-a-conservation-lifeline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/on-the-brink-of-extinction-the-javan-green-magpie-gets-a-conservation-lifeline/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321758</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rewilding Rio: Conservationists restock an ‘empty forest,’ one species at a time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rewilding-rio-conservationists-restock-an-empty-forest-one-species-at-a-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rewilding-rio-conservationists-restock-an-empty-forest-one-species-at-a-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 22:48:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Suzana Camargo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/23204441/IMG-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321702</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Conservation Solutions, Mammals, Nature-based climate solutions, Primates, Reforestation, Rewilding, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2008, biologist Alexandra Pires had just completed her doctoral thesis, which described how agoutis, a large guinea pig-like rodent, were important for the regeneration of plant species in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. When she told this to Ivandy Castro‑Astor, a researcher at Tijuca National Park, in the hills outside Rio de Janeiro, she learned that the rodents [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2008, biologist Alexandra Pires had just completed her doctoral thesis, which described how agoutis, a large guinea pig-like rodent, were important for the regeneration of plant species in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. When she told this to Ivandy Castro‑Astor, a researcher at Tijuca National Park, in the hills outside Rio de Janeiro, she learned that the rodents no longer existed there. Proof of this were the abundance of seeds from a tree known in Brazil as cutieira or “agouti tree” (Joannesia princeps), which were rotting on the forest floor. “How can there be no agoutis in Tijuca National Park?” Pires recalls thinking at the time, to which Castro‑Astor replied: ‘I think you should release some agoutis there!’” Eighteen years later, visitors to Tijuca can now observe red-rumped agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina), along with brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) and yellow‑footed tortoises (Chelonoidis denticulata). Their presence in the forest is the result of the reintroduction program carried out by Refauna, an initiative of which Pires is the scientific director, with support from the Brazilian government’s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). In early January, it was the turn of blue‑and‑yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) to make a comeback. Extinct in Rio de Janeiro for 200 years, today they’re once again flying in the skies over the city. Refauna’s goal is to put an end to what’s known as empty forest syndrome, a concept identified by U.S. conservationist Kent Redford in 1992. In such forests, while the trees and other vegetation appear intact, the animals essential&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rewilding-rio-conservationists-restock-an-empty-forest-one-species-at-a-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rewilding-rio-conservationists-restock-an-empty-forest-one-species-at-a-time/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New analysis breaks down 2025 Amazon deforestation, with good news and bad news</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/new-analysis-breaks-down-2025-amazon-deforestation-with-good-news-and-bad-news/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/new-analysis-breaks-down-2025-amazon-deforestation-with-good-news-and-bad-news/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 15:40:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24001802/AP26169513813986-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321708</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Beef, Deforestation, Degraded Lands, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Fires, Forest Destruction, Forests, Heatwave, Industrial Agriculture, Land Use Change, Logging, Meat, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Secondary Forests, Soy, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Each year, researchers at the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab in the U.S. develop one of the most important data sets on global forest loss. The data is derived from NASA and European Space Agency satellite imagery and, in the Amazon Rainforest, often helps environmental groups and government officials make decisions about conservation. The figures [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Each year, researchers at the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab in the U.S. develop one of the most important data sets on global forest loss. The data is derived from NASA and European Space Agency satellite imagery and, in the Amazon Rainforest, often helps environmental groups and government officials make decisions about conservation. The figures for 2025 were published at the end of April, following months of processing and quality checks. But a comprehensive analysis, highlighting year-on-year trends and hotspots, was only recently released by Mapping of the Andes Amazon Project (MAAP), an Amazon Conservation initiative to track forest loss in the Amazon basin. While the data suggests that several metrics for measuring forest loss are down from previous years, they’re still concerningly high overall, researchers said. Agriculture, cattle ranching and mining continue to destroy hundreds of thousands of hectares of primary forest, often in protected areas and Indigenous territory. “I have a hard time saying it’s good news if deforestation is lower than previous years, but was still a million [hectares],” Matt Finer, MAAP director and senior research specialist, told Mongabay. He said it’s far from the zero-deforestation rate needed in the region. A: Soy frontiers of southeast Brazil; B: Soy frontiers of southern Bolivia; C: Trans-Amazonian Highway; D: BR-364; E: Agricultural areas in central Peru; F: Arc of deforestation in northwest Colombia; G: Gold mining areas in southern and central Peru: H: Gold mining areas in northern Ecuador; I: Gold mining areas in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname; J: Indigenous&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/new-analysis-breaks-down-2025-amazon-deforestation-with-good-news-and-bad-news/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321708</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 15:39:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24123008/Nosy-Tanihely-Aerial-3-Photo-Credits-Tanihely-National-Park-Association-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321762</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Canada, Chile, and Senegal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Natural Resources, Oceans, Protected Areas, Research, Science, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MOMBASA — At the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, a message echoed across sessions: Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are critical to safeguarding oceans. The Blue Park Awards, instituted by the U.S.-based Marine Conservation Institute, shine a light on MPAs that are delivering on their promise. This year, six of them made the cut: [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MOMBASA — At the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, a message echoed across sessions: Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are critical to safeguarding oceans. The Blue Park Awards, instituted by the U.S.-based Marine Conservation Institute, shine a light on MPAs that are delivering on their promise. This year, six of them made the cut: the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area in Canada; Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area in Chile; Kawawana Indigenous Community Heritage Area in Senegal; and Nosy Hara National Park, Sahamalaza- îles Radama National Park, and Nosy Tanihely (also spelled Tanikely) National Park in Madagascar. The conference held in Mombasa from June 16-18 saw more than 6,000 delegates from governments, nonprofits, the private sector, and other institutions gather to talk ocean conservation. Kawawana ICCA members in Senegal. Image courtesy of the Fishermen Association of the Rural Community of Mangagoulack. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022, countries agreed to protect 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030, in what’s known as the 30×30 target. “This cohort of Blue Parks is a powerful reminder of what the 30×30 goal actually requires,&#8221; Lance Morgan, president of the Marine Conservation Institute, said at the awards announcement in Mombasa on June 16. “These six MPAs, protecting different places in the ocean under different governance models, show that effective marine protection is achievable across cultures, geographies and political systems.” The six sites represent an array of governance models and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321762</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildlife helps regulate the climate &#038; this belongs in policy discussions (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/wildlife-helps-regulate-the-climate-this-belongs-in-policy-discussions-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/wildlife-helps-regulate-the-climate-this-belongs-in-policy-discussions-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 15:26:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jérôme Pinti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/05173648/kjs_20180711-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321788</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Decarbonization, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When we talk about climate change and wildlife, most people think about the impact of climate change on animals. We see individual organisms struggling to find food and being pushed into new places and environments, with global consequences for species distribution and animal abundances. What many overlook is the other side of that relationship: Wildlife [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When we talk about climate change and wildlife, most people think about the impact of climate change on animals. We see individual organisms struggling to find food and being pushed into new places and environments, with global consequences for species distribution and animal abundances. What many overlook is the other side of that relationship: Wildlife can help heal our climate. Wild animals help shape how ecosystems store carbon, move nutrients, recover from disturbance, and remain resilient as conditions change. That is the message behind the new Scientific Consensus on Wildlife and Climate, currently endorsed by more than 300 scientists from around the world, and counting. The consensus makes a simple but important point for climate policy: We should account for wild animals and their ecological roles when designing climate plans, because natural systems are incomplete without the species that help them function. Climate mitigation conversations typically focus on technology and infrastructure. More recently, we have become better at talking about forests, wetlands, seagrass, and other natural habitats that store carbon. All of those ecosystems matter, but we are sometimes missing an important piece: The animals living in and moving through those systems. Animals ranging from plankton to sperm whales (pictured) and everything in between move carbon from the ocean’s surface into the deep sea through a variety of processes. Image courtesy of The Dominica Sperm Whale Project. A 2023 paper in Nature Climate Change estimated that protecting and restoring wild animal populations and their ecological roles could increase carbon dioxide&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/wildlife-helps-regulate-the-climate-this-belongs-in-policy-discussions-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/wildlife-helps-regulate-the-climate-this-belongs-in-policy-discussions-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321788</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fire surge in 2025 threatened isolated peoples in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fire-surge-threatens-indigenous-livelihoods-and-isolated-peoples-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fire-surge-threatens-indigenous-livelihoods-and-isolated-peoples-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 13:12:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24122348/2-Firefighters-from-the-Chico-Mendes-Institute-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321761</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Fires, Forests, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2025, fires were responsible for a significant spike in forest loss in three territories in Brazil that are home to Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, according to Global Forest Watch data analyzed by Mongabay. Indigenous leaders from the Alto Turiaçu, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, and Apiaká do Pontal e Isolados Indigenous territories, told Mongabay that fire [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2025, fires were responsible for a significant spike in forest loss in three territories in Brazil that are home to Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, according to Global Forest Watch data analyzed by Mongabay. Indigenous leaders from the Alto Turiaçu, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, and Apiaká do Pontal e Isolados Indigenous territories, told Mongabay that fire is a growing threat to their way of life and the isolated Indigenous people who share the same lands. It affects their productive practices and destroys the biodiversity and vegetation they depend on for hunting and gathering, thereby leading to food insecurity. Damage to health, such as respiratory problems caused by the smoke, is another impact frequently mentioned by sources Mongabay spoke to. “The communities suffer from health problems caused by the smoke, difficulties in mobility, and food insecurity because several planting areas are affected,” Almir Narayamoga Suruí, a Paiter Suruí Indigenous community member from the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory that straddles the Amazonian states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso, told Mongabay via WhatsApp. “Culturally, the impact is also very strong because the forest for us is not just a natural resource; it is part of our spirituality, our history, and our identity. When an area of the forest is destroyed, we also lose part of our memory and the traditional knowledge transmitted by our ancestors.” Mongabay looked at forest loss and its dominant drivers across territories in Brazil with recognized isolated Indigenous peoples, using Global Forest Watch (GFW) drivers data that rely on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fire-surge-threatens-indigenous-livelihoods-and-isolated-peoples-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fire-surge-threatens-indigenous-livelihoods-and-isolated-peoples-in-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321761</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia driver sentenced over organized crime group trafficking live orangutan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indonesia-driver-sentenced-over-organized-crime-group-trafficking-live-orangutan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indonesia-driver-sentenced-over-organized-crime-group-trafficking-live-orangutan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 11:01:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Junaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24104236/Satwa-yang-disita-oleh-tim-gabungan_Foto-Dokumen-Bea-Cukai-Langsa-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321753</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Great Apes, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Orangutans, Organized Crime, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[EAST ACEH, Indonesia — A court in Indonesia has sentenced a man in Aceh to three years in prison after investigators stopped him while driving a truck transporting dozens of live animals, among them a live Sumatran orangutan and two critically endangered birds. A panel of three judges ruled on June 17 that 41-year-old Agussalim [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[EAST ACEH, Indonesia — A court in Indonesia has sentenced a man in Aceh to three years in prison after investigators stopped him while driving a truck transporting dozens of live animals, among them a live Sumatran orangutan and two critically endangered birds. A panel of three judges ruled on June 17 that 41-year-old Agussalim bin Abdul Hamib, a farmer from Sumatra’s Kuta Makmur subdistrict in the semiautonomous region of Aceh, accepted a job to deliver a consignment in a white Isuzu Traga, a common light commercial vehicle, on Jan. 30, 2026, in North Aceh district. “We very much appreciate this legal ruling — this is an important lesson for the perpetrators and the wider community to refrain from engaging in illegal activities,” said Dwi Harmawanto, head of the customs and excise office in Langsa city. The original indictment published by the district court listed 82 live animals recovered by customs officers. Civil society organizations said it was the largest wildlife crime case tried in Aceh in years. The seized consignment also contained four dead Moluccan parrots (Eclectus roratus), which are currently listed as least concern on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species owing to its wide distribution in eastern Indonesia. In addition, investigators found a large number of frozen horseshoe crabs, and some skulls of dead animals. Prosecutors successfully proved Agussalim helped load the truck at a meeting point in the village of Alue Bili in the subdistrict of Baktiya. They said he was aware the cargo of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indonesia-driver-sentenced-over-organized-crime-group-trafficking-live-orangutan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/indonesia-driver-sentenced-over-organized-crime-group-trafficking-live-orangutan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321753</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Leaked study warns of irreversible damage from iron ore mine in Guinea UNESCO site</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/leaked-study-warns-of-irreversible-damage-from-iron-ore-mine-in-guinea-unesco-site/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/leaked-study-warns-of-irreversible-damage-from-iron-ore-mine-in-guinea-unesco-site/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 10:36:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Josef SkrdlikOIiver Dunn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24071536/WesternChimpanzee_NzerekoreGuinea_augustofaustinoINaturalistBYNC4.0large-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321728</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Guinea, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Chimpanzees, Critically Endangered Species, Economics, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Illegal Mining, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CONAKRY — Over the next few months, Guinea’s environment ministry will review an environmental and social impact assessment for an iron ore mine in the country’s Nimba Mountains. The project, named Kon Kweni, is to be carved out of Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Comprising a unique combination of tropical [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CONAKRY — Over the next few months, Guinea’s environment ministry will review an environmental and social impact assessment for an iron ore mine in the country’s Nimba Mountains. The project, named Kon Kweni, is to be carved out of Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Comprising a unique combination of tropical forest and high-elevation savanna, the Nimba highlands are a biodiversity hotspot, home to dozens of endemic species. According to the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), these highlands would face “direct and major risks,” “irreversible damage,” and “threat to species survival” if the mining operations go ahead. The impact assessment is an essential step toward securing a mining permit and commencing operations on a project that has been in discussion since 2003, when Guinean mining company SMFG was founded. (The company acquired by U.S. miner Ivanhoe Atlantic in 2019.) Mongabay obtained a copy of the ESIA, a confidential document. The assessment was commissioned by Ivanhoe and carried out by Biotope, a French environmental consultancy, and reveals how Ivanhoe is planning to go about developing the Nimba concession and how the plan is projected to impact Nimba’s ecosystems. In the Mount Nimba Strict Forest Reserve, 2006. Image by Manfred Schweda via Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Guinea’s environmental regulator, the AGEE, a branch of the environment ministry, will assess the project’s anticipated environmental impact and the company’s proposed plans to mitigate damage, alongside the precision and comprehensiveness of its assessments. Seydou Cissé, the AGEE director, said the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/leaked-study-warns-of-irreversible-damage-from-iron-ore-mine-in-guinea-unesco-site/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321728</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Failed promises to clean air in South Africa’s coal belt take toll on public health</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 06:53:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Joe Walsh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24064856/Kusile-Power-Station-South-Africas-largest-plant-at-4800MW-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321552</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Coal, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Health, Pollution, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[eMALAHLENI, South Africa — Elisabeth Moutloang, 49, lives in the shadows of Duvha Power Station, a 3,600-MW coal-fired power station owned and operated by Eskom, South Africa’s national energy provider. Between it and her community of Masakhane, in the south of eMalahleni, is a coal mine where she used to work twenty years ago as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[eMALAHLENI, South Africa — Elisabeth Moutloang, 49, lives in the shadows of Duvha Power Station, a 3,600-MW coal-fired power station owned and operated by Eskom, South Africa’s national energy provider. Between it and her community of Masakhane, in the south of eMalahleni, is a coal mine where she used to work twenty years ago as a weighbridge clerk, monitoring the weight of coal-laden vehicles entering and exiting the mine, before it was abandoned. She left the job after seven months but in that time had developed a serious lung problem, which was detected because the mine conducts a health screening before starting employment and when an employee leaves. “When I went to have my exit medical done, I was told that I have a hole on my left lung. That&#8217;s when I started having sinus problems, that&#8217;s when I started having chest problems. At one stage I had bronchitis,” Moutloang says. “I thought I was going to die.” At the time, she had health insurance from her employer and was able to get the right medicine for the condition. Hers is not a unique story for a resident of eMalahleni (which translates to “place of coal”) located in South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga, 130 kilometers (81 miles) east of Johannesburg. The town lies in the heart of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA), spanning 31,100 km encompassing 12 municipalities, which was designated in 2007 as a priority area for tackling air pollution, because the air quality was very poor. A&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Hope for vultures in Nigeria as some belief-based users adopt plant alternatives</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/hope-for-vultures-in-nigeria-as-some-belief-based-users-adopt-plant-alternatives/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/hope-for-vultures-in-nigeria-as-some-belief-based-users-adopt-plant-alternatives/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 05:44:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24052131/A-hooded-vulture.-Image-by-Mibby23-via-Flickr-CC-BY-NC-2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=321721</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Crime, Culture, Environment, Governance, Plants, Poaching, Traditional Medicine, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Using plants instead of vulture parts for belief-based practices is helping to tackle poaching of the birds in some regions of Nigeria, say conservationists. Vulture populations have collapsed in Nigeria. The country was once home to seven vulture species; recent surveys recorded only two, the critically endangered hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the palm-nut vulture [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Using plants instead of vulture parts for belief-based practices is helping to tackle poaching of the birds in some regions of Nigeria, say conservationists. Vulture populations have collapsed in Nigeria. The country was once home to seven vulture species; recent surveys recorded only two, the critically endangered hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the palm-nut vulture (Gypohierax angolensis). Habitat loss, poisoning and poaching for belief-based uses, such as the use of vulture parts in traditional medicines or to bring luck or success, are the primary drivers of their rapid decline. In recent years conservation groups, including the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), have engaged with traditional medicine practitioners to reduce demand for vulture parts. Stella Egbe, species conservation manager at NCF, told Mongabay that many practitioners are switching to plant alternatives, likely because of awareness-raising, increased law enforcement and higher prices of vulture parts in some regions. Chief Samson Ola Soyoye, vice president of the National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners, told Mongabay the use of vulture parts has a long history in medicinal practices in Nigeria. “That&#8217;s when the vultures were many but now [they are] rapidly going into extinction,” he said. “My view is to look for alternative plants instead of vultures.” More than 20 plants are now used in place of vulture parts in some places, Egbe said, adding that the conservation status of the plant alternatives also needs to be assessed. To date, the African mahogany tree (Khaya ivorensis), also known as oganwo, is the only species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/hope-for-vultures-in-nigeria-as-some-belief-based-users-adopt-plant-alternatives/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321721</doi>				</item>
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