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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/author/yennikwok/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:22:52 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Stories produced by Yenni Kwok for Conservation news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/author/yennikwok/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Payment scheme in Botswana pays communities to coexist with wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/payment-scheme-in-botswana-pays-communities-to-coexist-with-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/payment-scheme-in-botswana-pays-communities-to-coexist-with-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 12:25:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anna Weekes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/03122155/Pic-1-Harmony-with-Wildlife-story-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334867</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Botswana, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, cameras, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Elephants, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Monitoring, Payments For Ecosystem Services, Technology, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new payments scheme rewards two rural communities on the edge of Botswana’s Okavango Delta for living alongside wildlife. Residents have installed cameras around their villages and earn money from photographs of elephants, lions and other wild animals that might raid vegetable gardens or kill livestock. The scheme is part of the Harmony with Wildlife [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new payments scheme rewards two rural communities on the edge of Botswana’s Okavango Delta for living alongside wildlife. Residents have installed cameras around their villages and earn money from photographs of elephants, lions and other wild animals that might raid vegetable gardens or kill livestock. The scheme is part of the Harmony with Wildlife program, run by conservation nonprofit Wild Impact and safari company &amp;Beyond in partnership with Gogomoga and Tsutsubega, two remote villages with fewer than 500 residents each and no paved roads, schools, shops or electricity. Okavango Delta is home to elephants, hippos and large predators, as well as about 130,000 people, including the Indigenous San communities. Wild Impact’s CEO Andrew Venter told Mongabay in a video call that wildlife commonly enters villages. Elephants, for example, eat crops and damage water boreholes, which need to be heavily fenced, but the communities are “remarkably tolerant” of wildlife, Venter said. In April 2024, rangers from the communities in the area, started helping residents document damage caused by wild animals so they could claim compensation for their losses from Botswana’s wildlife department. This sparked the idea of setting up camera traps to reveal when and where elephants and other large mammals go. The communities then jointly worked with Wild Impact to deploy cameras in a way that didn’t interfere with peoples’ privacy. After two years of watching footage of wild animals roaming through the villages, Wild Impact recognized the need to acknowledge the community’s role in conservation and promote coexistence,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/payment-scheme-in-botswana-pays-communities-to-coexist-with-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334867</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global biodiversity summit ends with shortfall of funding for Africa, despite 30&#215;30 push</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/global-biodiversity-summit-ends-with-shortfall-of-funding-for-africa-despite-30x30-push/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/global-biodiversity-summit-ends-with-shortfall-of-funding-for-africa-despite-30x30-push/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 11:06:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/03110331/CBDCOP17-1678_0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334842</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Armenia and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, climate finance, Conservation Finance, Environmental Policy, Finance, Governance, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[African countries left the United Nations biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, with an unresolved funding gap for conservation. International funding for protected and conserved areas in Africa fell significantly even as countries are working toward a global agreement to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030, known as the 30&#215;30 goal. During [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[African countries left the United Nations biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, with an unresolved funding gap for conservation. International funding for protected and conserved areas in Africa fell significantly even as countries are working toward a global agreement to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030, known as the 30&#215;30 goal. During the Oct. 19-30 summit, roughly $1.8 billion in new funds for global biodiversity conservation was announced. Negotiators agreed to expand the pool of countries that contribute to international biodiversity finance, inviting developing countries like China and Persian Gulf states to contribute. “The first element remains the lack of funding,” Nadège Nzoyem, WWF’s regional director for the Congo Basin, had told Mongabay’s David Akana in response to a question about the biggest challenges in the run-up to the conference. “To improve wildlife monitoring, you need funds. To ensure that the forest is conserved, you also need funds.” With just over four years to go before the 2030 conservation deadline, African nations are closer to reaching the 30&#215;30 goal than the global average, but still off track. On average, African nations protect 19.9% of their land and 17.2% of their seas, compared with the global average of 18.7% of land and 10% of marine landscapes protected. That’s according to a tracker run by SkyTruth, a U.S.-based environmental watchdog. At the Yerevan summit, the African Group, representing 54 nations, had pushed for more financial support to meet global biodiversity targets. A report released during the summit found that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/global-biodiversity-summit-ends-with-shortfall-of-funding-for-africa-despite-30x30-push/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/global-biodiversity-summit-ends-with-shortfall-of-funding-for-africa-despite-30x30-push/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334842</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The RSPO closed the case on First Resources. Indonesian forests kept falling for palm oil (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/the-rspo-closed-the-case-on-first-resources-indonesian-forests-kept-falling-for-palm-oil-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/the-rspo-closed-the-case-on-first-resources-indonesian-forests-kept-falling-for-palm-oil-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 10:27:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tom Johnson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/03102619/First-Resources-RSPO-Commentary-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334809</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Anonymous Companies, Business, Commentary, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Crops, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Food Industry, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Law, Media, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) — as the name suggests — sets itself up as the arbiter of what is sustainable in the palm oil industry. For that to work, it has to do two things. First, it has to make sensible rules about what is and isn’t sustainable. Second, it has to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) — as the name suggests — sets itself up as the arbiter of what is sustainable in the palm oil industry. For that to work, it has to do two things. First, it has to make sensible rules about what is and isn’t sustainable. Second, it has to enforce those rules, to ensure that companies whose actions fall outside them do not get to market their products as sustainable. If it does not police the rules, the rules don’t really mean all that much. Evidence from a new investigation — and newly unearthed court records — shows that it has failed on that second task. In December 2025, the RSPO Complaints Panel issued its final ruling on a case that had dragged on for more than four years. In a succession of NGO reports dating back to 2017, allegations had piled up connecting Singapore-listed, Indonesian-owned First Resources, an RSPO member and major palm oil producer, to a string of other groups that were still clearing rainforests. First Resources had first committed to “zero deforestation” in 2015 and was able to access markets closed to unsustainable palm oil through its RSPO membership. But through its apparent control of so-called “shadow companies,” the theory went, the Fangiono family that owned First Resources was simultaneously able to keep expanding into rainforests. A complaint alleging that the Fangionos controlled two other groups — Ciliandry Angki Abadi and FAP Agri — was first taken up by the RSPO&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/the-rspo-closed-the-case-on-first-resources-indonesian-forests-kept-falling-for-palm-oil-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334809</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US couple sentenced for helping finance trade in rhino horn, puma bones, other wildlife parts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/us-couple-sentenced-for-helping-finance-trade-in-rhino-horn-puma-bones-other-wildlife-parts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/us-couple-sentenced-for-helping-finance-trade-in-rhino-horn-puma-bones-other-wildlife-parts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 10:18:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/03101740/combined-pictures-3-and-4.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334833</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America, United States, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Business, Crime, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Rhinos, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A federal court in the U.S. has sentenced two residents of the state of California for their roles as financial facilitators in a scheme trafficking wildlife body parts between the U.S. and Vietnam. Linh Luu and Kevin Le, a married couple from Anaheim, were sentenced on Oct. 23 to three years of probation and fined [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A federal court in the U.S. has sentenced two residents of the state of California for their roles as financial facilitators in a scheme trafficking wildlife body parts between the U.S. and Vietnam. Linh Luu and Kevin Le, a married couple from Anaheim, were sentenced on Oct. 23 to three years of probation and fined $10,000 each after pleading guilty to violating the Lacey Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Between September 2019 and May 2021, the couple processed $51,100 in payments for a Vietnam-based individual importing American black bear gall bladders and puma bones, while exporting to the U.S. lion teeth, black and white rhino horn pieces, and even a tiger pelt. Trade in all the species involved is restricted under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. Rhinos, tigers, and lions are also listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Federal authorities uncovered the operation through an undercover sting. According to the Justice Department, Luu and Le met an undercover agent in a parking lot in December 2020 and accepted a $12,000 down payment in cash for a piece of rhino horn while discussing ways to evade U.S. banking regulations. The horn was later shipped to the state of Oregon disguised as a household decoration to thwart customs inspectors. Law enforcement officials said dismantling financial facilitators is essential to curbing wildlife crime. “Wildlife trafficking threatens some of the world’s most vulnerable species and fuels criminal networks that profit from their destruction,” Scott Bradford, U.S. attorney for the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/us-couple-sentenced-for-helping-finance-trade-in-rhino-horn-puma-bones-other-wildlife-parts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/us-couple-sentenced-for-helping-finance-trade-in-rhino-horn-puma-bones-other-wildlife-parts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334833</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uncertainty surrounds controversial resort in Zanzibar forest reserve as work stalls</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/uncertainty-surrounds-controversial-resort-in-zanzibar-forest-reserve-as-work-stalls/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/uncertainty-surrounds-controversial-resort-in-zanzibar-forest-reserve-as-work-stalls/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 06:48:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02181729/Banner-image-Copy-of-3_2-Hyperolius-watsonae_DG-1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334746</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Economics, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Land Rights, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In March 2026, contractors built a wall along the edge of the Ngezi-Vumawimbi Forest Reserve on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, marking the boundary of what appears to be the site of the planned Mantuli luxury resort within the reserve. According to sources Mongabay spoke to, no further work has taken place since the wall was completed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In March 2026, contractors built a wall along the edge of the Ngezi-Vumawimbi Forest Reserve on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, marking the boundary of what appears to be the site of the planned Mantuli luxury resort within the reserve. According to sources Mongabay spoke to, no further work has taken place since the wall was completed in the first half of 2026. It stands in the very northwest of the island, between a former rubber plantation and land used by local communities for homes and fields of crops like cassava and sweet potatoes. The forest reserve boundary lies just beyond the community land. Ngezi-Vumawimbi is surrounded by 10 villages, with a combined population of more than 20,000 people, according to Tanzania’s 2022 census. Members of surrounding communities enter the reserve to collect firewood and wild fruit, as well as to tend their ancestors&#8217; graves and perform other spiritual practices. Research has established that rural communities across Pemba Island derive around a third of their annual income from forest resources; around Ngezi, the forest notably provides residents with income from the bungo fruit (Saba comorensis), which locals harvest for sale between July and late September. The moist forests of Ngezi host unique species of animals and plants. Image courtesy of Emily Tanganelli. Risk to biodiversity In September 2025, a number of conservationists and researchers published an open letter opposing the Mantuli project in the journal Science. They said the project risked damaging the 1,500-hectare (3,700-acre) Ngezi-Vumavimbi forest reserve, one of East Africa’s most&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/uncertainty-surrounds-controversial-resort-in-zanzibar-forest-reserve-as-work-stalls/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334746</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Do not ‘engage formally’: UK officials advised against billionaire-run zoo ahead of CITES meeting</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/do-not-engage-formally-uk-officials-advised-against-billionaire-run-zoo-ahead-of-cites-meeting/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/do-not-engage-formally-uk-officials-advised-against-billionaire-run-zoo-ahead-of-cites-meeting/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 06:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elisângela MendonçaSpoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02032118/77_UKZookInvestigation_05-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334634</guid>

					
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LONDON — British officials explicitly advised government ministers to not engage formally with Vantara, the controversial zoo founded and led by Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, according to documents obtained by Mongabay and The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act. Ambani is the son of one of India’s richest men, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LONDON — British officials explicitly advised government ministers to not engage formally with Vantara, the controversial zoo founded and led by Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, according to documents obtained by Mongabay and The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act. Ambani is the son of one of India’s richest men, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, a multinational petrochemical and telecommunications conglomerate. Internal British government communications at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show civil servants strongly cautioning against ministerial interactions with Vantara. A central reason why the officials warned colleagues is the U.K. role chairing a committee at CITES, the global treaty regulating trade in endangered wildlife. “Given the ongoing compliance proceedings and continued scrutiny, we do not advise ministers to engage formally with Vantara at this stage,” an unnamed DEFRA official wrote in an email on July 14. The government redacts names of many civil servants, reflecting a policy of withholding junior officials’ personal information unless they are public-facing or already considered public. In a separate internal briefing document obtained by Mongabay and The Guardian and sent later in July, U.K. officials also raised concerns about how the zoo has sought to acquire rare and endangered species. DEFRA’s headquarters in London. Image by Elisangela Mendonça. The zoo describes itself as a “wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre” with more than 150,000 animals. In 2025, the organization drew official scrutiny after reports alleging it acquired endangered species illegally. The facility is not open&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/do-not-engage-formally-uk-officials-advised-against-billionaire-run-zoo-ahead-of-cites-meeting/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334634</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two public servants in Brazil removed after threatening to poison Indigenous people</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/two-public-servants-in-brazil-removed-after-threatening-to-poison-indigenous-people/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/two-public-servants-in-brazil-removed-after-threatening-to-poison-indigenous-people/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 22:44:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02223937/30863624447_8da8a141d4_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334776</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, Protected Areas, Tropical Deforestation, and Violence]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil’s Indigenous voters helped reelect incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 25. Following his win, two officials in the municipality of Tacuru, Mato Grosso do Sul, allegedly sent WhatsApp messages threatening to poison the water supply used by the Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous people. The officials have been suspended; however, activists argue that’s insufficient [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Brazil’s Indigenous voters helped reelect incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 25. Following his win, two officials in the municipality of Tacuru, Mato Grosso do Sul, allegedly sent WhatsApp messages threatening to poison the water supply used by the Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous people. The officials have been suspended; however, activists argue that’s insufficient to curb violence against Indigenous people. &#8220;Talking about poisoning the water in Mato Grosso do Sul is not just verbal racism; it is not merely a message of hate,” said Matias Benno Rempel, coordinator of the state’s Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi). “It is grounded in concrete reality, drawing from numerous instances where this has been a recurring tactic used against the state’s Indigenous peoples.&#8221; Shortly after it was announced that Lula won the run-off election, the officials allegedly sent WhatsApp audio messages saying that only Indigenous people voted for Lula. “I already said it, we have to [put] poison in the water. Kill those pests in the water,” the messages said, according to reports made by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) on social media and sent to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI). The case is being investigated by the Federal Police and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF). The Tacuru City government suspended the two employees for 20 days, the MPF told Mongabay; disciplinary administrative proceedings were also initiated. For activists, the measures are insufficient “to put an end to the violence, or at least [to] curb acts of violence against the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/two-public-servants-in-brazil-removed-after-threatening-to-poison-indigenous-people/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334776</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous peoples and local communities solidify decision-making powers at COP17</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities-solidify-decision-making-powers-at-cop17/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities-solidify-decision-making-powers-at-cop17/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 21:19:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/03/31072953/Sami-Indigenous-people-tends-a-reindeer-in-Sweden-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334774</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the 2026 U.N. Biodiversity Conference in Armenia (COP17), Indigenous peoples and local communities strengthened their role in the decision-making of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), with the full operationalization of a subsidiary body within the treaty. The Subsidiary body on Article 8(j) (SB8J) was historically created at the 2024 biodiversity summit in Colombia. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At the 2026 U.N. Biodiversity Conference in Armenia (COP17), Indigenous peoples and local communities strengthened their role in the decision-making of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), with the full operationalization of a subsidiary body within the treaty. The Subsidiary body on Article 8(j) (SB8J) was historically created at the 2024 biodiversity summit in Colombia. It allows Indigenous peoples and local communities (IP&amp;LCs) to advise parties, draft decision texts and handle tasks assigned to them, such as developing guidelines for the implementation of global conservation goals with the full participation of IP&amp;LCs. &#8220;We celebrate this historic adoption,&#8221; said Jennifer Corpuz, a negotiator for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), during the closing session. &#8220;With this decision, we strengthen the inclusivity of SB8J, which further enables rights-based implementation of the CBD.&#8221; While the subsidiary body was created in 2024, delegates at COP17 discussed what its full operationalization would mean, such as specifying its function, governance structure, budget, and when it would have meetings. One of the biggest sticking points throughout the two weeks of discussions, revolved around who gets to represent IP&amp;LCs in the body and how that representation must be organized. This included the composition of the co-chairs and friends of the Bureau. One disagreement during the meetings was whether the representatives of the subsidiary body should be from among the five U.N. regional groups (which are groupings of countries) or from the seven sociocultural regions (which capture the diversity of Indigenous peoples like the Sámi, Inuit and many&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities-solidify-decision-making-powers-at-cop17/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334774</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Diverse forests can better withstand extreme weather events, study finds. Here&#8217;s why</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/diverse-forests-can-better-withstand-extreme-weather-events-study-finds-heres-why/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/diverse-forests-can-better-withstand-extreme-weather-events-study-finds-heres-why/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 21:04:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claudia Geib]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02164751/andy-holmes-TxkisEuUs7w-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334712</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Nature-based climate solutions, Plants, Research, Science, Solutions, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forests around the world face mounting pressures as the climate changes.  In order to understand how they will fare, new research suggests looking at the forest for the trees — more specifically, the different types of trees within. The study, published in July in Nature Communications, examined thousands of acres of U.S. woodlands. It found [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forests around the world face mounting pressures as the climate changes.  In order to understand how they will fare, new research suggests looking at the forest for the trees — more specifically, the different types of trees within. The study, published in July in Nature Communications, examined thousands of acres of U.S. woodlands. It found that the higher diversity of tree species in a forest, the better equipped it will be to handle the compound climate extremes that result from global warming, such as when extreme heat occurs at the same time as drought or unusually high rainfall. Previous research had already shown that diversity among tree species, broadly, made forests stronger. But most of this research had been smaller in scale, or on human-planted experimental plots. Confirming that diversity does indeed have a positive effect on the vast, complicated systems of natural forests somewhat surprised the paper’s lead author, Xuetao Qiao. “Before completing the analyses, we were genuinely uncertain whether we would be able to detect this relationship in real forests,” wrote Qiao, a postdoctoral researcher in ecology at Peking University in China, in an email to Mongabay. A mixture of five tree species at the Sardinilla plot in Panama, planted as part of the Tree Diversity Network. The plot reached 25 years in 2026, making it the oldest tropical tree diversity experiment, according to researchers. Image by Florian Schnabel. Additionally, most research into forests’ climate resilience has focused on how they weather single events, such as heat waves.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/diverse-forests-can-better-withstand-extreme-weather-events-study-finds-heres-why/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334712</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Extreme heat no longer confined to summer, extending health risks, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/extreme-heat-no-longer-confined-to-summer-extending-health-risks-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/extreme-heat-no-longer-confined-to-summer-extending-health-risks-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 20:16:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nick Ruggia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02155236/1-A_hot_day_in_Paris-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334688</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, Impact Of Climate Change, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Public Health, Research, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There was a time when, across large swathes of the world, the seasons fed into each other in a relatively predictable cycle of warmer and colder weather. In temperate nations, frigid winter thawed into spring. Spring bloomed into summer, where extreme heat beat down until cooler weather provided autumn’s relief. No longer. A recent study [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There was a time when, across large swathes of the world, the seasons fed into each other in a relatively predictable cycle of warmer and colder weather. In temperate nations, frigid winter thawed into spring. Spring bloomed into summer, where extreme heat beat down until cooler weather provided autumn’s relief. No longer. A recent study of four-plus decades of global weather records found that these seasonal norms have been replaced by an expanded summertime with a dangerous surge in seasonally inappropriate extreme heat days, extending into spring and fall. “We already know that [heat] extremes are becoming more frequent. They’re becoming more intense. They’re lasting longer,” said lead author Casey Ivanovich, a climatologist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in the U.S. “We find that over the last 45 years, both extreme dry and extreme humid heat have expanded in their seasons over about half the globe.” Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., is experiencing an earlier wet heat season and a later dry heat season, which can’t be explained by the current research. While extreme heat days are increasing in both spring and fall globally, researchers note that these shifts vary across regions. Image by Amine Abassir via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The team, including Ivanovich, Benjamin Cook of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and Sonali Shukla McDermid of New York University in the U.S., isolated the hottest 5% of days occurring around the globe using data from both NASA and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather forecasts. They&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/extreme-heat-no-longer-confined-to-summer-extending-health-risks-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/extreme-heat-no-longer-confined-to-summer-extending-health-risks-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334688</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ranchers in Brazil ordered to leave home of Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ranchers-in-brazil-ordered-to-leave-home-of-indigenous-people-living-in-voluntary-isolation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ranchers-in-brazil-ordered-to-leave-home-of-indigenous-people-living-in-voluntary-isolation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 18:25:39 +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/20/2026/11/02141949/cattle-rancher-mato-grosso-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334652</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Cattle, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, Law Enforcement, Protected Areas, Tropical Deforestation, and Uncontacted Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A federal judge in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state has ordered individuals, along with their employees, animals, machinery, equipment and movable property, to leave the Piripkura Indigenous Territory within 120 days. The Oct. 7 ruling reverses an earlier, contentious decision that allowed certain people to remain in the territory until the conclusion of the demarcation process. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A federal judge in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state has ordered individuals, along with their employees, animals, machinery, equipment and movable property, to leave the Piripkura Indigenous Territory within 120 days. The Oct. 7 ruling reverses an earlier, contentious decision that allowed certain people to remain in the territory until the conclusion of the demarcation process. The new ruling comes after Funai, Brazil&#8217;s Indigenous affairs agency, and Brazil’s environmental protection agency (IBAMA) discovered clandestine airstrips for drug trafficking and new deforestation associated with cattle ranching inside the territory. A judge has set a daily fine of 500 Brazilian reais (about $93) for those who remain after 120 days. Since 2008, the area has been under a special protection regime to prevent outsiders from entering the land, though a 2025 court decision provisionally allowed some ranchers to remain. This decision was based on a provision of the contentious Marco Temporal law which stated that, until an Indigenous territory’s demarcation is completed and compensation for improvements made in good faith has been paid, non-Indigenous occupants retain certain rights to possess and use the land. In Dec. 2025, Brazil’s Supreme Court struck down the Marco Temporal Law, declaring it unconstitutional. The territory is home to at least two Indigenous Piripkura people who live in voluntary isolation. Funai has not yet ruled out the possibility that more isolated people live there. The new ruling “represents a very important step forward for the protection of the Piripkura, both for its practical effects and for the recognition&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ranchers-in-brazil-ordered-to-leave-home-of-indigenous-people-living-in-voluntary-isolation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334652</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New index tracks countries’ vulnerability to conflict between large and small-scale fishers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 17:19:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02153353/3-coast-of-Gambia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334678</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Competition between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities  especially in the Global South. A new study looks at which countries are most vulnerable to this competition and other forms of conflict between the two sectors, such as disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear. The study, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Competition between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities  especially in the Global South. A new study looks at which countries are most vulnerable to this competition and other forms of conflict between the two sectors, such as disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear. The study, published Oct. 22 in the journal Nature Food, introduces an index that scores 126 countries on their vulnerability to such conflicts. The scores are based on factors such as how much industrial activity occurs near shore, how reliant countries are on small-scale fishing for food and income, and how weak their governance systems are. Africa ranked as the most vulnerable region, followed by Oceania, Asia and Central and South America. West Africa and South Asia are the most vulnerable subregions, according to the index. At the country level, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mozambique received the highest conflict vulnerability scores worldwide. “There are lots of diverse ways that industrial fisheries can impact small-scale fisheries,” Melissa Cronin, an assistant professor of fisheries oceanography at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the U.S. and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. One of the most straightforward ways is via competition for the “exact same target fish species,” she said. “Because industrial vessels or large-scale vessels are so efficient technologically, they can fish much more quickly and … be this kind of bigger predator in the system and outcompete those small-scale fishers. Cronin said she’d become interested in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334678</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zanzibar&#8217;s seaweed farmers seek better future through science and partnership (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 17:13:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jenny KrusoeLisa KurbielMariam Mwinyi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02164416/IMG_7179-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334703</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Global, Indian Ocean, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[algae, Aquaculture, Business, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Developing Countries, Development, Environment, Gender, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, Sustainable Development, Trade, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Along Zanzibar&#8217;s coastline, thousands of women rise with the tides to cultivate one of our islands&#8217; most important natural resources. Day after day, they wade into the ocean, tending lines of seaweed that support households, strengthen communities, and contribute to a sector that has long been a source of livelihoods and opportunity. Their work reflects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Along Zanzibar&#8217;s coastline, thousands of women rise with the tides to cultivate one of our islands&#8217; most important natural resources. Day after day, they wade into the ocean, tending lines of seaweed that support households, strengthen communities, and contribute to a sector that has long been a source of livelihoods and opportunity. Their work reflects a remarkable combination of skill, perseverance, and adaptation. For decades, these women have sustained an industry that has connected Zanzibar to global markets while providing income in coastal communities. As climate change reshapes marine ecosystems and global demand evolves, the resilience of these farmers offers an important foundation on which to build the next chapter of the seaweed economy. Each of us is directly connected to this work: Mwinyi serves as First Lady of Zanzibar, Kurbiel leads the U.N. Joint SDG Fund, which supports Zanzibar’s seaweed sector, and Krusoe founded AltaSea, which has participated in international efforts to advance research and investment in the sector. Hands-on seaweed cultivation in Zanzibar&#8217;s coastal waters. “Mwani Mamas,” a collective of women seaweed farmers and artisans in Zanzibar, tend their crops using traditional farming methods. Image courtesy of Kevin Gaines/Kelp Ark. We come to this issue from different backgrounds, but we share a common conviction: Zanzibar&#8217;s seaweed farmers are not the challenge facing the industry. They are its greatest asset. The opportunity before us is to ensure that research, innovation, infrastructure, and investment evolve alongside their commitment and expertise. Across the world, agricultural and marine industries are increasingly turning&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/zanzibars-seaweed-farmers-see-better-future-through-science-and-partnership-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334703</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Flash flooding triggers evacuations in Southwest and dire warning for Colorado spa town</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/flash-flooding-triggers-evacuations-in-southwest-and-dire-warning-for-colorado-spa-town/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/flash-flooding-triggers-evacuations-in-southwest-and-dire-warning-for-colorado-spa-town/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 16:36:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02163259/AP26306010946744-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334702</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heavy rains and flash flooding have prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the U.S. Southwest. In Colorado, officials in Pagosa Springs warned Sunday of potentially catastrophic flooding as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 19 feet Sunday night. Officials say anyone in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heavy rains and flash flooding have prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the U.S. Southwest. In Colorado, officials in Pagosa Springs warned Sunday of potentially catastrophic flooding as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 19 feet Sunday night. Officials say anyone in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo, and Piedra rivers should head to a designated shelter at a local church. Officials in Sedona, Arizona, ordered residents in areas near Oak Creek to leave immediately as floodwaters were rising rapidly and multiple people were already trapped in their homes. By Philip Marcelo, Michael Casey and Christopher Weber, Associated Press  Banner image: Members of the Tucson Fire Department&#8217;s Technical Rescue Team rescue a woman from her car after it became stuck in a flooded wash in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. Image courtesy of Mason Kumet/Arizona Luminaria via Associated PressThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/flash-flooding-triggers-evacuations-in-southwest-and-dire-warning-for-colorado-spa-town/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/flash-flooding-triggers-evacuations-in-southwest-and-dire-warning-for-colorado-spa-town/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ecotourism may deter hunters, but also keeps wildlife away, Laos study suggests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 14:32:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02142348/Asian_Black_Bear_cubs_Ursus_thibetanus_in_Khao_Yai_national_park_24405284880-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334667</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Camera Trapping, Conservation, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Environment, Forests, Governance, Hunting, Mammals, Monitoring, Over-hunting, Rainforests, Research, Tourism, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Clouded leopards, sun bears, and other medium to large mammals living in a protected but intensively hunted landscape in northern Laos might be selecting their forest hangouts based on the chatter of hikers and splashes of kayakers, according to new research. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, used camera-trap data from between 2013 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Clouded leopards, sun bears, and other medium to large mammals living in a protected but intensively hunted landscape in northern Laos might be selecting their forest hangouts based on the chatter of hikers and splashes of kayakers, according to new research. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, used camera-trap data from between 2013 and 2019 to investigate whether an award-winning community-based ecotourism initiative that has operated tours in Nam Ha National Protected Area since 1999 brings any benefits to local wildlife populations by creating a safe haven from hunting pressure. “Hunting is a really integral part of the local culture, some of it legal, some of it illegal,” William Bleisch, lead author of the study and former program director at the Hong Kong-based China Exploration and Research Society, told Mongabay in an interview. Bleisch said he and his colleagues were curious to find out whether tourism created “a kind of refuge” where people would forgo hunting either because they could see the economic and social benefits of wildlife tourism or because they were afraid of being reported by guides or tourists. To test their theory, the team set up camera traps at 59 sites across the landscape, both within tourism hotspots and at more remote locations in the forest reserve. They recorded a total 45 species of medium to large mammals across the whole landscape, including 15 globally threatened species. They found an average 4.58 species at sites close to trekking trails and kayaking routes, and almost twice&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334667</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cyanide ponds from illegal mining threaten Amazon Indigenous territory</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/cyanide-ponds-from-illegal-mining-threaten-amazon-indigenous-territory/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/cyanide-ponds-from-illegal-mining-threaten-amazon-indigenous-territory/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 14:12:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Oliveira]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20111822/Ibama-2026_03_25_Op_Xapiri_capa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333213</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Chemicals, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Culture, Degraded Lands, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Gold Mining, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Health, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Grabbing, Law, Law Enforcement, Mercury, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protected Areas, Public Health, Rainforests, Resource Conflict, Water, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With mercury increasingly hard to get, illegal gold miners have turned to a cheaper, deadlier alternative.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cyanide use in illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon is posing a new threat to people and animals in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory. The territory, in the state of Roraima, has been invaded by illegal miners who use cyanide to dissolve gold out of crushed ore, leaving behind ponds of cyanide-contaminated water. In July, the Federal Police arrested two men and seized from them approximately 375 kilograms (827 pounds) of a “chemical compound with characteristics consistent with cyanide,” as well as 1,250 kg (2,756 lb) of activated charcoal — another substance used in gold processing in Roraima. According to the police, the seizures are linked to illegal gold mining in the Indigenous territory. A year earlier, in July 2025, the Federal Police closed down an illegal laboratory in Boa Vista, the state capital, where rocks thought to have come from gold mining and areas of water contaminated with cyanide were found. According to the G1 news outlet, the rocks reportedly came from Raposa Serra do Sol, with miners sending them to the capital for the gold-washing and separation process. Traditionally, illegal miners extract gold from ore using mercury — a toxic substance whose trade is illegal in Brazil. With intensified environmental raids, mercury availability on the informal market has fallen dramatically, according to Brazil’s environmental agency, IBAMA. Because no companies are authorized to legally sell mercury in the country, the product has become significantly more expensive on the black market, where a 1.5-liter (50-ounce) bottle can&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/cyanide-ponds-from-illegal-mining-threaten-amazon-indigenous-territory/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/cyanide-ponds-from-illegal-mining-threaten-amazon-indigenous-territory/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333213</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How bats can be forest architects</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/how-bats-can-be-forest-architects/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/how-bats-can-be-forest-architects/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 13:33:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Romi Castagnino]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02133250/Mongabay_Thumbnail_ForestArchitects_Featured-338x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334657</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bats, Ecosystems, Forests, Mammals, Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amazonian tiny bats are turning leaves into homes. Some species build shelters by biting and folding giant leaves into hidden “tents” suspended in the forest understory. But scientists discovered these bats may be doing something even more important. Inside their droppings are seeds from wild fruits — seeds that Indigenous and local communities later use [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amazonian tiny bats are turning leaves into homes. Some species build shelters by biting and folding giant leaves into hidden “tents” suspended in the forest understory. But scientists discovered these bats may be doing something even more important. Inside their droppings are seeds from wild fruits — seeds that Indigenous and local communities later use to grow edible plants. Now, Bernal Rodríguez Herrera and his team are studying how these overlooked bats could help regenerate forests and support food systems in Amazonian communities. If you want to know more about his research and these bats’ secrets, the full-documentary is now available on Vimeo. Special thanks: Emi Kondo and Bernal Rodríguez Herrera, Leaf ArchitectsThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/how-bats-can-be-forest-architects/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/how-bats-can-be-forest-architects/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334657</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Togo’s growing belief-based use trade sweeping up avian biodiversity, says study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/togos-growing-belief-based-use-trade-sweeping-up-avian-biodiversity-says-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/togos-growing-belief-based-use-trade-sweeping-up-avian-biodiversity-says-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 13:31:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02132742/Image_1_csp270423-fig-0003-m-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334660</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Togo, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Crime, Governance, Parrots, Raptors, Trade, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One of West Africa’s largest markets selling wildlife for belief-based uses has expanded rapidly over the past decade, according to a recent study. Researchers surveyed the Akodessewa Fetish Market in Lomé, Togo, between 2022 and 2024 and found a booming trade in both live and dead birds and their parts. They registered more than twice [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One of West Africa’s largest markets selling wildlife for belief-based uses has expanded rapidly over the past decade, according to a recent study. Researchers surveyed the Akodessewa Fetish Market in Lomé, Togo, between 2022 and 2024 and found a booming trade in both live and dead birds and their parts. They registered more than twice the number of stands selling wildlife and more than four times the number of bird species compared to surveys conducted in 2016. In total, 82 bird species from 36 families were on offer. “When you look at the amount of wildlife available in West Africa, the market should have gotten smaller,” Nico Arcilla, co-author on the paper and president of the International Bird Conservation Partnership, told Mongabay. “But instead, it&#8217;s the opposite. It&#8217;s more than doubled in size.” Hornbills were the most traded bird group, while barn owls (Tyto alba), northern white-faced owls (Ptilopsis leucotis), double-spurred spurfowl (Pternistis bicalcaratus) and black kites (Milvus migrans) had the most individuals on sale. The study found that the larger the bird, the more likely it was to be sold. Species whose sale is listed by CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, as either restricted or regulated also appeared more frequently. This is a troubling sign that restrictions are not disrupting trade, said Arcilla. All traders at the market were from Benin and from the Fon ethnic group. Threatened species, including birds presumed to be extinct in Togo, were also found to be on offer. This included the Yellow-casqued&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/togos-growing-belief-based-use-trade-sweeping-up-avian-biodiversity-says-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/togos-growing-belief-based-use-trade-sweeping-up-avian-biodiversity-says-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334660</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Experts warn of long-term health risks as Indonesia’s wildfire haze takes a growing toll</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/experts-warn-of-long-term-health-risks-as-indonesias-wildfire-haze-takes-a-growing-toll/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/experts-warn-of-long-term-health-risks-as-indonesias-wildfire-haze-takes-a-growing-toll/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 08:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/10131647/warga-Kalsel-saat-kabut-asap-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334640</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate, Disasters, El Nino, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, One Health, Peatlands, Planetary Health, Pollution, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Michael’s 20-month-old daughter began coughing and had shortness of breath in early October, as thick haze from wildfires blanketed Balikpapan, the capital of Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province. He and his wife took the toddler to a private hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. An X-ray showed an infiltrate in the upper part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Michael’s 20-month-old daughter began coughing and had shortness of breath in early October, as thick haze from wildfires blanketed Balikpapan, the capital of Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province. He and his wife took the toddler to a private hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. An X-ray showed an infiltrate in the upper part of the girl’s left lung. “We were told that one factor that could have contributed to the illness was the smoke, which has also been getting thicker in Balikpapan,” Michael told Mongabay Indonesia on Oct. 14, 2026. With the air quality index reaching “unhealthy” levels in the city, the couple limited their daughter’s time outdoors. A day later, more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) away, in the East Kalimantan city of Samarinda, a 14-month-old baby died after suddenly experiencing shortness of breath. The family of the toddler, Yazlyn Syanindita, suspects she died because of the thick smog enveloping the city. “Her shortness of breath was so sudden,” Yazlyn’s grandfather, Sarno, told Mongabay Indonesia. “She had no previous illnesses.” Her mother Cindy, 25, said what happened to her daughter shouldn&#8217;t happen to other children and urged the government not to downplay the impact of fires. “The government must not turn a blind eye,” she said, as quoted by BBC Indonesia. “Don’t say the haze isn’t severe. Many people are suffering from acute respiratory infections. Yesterday, in the inpatient ward, I saw three toddlers struggling to breathe.” Health risks also extend to those fighting the fires. At&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/experts-warn-of-long-term-health-risks-as-indonesias-wildfire-haze-takes-a-growing-toll/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/experts-warn-of-long-term-health-risks-as-indonesias-wildfire-haze-takes-a-growing-toll/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334640</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Venomous Indonesian primate feared extinct still clings on &#8211; but threats persist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/venomous-indonesian-primate-feared-extinct-still-clings-on-but-threats-persist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/venomous-indonesian-primate-feared-extinct-still-clings-on-but-threats-persist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 07:47:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02074704/Nycticebus_bancanus_Fig3B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334641</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Habitat, Islands, Mammals, Monitoring, Plantations, Primates, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Science, Threatened species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A small, venomous primate that scientists thought had gone extinct still survives on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, and to the communities there was never really “lost,” according to a recent study. The Bangka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), native to parts of Borneo and the island of Bangka, was declared critically endangered, and possibly extinct, on the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A small, venomous primate that scientists thought had gone extinct still survives on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, and to the communities there was never really “lost,” according to a recent study. The Bangka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), native to parts of Borneo and the island of Bangka, was declared critically endangered, and possibly extinct, on the IUCN Red List in 2015, after last being documented in the scientific literature around 1937. While there have been sporadic observations of the loris since then, none have been documented in any scientifically published studies, according to the study’s authors. In the latest study, researchers analyzed more than 90 Bangka slow lorises that the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center, a local NGO, had rescued from backyards, roadsides, and plantations after being contacted by residents. “What surprised me the most was that such a distinctive and fascinating primate could remain almost completely overlooked by science for nearly a century,” said study co-author Timon Glaw, a graduate student in nature conservation and biodiversity management at the Haus des Meeres Aqua Terra Zoo in Vienna, Austria. Glaw co-authored the paper alongside researchers from Alobi and the Taman Safari Prigen Conservation Breeding Ark in Indonesia. In 2021 alone, Alobi rescued 43 lorises, of which they could map 39 from across all four districts of Bangka, including Pangkalpinang, the largest city on the island. This indicates that the species remains widely distributed across the island, the authors write. But human activities pose persistent hazards. The paper noted that in 2021, seven&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/venomous-indonesian-primate-feared-extinct-still-clings-on-but-threats-persist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/venomous-indonesian-primate-feared-extinct-still-clings-on-but-threats-persist/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334641</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Environmental defenders testify about attacks in Latin America linked to Canadian mining companies</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/environmental-defenders-testify-about-attacks-in-latin-america-linked-to-canadian-mining-companies/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/environmental-defenders-testify-about-attacks-in-latin-america-linked-to-canadian-mining-companies/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2026 18:16:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Annie Burns-Pieper]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/31174758/a.-Photo-3-Earthworks-Mayerly-IACHR-Hearing-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334622</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada, Colombia, and Panama]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples, Mining, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Oct. 27 from representatives of six countries alleging harm linked to Canadian mining companies&#8217; operations, including four alleged attacks on environmental defenders. The regional agency gathered in Panama to examine Canada’s obligations with respect to its extractive companies and their impact overseas on human rights and the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Oct. 27 from representatives of six countries alleging harm linked to Canadian mining companies&#8217; operations, including four alleged attacks on environmental defenders. The regional agency gathered in Panama to examine Canada’s obligations with respect to its extractive companies and their impact overseas on human rights and the environment. Canada is home to about half of the world’s publicly listed mining and mineral exploration companies with operations both in Canada and abroad. The latest revelations add to long-standing concerns about the conduct of Canadian mining companies overseas. Marco Manobanda, an Indigenous fish-farmer from Las Naves, Ecuador, testified that the El Domo copper and gold mine, owned by two Vancouver-based companies, Silvercorp Metals Inc. and Salazar Resources Ltd., is causing deforestation and water contamination where he lives, impacting the ecosystem and his livelihood. “If this mining continues, they&#8217;re going to keep polluting our water, and we&#8217;ll run out of resources. And since we make our living from that land and its resources, where are we supposed to go?” Manobanda said. The hearing comes about four months after the government eliminated the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), which was created to investigate complaints about human rights abuses and environmental harm linked to Canadian companies in the garment, mining and oil and gas sectors operating outside of Canada. In the wake of this decision, advocates say they have been left with limited options to seek meaningful redress. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/environmental-defenders-testify-about-attacks-in-latin-america-linked-to-canadian-mining-companies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334622</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Leaders grapple with finance and harmful subsidies at UN’s COP17 biodiversity conference</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/leaders-grapple-with-finance-and-harmful-subsidies-at-uns-cop17-biodiversity-conference/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/leaders-grapple-with-finance-and-harmful-subsidies-at-uns-cop17-biodiversity-conference/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2026 07:07:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/31062001/DSC_9185-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334599</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Finance, and Finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YEREVAN, Armenia — Visitors entering the main hallway of the 2026 U.N. biodiversity conference (COP17) encounter a mural of a herd of elephants. The installation, led by the NGO Friends of the Earth International, doesn’t celebrate the gains that some elephant populations have made in recent decades. Instead, it uses the &#8220;elephants in the room&#8221; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YEREVAN, Armenia — Visitors entering the main hallway of the 2026 U.N. biodiversity conference (COP17) encounter a mural of a herd of elephants. The installation, led by the NGO Friends of the Earth International, doesn’t celebrate the gains that some elephant populations have made in recent decades. Instead, it uses the &#8220;elephants in the room&#8221; metaphor for the entrenched, but often-ignored financial systems that lead to widespread biodiversity destruction. &#8220;It is astounding that the global economy is spending only $1 on nature protection for each $30 that it spends on nature destruction,&#8221; said An Lambrechts, a biodiversity politics expert with Greenpeace International, at a COP17 press conference. Lambrechts was referring to a key finding from the State of Finance for Nature 2026 report from the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). WWF International&#8217;s recent Living Planet report found that populations of wild vertebrates fell by an average of 73% between 1970 and 2022. The authors tagged climate change, agriculture and — notably — the flow of money toward nature-averse industries and practices. Industrial logging in Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland province. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay. The 196 parties that adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in 2022 laid out the ambition in its Target 18 of slashing $500 billion annually from subsidies and other financial support for activities that harm biodiversity. Unsustainable fishing and industrial agriculture, for example, contribute directly to the dwindling of plant, animal and fungal life. But financial support for such “nature-negative” activities remains high — at $7.3&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/leaders-grapple-with-finance-and-harmful-subsidies-at-uns-cop17-biodiversity-conference/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334599</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World Lemur Day: How can we save these primates’ forest homes?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-lemur-day-how-can-we-save-these-primates-forest-homes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-lemur-day-how-can-we-save-these-primates-forest-homes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 23:57:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/15104055/Verreauxs-Sifaka-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334597</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Hunting, Lemurs, Mammals, Primates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 100 known species of lemurs live in Madagascar. These primates with large eyes, a pointed snout, and long bushy tails are found only in the island country, where they usually live in large groups on trees. Lemurs are one of the world’s most threatened groups of primates, under pressure from the loss of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 100 known species of lemurs live in Madagascar. These primates with large eyes, a pointed snout, and long bushy tails are found only in the island country, where they usually live in large groups on trees. Lemurs are one of the world’s most threatened groups of primates, under pressure from the loss of their habitat and hunting. On World Lemur Day, celebrated on the last Friday of October, we highlight some recent Mongabay stories about these remarkable animals. Restoring a connection between forests offers hope for lemurs In eastern Madagascar, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and the Analamazoatra Special Reserve shelter around a dozen species of lemurs, alongside an extraordinary array of other animals and plants, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Once connected by continuous rainforest, the landscape between the two parks was fractured in the 1960s, when large stretches were cleared for agriculture and cattle pasture. What remained was a patchwork of forest fragments separated by degraded land, limiting wildlife movement and threatening biodiversity. Mongabay’s Marina Martinez reported in April about how a coalition of researchers, conservationists and local communities is rebuilding the forest corridor.  Launched in 2023, the reforestation project aims to restore 150 hectares (370 acres) of native forest and reconnect these two critical habitats. Lemurs like invasive guava fruits, and that could be a problem for reforestation Restoring native forests is critical for lemurs. However, once damaged, forests in Madagascar are vulnerable to takeover by invasive guava trees, whose seeds the lemurs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-lemur-day-how-can-we-save-these-primates-forest-homes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334597</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The women who won&#8217;t let go: Female-led resistance to development harms across Asia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-who-wont-let-go-female-led-resistance-to-development-harms-across-asia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-who-wont-let-go-female-led-resistance-to-development-harms-across-asia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 23:50:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kannikar Petchkaew]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30233650/WB-women-4_banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334537</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Culture, Environment, Environmental Law, Gender, Governance, Law, Politics, Protests, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Now in her mid-70s, Sompong Viengchan has seen 16 prime ministers and 26 cabinets come and go during her fight against a dam upstream of her village. Governments change; her demand for justice remains. Since 1990, Sompong  and her neighbors along the Mun and Mekong rivers have fought relentlessly to prove that the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Now in her mid-70s, Sompong Viengchan has seen 16 prime ministers and 26 cabinets come and go during her fight against a dam upstream of her village. Governments change; her demand for justice remains. Since 1990, Sompong  and her neighbors along the Mun and Mekong rivers have fought relentlessly to prove that the 136 MW multipurpose Pak Mun Dam, co-funded by the World Bank Group and built to deliver promised prosperity, instead took their livelihoods. At a people’s tribunal in Bangkok in October, aimed at highlighting the social and environmental impacts of IMF and World Bank-funded projects, Sompong  told the story of the women-led Pak Mun Dam movement to 400 women land defenders from more than 30 nations. &#8220;Living in the village downstream with no agricultural land, we rely primarily on fishing,” Sompong  said. “Blasting rock for dam construction wiped out local fish. We faced financial ruin — investments vanished and were replaced by debt; livelihoods became impossible to sustain. Families were forced to send their children to big cities to work, and when the area flooded, the entire community had to relocate.” In 2000, the World Commission on Dams, a body established by the World Bank and IUCN, determined the dam took houses and land, or both, from around 1,700 households and that fish catches in the reservoir and directly upstream declined by  60-80%. &#8220;Building a dam is the same as burying a person alive,” Sompong said. “It doesn’t kill you right away, but it ruins your&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-who-wont-let-go-female-led-resistance-to-development-harms-across-asia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334537</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Given a chance, women-led microenterprises uplift Nepali communities &#038; conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 18:02:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Emma White]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30164427/Spinning-Wool2_NadiaWhite_19May2026-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334507</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Gender, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Plants, Tigers, Traditional Knowledge, Trees, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAYA PADAMPUR, Nepal — A spinning wheel whirs on a rooftop in Naya Padampur in south-central Nepal, sending ivory strands of yarn through Bin Maya Gurung’s practiced fingers. Smile lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she works. Her limbs move in synchrony with the wheel, both integral parts of the machine that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAYA PADAMPUR, Nepal — A spinning wheel whirs on a rooftop in Naya Padampur in south-central Nepal, sending ivory strands of yarn through Bin Maya Gurung’s practiced fingers. Smile lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she works. Her limbs move in synchrony with the wheel, both integral parts of the machine that ensures her family’s well-being. She’s sitting at the top of a building that houses a wool spinning enterprise, which has blossomed in the years since she learned to spin wool in the early 2000s. It’s one of many women-led microenterprises that have sprouted across the country. The past few decades have seen many women in rural Nepal venture into the business environment for the first time, as governmental regulations and societal norms started to shift. The benefits for women entrepreneurs are significant, with a 2022 study conducted in the Parbat district of Nepal showing that 96% of women involved in microenterprises felt confident in supporting their families with the money they earned. The microenterprises are also important in another way: They provide an alternative source of income to rural families, lessening their reliance on forest products such as timber. Successful women-led microenterprises — in Nepal and elsewhere — have provided a symbiosis between land and community, allowing conservation efforts to flourish while acting as a catalyst for local income generation and women’s empowerment. The growth of these microenterprises in Nepal mirrors a growing global recognition of the benefits of women’s involvement in both forests and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334507</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US lawmakers urge Trump administration to oppose Colombia&#8217;s Amazon aerial spraying plans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/us-lawmakers-urge-trump-administration-to-oppose-colombias-amazon-aerial-spraying-plans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/us-lawmakers-urge-trump-administration-to-oppose-colombias-amazon-aerial-spraying-plans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 17:56:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30175011/AP26302569506005-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334582</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Drug Trade, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A group of U.S. lawmakers is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio not to support Colombia’s plans to restart aerial spraying of coca crops in the Amazon, warning of risks to human health and the environment. The Colombian government says spraying is needed to combat cocaine production and weaken armed groups, but critics argue the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A group of U.S. lawmakers is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio not to support Colombia’s plans to restart aerial spraying of coca crops in the Amazon, warning of risks to human health and the environment. The Colombian government says spraying is needed to combat cocaine production and weaken armed groups, but critics argue the decades-old strategy has failed and could accelerate deforestation. The lawmakers are questioning Washington’s potential involvement and calling for alternatives that protect rural communities and the rainforest. Despite decades of U.S.-backed counternarcotics efforts, Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine producer.  By Steven Grattan, Associated Press  Banner image: A small coca crop is visible on the outskirts of Puerto Asis, Colombia, Nov. 26, 2025. Image courtesy of Ivan Valencia, Associated Press This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/us-lawmakers-urge-trump-administration-to-oppose-colombias-amazon-aerial-spraying-plans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334582</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Aztec methods and crocodiles: How biologists are restoring mangroves in Mexico</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/aztec-techniques-and-crocodiles-how-biologists-are-restoring-mangroves-in-mexico/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/aztec-techniques-and-crocodiles-how-biologists-are-restoring-mangroves-in-mexico/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 17:05:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laura Allen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30152724/Cocodrilo4-Morelets-crocodile--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334543</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Mexico and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Habitat, Herps, Mangroves, Reptiles, Restoration, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2017, Omar Trujillo Santos was sitting in a small wooden boat holding a crocodile, its skin soft like a snake. He helped untie the reptile, a juvenile Morelet’s crocodile, and carefully guided it into the dark water. It swam off to find a new home in the Alvarado Lagoons System in Veracruz, southeastern Mexico, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2017, Omar Trujillo Santos was sitting in a small wooden boat holding a crocodile, its skin soft like a snake. He helped untie the reptile, a juvenile Morelet’s crocodile, and carefully guided it into the dark water. It swam off to find a new home in the Alvarado Lagoons System in Veracruz, southeastern Mexico, completing the final phase of a mangrove restoration project. Studies suggest Mexico, a country rich in mangroves, has experienced the highest degree of mangrove loss in the Americas. Conservation and reforestation efforts seek to reverse this loss, yet many projects fail to restore a mature forest. Seedlings and young trees too often die due to improper planting techniques or unsuitable sites. Led by REVIVE, a nonprofit that works to boost biodiversity in the region, the Veracruz project aims to restore not just trees, but the mangrove ecosystem as a whole by employing Aztec-inspired planting methods to rebuild forests and using crocodiles to help maintain them. According to REVIVE, this technique has resulted in a fully restored forest. Conservationists involved in the project say they hope this success encourages others to consider how crocodiles could be used to benefit future mangrove restoration projects. Omar Trujillo Santos stands in front of a chinampa planted with mangrove seedings grown in a nursery. Image from Soto et al., 2026 (preprint) (CC BY 4.0). An ancient technique In 2006 when biologist Aníbal Ramírez Soto began working with mangroves in the wetlands around the Alvarado lagoons, he planted mangrove seedlings in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/aztec-techniques-and-crocodiles-how-biologists-are-restoring-mangroves-in-mexico/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334543</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How citizen scientists are mapping Pune’s trees, with hopes of a greener future</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-citizen-scientists-are-mapping-punes-trees-with-hopes-of-a-greener-future/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-citizen-scientists-are-mapping-punes-trees-with-hopes-of-a-greener-future/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 16:53:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stephin Thomas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30142521/WhatsApp-Image-2026-10-26-at-23.36.38-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334527</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cities, Citizen Science, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Fellows, Mapping, Plants, Research, Science, Technology, Trees, urban ecology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PUNE, India — On a quiet Saturday morning, away from the usual urban rush of Pune, citizens gather at the Madhavrao Scindia Garden along the banks of the Mula River. Out on the water, two fishers quietly navigate their boat surrounding a dense forested area on the other side of the river; the cooling shade [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PUNE, India — On a quiet Saturday morning, away from the usual urban rush of Pune, citizens gather at the Madhavrao Scindia Garden along the banks of the Mula River. Out on the water, two fishers quietly navigate their boat surrounding a dense forested area on the other side of the river; the cooling shade and chirping birds feel like a natural alarm that you would want to listen to every day. Such a setting is increasingly rare in a bustling metropolis like Pune, where the population is estimated at 7.9 million, yet these volunteers arrive every weekend equipped with measuring tapes, smartphones and a keen curiosity to explore and document the trees in the city’s riparian zones. On this particular Saturday, a group of seven visits a city park along a riverbank, where trees stand tall against the sky. The volunteers belong to Pune River Revival, a grassroots movement formed in response to the Pune Riverfront Development Project, a large urban redevelopment plan along the Mula-Mutha rivers aimed at creating promenades, recreational spaces and infrastructure along the riverbanks. The total estimated cost of the project is around 4,727 crore rupees (about $500 million). &#8220;We started organizing the tree mapping exercise systematically in 2024,&#8221; explains Raghunandan Patil, a volunteer with the group. &#8220;While our volunteers used to do tree mapping earlier manually, at that time, the group was not well-versed in the technical details of how to map a tree properly and create thorough documentation.&#8221; Patil adds that now they&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-citizen-scientists-are-mapping-punes-trees-with-hopes-of-a-greener-future/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334527</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After Botswana, Nepal tries artificial scent marking to fend big cats off villages</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 14:45:17 +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/20/2026/10/30131038/leopard-nepal-zoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334483</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Botswana, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biology, Buffer Zones, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Leopards, low-tech, Mammals, Predators, Research, Science, Snow Leopards, Technology, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In March 2025, a tiger followed a forest trail through Nepal’s Khata Corridor until it reached a small iron stake next to the path. Attached to it was a dispenser releasing a laboratory-made version of a chemical found in the scent markings big cats use to mark their territory and communicate with other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In March 2025, a tiger followed a forest trail through Nepal’s Khata Corridor until it reached a small iron stake next to the path. Attached to it was a dispenser releasing a laboratory-made version of a chemical found in the scent markings big cats use to mark their territory and communicate with other cats. A camera trap recorded the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) approaching the station. The curious cat investigated the smell and then stopped, one of multiple instances of tigers and leopards coming up to these scent stations and then turning back the way they came. These encounters offer an early glimpse into an international experiment seeking to harness big cats’ territorial instinct in order to keep them away from livestock, farms and human settlements. But researchers caution that a tiger turning away from an experimental station is not yet solid evidence that the method can prevent livestock attacks. “It’s a long way from proving that — and we don’t claim otherwise,” said Martin Gilbert, a wildlife veterinarian, epidemiologist and associate professor at Cornell University in the U.S. who helped bring the research to Nepal. “At this stage, we’re asking a more fundamental question: Can these compounds reliably alter a predator’s behavior?” A woman with her goats in the buffer area in Bardiya. Image by Tulsi Rauniyar for Mongabay. Across Nepal’s buffer-zone settlements, encounters with tigers, leopards and snow leopards have led communities to use electric fences, flashing lights and other deterrents to protect livestock and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334483</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Angola designates Serra do Pingano as a protected area amid rapid forest loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/angola-designates-serra-do-pingano-as-a-protected-area-amid-rapid-forest-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/angola-designates-serra-do-pingano-as-a-protected-area-amid-rapid-forest-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 13:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Tjyakala]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30131118/i.-Serra-do-Pingano_Angola_logged1_c_Raffael-Ernst_SGN-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334509</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Deforestation, Dry Forests, Elephants, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Primary Forests, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The last large tracts of forest in Serra do Pingano, in northern Angola, are disappearing rapidly, leaving the landscape increasingly bare. Over the past two decades, central Serra do Pingano lost 43% of its original forest cover, while the wider Serra do Pingano Forest Ecosystem (SPFE) lost 21%, equivalent to 536 square kilometers (207 square [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The last large tracts of forest in Serra do Pingano, in northern Angola, are disappearing rapidly, leaving the landscape increasingly bare. Over the past two decades, central Serra do Pingano lost 43% of its original forest cover, while the wider Serra do Pingano Forest Ecosystem (SPFE) lost 21%, equivalent to 536 square kilometers (207 square miles) of forest. The findings appeared in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution earlier this year. Two of the paper&#8217;s authors are Angolan. Signed by 11 researchers from multiple institutions, the study serves both as an urgent warning and as a call to action to protect what remains of the vanishing forest. After years of appeals, the Angolan government established the Serra do Pingano Conservation Area in April. Located in Uíge province, the SPFE encompasses several densely forested mountain ranges of high biological value. Pingano forms an ecological transition zone between tropical rainforest and miombo savanna, bringing together elements of western Central African forests and species and evolutionary lineages associated with southern and eastern Africa. It also shelters some of Angola&#8217;s last remaining tropical forest south of the Congo River. The Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution study brings together evidence from years of research into the SPFE. One of its co-authors spoke with Mongabay. Thea Lautenschläger, a German ethnobotanist specializing in northern Angola and scientific director of the Botanical Garden of Hamburg, described the threats facing the forest and the species that depend on it. “It is difficult to say to what extent our work directly influenced the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/angola-designates-serra-do-pingano-as-a-protected-area-amid-rapid-forest-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334509</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A historic land restitution process offers new hope for Botswana&#8217;s Indigenous San</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-historic-land-restitution-process-offers-new-hope-for-botswanas-indigenous-san/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-historic-land-restitution-process-offers-new-hope-for-botswanas-indigenous-san/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 09:33:55 +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/20/2026/10/30082944/IMG_7790-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334343</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Botswana, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Law, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nearly two decades after winning a landmark court case against their forced removal from ancestral lands in Botswana&#8217;s Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Indigenous San communities may finally be closer to securing broader, legally protected rights to the land they have called home for generations. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve was established in 1961 both to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Nearly two decades after winning a landmark court case against their forced removal from ancestral lands in Botswana&#8217;s Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Indigenous San communities may finally be closer to securing broader, legally protected rights to the land they have called home for generations. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve was established in 1961 both to protect wildlife and to provide a sanctuary where San communities could continue their traditional way of life. But beginning in the 1990s, the government relocated residents to settlements outside the reserve. The United Nations documented how the authorities justified these policies on conservation grounds and the costs of providing public services. Some residents moved under government resettlement programs, while others resisted. Following the withdrawal of basic services in 2002, further forced relocations led to a prolonged legal battle. In December 2006, Botswana&#8217;s High Court ruled in favor of Roy Sesana and other San applicants, finding that they had been unlawfully deprived of possession of their land. But the ruling did not resolve the wider question of Indigenous land rights in that area. A change of government in November 2024 opened the possibility of a different approach. Botswana&#8217;s new president, Duma Boko, a former human rights lawyer involved in the San people&#8217;s legal struggle, had firsthand knowledge of their grievances. In March 2025, his administration announced an interministerial committee to examine the situation of San communities, including their relocation, land claims, cultural rights and possible return to the reserve. The committee subsequently began consultations with affected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-historic-land-restitution-process-offers-new-hope-for-botswanas-indigenous-san/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334343</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Legal loopholes and weak enforcement leave India&#8217;s exotic pet trade hard to police</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/legal-loopholes-and-weak-enforcement-leave-indias-exotic-pet-trade-hard-to-police/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/legal-loopholes-and-weak-enforcement-leave-indias-exotic-pet-trade-hard-to-police/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 06:29:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30062900/5185845064_4edf537494_o-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=334491</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Crime, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law, Pet Trade, Pets, Regulations, Social Media, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rising disposable incomes, social media algorithms, and pop culture influences have led to a surge in demand for exotic pets in India, reports Mongabay India’s Arathi Menon. A recent report by the Humane World for Animals (HWA) valued India’s exotic pet market at $42.6 million in 2024, and projected it will nearly double by 2030. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rising disposable incomes, social media algorithms, and pop culture influences have led to a surge in demand for exotic pets in India, reports Mongabay India’s Arathi Menon. A recent report by the Humane World for Animals (HWA) valued India’s exotic pet market at $42.6 million in 2024, and projected it will nearly double by 2030. Despite laws in the country to prevent illegal wildlife trade, trafficking persists due to gaps in enforcement and unmonitored online sales. Online platforms and closed messaging groups provide discreet environments for transactions, bypassing health screenings and documentation requirements. Sumanth Bindumadhav, India director for HWA, said social media platforms normalize exotic pet ownership. “The algorithms amplify it: Videos that receive a lot of engagement and views are shown to more people, which can lead to more people wanting these animals. The interactions facilitated at petting zoos can also create demand.” In 2020, India’s environment ministry introduced a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme allowing owners of nonnative pets to declare their animals to the government without facing prosecution. More than 40,000 people across 30 states and union territories declared their exotic pets, according to the HWA report. India also updated its wildlife law to mandate the registration of possession, transfer, birth, and death of species listed under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. Jose Louies, CEO of the nonprofit Wildlife Trust of India, said the amendment gave forest departments a crucial legal mechanism to act against illicit nonnative animal possession within Indian borders. However, Shubhra Sotie, an environmental lawyer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/legal-loopholes-and-weak-enforcement-leave-indias-exotic-pet-trade-hard-to-police/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334491</doi>				</item>
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