David Akana

About

David Akana is the Program Manager for Mongabay’s Africa bureau. He holds advanced degrees in business, international relations, and mass communications.

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31 stories

Planting trees in Rwanda's Nyabihu district. Image courtesy Serrah Galos / WRI.

‘My mother would not be happy with the state of the planet’: Interview with Wanjira Mathai

David Akana 11 Dec 2025

Aerial view of Australia coastline. Credit: James Donaldson

Study warns of major funding gap for 30×30 biodiversity goal

David Akana 11 Dec 2025

Despite a growing planetary crisis, leaders find hope in community efforts

David Akana 11 Dec 2025

What would this scientist tell Trump? Interview with Robert Watson, former chair of the IPCC

David Akana 9 Dec 2025

New report warns of mounting planetary crises — and pathways to hope

David Akana 9 Dec 2025

Global leaders seek action on environment, despite divide

David Akana 8 Dec 2025

Africa’s stakes in global UN environment talks in Nairobi

David Akana 8 Dec 2025

A woman lights her stove to prepare lunch, in the village of Zorro, Burkina Faso.

Fossil fuel failure eclipses Africa’s wins at COP30

David Akana 26 Nov 2025

Logging concession near Ndolou, Gabon

Norway’s multibillion-dollar bet on forests: An interview with Minister Eriksen

David Akana 25 Nov 2025

Global Energy Outlook sees promise in Africa’s power transition — funds permitting

David Akana 13 Nov 2025

‘Our zeal is unwavering’: 3 environmental defenders share trials, tribulations, hopes

David Akana 12 Nov 2025

Cautious optimism greets new global forest fund at COP30

David Akana 7 Nov 2025

Study finds deforestation fuels West Africa’s water crisis

David Akana 7 Nov 2025

Congo Basin communities bear the costs of industrial expansion

David Akana 5 Nov 2025

Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed and TK Kenya's William Ruto at the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa. Image courtesy Africa Climate Summit. (Public Domain)

Leaders pitch homegrown solutions at Africa Climate Summit — and $100b to back them

David Akana 9 Sep 2025

Africa’s freshwater fish face a crisis — but solutions are within reach

David Akana 21 Jul 2025

Billions spent, biodiversity declines — GEF insists it remains fit for purpose

David Akana 18 Jul 2025

Aerial view of the Monboyo River and peatland forest of Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image courtesy of Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace.

New global report urges urgent action to save wetlands

David Akana 16 Jul 2025

WWF’s top leader acknowledges reforms in wake of abuse allegations

David Akana 27 Jun 2025

In Cameroon, forest mapping app helps Baka protect biodiversity and way of life

David Akana, Yannick Kenné 25 Jun 2025

Marlyse in Lobéké National Park, south-east Cameroon. Image by Yannick Kenné for Mongabay.

From porter to conservation leader, the inspiring journey of Marlyse Bebeguewa in Cameroon

David Akana, Yannick Kenné 23 Jun 2025

Protesters bearing signs reading "Global North, pay up" and "Global South, hold the line" outside the plenary hall during COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan. Image by Kiara Worth/UN Climate Change via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/unfccc/54158868096/in/dateposted/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

COP29 ends in $300 billion deal, widespread dismay — and eyes toward COP30

David Akana 25 Nov 2024

Push for traceability of critical minerals gains traction at COP29

David Akana 20 Nov 2024

Young climate advocates against carbon markets at COP29

David Akana 20 Nov 2024

Growing fossil fuel presence at COP concerns many

David Akana 15 Nov 2024

African Development Bank chief calls for ‘green-rich’ continent to also be ‘cash-rich’

David Akana 14 Nov 2024

‘We are not asking for handouts,’ Rwandan President Kagame says at COP29

David Akana 13 Nov 2024

African leaders at COP29 demand funding without further debt

David Akana 12 Nov 2024

At COP29, US envoy upbeat despite looming climate policy changes

David Akana 11 Nov 2024

Woman carrying a solar pannel near Yangambi, DRC.

Africa needs COP29 funding & international finance reform to manage climate change (commentary)

David Akana 4 Nov 2024

Loxodonta africana cyclotis. Forest elephant bull Gamba, Gabon. Image by WWF / Hervé MORAND with courtesy.

WWF report offers glimmer of conservation hope — yet warns of a planet in peril

Anne Nzouankeu, David Akana 10 Oct 2024

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

Izzy Sasada and orangutan

Gregg Treinish in Botswana's Okavango. Photo by Shah Selbe

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