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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58 stories

A man fishes in the Niger Delta near the village of Diebu, Nigeria, Saturday, May 18, 2013. Image by Jon Gambrell / AP Photo.

Despite oil spills in Nigeria’s mangrove forests, Shell continued operations, documents show

Victoria Schneider, David Akana 6 Jun 2026

Will Hackman at an Earth Day event in Washington, D.C. He argues that effective climate messaging should be framed around protecting people and communities, rather than saving the planet. Photo courtesy of Will Hackman.

New book offers tips to translate climate science into political gains

David Akana 2 Jun 2026

A view of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. The book notes that Rwanda is one of the few African countries with official guidance on urban forests. Image by Pacifique Gatete via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

As African cities heat up, a new book argues trees are part of the solution

David Akana 29 May 2026

A miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. Image by Electronics Watch via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

‘Corporate capture’ of critical minerals risks repeating DRC’s extractive past, warns indigenous leader

David Akana 22 May 2026

Kasereka Valyathire Baraka, left, and Munguakonkwa Mihigo Jacques were the latest Virunga rangers killed in the line of duty. Images courtesy of Virunga National Park.

Gunmen kill two rangers in latest deadly attack in DRC’s Virunga National Park

David Akana 22 May 2026

Wild animal consumption on the rise in Central Africa, study finds

David Akana 21 May 2026

Emmanuel Bahati Lukoo is currently deputy director of Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Image courtesy of Emmanuel Bahati Lukoo.

He survived a deadly attack, now he is calling for better working conditions for rangers in DRC

David Akana 19 May 2026

New energy deals for Africa sealed at Nairobi summit

David Akana 15 May 2026

2026 FIFA World Cup threatened by extreme heat: Report

David Akana 15 May 2026

Kenyan President William Ruto speaks during an event at the recently-concluded Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. Image courtesy of the Presidency of Kenya.

Kenya’s Ruto rejects “raw mineral export” future for Africa

David Akana 13 May 2026

Solar panels being installed on a roof of a house in Lagos, Nigeria. Image by Sunday Alamba/AP Photo.

New report questions Africa’s oil and gas promise

David Akana 8 May 2026

Indonesian rainforest. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler.

Forests, fires and fragile gains: Interview with WRI’s Elizabeth Goldman

David Akana 8 May 2026

Fabrice Basile, chargé d’affaires at the European Union Delegation in Kinshasa. Image by David Akana/Mongabay.

‘True success’ is a DRC that no longer needs outside help: Interview with EU envoy Fabrice Basile

David Akana 29 Apr 2026

Luis Arranza at Dzanga Bai. Photo by Nuria Ortega

What it takes to make conservation work in Central Africa: Luis Arranz’s 46-year journey

Rhett Ayers Butler, David Akana 27 Apr 2026

Fabrice, a ranger at Virunga National Park since 2013 and now a Deputy Sector Warden, pauses during a patrol. Virunga has lost more rangers than any other protected area in Africa, illustrating the human cost of conservation and raising the question of whether new conservation models can better protect both biodiversity and those charged with defending it. Image courtesy of Virunga National Park.

Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park: “If conservation creates hardships, it won’t work”

David Akana 20 Apr 2026

The proposed Green Corridor would stretch from Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, all the way to Kinshasa in the west. An aerial view of a village in South Kivu, DRC. Image by MONUSCO via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

DRC: Can the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor turn a war economy into one of hope?

David Akana 20 Apr 2026

Ivonne Kienast at Dzanga Bai

Studying the world’s largest gathering of forest elephants with sound and field observation

Rhett Ayers Butler, David Akana 19 Apr 2026

Emmanuel de Merode at an airstrip near Salonga National Park in DRC in March 2026. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Can nature outcompete war in Eastern Congo?

Rhett Ayers Butler, David Akana 13 Apr 2026

Coffee and cocoa production around Virunga National Park are seen by some proponents of the Green Corridor as activities that can help reduce pressure on forest resources. In Salonga National Park, officials are already encouraging cocoa and coffee cultivation as alternative livelihoods for surrounding communities. Photo: Virunga National Park.

From Virunga to Kinshasa, the DRC embarks on a bold conservation gamble

David Akana 9 Apr 2026

Elephants in Dzanga Bai in Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve, Central African Republic. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

The little-known story of emerging ecotourism in the Central African Republic

David Akana 8 Apr 2026

: Luis Arranz became the co-director of Salonga National Park in the DRC in 2022. Despite the size of the task, he comes across as undaunted. “I like difficult missions,” Arranz told Mongabay. Image courtesy of Luis Arranz.

‘I like impossible missions’: A conservationist’s mission to turn around Salonga’s fate

David Akana 8 Apr 2026

A human rights center opens a path to justice for Indigenous Peoples in the Central African Republic

David Akana 7 Apr 2026

“For mothers and young elephants, Dzanga Bai becomes something of a playground and a very safe place,” says Yvonne Kienast, project manager and head researcher of the Dzanga Forest Elephant Project. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

A unique clearing in Central Africa draws elephants from the dense forests

David Akana 6 Apr 2026

Alphonsine Colombe Irahali provides care during a mobile health campaign in a forest village near Bayanga, Central African Republic. She explains that her work with isolated communities is guided by a personal calling to serve populations often excluded from formal health systems. Image courtesy of Alphonsine Colombe Irahali/WWF Central African Republic.

Far from home, a Rwandan doctor fulfills her calling among CAR forest communities

David Akana 6 Apr 2026

‘Extraordinary’: Second set of rare mountain gorilla twins born in DRC’s Virunga

David Akana 30 Mar 2026

Solar panels power pumps in Sudan. Image © UNDP Sudan/Muhanad Sameer via Flickr.

Middle East conflict exposes Africa’s fossil fuel risks & the case for clean energy

David Akana 10 Mar 2026

‘Political will is everything’: Interview with Kenyan Environment Minister Deborah Barasa

David Akana 26 Jan 2026

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

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Climate Wayfinding with a design background. Image by Amerpsand. Courtesy of Katharine Wilkinson.

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