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.

RSS

78 stories

Botswana’s previous governments said relocating the San would improve living conditions and ease the delivery of public services. Justice Minister Nelson Ramaotwana says those policies “have failed thus far.” Image courtesy Michael Taylor/Anthropos Africa.

A historic land restitution process offers new hope for Botswana’s Indigenous San

David Akana 30 Oct 2026

Botswana honors 97-year-old who fought eviction of Indigenous people in Kalahari

David Akana 27 Oct 2026

Bezos Earth Fund and partners pledge $500m for threatened species recovery

David Akana 26 Oct 2026

Mozambique safari operator wins conservation award at COP17

David Akana 23 Oct 2026

COP17: Open letter urges governments to keep extractives out of protected areas

David Akana 23 Oct 2026

Banner image: The Javari River where it forms the border between Peru and Brazil. Photo by Rhett A. Butler for Mongabay.

IUCN’s Madhu Rao on the world’s protected areas: Progress, pressures and the race to 2030

David Akana 21 Oct 2026

Nigeria's Parks chief, Ibrahim Musa Goni. Photo, African Nature Investors Foundation.

Nigeria’s parks chief stresses conservation gains amid struggle to protect wildlife

David Akana 20 Oct 2026

The Kila gold mine, on the northern edge of Nigeria’s Gashaka-Gumti National Park, before its closure in July 2026 by Nigeria’s National Park Service and the Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation, with support from the Nigerian military. Image courtesy of the Africa Nature Investors Foundation.

Nigeria drove thousands of gold miners from a national park. But can it keep them out?

David Akana 17 Oct 2026

Nyaradzo Auxilia Hoto rose from a frontline ranger with Zimbabwe’s Akashinga to a leadership role as a sergeant before becoming a biodiversity officer. Photo courtesy of Akashinga.

The uplifting story of one of Zimbabwe’s pioneering women rangers

David Akana 16 Oct 2026

Vehicles navigate a flooded road in Mozambique’s Maputo province in January 2026. Forecasters warn that the developing El Niño could bring heavier rainfall and flooding to parts of East and Southern Africa. Image by AP Photo.

Act before El Niño: Expert worries about deepening hunger in East and South Africa

David Akana 14 Oct 2026

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs captured October 2024 shows gold mining-related deforestation along the Ituri River in the DRC that runs through the southern portion of Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

Protected areas are not for mining: Interview with WWF’s Nadège Nzoyem

David Akana 13 Oct 2026

Africa’s monitored wildlife populations declined 80% since 1970, new report says

David Akana 7 Oct 2026

How to grow $25K into community-led conservation: Interview with Tanzania’s Mwambao

David Akana 2 Oct 2026

Giraffes roam Kenya’s open savannas, part of the rich wildlife that draws visitors and makes ecotourism an important source of revenue for conservation and local communities. Image by Angela Scott.

From ‘community-based’ to ‘community-led conservation’ in Kenya: Interview with Dickson Kaelo

David Akana 1 Oct 2026

Sea cucumbers are harvested beyond Pemba Island in Tanzania. Here, a sea cucumber rancher displays part of his harvest from a ranch on Mafia Island. Image by Ashoka Mukpo/Mongabay.

A sea cucumber venture in Zanzibar seeks to balance business and conservation

David Akana 28 Aug 2026

Women patrol Tanzania’s Pemba waters in a community-led push to protect the sea

David Akana 27 Jun 2026

According to Lovin Kobusingye, the women who catch, process and sell fish are still largely missing from conversations about Africa's growing blue economy. Photo: Environmental Justice Foundation.

A trailblazing Ugandan championing women in African fisheries: Q&A with Lovin Kobusingye

David Akana 26 Jun 2026

Alice Kazungu, a fishmonger and vice chair of the newly formed Mida Beach Management Unit (BMU), in Watamu, Kenya. Image by David Akana/Mongabay.

In Kenya’s Mida Creek, fishers confront a changing ocean with hope

David Akana 25 Jun 2026

A mangrove-rich coastal landscape in Tanzania. Protecting and restoring mangrove ecosystems is a cornerstone of community-led marine conservation efforts across East Africa. Photo courtesy of Mwambao Coastal Community Network.

Africa’s community-led marine organizations on which 30×30 depends

David Akana 17 Jun 2026

Bonobos in Salonga National Park, the largest tropical rainforest national park in Africa. Researchers are working to habituate wild bonobos to human presence in an effort to support conservation and scientific research. Photo by Alice Péretié / Chengeta Wildlife.

Four years to earn their trust: Habituating bonobos in DRC’s Salonga National Park

David Akana 11 Jun 2026

Rousettus aegyptiacus, commonly known as the Egyptian fruit bat, a widespread species found across much of Africa. Photo courtesy of Paul Wambura.

Evidence linking bats to Ebola inconclusive, scientist says. ‘Solution is not fear’

David Akana 10 Jun 2026

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

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

1 2 3 Next »

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

A collage featuring a Polish soldier and Białowieża Forest.

Bin Maya Gurung spins wool on the rooftop of the enterprise’s headquarters in Naya Padampur on May 19, 2026.

A persian leopard. Image via Peoples Trust for Endangered Species.

you're currently offline