
Articles by Gianluca Cerullo
A childhood obsession with rainforest documentaries took an unexpected turn when I ended up spending much of my undergrad Zoology degree using human dung to catch beetles in the logged forests of Northern Borneo. Although pungent at times, conducting research into an emerging threat to Borneo’s forest biodiversity offered me a window into the power of applied conservation science in improving the management of rainforest ecosystems. It also gave me the chance to help set up a large experiment that explores ways of restoring intensively logged forests.
My major driving force is to make a difference in slowing species extinctions and population declines. I strongly believe that science, journalism and storytelling offer the best ways of testing and then spreading important ideas and solutions to environmental problems. Alongside conservation research in Borneo, Madagascar and the Colombian Andes, I’ve been involved in various multimedia pursuits and have written about how to best manage rainforests in peerreviewed scientific journals. Most recently, I created a short series of optimistic video blogs capturing the high conservation value of Borneo’s intensively logged
forests for birds, mammals and dung beetles. My occasional environmental
podcast explores neglected environmental stories through long-form interviews with scientists and conservationists.
In my spare time, I like to blog on my personal website about adventurous
fieldwork, getting involved, and how to be an effective conservationist. I live in the English countryside and love camping, running, trekking and wild swimming.
After years of being a Mongabay superfan, it is a dream come true to be writing in the same outlet as some of my personal heroes!
You can read more about my projects and research at
http://gianlucacerullo.com/


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For world’s rarest gorillas, camera traps prove pivotal for protection

Tracking white-bellied pangolins in Nigeria, the new global trafficking hub

Should tree plantations count toward reforestation goals? It’s complicated

Land grab, logging, mining threaten biodiversity haven of Woodlark Island

Logging, mining companies lock eyes on a biodiverse island like no other

‘You don’t find orchids; they find you’: Q&A with botanist Edicson Parra

Climate change may make hurricanes and cyclones deadlier, study finds

All you need is human feces: The strange world of dung beetle sampling

Tear down the dams: New coalition strives to enshrine rights of orcas

New map shows every forest matters in helping save the Javan leopard
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Bolivian national park hit hard by forest fires in 2022, satellite data show
- Deforestation ‘out of control’ in reserve in Brazil’s cattle capital
- In Brazil’s Amazon, land grabbers scramble to claim disputed Indigenous reserve
- Gold mining invades remote protected area in Ecuador

Oceans
- Good fisheries management, if enforced, can help sharks and rays recover
- An El Niño is forecast for 2023. How much coral will bleach this time?
- Thai government turns its sights on illegal coral trade
- Mongabay Explains: What’s the difference between artisanal and industrial fishing?

Amazon Conservation
- Joenia Wapichana: ‘I want to see the Yanomami and Raposa Serra do Sol territories free of invasions’
- JBS is accused of misleading investors with suspicious green bonds
- Sonia Guajajara: Turnaround from jail threats to Minister of Indigenous Peoples
- From Japan to Brazil: Reforesting the Amazon with the Miyawaki method

Land rights and extractives
- Tense neighbors: Chinese quarry in Cameroon takes a toll on locals
- FOIA lawsuit suggests Indonesian nickel miners lack environmental licenses
- Shadows of oil in Peru: Shipibo people denounce damage, contamination left by company
- In Liberia, a gold boom leads to unregulated mining and ailing rivers

Endangered Environmentalists
- ‘We lost the biggest ally’: Nelly Marubo on her friend Bruno Pereira’s legacy
- Murders of 2 Pataxó leaders prompt Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to launch crisis office
- Worries and whispers in Vietnam’s NGO community after activist’s sentencing
- Scientists call for end to violence against Amazon communities, environmental defenders

Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
- Aziil Anwar, Indonesian coral-based mangrove grower, dies at 64
- A utopia of clean air and wet peat amid Sumatra’s forest fire ‘hell’

Conservation Effectiveness
- Biodiversity, human rights safeguards crucial to nature-based solutions: Critics
- Protecting canids from planet-wide threats offers ecological opportunities
- Mangrove forest loss is slowing toward a halt, new report shows
- ‘South Asia needs its own tiger plan’: Q&A with Nepal’s Maheshwar Dhakal

Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Tunnel collapse at dam project in orangutan habitat claims yet another life
- Sulawesi nickel plant coats nearby homes in toxic dust
- Indonesia’s grand EV plans hinge on a ‘green’ industrial park that likely isn’t
- Java communities rally as clock ticks on cleanup of ‘world’s dirtiest river’
