
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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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
- Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area
- Deforestation on the rise as poverty soars in Nigeria
- Refuge of endangered ‘African unicorn’ threatened by mining, poaching, deforestation
- Endangered chimps ‘on the brink’ as Nigerian reserve is razed for agriculture, timber

Oceans
- Easing of crackdown sees Vietnam boats encroach into Indonesian waters
- Indonesia cancels fisheries infrastructure projects in Maluku region amid lack of funds
- Murky provenance of a Chinese fleet clouds Madagascar shrimp fishery
- What’s popping? Humpbacks off South Africa, new acoustic study finds

Amazon Conservation
- Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area
- Ecuador’s Pastaza province, Indigenous groups collaborate on forest conservation
- ‘Giving up’: Amazon is losing its resilience under human pressure, study shows
- Pharmaceutical water pollution detected deep in the Brazilian Amazon

Land rights and extractives
- Open-pit mining ban lifted in Philippine province, clearing way for copper project
- Ousted anti-mining mayor heads back to Philippine city hall after landslide win
- Thai gold mine blamed for sickening local villagers is set to reopen
- “Indigenous people are fighting to protect a natural equilibrium”: Q&A with Patricia Gualinga

Endangered Environmentalists
- Citizen participation: a key achievement at the first COP to the Escazú Agreement
- “We are on the front line”: Q&A with Indigenous land defender Adiela Jineth Mera Paz
- Death threats and friction with military force Guatemalan rangers to flee
- Amazon mining threatens dozens of uncontacted Indigenous groups, study shows

Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- From Flores to Papua: Meet 10 of Indonesia’s mangrove guardians
- Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time

Conservation Effectiveness
- In prioritizing conservation, animal culture should be a factor, study says
- Young forests can help heal tropical aquatic ecosystems: Study
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?

Southeast Asian infrastructure
- In Laos, a ‘very dangerous dam’ threatens an ancient world heritage site
- Bali’s new highway project sparks concerns about agriculture and conservation areas
- Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island
- Plantations and roads strip away Papua’s forests. They’re just getting started
