
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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Special series
Forest trackers
- Deforestation rises in Colombia’s Chiribiquete National Park as cattle invade
- ‘What other country would do this to its people?’ Cambodian land grab victims seek int’l justice
- Deforestation surge threatens endangered species in Tanintharyi, Myanmar
- Thriving population of endangered monkeys gives hope to conservationists

Oceans
- European tuna boats dump fishing debris in Seychelles waters ‘with impunity’
- Red flag: Predatory European ships help push Indian Ocean tuna to the brink
- Surge in seizures of giant clam shells has Philippine conservationists wary
- Ocean protection scheme can yield ‘triple benefits’ study says

Amazon conservation
- Intimidation of Brazil’s enviro scientists, academics, officials on upswing
- Government inaction prompts voluntary REDD+ carbon credit boom in Brazil
- Study sounds latest warning of rainforest turning into savanna as climate warms
- BlackRock must commit to Indigenous rights — not just climate change (commentary)

Land rights and extractives
- Nearly half the Amazon’s intact forest on Indigenous-held lands: Report
- Pension and endowment funds linked to conflict-plagued oil palm in DRC
- Thailand’s Indigenous Peoples fight for ‘land of our heart’ (commentary)
- Ecuador court orders end to gas flaring by oil industry in Amazon

Endangered environmentalists
- Intimidation of Brazil’s enviro scientists, academics, officials on upswing
- Thailand’s Indigenous Peoples fight for ‘land of our heart’ (commentary)
- Brazilian woman threatened by Amazon loggers wins global human rights award
- Indonesian fishers opposed to dredging project hit by ‘criminalization’ bid

Indonesias forest 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
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition

Conservation effectiveness
- A Malagasy community wins global recognition for saving its lake
- Scientists in Costa Rica are growing new corals to save reefs
- Technology innovations look to change the cacao landscape in Colombia
- In mangrove restoration, custom solutions beat one-size-fits-all approach

Southeast asian infrastructure
- Indonesian governor’s arrest in road project points to more tainted contracts
- Papua deforestation highlights eastward shift of Indonesia forest clearing
- Podcast: Omens and optimism for Sumatran orangutans
- Planned coal-trucking road threatens a forest haven for Sumatran frogs
