
Articles by John Cannon
John is a staff features writer with Mongabay. He became a correspondent for Mongabay in 2014 and joined the site's team full time in October 2016. John's journalistic work has also appeared in New Scientist, Slate.com, Yale Environment 360, Pacific Standard, Science (online), Business Insider and Bicycle Times. John has been a guest on NPR's All Things Considered and Living on Earth, and he has also had several short stories published in literary magazines. He studied biology as an undergraduate at the Ohio State University and has a graduate degree in science writing from UC Santa Cruz. Always eager to find local perspectives on globally relevant stories, John has reported from Brunei, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Rwanda. He currently lives in Afghanistan with his wife and their two cats. Follow him on Twitter: @johnccannon.


Cradle of transformation: The Mediterranean and climate change

Beyond CO2, tropical forests a ‘cool’ solution to climate crisis, study finds

‘Nature has priority’: Rewilding map showcases nature-led restoration

IPCC report calls for ‘immediate and deep’ carbon cuts to slow climate change

NGOs alert U.N. to furtive 2-million-hectare carbon deal in Malaysian Borneo

Tropical deforestation emitting far more carbon than previously thought: Study

‘No planet B’: Groups call for $60bn increase in annual biodiversity funding

Climate change a threat to human well-being and health of the planet: New IPCC report

In a biodiversity haven, mining drives highest ever recorded levels of mercury

‘There’s hope’ for North Atlantic right whales: Q&A with filmmaker Nadine Pequeneza

Malaysian officials dampen prospects for giant, secret carbon deal in Sabah

In prioritizing conservation, animal culture should be a factor, study says

Bleached reefs still support nutritious fish, study finds

The Congo Basin’s 10 most consequential stories from 2021

10 notable books on conservation and the environment published in 2021

Decline of threatened bird highlights planning importance of bison releases

Indigenous leader sues over Borneo natural capital deal

The past, present and future of the Congo peatlands: 10 takeaways from our series

Carbon and communities: The future of the Congo Basin peatlands

For Mekong officials fighting timber traffickers, a chance to level up

Holding agriculture and logging at bay in the Congo peatlands

Layers of carbon: The Congo Basin peatlands and oil

The ‘idea’: Uncovering the peatlands of the Congo Basin

Allegations of displacement, violence beleaguer Kenyan conservancy NGO

Details emerge around closed-door carbon deal in Malaysian Borneo

Bornean communities locked into 2-million-hectare carbon deal they don’t know about

Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island

Deforestation threatens tree kangaroo habitat in Papua New Guinea

Inland mangroves reveal a tumultuous climatic past — and hint at our future
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
- 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
- Fisher groups are the marine militia in Indonesia’s war on illegal fishing

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
- 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
- Analysis: Myanmar’s gemstone riches bring poverty and environmental destruction
- Forest loss shows stopgap decrees failing to protect Brazil’s isolated Indigenous

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
