Articles by John Cannon
John Cannon became a correspondent for Mongabay in 2014 and joined the site's team full time as a features writer in 2016. John's reporting has also appeared in New Scientist, Slate.com, Yale Environment 360, Pacific Standard, Science, Business Insider and Bicycle Times. John has been a guest on the BBC as well as 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 African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Rwanda. He lives in California with his wife and their two cats, adopted when they lived in Gaza. Follow him on Bluesky.
Consumer countries mull best approach to end deforestation abroad
‘That’s a scam’: Indian firm’s REDD+ carbon deal in the DRC raises concern
Proposed copper and gold mine threatens the world’s ‘second Amazon’ in PNG
End old-growth logging in carbon-rich ‘crown jewel’ of U.S. forests: Study
‘Why sharks matter’: Q&A with author and shark biologist David Shiffman
Fossil evidence confirms persistence of prehistoric forests in Brunei
Ecotours aimed at saving monkeys are likely stressing them out, study finds
Boom and bust on Lake Victoria: Q&A with author Mark Weston
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
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Poverty and plantations: Nigerian reserve struggles against the odds
- Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
Oceans
- Warming seas push India’s fishers into distant, and more dangerous, waters
- No protection from bottom trawling for seamount chain in northern Pacific
- Annual ocean conference raises $11.3b in pledges for marine conservation
- Caribbean startups are turning excess seaweed into an agroecology solution
Amazon Conservation
- Deforestation haunts top Peruvian reserve and its Indigenous communities
- Amid record-high fires across the Amazon, Brazil loses primary forests
- A web of front people conceals environmental offenders in the Amazon
- Brazil boosts protection of Amazon mangroves with new reserves in Pará state
Land rights and extractives
- Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest
- Brazil’s illegal gold trade takes a hammering, but persists underground
- Maluku bone collector unearths troubling consequence of coastal abrasion
- New FPIC guide designed to help protect Indigenous rights as mineral mining booms
Endangered Environmentalists
- Indonesian activists face jail over FB posts flagging damage to marine park
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- 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
Conservation Effectiveness
- The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
- Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
- Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest