New orchid species from Guiana Highlands named by Indigenous group
On an expedition in the tepuis, or “sprouting rock,” landscape of the Guiana Highlands in South America, Mateusz Wrazidlo snapped a photo of an orchid he had never seen…
Articles by Liz Kimbrough
Liz Kimbrough is a journalist based in New Orleans, LA. She has studied and written about science and environmental issues for over a decade. Liz holds a BS in Botany from Humboldt State University and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Tulane University where she studied the microbiomes of trees. Liz has been a contributor to Mongabay since 2012.
Monitoring tropical deforestation is now free and easy
Thanks to the rollout of free, high-resolution satellite imagery, the job of monitoring deforestation in tropical forests just got a lot easier. Last year Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment…
Canopy beetles and flowering trees rely on each other in the Amazon, study
Held aloft by a canopy crane nearly 10 stories above the forest floor, Susan Kirmse observed and collected beetles in the rainforest canopy for an entire year. What did she…
Top positive environmental stories from 2020
All told, this was a pretty bleak year. The COVID-19 pandemic brought tragedy and confusion; fires razed parts of Australia, the Amazon, and the Western U.S.; and the world is…
Top 15 species discoveries from 2020 (Photos)
In this well-trodden world, the discovery of a species new to science is an exciting event, a glimmer of the uncharted riches of biodiversity still hidden around the globe. “Every…
Human rights-based conservation is key to protecting biodiversity: Study
The world is facing an ongoing sixth mass extinction. To curb this human-caused loss of global biodiversity, many countries have made commitments to protect and conserve large areas of land in…
Critical temperature threshold spells shorter lives for tropical trees
Tropical trees have shorter life spans than trees in other parts of the world, living, for example, just over half as long as temperate trees. A new analysis suggests that,…
No endangered listing for monarch butterflies as western count hits alarming low
The iconic monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) meets the criteria to be listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act — but will not be listed just yet because priority will be…
[Photos] Tiny frog, venomous viper among 20 new species described in Bolivia
An expedition into the cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes has uncovered 20 species new to science, including a frog that may be the smallest in the Andes, a new…
Only 40% of world’s forests have high ecological integrity, a new index reveals
Of the world’s remaining forests, only 40% are intact, with high ecological integrity, according to data from the newly developed Forest Landscape Integrity Index, the first of its kind to…
Through war, wildfire and pandemic, the world’s seed vaults hold strong
By the time the war broke out in Syria, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) had already duplicated and safely transported most of…
Study identifies mega trends with ‘major consequences’ for forests, livelihoods
Nearly 2 billion people live within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of a forest, and many rely on forests directly as a source of livelihood. But forests also play a critical…
Meet the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners
Six grassroots environmental activists will receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in a virtual ceremony this year. Dubbed the “Green Nobel Prize,” this award is given annually to environmental heroes…
‘CSI Amazon’: Epic study looks at what’s killing the rainforest’s trees
As more trees die in the Amazon Basin, the forest’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide weakens. But to understand why trees are dying at a faster rate, researchers first need…
As 2020 Amazon fire season winds down, Brazil carbon emissions rise
It was another intense year for fires in the Amazon. More than 2,500 major blazes burned across Brazil’s Legal Amazon between May 28 and November 3, according to a fire…
A warming Arctic is changing animal migrations, decades of tracking shows
Catching a caribou isn’t easy. In some locations, it involves flying around in helicopters, shooting the animal with a tranquilizer dart, making it safely to the ground, and placing a…
Video: ‘Don’t give up!’ The last known Loa water frogs produce 200 tadpoles
In 2019, the last known 14 Loa water frogs (Telmatobius dankoi) were evacuated from a swiftly vanishing stream in northern Chile. Now, after more than a year of meticulous care, they…
For global wetlands, intensifying droughts pose a ‘diabolical’ threat
People seldom think of wet soil until they step in it, but the Earth’s soggy places quietly do the work of legions: holding together coasts, giving shelter to young fish,…
2020 fires endangering uncontacted Amazon Indigenous groups
Amazon fires are burning this year within the protected lands inhabited by isolated uncontacted Indigenous peoples. The fires, largely illegal and intentionally set by land grabbers, ranchers and farmers, are…
‘Godfather of Peruvian falcons’ uncovers peregrine’s epic journey from the Arctic
When a peregrine falcon crashed through the skylight of a high-rise building in Lima, Peru, what impressed falcon researchers was not its tremendous speed (peregrines are the fastest animal…
Ambitious and holistic goals key to saving Earth’s biodiversity, study says
The Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction, leaving humanity in a critical time to safeguard global biodiversity. Global players have failed to reach the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, established…
Armed and dangerous, ‘murder lorises’ use their venom against each other
Videos and images of slow lorises being “tickled” have gone viral: their large eyes peering out, tiny arms raised overhead. But, as it turns out, the loris isn’t tickled to…
Video: Captive-reared scarlet macaws get a second chance at life in the wild
Newly shared images show a cohort of 26 young scarlet macaws (Ara macao) released into the forest, part of ongoing efforts to buoy their populations in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve.…
In Bolivia, more than 25% of major fires this year burned in protected areas
More than 120 major fires have been detected in Bolivia since August, more than a quarter of them in protected areas, including Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, a UNESCO World…
We’re not protecting enough of the right areas to save biodiversity: Study
The past decade began with promise, as nearly every country on the planet made commitments to protect large areas of land, safeguarding global biodiversity amid the ongoing sixth mass extinction.…
World’s plants and fungi a frontier of discovery, if we can protect them: Report
Outer space, the ocean depths and quantum physics are areas ripe for discovery, the underexplored frontiers of science. But another frontier may be hidden in plain sight, right under your…
World leaders endorse ‘Pledge for Nature’ to address planetary emergency
In the midst of a planetary biodiversity crisis, 71 world leaders have endorsed the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Jacinda Ardern, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela…
New partnership brings high-resolution satellite imagery of the tropics to all
Satellites are powerful tools for monitoring deforestation. Now, a new partnership aims to make high-resolution, satellite imagery of the tropics free and accessible to everyone. Norway's Ministry of Climate and…
As the Amazon burns, what happens to its biodiversity?
The number of fires burning in standing Amazon rainforest spiked dramatically in recent weeks, threatening the forest’s biodiversity — a richness of flora and fauna not adapted to withstand the…
We are failing to save the planet’s species, finds UN report
As the planet plunges headlong into its sixth mass extinction, caused by humans, biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. Global targets to slow this alarming trend have not…
Special series
Forest trackers
- Indigenous Cacataibo of Peru threatened by land grabbing and drug trade
- Colombian and Ecuadorian Indigenous communities live in fear as drug traffickers invade
- Cocaine production driving deforestation into Colombian national park
- Industrial agriculture threatens a wetland oasis in Bolivia
Oceans
- 2020’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- ‘Tamper with nature, and everyone suffers’: Q&A with ecologist Enric Sala
- New paper highlights spread of organized crime from global fisheries
- Study: Chinese ‘dark fleets’ illegally defying sanctions by fishing in North Korean waters
Amazon conservation
- Lack of protection leaves Spain-size swath of Brazilian Amazon up for grabs
- Soy moratorium averted New Jersey-size loss of Amazon rainforest: Study
- Brazilian woman threatened by Amazon loggers wins global human rights award
- Tropical forests can take the heat, study finds. Dryness? Not so much
Land rights and extractives
- Protesters hold back military takeover of Balkans’ largest mountain pasture
- Podcast: New innovations to clean up the impacts of mining
- Environmentalists seek to block Bahamas oil drilling bid near U.S. coast
- Podcast: Indigenous land rights and the global push for land privatization
Endangered environmentalists
- Brazilian woman threatened by Amazon loggers wins global human rights award
- Indonesian fishers opposed to dredging project hit by ‘criminalization’ bid
- Life as an Amazon activist: ‘I don’t want to be the next Dorothy Stang’
- In Philippines’ Palawan, top cop linked to assault on environmental officer
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
