‘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…
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.
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…
The view from above: How do we know what’s really burning in the Amazon?
This year’s Amazon fire season is one of the most serious ever, even though it’s not attracting near the media attention as last year. More than one thousand major fires…
Around the world, a fire crisis flares up, fueled by human actions
There have been more fires alerts around the world this year than last year, spelling dire consequences for health, biodiversity, and the economy — and human actions are mostly to…
Back from the brink, baby Burmese roofed turtles make their debut
Once considered extinct, the Burmese roofed turtle (Batagur trivittata) was brought back from the brink by an ambitious conservation program. Now, almost 30 years after its rediscovery in the wild,…
Bleak milestone: 500 major fires detected in Brazilian Amazon this year
An area nearly 5 times that of New York City’s land area has burned so far in 2020, most of it recently deforested, and now illegally burned over, to make way for new cattle pastures and croplands.
Can we predict where Amazon fires will occur? And to what end?
The world watched in horror and surprise as the Amazon burned in 2019, windblown smoke darkening the sky over far-off São Paulo, Brazil. The ability to predict where fires are…
In the Scottish moorlands, plots planted with trees stored less carbon than untouched lands: Study
Trees capture carbon, produce oxygen, and run on sunlight. So when it comes to fighting climate change, the more trees the better, right? As it turns out, this isn’t always…
More than 260 major, mostly illegal Amazon fires detected since late May
As the 2020 Amazon fire season moves toward its August peak, hundreds of blazes — almost all in Brazil, mostly illegal, and some on conserved lands — have been detected: Report.
New Indigenous storytelling platform brings community perspectives to the world
A new indigenous geo-storytelling platform, Tribal Stories, launched on Aug. 9, the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The new platform, by Netherlands-based nonprofit People’s Planet Project (PPP), features…
More than 500 dams planned inside protected areas: Study
Hundreds of dams are planned within global protected areas, a prospect that threatens people, plants and animals that rely on the lifegiving waters of free-flowing rivers. According to a first-of-its-kind…
Amazonia’s people domesticated crops on ‘forest islands’ 10,000 years ago: Study
Amazonia, with its towering trees, bright birds, pink dolphins and mysterious big cats, has been painted as the quintessential wilderness, an exuberant and endless landscape that evolved beyond the touch…
A jaguar nicknamed “Short-Tail” the first known to cross between Belize and Guatemala
An adult male jaguar nicknamed “Short-Tail” (due to his partially missing tail) was caught on camera in both Belize and Guatemala, making him the first individual confirmed to cross the…
Bubbles, lasers and robo-bees: The blossoming industry of artificial pollination
In an episode of the Netflix dystopian sci-fi show “Black Mirror,” artificial bees have been deployed to pollinate the world’s plants after a massive pollinator extinction. A great idea, until…
The wild plants in your pantry—where did they come from?
Wild plants are hidden in your pantry. Mixed into herbal medicines, teas, aromatherapy oils, liquor and beauty products, wild-harvested plants are a multibillion-dollar industry. But with no labeling standard for…
Special series
Forest trackers
- Chinese demand and domestic instability are wiping out Senegal’s last forests
- Solomon Islands environmental defender faces life sentence for arson charge
- Threatened species caught in crossfire of ongoing land conflict in Myanmar
- Under cover of COVID-19, loggers plunder Cambodian wildlife sanctuary
Oceans
- ‘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
- Game changer? Antarctic ice melt related to tropical weather shifts: Study
Amazon conservation
- Crimefighting NGO tracks Brazil wildlife trade on WhatsApp and Facebook
- The Amazon’s Yanomami utterly abandoned by Brazilian authorities: Report
- Conserve freshwater or land biodiversity? Why not both, new study asks
- As fire season ends, Brazil cited for failed Amazon and Pantanal policies
Land rights and extractives
- Peruvian Indigenous groups thwart oil drilling in their territory — for now
- Years after defeating a giant gold mine, activists in Colombia still fear for their lives
- Court allows referendum on mining in the Ecuadoran Andes to go forward
- Madagascar shuts down ‘illegal’ gold mine but activists remain in legal limbo
Endangered environmentalists
- 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
- Deaths, arrests and protests as Philippines re-emerges from lockdown
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
- In mangrove restoration, custom solutions beat one-size-fits-all approach
- World’s protected areas lack connections, recent study finds
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast asian infrastructure
- Activists in Malaysia call on road planners to learn the lessons of history
- Road-paving project threatens a wildlife-rich reserve in Indonesia’s Papua
- Planned road projects threaten Sumatran rhino habitat, experts say
- Deforestation threatens to wipe out a primate melting pot in Indonesia
