Evidence that fish flourish in a community-managed marine area offers hope
Marine protected areas have expanded rapidly in the past decade. Even so, less than 8% of the world’s oceans are safeguarded by MPAs and only around one-third of that area…
Articles by Malavika Vyawahare
Madagascar staff reporter, international news. Formerly science and environment reporter at Hindustan Times, India. Columbia Journalism School Alum. Words in The New York Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and Scientific American.
Tweets at @MalavikaVy
As COVID-19 pandemic deepens, global wildlife treaty faces an identity crisis
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, popularly known as CITES, is a rare animal: an international environmental treaty with teeth. It regulates the global trade in some of…
As visitors vanish, Madagascar’s protected areas suffer a ‘devastating’ blow
The COVID-19 crisis has wiped out half a billion dollars in expected tourism revenues for Madagascar since January, according to official estimates. For the megadiverse island nation, which struggles with…
COVID-19 will hurt Madagascar’s conservation funding: Q&A with Minister Vahinala Raharinirina
While the internet abounds with feel-good stories about how animals play while humans are locked away, there is growing concern that the COVID-19 crisis may be enfeebling conservation efforts across…
Madagascar’s president promotes unproven herbal cure for COVID-19
The president of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, on April 20 appeared to promote an unproven treatment for COVID-19. The remedy, named COVID-ORGANICS, is effective against the virus, Rajoelina said, speaking in…
How to prevent the next COVID-19? Conservationists weigh in
As the death toll and economic cost of the COVID-19 crisis mounts, calls are mounting to ban the trade in wild animals for human consumption, believed to have sparked the…
What one of the world’s most active volcanoes tells us about missing trees
LA RÉUNION —Giant tortoises and flying foxes once roamed La Réunion, a volcanic island off the eastern coast of Africa. Then humans arrived and decided to stay. Within 150 years…
Chinese ban on eating wild animals likely to become law: Q&A with WCS’s Aili Kang
Over four months after the first cases of COVID-19 surfaced in China, the world remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases and almost…
Seychelles extends protection to marine area twice the size of Great Britain
Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean famous for its turquoise waters, giant tortoises and wondrous birds, has extended protection to 400,000 square kilometers (154,000 square miles) of its seas,…
National parks in Africa shutter over COVID-19 threat to great apes
Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo shut its doors to tourists this week in an attempt to protect its great apes from possibly being infected by the…
Three new species of chameleons emerge from centuries-old entanglement
For more than 180 years, several soft-nosed chameleons from Madagascar sat together in a single species complex (Calumma nasutum) until scientists decided to take a closer look. They disentangled the…
Madagascar off pace to meet Aichi targets, which is bad news for the world
The megadiverse island nation of Madagascar isn’t doing enough to meet the Aichi targets, which means the unique biodiversity of the world’s oldest island remains as imperiled as ever. The…
Marginalized voices from resource conflicts enter the mainstream via video
IABOAKOHO, Madagascar — The only light for many miles came from the glow of the makeshift screen as a cool July evening descended on the Iaboakoho commune. A generator whirred…
Raze here, save there: Do biodiversity offsets work for people or ecosystems?
ANTSOTSO, Madagascar — Moussa Evariste, 53, treads lightly on sinewy legs across fields of grass that were once forest. The terrain is sandy and prickly, punctuated by the relief of…
China beefs up wildlife trade ban as COVID-19 outbreak intensifies
China has banned the trade and consumption of wild animals in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 2,700 lives and infected more than 81,000 people,…
Illegal pangolin trade may have played a part in coronavirus outbreak
The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak, the disease now called COVID-19, crossed the 1,000 mark this week as confirmed cases surpassed 60,000, but it remains unclear how the…
Beaked whales’ stealth behavior gives clues to mystery of mass stranding
In March 2000, U.S. Navy destroyers were conducting routine training exercises in the Bahamas; they swept an underwater canyon with sonar at 265 decibels to uncover the locations of two…
Iridescence helps these ‘living jewels’ hide in plain sight
A new study in Current Biology shines a light on how iridescence in jewel beetles (Sternocera aequisignata) helps them to hide from predators. Iridescence produces the mesmerizing hues of a male peacock's feathers, the…
Madagascar launches massive planting drive, eyes 60 million trees
Madagascar has embarked on its most ambitious tree-planting drive yet, aiming to plant 60 million trees in the coming months. The island nation celebrates 60 years of independence this year,…
Polly share a cracker: Study finds grey parrots are good Samaritans
It looked like a game of parrot poker, but the token exchange counter set up by European researchers at a Spanish zoo was an experiment to determine if African grey…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Deaths, arrests and protests as Philippines re-emerges from lockdown
- In Brazil, COVID-19 outbreak paves way for invasion of indigenous lands
- On anniversary of nun’s murder Amazon land rights activists at high risk
Indonesias forest guardians
- 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
Amazon infrastructure
- Communities on Brazil’s ‘River of Unity’ tested by dams, climate change
- Coronavirus puts Brazil’s quilombos at risk; will assistance come?
- Amazon road projects could lead to Belize-size loss of forest, study shows
Asian rhinos
- Poaching in Indonesia’s biodiverse Leuser Ecosystem on the rise amid COVID-19
- A new sanctuary for the Sumatran rhino is delayed amid COVID-19 measures
- U.S. fund that supports Sumatran rhino research faces deep cuts under Trump
