Podcast: A bittersweet bioacoustics bonanza
One of the most promising conservation technologies emerging in recent years is bioacoustics – the use of acoustic recording technologies to study the behavior, distribution, and abundance of wildlife –…
Articles by Mike Gaworecki
Mike Gaworecki is a journalist based in Brooklyn, NY. He has covered environmental science, forests, and climate issues for over a decade. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Pacific Standard, BillMoyers.com, Alternet, Treehugger, and more.
Podcast: How reporters uncovered a massive illegal shark finning operation
A major investigative report recently published by Mongabay uncovered a massive, clandestine and illegal shark finning operation across the fleet of one of China’s biggest tuna fishing companies. Listen here:…
Podcast: Escape into nature’s soundscapes
Healthy ecosystems are often noisy places: from reefs to grasslands and forests, these are sonically rich thanks to all the species defending territories, finding mates, locating prey, or perhaps enjoying…
Podcast: How the Indigenous Shuar regained their ancestral forest
We have two fascinating conversations about forests in the Americas for you on this podcast episode: the first is the story of how the Shuar Indigenous community in Ecuador recently…
Podcast: Science that saves free-flowing rivers & rich biodiversity
"It might be the highest density of trout species on Earth," says podcast guest Ulrich Eichelmann of Balkan countries' riverine legacy, which has become threatened by a tsunami of hydroelectric…
Podcast: How marine conservation benefits from combining Indigenous knowledge and Western science
Today we’re taking a look at two stories that show the effectiveness of combining traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge and Western science for conservation and restoration initiatives. Listen here: Earlier this…
Podcast: New whale calls and dolphin behaviors discovered with bioacoustics
Today we’re looking at two stories that show how bioacoustics research is helping us better understand the lives of marine mammals — and we take a listen to some of…
Podcast: Indigenous, ingenious and sustainable aquaculture from the distant past to today
On this episode we discuss Indigenous peoples’ long relationship with — and stewardship of — marine environments through the lens of aquaculture. Listen here: Coastal cultures have often enjoyed abundant…
Podcast: Vandana Shiva on the agroecology solution for the climate, biodiversity crisis and hunger
Today we’re talking about agroecology, which applies ecological principles to agricultural systems and is considered to be a key strategy for both mitigating and adapting to global climate change, as…
Podcast: Wonder on wings: The fierce nature and enduring beauty of birds
No matter where on Earth you live, this is a time of year when birds are very busy migrating, singing, breeding, and nesting. So on today’s episode of the Mongabay…
Podcast: Convention on Biological Diversity: progress, hope and hard work ahead
Today we’re looking at the upcoming conference of the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, where delegates will meet to finalize a global strategy for safeguarding…
Podcast: Afield at last, researchers head out for a new season
It's that time of year when many researchers are heading out into the field again, and for some it’s the first field season after a long hiatus due to the…
Podcast: Crucial to conservation, Indigenous communities’ environmental leadership endures
Today’s installment of the Mongabay Newscast is a special Earth Month episode in which we highlight the growing recognition of the role Indigenous peoples play as the world's top conservationists.…
Podcast: Are ‘nature based solutions’ the best fix for climate change?
On this episode we look at mangrove restoration and the effectiveness of nature based solutions to climate change. Listen here: The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a…
Podcast: Hippos, manatees, and how the sounds of African wildlife aid their conservation
Today we look at two new studies of African wildlife using bioacoustics and take a listen to some of the recordings informing that research. Listen here: Bioacoustics combines biology and…
Podcast: Kelp, condors and Indigenous conservation
Today we look at two Indigenous conservation initiatives in the United States. Listen here: The importance of Indigenous stewardship and traditional ecological knowledge is increasingly recognized as vital to the…
Podcast: The 411 on forests and reforestation for 2022
Today we review how the world’s forests fared in 2021 and take a look at the major forest and conservation storylines to watch in 2022. Listen here: The UN’s Food…
Podcast: With the passing of two icons, who will lead the conservation movement?
Update 2/2022: In late January, correspondence found among the late E.O. Wilson’s papers connected him with J. Phillipe Rushton, whose research in the 1980s and 1990s has been linked with white…
Global ecosystem restoration progress: How and who’s tracking it?
The world has long monitored global deforestation, but tracking ecosystem restoration is a more subtle, challenging process, needing metrics for long-term success, carbon storage, biodiversity and local economy benefits.
Podcast: In search of wild spectacles and river journeys
It's the perfect time of year to pick up a great book, and we've got a couple recommendations for you today. Listen here: Our first guest is Janisse Ray, author…
Podcast: What do two giant land deals mean for the future of Southeast Asia’s forests?
Today we take a look at two stories that Mongabay has been reporting out of Southeast Asia. Both stories involve the land rights of local and Indigenous communities in or…
Podcast: Bill McKibben and Trebbe Johnson on action and ‘radical joy’ after COP26 climate summit failure
Today we’re talking with Bill McKibben about the climate movements that continue to push for real change in spite of the dithering by world leaders, and we discuss how to…
Podcast: Natural forest regeneration’s critical role in reforestation goals
Today we take a look at the science of forest restoration and how effective it is at delivering benefits for our planet and people. Listen here: Largely in response to…
Podcast: Indigenous bioacoustics listens to the land for conservation and tradition
Today we listen to some bioacoustic recordings informing Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. Listen here: The world is increasingly coming to recognize just how important Indigenous-led conservation and Indigenous land rights are…
Beyond tree planting: When to let forests restore themselves
In May, the U.K. Forestry Commission announced a grant program designed to encourage the creation of new English woodlands as a means of mitigating climate change, boosting biodiversity, and reducing…
Podcast: Who benefits from resource extraction in the DRC?
Today we’re looking at the ways resource extraction is impacting the people and the environment in one of the world’s most important tropical forest nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo.…
Podcast: Indigenous rights and the future of biodiversity conservation
Today we’re taking a closer look at the important role of Indigenous peoples in biodiversity conservation with two key players. Listen here: We’re at something of an inflection point in…
Podcast: Are tuna doing as well as latest extinction risk assessments suggest? It’s complicated
Today we take a look at some of the key outcomes of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress, a global gathering of governments, scientists, NGOs,…
Podcast: Examining ‘What Works In Conservation’
Today we’re taking a look at what works in conservation. That’s what we always aim to do here at the Mongabay Newscast, of course, but today we’re talking about the…
Podcast: What can seashells tell us about the health of the oceans?
We’ve got two stories of marine conservation for you today: one that looks at seashells and what they can tell us about the health of the oceans, and another about…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Deforestation on the rise in Quintana Roo, Mexico, as Mennonite communities move in
- Logged and loaded: Cambodian prison official suspected in massive legalized logging operation
- Bolivian national park hit hard by forest fires in 2022, satellite data show
- Deforestation ‘out of control’ in reserve in Brazil’s cattle capital
Oceans
- Fishy business of squid vessels needs stronger regulation, study says
- Indonesia’s mangrove restoration will run out of land well short of target, study warns
- As U.N. members clinch historic high seas biodiversity treaty, what’s in it?
- Will new bottom trawling rules do enough to protect South Pacific seamounts?
Amazon Conservation
- Peru congress debates stripping isolated Indigenous people of land and protections
- Make it local: Deforestation link to less Amazon rainfall tips activism shift
- In Brazil, criminals dismantle one of the best-preserved swaths of the Amazon
- France seeks EU okay to fund biomass plants, burn Amazon forest to power Spaceport
Land rights and extractives
- Peru congress debates stripping isolated Indigenous people of land and protections
- Brazil tackles illegal miners, but finds their mercury legacy harder to erase
- Lula government scrambles to overcome Yanomami crisis, but hurdles remain
- ‘Brought down by gold’: Communities and nature suffer amid Nigerian bonanza
Endangered Environmentalists
- ‘You don’t kill people to protect forests’: New Thai parks chief raises alarm
- Vietnam’s environmental NGOs face uncertain status, shrinking civic space
- ‘We lost the biggest ally’: Nelly Marubo on her friend Bruno Pereira’s legacy
- Murders of 2 Pataxó leaders prompt Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to launch crisis office
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- 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
- Aziil Anwar, Indonesian coral-based mangrove grower, dies at 64
- A utopia of clean air and wet peat amid Sumatra’s forest fire ‘hell’
Conservation Effectiveness
- For key Bangladesh wetland, bid for Ramsar status is no guarantee of protection
- Biodiversity, human rights safeguards crucial to nature-based solutions: Critics
- Protecting canids from planet-wide threats offers ecological opportunities
- Mangrove forest loss is slowing toward a halt, new report shows
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- As Indonesia’s new capital takes shape, risks to wider Borneo come into focus
- Tunnel collapse at dam project in orangutan habitat claims yet another life
- Sulawesi nickel plant coats nearby homes in toxic dust
- Indonesia’s grand EV plans hinge on a ‘green’ industrial park that likely isn’t
