Audio: Bill McKibben on the climate movements that give him hope
On this episode, Bill McKibben discusses the climate movements that could spur the world to action and help us avert the worst impacts of global warming. Listen here: As…
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.
More than one-third of critically endangered plants cannot be conserved in seed banks
New research finds that seed banking alone is not sufficient to conserve the world’s threatened plant and tree species. According to a paper published in the journal Nature Plants this…
Audio: A Half-Earth progress report from E.O. Wilson
On this episode, a progress report on the Half-Earth Project direct from legendary conservation biologist E.O. Wilson. Listen here: The Half-Earth Project recently held an event at the American…
Novel research method reveals small-scale gold mining’s impact on Peruvian Amazon
According to research released yesterday, small-scale gold mining has led to the destruction of more than 170,000 acres of primary rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon over the past five years.…
Researchers say orangutans are declining, despite Indonesian government’s claims
Researchers say a recent Indonesian government report inaccurately claims that the orangutan population in the country is increasing, which could have significant implications for future conservation plans. The report, issued…
Research finds humans across the globe have microplastics in their stool
A study conducted with participants from across the globe found that every single stool sample collected tested positive for the presence of microplastics. Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna…
Audio: Documenting emperor penguin populations, a dispatch from Antarctica
On this episode we get an update direct from Antarctica’s McMurdo Station about ongoing work to document emperor penguin populations, an important indicator species of the Southern Ocean’s health. Listen…
‘The posterchild for entangled marine mammals around the globe:’ Q&A with author of ‘Vaquita’
Earlier this year, Mongabay reported that there might be as few as 12 vaquita left in the world, down from 30 in 2017. The vaquita population has been driven to…
Audio: Racing to save the world’s amazing frogs with Jonathan Kolby
On this episode, we discuss the global outbreak of the chytrid fungus, which might have already driven as many as 200 species of frogs to extinction, but there have been…
Hunting, agriculture driving rapid decline of jaguars in South America’s Gran Chaco
New research finds that one-third of critical jaguar habitat in the Gran Chaco, South America’s largest tropical dry forest, has been lost since the mid-1980s. According to the study, led…
Pasture expansion driving deforestation in Brazilian protected area
Climate scientists were wary when the Brazilian government announced in August that its 2020 goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions had already been met. Brazil has certainly reined…
Audio: How an African bat might help us prevent future Ebola outbreaks
On this episode, we look at research into an African bat that might be the key to controlling future Ebola outbreaks. Listen here: Our guest is Sarah Olson, an…
Audio: How the social sciences can help conservationists save species
On this episode, we take a look at how the social sciences can boost conservation efforts. Listen here: Our guest is Diogo Verissimo, a Postdoctoral Fellow with the University…
Criminalization and violence increasingly used to silence indigenous protest, according to UN report
After the Seko indigenous peoples of Indonesia rejected a plan to build a hydropower plant on their traditional lands in the province of South Sulawesi, the company behind the plant…
Audio: The ‘Godfather of Biodiversity’ on why it’s time to manage Earth as a system
On this episode we welcome the godfather of biodiversity, Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, to discuss some of the most important environmental issues we’re currently facing and why he believes the next…
Q&A: Esther Mwangi on why voices of local community members will be featured at GLF Africa conference
The 2018 Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Africa Conference is set to kick off in Nairobi, Kenya this week, bringing together representatives from both the public and private sectors, as well…
Audio: The superb mimicry skills of an Australian songbird
Today we take a listen to field recordings of the superb lyrebird, an Australian songbird known for its elaborate vocal displays and mimicry of other species’ songs. Listen here: …
Camera trap videos help protect biodiversity of Bigal River Biological Reserve in Ecuador
Bigal River Biological Reserve was created in 2008 in the foothill forests of northeastern Ecuador, on the Amazonian side of the Andean slopes. The private protected area is located in…
Audio: Beavers matter more than you think
We discuss one of the world’s most overlooked keystone species, the beaver, on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. Listen here: Most of us might not think of beavers…
Researchers are looking into the past to help ensure a future for tropical forests
At 1,200 to 3,200 meters above sea level, the montane cloud forests on the eastern Andean flank in Ecuador lie between the Andes’ high-elevation grasslands (known as páramo) and the…
Audio: Shadow companies and the Indonesian land crisis
On today’s episode, new revelations about “shadow companies” and how they factor into Mongabay’s ongoing investigation into the corruption fueling Indonesia’s deforestation and land rights crisis. Listen here: Our…
How a better understanding of psychopathology in captive primates can aid in conservation efforts
Though it is a highly controversial practice due to the many ethical concerns it raises, the use of nonhuman primates (NHPs), mostly monkeys, as research subjects has led to advances…
Extractive industries threaten a million square kilometers of intact tropical forests around the globe
According to a recent report, mining companies currently have claims on 11 percent of all intact rainforests left in the world, meaning 590,000 square kilometers (227,800 square miles) of pristine…
Audio: How to use drones without stressing wildlife
On this episode of the podcast we discuss the increasing use of drones by wildlife lovers, researchers, and businesses, how that might be stressing animals out, and how drone hobbyists…
New research calculates full carbon cost of oil palm cultivation in Indonesia’s forests
New research comparing the carbon costs of oil palm plantations with those of rubber production finds that while oil palm cultivation is the more efficient process in terms of land…
Payments for ecosystem services can boost social capital in addition to forest management: Study
New research finds that a national payments for ecosystem services (PES) program in Mexico not only benefits the environment but supports social relationships in local communities, as well. Mexico's federal…
‘Saving the rainforest 2.0:’ New report makes recommendations for improving forest protection
Over the past decade, Norway has spent $3 billion to support efforts to keep forests standing in all of the world’s major rainforest countries, helping to elevate forest protection as…
‘Urban Raptors’: Q&A with authors of book on ecology and conservation of city-dwelling birds of prey
On April 30, a pair of bald eagle mates in Washington, D.C. named Mr. President and The First Lady welcomed their newly hatched eaglet Victory to the world. Just a…
Nature retention, not just protection, crucial to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystems: Scientists
Is it time to completely rethink how we design the goals of conservation programs? Some scientists say it is. In a paper published last week in the journal Nature Ecology…
Audio: The dialogue between science and indigenous knowledge
On today’s episode, we discuss traditional indigenous knowledge and climate change with Snowchange Cooperative director Tero Mustonen. Listen here: Through Snowchange, which is based in Finland, Mustonen works with…
Special series
Forest trackers
- ‘On the edge’: Endangered forest cleared for marijuana in Paraguay
- ‘Betting on impunity’: Brazilian Amazon under attack despite logging crackdown
- Indonesia struggles to restore peatlands as fires strangle national parks
- Marijuana cultivation whittling away Madagascar’s largest connected forest
Oceans
- Game changer? Antarctic ice melt related to tropical weather shifts: Study
- Dorsal de Nasca: Peru pledges to create a huge new marine reserve
- Science-backed policy boosts critically endangered Nassau grouper
- Vanishing sea ice in the Arctic could shake up seabird migrations
Amazon conservation
- Brazil bows to pressure from business, decrees 120-day Amazon fire ban
- Brazilian court orders 20,000 gold miners removed from Yanomami Park
- World’s biggest trade deal in trouble over EU anger at Brazil deforestation
- Discovery of fish never recorded in the Amazon shows richness of Brazil’s Calha Norte
Land rights and extractives
- Cook Islands to grant seabed mining exploration licenses within a year
- Deep-sea mining: An environmental solution or impending catastrophe?
- Locals stage latest fight against PNG mine dumping waste into sea
- Mining company pressing to enter Ecuador’s Los Cedros Protected Forest
Endangered environmentalists
- In Philippines’ Palawan, top cop linked to assault on environmental officer
- 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
- On the island of Java, a social forestry scheme creates jobs at home
Conservation effectiveness
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
- On a wing and a prayer? Evidence for ways to conserve bats (commentary)
- Audio: The sounds of a rare New Zealand bird reintroduced to its native habitat
- Eavesdrop on forest sounds to effectively monitor biodiversity, researchers say
Southeast asian infrastructure
- Experts see environmental, social fallout in Indonesia’s infrastructure push
- Bornean farmers and fishers brace as a new port opens in their midst
- Indonesian levee project serves industry over community, study says
- Forest clearing proceeds for dam in Sumatra despite locals’ land claims
