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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2026 20:27:55 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Conservation news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Extractive industries threaten global goal to protect 30% of nature by 2030, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/extractive-industries-threaten-global-goal-to-protect-30-of-nature-by-2030-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/extractive-industries-threaten-global-goal-to-protect-30-of-nature-by-2030-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 19:50:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21144245/alain-bonnardeaux-CeaBZ2F49x4-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333467</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Reform, Land Rights, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Tropical Forests, and Tropics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new report by Earth Insight finds more than 61.5 million hectares (151.9 million acres) of protected and conserved areas — an area roughly 2.5 times the size of the United Kingdom — overlap with ongoing and planned oil and gas blocks across the tropical countries. Another 42.7 million hectares (105.5 million acres) of protected [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new report by Earth Insight finds more than 61.5 million hectares (151.9 million acres) of protected and conserved areas — an area roughly 2.5 times the size of the United Kingdom — overlap with ongoing and planned oil and gas blocks across the tropical countries. Another 42.7 million hectares (105.5 million acres) of protected lands overlap with mining blocks or concessions. “[The] analysis reveals a major gap between conservation commitments and the industrial pressures facing areas already counted as protected and conserved,” Florencia Librizzi, deputy director at Earth Insight and author of the report, told Mongabay over email. Released on Oct. 8, the report arrived less than two weeks before delegates from around the world gather in Yerevan, Armenia, for the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP17) from Oct. 19 – 30. The findings show that expanding protected areas is not enough, according to the report. At COP15 in 2022, 196 nations pledged to conserve at least 30% of the world’s land, inland waters and coastal and marine areas by 2030 (known as “30&#215;30”) under Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This year, delegates will assess global progress toward the 30&#215;30 goal. But instead, the report says governments should evaluate which ecosystems are being preserved, ensure enforcement is effective and prevent industrial activities from undermining conservation efforts. A coalition of NGOs, including Earth Insight, the World Commission on Protected Areas, the KBA Secretariat, the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and others analyzed extractive pressures from a host&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/extractive-industries-threaten-global-goal-to-protect-30-of-nature-by-2030-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/extractive-industries-threaten-global-goal-to-protect-30-of-nature-by-2030-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333467</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nature has a new Noah’s Ark moment at the biodiversity summit (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nature-has-a-new-noahs-ark-moment-at-the-biodiversity-summit-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nature-has-a-new-noahs-ark-moment-at-the-biodiversity-summit-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 19:21:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Glenn Hurowitz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21175138/ani-adigyozalyan-_vg33BH0KPM-unsplash-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333507</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Health, One Health, Planetary Health, Religions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Delegates from most of the world’s governments are assembling this week in Yerevan, Armenia for the latest summit of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), whose aim is to prevent the extinction of our fellow creatures, and promote sustainable and just land use. There could be no more fitting location: in the Bible, Mount [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Delegates from most of the world’s governments are assembling this week in Yerevan, Armenia for the latest summit of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), whose aim is to prevent the extinction of our fellow creatures, and promote sustainable and just land use. There could be no more fitting location: in the Bible, Mount Ararat is where Noah’s Ark found dry land after the great flood – and where the animals he had rescued, two by two – finally disembarked: “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Then God said to Noah, ‘Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you — the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground — so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.’” (Genesis 8). Thousands of years later, our fellow creatures need another rescue in the shadow of Mount Ararat, via this summit. That is fitting, because, as a lifelong environmentalist, I have personally never seen a time where politicians around the world seem to care less about nature than they do right now. A wreathed hornbill, found across South and Southeast Asia. Image by Nick Volpe via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0). A leading edge of this political assault on nature is the U.S. Government, even though America was in many ways the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nature-has-a-new-noahs-ark-moment-at-the-biodiversity-summit-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nature-has-a-new-noahs-ark-moment-at-the-biodiversity-summit-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333507</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A &#8216;Treasury of Ice&#8217; goes on show, revealing relics as Swiss glaciers rapidly melt</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/a-treasury-of-ice-goes-on-show-revealing-relics-as-swiss-glaciers-rapidly-melt/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/a-treasury-of-ice-goes-on-show-revealing-relics-as-swiss-glaciers-rapidly-melt/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 17:37:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333504</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Switzerland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Glaciers, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — A bow once used to fire arrows in an ancient hunt. A crunched tube of mayonnaise and a discarded wine bottle. An alpinist&#8217;s cracked helmet. A statuette dating back to Roman times. The Glacier Garden in Lucerne is showcasing artifacts like these in a new exhibit of relics that have emerged [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — A bow once used to fire arrows in an ancient hunt. A crunched tube of mayonnaise and a discarded wine bottle. An alpinist&#8217;s cracked helmet. A statuette dating back to Roman times. The Glacier Garden in Lucerne is showcasing artifacts like these in a new exhibit of relics that have emerged from Switzerland&#8217;s vaunted glaciers over the years, with more expected to come as global warming accelerates the thaw. The exhibit, whose title translates as “Treasury of Ice” from German, comes as Swiss glaciologists recently reported that Switzerland lost 5.5% of its total glacier volume this year, the second-biggest decline on record. “The glaciers are disappearing very, very fast now and before that completely happens, we want to show to the people that this is a very important and interesting archive of what we will lose, unfortunately,” said Andreas Burri, director of the Glacier Garden, an open-air museum. The exhibit features an array of relics — a cow skull, boots, a primitive sort of Swiss army knife, ski gear — as well as videos from Swiss glaciers, charts showing the level of thaw over the years, and a mockup of a glacier flow. Some, Burri says, was just rubbish. “It’s trash. People either lost it or threw it away. We don’t really know for sure,” he said. &#8220;But it does give an idea of the variety of things that are now being found as the glaciers melt away.” The remnants from the ice are stacked on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/a-treasury-of-ice-goes-on-show-revealing-relics-as-swiss-glaciers-rapidly-melt/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/a-treasury-of-ice-goes-on-show-revealing-relics-as-swiss-glaciers-rapidly-melt/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333504</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seabird guano and native trees keep islands above rising seas: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seabird-guano-and-native-trees-keep-islands-above-rising-seas-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seabird-guano-and-native-trees-keep-islands-above-rising-seas-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 16:48:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21114336/3-red-footed-booby_Jon-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333438</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Invasive Species, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Research, Science, Sea Levels, Seabirds, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Low-lying tropical atoll islands appear remarkably vulnerable to climate change. But when shrouded with native forests and with abundant seabird populations, these islands may keep up with rising sea levels, a new study finds. Seabirds act as biological pumps, moving nutrients from feeding areas in the open ocean to roosting and nesting areas on land [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Low-lying tropical atoll islands appear remarkably vulnerable to climate change. But when shrouded with native forests and with abundant seabird populations, these islands may keep up with rising sea levels, a new study finds. Seabirds act as biological pumps, moving nutrients from feeding areas in the open ocean to roosting and nesting areas on land and, eventually, back into the ocean. The recent Science Advances study traces how energy from nutrient-dense seabird guano trickles through terrestrial and marine ecosystems on atoll islands. The findings show that these nutrients, along with native vegetation, boost processes that build and maintain the island’s reef and underlying structure, even in the face of rising seas. Rewilding atoll islands — many of which no longer support seabirds and have seen native forests replaced by coconut palms — builds climate resilience, as well as benefiting biodiversity, Nicholas Graham, distinguished professor at Lancaster University, England, and the study’s first author, told Mongabay in a video call. “It’s really telling us something about the islands themselves,” Graham said. “Seabirds and native vegetation actually support the resilience of the islands themselves to sea level rise, which I think is fascinating and really quite positive.” Atoll islands of Tetiaroa Atoll, French Polynesia. Seabirds and native vegetation make low-lying atoll islands more resilient to sea level rise due to climate change, according to a recent study. Image by Yadvinder Malhi. Graham and colleagues first began looking into the connection between seabirds, islands and reefs nearly a decade ago. At the time,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seabird-guano-and-native-trees-keep-islands-above-rising-seas-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seabird-guano-and-native-trees-keep-islands-above-rising-seas-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333438</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh garment factory workers bear the brunt of rising temperatures</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bangladesh-garment-factory-workers-bear-the-brunt-of-rising-temperatures/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bangladesh-garment-factory-workers-bear-the-brunt-of-rising-temperatures/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 16:24:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usraat Fahmidah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21152116/AP25098468060228-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333487</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Climate, Climate Change, Consumption, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fellows, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Health, Heatwave, Industry, Social Justice, and Temperatures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One afternoon earlier this year, Mridula collapsed on the floor of the Dhaka garment factory where she works, overcome by dizziness in the heat. The 20-year-old sewing operator, who works at a factory in Mirpur, northwest Dhaka, said summer heat often leaves her restless and “physically uncomfortable.” &#8220;The heat can be very difficult to tolerate,&#8221; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One afternoon earlier this year, Mridula collapsed on the floor of the Dhaka garment factory where she works, overcome by dizziness in the heat. The 20-year-old sewing operator, who works at a factory in Mirpur, northwest Dhaka, said summer heat often leaves her restless and “physically uncomfortable.” &#8220;The heat can be very difficult to tolerate,&#8221; said Mridula, a pseudonym. Co-workers with high blood pressure seem to struggle even more during the hotter months, she has noticed. After she collapsed, she was taken to the factory&#8217;s medical room. She said the doctor told her to rest, then sent her home. &#8220;He gave me leave from work,&#8221; she said. Mridula was eventually diagnosed with jaundice, which can be exacerbated by dehydration and physical exertion. As temperatures climb, heat is becoming a serious concern for Bangladesh&#8217;s garment industry. Dhaka&#8217;s summers are setting new records. On April 15, 2023, the city reached 40.6°Celsius (105° Fahrenheit), then its highest temperature in decades, according to World Weather Attribution. Then, the following year, the country sweltered through a heat wave that lasted 30 days without a break. A 2025 report by the World Bank shows that Bangladesh&#8217;s maximum temperature has risen about 1.1°C (about 2°F) since 1980. Meanwhile, researchers are increasingly concerned about the health and economic consequences of rising temperatures, particularly for workers exposed to prolonged heat. For Bangladesh’s 4.2 million garment workers, approximately 60% of whom are women, who work indoors, rising temperatures raise urgent questions about occupational health and workplace safety. Factory workers operate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bangladesh-garment-factory-workers-bear-the-brunt-of-rising-temperatures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bangladesh-garment-factory-workers-bear-the-brunt-of-rising-temperatures/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333487</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Just transition remains elusive for Kenyan women despite robust policies</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/just-transition-remains-elusive-for-kenyan-women-despite-robust-policies/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/just-transition-remains-elusive-for-kenyan-women-despite-robust-policies/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 14:55:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ouma Elvine Tina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21065949/50792721872_35c376ac24_6k-kenya-solar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333396</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Community Development, Community Forests, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fellows, Gender, Governance, Just Transition, Politics, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Anna Fatuma is a 31-year-old woman who runs a kibandaski in Tumboni village, Kitui county in eastern Kenya. Kibandaski is Kenyan urban slang for an affordable, open-air urban eatery, often a small shack made of iron sheets, 3-ply wood or canvas. They are popular with low-income customers. Inside, smoke from firewood beneath simmering pots hangs [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Anna Fatuma is a 31-year-old woman who runs a kibandaski in Tumboni village, Kitui county in eastern Kenya. Kibandaski is Kenyan urban slang for an affordable, open-air urban eatery, often a small shack made of iron sheets, 3-ply wood or canvas. They are popular with low-income customers. Inside, smoke from firewood beneath simmering pots hangs in the air, while dark stains from settled soot mark the walls around cooking areas. The heat from the food, the smoke and the cramped space make the kibandaski humid and uncomfortable. Fatuma&#8217;s kibandaski is one of these small roadside eateries. She opens every day at 6 a.m., cooking and serving meals until about 8:30 p.m. The most expensive meal on her menu costs 250 Kenyan shillings, about $2. She started the business in 2024, hoping it would improve her financial situation and that of her husband, Sam. &#8220;Cooking gas is expensive. I can&#8217;t afford to buy and use it here,&#8221; she says. &#8220;Kuni, firewood is easier to find and cheaper to use. Charcoal is my preferred option, though it is expensive.&#8221; Fatuma often collects the firewood herself. The work leaves her with a persistent backache. On some days, she pays someone to collect it so she can arrive early enough to open the &#8220;hotel,&#8221; as she calls it. &#8220;Kamgongo kanauma. My back aches,&#8221; she says. &#8220;Paying someone to collect firewood isn&#8217;t ideal, but sometimes I am forced to. It&#8217;s also to make sure I open the hotel early.&#8221; Her routine might seem far removed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/just-transition-remains-elusive-for-kenyan-women-despite-robust-policies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/just-transition-remains-elusive-for-kenyan-women-despite-robust-policies/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333396</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>IUCN’s Madhu Rao on the world’s protected areas: Progress, pressures and the race to 2030</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/iucns-madhu-rao-on-the-worlds-protected-areas-progress-pressures-and-the-race-to-2030/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/iucns-madhu-rao-on-the-worlds-protected-areas-progress-pressures-and-the-race-to-2030/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 13:56:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21112232/amazon_200158-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333419</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Finance, Forests, Governance, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Research, Solutions, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A park ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo survived an ambush that killed colleagues. In Cambodia, mines and dams are pressing against land set aside for wildlife. In the Amazon, illegal miners are changing tactics as authorities try to remove them from Indigenous territories. These are different places, with different problems documented by Mongabay, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A park ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo survived an ambush that killed colleagues. In Cambodia, mines and dams are pressing against land set aside for wildlife. In the Amazon, illegal miners are changing tactics as authorities try to remove them from Indigenous territories. These are different places, with different problems documented by Mongabay, but they point to a question now confronting governments: How much protection does a protected area actually provide? That question will follow delegates to Yerevan, Armenia, for the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, COP17, from Oct. 19-30. In 2022, countries agreed to conserve at least 30% of land and inland waters and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030. The commitment, known as Target 3 or “30 by 30,” is not simply about drawing new boundaries on maps. It also requires conservation to work, ecosystems to remain connected and the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities to be respected. COP17 will conduct the first collective review of progress under the agreement. Also read: As global 30×30 goal lags, Colombia shows how progress can be made A new Earth Insight analysis maps oil, gas and mining concessions overlapping protected and conserved areas across the tropics, highlighting threats to global biodiversity goals. Image courtesy of Earth Insight. The evidence arriving ahead of the meeting is sobering. A new study by Earth Insight, the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and other partners found that nearly 62 million hectares (153 million acres) of terrestrial protected and conserved areas&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/iucns-madhu-rao-on-the-worlds-protected-areas-progress-pressures-and-the-race-to-2030/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/iucns-madhu-rao-on-the-worlds-protected-areas-progress-pressures-and-the-race-to-2030/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333419</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sustainable silvopasture is popular with US farmers despite waning financial supports</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sustainable-silvopasture-is-popular-with-u-s-farmers-despite-waning-financial-supports/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sustainable-silvopasture-is-popular-with-u-s-farmers-despite-waning-financial-supports/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 13:34:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20224010/silvopasture-sheep-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333104</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Climate Change, Environment, Food, Livestock, Natural Resources, Pasture, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[VERSHIRE, Vermont – When Sabra Ewing and Sebastian Lousada bought a tired dairy farm with pastures featuring old apple trees alongside sprouting maples, it was obvious that the grass below these trees&#8217; crowns was a lot lusher than in the open. Then they noticed their sheep began to prefer those shady spots, and their manure [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[VERSHIRE, Vermont – When Sabra Ewing and Sebastian Lousada bought a tired dairy farm with pastures featuring old apple trees alongside sprouting maples, it was obvious that the grass below these trees&#8217; crowns was a lot lusher than in the open. Then they noticed their sheep began to prefer those shady spots, and their manure added to the richness of the grass and of the other annual plants growing underneath. &#8220;You do a lot of observation when you&#8217;re a farmer, and when we put the heritage sheep in the orchard, we quickly noticed,&#8221; Ewing said in a phone interview after Mongabay&#8217;s recent visit. Then the couple discovered a grant program offered by the American Farmland Trust that would help them incorporate more kinds of trees into the 30 acres (just over 12 hectares) of pasture on their overall 250 acres (nearly 102 hectares). &#8220;I pounced on it, because I was already excited about this,&#8221; Ewing said. Flag Hill Farm co-owner Sebastian Lousada provides water to heritage breeds of sheep grazing under 80 varieties of apple and other sorts of useful trees, Vershire, VT. Image by Erik Hoffner for Mongabay. That grant and other financial supports like one from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)&#8217;s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helped turn their Flag Hill Farm – which now grazes heritage breeds of sheep under 80 varieties of apples plus other useful trees, to produce high quality wool, hard cider and brandy created in an on-farm distillery – into an idyllic,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sustainable-silvopasture-is-popular-with-u-s-farmers-despite-waning-financial-supports/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sustainable-silvopasture-is-popular-with-u-s-farmers-despite-waning-financial-supports/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333104</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Heavy rains during critical period of cacao cultivation hit Ghana’s yields</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/heavy-rains-during-critical-period-of-cacao-cultivation-hit-ghanas-yields/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/heavy-rains-during-critical-period-of-cacao-cultivation-hit-ghanas-yields/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 10:32:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21095641/a.-%C2%A9-mwintirew-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333406</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Cacao, Crops, Drought, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Farming, Forests, Governance, Plants, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heavy rainfall during the cacao flowering season is a major driver of Ghana&#8217;s recent harvest fluctuations, new research finds. A study published in September by researchers at the Harvard University Center for the Environment in the U.S. found that heavy rainfall during cacao’s flowering and early pod development is linked to significant yield decreases. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heavy rainfall during the cacao flowering season is a major driver of Ghana&#8217;s recent harvest fluctuations, new research finds. A study published in September by researchers at the Harvard University Center for the Environment in the U.S. found that heavy rainfall during cacao’s flowering and early pod development is linked to significant yield decreases. The researchers described how short, untypical rains during the flowering season, together with dry-season drought, is a major reason for recent fluctuations in Ghana’s cacao production. Ghana and Côte d&#8217;Ivoire together account for about 60% of global cocoa production, making West Africa central to the world&#8217;s chocolate supply. Cacao seeds are the primary ingredient in chocolate. The authors raised concerns about how these changing rainfall patterns could affect Ghana’s cacao industry, which is one of the West African country’s most important agricultural sectors. “Along with dry-season drought, [heavy rainfall during flowering and early pod development], those two factors alone explain about two-thirds of the year-to-year variability in Ghana&#8217;s production,” lead researcher Anna Lea Albright from Harvard told Mongabay via email. A flowering cacao tree in Ecuador’s Los Bancos Canton. Image courtesy of Pablo Leautaud via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0). Albright and her colleagues began looking into the issue in 2024, when global cacao prices surged after several poor harvests in West Africa. They considered several possible explanations for the trend, including aging trees, pests and diseases, gold mining, smuggling and weather. Analyzing daily rainfall and temperature records, the researchers noticed a pattern. Losses or gains during&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/heavy-rains-during-critical-period-of-cacao-cultivation-hit-ghanas-yields/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/heavy-rains-during-critical-period-of-cacao-cultivation-hit-ghanas-yields/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333406</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six beluga deaths cast a shadow over rescue from Canada’s Marineland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 10:04:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20160121/Credit-Shedd-Aquarium-Brenna-Hernandez-177-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333330</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Dolphins, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Whales, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Six members of a pod of 30 belugas, a fifth of the whales that were transferred from a marine park in Canada to facilities in the U.S. and Spain as part of a massive rescue operation, have died in the last two months. They were transported to the facilities in July and August after languishing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Six members of a pod of 30 belugas, a fifth of the whales that were transferred from a marine park in Canada to facilities in the U.S. and Spain as part of a massive rescue operation, have died in the last two months. They were transported to the facilities in July and August after languishing for more than a year at the Marineland theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which closed to the public in 2025. These cetaceans were among the last to be held captive in Canada, after the country passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act in 2019. The law banned the keeping, breeding, and trading of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) for entertainment, affecting Marineland’s business model. After months of uncertainty over the animals’ future — including threats of euthanasia and an attempt to send them to an entertainment park in China — a consortium of aquariums under the U.S. Association of Zoos &amp; Aquariums (AZA) devised the plan to transfer the 30 Marineland belugas. Sixteen went to SeaWorld facilities in California and Texas, 10 to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, two to Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, and two to Oceanogràfic València in Spain, which also took in four bottlenose dolphins. A captive beluga at SeaWorld San Diego. Image by Steven Snodgrass via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). On Aug. 26, Shedd Aquarium announced that Peekachu, a 23-year-old female beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) who had arrived at the facility on Aug. 13 and was blind in one&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333330</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildlife photography&#8217;s dirty little secret</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wildlife-photographys-dirty-little-secret/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wildlife-photographys-dirty-little-secret/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 09:55:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Izzy Sasada]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/21095451/ConservationEntangled_Featured-338x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333405</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Photos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Have you ever seen a wildlife photograph so spectacular that you’ve wondered if it was even real? Enter “photography game farms&#8221;: captive facilities where photographers can create photographs of wild animals, which they can then sell to stock sites, magazines and enter into awards. Photographers like @MelissaGroo are trying to put an end to this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Have you ever seen a wildlife photograph so spectacular that you’ve wondered if it was even real? Enter “photography game farms&#8221;: captive facilities where photographers can create photographs of wild animals, which they can then sell to stock sites, magazines and enter into awards. Photographers like @MelissaGroo are trying to put an end to this industry. As well as concerns about the conditions animals are kept in, many argue that photographs created in these facilities can give viewers a false impression of wild animal behaviour, as audiences are unaware images are staged.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wildlife-photographys-dirty-little-secret/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wildlife-photographys-dirty-little-secret/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333405</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Delegates at biodiversity COP17 should follow the lead of Global South women (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 00:40:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Valentina Figuera Martínez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/24184300/Captura-de-pantalla-2025-06-26-a-las-1.57.38-p.m-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333386</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity credits, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Finance, Gender, Governance, Nature-based climate solutions, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As global leaders convene in Armenia this week for the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of the parties (COP17), it is difficult to ignore how women’s oppression is deeply intertwined with the exploitation of ecosystems. After almost two decades of pledges, biodiversity action remains underfunded, forest loss continues to be a growing threat, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As global leaders convene in Armenia this week for the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of the parties (COP17), it is difficult to ignore how women’s oppression is deeply intertwined with the exploitation of ecosystems. After almost two decades of pledges, biodiversity action remains underfunded, forest loss continues to be a growing threat, socio-ecological transitions are a low priority, and ecosystems are spiraling toward collapse. The impacts of resulting climate disasters and biodiversity destruction are not felt equally, yet gender justice issues also remain unresolved within these international talks. In Yerevan, Armenia, countries will consider the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which was the first formal assessment to measure progress since its adoption in 2022. COP17 is also poised to advance efforts on biodiversity finance under the umbrella of common but differentiated responsibilities. But progress cannot be measured only in targets, financial commitments and international mechanisms. We should also ask a more basic question: What can we learn from the people who are already protecting biodiversity in their territories? Women leading agroecology and community conservation initiatives in Zambia. Image courtesy of Kapyanga Women Association &amp; Zamsof. While hundreds of policymakers spend long hours negotiating decisions to promote false solutions and powerful corporate actors lobby to continue profiting from biodiversity destruction and obstruct environmental regulations, women from the Global South continue working without big cameras or fancy social media presences to protect what is left of their territories. They are ensuring the continuation of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/delegates-at-biodiversity-cop17-should-follow-the-lead-of-global-south-women-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333386</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Search for the ‘Asian unicorn’ faces an uncertain future amid funding losses</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 22:26:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20221404/b.-W.-Robichaud_WCSSaola-600-dpi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333377</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, In-situ Conservation, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The search for the enigmatic creature often called the Asian unicorn is stumbling forward on a month-to-month basis, according to the Saola Foundation, which organizes the search. The group says it’s now frantically raising funds to keep the search for the saola in Laos going. &#8220;The team comes out of the forest each July for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The search for the enigmatic creature often called the Asian unicorn is stumbling forward on a month-to-month basis, according to the Saola Foundation, which organizes the search. The group says it’s now frantically raising funds to keep the search for the saola in Laos going. &#8220;The team comes out of the forest each July for the wet season. This year a sharp contraction in our funding meant we could not confirm they would go back in October,” said Lorraine Scotson, CEO of the Saola Foundation for the Conservation of the Annamite Mountains. Funding for October has only just come through, largely thanks to donations from a number of zoos, but fundraising continues for future months. The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) may well be the world’s most endangered large animal. The only member of its genus, the species is a tropical bovid that superficially resembles an antelope with its long, curved horns, thin face, and elegant facial markings. It’s believed to have remained this way largely unchanged for 15 million years. Found in the biodiverse Annamite Mountains, which straddle the border region of Laos, Vietnam, and a small portion of Cambodia, the saola was only discovered by scientists in 1992. Captive saola in Laos, 1996. Image by W. Robichaud/WCS. “Fewer than 50 are thought to remain, none are held in captivity, and the last confirmed record anywhere was a camera-trap photograph in 2013. Very few people have ever seen one alive,” Scotson said. Given this, the Saola Foundation launched a search in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333377</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mozambique’s Maputo National Park showcases biodiversity and shelters migratory birds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/mozambiques-maputo-national-park-showcases-biodiversity-and-shelters-migratory-birds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/mozambiques-maputo-national-park-showcases-biodiversity-and-shelters-migratory-birds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 22:25:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Wilson Odhiambo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20161411/Curlew_Sandpiper_Calidris_ferruginea_in_Breeding_plumage_by_Vedant_Kasambe_02-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333342</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Mozambique]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Habitat, Marine, Rehabilitation, Seabirds, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A recent State of the World’s Birds report found nearly half of the migratory birds assessed are declining. The stark finding comes as world governments are gathered in Armenia for the ongoing U.N. Biodiversity Conference to review progress toward global conservation goals. In southern Mozambique, Maputo National Park illustrates the biodiversity importance of conserving key [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A recent State of the World’s Birds report found nearly half of the migratory birds assessed are declining. The stark finding comes as world governments are gathered in Armenia for the ongoing U.N. Biodiversity Conference to review progress toward global conservation goals. In southern Mozambique, Maputo National Park illustrates the biodiversity importance of conserving key habitats for migratory birds offering food, rest and shelter for species traveling thousands of kilometers between breeding and wintering grounds. The park’s diverse ecosystems include coastal lagoons, wetlands, mangroves, freshwater systems, intertidal mudflats and extensive shorelines — all supporting a wide range of migratory and resident birds. Its location along the southern African coast makes the park an important part of the network of habitats that sustain birds throughout their annual journeys. “The park bridges the gap between Eurasian breeding grounds and southern African over-wintering zones,” Alex Ngari, migratory birds and flyways programme manager with BirdLife International Africa told Mongabay by email. The park lies within the Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism, a global biodiversity hotspot. ‘’It provides a safe place for exhausted birds to replenish their energy after long-distance flights,” Ngari said. He offered the example of the vulnerable to extinction curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), a migratory shorebird that breeds in Arctic regions and migrates to southern Africa where it feeds on invertebrates in the park’s mudflats for the winter. The park’s marine and inland waters, coastal lakes and lagoons also provide seasonal habitat for osprey, Madagascar bee-eaters, flamingos and several heron species, he&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/mozambiques-maputo-national-park-showcases-biodiversity-and-shelters-migratory-birds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333342</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For Australia’s Indigenous Desert Alliance, caring for Country starts with a story</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/for-australias-indigenous-desert-alliance-caring-for-country-starts-with-a-story/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/for-australias-indigenous-desert-alliance-caring-for-country-starts-with-a-story/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 20:07:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike DiGirolamo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mikedigirolamo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/19032058/ESC5011_SCREEN_GRAB_9_v2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=333192</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Conservation Philosophy, Culture, Deserts, Ecosystems, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This week on the Mongabay Newscast, Samantha Murray, CEO of the Indigenous Desert Alliance, joins the program to discuss the IDA’s recent nomination for an Earthshot Prize. The alliance is a network of 70 ranger teams across the Australian desert, covering 270 million hectares (667 million acres), an area almost as large as Argentina. This [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This week on the Mongabay Newscast, Samantha Murray, CEO of the Indigenous Desert Alliance, joins the program to discuss the IDA’s recent nomination for an Earthshot Prize. The alliance is a network of 70 ranger teams across the Australian desert, covering 270 million hectares (667 million acres), an area almost as large as Argentina. This makes it the largest Indigenous-led conservation corridor on the planet. Murray and her network of 885 rangers have helped restore biodiversity to 140 million hectares (346 million acres) of land over the past four years using the practice of cultural burning, a cultural and ecological management practice that has been present in Aboriginal culture for millennia. The IDA administers this through its “Right Way Desert Fire” program. Murray discusses the various ways in which this cultural knowledge is shared among ranger teams and the IDA via the guidance of Traditional Owners, the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islands individuals with ancestral, physical, or spiritual ties to the land. Traditional Owners may accompany rangers to what’s known as Country — the Indigenous concept of a holistic, living entity encompassing the physical land, waters, skies, and all living things — and direct where and how to burn, in part because the knowledge is passed down through oral storytelling. “We don&#8217;t get handed down a manual or a handbook on how to do [the] right way of burning all that knowledge,” Murray says. “And so we are very much [following] an oral history and showing practically what to do.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/for-australias-indigenous-desert-alliance-caring-for-country-starts-with-a-story/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/for-australias-indigenous-desert-alliance-caring-for-country-starts-with-a-story/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333192</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US deep-sea mining claims in Pacific&#8217;s high seas now rival the area set aside by international regulator</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/10/us-deep-sea-mining-claims-in-pacifics-high-seas-now-rival-the-area-set-aside-by-international-regulator/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/10/us-deep-sea-mining-claims-in-pacifics-high-seas-now-rival-the-area-set-aside-by-international-regulator/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 18:28:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrés AlegríaElizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20122409/seegurke_SO239_157ROV11-deep-sea-cucumber-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=custom-story&#038;p=333351</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Controversial, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N.-associated body, has long managed activities related to deep-sea mining in international waters. But after the Trump administration issued an executive order in 2025 calling for the U.S. to develop its deep-sea mining sector, companies have been applying to the U.S. for rights to explore and exploit the international [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N.-associated body, has long managed activities related to deep-sea mining in international waters. But after the Trump administration issued an executive order in 2025 calling for the U.S. to develop its deep-sea mining sector, companies have been applying to the U.S. for rights to explore and exploit the international seabed, challenging the ISA’s authority. In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean, a hotspot of mining interest in international waters, a Mongabay analysis shows that companies have either applied to the U.S. or already been granted rights to areas of the seabed equal to about half the expanse already designated for mining activities by the ISA. Several of these claims overlap, as depicted in our interactive map, raising concerns about the management of the international seabed. Critics already concerned that deep-sea mining could have detrimental effects on the marine environment said U.S.-led acceleration of the industry would only benefit the U.S. and U.S. companies, rather than benefiting developing nations, as the ISA is mandated to do. U.S. ambitions to mine the deep sea are rapidly expanding across the ocean, not only in the country’s own waters, but also on the high seas — the vast expanse of ocean outside any one country’s jurisdiction. In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean, a hotspot of mining interest in international waters, a Mongabay analysis shows that companies have either applied to the U.S. or already been granted rights to areas of the seabed equal to about&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/10/us-deep-sea-mining-claims-in-pacifics-high-seas-now-rival-the-area-set-aside-by-international-regulator/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/10/us-deep-sea-mining-claims-in-pacifics-high-seas-now-rival-the-area-set-aside-by-international-regulator/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333351</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The women keeping Uttarakhand’s native bees alive</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 17:58:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Swati Thapa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/19172030/Indian-Honey-Bee-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333126</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bees, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Culture, Environment, Gender, Indigenous Peoples, Insects, Natural Resources, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PITHORAGARH, Uttarakhand, India — The world comes alive during summers in Himalayan states like Uttarakhand. The forests are budding with new green leaves, and almost every trail is lined on both sides with flowers of many shapes, sizes and colors. With the flora, fauna comes to life as well. Saraswati Devi, 80, sits in her [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PITHORAGARH, Uttarakhand, India — The world comes alive during summers in Himalayan states like Uttarakhand. The forests are budding with new green leaves, and almost every trail is lined on both sides with flowers of many shapes, sizes and colors. With the flora, fauna comes to life as well. Saraswati Devi, 80, sits in her courtyard with bees buzzing in and out of the wall hive where the colony lives in her home. “Bees are considered so sacred and an important part of people’s lives that we have faag songs about them,” Saraswati says. Faag are traditional songs sung at joyous and auspicious occasions like weddings and festivals in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. She and her fellow women hum a melody that Saraswati sang at weddings. Bees come to those homes where children play; But at homes with no children, the bees won’t stay. For centuries here, people’s lives have been intertwined with the bees, creating a unique interdependence. In rural Uttarakhand, many households share their homes with an indigenous species, Apis cerana indica, commonly known as the Indian honey bee or Himalayan honey bee. However, factors like climate change, introduction of new bee species for more honey production, habitat fragmentation and inadequate nutrition are among the reasons for a decline in their population. As rearing bees is a natural part of household duties, women’s role becomes central in the conservation of this species. Saraswati Devi, along with her family, standing beneath the opening of the wall hive, with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-women-keeping-uttarakhands-native-bees-alive/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333126</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As silky sharks decline, Costa Rica’s dominant trade faces a reckoning</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 17:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/17023353/silky1_Silky_shark_Bahamas_Brendan_Talwar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333033</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Central America, China, Costa Rica, East Asia, Global, Hong Kong, Indian Ocean, Latin America, North America, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Sharks, Trade, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Inside an inspection facility in Hong Kong in 2018, shark biologist Diego Cardeñosa stared at dozens of large white bags. They were stacked, sometimes six or seven high, beneath strip lights hanging from the ceiling. Each bag weighed more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) — and was stuffed with shark fins. “It was the first [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Inside an inspection facility in Hong Kong in 2018, shark biologist Diego Cardeñosa stared at dozens of large white bags. They were stacked, sometimes six or seven high, beneath strip lights hanging from the ceiling. Each bag weighed more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) — and was stuffed with shark fins. “It was the first time I saw that,” Cardeñosa wrote in an email to Mongabay. “Obviously, as a student, it was a shock and [a] reality check for me.” Cardeñosa, now a shark trade researcher at Florida International University in the U.S., lived in Hong Kong in 2018 and returned repeatedly from 2015 to 2020 as part of his PhD field research at Stony Brook University, also in the U.S. He helped train law enforcement in Hong Kong to use a mobile DNA kit to identify shark species whose trade is regulated under CITES, a treaty signed by 184 countries and the European Union that establishes rules for international trade in imperiled plants, wildlife, and their products. Many of the fins Cardeñosa saw in Hong Kong back in 2018 were cut from silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis). Like all shark species, silkies are heavily hunted for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup in China and Southeast Asia; they are also netted in vast numbers as bycatch. Shark numbers have cratered over the last 50 years. A 2024 study found that overfishing has halved populations of roughly 1,200 species of sharks and rays since 1970. An average of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333033</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Stay alive&#8217;: Brazil&#8217;s Indigenous people mobilize to vote for Lula to protect their rights</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/stay-alive-brazils-indigenous-people-mobilize-to-vote-for-lula-to-protect-their-rights/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/stay-alive-brazils-indigenous-people-mobilize-to-vote-for-lula-to-protect-their-rights/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 16:04:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20155737/AP26099783926080-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333336</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, Protected Areas, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“It’s such a simple phrase: stay alive! The other side is necropolitics.” This appeal was made by philosopher and prominent Indigenous leader Ailton Krenak to Brazilians to reelect President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over far-right candidate, senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Flávio’s statement that he will not demarcate any Indigenous lands “reveals his malicious intent to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“It’s such a simple phrase: stay alive! The other side is necropolitics.” This appeal was made by philosopher and prominent Indigenous leader Ailton Krenak to Brazilians to reelect President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over far-right candidate, senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Flávio’s statement that he will not demarcate any Indigenous lands “reveals his malicious intent to do everything in his power to prevent Indigenous peoples from surviving,” Krenak said, drawing parallels with Flávio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022). Indigenous people have mobilized on social media and in the streets, warning of threats to their rights and the environment in the event of a victory by Flávio Bolsonaro, who, like his father, supports agricultural expansion and mining on Indigenous lands. “Fight with Lula,” posted the Arariboia Indigenous Territory profile on Instagram, stating that the defense of Indigenous peoples “must be reflected in public policies.” &#8220;Indigenous Peoples with Lula! Vote in the runoff election for the demarcation of Indigenous Lands!” posted the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) in a call for a national mobilization on Oct. 18, which brought together thousands of Indigenous people. Another mobilization is planned for Oct. 21. Artists held a rally in Rio de Janeiro that drew more than 50,000 people and Lula supporters mobilized in 22 other state capitals. This pro-Lula movement intensified after Lula narrowly lost the first round of elections on Oct. 4, contrary to the election polls that showed him leading. “We cannot accept setbacks that endanger our territories, our lives, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/stay-alive-brazils-indigenous-people-mobilize-to-vote-for-lula-to-protect-their-rights/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/stay-alive-brazils-indigenous-people-mobilize-to-vote-for-lula-to-protect-their-rights/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333336</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can larger batteries safely power residential buildings? A project in New York aims to show how</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/can-larger-batteries-safely-power-residential-buildings-a-project-in-new-york-aims-to-show-how/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/can-larger-batteries-safely-power-residential-buildings-a-project-in-new-york-aims-to-show-how/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 15:41:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20153343/AP26292597463874-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333334</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Batteries, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A battery system that stores excess energy when it’s plentiful will power an apartment building in Buffalo, New York, when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The manufacturer and state officials hope it will show that larger batteries can safely operate where people live and work. Buffalo-based battery storage manufacturer Viridi and developer [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A battery system that stores excess energy when it’s plentiful will power an apartment building in Buffalo, New York, when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The manufacturer and state officials hope it will show that larger batteries can safely operate where people live and work. Buffalo-based battery storage manufacturer Viridi and developer Good Carbon Co. say the lithium-ion battery system is connected to the electric grid for Peace Bridge Place. Viridi says the 3.75 megawatt-hour system can power the building for several days. It&#8217;s among the largest of these systems in a U.S. residential building. By Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press Banner image: A sign for Peace Bridge Place apartments that have Viridi&#8217;s lithium-ion battery energy storage system in Buffalo, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Image courtesy of Lauren Petracca, Associated Press. This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/can-larger-batteries-safely-power-residential-buildings-a-project-in-new-york-aims-to-show-how/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/can-larger-batteries-safely-power-residential-buildings-a-project-in-new-york-aims-to-show-how/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333334</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Recycled glass offers a potential new tool to restore a vanishing coastline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/recycled-glass-offers-a-potential-new-tool-to-restore-a-vanishing-coastline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/recycled-glass-offers-a-potential-new-tool-to-restore-a-vanishing-coastline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 15:35:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Biasoli]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20143608/a.-%C2%A9-Sean-Krieg-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333302</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Louisiana, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Erosion, Fish, Landscape Restoration, Marine, Recycling, Research, Restoration, Saltwater Fish, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every 100 minutes, the U.S. state of Louisiana loses a soccer field’s worth of land to coastal erosion. It’s a natural process intensified by the acceleration of sea level rise and human activities like oil and gas extraction and alterations to the course of the Mississippi River. During the past century, the state lost 4,662 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every 100 minutes, the U.S. state of Louisiana loses a soccer field’s worth of land to coastal erosion. It’s a natural process intensified by the acceleration of sea level rise and human activities like oil and gas extraction and alterations to the course of the Mississippi River. During the past century, the state lost 4,662 square kilometers (1,800 square miles) of land. Vanishing wetlands and altered estuaries make coastal communities, ecosystems and economies — including Louisiana’s $319 billion seafood industry — increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes, storms, and floods. The state has spent billions of dollars on restoration, including using offshore sand and river sediment to rebuild barrier islands and shorelines. But suitable sediment for these massive projects is in short supply. Since 2020, a New Orleans-based company called Glass Half Full has been testing a potential solution: Transforming used glass bottles into sand and gravel to construct small experimental islands and berms for coastal restoration projects. Before such projects can be scaled up, however, the effects of introducing these fill materials into the environment must be better understood. So Glass Half Full teamed up with Tulane University in New Orleans to create Project ReCoast, a five-year research project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation that explores the use of sand made from recycled glass in coastal restoration. One of the resulting studies, published in the journal Restoration Ecology in April, found no significant differences in survival of several native estuarine animals exposed to recycled glass sand compared with other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/recycled-glass-offers-a-potential-new-tool-to-restore-a-vanishing-coastline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333302</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil election puts unprecedented Indigenous ministry at risk if Flávio Bolsonaro wins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/brazil-election-puts-unprecedented-indigenous-ministry-at-risk-if-flavio-bolsonaro-wins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/brazil-election-puts-unprecedented-indigenous-ministry-at-risk-if-flavio-bolsonaro-wins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 14:11:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20133906/Eloy-Terena_IMG_3801-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333282</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Culture, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A quick stroke of a pen could erase years of achievements of the country's Indigenous peoples.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&#8220;With a single stroke of a pen, he can undo all the achievements we have accomplished in these almost four years,&#8221; said the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Eloy Terena, regarding a possible victory of the far-right candidate, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, for Brazil&#8217;s Presidency. &#8220;We are very concerned.&#8221; With 47.03% of the vote, Flávio topped the first round of the presidential election on Oct. 4, despite voting polls showing current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the favorite for reelection. &#8220;If elected, one of the first ministries that will be abolished is the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples,&#8221; Terena told Mongabay by phone. &#8220;For us, this is a given, because it&#8217;s a government that has no commitment to Indigenous peoples.&#8221; The candidates face a runoff on Sunday, Oct. 25. The unprecedented Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) was created by Lula in January 2023, fulfilling a promise to native peoples who supported his candidacy. Sonia Guajajara was appointed minister, the first time an Indigenous person led a ministry. &#8220;The creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples has a very great symbolic, but also effective, power, because it is a government that comes precisely after a period in which Indigenous peoples were extremely attacked during Bolsonaro’s administration,&#8221; said Terena, who took office in March when Sonia left the ministry to run for reelection as a federal deputy for São Paulo. The unprecedented Ministry of Indigenous Peoples was created by President Lula in January 2023. Sonia Guajajara was appointed minister, marking the first time&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/brazil-election-puts-unprecedented-indigenous-ministry-at-risk-if-flavio-bolsonaro-wins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/brazil-election-puts-unprecedented-indigenous-ministry-at-risk-if-flavio-bolsonaro-wins/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333282</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six new calves offer hope amid ongoing threats to Cambodia&#8217;s Irrawaddy dolphins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/six-new-calves-offer-hope-amid-ongoing-threats-to-cambodias-irrawaddy-dolphins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/six-new-calves-offer-hope-amid-ongoing-threats-to-cambodias-irrawaddy-dolphins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 12:55:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20125459/Irrawaddy-dolphins-in-Cambodia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333279</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Culture, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Fishing, Freshwater, Illegal Fishing, Mammals, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia’s population of critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins has increased to an estimated 118 individuals since the confirmed birth of six calves this year. They were born along a 120-kilometer (75-mile) stretch of the river in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, in the country’s northeast. Conservation officials say the births are a strong sign that the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia’s population of critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins has increased to an estimated 118 individuals since the confirmed birth of six calves this year. They were born along a 120-kilometer (75-mile) stretch of the river in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, in the country’s northeast. Conservation officials say the births are a strong sign that the river’s sole cetaceans can recover if severe environmental threats are curbed, reports contributor Eung Sea for Mongabay. In Cambodia and Laos, Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are regarded as sacred animals representing the ancestral spirit of the river. They also generate vital ecotourism revenue for riverside communities. “Irrawaddy dolphins are very important for our community,” said Heang Koeurn, a boat driver at the Kampi dolphin pool, a 60-meter-deep (nearly 200-foot) stretch of the Mekong that serves as a protected habitat for some 20 Irrawaddy dolphins in Kratie. “People here can make more income from tourists by driving them to see the beauty of Irrawaddy dolphins.” “They are a source of Cambodian national and local pride,” said Ian Baird, a professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the U.S. “They may also inspire people to protect the river and its tributaries from the impacts of more dams in the future.” Yet the Irrawaddy dolphin population in Cambodia’s section of the Mekong remains far below late-1990s estimates of roughly 200 individuals. The steep decline is largely from electrofishing, habitat degradation, and gillnet entanglement, which is especially deadly for calves, Sea reported. Additionally, more than 160 dams&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/six-new-calves-offer-hope-amid-ongoing-threats-to-cambodias-irrawaddy-dolphins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/six-new-calves-offer-hope-amid-ongoing-threats-to-cambodias-irrawaddy-dolphins/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333279</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nigeria’s parks chief stresses conservation gains amid struggle to protect wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nigerias-parks-chief-stresses-conservation-gains-amid-struggle-to-protect-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nigerias-parks-chief-stresses-conservation-gains-amid-struggle-to-protect-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 12:03:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20104510/489884393_4050728211875253_83195258688067382_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333217</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Governance, Mining, Natural Resources, trafficking, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nigeria has scored a significant conservation victory with the closure of a major illegal gold mine near Gashaka-Gumti National Park, the country&#8217;s largest national park, according to National Park Service Ibrahim Musa Goni. An estimated 4,000 miners have been driven from the Kila mining area following an operation involving the National Park Service, the Nigerian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nigeria has scored a significant conservation victory with the closure of a major illegal gold mine near Gashaka-Gumti National Park, the country&#8217;s largest national park, according to National Park Service Ibrahim Musa Goni. An estimated 4,000 miners have been driven from the Kila mining area following an operation involving the National Park Service, the Nigerian military, state governments and conservation partner African Nature Investors (ANI). But Goni, conservator-general of Nigeria&#8217;s National Park Service, is under no illusion that the problem has been settled. The gold remains underground, and the miners could return. &#8220;There is a tendency the miners might come back,&#8221; he told Mongabay. For Goni, who has led the service since 2017, the Kila operation is one of the achievements of which he is most proud. He believes the approach could work in other Nigerian parks struggling with illegal mining and insecurity. Yet protecting these landscapes has come at a heavy price. Rangers have been injured and even killed confronting illegal miners and armed groups. Elsewhere, insecurity has forced the suspension of tourism in parts of Kainji Lake and Chad Basin national parks. Goni insists that 13 of the 17 national parks in Nigeria remain operational and active, even where access has become dangerous. Watch: Return to Gashaka-Gumti Read: Nigeria drove thousands of gold miners from a national park. But can it keep them out? There are other difficult questions. For example, what happens to the thousands of miners who have lost their livelihoods? Can the government keep them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nigerias-parks-chief-stresses-conservation-gains-amid-struggle-to-protect-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nigerias-parks-chief-stresses-conservation-gains-amid-struggle-to-protect-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333217</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bank credit remains scarce in Bangladesh where climate risks are highest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bank-credit-remains-scarce-in-bangladesh-where-climate-risks-are-highest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bank-credit-remains-scarce-in-bangladesh-where-climate-risks-are-highest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 12:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sajibur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20113550/52423722318_20fc2ff926_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333248</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, climate finance, Climate Justice, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, and Sea Levels]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For 34-year-old Saiful Gazi — a resident of Ramjannagar Union in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, an area highly vulnerable to climate change — securing institutional financing is a major struggle. Gazi, who supports a family of four, endured the devastating Cyclone Aila on May 25, 2009. Cyclone Aila claimed 190 lives and affected approximately 3.9 million people [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For 34-year-old Saiful Gazi — a resident of Ramjannagar Union in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, an area highly vulnerable to climate change — securing institutional financing is a major struggle. Gazi, who supports a family of four, endured the devastating Cyclone Aila on May 25, 2009. Cyclone Aila claimed 190 lives and affected approximately 3.9 million people in Bangladesh. Despite living in a disaster-prone region, he ventured into the fish business in 2022. Although he recently applied for a loan from a private bank to expand his operations, his application was rejected due to a lack of collateral and the necessary documentation. He was compelled to take out a high-interest loan from a local NGO to keep his business running. Across Bangladesh, some of the regions most exposed to cyclones, floods, salinity and river erosion continue to receive only a small share of the country’s bank credit, raising questions about whether formal financing is reaching communities that need it in order to adapt to a changing climate. In Bangladesh, there are eight divisions named after the major regional cities: Barishal, Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet. These divisions are the highest administrative unit in the country. Bangladesh Bank data show that lending remains heavily concentrated in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, the country’s main commercial and industrial centers. Together, the two divisions accounted for about three-quarters of total bank loans and advances in the April-June quarter of 2026. The concentration is particularly striking in climate-vulnerable areas. Barishal, Khulna, Sylhet and Mymensingh&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bank-credit-remains-scarce-in-bangladesh-where-climate-risks-are-highest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/bank-credit-remains-scarce-in-bangladesh-where-climate-risks-are-highest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333248</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildfire in Indonesia’s Mount Bromo National Park kills 4 firefighters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildfire-in-indonesias-mount-bromo-national-park-kills-4-firefighters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildfire-in-indonesias-mount-bromo-national-park-kills-4-firefighters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 11:16:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eko Widianto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20110622/Arjuno-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333223</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forests, Health, Public Health, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MALANG, Indonesia — Four people were killed on Oct. 15 as they fought to contain a wildfire in the east of Java Island at the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, a complex of active volcanoes and one of Indonesia’s best-known tourism destinations. The fire took place by a savanna and hillside in a crater visited [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MALANG, Indonesia — Four people were killed on Oct. 15 as they fought to contain a wildfire in the east of Java Island at the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, a complex of active volcanoes and one of Indonesia’s best-known tourism destinations. The fire took place by a savanna and hillside in a crater visited by hundreds of thousands of domestic and international tourists every year. “Their dedication serves as a reminder that behind every effort to protect nature and society lies struggle, courage, and sacrifice that deserve respect,” said Berton S.P. Panjaitan, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s disaster management agency, the BNPB. Indonesia’s environment minister identified the four victims as Sukaris, a national park civil servant; Wisnu Yuda Pratama and Sefriel Ardiansyah, who were employees of a hotel services company PT Mitra Indo Permai; and Hendra Rony Wagiyanta, a member of the state firefighting unit, Manggala Agni. Hendra, who was evacuated to Tongas hospital in Probolinggo, the nearest town, died due to the injuries hours later. Much of Indonesia’s most severe fire damage occurs in carbon-rich peatlands on the islands of Borneo, New Guinea and Sumatra. Fires are common in other parts of the country, but rarely lead to fatalities. Tanker trucks have been deployed to help extinguish the fire in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park area. Image courtesy of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. Forest and land fires on Mount Arjuno, Sept. 2. Sea of sand On Oct. 10, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park officers received notification of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildfire-in-indonesias-mount-bromo-national-park-kills-4-firefighters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/wildfire-in-indonesias-mount-bromo-national-park-kills-4-firefighters/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333223</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, AI builds on local knowledge to help prevent tiger attacks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 08:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Praveen Kumar Yadav]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20073636/AP21090541435051-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333197</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Big Cats, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Culture, Education, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Monitoring, Software, Technology, Tigers, Top Predators, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was involved in, happen, people get angry,” says Tharu, who is now chair of the Gauri Community Forest on the fringes of Bardiya National Park, a global hotspot for the endangered big cats. “Tigers have their role in the ecosystem, and both people and tigers should coexist,” Tharu says. His perspective comes as Nepal&#8217;s tiger population reaches a record 429 individuals, with Bardiya alone hosting 112. To avoid human-tiger encounters such as the one Tharu experienced, researchers turned to a survival skill long practiced by local people: listening to the forest. And for a while, at least, it seemed to have worked. The pilot project, documented in a recently published study, tested an artificial intelligence-powered system that “listens” to alarm calls from chital deer (Axis axis) and maps areas where tigers (Panthera tigris) or leopards (Panthera pardus) may be present and that humans should avoid. A chital deer in Bardiya National Park. The pilot project tested an AI-powered system that “listens” to alarm calls from chital deer. Image by Sunuwargr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). A forest that speaks Long before researchers arrived with sensors and machine-learning models, Indigenous communities in Bardiya had already been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333197</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Large animals are living carbon stores. Does that make saving them a climate solution?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 02:47:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/16155427/c.-Julie-Larsen-_6422_African-Elephants_KEN_03-09-14-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332957</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Earth Science, Elephants, Environment, Forest Carbon, Global Environmental Crisis, Research, Science, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Great herds of elephants once crisscrossed Africa, and scientists have no doubt that they shaped the landscape, ecosystems and — as recent science has shown — the balance of carbon. Though it&#8217;s difficult to be certain of exact numbers, some scientists muse that over the past five centuries, humans have driven a loss of 98% [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Great herds of elephants once crisscrossed Africa, and scientists have no doubt that they shaped the landscape, ecosystems and — as recent science has shown — the balance of carbon. Though it&#8217;s difficult to be certain of exact numbers, some scientists muse that over the past five centuries, humans have driven a loss of 98% of the continent’s elephants. A more recent, often-cited figure from the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, put the continent&#8217;s elephant population at 1.3 million in the 1970s. Research since then has suggested that overall numbers of savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) have dropped by 70%, driven by hunting and habitat loss. Their forest cousins, Loxodonta cyclotis, have likely slid by 90%. As scientists have begun to uncover the interactions between carbon and big animals like elephants, there&#8217;s a been a push to &#8220;rewild&#8221; landscapes for the benefit of the climate. The ocean&#8217;s massive whales similarly offer that potential. As the largest animals that have ever existed on Earth, their bodies alone serve as substantial reservoirs that could keep climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere over the course of the decades (or more) that they live. Other research has sketched out a whale pump: Whales’ nutrient-rich waste also supports phytoplankton, which absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide. Cetacean contributions to carbon sequestration continue even after they die, as their bodies sometimes sink to the ocean floor, where a range of deep-sea organisms feed on them, keeping that carbon out of the atmosphere. Centuries of hunting have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332957</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Navigating crisis and opportunity in conservation funding (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/navigating-crisis-and-opportunity-in-conservation-funding-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/navigating-crisis-and-opportunity-in-conservation-funding-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Oct 2026 23:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fred Nelson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20182411/Seaweed_farming_7277-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333181</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Navigating conservation's crisis]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Funding, and philanthropy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The past two years have been a dramatic period for conservation funding. The greatest attention has focused on the sudden dissolution of USAID in early 2025, as well as the wider crisis in aid funding as European development budgets also undergo major shifts; total international development aid fell by roughly a quarter last year. These [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The past two years have been a dramatic period for conservation funding. The greatest attention has focused on the sudden dissolution of USAID in early 2025, as well as the wider crisis in aid funding as European development budgets also undergo major shifts; total international development aid fell by roughly a quarter last year. These changes are driven by political forces and financial pressures that are only likely to intensify in the coming years. USAID’s dissolution alone removed $1 billion annually from the international environmental funding ecosystem, creating sudden deficits and fiscal crises for organizations large and small, all around the world. While most conservation organizations impacted by these changes in the near term are understandably focused on plugging gaps, keeping programs running, and addressing shortfalls, the bigger picture is reckoning with the ‘end of big aid’ and what the future of global conservation funding looks like. Beyond the aid crisis and its implications, though, the present moment is also one of dynamic change and new opportunities in global conservation funding. While it cannot replace the sheer volume of lost public development aid, private philanthropic funding for conservation is on the increase. Climate mitigation funding from foundations- of which nature conservation and restoration is now a significant focus- more than doubled between 2020 and 2024, to roughly $6 billion. A great deal of much-needed focus in recent years has been on the lack of conservation and climate funding reaching Indigenous Peoples and local communities, but here there is also significant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/navigating-crisis-and-opportunity-in-conservation-funding-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333181</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Loss of a rare lake reveals how warming has hit the Canadian Arctic’s ‘planetary fridge’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/loss-of-a-rare-lake-reveals-how-warming-has-hit-the-canadian-arctics-planetary-fridge/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/loss-of-a-rare-lake-reveals-how-warming-has-hit-the-canadian-arctics-planetary-fridge/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Oct 2026 22:35:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/19154023/Polar_Bear_AdF-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333108</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Canada, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Earth Science, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Ice Shelves, Impact Of Climate Change, Marine, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Research, Sea Ice, and Temperatures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When an ice shelf blocks a polar fjord, it sparks the creation of an ecosystem like no other: the epishelf lake. Meltwater pools up behind the ice shelf, floating above the denser seawater, with both freshwater and marine species found in distinct layers within the same water column. But Canada’s last known epishelf lake, at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When an ice shelf blocks a polar fjord, it sparks the creation of an ecosystem like no other: the epishelf lake. Meltwater pools up behind the ice shelf, floating above the denser seawater, with both freshwater and marine species found in distinct layers within the same water column. But Canada’s last known epishelf lake, at Milne Fjord on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, is gone. The lake drained out to sea after the Milne Ice Shelf calved in 2020, and it won’t return, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports. Ellesmere Island lies within the Last Ice Area, a region of the Arctic that scientists have long thought would retain its sea ice longer than elsewhere as the planet warms. The changes at Milne Fjord are a signal of accelerating climate change, with implications for the entire planet. “What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic,” study co-author Derek Mueller, a professor at Carleton University in Ontario, told Mongabay in a video call. Meltwater lakes form in the depressions of Milne Ice Shelf every summer. Image by Jérémie Bonneau. In the past, ice shelves dammed Ellesmere’s many fjords, with an estimated 10 to 17 epishelf lakes perched along its north coast as recently as the 20th century. But over the past several decades, dramatic warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has transformed this region. One by one, giant ice shelves have split and calved, allowing the epishelf lakes to drain away. When the massive 65-meter-deep&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/loss-of-a-rare-lake-reveals-how-warming-has-hit-the-canadian-arctics-planetary-fridge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333108</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Exceptionally severe’ oil well eruption in Niger raises fears for threatened desert wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/exceptionally-severe-oil-well-eruption-in-niger-raises-fears-for-threatened-desert-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/exceptionally-severe-oil-well-eruption-in-niger-raises-fears-for-threatened-desert-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Oct 2026 22:01:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/19201717/Niger_Melek_oil_installations_NGourti12-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=333170</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Niger]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Biodiversity, Deserts, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Mammals, Oil, Pollution, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An oil well in southern Niger has been spewing crude oil and gas into the air since Sept. 25, damaging nearby installations and raising concerns about the potential impact on wildlife. Authorities reported the situation was still not fully under control four weeks later. “An environmental incident of exceptional severity occurred at the Goumeri W8 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An oil well in southern Niger has been spewing crude oil and gas into the air since Sept. 25, damaging nearby installations and raising concerns about the potential impact on wildlife. Authorities reported the situation was still not fully under control four weeks later. “An environmental incident of exceptional severity occurred at the Goumeri W8 oil well,” Abdoulkarim Mohamed Ali, general secretary of Niger’s Ministry of Petroleum, said in a statement broadcast on Oct. 12. The disaster was “characterized by the ejection of large quantities of crude oil and gas to heights of more than 10 meters,” or 33 feet. As the statement was read on state TV, striking images showed crude oil erupting from the well like a geyser and spilling across the site. According to Ali, the situation was still “not fully under control” and could even get worse. “The platform, shared with the Goumeri W3 and W4 oil wells, has sustained significant damage, also compromising the integrity of these two neighboring installations,” the statement added. Initial findings ruled out the possibility of a criminal or terrorist act, though the cause of the eruption remains unknown, the statement said. A field mission including the petroleum minister and the environment minister was deployed on Oct. 14 to assess the situation. The team was able to meet the engineers working on the disaster, as well as a team sent by the Algerian government to assist. The Goumeri W8, W3 and W4 wells are part of the Agadem oil block, operated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/exceptionally-severe-oil-well-eruption-in-niger-raises-fears-for-threatened-desert-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333170</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Finance and Indigenous rights top Africans’ agenda as biodiversity summit opens in Yerevan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/finance-and-indigenous-rights-top-africans-agenda-as-biodiversity-summit-opens-in-yerevan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/finance-and-indigenous-rights-top-africans-agenda-as-biodiversity-summit-opens-in-yerevan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Oct 2026 20:23:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka MukpoJohn CannonLatoya AbuluTerna Gyuse]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/17140534/maasai-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333161</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Madagascar, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Environmental Policy, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity&#8217;s 17th summit opens in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct. 19, what’s at stake for Africa? In 2022, parties signed the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, agreeing to maintain, restore, and substantially increase the area of natural ecosystems and end human-induced extinction of threatened species; to sustainable use of biodiversity; to fair [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity&#8217;s 17th summit opens in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct. 19, what’s at stake for Africa? In 2022, parties signed the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, agreeing to maintain, restore, and substantially increase the area of natural ecosystems and end human-induced extinction of threatened species; to sustainable use of biodiversity; to fair and equitable sharing of both monetary and non-monetary benefits derived from genetic resources; and to establish adequate means to implement the framework — including finance, scientific cooperation and building capacity of all parties. The summit, which runs through Oct. 30, marks the halfway point to the deadlines for a first set of 23 action-oriented global targets. The progress report is not encouraging: Fewer than half of countries say they are on track to meet their self-designed biodiversity targets. “The report shows that many of the critical elements of progress, including finance, capacity, cooperation and data — are still missing in action,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a press release accompanying the organization’s State of Biodiversity Action report. Three of the world&#8217;s &#8220;megadiverse&#8221; countries are in Africa: The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and South Africa make the list of 17 countries that are each home to at least 5,000 of the world&#8217;s plant species that are endemic. None of the three met the initial 2024 deadline for a national biodiversity strategy as set out under Kunming — South Africa still hasn’t submitted an action plan. The headline goal — to see 30% of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/finance-and-indigenous-rights-top-africans-agenda-as-biodiversity-summit-opens-in-yerevan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333161</doi>				</item>
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