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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?byline=diana-wright&#038;post_type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/diana-wright/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 04:31:23 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Diana Wright Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/diana-wright/</link>
	<width>32</width>
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				<item>
					<title>How Borneo&#8217;s giant trees defy gravity and old scientific theories</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/how-borneos-giant-trees-defy-gravity-and-old-scientific-theories/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/how-borneos-giant-trees-defy-gravity-and-old-scientific-theories/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 04:24:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/04042323/A_57m_tall_Dipterocarp_tree_with_a_double_rope_technique_DRT_rigged_for_canopy_access._Credit_Palasiah_Jotan_4000-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325274</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Earth Science, Ecosystems, El Nino, Environment, Forests, Plants, Rainforests, Research, Science, Trees, Tropical Conservation Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Giant tropical trees in Malaysian Borneo pump water to their highest branches just as easily as to their lower-most branches, a new study says. Researchers say this suggests tall trees are not more vulnerable to drought than shorter trees, as was previously believed. For decades, scientists have hypothesized that as trees become taller, the effects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Giant tropical trees in Malaysian Borneo pump water to their highest branches just as easily as to their lower-most branches, a new study says. Researchers say this suggests tall trees are not more vulnerable to drought than shorter trees, as was previously believed. For decades, scientists have hypothesized that as trees become taller, the effects of gravity and the longer paths that water needs to travel hinder their growth. In this latest study, researchers examined 38 trees of five species from the Dipterocarpaceae family in Malaysia’s Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in northeastern Borneo. The trees, including keruing putih (Dipterocarpus caudiferus), kapur (Dryobalanops lanceolata) and meranti pepijat (Rubroshorea johorensis), ranged from 7-71 meters (23-233 feet) tall. Dipterocarps are the tallest flowering trees in the world, and dominate Southeast Asian rainforests. Specialist climbers scaled each tree to collect branches from different parts of the canopy. The researchers then measured several traits of the vessels inside the wood that carry water, as well as of the wood and leaves of the branches. The analysis shows that the tall trees use two primary mechanisms to compensate for their heights: vessel widening and leaf adjustments. As trees grow taller, they grow much wider water-carrying vessels at the base of the trunk than those found in shorter trees, which significantly reduces resistance to water flow. Leaves at the top of the canopy also adjust their osmotic potential, or the levels of dissolved substances in their cells, which allows them to hold more water even under extremely low&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/how-borneos-giant-trees-defy-gravity-and-old-scientific-theories/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/how-borneos-giant-trees-defy-gravity-and-old-scientific-theories/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325274</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kenyans protesting nuclear facility face terrorism investigation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyans-protesting-nuclear-facility-face-terrorism-investigation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyans-protesting-nuclear-facility-face-terrorism-investigation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 04:04:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/07110644/52588707019_b1a83cb7a2_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325270</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Alternative Energy, Energy, Environment, Freshwater, Lakes, Natural Resources, Nuclear Power, and Protests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Following protests at a public meeting about a proposed nuclear power plant in Kenya, one person was shot and several residents were arrested. The Kenyan government plans to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant near Bondo, a town in Siaya County near Lake Victoria. Officials, including representatives from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Following protests at a public meeting about a proposed nuclear power plant in Kenya, one person was shot and several residents were arrested. The Kenyan government plans to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant near Bondo, a town in Siaya County near Lake Victoria. Officials, including representatives from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), were holding a public consultation meeting in the town on July 24 when the protests started. Dickens Ochieng, a lawyer and community member who attended the meeting, told Mongabay by phone that the landowners invited to the meeting started shouting “Wadagi,” which means “we don&#8217;t want the project&#8221; in Luo language. &#8220;And then one of the police officers who was guarding the government agencies used his firearm and as a result one person was shot on the leg and the meeting turned chaotic instantly,&#8221; he said. According to Ochieng, residents of Bondo began throwing stones at police officers, who responded with tear gas. In the days that followed, 17 people were arrested and detained. An official document reviewed by Mongabay shows that the arrested people are now under investigation for assault as well as Kenya&#8217;s Prevention of Terrorism Act. Ochieng, who has taken on their legal defense, said there “is an intense government crackdown on people who are opposed to the project.” “As a lawyer, I just keep on telling the community that they have to stand firm, because terrorism charges have nowhere to do with the incident that happened,” he said. “They are meant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyans-protesting-nuclear-facility-face-terrorism-investigation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/kenyans-protesting-nuclear-facility-face-terrorism-investigation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325270</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New ‘conservation deed’ aims to protect tree kangaroos, forests, people in Papua New Guinea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-conservation-deed-aims-to-protect-tree-kangaroos-forests-people-in-papua-new-guinea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-conservation-deed-aims-to-protect-tree-kangaroos-forests-people-in-papua-new-guinea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 03:56:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03125116/weimang-tree-kangaroo-Dendrolagus-pulcherrimus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325195</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Melanesia, Oceania, Pacific Islands, and Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Mammals, Marsupials, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It happened with a few strokes of a pen on a hilltop in northwestern Papua New Guinea on June 30: The leaders of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) finalized an agreement to protect the densely canopied forests of the Torricelli Mountains that ripple outward in every direction. Their signatures were the last of hundreds collected [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It happened with a few strokes of a pen on a hilltop in northwestern Papua New Guinea on June 30: The leaders of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) finalized an agreement to protect the densely canopied forests of the Torricelli Mountains that ripple outward in every direction. Their signatures were the last of hundreds collected from clan leaders across the range in June. With this conservation deed, TCA and the people of the Torricellis have achieved a key milestone after decades of work to stave off logging, help wildlife rebound and improve the lives of community members. After the signing, those gathered erupted in celebration, dance and song at TCA’s base in the village of Lumi. In all, 266 clan leaders signed the document. Caleb Bulu, a project manager with TCA, called it an “exciting time.” “We have been waiting for so long,” said Bulu, who has fought to keep loggers off his own land in the region. The people of the Torricelli Mountains were ecstatic, he said in a call via WhatsApp a few days after the signing. “They were very happy, all across the 41 villages [and] were celebrating at that time.” The Torricellis are home to a staggering array of species — perhaps 4% of the world’s biodiversity in a relatively tiny speck of mostly intact montane forest — including two species of critically endangered tree kangaroo. In the 1990s, mammologist Tim Flannery and his colleagues in PNG first described the tenkile (Dendrolagus scottae) and the weimang&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-conservation-deed-aims-to-protect-tree-kangaroos-forests-people-in-papua-new-guinea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-conservation-deed-aims-to-protect-tree-kangaroos-forests-people-in-papua-new-guinea/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325195</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Four Pacific nations are planning one of the world’s largest ocean corridors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/four-pacific-nations-are-planning-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ocean-corridors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/four-pacific-nations-are-planning-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ocean-corridors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 02:58:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/17153111/NS122697065_PNGExpedition-UW-240920_Whitetip-reef-shark_ByOllieVelasco1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325269</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Fiji, Melanesia, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Papua, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Indigenous Peoples, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Four Melanesian countries are planning a network of marine reserves across one of the world’s richest stretches of ocean. Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji announced the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves in May. Solomon Islands joined in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Four Melanesian countries are planning a network of marine reserves across one of the world’s richest stretches of ocean. Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji announced the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves in May. Solomon Islands joined in June. The corridor would connect protected areas across national waters and could eventually extend into the high seas, reports contributor Ashley Yeong for Mongabay. Melanesia lies within the Coral Triangle in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, which contains an estimated three-quarters of known coral species. Its waters also support sharks, rays, dugongs and whales, and many species still being described by scientists. Several large reserves could serve as anchors. Papua New Guinea is planning a 214,000-square-kilometer (82,626 square-mile) no-take sanctuary in western Manus, an area roughly the size of Great Britain. Vanuatu has announced a fully protected marine area covering 71,000 sq km (27,413 sq mi) around Torba Province. Fiji has pledged to protect 15% of its waters by the end of 2026. Linking these areas could help protect migration routes and spawning grounds of marine life and the movement of larvae between reefs. Common rules could also make it harder for industrial fishing vessels to concentrate along the boundaries of individual reserves. The governments involved have disclosed little about the corridor, including how it will operate. Maps, boundaries, governance arrangements, enforcement systems, and funding plans remain unavailable. Differences in monitoring capacity could leave some areas&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/four-pacific-nations-are-planning-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ocean-corridors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/four-pacific-nations-are-planning-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ocean-corridors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325269</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Carbon markets alone won’t keep Southeast Asia’s forests standing, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/carbon-markets-alone-wont-keep-southeast-asias-forests-standing-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/carbon-markets-alone-wont-keep-southeast-asias-forests-standing-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 02:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/02095503/Banner_Pied-hornbill_RAB-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325137</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Biodiversity, Business, Carbon Credits, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Market, Carbon Sequestration, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Finance, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Funding, Mitigation, Rainforests, Research, Secondary Forests, Solutions, Sustainable Forest Management, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Lush, leafy and luxuriantly diverse, tropical forests are home to an immense array of plants, animals and fungi. They also provide humanity with water, clean air and flood protection, and lock vast amounts of carbon in their tree trunks, roots and soils. Yet, forest conservation often loses out to extractive industries and agribusiness when valued [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Lush, leafy and luxuriantly diverse, tropical forests are home to an immense array of plants, animals and fungi. They also provide humanity with water, clean air and flood protection, and lock vast amounts of carbon in their tree trunks, roots and soils. Yet, forest conservation often loses out to extractive industries and agribusiness when valued through a purely economic lens. As a result, forests across the planet continue to be cleared in pursuit of financial profits. Across Southeast Asia alone, nearly 68 million hectares (168 million acres) of forest was lost between 2001 and 2023, much of it cleared to make way for logging, plantations and agriculture, according to researchers. However, new research indicates “massive and untapped” conservation potential remains within commercial concessions across the region. The study, published in Nature Communications, analyzed satellite data from 3,754 logging, oil palm, timber and rubber plantation concessions across four countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar. Roughly 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of intact forest was identified inside these concessions — an area larger than the entire country of Malaysia. Losing these forests could lead to emissions in the range of 1.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide over the next three decades, the study says, equivalent to 20% of all industrial carbon dioxide emissions across all 11 ASEAN countries between 2000 and 2023. Protection of forests inside production landscapes, therefore, presents a significant opportunity for conservation, the study authors say, if concession holders could be incentivized to switch from converting land to protecting it.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/carbon-markets-alone-wont-keep-southeast-asias-forests-standing-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/carbon-markets-alone-wont-keep-southeast-asias-forests-standing-study-says/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325137</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cheap coffee is killing Vietnam’s priceless tropical forests (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 20:45:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Etelle Higonnet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/19233119/Vietnam-smallholder-coffee-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Coffee, Commentary, Commodity agriculture, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Food, Food Industry, Food Vs Forests Debate, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Industrial Agriculture, Natural Resources, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam is now the world’s largest producer of robusta, the bitter, sturdy bean behind instant coffee, supermarket blends, and the overall global appetite for cheap caffeine. But behind its meteoric rise to No. 2 coffee producer in the world lies a story the industry has tried very hard to hide: forests are disappearing, wildlife is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam is now the world’s largest producer of robusta, the bitter, sturdy bean behind instant coffee, supermarket blends, and the overall global appetite for cheap caffeine. But behind its meteoric rise to No. 2 coffee producer in the world lies a story the industry has tried very hard to hide: forests are disappearing, wildlife is vanishing, and rural communities are being pushed to the brink. As ecosystems start to collapse, coffee is getting harder and harder to grow, and the brands buying that coffee and filling supermarket shelves from Copenhagen to California are complicit every step of the way. Our new Coffee Watch investigation, “Vietnam: Robusta’s Reckoning,” reveals the scale of the crisis. Forests the size of Luxembourg have been wiped out for coffee. In biodiversity hotspots like Vietnam’s Central Highlands, wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, adorable flying squirrels, and delicate saola (sometimes referred to as the “Asian unicorn”), have been squeezed into ever‑smaller fragments of habitat, or just plain wiped out. Communities are losing the very ecosystems that sustain them, and this destruction is largely happening so the world can enjoy cheap robusta in instant coffee, capsules, and mass‑market blends. Typical landscape in Vietnam that&#8217;s suitable for growing robusta coffee. Image by Michael Tatarski for Mongabay. Vietnam’s rise as a coffee superpower is often framed as a rural development miracle, but the truth is far darker. Smallholder farmers, who grow the vast majority of Vietnam’s coffee, are trapped in a system that rewards expansion into forested land&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/cheap-coffee-is-killing-vietnams-priceless-tropical-forests-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325233</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deep-sea snails and mussels in Indian and Pacific Oceans contain microplastics, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/deep-sea-snails-and-mussels-in-indian-and-pacific-oceans-contain-microplastics-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/deep-sea-snails-and-mussels-in-indian-and-pacific-oceans-contain-microplastics-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 18:38:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[María Paula Rubiano A.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03111510/g.-BANNER-GP0STSJH72-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325187</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Deep Sea, Marine, Marine Animals, Microplastics, Molluscs, Oceans, Plastic, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Three days away from shore, in the darkened control room of a huge ship, all eyes are fixed on a glowing wall of screens. Live images of mussels and snails appear. The animals are packed around a deep-sea chimney venting something that looks like black smoke, but is actually superheated, mineral-rich water bursting from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Three days away from shore, in the darkened control room of a huge ship, all eyes are fixed on a glowing wall of screens. Live images of mussels and snails appear. The animals are packed around a deep-sea chimney venting something that looks like black smoke, but is actually superheated, mineral-rich water bursting from the Earth’s crust. The images have threaded their way back to the research vessel Isabu from some 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) below, via a thin, fiber-optic cable. It’s 2016 and the researchers are in the North Fiji Basin in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It’s the first of two expeditions to study the inhabitants of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Their next journey will take them to the Indian Ocean. At each stop, the team deploys an underwater robot to catch the tender creatures. Once on deck, each animal is immediately wrapped in aluminum foil and flash frozen at –80° Celsius (-112° Fahrenheit) to prevent contact with airborne contaminants. The work is so delicate it takes the team several weeks to collect just 12 animals during the two expeditions between 2016 and 2019. Almost 10 years later, analysis of the results of these expeditions shows that human activities impact even creatures living in some of the most remote places on Earth. According to a new study, published in Water Research, microplastic particles were found in 11 of the 12 sampled animals, which belonged to four different species of mussels and snails. “Finding contamination in nearly every animal was still&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/deep-sea-snails-and-mussels-in-indian-and-pacific-oceans-contain-microplastics-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/deep-sea-snails-and-mussels-in-indian-and-pacific-oceans-contain-microplastics-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325187</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ebola responders persevere in the DRC as Uganda nears end of outbreak</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 18:19:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03103124/image1_Un-travailleur-se-desinfecte-au-Centre-medical-evangelique-de-Bunia_BIS-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325162</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Diseases, Ebola, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Health, One Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, Research, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Several members of the Ebola response gathered on July 15, 2026, outside the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to protest their working conditions. Demonstrators said they had not received their risk allowances for several weeks, payments that are supposed to be made by the Congolese government. &#8220;It&#8217;s outrageous [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Several members of the Ebola response gathered on July 15, 2026, outside the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to protest their working conditions. Demonstrators said they had not received their risk allowances for several weeks, payments that are supposed to be made by the Congolese government. &#8220;It&#8217;s outrageous for such a high-risk job,&#8221; Robert Uyergiu Mambo, a community leader and French teacher in Bunia, Ituri province, told Mongabay by phone. Although he is not officially part of the Ebola response, his position within the Alur community, an ethnic group living in northwestern Uganda and northeastern DRC, has made him an important local ally. Uyergiu Mambo, a volunteer host on the community radio station Radio Terra FM, which states it has an audience of five million listeners, said he was frustrated with the situation, but not surprised. &#8220;It&#8217;s common for government employees to go unpaid for long periods. Recently, the minister [Samuel Roger Kamba, minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare] came here and managed to calm tensions, but there has been a lot of frustration among Ebola response workers lately and protests have continued one after another,” he said. “If nothing changes, the protests will continue. The problem is that it is paralyzing the response.” It is not unusual for Congolese civil servants to work for months without receiving their salaries, a situation that has long fueled corruption across the country. It was a part of life even under Mobutu Sese Seko,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325162</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nicaragua’s gold boom is now encroaching on protected areas and Indigenous land</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nicaraguas-gold-boom-is-now-encroaching-on-protected-areas-and-indigenous-land/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nicaraguas-gold-boom-is-now-encroaching-on-protected-areas-and-indigenous-land/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 15:30:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31155858/4386-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325077</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Latin America, and Nicaragua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Gold Mining, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, International Trade, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protected Areas, Trade, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Nicaragua, the mining sector has steadily grown over the last two decades, with gold becoming a top export and a pillar of the national economy. For most of that time, the growth was gradual. But in more recent years, there’s been an unprecedented boom, with the creation of dozens of mining concessions and a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Nicaragua, the mining sector has steadily grown over the last two decades, with gold becoming a top export and a pillar of the national economy. For most of that time, the growth was gradual. But in more recent years, there’s been an unprecedented boom, with the creation of dozens of mining concessions and a rush of new legislation to attract foreign companies. The boom coincides with Nicaragua’s increasing economic and political isolation. President Daniel Ortega has cracked down on dissent and cancelled elections, prompting countries like the U.S. and Canada to issue sanctions against numerous officials and institutions, making it difficult for them to trade and carry out other international business. With the price of gold on the rise, the government has turned to mining for economic stability. That decision has been disastrous for the environment and Indigenous communities, critics say. Mining concessions have started encroaching on protected areas and ancestral territory, threatening pollution, deforestation, and the displacement of residents, among other issues. “From 2022 and on, there’s been an incredible boom in the number of concessions granted,” said Carmen Corea-Sánchez, lead author of a new report from community-based Indigenous group Wangki and other researchers. A golden age of mining Ortega held office in the late 1980s and took power again in 2007, ushering in a massive investment in the mining sector, largely propelled by Chinese interest in the country and Latin America more broadly. In 2006, the year before he returned to office, Nicaragua exported 109,200 ounces of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nicaraguas-gold-boom-is-now-encroaching-on-protected-areas-and-indigenous-land/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nicaraguas-gold-boom-is-now-encroaching-on-protected-areas-and-indigenous-land/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325077</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Documentary captures impacts of diamond mining along South Africa’s West Coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 15:27:00 +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/20/2026/08/03110215/Photo-1-John-Yeld-Screenshot-2025-03-28-at-22.17.18-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325174</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Stretching 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Cape Columbine, two hours north of Cape Town, to the Orange River which marks the country’s natural border with Namibia, South Africa’s West Coast is vast, remote and sparsely populated and, moving north, characterized by a harsh, arid climate. In the very north, not far inland, lies the Richtersveld, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Stretching 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Cape Columbine, two hours north of Cape Town, to the Orange River which marks the country’s natural border with Namibia, South Africa’s West Coast is vast, remote and sparsely populated and, moving north, characterized by a harsh, arid climate. In the very north, not far inland, lies the Richtersveld, which is the only remaining area in South Africa where the Nama people maintain their semi-nomadic traditions. It is also home to an extraordinary range of succulents and plant diversity, some only occurring there. The Richtersveld region, parts of which were declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2007, is a unique biodiversity hotspot and has one of the highest density of succulent species. The region is rich not just in diamonds, but also other mineral deposits whose presence has turned the region into one of South Africa&#8217;s most intensively mined landscapes over the past century. A new documentary, Out of Mined, examines the legacy of mining along the West Coast at a time when the region is facing a renewed interest from the mining sector for its heavy minerals, found in terrestrial reserves, but also in heavy mineral sands along the coast and as offshore deposits. The entrance of a diamond mine in Hondeklipbaai that closed its doors in the early 2000’s; many local people lost their jobs and livelihoods. Image courtesy of Gary van Wyk. Cape Town-based director Arthur Neumeier started working on Out of Mined after social media posts about a wave&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/documentary-captures-impacts-of-diamond-mining-along-south-africas-west-coast/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325174</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees. Keeping them alive will be harder</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bangladesh-plans-to-plant-250-million-trees-keeping-them-alive-will-be-harder/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bangladesh-plans-to-plant-250-million-trees-keeping-them-alive-will-be-harder/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 11:11:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/20065257/planting-trees-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325178</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forest Loss, Forests, Habitat, Mangroves, Natural Resources, Plantations, Plants, Restoration, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years to expand green cover, restore damaged ecosystems, and support its climate and biodiversity commitments, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The government expects ministries, the army, local authorities, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years to expand green cover, restore damaged ecosystems, and support its climate and biodiversity commitments, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The government expects ministries, the army, local authorities, schools, and development groups to carry out much of the work through their existing budgets. The largest allocation, 100 million saplings, is intended for 17 coastal districts. Officials say they hope new mangrove cover will reduce erosion and provide greater protection from cyclones and tidal surges. Another 50 million trees are planned for degraded forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet, and the central sal belt. Urban areas are due to receive 12.5 million trees, with the rest divided among riverbanks, wetlands, roadsides, public offices, and educational institutions. Officials say the tree species to be planted will be selected according to local conditions. Keora (Sonneratia apetala) is proposed for coastal areas, while garjan (Dipterocarpus turbinatus) and other locally adapted species would be used in hill forests. Fruit trees may be planted where communities need a faster financial return. Bangladesh banned new planting of eucalyptus and acacia — nonnative species — in 2025 because of concerns about invasiveness and water use. Supplying enough healthy saplings will be difficult. Government nurseries produce about 7.5 million a year, well below the program’s average annual requirement of 50 million. Private nurseries will therefore provide much of the stock, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bangladesh-plans-to-plant-250-million-trees-keeping-them-alive-will-be-harder/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/bangladesh-plans-to-plant-250-million-trees-keeping-them-alive-will-be-harder/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325178</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare living stone plant, found in a tiny area in Namibia, is critically endangered</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/rare-living-stone-plant-found-in-a-tiny-area-in-namibia-is-critically-endangered/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/rare-living-stone-plant-found-in-a-tiny-area-in-namibia-is-critically-endangered/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 10:45:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Laura Oliver]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03103738/Lithops-werneri_nbri-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325169</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Namibia, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Disasters, Drought, Endangered Species, Environment, Illegal Trade, Plants, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a small area of Namibia’s Erongo Mountains, a tiny, pebble-like plant grows on a very thin layer of gravel. This succulent, Lithops werneri, is found in just one tiny 4 square-kilometer (1.5 square-mile) area, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. With more than an 80% decline in its population since 1981 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a small area of Namibia’s Erongo Mountains, a tiny, pebble-like plant grows on a very thin layer of gravel. This succulent, Lithops werneri, is found in just one tiny 4 square-kilometer (1.5 square-mile) area, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. With more than an 80% decline in its population since 1981 and fewer than 200 plants remaining in the wild, the species was listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List in February 2026. Sonja Loots, manager of the Threatened Plants Programme at Namibia’s National Botanical Research Institute, told Mongabay by email that the plant “has always had a restricted range”. After it was first scientifically described in the 1950s, the succulent was “heavily harvested for the horticulture market in Europe”, she said. “Since then it was searched for numerous times by several succulent enthusiasts, but additional populations were never discovered.” The plant was even once thought to be extinct, but was found again in the original location in 2012, Soots said. A census in 2012 recorded 659 plants, according to the IUCN, but subsequent surveys found only 118 plants in 2019 and 163 in 2020. Lithops are a group of dwarf succulents, commonly called living stones or pebble plants, found across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. These plants only grow on certain rocky outcrops and typically have just a single pair of water-storing succulent leaves attached to some roots, Loots said. L. werneri grows in a very thin layer of gravel, approximately 2 centimeters&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/rare-living-stone-plant-found-in-a-tiny-area-in-namibia-is-critically-endangered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/rare-living-stone-plant-found-in-a-tiny-area-in-namibia-is-critically-endangered/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325169</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Indonesia’s new capital rises, the sounds of Borneo’s rainforest are changing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/as-indonesias-new-capital-rises-the-sounds-of-borneos-rainforest-are-changing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/as-indonesias-new-capital-rises-the-sounds-of-borneos-rainforest-are-changing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 10:20:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03102738/Sound-Guardians-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325158</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cities, Conservation, Culture, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Indonesia constructs its new capital, Nusantara, in the mountains of East Kalimantan in Borneo, the roar of chainsaws interrupts the rainforest sounds that have long been part of the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Balik community. New documentary, Sound Guardians, a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American and Project Multatuli, follows efforts by scientists and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Indonesia constructs its new capital, Nusantara, in the mountains of East Kalimantan in Borneo, the roar of chainsaws interrupts the rainforest sounds that have long been part of the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Balik community. New documentary, Sound Guardians, a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American and Project Multatuli, follows efforts by scientists and local residents to capture this shift in sounds. Former President Joko Widodo spearheaded moving Indonesia’s administrative center away from Jakarta, the world&#8217;s fastest-sinking city. Experts estimate that one-third of Jakarta could be underwater by 2050 owing to sea-level rise and excess groundwater pumping. Official marketing describes Nusantara as a &#8220;smart forest city&#8221; projected for completion by 2045. Wendy Erb, a bioacoustic scientist from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the U.S., who has worked in Kalimantan for a decade, is leading the work to record the sounds of the forested landscape as the capital gets built. Her team has recorded sounds in diverse areas, from mountain tops to mangroves and caves. Erb describes this data as a &#8220;time capsule&#8221; that allows for comparisons as the environment changes with rapid economic growth and construction. This data could potentially show places where wildlife is being displaced, Erb suggests in the film. “Maybe those are places where more investment could be made in conservation efforts,” Erb said. &#8220;The question is, can we tune our ears?” Erb adds. “Can we pay attention? Can we notice when the natural world is feeling a little sick?&#8221; For Abidin, a member of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/as-indonesias-new-capital-rises-the-sounds-of-borneos-rainforest-are-changing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325158</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How rescued orangutans are rebuilding a new wild population in Sumatra</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/how-rescued-orangutans-are-rebuilding-a-new-wild-population-in-sumatra/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/how-rescued-orangutans-are-rebuilding-a-new-wild-population-in-sumatra/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 10:09:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nanang SujanaSandy Watt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sandy Watt]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31150748/INFS2574-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=videos&#038;p=325047</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Conservation, Endangered Species, Ex-situ Conservation, Film, Forests, Human-wildlife Conflict, Orangutans, Primates, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rehabilitation, Reintroductions, Videos, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sumatra — Fifteen years ago, Jantho Pine Forest Nature Reserve in Indonesia&#8217;s western Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, had no orangutans. Today, it is home to a growing wild population, built almost entirely from rescued and relocated animals. Since 2011, conservationists from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme have brought nearly 200 Sumatran orangutans [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sumatra — Fifteen years ago, Jantho Pine Forest Nature Reserve in Indonesia&#8217;s western Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, had no orangutans. Today, it is home to a growing wild population, built almost entirely from rescued and relocated animals. Since 2011, conservationists from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme have brought nearly 200 Sumatran orangutans to Jantho after they were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade or relocated from areas where deforestation and expanding agriculture had brought them into conflict with people. The reserve&#8217;s vast, protected forests offered a rare opportunity to establish a new population in a habitat capable of supporting the species for generations. Returning orangutans to the wild is never simple: Some rescued apes spend years relearning the skills they would normally acquire from their mothers, while others must adapt to unfamiliar forests after being relocated. Not every reintroduction succeeds, but efforts in Jantho are proving remarkably successful. Researchers have confirmed that at least 10 orangutans have been born in the reserve, with the possibility of more that remain undetected in the dense forest. These births are a sign that this once-empty forest is becoming a self-sustaining home for one of the world&#8217;s most endangered great apes. Success, however, depends on more than rehabilitating orangutans. Like many protected forests across Southeast Asia, Jantho faces growing pressure from human activity at its borders. Protecting this emerging population means safeguarding the forests and rivers upon which both wildlife and surrounding communities rely. Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/how-rescued-orangutans-are-rebuilding-a-new-wild-population-in-sumatra/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/how-rescued-orangutans-are-rebuilding-a-new-wild-population-in-sumatra/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325047</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>PUMA FEST and the community Mongabay Latam has helped build</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/puma-fest-and-the-community-mongabay-latam-has-helped-build/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/puma-fest-and-the-community-mongabay-latam-has-helped-build/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 09:44:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/01123957/pumafest_262276-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325115</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Journalism and Media]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. When Mongabay Latam began publishing in 2016, the aim was to establish a sustained environmental news service for Spanish-speaking Latin America. The newsroom would be led by editors in the region, work with journalists who understood the places [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. When Mongabay Latam began publishing in 2016, the aim was to establish a sustained environmental news service for Spanish-speaking Latin America. The newsroom would be led by editors in the region, work with journalists who understood the places they covered, and develop its own editorial priorities in response to local conditions. Over the decade that followed, Mongabay Latam’s staff and contributors built that newsroom. They developed a daily news service covering forests, oceans, wildlife, science, Indigenous rights, environmental crime, and the people responding to ecological change. They formed more than 90 partnerships with national newspapers, regional publications, and independent media, allowing stories to reach audiences far beyond Mongabay’s own platforms. Photo by Mongabay Latam. Mongabay Latam team at Puma Fest. Photo by Mongabay Latam. The team also built the relationships and expertise required for more ambitious investigations. Working with organizations including CLIP, Animal Político, Rutas del Conflicto, Plaza Pública, and El Espectador, Mongabay Latam has investigated illegal mining, land grabbing, wildlife trafficking, deforestation, and the role of organized crime in some of the region’s most threatened landscapes. Last month in Bogotá, the strength of what the team has created was visible in another form. To mark its tenth anniversary, Mongabay Latam hosted PUMA FEST, a gathering organized with Fundación Gabo ahead of the 14th Gabo Festival. Around 700 people registered, and 400 attended in person. Journalists, editors, Indigenous communicators, students, scientists, and other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/puma-fest-and-the-community-mongabay-latam-has-helped-build/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/puma-fest-and-the-community-mongabay-latam-has-helped-build/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325115</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Introduced fish thrive amid Kasmir’s freshwater habitat degradation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/introduced-fish-thrive-amid-kasmirs-freshwater-habitat-degradation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/introduced-fish-thrive-amid-kasmirs-freshwater-habitat-degradation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 05:33:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hashim Quraishi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03052940/Krishansar_Lake_Sonmarg_Kashmir_valley_India_01-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325152</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Invasive Species, Lakes, Pollution, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Native fish in the lakes and rivers of India’s Kashmir Valley are under increasing pressure from pollution, habitat loss, dam construction and other human activities, a recent review finds. These same threats are also likely giving exotic fish introduced to these freshwater habitats an edge, researchers say. &#8220;Our indigenous fishes are becoming vulnerable, endangered and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Native fish in the lakes and rivers of India’s Kashmir Valley are under increasing pressure from pollution, habitat loss, dam construction and other human activities, a recent review finds. These same threats are also likely giving exotic fish introduced to these freshwater habitats an edge, researchers say. &#8220;Our indigenous fishes are becoming vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered, while the introduced fishes are flourishing,&#8221; Durdana Qazi, co-author of the review and a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Fisheries, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K), told Mongabay. Kashmir&#8217;s lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands are home to native cold-water fishes such as snow trout (Schizothorax spp.), locally known as Kasher gaad, the birdi loach (Botia birdi), locally called Rama gurun, and Kashmir catfish (Glyptothorax kashmirensis). Over the past century, however, several non-native species have been introduced to these freshwater ecosystems. These include the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and  rainbow trout  (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which were introduced to improve fish production because they grow quickly, are commercially valuable and are easier to culture. The review finds that several native fish species are already under threat of extinction. The Kashmir catfish is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Two species of snow trouts are classified as vulnerable, while the golden mahseer (Tor putitora) is endangered. The conservation status of some snow trouts, including S. niger, and the birdi loach, haven’t yet been evaluated, meaning we don’t know the details of their population trends or what threats&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/introduced-fish-thrive-amid-kasmirs-freshwater-habitat-degradation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/introduced-fish-thrive-amid-kasmirs-freshwater-habitat-degradation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325152</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>David Page wrote about the mountains and worked to protect them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/david-page-wrote-about-the-mountains-and-worked-to-protect-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/david-page-wrote-about-the-mountains-and-worked-to-protect-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Aug 2026 15:59:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/01155019/david-page-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325133</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Policy, Mountains, and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A backcountry ski run can depend on decisions made years before the snow falls. Forest plans determine where motorized vehicles may travel. Congressional appropriations affect whether trails are maintained and land-management agencies can enforce their rules. Public meetings give skiers, snowmobilers, conservationists, and local residents a chance to argue over how mountains should be used. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A backcountry ski run can depend on decisions made years before the snow falls. Forest plans determine where motorized vehicles may travel. Congressional appropriations affect whether trails are maintained and land-management agencies can enforce their rules. Public meetings give skiers, snowmobilers, conservationists, and local residents a chance to argue over how mountains should be used. David Page knew this work in detail. He also knew how to describe what it felt like to move through those mountains. Page, the executive director of Winter Wildlands Alliance, died on July 7th in a multi-vehicle crash on Teton Pass in Wyoming. He was 57. Rio, the family dog who often accompanied him outdoors, died in the accident as well. He had come to conservation advocacy through writing. Raised in Denver, he studied history and Spanish literature at Dartmouth, comparative literature at Berkeley, and creative writing at the University of California, Irvine. He wrote for the New York Times, Men’s Journal, Skiing, and other publications, and became a senior correspondent for POWDER. His guide to Yosemite and the southern Sierra Nevada went through three editions. His articles were closely reported and attentive to the people in them. “The Human Factor,” an examination of the decisions that lead experienced skiers into avalanche danger, was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2015. It was later used in avalanche courses. Another article described the immigrant workers whose labor sustains many ski towns. He also wrote about major descents, disappearing whitebark pines, solitary skiers, remote slopes,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/david-page-wrote-about-the-mountains-and-worked-to-protect-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/david-page-wrote-about-the-mountains-and-worked-to-protect-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325133</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Land records reveal how Mennonites are reshaping Belize’s forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/land-records-reveal-how-mennonites-are-reshaping-belizes-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/land-records-reveal-how-mennonites-are-reshaping-belizes-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 18:45:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31152733/1-FEATURE--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324951</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Belize and Central America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Cattle, Conservation, Crops, Culture, Encroachment, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Farming, Food, Forest Fragmentation, Forests, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, Land Rights, Livestock, Monocultures, Plantations, Politics, Primary Forests, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Ranching, Regulations, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SPANISH LOOKOUT, Belize — When the Mennonite community here purchased a property four years ago in the middle of the Maya Forest Corridor, a government-recognized stretch of land designed to connect forests in the region, conservation groups were concerned. Community members began clearing land before completing an environmental impact assessment, resulting in fires and pollution, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SPANISH LOOKOUT, Belize — When the Mennonite community here purchased a property four years ago in the middle of the Maya Forest Corridor, a government-recognized stretch of land designed to connect forests in the region, conservation groups were concerned. Community members began clearing land before completing an environmental impact assessment, resulting in fires and pollution, according to one report. In addition, Mennonites beat a conservation coalition that had also wanted to purchase the land for the corridor. The battle for that piece of real estate is just one example of how Mennonites conduct business in Belize, and how those moves have led to extensive deforestation. The small Central American country, flanked by Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea, is about the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey, but its dense jungle is now much smaller than it once was. The nation lost around 20% of its forest cover between 2001 and 2025 — more than 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres), similar to the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Much of the deforestation in Belize has been tied to Mennonites, the conservative and largely insular Christian denomination that began migrating to Belize more than six decades ago, cutting down the rainforest to establish new colonies. While reports documenting Mennonites and deforestation are common, far less understood is the corporate machinery they’ve put in place for this expansion. Mongabay conducted extensive interviews and reviewed dozens of land records to better understand the way Mennonites became one of the most prolific land&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/land-records-reveal-how-mennonites-are-reshaping-belizes-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/land-records-reveal-how-mennonites-are-reshaping-belizes-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324951</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Coral reef experts press on, with climate looming over international conference</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/coral-reef-experts-press-on-with-climate-looming-over-international-conference/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/coral-reef-experts-press-on-with-climate-looming-over-international-conference/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 18:34:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31142917/8-conference-attendee-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325038</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and New Zealand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Coral Bleaching, Coral Reefs, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[AUCKLAND — Lest anyone think scientific conferences must be staid affairs, the International Coral Reefs Symposium closed with inspiration from none other than U.S. rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, known for revolutionary lyrics in the 1990s: “It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[AUCKLAND — Lest anyone think scientific conferences must be staid affairs, the International Coral Reefs Symposium closed with inspiration from none other than U.S. rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, known for revolutionary lyrics in the 1990s: “It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better time than now? All hell can&#8217;t stop us now!” Christian Voolstra, a professor at the University of Konstanz in Germany and president of the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS), which organizes the conference, choked up as he read those lyrics at the closing ceremony, as did this reporter. Reflections on how conference participants could address the many threats to coral reefs, including seas that are becoming hotter and more acidic due to climate change, had punctuated the program of more narrowly focused presentations on research and conservation practice during the conference, held July 19-24 in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. This 16th iteration of the conference, which takes place every four years, drew more than 2,100 participants from more than 90 countries, including coral reef scientists, conservationists, policymakers and community leaders. (Previous ICRS conferences held in locations nearer to Global North research hubs drew even more people.) Recurring themes in conference discussions included how much to focus on climate mitigation, how to characterize and communicate the current condition of coral reefs, and how to empower Indigenous communities and integrate their knowledge systems. A reef off Komodo Island in Indonesia. Image courtesy of Greg Asner/divephoto.org. Prioritizing climate?&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/coral-reef-experts-press-on-with-climate-looming-over-international-conference/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/coral-reef-experts-press-on-with-climate-looming-over-international-conference/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325038</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Drifting tuna fishing gear enter half of marine protected areas: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/drifting-tuna-fishing-gear-enter-half-of-marine-protected-areas-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/drifting-tuna-fishing-gear-enter-half-of-marine-protected-areas-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 17:21:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31162145/f-Juvenile-yellowfin-tuna-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325073</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Fish, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Protected Areas, Research, Saltwater Fish, Tuna, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Marine protected areas (MPAs) may prohibit industrial fishing within their boundaries, but they cannot stop fishing gear released elsewhere from drifting inside. A new global study estimates that drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) used by industrial tuna fleets affect more than half of the world’s protected marine areas. Some travel thousands of kilometers before sinking [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Marine protected areas (MPAs) may prohibit industrial fishing within their boundaries, but they cannot stop fishing gear released elsewhere from drifting inside. A new global study estimates that drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) used by industrial tuna fleets affect more than half of the world’s protected marine areas. Some travel thousands of kilometers before sinking or washing ashore, where they can damage coral reefs, entangle wildlife and leave coastal communities with the burden of removing the debris. Published in Science Advances in June 2026, the study combined fishing records, published research, an online survey of MPA staff and experts, and follow-up interviews to assess the global distribution, strandings and impacts of drifting FADs in MPAs. “We were surprised to find that FADs appear to affect more than half of the world’s protected marine area, and that impacts often occurred thousands of kilometers from the original fishing grounds,” study co-author Boris Worm, a marine ecologist at Dalhousie University in Canada, told Mongabay by email. A purse seiner attached to a FAD catches a school of tuna in the Western Central Pacific. Image © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace. Fishing gear does not respect boundaries dFADs are floating rafts deployed by purse-seine fishing vessels — industrial boats that encircle schools of tuna with large nets — to attract skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). The devices carry satellite-linked buoys and echo sounders that allow companies to track them and estimate the fish below. But many are later deactivated,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/drifting-tuna-fishing-gear-enter-half-of-marine-protected-areas-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/drifting-tuna-fishing-gear-enter-half-of-marine-protected-areas-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325073</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate shocks hit hydropower in Southern Africa, reviving interest in coal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 14:19:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31093919/The_Kariba_Dam_wall_from_the_middle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325029</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Science, Coal, Development, Economics, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Natural Resources, Research, Solar Power, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused water levels in Lake Kariba, formed by a dam on Zambezi River, to drop, drastically reducing electricity generation. It precipitated one of the region’s worst energy crises in decades. Against this backdrop, coal re-emerged as an attractive, although controversial, option. According to the Global Energy Monitor&#8217;s Boom and Bust Coal 2026 report, Zambia and Zimbabwe accounted for more than two-thirds of all new coal power proposals announced in Africa in 2025. Some energy experts argue that coal offers the quickest route to stabilizing electricity supplies and sustaining industrial growth, particularly for the mining sector. Electricity systems in Zimbabwe and Zambia power mining activities, industries and help meet the needs of growing urban populations. However, others warn that expanding coal-fired power risks locking both countries into decades of carbon emissions at a time when renewable energy technologies — especially solar — are becoming increasingly affordable. For Zimbabwe, however, coal has never completely disappeared from that country&#8217;s energy landscape. Power Shift Africa Campaigns Manager Kudakwashe Manjonjo said Zimbabwe&#8217;s reliance on coal is rooted in history. “Zimbabwe has always been a significant coal-producing country. I live in Hwange, home to one of the largest coal mines on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325029</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka prepares for impending El Niño with traditional and new approaches</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 13:05:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31104448/2-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325032</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Conservation, Crops, Disasters, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather, Farming, Food, Industrial Agriculture, Rice, Solutions, Subsistence Agriculture, Traditional Knowledge, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Even though Sri Lankan authorities are preparing to face an impending El Niño phenomenon, Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Suwandarathne feels that the country may not be impacted as forecasted. A second generation farmer from Thalangama in the Colombo District, Suwandarathne knows about weather and has been leading an agricultural revolution by promoting the cultivation of heirloom varieties [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Even though Sri Lankan authorities are preparing to face an impending El Niño phenomenon, Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Suwandarathne feels that the country may not be impacted as forecasted. A second generation farmer from Thalangama in the Colombo District, Suwandarathne knows about weather and has been leading an agricultural revolution by promoting the cultivation of heirloom varieties of rice. According to him, it is normal to experience a dry spell between July and September as forecasted. This period coincides with the Yala season, one of two paddy harvesting seasons in Sri Lanka. “By August, the dry period begins, and we need a dry season to obtain the harvest,” he told Mongabay. “We then conduct culturally significant events praying for rains. This is the cycle during the Yala season. Then again from December to March, there’s a drought season, which coincides with the Maha season. Long dry spells occur every four to seven years. But now, we have changed these harvesting cycles,” he said. The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) monthly global seasonal climate update indicates an 80% probability of a rapid development into a strong El Niño event between July and September 2026. WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo said that it would “intensify chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world.” “When going by initial predictions, the time period for developing a very strong El Niño was between November 2026 and January 2027,” Ajith Wijemannage, head of the Meteorology&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-prepares-for-impending-el-nino-with-traditional-and-new-approaches/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325032</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate change boosted Spain wildfire risk 20-fold, research shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/climate-change-boosted-spain-wildfire-risk-20-fold-research-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/climate-change-boosted-spain-wildfire-risk-20-fold-research-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 05:33:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31053150/Wildfires_near_Cebreros_ground_station_Spain_ESA524257-e1785475981367-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325026</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, France, and Spain]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate, Climate Change, Earth Science, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Heatwave, Impact Of Climate Change, Natural Resources, Pollution, Research, Science, Temperatures, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Human-induced climate change drastically fueled the weather behind recent devastating wildfires in France and Spain, according to a new rapid analysis by researchers studying the role of climate change on today’s extreme weather. In its report, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers, noted that severe blazes scorched 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Human-induced climate change drastically fueled the weather behind recent devastating wildfires in France and Spain, according to a new rapid analysis by researchers studying the role of climate change on today’s extreme weather. In its report, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers, noted that severe blazes scorched 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres) in Spain and more than 115,000 hectares (284,000 acres) in France, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee. The researchers found that “tinderbox conditions” that favor fires, including extreme heat waves and unusually low rainfall, are at least twice as likely in southwestern France and at least 20 times more likely in central Spain in today’s climate than during the preindustrial climate. (Average temperatures back then, before the advent of large-scale greenhouse gas emissions, were 1.4° Celsius (2.52° Fahrenheit) cooler.) These figures are considered conservative estimates, the researchers said. In today’s climatic conditions, the report said, fires of the intensity seen in July are expected every 20 years in southwestern France and every six years in central Spain. The analysis found that a critical driver of the wildfires was above-average winter rainfall that spurred lush vegetation growth, followed by an exceptionally dry spring and summer that turned that biomass into highly flammable fuel. &#8220;Relentless heat — fuelled by human-caused climate change — has created the conditions for sparks to take hold and become massive, dangerous wildfires,&#8221; report co-author Clair Barnes, a research associate at Imperial College London, said in a press release. The analysis also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/climate-change-boosted-spain-wildfire-risk-20-fold-research-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/climate-change-boosted-spain-wildfire-risk-20-fold-research-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325026</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Central African Republic’s Dzanga-Sangha tests the promise of wildlife tourism</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/central-african-republics-dzanga-sangha-tests-the-promise-of-wildlife-tourism/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/central-african-republics-dzanga-sangha-tests-the-promise-of-wildlife-tourism/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 05:14:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/08100403/Photo-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325022</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Central African Republic]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Culture, Governance, Protected Areas, Tourism, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around Dzanga-Sangha National Park, speaking with researchers, conservationists, community members, and park officials. What we heard was not quite reflected in the usual narrative. Bayanga, the town at the park’s edge, has seen a modest rise in visitors. Dzanga Bai, where forest elephants gather in high densities within the park, and a population of habituated lowland gorillas, remain the main draws. According to local officials, around 800 tourists visited in 2025, a small figure by global standards, but meaningful locally. “There is growth,” said Gervais Pamongui, a deputy director of the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas. He attributed this to both the site itself and a degree of stability that has held in the region. Others made similar points, though often with caveats. A tour guide, Léonce Madomi, described the country’s reputation for insecurity as “both true and false,” noting that Bayanga has largely avoided the disruptions seen elsewhere. Lodges report steadier business. Guides and trackers have more consistent work. Some residents point to income that supports school fees or medical care. Yet the gains are uneven and limited in scale. Tourism employs a narrow slice of the population, and basic constraints remain, from poor roads to food&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/central-african-republics-dzanga-sangha-tests-the-promise-of-wildlife-tourism/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/central-african-republics-dzanga-sangha-tests-the-promise-of-wildlife-tourism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325022</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Palm oil expansion reignites decade-old Indigenous land conflict in Indonesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/palm-oil-expansion-reignites-decade-old-indigenous-land-conflict-in-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/palm-oil-expansion-reignites-decade-old-indigenous-land-conflict-in-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 03:49:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas JongNiken D. Sitoningrum]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31032649/image-32-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325017</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Business, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Crops, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Palm Oil, Rainforest Destruction, Social Conflict, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Two palm oil companies embroiled in a long-running land dispute with an Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo have resumed the clearing of rainforest and other land to expand their plantations for the first time in more than a decade. In June 2025, the Indigenous Dayak Benuaq community of Muara Tae reported that the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Two palm oil companies embroiled in a long-running land dispute with an Indigenous community in Indonesian Borneo have resumed the clearing of rainforest and other land to expand their plantations for the first time in more than a decade. In June 2025, the Indigenous Dayak Benuaq community of Muara Tae reported that the two companies — PT Borneo Surya Mining Jaya (BSMJ), owned by Singapore-listed First Resources, and PT Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa (MWJP), a subsidiary of Malaysia-owned TSH Resources — had restarted land clearing and evictions in what the community says is its ancestral territory. The latest activities mark a new chapter in one of Indonesia&#8217;s highest-profile land conflicts involving the palm oil industry, which Mongabay covered in an in-depth report in 2015. Eviction activity using heavy equipment by PT BSMJ as of 2 June 2026 (c) Kaoem Telapak The dispute dates back to 2011-2012, when BSMJ and MWJP began bulldozing rainforest in an area claimed by Muara Tae, a village in West Kutai district, East Kalimantan province. The companies say they bought leasehold rights from residents of Muara Ponak, a village next to Muara Tae. But Muara Tae has contended the companies colluded with individuals in Muara Ponak who fraudulently signed away hundreds of hectares of Muara Tae’s communally held land, in exchange for hundreds of millions of rupiah in compensation. The district government facilitated the transactions by redrawing the Tae-Ponak border, increasing the latter’s territory at the expense of the former. The district chief at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/palm-oil-expansion-reignites-decade-old-indigenous-land-conflict-in-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325017</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World Ranger Day: Justice for the protectors of the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/world-ranger-day-justice-for-the-protectors-of-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/world-ranger-day-justice-for-the-protectors-of-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 03:14:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/25031427/Anton-Mzimba-on-Patrol-with-TPNR-Team-by-Nick-Smith-_-Global-Conservation-Corps-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=325006</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Global, India, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Poaching, Protected Areas, Rhinos, Wildlife, Wildlife Rangers, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[July 31 is World Ranger Day, which celebrates the work rangers do for the natural world and commemorates those killed or injured in the line of duty. Among them was Anton Mzimba, head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, where he had served for 25 years. On July 26, 2022, Mzimba was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[July 31 is World Ranger Day, which celebrates the work rangers do for the natural world and commemorates those killed or injured in the line of duty. Among them was Anton Mzimba, head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, where he had served for 25 years. On July 26, 2022, Mzimba was shot dead outside his home by two men, allegedly in connection with his rhino protection work. Four years later, the case remains open, with no arrests made. “If a ranger of Anton&#8217;s standing and integrity can be killed for doing work that serves the greater good, and there are still no consequences for the people who perpetrated this crime, what confidence does that inspire in the men and women holding the line on the front lines of conservation?” John Jurko II, lead director of a documentary about Mzimba titled Rhino Man, told Mongabay by email. In 2024, Jurko II launched a “Justice for Anton Mzimba” campaign to help speed up the investigation. Mzimba’s killing is being investigated by the Hawks, a specialized unit within the South African Police Service. Hawks typically investigate organized crime and police murders, but took over Mzimba’s case because of its links to rhino poaching and an ongoing investigation, according to Nico J. Gerber, the police general who heads the Hawks in Mpumalanga province, where Mzimba was killed. Gerber told Mongabay by email the case “has progressed well” and the case file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which decides whether&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/world-ranger-day-justice-for-the-protectors-of-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/world-ranger-day-justice-for-the-protectors-of-the-wild/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325006</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Listening offers a clearer picture of India’s hidden finless porpoises</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/listening-offers-a-clearer-picture-of-indias-hidden-finless-porpoises/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/listening-offers-a-clearer-picture-of-indias-hidden-finless-porpoises/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 02:54:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31025336/Finless_Porpoise_japan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324999</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biology, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Extinction, Marine, Oceans, Research, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise is one of India’s smallest cetaceans, inhabits turbid coastal waters, and lacks a dorsal fin — all of which make it a difficult species for researchers to spot. Recent research suggests these animals are far more prevalent in Indian waters than visual sightings suggest, yet they may be disappearing before they [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise is one of India’s smallest cetaceans, inhabits turbid coastal waters, and lacks a dorsal fin — all of which make it a difficult species for researchers to spot. Recent research suggests these animals are far more prevalent in Indian waters than visual sightings suggest, yet they may be disappearing before they can be accurately counted, reports contributor Mansab Sayyad for Mongabay India. A fully grown Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) measures 1.5-1.9 meters (4.9-6.2 feet) in length and weighs about 30-45 kilograms (77-88 pounds). It’s highly inconspicuous: it has a blunt, rounded head, no dorsal fin, and occupies shallow, muddy waters, surfacing only briefly. But the finless porpoise can be &#8220;heard&#8221;. It navigates turbid waters by echolocation, emitting high-frequency pulses that are unique to the species and far above the range of human hearing — but detectable by specialized sound-recording devices. In 2025, a study counted finless porpoises using both visual and acoustic surveys off the Sindhudurg coast, north of Goa state. The acoustic surveys detected finless porpoises four times more often than visual surveys. Lead author Isha Bopardikar, from the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati and Cornell University’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, said relying on visual estimates in Indian waters is a significant drawback due to limited visibility and the animal’s brief surfacing. This means that population assessments that only use conventional visual sightings from boats may be capturing only part of the picture. Understanding the population trends&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/listening-offers-a-clearer-picture-of-indias-hidden-finless-porpoises/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/listening-offers-a-clearer-picture-of-indias-hidden-finless-porpoises/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324999</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US declines to protect endangered monkeys used in medical research</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/us-declines-to-protect-endangered-monkeys-used-in-medical-research/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/us-declines-to-protect-endangered-monkeys-used-in-medical-research/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 01:29:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/30190427/Long_Tailed_Macaque-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=324977</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia, Laos, Southeast Asia, United States, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Crime, Governance, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Mammals, Monkeys, Primates, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most recent decision was announced on July 14, 2026. Such a listing would have restricted the primate’s import for biomedical research, one of the biggest threats to its population. Mongabay asked FWS for comment but did not receive a response by publication. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) can live in a wide variety of habitats, from riverbanks and mangroves to rainforests and, even, cities. Despite their adaptability, populations of the medium-sized primates have declined sharply due to habitat loss, climate change, hunting and trade, primarily for biomedical research, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. A 2025 study found that macaques poached from the wild are likely supplementing the breeding farms in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam that supply laboratories abroad. Lisa Jones-Engel, chief scientific advisor for primate experimentation with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said trapping macaques for medical testing is the biggest factor in their population decline. “Because habitat change, climate change — these animals are so fabulously adaptable, they could roll with that,” Jones-Engel told Mongabay in a video call. She said entire troops of long-tailed macaques are captured from the wild, including infants and breeding females, and sold to breeding&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/us-declines-to-protect-endangered-monkeys-used-in-medical-research/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/us-declines-to-protect-endangered-monkeys-used-in-medical-research/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324977</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Before giant meat producer JBS expands to Nigeria, people deserve answers (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 00:17:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Felix Horne]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/02/01174203/Foto-3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324939</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Global, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Business, Cattle, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Deforestation, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Natural Resources, and Nutrition]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nigeria may soon become the site of one of the largest livestock investments in its history. JBS, the world&#8217;s largest meat company, is pursuing a reported $2.5 billion investment that could reshape parts of the country&#8217;s agricultural sector. The proposal has been welcomed by many for its potential economic benefits, but before it moves forward, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nigeria may soon become the site of one of the largest livestock investments in its history. JBS, the world&#8217;s largest meat company, is pursuing a reported $2.5 billion investment that could reshape parts of the country&#8217;s agricultural sector. The proposal has been welcomed by many for its potential economic benefits, but before it moves forward, Nigerians deserve clear answers about what it could mean for communities, land, water, and the climate. Much of the discussion around the project has focused on jobs, agricultural development, food security, and economic opportunity. Those are important goals. But there is another dimension that deserves far greater scrutiny: Methane. JBS is not simply the world&#8217;s largest meat producer. It is also responsible for more methane emissions than ExxonMobil and Shell combined, according to estimates published by Greenpeace in 2024. JBS undoubtedly disputes these figures, but the broader point is difficult to ignore: When measured by climate impact, the world&#8217;s largest livestock companies increasingly belong in the same conversation as the world&#8217;s largest fossil fuel companies. Methane rarely attracts the same public attention as carbon dioxide, yet it is responsible for roughly a third of the warming the world is experiencing today. Because it traps far more heat than carbon dioxide over the short term, cutting methane emissions is widely seen as one of the fastest ways to slow near-term climate change. Much of the public debate focuses on oil and gas. But industrial livestock production is also a major source, accounting for much of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/before-giant-meat-producer-jbs-expands-to-nigeria-people-deserve-answers-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324939</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wind farms join bottom trawlers and oil rigs in a protected North Sea sandbank</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 20:28:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christina Egerstrom]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/30200540/Joost-van-Uffelen-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324903</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Environment, Fishing, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Molluscs, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Saltwater Fish, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting experts to call it the ecological heart of the North Sea. While much of Dogger Bank has been protected for its unique seabed habitat, destructive industrial activities like oil and gas extraction as well as fishing practices like bottom trawling have continued, even in the protected zones. Now, conservationists have notched a win with a recent court ruling that curtails bottom trawling in the Dutch protected section of Dogger Bank. But they say the threats continue, notably in the form of major wind farm developments rising in the U.K. protected section. A major difficulty in protecting a place as large as Dogger Bank, which spans 18,765 square kilometers (7,245 square miles), is that it’s divided into three separate marine protected areas (MPAs) managed by three different countries. The German section of Dogger Bank was the first to be protected, as a Natura 2000 site under the European Union&#8217;s Habitats Directive, in 2007. The Dutch section followed in 2009, and the U.K. section in 2012. Since then, the U.K. has left the EU and now manages its Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as part of its own network of protected areas. (The Danish section&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Costa Rica banana plantation destroyed protected wetland, complaint alleges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/costa-rica-banana-plantation-destroyed-protected-wetland-complaint-alleges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/costa-rica-banana-plantation-destroyed-protected-wetland-complaint-alleges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 19:09:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/30184410/1_Banana_plantain_in_Costa_Rica-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324864</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crops, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Farming, Forest Fragmentation, Forests, Fragmentation, Freshwater, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Industrial Agriculture, Land Use Change, Monocultures, Natural Resources, Plantations, Protected Areas, Sustainable Forest Management, Water, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A legal complaint in Costa Rica has alleged that a banana plantation destroyed parts of a protected wetland in Bananito Sur, located in the Valle La Estrella district in the central province of Limón. Workers on the La Paz banana plantation, owned by Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, cut down [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A legal complaint in Costa Rica has alleged that a banana plantation destroyed parts of a protected wetland in Bananito Sur, located in the Valle La Estrella district in the central province of Limón. Workers on the La Paz banana plantation, owned by Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, cut down and burned vegetation inside an area listed on the country’s National Wetlands Registry, according to several complaints and a June 23 Supreme Court filing. In addition to environmental impacts, the dispute has raised questions about government transparency, with several agencies allegedly failing to provide information about what was happening in the area. “The government has to draw a line and say enough is enough, and stop the company. It hasn’t done that,” Marco Levy Virgo, president of the Association for the Development of Ecology, an environmental advocacy group, told Mongabay. Alleged destruction from the plantation. Image by Marco Levy Virgo. Banana plantations often require extensive pesticide use, as well as complex drainage systems with channels that transport water away from crops. Levy said he noticed damage related to that work at the start of the year. He submitted formal requests for information and technical data to the authorities, including the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). In April, MINAE’s Caribbean Hydrological Unit, responsible for managing the country’s largest watersheds, published two reports describing an agricultural drainage channel passing through the wetland from the plantation, with cutting and burning running parallel to it. The cleared area measured between&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/costa-rica-banana-plantation-destroyed-protected-wetland-complaint-alleges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324864</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Researchers find &#8216;priority zones&#8217; for yellow fever vaccination of golden lion tamarins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 16:35:16 +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/20/2026/07/29064450/2-B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324739</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Forests, Fragmentation, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Health, Mammals, Monitoring, Monkeys, Nature-based climate solutions, Primates, Reforestation, Research, Solutions, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After a two-hour drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro, you reach a special park dedicated to a special animal in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. There, you can take a guided tour through the green and perhaps catch a glimpse of vibrant orange: The pelage or furry coat of one of this region’s most famous [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After a two-hour drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro, you reach a special park dedicated to a special animal in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. There, you can take a guided tour through the green and perhaps catch a glimpse of vibrant orange: The pelage or furry coat of one of this region’s most famous resident, the golden lion tamarin. Between 2017 and 2019, a yellow fever epidemic killed roughly 30% of the population, leaving only 2,500 alive. This small, endangered monkey, which nearly went extinct in the 1970s, is relegated to fragmented forests in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 2% of their original territory, according to conservation nonprofit Save the Golden Lion Tamarin. But the tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) have made a significant recovery, rebounding to roughly 4,800 individuals according to a 2023 census. To better prepare for a possible outbreak in the future, a group of researchers wanted to find out how different environmental factors affected yellow fever transmission between tamarins. Their research identified high-risk areas, which could guide conservationists aiming to vaccinate the population against future epidemics. The golden lion tamarin, an endangered species, is found exclusively in Brazil&#8217;s Atlantic Forest, a seriously threatened biodiversity hotspot: only 7%-12% remains. Image by Themium via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). Mapping an outbreak Researchers compared mortality data from 2014-2016, before yellow fever struck, with more than 1,000 deaths that occurred during the outbreak in 2017-2019, information that was gathered by the nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association (known in Brazil&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324739</doi>				</item>
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