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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/dimitri-selibas/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:39:57 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Stories by Dimitri Selibas -</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/dimitri-selibas/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka elephant found with a gunshot wound. How can tuskers be protected?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-elephant-found-with-a-gunshot-wound-how-can-tuskers-be-protected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-elephant-found-with-a-gunshot-wound-how-can-tuskers-be-protected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 16:39:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09151713/1.-the-tusker-Kavanthissa-in-middle-with-Chandi-left-and-Raghu-right-c-Pathum-Bandara--768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332143</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Asia and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation Solutions, Controversial, Elephants, Endangered Species, flagship species, Habitat, Human-wildlife Conflict, Ivory, Mammals, Solutions, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO –- Wildlife enthusiast Pathum Bandara watched Kavantissa, believed to be Sri Lanka’s tallest living tusker, moving gently through the landscape on Sept. 20 around Galgamuwa in the island’s northwestern dry zone, a well-known human-elephant conflict zone. The following day, Bandara noticed that the elephant was limping. A closer look revealed a gunshot wound on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO –- Wildlife enthusiast Pathum Bandara watched Kavantissa, believed to be Sri Lanka’s tallest living tusker, moving gently through the landscape on Sept. 20 around Galgamuwa in the island’s northwestern dry zone, a well-known human-elephant conflict zone. The following day, Bandara noticed that the elephant was limping. A closer look revealed a gunshot wound on his right foreleg, close to the knee. The discovery was alarming because an untreated gunshot wound could become infected and cause severe trauma, potentially threatening an elephant’s ability to walk, feed and survive. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) dispatched a team to treat the elephant. DWC’s veterinary surgeon Isuru Hewakottage said Kavantissa was sedated to enable the cleaning and treatment of the wound. He received several rounds of powerful antibiotics and remains under observation. Following treatment, Kavantissa has begun moving between small forest patches, sometimes crossing human settlements and the well-known elephant passage near Galgamuwa. The tusker appeared to be recovering but became aggressive after the gunshot injury, sometimes even chasing villagers and wildlife officers, exposing the tusker to renewed threats including the possibility of being fired at, Bandara told Mongabay. Iconic tusker Kavantissa, left, with Sankha, a young elephant, photographed in 2022. Sankha had a mobility restriction caused by a previous gunshot injury and died after falling into a pit. Image courtesy of Pathum Bandara. Bandara recalls the plight of another young tusker once closely associated with Kavantissa. Sankha, a young tusker, was about half Kavantissa’s age and was often seen together during&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-elephant-found-with-a-gunshot-wound-how-can-tuskers-be-protected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332143</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Ecuador, Indigenous youth turn to rap music to defend the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-ecuador-indigenous-youth-turn-to-rap-music-to-defend-the-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-ecuador-indigenous-youth-turn-to-rap-music-to-defend-the-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 16:32:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Isabel Alarcón]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09141132/Raperos-1-Willan-Gualinga-Taki-Supay-Ecuador-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332134</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Arts, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Willan Gualinga first stepped onto a stage in his home community of Sarayaku, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in the province of Pastaza. He recalls his hands sweating, his body trembling, and his mouth freezing up as words crowded his mind. Three years after that debut, he performed the same song at the Rizoma 2026 Festival [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Willan Gualinga first stepped onto a stage in his home community of Sarayaku, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in the province of Pastaza. He recalls his hands sweating, his body trembling, and his mouth freezing up as words crowded his mind. Three years after that debut, he performed the same song at the Rizoma 2026 Festival in the Amazonian city of Puyo. This time, he was no longer in front of dozens of people. He was seeing thousands chanting his lyrics in his Indigenous Kichwa language. On this occasion, his body moved with the rhythm and with the strength his message demanded: “Allpamanda kawsay manda jatarishun,” or “Let us rise up for the land and for life.” That was the title of his first track and the phrase he shouted at the top of his lungs throughout his performance. The song draws on elders’ stories about the origins of Sarayaku (his traditional territory) and, like his other compositions, spotlights the threats facing his people. “Through music we can transmit the knowledge of our ancestors and, above all, defend the territory,” said Gualinga, a 23-year-old artist known on stage as “Taki Supay.” Like him, a new generation of Amazonian artists is using rap to bring attention to the threats facing Indigenous peoples and nationalities across the Ecuadorian Amazon — and to show why the rainforest must be protected. “Rap is talking about what you feel, what is happening, and our struggle,” Misael Elías Criollo Grefa, better known as Misa17, said. He is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-ecuador-indigenous-youth-turn-to-rap-music-to-defend-the-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332134</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vietnam mobilizes troops after heavy rains trigger flash floods and raise risks of landslides</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/vietnam-mobilizes-troops-after-heavy-rains-trigger-flash-floods-and-raise-risks-of-landslides/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/vietnam-mobilizes-troops-after-heavy-rains-trigger-flash-floods-and-raise-risks-of-landslides/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 16:23:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09161753/AP26282403568389-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332154</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Heavy rains lashed much of central Vietnam on Friday and caused flooding in parts of the historic city of Hue, a day after floods and landslides hit the coastal port city of Danang. Troops were mobilized and amphibious armored vehicles readied for rescue operations, state media reported. More rainfall was forecast [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Heavy rains lashed much of central Vietnam on Friday and caused flooding in parts of the historic city of Hue, a day after floods and landslides hit the coastal port city of Danang. Troops were mobilized and amphibious armored vehicles readied for rescue operations, state media reported. More rainfall was forecast through Sunday morning and authorities warned that continued downpours could trigger flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying communities. In Hue, the country’s former imperial capital known for its centuries-old palaces, rainfall over the past three days exceeded 800 millimeters (31.5 inches), increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides. The rain was heaviest in coastal lowlands and hilly areas in the city’s south. In Danang, residential areas and streets were inundated on Thursday, with water levels more than waist-high in some areas, exceeding 1 meter (3.3 feet). Rescue teams helped evacuate children and move residents’ belongings to safety. A man remained missing after a boat carrying him and his wife capsized on the Truong Giang River on Wednesday afternoon, state media reported. The couple were returning home after cutting grass when their boat overturned. The woman, who could not swim, clung to a sack of grass and was swept nearly 300 meters (yards) downstream before residents rescued her. Her husband was carried away by the current. The military deployed nearly 130 troops in Danang and more rescue teams were formed. Amphibious armored vehicles were readied in case conditions worsen, state&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/vietnam-mobilizes-troops-after-heavy-rains-trigger-flash-floods-and-raise-risks-of-landslides/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332154</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lawmakers in Suriname call for investigation, stricter oversight amid new mining activity</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/lawmakers-in-suriname-call-for-investigation-stricter-oversight-amid-new-mining-activity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/lawmakers-in-suriname-call-for-investigation-stricter-oversight-amid-new-mining-activity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 16:18:05 +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/20/2026/10/09154037/a.-Banner-%C2%A9-marccharron-original-1-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331661</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Chemicals, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Loss, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Health, Illegal Mining, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Lawmakers in Suriname are calling for a formal investigation into mining activity that allegedly uses heavily restricted chemicals like cyanide, and risks creating runoff and pollution in the surrounding ecosystem. On Sept. 19, two members of the National Assembly, Rabindre Parmessar and Michael Marengo, visited an area in Pelin Bergi, near Kwakoegron, in northern Suriname, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Lawmakers in Suriname are calling for a formal investigation into mining activity that allegedly uses heavily restricted chemicals like cyanide, and risks creating runoff and pollution in the surrounding ecosystem. On Sept. 19, two members of the National Assembly, Rabindre Parmessar and Michael Marengo, visited an area in Pelin Bergi, near Kwakoegron, in northern Suriname, and said they discovered “substantial” mining activity that raised legal questions about permitting. Now, the two lawmakers are calling on President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to launch an immediate investigation and temporarily halt all mining activity in the area. “The situation on-site raises fundamental questions about the nature, duration, permitting, oversight and the fiscal and environmental controls on these activities,” the lawmakers said in a letter, reviewed by Mongabay, to the president’s office last month. It added, “[It’s] necessary to establish how activities of this scale have been able to take place over an extended period and to what extent the state’s interests and revenues have been protected in the process.” The lawmakers, who traveled with a group of local journalists and an environmental activist, observed “deep excavations” at the site and materials being transported to processing locations. There were also indications of cyanide use via heap leaching, a process in which the chemical is sprayed onto rock to dissolve gold, making it easier to collect smaller particles. The import and use of cyanide is heavily restricted in Suriname. Geerlings-Simons is trying to phase out imports and implement a registry system for the chemical, which is still&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/lawmakers-in-suriname-call-for-investigation-stricter-oversight-amid-new-mining-activity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331661</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A chemical kept fishmeal from catching fire. Then scientists raised cancer concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 13:01:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Urbina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08040418/b.-54476493970_8b5ce03b55_o-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331923</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Chemicals, Fisheries, Fishing, Health, Oceans, Overfishing, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Jan. 8, 1966, a South African ship caught fire at sea. At port in Bristol, in the U.K., firefighters pried open [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Jan. 8, 1966, a South African ship caught fire at sea. At port in Bristol, in the U.K., firefighters pried open the smoking container, and the conflagration spread and burned for five days. A little over a month later, on Feb. 11, a Liberian steamship caught fire near Rotterdam. The blaze spread and ignited a storage area with barrels of petrol, raging for several days, before melting the deck and mast, and eventually sinking the vessel. Then, on March 19 that same year, a Danish ship caught fire off Long Beach, California, injuring three firefighters and killing a longshoreman, and causing more than $1 million in estimated damages. These were far from isolated incidents. Fishmeal powder is known for spontaneously combusting as it decays and oxidizes. From the 1950s through the 1970s, fishmeal cargo ignited at least 90 fires on ships and in plants around the world, according to a review of historical news coverage by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C. The culprit in each fire was fishmeal, a dark-yellow powder made by drying and pulverizing fish. More than half of the seafood consumed around the world is from aquafarms. Fishmeal or fish is crucial for farm-raised salmon, shrimp, tilapia, and other species. Fishmeal. Image by Phu Thinh Co via&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331923</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For Indian communities, fishmeal factories bring pollution, danger and protests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/for-indian-communities-fishmeal-factories-bring-pollution-danger-and-protests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/for-indian-communities-fishmeal-factories-bring-pollution-danger-and-protests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 13:01:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Urbina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08024211/kAP24079701377409-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331899</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. In late August 2025, a company named Marine Impex Pvt. Ltd. contacted the city council of Cuncolim, a city in southern India, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. In late August 2025, a company named Marine Impex Pvt. Ltd. contacted the city council of Cuncolim, a city in southern India, to propose constructing a new fishmeal processing plant. Each month, the 1.6-hectare (4-acre) facility would process at least 2,400 metric tons of fishmeal, a protein-rich, dark-yellow powder made by pulverizing and cooking wild-caught fish, which is used as feed for farm-raised seafood like shrimp, salmon, and tuna. The proposal sparked outrage. In media coverage, local environmental advocates and politicians voiced strong objections. “If this project is allowed, it is as if we have killed the people of Cuncolim,” said city councilor Landry Mascarenhas. State lawmaker Elvis Gomes drafted a letter to the governor of Goa state, where Cuncolim is located, asking him to intervene and explained that the stench from existing plants chokes “the lungs with such foul air that the effect of it pervades for a prolonged period.” He added, “It is simply beyond a normal human’s capacity to endure.” The outcry in Cuncolim cast a spotlight on a powerful industry with a history of wrongdoing. Between 2018 and 2024, at least 30 Indian fishmeal plants were involved in a range of environmental violations and other legal infractions, such as dumping waste into waterways and boreholes, evading taxes, using illegal timber to fuel boilers,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/for-indian-communities-fishmeal-factories-bring-pollution-danger-and-protests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331899</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishmeal factories take Senegal’s fish from the dinner table</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 13:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Urbina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08004931/e.-HIGH-RESOLUTION-GP0477P-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331878</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Senegal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Aug. 20, 2022, at least 50 protesters poured into the streets of Cayar, Senegal, demanding the closure of a nearby fishmeal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Aug. 20, 2022, at least 50 protesters poured into the streets of Cayar, Senegal, demanding the closure of a nearby fishmeal factory, Touba Protéine Marine. Marching from the coastal town’s fishing wharf to the plant, they hoisted signs reading “Cayar is sick” and “Our water is contaminated.” In a video that spread widely on Facebook, demonstrators chanted, “Time to respect our Cayar.” Their grievances were many. Protesters said the Senegalese government had broken its pledge not to authorize any new fishmeal plants — factories that produce a lucrative dark-yellow powder by cooking and pulverizing fish. Touba Protéine Marine, they said, had been built less than a third of a mile from homes, triggering health problems and violating local zoning laws, according to government documents and satellite imagery. The stench, residents said, made daily life unbearable. “Harsh reality of the Global South,” wrote Serigne Mbaye, one of the demonstrators, in a Facebook post sharing the protest video. The plant, owned until 2022 by the Spanish company Barna, was said to process whole fish. Elsewhere in the world, fishmeal is typically produced from bycatch and undesired parts of fish. The use of whole fish is legal, according to Fatou Diouf, a director in Senegal’s Ministry of Fisheries, in a written response to questions. “There is no law prohibiting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331878</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A lifetime studying and advocating for cetaceans: Interview with Paul Spong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-lifetime-studying-and-advocating-for-cetaceans-interview-with-paul-spong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-lifetime-studying-and-advocating-for-cetaceans-interview-with-paul-spong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 12:38:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09115106/IMG_8954-1280x893-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332052</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Mammals, Marine Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Paul Spong’s life has been entwined with whales for nearly six decades. In the 1960s, Spong, who hails from Aotearoa New Zealand, moved to the U.S. to study physiological psychology at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Then, in 1967, he entered the world of cetaceans when the Vancouver Aquarium [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Paul Spong’s life has been entwined with whales for nearly six decades. In the 1960s, Spong, who hails from Aotearoa New Zealand, moved to the U.S. to study physiological psychology at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Then, in 1967, he entered the world of cetaceans when the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada hired him to study the behavior of a once-wild orca (Orcinus orca) named Skana, who’d been captured from Puget Sound that same year. While conducting behavioral, visual and auditory experiments on Skana, Spong quickly noticed the orca’s high intelligence and self-awareness, and advocated for her release. But the aquarium, which didn’t renew Spong’s contract, held onto Skana until her death in 1980. After his experience with Skana, Spong decided to investigate orcas in their natural habitat. In 1970, he landed on Hanson Island, off the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, with a tent and hydrophone, intending to study the local whales over the Northern Hemisphere summer. But his project stretched out longer than a single season, and by the late 1970s, Spong had founded a permanent research facility on Hanson Island, known today as the OrcaLab. Spong and his wife, whale researcher Helena Symonds, now serve as co-directors of the organization. Northern resident orcas near Hanson Island in British Columbia. Image courtesy of OrcaLab. Spong and Symonds made a conscious decision to take a hands-off approach, only observing the orcas using land-based hydrophones and cameras, rather than tracking them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-lifetime-studying-and-advocating-for-cetaceans-interview-with-paul-spong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332052</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>An Instafamous giant water lily is confirmed as a new species — and critically endangered</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/an-instafamous-giant-water-lily-is-confirmed-as-a-new-species-and-critically-endangered/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/an-instafamous-giant-water-lily-is-confirmed-as-a-new-species-and-critically-endangered/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 10:24:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09095606/02.-Carlos-Magdalena-holding-a-Victoria-colombiana-leaf-CREDIT-Mauricio-Bernal-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332058</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Freshwater, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Plants, Research, Rivers, Science, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A chance sighting of photos on Instagram, then a five-day expedition, including a last-minute, late-night detour in a Colombian rainforest — that’s what it took for researchers to confirm a new-to-science species of giant water lily. The plant has such large leaves the researchers could also spot it from space, according to a new study. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A chance sighting of photos on Instagram, then a five-day expedition, including a last-minute, late-night detour in a Colombian rainforest — that’s what it took for researchers to confirm a new-to-science species of giant water lily. The plant has such large leaves the researchers could also spot it from space, according to a new study. The saga started in 2021, when giant-water-lily expert Carlos Magdalena came across photos posted by Jeremiah Harris on Instagram. In the photos, Harris, who runs a carnivorous-plant nursery in the U.S., was swimming next to giant water lily leaves in Colombia&#8217;s Inírida River. Harris had labelled the plant a wild individual of Victoria amazonica, but Magdalena knew that no known species of South American giant water lilies from the genus Victoria had previously been reported from the Orinoco Basin, of which the Inírida River is a tributary. “So the moment I saw the picture on Instagram with a geolocation on Inírida I realized it was remarkable,” Magdalena, a botanical and scientific research horticulturist at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K., told Mongabay by email. Intrigued, Magdalena turned to satellite imagery. Giant water lilies have massive, circular leaves, more than 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter, and Magdalena spotted several Victoria floating pads in the Inírida and nearby lakes. This confirmed there were more Victoria water lilies in that river system. Magdalena then formed a team with researchers, as well as with Nilo Rodríguez, Jaime Hernández, and Gustavo Melo, members of the Río Atabapo, Caranacoa-Yurí-Laguna Morocoto, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/an-instafamous-giant-water-lily-is-confirmed-as-a-new-species-and-critically-endangered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/an-instafamous-giant-water-lily-is-confirmed-as-a-new-species-and-critically-endangered/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332058</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How much nature is left? Interview with Nature Data Lab’s Karl Burkart</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 10:16:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09101111/mushrooms-in-the-forest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332051</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mapping, Protected Areas, Research, Science, Software, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Where are ecosystems still left standing? Where should conservation be focused? A new tool is attempting to answer these questions and serve as a watchdog for conservation and land protection initiatives around the world. Global Safety Net v3 (GSN3) is a geospatial data platform that uses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and mapping techniques to understand [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Where are ecosystems still left standing? Where should conservation be focused? A new tool is attempting to answer these questions and serve as a watchdog for conservation and land protection initiatives around the world. Global Safety Net v3 (GSN3) is a geospatial data platform that uses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and mapping techniques to understand the extent of landscapes around the world, and how they’re faring. “We&#8217;re interested in how much nature is left, and how well cared for and conserved it is,” Karl Burkart, director of the GSN3 initiative at the Nature Data Lab, a U.S.-based research organization, told Mongabay in a video interview. At the 2022 summit of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 196 countries from around the world adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The highlight of the agreement was the “30&#215;30” goal: to protect 30% of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030. Against the backdrop of this agreement, it’s become crucial for conservation scientists and organizations to keep track of how countries are faring and if designated protected areas are indeed based on scientific and conservation priorities. “We want to make sure that the 30% is the land that&#8217;s most critical for ecosystems, that&#8217;s essential for communities and livelihoods, and also for biodiversity,” Burkart said. In the backdrop of a global agreement to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and water by 2030, Karl Burkart (pictured above) said it’s important to ensure that the 30% protected is the land that’s most critical for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/how-much-nature-is-left-interview-with-nature-data-labs-karl-burkart/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332051</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ethiopian highlands yield a new species of egg-eating snake</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/ethiopian-highlands-yield-a-new-species-of-egg-eating-snake/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/ethiopian-highlands-yield-a-new-species-of-egg-eating-snake/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 07:54:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09075343/Z4A8772-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332049</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Ethiopia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Genetics, Mountains, New Discovery, Reptiles, Research, Science, Snakes, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new-to-science species of egg-eating snake has been documented in the forested mountains of southern Ethiopia, according to a recent study. The snake, which has an ink-black body, bluish skin between its scales, and stark-white throat and belly, has been named the white-throated egg-eater (Dasypeltis albigularis). It’s nonvenomous, feeding entirely on bird eggs, which it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new-to-science species of egg-eating snake has been documented in the forested mountains of southern Ethiopia, according to a recent study. The snake, which has an ink-black body, bluish skin between its scales, and stark-white throat and belly, has been named the white-throated egg-eater (Dasypeltis albigularis). It’s nonvenomous, feeding entirely on bird eggs, which it cracks using specially adapted vertebrae in its throat before swallowing, the authors say. Arthur Tiutenko of Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and his colleagues, first encountered a population of this snake in 2019 in the Harenna Forest, in the Bale Mountains. They collected a young female for identification and initially thought it was an African egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis atra), a similar black, nonvenomous species. But the team also noticed the juvenile had some unusual scales and coloration that differed from the known D. atra. These observations prompted captive-breeding trials, where the researchers mated the female with a male African egg-eating snake, and saw that their offspring showed a mix of traits from both parents. Further genetic analysis and examination of more individuals seen on future field trips confirmed the snake in the Harenna Forest was indeed new to science. “In the case of D. albigularis, it was a classic discovery, like in previous centuries, when one encounters an animal in a place previously not visited by researchers and recognizes it as something new,” Tiutenko told Mongabay by email. To formally describe a new species, researchers would typically have to deposit a dead, preserved physical specimen, known as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/ethiopian-highlands-yield-a-new-species-of-egg-eating-snake/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332049</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dhaka&#8217;s waste-to-energy plant face backlash over air pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/dhakas-waste-to-energy-plant-face-backlash-over-air-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/dhakas-waste-to-energy-plant-face-backlash-over-air-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 06:54:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09065421/Aminbazar-landfill-Photo-01-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332047</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Alternative Energy, Energy, Environment, Health, Pollution, Public Health, Recycling, Solutions, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Construction of a power plant that will burn waste to generate electricity at a landfill near Bangladesh’s capital faces strong opposition from nearby communities, who say they fear severe health risks posed by toxic air pollution, reports contributor Eyamin Sajid for Mongabay. The $467 million project is being overseen by the municipal authority Dhaka North [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Construction of a power plant that will burn waste to generate electricity at a landfill near Bangladesh’s capital faces strong opposition from nearby communities, who say they fear severe health risks posed by toxic air pollution, reports contributor Eyamin Sajid for Mongabay. The $467 million project is being overseen by the municipal authority Dhaka North City Corporation, and is owned by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), backed by Chinese-headquartered multilateral lenders. It’s designed to incinerate up to 3,000 metric tons of municipal waste daily, tackling the capital’s escalating garbage crisis while also generating up to 42.5 megawatts of electricity. The project is slated for completion in December 2028. Densely populated communities, including several schools, sit less than a mile from the location of the power plant. Local farmers told Mongabay that unmanaged trash fires at the dumpsite already disrupt their work and well-being. “We can’t breathe when waste is burned in the dumping station,” said Md Naim, who grows rice and vegetables nearby. “Our nose closes with ashes, and we feel a headache from the smoke while working on the field.” According to the environmental impact assessment for the project, the incinerator will produce 74.8 metric tons of fly ash daily, enough to get airborne. An analysis by environmental groups indicates the plant will generate 73,576 metric tons of solid waste annually, along with 39.56 metric tons of toxic substances, including dioxins, furans, and heavy metals. “If the power plant is built and run regularly, local residents, especially children&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/dhakas-waste-to-energy-plant-face-backlash-over-air-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332047</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deadly wildfires leave Borneo wildlife scrambling for fresh water</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 06:50:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09063906/092005381-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332036</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Disasters, El Nino, Endangered Species, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wildfires in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are leaving wildlife without fresh water as ponds turn brackish and forest pools dry up, driving animals into villages and toward the coast. Residents and conservation groups are responding by providing water, rescuing affected animals and treating them as smoke and fires continue to affect their habitat. Preliminary findings by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wildfires in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are leaving wildlife without fresh water as ponds turn brackish and forest pools dry up, driving animals into villages and toward the coast. Residents and conservation groups are responding by providing water, rescuing affected animals and treating them as smoke and fires continue to affect their habitat. Preliminary findings by NGO Yayasan Planet Indonesia recorded at least 16 dead animals, including silvered langurs (Trachypithecus cristatus), long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus, an endangered primate found only on Borneo), from early August through late September amid an intense fire season in coastal Kubu Raya, a district in West Kalimantan. That compares to 13 dead non-fish animals recorded during nearly six years of SMART patrols — a system for monitoring wildlife and threats in the forest — in the area, from September 2020 through June 2026, with most deaths attributed to natural causes or left unexplained. As freshwater pools dried up and village ponds turned brackish, Planet Indonesia found dehydrated wildlife moving closer to homes and the coast in search of water. “We have never had findings like this before,” said Adam Miller, co-founder of Planet Indonesia, in a statement sent to Mongabay. The NGO has worked alongside the village institutions in Kubu Raya since 2017. “When the mangroves lose their fresh water, the animals die,” Miller said. A long-tailed macaque found dead on Sept. 14 by SMART patrol team. Image courtesy of Yayasan Planet Indonesia. On Sept. 20, a patrol found a silvered&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/deadly-wildfires-leave-borneo-wildlife-scrambling-for-fresh-water/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332036</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World Octopus Day: new discoveries about the world’s smartest invertebrates</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-octopus-day-new-discoveries-about-the-worlds-smartest-invertebrates/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-octopus-day-new-discoveries-about-the-worlds-smartest-invertebrates/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 23:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/18184147/Small_WW1127416-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332022</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Invertebrates, Marine, Marine Animals, New Discovery, Oceans, Research, Science, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Happy World Octopus Day!  Every Oct 8, the world celebrates one of the more unusual creatures of the sea. Octopuses are well-known for their eight legs and ability to squirt ink when frightened. They’ve also been known to use tools, a sign of intelligence, and can shape-shift to mimic the colors and texture of their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Happy World Octopus Day!  Every Oct 8, the world celebrates one of the more unusual creatures of the sea. Octopuses are well-known for their eight legs and ability to squirt ink when frightened. They’ve also been known to use tools, a sign of intelligence, and can shape-shift to mimic the colors and texture of their surroundings, an effective way to disappear from both predators and prey. Mongabay has reported on several octopus discoveries this year, including: Ancient octopus were apex predators Modern colossal squid are believed to be the largest invertebrates in the sea, but Mongabay’s Shanna Hanbury recently reported on an even larger ancient octopus species whose fossils were described by Japanese researchers in April 2026. The Japanese team found a fossilized jawbone from the now-extinct Nanaimoteuthis haggarti. Based on its jaw size, researchers suggest the octopus may have reached 6.6 to 18.6 meters (22 to 61 feet) in length. On the higher end, that’s around two-thirds the size of an adult blue whale, the largest animal to ever exist. “It suggests that it may have been among the largest invertebrates ever known,” study co-author Yasuhiro Iba, a paleontologist at Hokkaido University in Japan, told Mongabay by email. They were likely gigantic predators that roamed the late Cretaceous seas between 100 million to 72 million years ago. A rare look at baby octopuses From long dead octopus to newly born, Hanbury also reported on baby Argentine octopuses and a rare photo of them. Patagonian octopus eggs in Puerto Lobos Protected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-octopus-day-new-discoveries-about-the-worlds-smartest-invertebrates/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/world-octopus-day-new-discoveries-about-the-worlds-smartest-invertebrates/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332022</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Counterfeit seeds threaten African farmers’ crops and climate resilience: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/counterfeit-seeds-threaten-african-farmers-crops-and-climate-resilience-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/counterfeit-seeds-threaten-african-farmers-crops-and-climate-resilience-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 20:41:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08203415/4105131311_9bc22c770c_c-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332024</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, Food, Food Industry, Food Prices, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Nutrition, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Africa, high-quality seeds can produce improved crops with enhanced nutrition, pest-resistance, and drought tolerance. However, such seeds for maize, vegetables, and cereal crops can be indistinguishable from counterfeit, or “fake” seeds. That’s creating a massive potential for fraud in seed quality that can potentially deprive farmers of access to climate-resilient seeds while putting their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Africa, high-quality seeds can produce improved crops with enhanced nutrition, pest-resistance, and drought tolerance. However, such seeds for maize, vegetables, and cereal crops can be indistinguishable from counterfeit, or “fake” seeds. That’s creating a massive potential for fraud in seed quality that can potentially deprive farmers of access to climate-resilient seeds while putting their harvests and incomes at risk. A group of researchers analyzed the efforts of 50 African countries to combat counterfeit seeds. They found a wide range of penalties for selling them across different governments, and concluded that a significant gap exists between government policy commitments and implementation, largely due to limited capacity. Study lead author Ed Mabaya, a professor of global development at Cornell University in the U.S., told Mongabay, “For most smallholder farmers in Africa, planting happens once a season, often timed to the first rains. A farmer who buys counterfeit seed usually finds out only after planting, when the seed fails to germinate or the crop grows poorly. By then it is usually too late to replant, so the loss is not a slightly smaller harvest but potentially the whole season&#8217;s food and income.” That can lead to food insecurity for the individual farmer and local markets more broadly. Counterfeiters can dye or repackage grain and sell it as branded, certified seed, Mabaya said. “The problem arises because certified seed looks exactly like ordinary grain but sells for a much higher price, in some cases several times more for hybrid maize. That price gap&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/counterfeit-seeds-threaten-african-farmers-crops-and-climate-resilience-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/counterfeit-seeds-threaten-african-farmers-crops-and-climate-resilience-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332024</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered angelshark is still traded in Brazil despite import ban</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 18:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08144635/stalls-in-the-Porto-Alegre-Public-Market-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331970</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Shark Meat Nation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — “Good choice!” said the clerk at one of the fish stalls in the Porto Alegre Public Market when Mongabay asked about the peixe anjo, which means “angel fish” in Portuguese, in mid-September. “We sell a lot of these. It’s really good, and it doesn’t have any bones.” The same product was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — “Good choice!” said the clerk at one of the fish stalls in the Porto Alegre Public Market when Mongabay asked about the peixe anjo, which means “angel fish” in Portuguese, in mid-September. “We sell a lot of these. It’s really good, and it doesn’t have any bones.” The same product was for sale by at least four other fishmongers in the traditional market of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, in the South of Brazil. Prices were attractive, ranging from 30 to 37 reais per kilo ($5.70 to $7). The problem is that the “angel” isn’t just any fish — it’s a shark. More specifically, an angelshark, and in Brazil, that means three of the world’s most endangered shark species: Squatina guggenheim, the angular angelshark; S. occulta, the hidden angelshark; and S. argentina, the Argentine angelshark. And fishing of these species is prohibited in Brazil. For many years, the Brazilian government authorized the import of angelsharks from neighboring countries. According to data from the Federal Revenue Service obtained by Mongabay through the Freedom of Information Act, 48 metric tons of S. guggenheim meat and 194.6 metric tons of S. argentina entered Brazil between January 2021 and Sept. 10, 2026, totaling 242.6 metric tons. Most of the shipments came from Argentina, entering the country through the customs ports of São Borja and Uruguaiana municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, and Dionísio Cerqueira in Santa Catarina state. Once in Brazil, the imported product was mixed with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331970</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Activists cite ecological, social connections in blocking US border wall construction (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 17:56:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Meg Perret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08172450/IMG_8310-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331995</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arizona, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Commentary, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Ethics, Governance, Human Migration, Law, Migration, Politics, Social Justice, Trees, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A group of activists in the small border town of Lochiel, Arizona, U.S., is fighting to save 200-year-old cottonwood trees by stopping contractors from building a section of the U.S.’s new wall along its border with Mexico. One activist lived for over 70 days in the upper branches of an ancient cottonwood dubbed the “Grandmother [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A group of activists in the small border town of Lochiel, Arizona, U.S., is fighting to save 200-year-old cottonwood trees by stopping contractors from building a section of the U.S.’s new wall along its border with Mexico. One activist lived for over 70 days in the upper branches of an ancient cottonwood dubbed the “Grandmother Tree,” preventing construction workers from cutting it down while other activists used pulleys to bring them food and water. The protest was about more than protecting ancient trees: Activists were also fighting habitat fragmentation caused by the border wall in a landscape where biodiversity depends on ecological connectivity. The tree encampment began on July 28, after construction workers cut down three of the four cottonwood trees that were in the path of the wall. This double wall consists of two 30-foot-high (just over 9 meters) steel walls that run parallel to one another with a buffer zone between. Since then, helicopters, drones, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and local law enforcement have been surveilling the area, according to the activists at the encampment. I interviewed activists camped in the meadow adjacent to the tree, photographed the landscape, and participated in the daily morning rituals aimed at honoring Grandmother Tree and the land. There I learned that the movement has connected social and environmental issues since its inception. Many of the activists I met at the Lochiel protest are involved in No More Deaths, a humanitarian group that provides water and aid to migrants crossing the border,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331995</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Crackdown reveals ‘industrial-scale’ wildlife and timber trafficking across Latin America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 17:55:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08175148/189_Red-and-green_macaw_couple_flying_in_Chapada_dos_Guimaraes_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332013</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Crime, Governance, Insects, Jaguars, Lions, Mammals, Organized Crime, Parrots, Raptors, Reptiles, Tigers, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries have arrested hundreds of people and recovered more than 1,000 animals as part of a two-month coordinated operation against environmental crimes. Operation Madre Tierra was the eighth edition of a recurring Interpol-led initiative, and was conducted in June and July in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries have arrested hundreds of people and recovered more than 1,000 animals as part of a two-month coordinated operation against environmental crimes. Operation Madre Tierra was the eighth edition of a recurring Interpol-led initiative, and was conducted in June and July in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Investigators found illegal timber and wildlife trafficking networks operating on an “industrial scale” along the corridor connecting Central and South America, Interpol announced in a press release. Many of the products were destined for markets in Europe and Asia, where South American wildlife is in demand as pets. Reptiles, rare insects, and exotic birds were the most commonly seized live wildlife. In Mexico, authorities seized several big cats along routes used by drug traffickers, including two endangered Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), one of them a rare white tiger, as well as lions (Panthera leo), ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), and jaguars (Panthera onca). In Nicaragua, authorities confiscated several birds, including parrots and red-and-green macaws (Ara chloropterus), that are protected under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. They also seized about 165 kilograms (364 pounds) of dried shark fins, thought to be destined for the Asian market, where they could have fetched $280,000. Investigators also traced financial transactions to identify how criminals profited while evading detection. “Following the money, whether from an illegal gold mine in Panama to a buyer in North America, Europe or Asia, helps a case move&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332013</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal ends search for thousands of flood victims, leaving some families angry and others relieved</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 17:34:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08162840/AP26275405211174-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331998</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims. The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims. The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations for victims of the Aug. 26 floods will cease. Instead, authorities will concentrate on rehabilitation and reconstruction including restoring roads and bridges cut off by floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has made aid deliveries difficult. Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people, but 5,285 others remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners. The government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 billion. Nearly 33,000 people have been affected and about 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed. Hopes for finding survivors were briefly revived after two Nepalese workers were rescued from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project on Sept. 4, and again two days later when rescuers found a Chinese man at the same location. Families of victims have held protests and vigils in Nepal, calling for search efforts to be improved. “I am so angry at the government for giving up on search and rescue with thousands of people still missing. I just don’t understand how they can do that when we still have hope left that our loved one can still be found,” said Usha Khatri, who has spent days searching for her husband in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331998</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South Korea strengthens migrant fisher protections. Advocates are not impressed.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:47:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrew Jeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/31010214/farisbobero3_Nelayan-Bajo-Sankuang-abk-bagan-ikan-saat-menarik-jangkar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331941</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and South Korea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Crime, Culture, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Forced labor, Governance, Human Rights, Industry, Law, Law Enforcement, Oceans, Regulations, Slavery, and trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — At 2 a.m. one night, two Indonesian fishers were gripping a flimsy, makeshift rope, hanging on for dear life. The precarious rope dangled from the eighth-floor window of a motel room overlooking a dark alley in the South Korean port city of Busan, swinging left and right with the wind. The men had [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — At 2 a.m. one night, two Indonesian fishers were gripping a flimsy, makeshift rope, hanging on for dear life. The precarious rope dangled from the eighth-floor window of a motel room overlooking a dark alley in the South Korean port city of Busan, swinging left and right with the wind. The men had been locked up in that room for nearly 24 hours, and they were trying to make their escape. But the crude rope, made out of tied bed sheets, unraveled, sending the men plunging. One fell to his death, hitting the pavement headfirst. The other survived with a broken leg, according to Lee Han-sook, director of the Migration and Human Rights Institute, a Busan-based civic group. She was briefed on the July 21 incident by the survivor, whom she declined to name. According to activists, the incident served as one of the last straws that prompted the government to boost efforts to crack down on human trafficking, especially abuses against migrant workers in the country’s $7.5 billion fishing industry. On Sept. 2, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced they had amended national guidelines on human trafficking to make it easier for law enforcement officials to spot and stop forced labor and other abuses in the fishing industry. The new guidelines outline specific situations in which the likelihood of human rights abuse is high, such as seeing workers who have physical injuries being left untreated, workers who have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331941</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Australia&#8217;s new eco police flexes muscles with major wildlife trafficking bust</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:41:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08144050/Ball-Python-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331972</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australian authorities have disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking syndicate, uncovering a clandestine operation where smuggled native animals were hoarded alongside caches of cash and gold, reports contributor Johan Augustin for Mongabay. The operation reportedly seized 28 native and a few exotic species alongside approximately A$300,000 (nearly $210,000) in cash, gold, and silver bullion on July [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australian authorities have disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking syndicate, uncovering a clandestine operation where smuggled native animals were hoarded alongside caches of cash and gold, reports contributor Johan Augustin for Mongabay. The operation reportedly seized 28 native and a few exotic species alongside approximately A$300,000 (nearly $210,000) in cash, gold, and silver bullion on July 16. The bust marks the first major wildlife crime investigation carried out by the new National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), Australia’s first independent federal environmental regulator, launched on July 1. In addition to the 28 native Australian reptiles — including shingleback lizards (Tiliqua rugosa), spiny-tailed skinks (Egernia stokesii), and lace monitors (Varanus varius) — there were heavily regulated nonnative species like a North American hognose snake (genus Heterodon) and a ball python (Python regius). The agency alleges the native species were supplied to foreign nationals for illegal export. “Illegal trade of Australia’s native wildlife is a serious crime,” Dani Yannopoulos, head of the National EPA’s environmental permitting and compliance division, said in a media release published Aug. 22. “Australia’s native wildlife is precious and we are working closely with [Australian] Border Force and international partners to stop those who attempt to exploit it through the illegal wildlife trade.” Yannopoulos added that anyone taking part in the illegal wildlife trade risks serious penalties. Under Australian federal environmental law, exporting native animals or eggs without a permit carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching A$364,000 ($253,000). Even so, immense profits continue&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331972</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Invasive species have more severe environmental impacts in Global South, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:38:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Esther J]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08104335/red-eared-slider-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331861</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Fellows, Health, Invasive Species, Mongabay.org, Planetary Health, Public Health, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The environmental impacts caused by invasive alien species are more severe in poor countries of Global South than wealthy countries of Global North, a new study finds. The study shatters a long-standing assumption that wealthier Global North countries suffer the worst effects of invasive alien species (IAS) and highlights weak governance and insufficient management capacity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The environmental impacts caused by invasive alien species are more severe in poor countries of Global South than wealthy countries of Global North, a new study finds. The study shatters a long-standing assumption that wealthier Global North countries suffer the worst effects of invasive alien species (IAS) and highlights weak governance and insufficient management capacity as some of the reasons for greater severity of impacts in the Global South. The study published in Science in July employed a method involving the assessment of the average impact of severity, which uses a different approach from previous research. Instead of focusing on numbers of invasive species, this method focuses on how serious the level of impacts caused by invasive species are. Previously, impacts of IAS have been regarded more of a problem in the Global North because fewer large impacts were reported from the Global South, Sven Bacher, professor of ecology at University of Fribourg and the lead author of the research, told Mongabay by email. “We show that this is due to uneven reporting, and that the average impacts are actually higher in the GS [Global South]. This even holds for impacts of the same IAS introduced to both the GS and the GN [Global North]: on average their impacts are larger in the GS,” he said. Among the paper’s key findings, the scientists identified weak governance and limited management capacities as two major factors contributing to the Global South’s greater vulnerability. Some of the impacts of IAS can include damage&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331861</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Did two of the lemurs stolen in Bangladesh end up in India? Officials are investigating</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08141934/ring-tailed-lemurs-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331951</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Lemurs, Primates, Wildlife, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release a statement, denying the allegations while assuring cooperation in sharing the DNA profile of the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) currently in its custody with Bangladesh authorities. However, the Bangladesh Forest Department was unprepared to respond to the call immediately, as it had no prior DNA profiling record of the lemurs stolen from Gazipur. Sufi Ullah, special superintendent of police under the Criminal Investigation Department of Bangladesh Police, the investigation agency, told Mongabay on Sept. 13, “Even though Bangladesh court orders further probe following the availability of the DNA profile, cross-border investigation is impossible.” Forest Department officials said that tracing the last destination is challenging and bringing the lemurs back is uncertain, as there is no repatriation protocol under the existing mutual understanding between Bangladesh and India. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, director at Bangladesh Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU), said, “Further investigation and repatriation [of the lemurs] may follow only if the governments of the two countries agree to do so.” Meanwhile, South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network Secretary General Krishna Prasad Acharya, in an email to Mongabay, said that the exchange of information can assist the concerned countries in verifying available information, coordinating follow-up, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331951</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging threatens Bornean forest earmarked for Indigenous Peace Park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:25:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08142458/20230822_153133-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331964</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Business, Conservation, Forest Products, Forestry, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Logging, Protected Areas, and Timber]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Part of a forest in Malaysian Borneo that Indigenous communities had envisioned co-managing and self-governing has been turned into an active commercial logging concession, according to a recent civil society report. The 283,500-hectare (700,500-acre) Upper Baram Forest Area, in the northeastern part of the state of Sarawak, was proposed as a community-led conservation area more [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Part of a forest in Malaysian Borneo that Indigenous communities had envisioned co-managing and self-governing has been turned into an active commercial logging concession, according to a recent civil society report. The 283,500-hectare (700,500-acre) Upper Baram Forest Area, in the northeastern part of the state of Sarawak, was proposed as a community-led conservation area more than 15 years ago. In 2021, the Sarawak Forest Department secured $1.4 million from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), which promotes the sustainable use of forests, to develop a conservation initiative with 32 Indigenous villages, called the Baram Peace Park. However, the state government subsequently granted a 170,000-hectare (420,000-acre) timber concession in 2024 to a company called Borneoland Timber Resources Sdn. Bhd., overlapping key cultural and ecological zones, reports contributor Danielle Keeton-Olsen for Mongabay. According to a report from Swiss-based nonprofit Bruno Manser Fonds, a key funder of the Baram Peace Park project, between March and May 2025, community observers tracked more than 160 logging trucks exiting the concession monthly. These trucks hauled an estimated 10.5 million ringgit ($2.6 million) in timber per month. Logging paths have penetrated core primary forest around Gunung Murud Kecil, a peak central to the Indigenous Penan heritage, threatening protected species including helmeted hornbills (Rhinoplax vigil), sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), and Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi). Affected villagers allege loggers have violated native customary rights by bulldozing land and destroying ancestral fruit trees. Komeok Joe, CEO and founder of the Penan rights organization Keruan, said local communities are actively&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331964</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishing in polluted waters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:23:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Izzy Sasada]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08142321/NFTF-2-Thumb.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331962</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a remote community in Malaysian Borneo, fishermen are facing an existential threat: their water source is being polluted. The fish they depend on is dying. Long Jawe village sits on the banks of the vast Bakun Reservoir. It is so remote that most residents only make the five-hour journey to the nearest town once [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a remote community in Malaysian Borneo, fishermen are facing an existential threat: their water source is being polluted. The fish they depend on is dying. Long Jawe village sits on the banks of the vast Bakun Reservoir. It is so remote that most residents only make the five-hour journey to the nearest town once a year, and visitors are rare. When the reservoir was created in the 1990s, the surrounding landscape was flooded. The community has since adapted to this enormous body of water, which is now crucial to their way of life, providing transport, food and livelihoods. But what happens when that water source becomes polluted? Join Conservation Entangled host Izzy Sasada as she travels to Long Jawe to investigate what could be behind the pollution.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331962</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite legacy court case, Zambian Vedanta mine pollution continues</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 04:51:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08044648/Dead-fish-at-Hippo-Pool-north-of-Chingola-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331927</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Health, Mining, Pollution, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Zambian government is investigating a chemical spill in its Copperbelt Province allegedly linked to Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by U.K.-based multinational Vedanta Resources. Residents in Chingola district told Mongabay they observed discoloration of the Kafue River and fish die-off on Sept. 28, raising fresh concerns about the environmental and social impacts of mining [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Zambian government is investigating a chemical spill in its Copperbelt Province allegedly linked to Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by U.K.-based multinational Vedanta Resources. Residents in Chingola district told Mongabay they observed discoloration of the Kafue River and fish die-off on Sept. 28, raising fresh concerns about the environmental and social impacts of mining operations in one of Zambia’s most important copper-producing regions. According to a statement by Gilbert Siame, Zambia’s minister of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE), the incident was caused by a leaking pipe at KCM’s tailings leach plant and an overflow from the company’s pollution control dam outside Chingola. “The pollution control dam was full, that&#8217;s why it spilled,” Eugene Mulenga, Chingola-based human rights activist and coordinator for caritas, told Mongabay. “The [chemical] discharge happens all the time, mostly at night, and the local residents consume this water because they don’t have another option.” Following the Sept. 28 spill, tests conducted by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), KCM and local water utility Mulonga Water Supply and Sanitation Company showed elevated levels of turbidity and conductivity downstream along the Kafue River. In a statement issued Oct. 1, KCM contested its responsibility in the spillage, saying that company officials reported the incident to ZEMA and asked for a fact-based investigation. Mongabay reached out to the company but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Siame noted in the statement shared with Mongabay that authorities are still testing water samples to confirm heavy metals and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331927</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa’s monitored wildlife populations declined 80% since 1970, new report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/africas-monitored-wildlife-populations-declined-80-since-1970-new-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/africas-monitored-wildlife-populations-declined-80-since-1970-new-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 23:05:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07225750/Namibian_Elephants_in_Etosha-Stephan_Scholvin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331871</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Elephants, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Ivory, Mammals, Poaching, Pollution, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Africa’s monitored wildlife populations have declined an average of 80% since 1970, according to a new global assessment. The report also points to pockets of recovery where conservation efforts have been maintained over decades. The report on the decline in the average size of monitored populations was released Oct. 8 in the Living Planet Report [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Africa’s monitored wildlife populations have declined an average of 80% since 1970, according to a new global assessment. The report also points to pockets of recovery where conservation efforts have been maintained over decades. The report on the decline in the average size of monitored populations was released Oct. 8 in the Living Planet Report 2026. It tracked monitored populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians between 1970 and 2022. Africa’s 80% decline compares with a global average of 73%; Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the largest regional decline, at 95%. The findings come as governments prepare to assess progress on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, whose 23 targets include commitments to halt human-induced extinctions and support the recovery of threatened species by 2030. The framework also calls for conserving at least 30% of the world’s land, inland waters and seas by 2030. The Living Planet Index, managed by the Zoological Society of London in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), draws on 35,803 population trends from 5,790 vertebrate species worldwide. The index measure changes in the average size of monitored populations, it does not mean that Africa lost 80% of its wild animals or wildlife species, a press release obtained by Mongabay cautions. Habitat destruction and degradation are the most frequently reported pressures on the wildlife populations tracked globally, the report finds. Overexploitation, climate change, pollution, disease and invasive species are among the other threats identified. In the Congo Basin, for example, those pressures&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/africas-monitored-wildlife-populations-declined-80-since-1970-new-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331871</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can WarWilding defend Poland’s borders and save Europe’s last ancient forest?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 20:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marta Kasztelan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07161238/European_bison_Bison_bonasus_male_Bialowieza-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331825</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Europe, Europe, and Poland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Habitat, Infrastructure, Old Growth Forests, Roads, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Forest Management, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BIAŁOWIEŻA, Poland — Michal Żmihorski, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Protection, will never forget the morning of Aug. 1, 2023. Two Belarusian helicopters entered Polish airspace, hovering above the village of Białowieża in eastern Poland, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the Polish-Belarusian border. The panic was palpable. “We didn’t know if the invasion [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BIAŁOWIEŻA, Poland — Michal Żmihorski, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Protection, will never forget the morning of Aug. 1, 2023. Two Belarusian helicopters entered Polish airspace, hovering above the village of Białowieża in eastern Poland, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the Polish-Belarusian border. The panic was palpable. “We didn’t know if the invasion had begun, if they were going to start dropping bombs,” he says during a conversation at the Białowieża-based Mammal Research Institute. The incident galvanized Żmihorski’s conviction that the borderlands should be impenetrable to enemy forces. “So that bandits on motorbikes can’t get through and start murdering people, because this is a real threat in this area,” says the longtime researcher of the UNESCO-protected Białowieża Forest straddling the Polish-Belarusian frontier. Poland shares a 420-km (261-mi) border with Belarus, 55 km (34 mi) of which runs through the Białowieża Forest, Europe’s last ancient woodland. This sprawling forest, covering an area equivalent to 200,000 football pitches, is among the continent’s top biodiversity hotspots. Consisting of impressive evergreens and broad-leaved trees, the Polish side alone is home to 900 European bison (Bison bonasus) — a species reintroduced to the forest — as well as lynx, wolves and up to 4,000 fungi species. While the specter of a military escalation by Belarus, a country that supports Russia, feels very real to some in this part of Eastern Europe, Poles throughout the country have been impacted by the war ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. To strengthen national security and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331825</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Arabian Sea humpbacks may be a unique subspecies at risk of extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 18:39:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07183207/Photo-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331868</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Charismatic Animals, Environment, Mammals, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Threatened species, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Humpback whales found in the Arabian Sea are likely a distinct subspecies, having evolved in isolation for tens of thousands of years, according to a newly published genetic analysis. “Arabian Sea humpback whales have long been an enigma to the scientific community,” lead author Rita Amaral, from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Humpback whales found in the Arabian Sea are likely a distinct subspecies, having evolved in isolation for tens of thousands of years, according to a newly published genetic analysis. “Arabian Sea humpback whales have long been an enigma to the scientific community,” lead author Rita Amaral, from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said in a press release. “Their ecology is unlike that of any other known humpback whale population, and this new genetic work represents an important milestone in understanding how that uniqueness developed.” Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are found throughout the world’s oceans, typically migrating from warm waters near the equator, where they breed, to the colder poles, where they feed. To date, scientists recognize three subspecies: the North Atlantic (M. n. novaeangliae), Southern Hemisphere (M. n. australis), and North Pacific (M. n. kuzira) humpback whales. Unlike most humpbacks, however, the population living in the Arabian Sea doesn’t migrate, remaining in tropical and subtropical waters all year. Researchers compared mitochondrial DNA, which mothers pass to their babies, collected from 2,285 humpback whales globally, including those from the Arabian Sea coast of Oman. The analysis showed considerable genetic differentiation between the latter population and the other subspecies. The researchers also found the Arabian Sea population had the lowest genetic diversity observed across any global ocean basin. The study estimates humpback whales in the Arabian Sea diverged from the other populations between roughly 43,000 and 113,000 years ago, suggesting a long history of isolation. Such isolation also makes them vulnerable to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331868</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tropical Storm Isaias forms, is forecast to become a hurricane and hit US Gulf Coast this week</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/tropical-storm-isaias-forms-is-forecast-to-become-a-hurricane-and-hit-us-gulf-coast-this-week/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/tropical-storm-isaias-forms-is-forecast-to-become-a-hurricane-and-hit-us-gulf-coast-this-week/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 18:09:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07180212/AP26280555166570-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331865</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Disasters, Earth Science, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Isaias formed Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week. The rapidly strengthening storm was on track to tie or break a 121-year-old record [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Isaias formed Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week. The rapidly strengthening storm was on track to tie or break a 121-year-old record as the latest arriving initial hurricane of the Atlantic season. According to the National Weather Service, the record dates to 1905, when the year&#8217;s first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center on Wednesday issued a hurricane watch for the northern Gulf Coast from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass on the Florida Panhandle. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. Isaias was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 540 miles (870 kilometers) southwest of the Mississippi River’s mouth, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 8 mph (13 kph). Forecasters predict Isaias will become a hurricane by Thursday as it turns northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. Though its path and timing could shift, the storm is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday. The hurricane center said residents of the northern Gulf Coast should prepare for dangerous wind, storm surge and heavy rain that could trigger flash floods. “It’s definitely time to look at your hurricane plan and put whatever you need into&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/tropical-storm-isaias-forms-is-forecast-to-become-a-hurricane-and-hit-us-gulf-coast-this-week/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331865</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘A few are afraid of the chicks’: Preparing Thailand’s rescued leopard cats for life in the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07165523/leopard-cat-release-25-of-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331841</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Cute, Environment, Governance, Habitat, Mammals, Research, Science, Small Cats, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center in Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand, which rehabilitates and ultimately releases dozens of lost and injured leopard cat cubs every year. Behind the officer, 15 larger leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), rescued as young cubs months earlier, pace around inside their cages. They look a lot like domestic cats, only slightly more slender and with sharply defined markings on their fur; unlike domestic cats, they bare their teeth and growl whenever a human walks past. Nine of the cats, between 8 and 9 months old, will be released in the forest that afternoon. The other six, a younger cohort, will take their place in the center’s specialized behavioral rehabilitation pens, where they will spend two months practicing their climbing and hunting skills in preparation for life in the wild. Leopard cats are small wild felines common across much of Asia. The IUCN classes them as least concern, though experts believe populations are increasingly vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss. Highly adaptable to changing landscapes, leopard cats often live close to farms and villages. In northeastern Thailand, females are frequently found raising their litters in sugarcane fields. The tall leaves offer shelter from the sun, but proximity to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331841</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>International pledge to fund forest rights exceeds target, but direct funding remains low</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-pledge-to-fund-forest-rights-exceeds-target-but-direct-funding-remains-low/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-pledge-to-fund-forest-rights-exceeds-target-but-direct-funding-remains-low/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:23:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07154220/AP24302739182917-Jayapura-Papua-province-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331812</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Justice, Community Development, Community Forests, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Finance, Funding, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law, Politics, Protected Areas, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Funders of the $1.7 billion pledge to support Indigenous peoples and local communities’ land rights, announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, say they have exceeded the target by 35%, delivering $2.35 billion between 2021 and 2025. According to the final report of the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG), in 2025 alone, donors [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Funders of the $1.7 billion pledge to support Indigenous peoples and local communities’ land rights, announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, say they have exceeded the target by 35%, delivering $2.35 billion between 2021 and 2025. According to the final report of the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG), in 2025 alone, donors provided about $486 million. Sources say the five-year pledge was a major accomplishment, but problems around direct access, regional inequality, funding for women and youth and aid sustainability persist. In 2025, only 7.2% went directly to Indigenous and local community organizations, the latest report found, while the vast majority still flowed through intermediaries, such as NGOs, consultancies and development banks. According to recently updated data in the report, the share of direct funding has increased over the five-year period, from 2.9% of the $351 million provided by donors in 2021, decreasing to 2.1% of the $514 million in 2022. By 2023, this number had risen to 10.6% of the $533 million provided that year, and in 2024, 7.6% of the $467 million provided went directly to these groups. “The pledge was good news, but the figure of the result doesn&#8217;t tell us how much actually reached the territories,” Myrna Cunningham Kain, of the Indigenous Miskito community of Waspam and chair of the Guiding Committee at the Pawanka Fund, told Mongabay over email. The Pawanka Fund is a global organization led by Indigenous people that channels financial and technical resources directly to Indigenous peoples and other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-pledge-to-fund-forest-rights-exceeds-target-but-direct-funding-remains-low/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331812</doi>				</item>
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