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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?byline=hedieyeh-tehrany&#038;post_type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/hedieyeh-tehrany/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:28:29 +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 Hedieyeh Tehrany -</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/hedieyeh-tehrany/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Pakistan expands protected habitat for Indus River dolphin as recovery offers hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pakistan-expands-protected-habitat-for-indus-river-dolphin-as-recovery-offers-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pakistan-expands-protected-habitat-for-indus-river-dolphin-as-recovery-offers-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 21:28:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Muhammad Talal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24130618/%D9%BE%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86_%DA%A9%D8%A7_%D9%82%D9%88%D9%85%DB%8C_%D8%A2%D8%A8%DB%8C_%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C_%D9%85%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C%DB%81-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330706</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Pakistan, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Freshwater, Habitat, Mammals, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Between 11 million and 16 million years ago, during the high sea levels of the middle Miocene period, the ancestors of the Indus River dolphin entered the muddy waters of what is the Indus Basin today. Over millennia, they adapted to their new environment through extraordinary evolutionary shifts, developing sophisticated echolocation while gradually losing their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Between 11 million and 16 million years ago, during the high sea levels of the middle Miocene period, the ancestors of the Indus River dolphin entered the muddy waters of what is the Indus Basin today. Over millennia, they adapted to their new environment through extraordinary evolutionary shifts, developing sophisticated echolocation while gradually losing their eyesight. Today, these blind mammals, living mostly in Pakistan (with a small population in northwestern India), navigate the river&#8217;s shallow, dry-season waters by swimming on their sides. Yet, these evolutionary marvels offer little defense against the modern transformation of their habitat. That habitat is fragmented by vast networks of dams, human-made canals and irrigation barrages. Consequently, the Indus River dolphin (Platanista minor), locally known as the bhulan, has seen its historical range slashed by approximately 80%. The species, which boasted an estimated population of 10,000 in the late 19th century, plummeted to just 617 individuals by 2001 before rebounding to around 2,000 over the next decade. The Indus River dolphin is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. In response, Pakistan&#8217;s government has officially created the Punjnad Indus River Dolphin Sanctuary in June 2026, safeguarding nearly 200 kilometers (123 miles) of the river in Punjab. This new zone connects with an existing protected area in Sindh province, southeastern Pakistan, that creates a contiguous 400-km (249-mi) stretch of legally protected habitat, offering a critical lifeline to one of the world&#8217;s rarest freshwater dolphins. The timing of this legal protection is of the essence, as a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pakistan-expands-protected-habitat-for-indus-river-dolphin-as-recovery-offers-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pakistan-expands-protected-habitat-for-indus-river-dolphin-as-recovery-offers-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330706</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A new cat species was just discovered. Several more may follow</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-new-cat-species-was-just-discovered-several-more-may-follow/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-new-cat-species-was-just-discovered-several-more-may-follow/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 19:53:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24145721/Leopardus-tilcayo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330733</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, DNA, Endangered Species, Genetics, Interviews, Mammals, Small Cats, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Editor&#8217;s note: Last week, the description of a “new” cat species from Bolivia made headlines around the world. The tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo), a small spotted cat from Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forests, was described as the first new living cat species discovered in more than a century. Unlike several cats recognized as new species in recent [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Editor&#8217;s note: Last week, the description of a “new” cat species from Bolivia made headlines around the world. The tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo), a small spotted cat from Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forests, was described as the first new living cat species discovered in more than a century. Unlike several cats recognized as new species in recent years through taxonomic revisions, the tilcayo had never been formally described by science. Genetic analysis indicates its lineage diverged from other tiger cats around 1.4 million years ago. The discovery comes amid a broader reassessment of cat taxonomy. Several populations once considered subspecies or regional forms are now recognized, or have been proposed, as separate species. And there may be considerably more to come, according to Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira, a Brazilian wildlife biologist and conservationist who has spent several decades studying the small wild cats of the Neotropics. Oliveira is one of the co-chairs of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group. He is also a professor in the biology department at Maranhão State University (UEMA) in São Luís and a researcher and scientific adviser with Brazil’s Instituto Pró-Carnívoros. He leads the Wild Cats Brazil/Americas Conservation Program and is founder and chair of the Tiger Cats Conservation Initiative. Much of Oliveira’s work has focused on the tiger-cat complex, including Leopardus tigrinus, L. guttulus, and L. pardinoides. He has also been involved for many years in IUCN Red List assessments and conservation planning in Brazil. “The tiger-cat group is undergoing a genetic revolution,” Oliveira&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-new-cat-species-was-just-discovered-several-more-may-follow/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330733</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Anthrax suspected in 46 hippo deaths in Zambia amid potential spillover to humans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/anthrax-suspected-in-46-hippo-deaths-in-zambia-amid-potential-spillover-to-humans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/anthrax-suspected-in-46-hippo-deaths-in-zambia-amid-potential-spillover-to-humans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 19:48:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24181931/g.-Julie-Larsen_4477_Hippopotamus-in-wild_ZMB_07-11-08-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330761</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Health, Hippos, Mammals, Planetary Health, Public Health, Ungulates, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Zambia is investigating wildlife deaths and human exposure linked to an anthrax outbreak in the northern province of Muchinga, where several hippos have died since the outbreak was reported on Aug. 31.  While other wildlife deaths have also been reported, hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) are the species with the clearest laboratory evidence of anthrax, according to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Zambia is investigating wildlife deaths and human exposure linked to an anthrax outbreak in the northern province of Muchinga, where several hippos have died since the outbreak was reported on Aug. 31.  While other wildlife deaths have also been reported, hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) are the species with the clearest laboratory evidence of anthrax, according to Raymond Hamoonga, Zambia’s national One Health coordinator. So far, 46 hippo deaths have been reported in the affected riverine area, but anthrax has only been confirmed in one animal, he told Mongabay by email. Hamoonga added that even though current mortality rates don’t indicate a threat to hippo populations, the reported deaths are still “significant enough to warrant intensified surveillance, rapid investigation of new carcasses and continued monitoring of affected populations.” “The immediate concern is the potential for further wildlife deaths, continued contamination around carcass sites and exposure of livestock and people at the wildlife–livestock–human interface,” Hamoonga said. He said samples from five buffalo carcasses didn’t test positive for anthrax. Samples from 10 elephants reported since June are being investigated; none have been laboratory-confirmed as containing anthrax. “Buffalo and elephant deaths should not presently be attributed to anthrax without supporting laboratory evidence,” Hamoonga said. Anthrax is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the Bacillus anthracis bacteria, which mainly affects wildlife and livestock. However, humans can become infected when they eat or come into contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. On Sept. 10, Zambia’s National Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD), published an advisory urging&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/anthrax-suspected-in-46-hippo-deaths-in-zambia-amid-potential-spillover-to-humans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/anthrax-suspected-in-46-hippo-deaths-in-zambia-amid-potential-spillover-to-humans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330761</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru faces hearing over threats to uncontacted Indigenous groups in the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/peru-faces-hearing-over-threats-to-uncontacted-indigenous-groups-in-the-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/peru-faces-hearing-over-threats-to-uncontacted-indigenous-groups-in-the-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 18:10:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24175831/PUEBLO-INDIGENA-EN-AISLAMIENTO-MASHCO-PIRO-FOTO-CORTESIA-FENAMAD-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330759</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Peru]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Law, Logging, Mining, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A public hearing this week by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will assess claims that the Peruvian state violated the rights of the Indigenous Mashco Piro, Yora, and Amahuaca peoples, who live on ancestral territory in the Amazon Rainforest. The court will hold a hearing on Sept. 24 and 25 in Montevideo, Uruguay, about [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A public hearing this week by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will assess claims that the Peruvian state violated the rights of the Indigenous Mashco Piro, Yora, and Amahuaca peoples, who live on ancestral territory in the Amazon Rainforest. The court will hold a hearing on Sept. 24 and 25 in Montevideo, Uruguay, about whether the state failed to adequately protect the groups from extractive industries encroaching on their land, including inside the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve. “This case constitutes a historic milestone in Latin America; the Court’s decision will not only have an impact on Peru, but will set a legal and political precedent for all Indigenous peoples of the Amazon,” the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries and EarthRights International, two organizations representing the communities, said in a joint statement. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a separate body from the court, investigated the claims involving the Indigenous groups and found Peru was responsible for violating their rights. In November 2024, the commission referred the case to the human rights court, which can order the state to correct its actions. According to the commission, Peru failed to expand the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve despite evidence that Indigenous peoples living in isolation and initial contact, often referred to by the acronym PIACI, are present there. Peruvian law requires that the government protect the areas that the groups traditionally occupy. The commission also said the state didn’t recognize collective territories with legal titles&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/peru-faces-hearing-over-threats-to-uncontacted-indigenous-groups-in-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-330759</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ugandans plant trees near national park to keep people out of gorillas’ habitat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ugandans-plant-trees-near-national-park-to-keep-people-out-of-gorillas-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ugandans-plant-trees-near-national-park-to-keep-people-out-of-gorillas-habitat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 17:44:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/27124836/gorilla-uganda-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330755</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Food, food security, Food Vs Forests Debate, Gorillas, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Parks, Primates, Protected Areas, Resource Conflict, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BWINDI, Uganda (AP) — In the tangled greenery of a Ugandan national park, mountain gorillas sit among the leaves, calmly carrying on as tourists trek into their forest home. Many gorilla families are used to people, but while their population grows, the forest available to them does not. Communities have planted trees for medicine, firewood [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BWINDI, Uganda (AP) — In the tangled greenery of a Ugandan national park, mountain gorillas sit among the leaves, calmly carrying on as tourists trek into their forest home. Many gorilla families are used to people, but while their population grows, the forest available to them does not. Communities have planted trees for medicine, firewood and crafts along the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in a bid to reduce pressure on gorilla habitats. The idea is simple: If residents can find the trees they need outside the park, they will have less reason to cut them inside the forest. Bwindi’s forest is home to about 450 mountain gorillas, close to half the world’s remaining population. A 2018 survey put the global population above 1,000, a significant recovery for a subspecies that once faced possible extinction. “Being a neighbor to the park, I understand that the number of gorillas is increasing, but the forest habitat is not increasing,” said Christina Katushabe, founder of Change a Life Bwindi. Her organization supplies useful trees, restores degraded land while improving biodiversity. Katushabe said members of the Batwa, an Indigenous community that has helped guide the project, select species used for medicine, timber and firewood. The Uganda Wildlife Authority distributes seedlings, including medicinal trees that people might otherwise seek inside the park. Joseph Muhindo, an assistant tourism and hospitality officer with the authority, said residents can harvest what they need in their communities “without tampering with the habitat for the gorillas.” The International Union&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ugandans-plant-trees-near-national-park-to-keep-people-out-of-gorillas-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330755</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil’s tropical forest fund races to raise $2.7 billion before deadline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 17:43:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carla Ruas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24114238/I.-Orange-winged-amazon-Amazona-amazonica-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330616</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Latin America, South America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Finance, Forests, Funding, Governance, Politics, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A historic billion-dollar rainforest pledge can collapse if global donors fail to act by December.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a new investment fund launched at COP30 by Brazil, has attracted about $7.3 billion in initial sponsor capital. The initiative aims to compensate tropical forest countries for preserving forest areas. But despite recent pledges, the fund remains short of its $10 billion fundraising goal for the end of 2026. After the 2025 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belém, TFFF received a wave of political support, with over 60 nations endorsing its launch declaration and five countries announcing investments. Since then, the pace of financial commitments has been slower. Only Luxembourg and the U.K. have made government pledges this year, totaling around $600 million, while the nonprofit The Nature Conservancy committed another $5 million. The fund has now less than four months to raise $2.7 billion and meet its target. The $10 billion benchmark is especially important because Norway’s $3 billion pledge — part of that total — will only be released once the goal is met. “I’m in a period of anticipation right now, but also optimistic that we’ll get there,” Carlos Rittl told Mongabay. Rittl is the director of public policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and has contributed to TFFF’s environmental design. “There is no indication that the system itself is in doubt. But for countries to sign checks, the rules need to be very clear.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attend the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. Image by © UN&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330616</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ebola, twins and women-led conservation: Reporting on gorillas for World Gorilla Day</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ebola-twins-and-women-led-conservation-reporting-on-gorillas-for-world-gorilla-day/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ebola-twins-and-women-led-conservation-reporting-on-gorillas-for-world-gorilla-day/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 17:22:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24111755/IMG_1524-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330667</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and Republic of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Diseases, Endangered Species, Gorillas, Great Apes, Health, Primates, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gorillas are among humans’ closest relatives, with a common ancestor dating back around 8 to 10 million years. Both species of gorilla alive today are on the edge of extinction: The eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, while the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is critically endangered. In its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gorillas are among humans’ closest relatives, with a common ancestor dating back around 8 to 10 million years. Both species of gorilla alive today are on the edge of extinction: The eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, while the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is critically endangered. In its latest assessment of the eastern gorilla, the IUCN found a mixed picture of gorilla conservation. Some of the gorilla populations remained stable, while others faced declines — of roughly 60% for the subspecies Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) — in the last 20 years. &#8220;Conservation has made the difference between survival and extinction in some regions,” Jessi Junker, a researcher at Germany&#8217;s Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, said in a press release. World Gorilla Day has been celebrated every Sept. 24 since 2017. For 2026, we bring you the highs and lows of gorilla conservation as published in Mongabay this year. Ebola outbreak puts gorilla conservationists on high alert The Democratic Republic of Congo declared a new Ebola outbreak in May 2026. As of Sept. 22, 7,773 confirmed human cases had been registered and 3,759 deaths. While there haven’t been any suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in eastern gorillas, which are mostly endemic to the DRC, conservationists are on high alert, Mongabay&#8217;s Kayleigh Long reported in June. A previous Ebola outbreak from 2002-2003, caused widespread infection among western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Republic of Congo, killing around 5,000 of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ebola-twins-and-women-led-conservation-reporting-on-gorillas-for-world-gorilla-day/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330667</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, women seek ownership rights to the lands they tend</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-nepal-women-seek-ownership-rights-to-the-lands-they-tend/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-nepal-women-seek-ownership-rights-to-the-lands-they-tend/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 16:50:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Haven Sager]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23143406/paddy-field-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330580</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Culture, Environment, Farming, Gender, Land Rights, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[POKHARA, Nepal — Before Binita Bishwokaarma understood Nepal’s property laws, she understood the work required to sustain a farm. Growing up in the village of Sindhupalchok, east of the capital, Kathmandu, she spent much of her time helping her mother around the house and in the fields while her father worked in the city. It’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[POKHARA, Nepal — Before Binita Bishwokaarma understood Nepal’s property laws, she understood the work required to sustain a farm. Growing up in the village of Sindhupalchok, east of the capital, Kathmandu, she spent much of her time helping her mother around the house and in the fields while her father worked in the city. It’s a common scenario in Nepal, where gendered divisions of agricultural labor are widespread. For Bishwokaarma, that meant she and her mother grew maize, potatoes, garlic and other vegetables. She participated in the entire agricultural cycle, from preparing fields and planting crops to harvesting them. She enjoyed plowing the most, but it was physically demanding because the family lacked modern machinery. “We didn&#8217;t have tractors,” she said. “So, everything, start to ending, we had to do with our own hands. It was really hard.” It’s what many women and girls experience. And yet, their prospects for owning the land they tend are slim: Despite gender equality under the law, in Nepal, property rights rest mostly with men. Still, it’s women — accounting for nearly 70% of the country’s farming population — whom Bishwokaarma credits most with caring for the land. Throughout her childhood, she saw how dedicated women were to conserving their environment. She explained that many women learn from childhood how to keep the soil healthy and reduce pests naturally through mixed cropping, crop rotation and intercropping. Farmers harvest paddy at Bhaktapur, Nepal. Agriculture is the main source of food, income and employment for the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-nepal-women-seek-ownership-rights-to-the-lands-they-tend/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-nepal-women-seek-ownership-rights-to-the-lands-they-tend/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330580</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New report reveals the environmental cost of USAID’s destruction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-report-reveals-the-environmental-cost-of-usaids-destruction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-report-reveals-the-environmental-cost-of-usaids-destruction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 14:36:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24142704/USAID-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330732</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Foreign Aid, Politics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nearly two years after U.S. President Trump’s decision to dismantle international development agency USAID removed nearly $1 billion from global conservation and environment funding, the agency’s absence is being felt across the world, a new analysis says. The abrupt termination of around 5,200 contracts in early 2025 ended support for activities as varied as plastic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nearly two years after U.S. President Trump’s decision to dismantle international development agency USAID removed nearly $1 billion from global conservation and environment funding, the agency’s absence is being felt across the world, a new analysis says. The abrupt termination of around 5,200 contracts in early 2025 ended support for activities as varied as plastic waste collection from beaches in East Africa, wildlife ranger patrols in Vietnam and crop substitution for coca farmers in the Amazon. Without USAID’s support, long-running projects intended to protect landscapes and support environmental policymaking have floundered or collapsed, according to the authors of the new report. “It’s a more fragmented and less-coordinated approach to solving global environmental problems, and we’re leaving communities and people behind because of that,” said Monica Bansal, co-author and former director of USAID’s Center for Energy, Infrastructure, and Cities. The 166-page report is the first comprehensive review of the impact of USAID’s closure on its nature-related initiatives. It was produced by consultancy firm One Earth Partners, which was founded in 2025 by Bansal and former USAID Natural Climate Solutions Division chief Hadas Kushnir. The report uses survey data and interviews with 150 people connected to USAID’s work in Bangladesh, Peru, Kenya, Colombia and Vietnam. In the 2024 fiscal year, USAID spent $365.75 million on biodiversity conservation, $256.5 million on climate adaptation, $247 million on clean energy, and an additional $232.25 million on natural climate solutions, ocean plastics, and pollution. Morris Wamah, the director for the Liberian Initiative for Development Services, who&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-report-reveals-the-environmental-cost-of-usaids-destruction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330732</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Lost’ bird reappears in West Africa’s forests after more than a decade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lost-bird-reappears-in-west-africas-forests-after-more-than-a-decade/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lost-bird-reappears-in-west-africas-forests-after-more-than-a-decade/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 14:27:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23125402/Ghana-Cuckooshrike1_Stephanie-Bartlett-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330560</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Protected Areas, Rediscovered Species, Research, Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Paulo Ditzel first laid eyes on the bird, he knew he’d seen something special: a vibrant orange body with yellow and black wings and tail feathers, topped by a dark head set off by almost-whimsical splashes of copper on its cheek. &#8220;My brain registered, it&#8217;s the Ghana cuckooshrike,&#8221; Ditzel, a field research fellow with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Paulo Ditzel first laid eyes on the bird, he knew he’d seen something special: a vibrant orange body with yellow and black wings and tail feathers, topped by a dark head set off by almost-whimsical splashes of copper on its cheek. &#8220;My brain registered, it&#8217;s the Ghana cuckooshrike,&#8221; Ditzel, a field research fellow with the International Bird Conservation Partnership (IBCP), tells Mongabay. A surge of excitement rippled through him, he says. Still, the sighting also immediately sparked &#8220;the most chaotic calm,&#8221; as he stood next to his partner and teammate Stephanie Bartlett on a bridge not far from an ecological research station in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park. &#8220;OK, what do I do?&#8221; he says he remembers thinking. &#8220;Priority right now is that Stephanie gets a picture.&#8221; Over the next few moments, Ditzel locked onto the bird with his binoculars and called out its movements to Bartlett, also an IBCP field research fellow. In almost-choreographed coordination, Bartlett trained her camera lens on the branches across the stream and pressed the shutter button. &#8220;I got a photo of the bird before I saw it,&#8221; Bartlett says. In six months of bird surveys in West Africa supported by U.S.-based IBCP, she says, she&#8217;d come to expect only fleeting glances of the region&#8217;s birds. &#8220;They&#8217;re scared of you. You don&#8217;t get to get close to them, and so often you have to use the camera as a tool for identification.&#8221; &#8220;If I had seen that bird with anyone else, it wouldn&#8217;t have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lost-bird-reappears-in-west-africas-forests-after-more-than-a-decade/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/lost-bird-reappears-in-west-africas-forests-after-more-than-a-decade/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330560</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Earth life support systems are flashing red, warns 2026 Planetary Health Check</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/earth-life-support-systems-are-flashing-red-warns-2026-planetary-health-check/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/earth-life-support-systems-are-flashing-red-warns-2026-planetary-health-check/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 13:55:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24123717/Hurricane-Melissa-as-seen-from-the-International-Space-Station-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330685</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Planetary Boundaries, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Human activities continue eroding the planet’s stability, resilience and life-support functions, the third edition of the Planetary Health Check released in September warns. The “scary” part of the 2026 report, says lead co-author Levke Caesar, is that the trends are largely going in the wrong direction. “We still have seven out of the nine planetary [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Human activities continue eroding the planet’s stability, resilience and life-support functions, the third edition of the Planetary Health Check released in September warns. The “scary” part of the 2026 report, says lead co-author Levke Caesar, is that the trends are largely going in the wrong direction. “We still have seven out of the nine planetary boundaries are transgressed, and actually for those seven, the pressure is increasing,” she told Mongabay in an interview. The report is co-published by the Planetary Boundaries Science Lab at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Planetary Guardians, an NGO. Last year, ocean acidification became the seventh planetary boundary to pass its safe limit, alongside the already transgressed climate change, biosphere integrity, novel entities, freshwater, land use change, and biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorous pollution) boundaries. All seven continue heading further into the danger zone based on recent data featured in the report. Meanwhile, the stratospheric ozone depletion boundary remains stable, though the new report underlines that the recovery of the atmospheric ozone layer appears to have plateaued. Atmospheric aerosol loading risk — due to emissions of a wide range of polluting particulates — is declining globally, but regionally South Asia remains beyond safe limits and that trend is worsening. Seven of the nine planetary boundaries have now been breached, threatening the safe operating space for humanity, according to scientists. Image courtesy of Planetary Health Check 2026. The “solemn, silent message” of the 2026 report is that the global situation is still far&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/earth-life-support-systems-are-flashing-red-warns-2026-planetary-health-check/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/earth-life-support-systems-are-flashing-red-warns-2026-planetary-health-check/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330685</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biodiversity credits shouldn’t copy the carbon market playbook (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-credits-shouldnt-copy-the-carbon-market-playbook-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-credits-shouldnt-copy-the-carbon-market-playbook-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 13:25:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jubanayan Saikia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/12125135/8.-Habenaria-criniferaNasrilatha-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330636</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity credits, Business, Carbon Market, climate finance, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Finance, and Finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Here is the argument I want to make plainly, before anything else: the biodiversity credit market should stop trying to copy carbon&#8217;s trick of reducing everything to one tradable unit, and should instead measure its own success by how continuously and independently a claim can be verified. Chasing a single elegant number, the way carbon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Here is the argument I want to make plainly, before anything else: the biodiversity credit market should stop trying to copy carbon&#8217;s trick of reducing everything to one tradable unit, and should instead measure its own success by how continuously and independently a claim can be verified. Chasing a single elegant number, the way carbon markets did with metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), is not what this field should be racing toward. It may, in fact, be the wrong goal altogether. The clearest evidence for this sits in plain view, in numbers that most people read as an embarrassment rather than as information. Every few months, a new market research report tells us exactly how large the global biodiversity credit market is. The trouble is, no two reports agree. One puts the 2025 market at roughly $90 million. Another, published around the same time, puts it at $7.1 billion. A third lands somewhere near $5.7 billion. These are not small rounding-off differences. They are the same year, the same broad market, and estimates that differ by a factor of nearly 80. Mangroves and coral reef in Papua New Guinea. Image by Matt Curnock / Ocean Image Bank. Most commentary treats this gap as a sign that the data are still catching up with a young market, but I read it differently. The disagreement is not a data problem waiting for better satellites to fix. It is telling us something true about biodiversity that the carbon market never had&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/biodiversity-credits-shouldnt-copy-the-carbon-market-playbook-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330636</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia&#8217;s geothermal push runs into local fears at Mount Ungaran</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2026 13:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Triyo Handoko]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24124550/7488ea4d-a47b-4173-8648-2d577f41d37a-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330698</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Alternative Energy, Conflict, Conservation, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environment, Geothermal Energy, Human Rights, Natural Resources, Protests, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Communities living near Mount Ungaran in Indonesia’s Central Java province have slammed plans to revive a geothermal power project there, saying it could threaten water supplies and farming livelihoods. The latest opposition follows a decision in August by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources allowing the state-owned electricity utility, PLN, to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Communities living near Mount Ungaran in Indonesia’s Central Java province have slammed plans to revive a geothermal power project there, saying it could threaten water supplies and farming livelihoods. The latest opposition follows a decision in August by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources allowing the state-owned electricity utility, PLN, to conduct geothermal exploration and development at Mount Ungaran. Local opposition to the plans began in 2008, shortly after the ministry first designated Ungaran, an active volcano, as a geothermal working area. The latest decision has revived the long-running dispute between the government and local communities. Rahman, coordinator of the Semarang Menggugat Alliance (ASM), said communities around Mount Ungaran depended on farming and local water sources, and feared the project could affect both. “We can already make a living from farming,” Rahman, a resident of Bawen subdistrict, said in early September. “If geothermal development goes ahead, we are concerned that our water sources could decline or become polluted, affecting agriculture.” Mount Ungaran’s peak as seen from the Tanggul Lawang hiking trail. Image by Triyo Handoko/Mongabay Indonesia. Indonesia sits in one of the most seismically active zones in the world, which gives it massive potential to generate electricity from geothermal energy: an estimated 23.2 gigawatts, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The ministry describes Indonesia as having the world’s largest geothermal resource potential, ahead of countries including the United States and the Philippines. But the country’s total installed geothermal capacity&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indonesias-geothermal-push-runs-into-local-fears-at-mount-ungaran/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330698</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Floating weeds threaten farming and fishing at Malawi’s Chia Lagoon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/floating-weeds-threaten-farming-and-fishing-at-malawis-chia-lagoon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/floating-weeds-threaten-farming-and-fishing-at-malawis-chia-lagoon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 23:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23230335/chia-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330653</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Land Use Change, Natural Resources, Subsistence Agriculture, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A mass of floating weeds at Chia Lagoon, Malawi’s largest, is choking out waterways and livelihoods as farmers and fishers struggle to access fields and fishing areas. Seven months after the rainy season ended in Malawi, fields that once absorbed seasonal water at the lagoon are submerged, frustrating irrigated maize and rice production, according to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A mass of floating weeds at Chia Lagoon, Malawi’s largest, is choking out waterways and livelihoods as farmers and fishers struggle to access fields and fishing areas. Seven months after the rainy season ended in Malawi, fields that once absorbed seasonal water at the lagoon are submerged, frustrating irrigated maize and rice production, according to farmers. Fishers also said it’s now hard to access fishing grounds as the weeds are blocking boat routes. “We have never seen anything like this,” said Ali Maulidi, who leads an association of more than 1,000 fishers in Nkhotakota district in central Malawi where the lagoon is located. “Due to waterlogged soils, matured cassava has rotted in some fields,” Maulidi told Mongabay in a phone interview. The lagoon, on the western shoreline of Lake Malawi, drains into the lake through a narrow channel. Communities said weeds and debris started collecting where the outlet begins in February, pushing the water back into the lagoon and flooding agricultural fields. Chia Lagoon covers 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) and directly supports more than 7,800 households through rice, cassava and maize farming as well as fishing and bird hunting. The larger river network supports more than 55,000 agriculturalists.  In December 2025, the lagoon was recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area because of its abundant bird, fish, plant, reptile and amphibian species. “We don’t understand what is happening here; but we’re worried because it’s greatly affecting us,” Maulidi said. Scientists too don’t fully understand why the weeds are accumulating now, but&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/floating-weeds-threaten-farming-and-fishing-at-malawis-chia-lagoon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330653</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Planned US tech hub in Philippines hit over environmental and Indigenous land concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 22:04:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael Beltran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23152143/Protest-at-grand-hyatt-and-clashes-with-police-21-of-25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330602</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Land Conflict, Law, Protests, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Sept. 10 to address hundreds of foreign business representatives assembled for the Luzon Economic Corridor investors’ forum. Outside the hotel, hundreds of demonstrators had also gathered, carrying signs that read “No to Pax Silica!” The scene reflected both the government’s ambitious [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Sept. 10 to address hundreds of foreign business representatives assembled for the Luzon Economic Corridor investors’ forum. Outside the hotel, hundreds of demonstrators had also gathered, carrying signs that read “No to Pax Silica!” The scene reflected both the government’s ambitious plans to ride the artificial intelligence wave, and deep ambivalence in civil society. Police confronted the crowd, shoving them with riot shields and batons on the street outside the hotel lobby. Activists say police injured at least 27 protesters and arrested five. Police, meanwhile, reported minor cuts and injuries to 16 personnel. Protester Jona Yang, from the activist-scientist group AGHAM, said she was negotiating with the police to cool tensions when they arrested her. “We want the Marcos government and investors to see the outrage all of this has caused,” Yang told Mongabay. “They’re taking away our resources and our lands.” Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) investors’ forum on Sept. 10. Image by Michael Beltran for Mongabay. Pax Silica The Luzon Economic Corridor, or LEC, is an economic initiative focused on the Philippines’ biggest island, begun in 2024. Pax Silica, the U.S.-led global pact for an AI and semiconductor supply chain not reliant on China, includes the LEC. In April 2026, Washington and Manila announced plans to build a 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) high-tech manufacturing hub in the Central Luzon region. Pax Silica has become a lightning rod for political and environmental&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/planned-us-tech-hub-in-philippines-hit-over-environmental-and-indigenous-land-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-330602</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US contractors reportedly purchase tin from company accused of illegal Amazon mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/us-contractors-reportedly-purchase-tin-from-company-accused-of-illegal-amazon-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/us-contractors-reportedly-purchase-tin-from-company-accused-of-illegal-amazon-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 20:00:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23194355/Screenshot-2026-09-23-at-1.42.33-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330639</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazilian tin-producing company, White Solder, has been accused of acquiring a mineral  illegally mined in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon. White Solder has supplied hundreds of metric tons of tin to companies with U.S. Department of Defense contracts, according to an investigation by Repórter Brasil. White Solder, which describes itself as one [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Brazilian tin-producing company, White Solder, has been accused of acquiring a mineral  illegally mined in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon. White Solder has supplied hundreds of metric tons of tin to companies with U.S. Department of Defense contracts, according to an investigation by Repórter Brasil. White Solder, which describes itself as one of the world’s largest tin producers, supplied at least 525 metric tons of tin to U.S.-based Indium Corporation between May 2023 and August 2025, according to records analyzed by Repórter Brasil. Indium Corporation in turn supplied solder to Raytheon, a major U.S. defense contractor that manufactures military technologies including radar and precision-guided missiles. White Solder also reportedly supplied at least 2,400 metric tons of tin to Nathan Trotter, a U.S. manufacturer of tin and solder alloys between 2021 and 2025. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Nathan Trotter a $19 million contract to build a tin smelting, refining and recycling facility in Pennsylvania, Repórter Brasil reported. According to a release from the Department of Defense, the investment was intended to counter, “Chinese efforts to monopolize the global supply, as well as mitigate smelting supply chain vulnerabilities.” “The US’s expanding need for raw materials to underpin its military will lead to further harms associated with mining, both illegal and legal unless safeguards and due diligence are put in place and followed,” Emily Iona Stewart, head of policy and advocacy with the U.K.-based NGO Global Witness, told Repórter Brasil. In August 2026, a Brazilian federal&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/us-contractors-reportedly-purchase-tin-from-company-accused-of-illegal-amazon-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330639</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Agency says sea turtle eggs laid on California beaches are a first for the US West Coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/agency-says-sea-turtle-eggs-laid-on-california-beaches-are-a-first-for-the-us-west-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/agency-says-sea-turtle-eggs-laid-on-california-beaches-are-a-first-for-the-us-west-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 16:55:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/24085513/olive-ridley-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330633</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Habitat, Herps, Oceans, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast. And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle — maybe the same one — laid eggs on Sept. 19, a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast. And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle — maybe the same one — laid eggs on Sept. 19, a few miles away near the Huntington Beach Pier in Orange County, authorities said. “This is the first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species” on the West Coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast Fisheries division said on Facebook. Olive ridley turtles are the smallest of sea turtles, with adults weighing up to 100 pounds (45.3 kilograms). NOAA said they&#8217;re found worldwide but primarily in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. The first nesting spot was near Seal Beach on Sept. 16, followed by the discovery at Huntington Beach. Both sites were subsequently fenced off. Incubation typically lasts 45 to 60 days, NOAA said. “We’re excited about it,” said Trevor McDonald, marine safety chief at the Huntington Beach Fire Department. Lifeguards patrolling at night saw a turtle digging in the sand and thought “maybe this turtle is sick. We just don&#8217;t see this very often,” McDonald said. “Then they observed the turtle starting to lay eggs.” Heidi Stephen said her 9-year-old son, Jude, begged her to take him to Huntington Beach to see the nest Tuesday. “It&#8217;s so magical,” Stephen said. George Zamora said he hopes the eggs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/agency-says-sea-turtle-eggs-laid-on-california-beaches-are-a-first-for-the-us-west-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330633</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging still threatens Bornean forest once envisioned as an Indigenous-led peace park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 16:52:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Danielle Keeton-Olsen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/26192853/20230826_085717-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, Sarawak, 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[A conservation park that Indigenous communities from the Malaysian state of Sarawak believed they could co-manage and self-govern has been transformed into a timber concession and stripped of critical tree cover, according to a recently published report. A group of civil society organizations based in Malaysia and abroad launched the report, “Plundering the Baram Peace [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A conservation park that Indigenous communities from the Malaysian state of Sarawak believed they could co-manage and self-govern has been transformed into a timber concession and stripped of critical tree cover, according to a recently published report. A group of civil society organizations based in Malaysia and abroad launched the report, “Plundering the Baram Peace Park,” with a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 27, calling on other NGOs and the Malaysian government to recognize the logging of primary forest as well as alleged irregularities in the process of granting the concession and informing affected communities. The report, led by Swiss-based nonprofit Bruno Manser Fonds with participation from other NGOs, also raises concern that the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), an international organization that aims to promote sustainable use of forests, has continued funding projects in the region, even after the 2024 collapse of a coalition between Indigenous community members, the Sarawak government, and civil society. A fragile coalition The Upper Baram Forest Area was initially proposed as a community-led conservation project, an idea going back more than 15 years. From 2009 to 2024, the area was proposed to be conserved as the Baram Peace Park, with Indigenous villages and the Sarawak forest department working together to protect the forest. The project gained steam in 2021 after the forest department submitted a project proposal to the ITTO and raised a total of $1.4 million to develop a park program in cooperation with 32 Indigenous Penan, Kenyah, Kelabit, and Saban&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-still-threatens-bornean-forest-once-envisioned-as-an-indigenous-led-peace-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two decades on, Nepal’s conservationists search for new ‘dream’ generation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/two-decades-on-nepals-conservationists-search-for-new-dream-generation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/two-decades-on-nepals-conservationists-search-for-new-dream-generation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 16:27:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23155605/IMG_2079-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330597</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Heroes, Environmental Policy, Governance, and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In September 2006, Nepal&#8217;s then Minister of Forests and Soil Conservation Gopal Rai and a contingent of conservation leaders flew to a remote village in eastern Nepal to hand over a conservation area to the people living there. On the evening of Sept. 22, Rai handed over management of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In September 2006, Nepal&#8217;s then Minister of Forests and Soil Conservation Gopal Rai and a contingent of conservation leaders flew to a remote village in eastern Nepal to hand over a conservation area to the people living there. On the evening of Sept. 22, Rai handed over management of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) to the community, hailing it as a milestone in Nepal&#8217;s conservation history. &#8220;For the community, this was the beginning,&#8221; Ghana Shyam Gurung, now WWF&#8217;s country representative, tells Mongabay. The next day, minutes after take-off, the contingent&#8217;s Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter crashed, killing all 20 passengers and four crew. Among the dead were the forest minister, his spouse, senior officials, a Finnish diplomat, a senior USAID official and WWF staff. Bad weather hampered rescue efforts for two days. No one in the capital Kathmandu could confirm what had happened until searchers reached the wreckage. Two decades later, the community-based approach to conservation pioneered by &#8220;dreamers&#8221; such as Harka and Chandra Gurung and Mingma Norbu Sherpa, all of whom were killed in the crash, still drives Nepal&#8217;s wildlife and forest recovery. The country&#8217;s tiger population has more than tripled and its forest cover has grown by six percentage points since the crash. But conservationists say progress has since stagnated. A generation lost The crash left empty seats at Nepal&#8217;s key conservation institutions. Conservationist Sarita Jnawali, then with the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), remembers the day the deaths were confirmed. &#8220;When people like that weren&#8217;t there,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/two-decades-on-nepals-conservationists-search-for-new-dream-generation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330597</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A mega-dam made this community move</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-megadam-made-this-community-move/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-megadam-made-this-community-move/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 13:36:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Izzy Sasada]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23133238/Bakun-Thumbnail_Featured.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330584</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Malaysia and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change Denial, Energy, Indigenous Peoples, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The green transition is crucial to tackling climate change. But around the world, the same question keeps cropping up: who pays the price? In Malaysian Borneo, hydroelectric dams are playing an increasingly important role in Sarawak’s renewable energy ambitions, with the state now looking to supply power beyond its borders. One of the biggest projects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The green transition is crucial to tackling climate change. But around the world, the same question keeps cropping up: who pays the price? In Malaysian Borneo, hydroelectric dams are playing an increasingly important role in Sarawak’s renewable energy ambitions, with the state now looking to supply power beyond its borders. One of the biggest projects to date is the Bakun Hydro-electric project. In this episode, @IzzySasada meets members of the Indigenous communities who were relocated around thirty years ago to make way for its construction. This is the first episode in our new in-field series of Conservation Entangled in remote Borneo, looking into the connection between land and people.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-megadam-made-this-community-move/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330584</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Peru’s high Andes, restoring ancient ecosystems could help protect water security</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-perus-high-andes-restoring-ancient-ecosystems-could-help-protect-water-security/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-perus-high-andes-restoring-ancient-ecosystems-could-help-protect-water-security/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 10:30:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Euan Wallace]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/22202412/Wetlands-of-Huancavelica-in-the-Yaku-Pacha-project-Peru.-April-2026.-Credit_-Alan-Chamorro-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330474</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agroforestry, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Nature-based climate solutions, Reforestation, Restoration, Solutions, and Sustainable Forest Management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the highlands above Villa de Arma, community leaders once walked through ice and snow. They still remember the stories told by their grandparents of the Apus, high-mountain spirits that guard the Andean landscape. Locals in this central-Andean community, which sits around 3,200 meters (10,500 feet) above sea level in central-southern Peru’s Huancavelica region, say [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the highlands above Villa de Arma, community leaders once walked through ice and snow. They still remember the stories told by their grandparents of the Apus, high-mountain spirits that guard the Andean landscape. Locals in this central-Andean community, which sits around 3,200 meters (10,500 feet) above sea level in central-southern Peru’s Huancavelica region, say that much of the ice has since given way to rock. In the last six decades, climate change has erased about 56% of Peru’s glacier mass, a critical water reservoir that feeds the country’s cities and arid regions. Locals fear the changing landscape of the Peruvian Andes heralds a broader pattern of climate change that threatens to tip the country’s high-altitude regions into a water security crisis. “Their worry is that later on they could be left without water,” Edison Sánchez Toscano, a field technician working in Villa de Arma for Peruvian NGO Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) and a local of the Huancavelica region, tells Mongabay in a video call. “If they are left without water, they are left with nothing.” According to ECOAN, Villa de Arma sits at a critical watershed feeding the Chincha Valley, which runs from the high Andes to Peru&#8217;s arid Pacific coast and depends largely on water descending from the mountains. With glacial ice rapidly disappearing across the country, conservationists are increasingly looking to ancient Andean ecosystems, such as wetlands and native forests, that can store and release water. In 2025, ECOAN partnered with a new project designed to secure&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-perus-high-andes-restoring-ancient-ecosystems-could-help-protect-water-security/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-perus-high-andes-restoring-ancient-ecosystems-could-help-protect-water-security/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330474</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New Galápagos Atlas charts the islands’ biodiversity and the mysteries that remain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/new-galapagos-atlas-charts-the-islands-biodiversity-and-the-mysteries-that-remain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/new-galapagos-atlas-charts-the-islands-biodiversity-and-the-mysteries-that-remain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 08:08:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23080531/galapagos_akb_17048-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330548</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Galapagos, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Environment, Herps, Plants, Reptiles, Turtles And Tortoises, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new atlas of biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands highlights the unique evolutionary and ecological diversity of life in the famed archipelago that helped Charles Darwin develop the theory of natural selection. The Galapagos Atlas, created by the Darwin Foundation, highlights 68 species and species groups in the island chain. These include the celebrities of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new atlas of biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands highlights the unique evolutionary and ecological diversity of life in the famed archipelago that helped Charles Darwin develop the theory of natural selection. The Galapagos Atlas, created by the Darwin Foundation, highlights 68 species and species groups in the island chain. These include the celebrities of Galápagos biodiversity, such as the giant tortoises (genus Chelonoidis), marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), and Darwin finches (genus Geospiza). It also features less famous plants and animals, such as the Galápagos kelp (Eisenia galapagensis), lichens, and Galápagos carpenter bees (Xylocopa darwini). The freely available atlas was created by a team of 87 authors and artists including scientists, park rangers, and conservationists. Profiles of every species highlight both what’s known about them, but also what still remains unknown about their ecology, behavior, and conservation needs. “There is still so much we don&#8217;t fully understand about Galapagos flora and fauna, and that&#8217;s part of what makes it so fascinating,” Darwin Foundation executive director Rakan Zahawi told Mongabay by email. Zahawi called the Galapagos Atlas a starting point for people wanting to solve some of the scientific mysteries of life in the islands. “Each species entry comes with citations and references, so my first piece of advice to a young person who&#8217;s captivated by a species is to follow those leads,” he added. “Dig into the research behind the entry, see who&#8217;s been studying it and what they&#8217;ve found, and let that pull you further into the subject.” The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/new-galapagos-atlas-charts-the-islands-biodiversity-and-the-mysteries-that-remain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/new-galapagos-atlas-charts-the-islands-biodiversity-and-the-mysteries-that-remain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330548</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>4 million lakes in ‘Lost Lakes’ map offer clues to Arctic permafrost</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/4-million-lakes-in-lost-lakes-map-offer-clues-to-arctic-permafrost/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/4-million-lakes-in-lost-lakes-map-offer-clues-to-arctic-permafrost/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 06:41:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23063210/20260831_PM_Thermokarstseen_Plattform_1_IngmarNitze-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330544</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Lakes, Mapping, Permafrost, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Arctic is dotted with millions of lakes that sit on persistently frozen soil called permafrost. These lakes are crucial for the region’s wildlife and local communities. However, as temperatures rise, the permafrost thaws, which causes new lakes to form or existing lakes to abruptly disappear as lake water drains away through newly created channels. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Arctic is dotted with millions of lakes that sit on persistently frozen soil called permafrost. These lakes are crucial for the region’s wildlife and local communities. However, as temperatures rise, the permafrost thaws, which causes new lakes to form or existing lakes to abruptly disappear as lake water drains away through newly created channels. Researchers have now created an interactive map called Lost Lakes that allows people to monitor changes in around 4 million Arctic lakes in near real time. It can also show how the lakes have changed since 2016. Monitoring lake dynamics can offer important clues for the underlying permafrost, the researchers say. “LostLakes is completely free and designed to be used by experts and non-experts at the same time,” Ingmar Nitze, a remote sensing researcher at Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, which helped create the database, told Mongabay by email. Much of the Arctic’s ground sits on ice-rich permafrost. Over hundreds and thousands of years, this permafrost has accumulated massive amounts of carbon as plant, animal and microbe matter got trapped in the frozen soil. However, as the Arctic warms faster than the global average due to climate change, much of the region’s permafrost is thawing. “Once the permafrost thaws, some of this carbon, which was freeze-locked there for thousands of years, can go to the atmosphere and further fuel the warming, which may lead to a faster permafrost thaw,” Nitze said. Permafrost itself is challenging to monitor directly at large scale because it lies beneath the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/4-million-lakes-in-lost-lakes-map-offer-clues-to-arctic-permafrost/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/4-million-lakes-in-lost-lakes-map-offer-clues-to-arctic-permafrost/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330544</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A ‘devil-like’ flower from Thailand is new to science — and critically endangered</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-devil-like-flower-from-thailand-is-new-to-science-and-critically-endangered/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-devil-like-flower-from-thailand-is-new-to-science-and-critically-endangered/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 06:03:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/23101042/Thismia-daemona-in-its-natural-habitat.-Image-by-Sahut-Chantanaorrapint-CC-BY-4.0-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330539</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Forests, Habitat, Mountains, National Parks, Plants, Rainforests, Research, Science, Tropical Conservation Science, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Botanists in Thailand have identified a new-to-science species of “fairy lantern” — plants that live almost entirely buried under leaf litter, emerging aboveground only occasionally to flower. Researchers were surveying evergreen forests in the mountains of Thong Pha Phum National Park when they chanced upon a plant none of them had ever seen before, at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Botanists in Thailand have identified a new-to-science species of “fairy lantern” — plants that live almost entirely buried under leaf litter, emerging aboveground only occasionally to flower. Researchers were surveying evergreen forests in the mountains of Thong Pha Phum National Park when they chanced upon a plant none of them had ever seen before, at an elevation of almost 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet). They’ve since named it Thismia daemona, according to a recent study. Like other plants within the Thismia genus, commonly referred to as fairy lanterns, T. daemona lacks chlorophyll, meaning it can’t photosynthesize. Instead, it spends much of its life hidden from view under leaf litter, deriving all its nutrients from soil fungi, the study authors reported. “Finding Thismia daemona in Thong Pha Phum National Park was indeed a major surprise,” study co-author Sahut Chantanaorrapint of Thailand’s Prince of Songkla University said in a press release. “Typically, Thismia species are known to occur in perennially humid lowland rainforests, however, this population was discovered in a seasonal, montane evergreen forest at an elevation of nearly 1,000 meters above sea level.” T. daemona has a dramatic, “devil-like” appearance, the authors write — hence the name they chose for it. Its flower features a blackish floral tube crowned with dark, horn-like appendages and vivid reddish-orange outer petals near its base. “Combined with its hidden, subterranean and mysterious lifestyle on the forest floor, our team unanimously agreed that naming it Thismia daemona perfectly captured its enigmatic and devil-like essence,” Chantanaorrapint said.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-devil-like-flower-from-thailand-is-new-to-science-and-critically-endangered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/a-devil-like-flower-from-thailand-is-new-to-science-and-critically-endangered/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330539</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As fires spread in Indonesia, Bornean orangutans run out of forest to flee</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 05:21:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/09065744/Orangutan-kalimantan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330531</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Climate, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critically Endangered Species, Disasters, El Nino, Endangered Species, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Great Apes, Mammals, National Parks, Orangutans, Parks, Primates, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As fires continue to engulf large swaths of forest in Indonesian Borneo, orangutans have increasingly fewer places to flee, with fires either surrounding them or eliminating the forest on which they depend. Fires are spreading across a connected but heavily fragmented forest landscape and the habitat of critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As fires continue to engulf large swaths of forest in Indonesian Borneo, orangutans have increasingly fewer places to flee, with fires either surrounding them or eliminating the forest on which they depend. Fires are spreading across a connected but heavily fragmented forest landscape and the habitat of critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in West Kalimantan, including Gunung Palung National Park and the Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor. Gunung Palung National Park is one of the most important remaining strongholds for the Central Bornean orangutan, supporting a population historically estimated at around 2,500 animals and hosting one of the world’s longest-running studies of wild orangutans. Its importance derives from both its population size and its unusually diverse forest habitats, which support long-term ecological research and a range of other species. The adjacent Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor has a complementary role. Although it is not yet a continuous or fully secured corridor, it encompasses additional orangutan habitat outside the national park and provides a framework for maintaining, restoring and reconnecting forest patches across a fragmented landscape. Despite their ecological importance, both areas have been burning during this year’s dry season, as an exceptionally strong El Niño has contributed to hot and dry conditions across Indonesia. A Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Photo by Rhett A. Butler National park on fire Spatial analysis by technology consultancy TheTreeMap shows that hotspots started appearing in Gunung Palung National Park on Aug. 27. TheTreeMap has also identified hotspots that appear to overlap with the park’s core zone,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-fires-spread-in-indonesia-bornean-orangutans-run-out-of-forest-to-flee/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330531</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reptiles, gold and money: How Australia is cracking down on wildlife trafficking</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/reptiles-gold-and-money-how-australia-is-cracking-down-on-wildlife-trafficking/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/reptiles-gold-and-money-how-australia-is-cracking-down-on-wildlife-trafficking/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 01:31:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Johan Augustin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/16154054/3.-Shingleback-lizard-1-scaled-e1789573380877-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329866</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Global, Hong Kong, and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Australia in May 2026, Yang Zeng, a 28-year-old Chinese national who was unlawfully in the country, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Zeng was convicted on nine charges related to the illegal export of native wildlife to Hong Kong, according to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Australia in May 2026, Yang Zeng, a 28-year-old Chinese national who was unlawfully in the country, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Zeng was convicted on nine charges related to the illegal export of native wildlife to Hong Kong, according to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the government agency in charge of wildlife. The animals targeted included saw-shelled turtles (Myuchelys latisternum), Cooper Creek turtles (Emydura macquarii emmotti), blue-tongued lizards and magnificent tree frogs (Pelodryas splendida). Investigators found that the man used a fake animal keeper license to obtain the reptiles. Between September 2024 and May 2025, Zeng used couriers and international companies to handle international shipping and customs, according to DCCEEW. The animals were stuffed into socks and hosiery, wrapped in foil and hidden inside parcels alongside items including bags of dog food. Environmental crime investigators also seized five native turtles — three saw-shelled turtles and two long-necked turtles (Chelodina longicollis) — that were found swimming in a bathtub during a search of a property in a suburb of Sydney. Under Australian law, exporting native wildlife, including eggs, without a permit is illegal. A joint federal and state operation in Australia uncovered alleged Sydney wildlife trafficking ring and confiscated reptiles, cash, and silver and gold bullion worth around $300,000. Image courtesy of the National Environmental Protection Agency. The case offers a glimpse into an illegal trade that often remains hidden until animals are intercepted at the border, at airports&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/reptiles-gold-and-money-how-australia-is-cracking-down-on-wildlife-trafficking/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329866</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Home Planet Fund succeeds by giving directly to local communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/09/the-home-planet-fund-succeeds-by-giving-directly-to-local-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/09/the-home-planet-fund-succeeds-by-giving-directly-to-local-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 20:17:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike DiGirolamo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mikedigirolamo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/18224129/DSC08395-min-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=330275</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Conservation leadership, Conservation Philosophy, Conservation Solutions, Funding, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hope and optimism, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Media, philanthropy, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This week on the Newscast, we’re joined by Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, the founder of the Home Planet Fund, an independent, Indigenous-led nonprofit that provides funding for local and Indigenous communities and conservation projects around the world. Khonikboyeva, who is also the organization’s executive director, speaks about the ethos of the Home Planet Fund and how it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This week on the Newscast, we’re joined by Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, the founder of the Home Planet Fund, an independent, Indigenous-led nonprofit that provides funding for local and Indigenous communities and conservation projects around the world. Khonikboyeva, who is also the organization’s executive director, speaks about the ethos of the Home Planet Fund and how it works. But I must emphasize that in my conversation with Khonikboyeva, what stands out most to me isn’t just the fund’s focus on Indigenous-led conversation and investing in local knowledge. It’s the well of experience Khonikboyeva brings to it that, growing up in Tajikistan under Soviet occupation and having firsthand experience of a community making do under extremely difficult circumstances, I believe, is rare among philanthropic efforts. In a sector that runs on reports, restrictions, and guarantees, Khonikboyeva encourages funders to work differently, which often might come in an answer they don’t want to hear. “If you’re getting a satisfying answer in this space, something isn’t right,” she says. She explains: “I think sometimes people wanna hear, ‘Yes, we’ll take your money. Yes, we’ll do what you want in the timeline that you want. Yes, everything is possible.” And it’s just not true, right? That is actually not how life works, and anybody who tells you otherwise is certainly selling you something.” She points to the nuance and the truth of projects that run into disasters on the ground, shifting needs, and, of course, making sure people are taken care of and provided for amid&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/09/the-home-planet-fund-succeeds-by-giving-directly-to-local-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/09/the-home-planet-fund-succeeds-by-giving-directly-to-local-communities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330275</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cigarette butts make up 12% of aquatic litter, global review finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/cigarette-butts-make-up-12-of-aquatic-litter-global-review-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/cigarette-butts-make-up-12-of-aquatic-litter-global-review-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 19:30:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/22175548/Counting_cigarette_butts_8009123356-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Ecosystems, Environment, Health, Marine, Oceans, Pollution, Research, Science, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cigarette butts account for roughly 12% of the litter found in rivers, lakes and beaches surveyed for a recent global review. Researchers pooled data from 130 studies conducted in 55 countries between 2013 and 2024. Across all ecosystems, including both aquatic and terrestrial, researchers found on average a density of 1 cigarette butt every 4 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cigarette butts account for roughly 12% of the litter found in rivers, lakes and beaches surveyed for a recent global review. Researchers pooled data from 130 studies conducted in 55 countries between 2013 and 2024. Across all ecosystems, including both aquatic and terrestrial, researchers found on average a density of 1 cigarette butt every 4 square meters, or roughly 1 butt every 43 square feet. The proportion was even higher in aquatic ecosystems. Researchers found that roughly one out of every nine pieces of litter, or 12%, of litter found in aquatic ecosystems was from cigarettes. In some studied coastal sites in Iran, Chile, Brazil and Peru, more than half of all the litter was cigarette butts. &#8220;This shows the impact that a seemingly everyday human activity can leave even in some of the environments we try hardest to preserve,&#8221; lead author Victor Vasques Ribeiro, a researcher at Brazil’s Federal University of São Paulo, told Mongabay by email. Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that can break down into microplastics, while the rest of the partially burnt butt — paper, ash and leftover tobacco — can leach toxic substances such as heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nicotine, and phenolic compounds into water. &#8220;It&#8217;s often described as a kind of &#8216;chemical bomb&#8217;: when it comes into contact with water, these substances can be released and cause severe toxic effects in different animals,&#8221; Ribeiro said. Beaches were identified as a main hotspot for contamination, likely because they’re recreation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/cigarette-butts-make-up-12-of-aquatic-litter-global-review-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330492</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>California Tribes receive beach and ancestral village site back from transportation authority</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/california-tribes-receive-beach-and-ancestral-village-site-back-from-transportation-authority/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/california-tribes-receive-beach-and-ancestral-village-site-back-from-transportation-authority/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 19:21:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/22191052/KaiPomo_2024-Picture-Mussel-Rock--768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330494</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment and Green]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the Northern California coast, where the tall trees meet the sea, ancestors of the Coast Yuki people lie buried in an old village site above the bluffs in the U.S. state. Yet despite its cultural significance, the land has been owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) until very recently. A deed recorded [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the Northern California coast, where the tall trees meet the sea, ancestors of the Coast Yuki people lie buried in an old village site above the bluffs in the U.S. state. Yet despite its cultural significance, the land has been owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) until very recently. A deed recorded July 6 transferred 55 hectares (136 acres) of that coastline to Kai Poma, a nonprofit founded by representatives of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the Ancestral Descendants of Coastal Yuki and Yuki. It is the first time land held by Caltrans has been returned to Indigenous ownership, according to Kai Poma. &#8220;We always felt this was ours,&#8221; Eddie Knight, chairman of Kai Poma and historic preservation officer for Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, who is of Coastal Yuki descent, told Mongabay. &#8220;It may have been owned privately by somebody, but we still knew it was ours.&#8221; The property sits just south of the small community of Westport, California, about 187 miles (300 kilometers) north of San Francisco. Visitors know the beach here as Blues Beach, but a major village site there is called K&#8217;etim by the Coast Yuki and Pomo lineages. K&#8217;etim, according to the tribe&#8217;s traditional stories, is &#8220;where Seaweed Woman who lived at Mussel Rock met and fell in love with Coyote,&#8221; Kai Poma explained in a press release. This origin story &#8220;explains the creation of the coastline and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/california-tribes-receive-beach-and-ancestral-village-site-back-from-transportation-authority/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330494</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A rare slow loris may have a much larger population in China than scientists thought</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-rare-slow-loris-may-have-a-much-larger-population-in-china-than-scientists-thought/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-rare-slow-loris-may-have-a-much-larger-population-in-china-than-scientists-thought/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 18:58:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Matthew Burkhart]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/22080314/pygmy-loris-2460-1384_wideexact_2460-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329890</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, and East Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Mammals, Primates, Research, Science, Slow Loris, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plump, fuzzy and venomous, with wide eyes, a button nose and sharp teeth, northern pygmy slow lorises were thought to reside almost exclusively in Vietnam and Laos. However, new research has documented 98 of the endangered primates in Guangxi, China, in what could be the country&#8217;s largest known population of the species. The finding, published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plump, fuzzy and venomous, with wide eyes, a button nose and sharp teeth, northern pygmy slow lorises were thought to reside almost exclusively in Vietnam and Laos. However, new research has documented 98 of the endangered primates in Guangxi, China, in what could be the country&#8217;s largest known population of the species. The finding, published in the journal Integrative Zoology by researchers at Guangxi Normal University, expands the known range of the nocturnal primate and suggests that a substantial population may have gone undetected in Guangxi&#8217;s rugged karst forests. The species, Xanthonycticebus intermedius, was previously thought to number just over 100 individuals in China, primarily in Yunnan province. Its known range also extends south into northern Vietnam, reaching as far as Hai Van Pass. Anna Nekaris, a professor of ecology, conservation and environment at Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K. and founder of the Little Fireface Project that focuses on lorises, said she’s excited by the discovery and hopes it will inspire research on this understudied species. “A lot of these nocturnal animals — they&#8217;re so little known in the wild, they’re so little researched, that when you actually do go look for them and you find them, that’s incredible,” Nekaris said. Pygmy slow lorises are native to Southeast Asia. Xanthonyticebus intermedius, the northern pygmy slow loris, was only recognized as a distinct species in 2023 after genetic and morphological research separated it from its close relative, the southern pygmy slow loris (Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus). The northern pygmy slow loris, was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-rare-slow-loris-may-have-a-much-larger-population-in-china-than-scientists-thought/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329890</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil creates four Amazon reserves as plans to pave rainforest highway advance</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brazil-creates-four-amazon-reserves-as-plans-to-pave-rainforest-highway-advance/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brazil-creates-four-amazon-reserves-as-plans-to-pave-rainforest-highway-advance/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 17:52:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/21192457/3.-319_National-Department-of-Transport-Infrastructure-DNIT-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330489</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Development, Forestry, Governance, Infrastructure, Politics, Protected Areas, Roads, and Sustainable Forest Management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Brazilian government has created four new sustainable development reserves in the Amazon as part of an effort to mitigate environmental damage from the controversial plan to fully pave the BR-319 highway. The road will pass through one of the most intact parts of the rainforest, which conservationists warn will lead to increased deforestation. President [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Brazilian government has created four new sustainable development reserves in the Amazon as part of an effort to mitigate environmental damage from the controversial plan to fully pave the BR-319 highway. The road will pass through one of the most intact parts of the rainforest, which conservationists warn will lead to increased deforestation. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed on Sept. 8 the decrees that would protect more than 668,000 hectares (1.65 million acres) of Amazon rainforest under a sustainable-use model, which allows existing residents to remain on the land and extract forest products. &#8220;The federal government is working … to build a solution capable of enabling the highway&#8217;s paving, while ensuring environmental protection and encouraging sustainable economic development in the region,&#8221; João Paulo Capobianco, the minister of environment and climate change, said at an event announcing the new conservation areas. Map by Andrés Alegria/Mongabay. The four reserves will be managed by Brazil&#8217;s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, a federal agency under the environment ministry. The decrees also establish buffer zones around three of the four largest reserves, putting another 109,718 hectares (271,119 acres) of land under some level of protection, though mining could be permitted in those areas. The BR-319 highway, which connects the cities of Manaus and Porto Velho in Brazil&#8217;s northern Amazon, was built during Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s and later fell into disrepair. The highway’s 339-kilometer (211-mile) middle section is largely impassable in the rainy season, though many still try to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brazil-creates-four-amazon-reserves-as-plans-to-pave-rainforest-highway-advance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330489</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World Rhino Day: What does it take to save a species?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/world-rhino-day-what-does-it-take-to-save-a-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/world-rhino-day-what-does-it-take-to-save-a-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 17:43:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10060527/Greater_one-horned_rhinoceros_at_Chitwan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=330487</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Global, India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Black Rhino, Conservation, Crime, Governance, Human-wildlife Conflict, Javan Rhinos, Mammals, Northern White Rhino, One-horned Rhinos, Protected Areas, Reintroductions, Rhinos, Sumatran Rhino, White Rhino, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In honor of World Rhino Day, on Sept. 22, here’s a snapshot of Mongabay’s reporting from the past year on the actions being taken to save rhinos from extinction: Reintroduction in Uganda In 1983, the last wild northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) living in Uganda was killed for its horn. But now rhinos are back [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In honor of World Rhino Day, on Sept. 22, here’s a snapshot of Mongabay’s reporting from the past year on the actions being taken to save rhinos from extinction: Reintroduction in Uganda In 1983, the last wild northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) living in Uganda was killed for its horn. But now rhinos are back in the country, contributor Benjamin Jumbe reported in March. In the last year, at least four southern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum) were brought to northern Uganda’s Kidepo Valley National Park and another four to Ajai Wildlife Reserve. The reintroduced rhinos are a different subspecies, because just two northern white rhinos are alive today; both are females. “The translocation helps us not keep all eggs in one basket and create opportunities to mitigate … risks,” Robert Aruho, a veterinary specialist with the Uganda Wildlife Authority told Mongabay. Mozambique’s ‘silent park’ receives rhinos Zinave National Park in Mozambique, the site of a decades-long civil war, came to be known as a “silent park,” because the war nearly decimated its wildlife. Since 2022, 64 white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) have been reintroduced to the park, Mongabay’s Shanna Hanbury reported in June. As grazers, rhinos help maintain the grassland ecosystem, creating habitat for other wildlife and mitigating fire risk. “You can imagine if you don’t have rhinos in the park, [there are] very high grass levels, which is a very large fire hazard,” said Antony Alexander, with the Peace Parks Foundation. At least five&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/world-rhino-day-what-does-it-take-to-save-a-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330487</doi>				</item>
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