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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?byline=modeste-dossou&#038;post_type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/modeste-dossou/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 23:28:31 +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>Modeste Dossou Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/modeste-dossou/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Philippine fishing and Indigenous communities wary of clean energy boom in Marcos stronghold</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 23:28:31 +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/20/2026/05/13110218/Ed-Singson-shows-off-the-seaweed-in-his-bucket-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319296</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and The Philippines]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Clean Energy, Conservation, Energy, Featured, Fishing, Green Energy, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Islands, Just Transition, Marine, Marine Conservation, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PASUQUIN, Philippines — Crouched on the beach under the hot noon sun, a fisherman flattens a black sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat rolled out on the sand. Wearing a straw hat wide enough to shade his entire body, he tucks his legs in to avoid getting burned. Gamet, a rare and coveted variety [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PASUQUIN, Philippines — Crouched on the beach under the hot noon sun, a fisherman flattens a black sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat rolled out on the sand. Wearing a straw hat wide enough to shade his entire body, he tucks his legs in to avoid getting burned. Gamet, a rare and coveted variety of seaweed local to the coasts of the Philippines’ Ilocos Norte province, is both a staple to fishing communities and a popular souvenir for travelers. But harvesting the highly sought-after seaweed can be a dangerous task. Like the better-known nori, it belongs to the Bangiaceae family of red algae and grows exclusively on the sharp, pointed rocks along the cooler waters of the northern Philippine coast. At the other end of the beach, Ed Singson, leader of the local fishing association, has just come ashore with a bucket of fresh gamet. Taking a handful of seaweed from his bucket, he says, “We will protest on the seas for this if we have to.” Singson, 55, and his fellow fisherfolk have learned from local authorities about plans by a foreign company to build a vast stretch of offshore wind turbines on traditional fishing grounds. They say they fear the construction, vibrations and, eventually, the completed structures could disrupt their fishing routes and local marine life. A fisher in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, flattens a sheet of Gamet to dry on the beach. Image by Michael Beltran for Mongabay. ‘Renewable energy capital’ Ilocos Norte, the northwestern tip of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Organized crime adds to environmental destruction in the Amazon, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/organized-crime-adds-to-environmental-destruction-in-the-amazon-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/organized-crime-adds-to-environmental-destruction-in-the-amazon-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 18:30:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/07185558/Sobrevuelo-248-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319675</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Deforestation, Environmental Crime, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Reform, Organized Crime, Rainforest Deforestation, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new report by the International Crisis Group finds that organized crime has become a “major obstacle” to protecting the Amazon. Criminal groups often operate across borders and are expanding control over huge swathes of land, which undermines state efforts to combat environmental crimes such as drug trafficking, deforestation and illegal mining. “In Colombia, park [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new report by the International Crisis Group finds that organized crime has become a “major obstacle” to protecting the Amazon. Criminal groups often operate across borders and are expanding control over huge swathes of land, which undermines state efforts to combat environmental crimes such as drug trafficking, deforestation and illegal mining. “In Colombia, park rangers have been blocked from entering their own protected areas by non-state armed groups, leaving vast stretches of forest unmonitored and effectively undefended,” report author Bram Ebus, an International Crisis Group consultant and founder of Amazon Underworld, an investigative journalism project, told Mongabay via WhatsApp messages. “NGOs [non-governmental organizations], U.N. agencies and bodies belonging to the environment ministry have similarly been denied access to Amazon territories with troubling regularity, meaning that local development programs, reforestation initiatives and conservation efforts simply cannot be carried out.”  Ebus said this is not incidental and that armed groups deliberately keep communities at a distance from the state to maintain a governance vacuum that serves their economic and territorial interests.  The spread of organized crime has fueled rising violence and environmental damage across the Amazon including in Colombia’s Putumayo, Caquetá and Amazonas departments. The Comandos de la Frontera, a FARC dissident group that controls coca plantations and illegal mines, exerts control in those areas. Other criminal organizations operating across the Amazon, including in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru are also driving instability and environmental harm.     While criminals continue to expand their reach and coordinate with one another, the report says national&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/organized-crime-adds-to-environmental-destruction-in-the-amazon-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Who controls Indian Ocean tuna?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/05/who-controls-indian-ocean-tuna/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/05/who-controls-indian-ocean-tuna/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 18:20:15 +0000</pubDate>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alejandroprescottcornejo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/04/23193150/bluefin-tuna_768px.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=specials&#038;p=319668</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Communities and conservation, Fisheries, Ocean, Overfishing, and Tuna]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Ocean hosts one of the world’s largest tuna fisheries, supplying global seafood markets and sustaining livelihoods across dozens of coastal nations. But scientists warn some stocks are under mounting pressure as foreign-owned industrial fleets continue to overfish tuna and coastal countries expand their fisheries — intensifying disputes over how the resource is managed. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Ocean hosts one of the world’s largest tuna fisheries, supplying global seafood markets and sustaining livelihoods across dozens of coastal nations. But scientists warn some stocks are under mounting pressure as foreign-owned industrial fleets continue to overfish tuna and coastal countries expand their fisheries — intensifying disputes over how the resource is managed. This Special Issue reported by editor Malavika Vyawahare examines the politics, science and competing interests shaping the region’s tuna fishery.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/05/who-controls-indian-ocean-tuna/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/05/who-controls-indian-ocean-tuna/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>19,000 Great Pyramids a year: Report flags unsustainable rate of sand mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 17:33:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18095047/WWF-Viet-Nam_Sand-Extraction-Mekong-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319631</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Coastal Ecosystems, Dredging, Environment, Erosion, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater Ecosystems, Governance, Infrastructure, Mining, Rivers, Supply Chain, and Tropical Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sand is the most widely extracted solid material on Earth. The global sand mining industry removes roughly 50 billion metric tons of it a year, a pace that far outstrips the planet’s natural replenishment rates, according to a new report from the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). Excessive sand extraction from landscapes, rivers and coastal zones [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Sand is the most widely extracted solid material on Earth. The global sand mining industry removes roughly 50 billion metric tons of it a year, a pace that far outstrips the planet’s natural replenishment rates, according to a new report from the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). Excessive sand extraction from landscapes, rivers and coastal zones threatens ecosystems, livelihoods and many processes on which life depends, the report says. Yet the current pace of removal — enough to build more than 19,000 Great Pyramids of Giza — is only set to grow, with demand for buildings alone expected to rise 45% by 2060. Without coordinated governance, stronger monitoring and long-term planning to mitigate the risks of surging global demand, the industry will continue operating at an unsustainable level, the authors say. The report, published by UNEP’s Global Resource Information Database Geneva (GRID-Geneva) team, calls on industry stakeholders to improve extraction practices to use sand more wisely by balancing meeting demand with environmental protection. Sand is used to make concrete to build everything from homes and offices to roads and seawalls. It’s also used to manufacture glass and silicon-based components like electronic chips and solar panels. “Sand is sometimes referred as the unrecognized hero of development,” Pascal Peduzzi, director of UNEP’s GRID-Geneva program, said in a press release. However, its role in sustaining biodiversity and coastal communities already vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change is too often overlooked, he added. “Sand is our first line of defence against sea level rise,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Trump called trophy hunting a “horror show,” but permitted 300-plus elephant trophy imports in 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/trump-called-trophy-hunting-a-horror-show-but-permitted-300-plus-elephant-trophy-imports-in-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/trump-called-trophy-hunting-a-horror-show-but-permitted-300-plus-elephant-trophy-imports-in-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 15:33:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15171641/ele-mom-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319539</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Hunting, International Trade, Mammals, Trophy Hunting, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Crime, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The U.S. issued more than 300 elephant trophy import permits during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to records obtained by U.S.-based NGO the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). It’s the most ever issued on Trump’s watch in a year, and indicates that as many as 300 elephants were killed. Trophies [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The U.S. issued more than 300 elephant trophy import permits during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to records obtained by U.S.-based NGO the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). It’s the most ever issued on Trump’s watch in a year, and indicates that as many as 300 elephants were killed. Trophies are usually the taxidermied heads or feet, which hunters display in their homes as décor. Tanya Sanerib, the center’s international legal director who analyzed the data, called the permit numbers “alarming.” It’s a 154% increase in the total number of elephant trophy import permits issued during all of Trump&#8217;s first term. Because elephants are listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), importers need a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to bring elephant trophies into the country. In 2018, the agency issued 114 permits. That dropped to just four in 2019 and none in 2020 and 2021. Receiving a permit does not necessarily mean an elephant was killed that year. Some hunters apply for permits before going on a hunting trip; others apply after an animal is killed. Each permit is valid for a year. African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) are an endangered species. In the 1800s, about 26 million roamed the continent. But poaching for the international trade in ivory crashed their numbers: Since 1965, 60% of them were slaughtered for their tusks. Only about 415,000 remain today. While the ivory trade has declined, this wide-ranging pachyderm’s habitat&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/trump-called-trophy-hunting-a-horror-show-but-permitted-300-plus-elephant-trophy-imports-in-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Nepal’s plan to release blackbucks into tiger country raises red flags</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 12:58:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bibek Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18120817/Blackbuck_in_Tal_Chhapar_Sanctuary_November_2025_by_Tisha_Mukherjee_07-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319637</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Predators, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal is preparing to relocate blackbucks from protected areas in the country’s west to the south-central lowlands, in an effort to expand the species’ population beyond its current range. But conservationists have raised questions about the suitability of the new site, including the increased risk of predation. Under the plan, the Department of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal is preparing to relocate blackbucks from protected areas in the country’s west to the south-central lowlands, in an effort to expand the species’ population beyond its current range. But conservationists have raised questions about the suitability of the new site, including the increased risk of predation. Under the plan, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) will release 18 blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) in Tikauli, a corridor forest area near Chitwan National Park. The animals, six males and 12 females, will be translocated from Shuklaphanta National Park and Blackbuck Conservation Area, located in Nepal’s far-western and southwestern regions, respectively. “We will be translocating them as soon as possible,” said Haribhadra Acharya, senior ecologist at DNPWC who has planned the translocation for nearly five years now. “It will be a mix of young and subadult individuals. The main objective of this translocation is to revive the blackbuck population in a different geographic location and habitat area, so if they’re impacted by disease or disaster in one area, there will be an alternate secure population.” Blackbucks are an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent, and were once widely distributed across the region. Today, India has the largest population of blackbucks, while the species occurs in small, fragmented pockets in Nepal, considered the northernmost extent of its range. Although the species as a whole isn’t considered in danger of extinction on the IUCN Red List, within Nepal it’s classified as critically endangered, and in Bangladesh and Pakistan has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Jane Goodall’s grandson on hope after loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/jane-goodalls-grandson-on-hope-after-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/jane-goodalls-grandson-on-hope-after-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 12:12:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/13011833/11.12.25-Jane-Goodall-Funeral-37-merlin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319640</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, and Interviews]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Five months after Jane Goodall’s death, her grandson Merlin Van Lawick appeared at the ChangeNOW environmental forum in Paris carrying something both public and personal. He was there not as a substitute for his grandmother, but as someone [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Five months after Jane Goodall’s death, her grandson Merlin Van Lawick appeared at the ChangeNOW environmental forum in Paris carrying something both public and personal. He was there not as a substitute for his grandmother, but as someone shaped by her work and now helping to carry it forward, reports Mongabay’s Juliette Chapalain. The easiest way to misunderstand Goodall’s message is to treat hope as a feeling. For Goodall, as Van Lawick describes it, hope was closer to discipline. She used the image of a dark tunnel with a light at the end. The light did not come to you. You had to crawl toward it, over obstacles and under them. “Hope is rooted in action,” he said. That phrase can sound almost too easy until one considers the work behind it. Goodall’s career began with field research at Gombe in Tanzania, where she helped change how science understood chimpanzees. It became something larger: a life spent asking people to see animals as individuals, ecosystems as living communities, and young people as participants rather than spectators. In Van Lawick’s telling, Goodall’s influence came through example. She did not push people into service. She made them aware of the consequences of their choices, then left the decision to them. Even with her grandchildren, the pressure was light. Van Lawick once wanted to be a footballer. She told him she thought he would become a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/jane-goodalls-grandson-on-hope-after-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Fire at WCS Makira Natural Park office allegedly linked to patrol efforts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fire-at-wcs-makira-natural-park-office-allegedly-linked-to-patrol-efforts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fire-at-wcs-makira-natural-park-office-allegedly-linked-to-patrol-efforts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 11:40:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rivonala Razafison]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18113838/madagascar_1742-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319090</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Government, National Parks, Parks, Tropical Deforestation, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — On May 4, angry residents allegedly set fire to Wildlife Conservation Society’s office overseeing Makira Natural Park in northeast Madagascar. WCS, a New York-based NGO present in Madagascar since 1993, manages the reserve. Photos shared by Malagasy activist Clovis Razafimalala on Facebook show that the fire destroyed the office located in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — On May 4, angry residents allegedly set fire to Wildlife Conservation Society’s office overseeing Makira Natural Park in northeast Madagascar. WCS, a New York-based NGO present in Madagascar since 1993, manages the reserve. Photos shared by Malagasy activist Clovis Razafimalala on Facebook show that the fire destroyed the office located in the rural municipality of Ambinanitelo. The WCS staff present at the site are believed to be safe. Local authorities are investigating the alleged attack, and initial interviews suggest a run-in between illegal loggers and forest guards might be at the heart of the incident. According to Jean Roger, a representative of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Maroantsetra district, forest guards alerted him and the local police about the existence of illegal logging activity in the core area of Makira Park, which is spread across 372,470 hectares (920,000 acres, roughly three times the size of Los Angeles). A team consisting of environment ministry representatives, WCS-backed eco-guards and gendarmes were deployed in response to the alert, Roger told Mongabay via a phone call. In the field, they faced four men who appeared ready to transport cut logs and two other men carrying chainsaws. One of the chainsaw-wielding men escaped while the rest of them were captured, according to Roger. The gendarme is a kind of militarized police force that sometimes gets involved in tackling illicit activities at protected sites. The five men were taken to the WCS office in Ambinanitelo. “The mayor [of Mariarano, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fire-at-wcs-makira-natural-park-office-allegedly-linked-to-patrol-efforts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fire-at-wcs-makira-natural-park-office-allegedly-linked-to-patrol-efforts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Elephants return to Mount Elgon side of Uganda after four decades</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/elephants-return-to-mount-elgon-side-of-uganda-after-four-decades/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/elephants-return-to-mount-elgon-side-of-uganda-after-four-decades/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 10:03:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Benjamin Jumbe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18062559/Mount-Elgon-Uganda-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319622</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Kenya, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[animal tracking, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Corridors, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Fences, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, human-elephant conflict, Human-wildlife Conflict, Infrastructure, Mammals, Migration, Protected Areas, Tracking, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[According to monitoring with tracking collars by the Mount Elgon Foundation (MEF), last year at least 60 elephants crossed from Kenya into the Ugandan side of Mount Elgon, a vast volcanic mountain that straddles the border, returning to a part of their natural range where they’ve not been seen for over 40 years. MEF funds [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[According to monitoring with tracking collars by the Mount Elgon Foundation (MEF), last year at least 60 elephants crossed from Kenya into the Ugandan side of Mount Elgon, a vast volcanic mountain that straddles the border, returning to a part of their natural range where they’ve not been seen for over 40 years. MEF funds community projects aimed at reducing forest degradation and raising awareness of environmental issues, as well as a team of 18 community scouts on the Kenyan side of the mountain, part of the East African Wild Life Society’s Mount Elgon Elephant Project. MEF’s chair, Chris Powles, told Mongabay that back in 2022, scouts tracked four elephants crossing the Suam river, which marks the border between the two countries. Drone footage of elephants on the Ugandan side of Mount Elgon. Image courtesy of UWA. In an email interview, Powles said a number of factors could explain the elephants’ return, though it’s impossible to say for certain what’s prompted them to reestablish themselves. “[These] include the growth of the elephant population on the Kenya side, the increasing human pressure on the Kenya side, the relative safety for them on the Uganda side as it is all national park (unlike in Kenya),” he wrote. “And, maybe, the elephants alive from the time when others of them were killed in Uganda have now died naturally and so their memory of what happened in Uganda may have passed.” In the late 1970s and 80s, elephants in Uganda and other parts of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/elephants-return-to-mount-elgon-side-of-uganda-after-four-decades/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/elephants-return-to-mount-elgon-side-of-uganda-after-four-decades/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>War on Iran may threaten conservation of the world&#8217;s rarest big cat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/war-on-iran-may-threaten-conservation-of-the-worlds-rarest-big-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/war-on-iran-may-threaten-conservation-of-the-worlds-rarest-big-cat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 08:54:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18085249/Picture1-e1779094418521.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319628</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, War, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Asiatic cheetah, the world’s most endangered big cat, faces an increasingly precarious future as ongoing conflict in Iran disrupts critical conservation efforts, reports Mongabay contributor Kayleigh Long. Once ranging from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the cheetah subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is now confined to just 16% of its former territory, with fewer than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Asiatic cheetah, the world’s most endangered big cat, faces an increasingly precarious future as ongoing conflict in Iran disrupts critical conservation efforts, reports Mongabay contributor Kayleigh Long. Once ranging from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the cheetah subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is now confined to just 16% of its former territory, with fewer than 30 individuals estimated to remain in the wild in Iran. Before the war began in February 2026, conservationists observed a rare sign of hope: a female cheetah named Helia was filmed in North Khorasan province with five cubs, the largest litter ever recorded for the subspecies. Bagher Nezami, national director of the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, told Iranian media that these were &#8220;ID-carded&#8221; individuals being monitored by researchers. However,  access to protected areas for nongovernmental groups has now &#8220;slowed down considerably,&#8221; interrupting long-term monitoring and camera trapping, a local conservationist told Mongabay, speaking on condition of anonymity. There are also fears that conservation vehicles could be misidentified as military targets in the remote desert landscapes where the cheetahs live. Sarah Durant, a research scientist at the Zoological Society of London, emphasized the protection of field scientists, park rangers, and Indigenous peoples during armed conflict is “a matter of urgent international concern.” Beyond the direct impact of combat, Western sanctions on Iran have also taken a toll. “Critical activities such as monitoring, law enforcement and the development of wildlife-friendly infrastructure have declined,” the authors of a 2025 study wrote. “These limitations have contributed to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/war-on-iran-may-threaten-conservation-of-the-worlds-rarest-big-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>More than a million live birds imported to Asia in 15 years, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/more-than-a-million-live-birds-imported-to-asia-in-15-years-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/more-than-a-million-live-birds-imported-to-asia-in-15-years-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 05:16:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18051500/Canary-e1779081343300-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319620</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Hong Kong, and Singapore]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Health, Infectious Wildlife Disease, Invasive Species, Nature And Health, Parrots, Pet Trade, Public Health, Regulations, Wildlife, Wildlife Crime, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hong Kong and Singapore imported more than 1 million live wild birds between 2006 and 2020, according to a new analysis of customs data published in Conservation Biology. Nearly two-thirds of the birds were from Africa. The study highlights a massive, often under-regulated trade that threatens wild populations and poses significant risks for the spread [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hong Kong and Singapore imported more than 1 million live wild birds between 2006 and 2020, according to a new analysis of customs data published in Conservation Biology. Nearly two-thirds of the birds were from Africa. The study highlights a massive, often under-regulated trade that threatens wild populations and poses significant risks for the spread of invasive species and deadly diseases, Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman reports. Rowan Martin, director of bird trade at the World Parrot Trust, and his colleagues used U.N. Comtrade data to track the trade of wild birds. They found that Singapore accounted for nearly three-quarters of the imports, and Hong Kong was a second hub. Canaries (Crithagra spp.) topped the list of birds entering Hong Kong, with the yellow-fronted canary (C. mozambica) and white-rumped seedeater (C. leucopygia) making up 84% of African imports between 2015 and 2020. Martin’s team found that about 65% of the birds came from Africa. Mali, Guinea, Tanzania, and Mozambique were the primary exporters. “African birds are prominent because there’s been very little regulation of the exports,” Martin told Mongabay. “There are relatively few large-scale exporters operating in West Africa, and often these family businesses have big holding facilities where they aggregate birds prior to export.” Martin and his colleagues found bird imports to Hong Kong and Singapore increased after 2006. He credits this to rising middle-class wealth in Asia, more flight connectivity, and social media, which facilitates connections between exporters and buyers. Simon Bruslund, a bird trade researcher from the Copenhagen Zoo&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/more-than-a-million-live-birds-imported-to-asia-in-15-years-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>FIFA&#8217;s World Cup heat measures may not go far enough, expert warns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/fifas-world-cup-heat-measures-may-not-go-far-enough-expert-warns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/fifas-world-cup-heat-measures-may-not-go-far-enough-expert-warns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 04:55:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18044710/WWA-WC-Heat-Risk-2-scaled-e1779080117385-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319616</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Extreme Weather, Health, Heatwave, Public Health, Temperatures, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Measures proposed by organizers of the upcoming FIFA World Cup won’t be sufficient to protect players and fans from the significantly higher risk of extreme heat and humidity expected at this year’s tournament, a medical expert warns. In December 2025, FIFA announced there would be three-minute hydration breaks for players in each half of every [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Measures proposed by organizers of the upcoming FIFA World Cup won’t be sufficient to protect players and fans from the significantly higher risk of extreme heat and humidity expected at this year’s tournament, a medical expert warns. In December 2025, FIFA announced there would be three-minute hydration breaks for players in each half of every game “to ensure the best possible conditions for players”. However, a recent analysis says conditions at the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada, will be much warmer than during the USA ’94 tournament. Scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international initiative studying the role of climate change in extreme events, warn that human-induced climate change has nearly doubled the likelihood of dangerously hot match conditions since then. That makes it much more difficult for the body to dissipate heat, said Chris Mullington, a consultant anesthetist and clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London. “That matters because footballers generate large amounts of metabolic heat during repeated sprints, accelerations, and high-intensity play,” he said at a press briefing. “As WGBT rises, the body’s usual cooling mechanisms become less effective.” WGBT is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WGBT) index, a combined measure of humidity, wind, air temperature and direct sunlight, which gives the “real feel” of heat on the human body. Mullington said high WBGT can compel players to “reduce high intensity running, sprint less often, pace themselves more conservatively, and experience impaired decision making as thermal strain accumulates.” The WWA analysis identified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/fifas-world-cup-heat-measures-may-not-go-far-enough-expert-warns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Monica Montefalcone, leading seagrass scientist, dies in Maldives diving accident, aged 51</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/monica-montefalcone-leading-seagrass-scientist-dies-in-a-maldives-diving-accident-aged-51/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/monica-montefalcone-leading-seagrass-scientist-dies-in-a-maldives-diving-accident-aged-51/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 May 2026 09:34:39 +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/20/2026/05/16093229/Monica-Montefalcone-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319589</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Italy, and Mediterranean Sea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecosystem Restoration, Marine Conservation, Obituary, Ocean, and Seagrass]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[To Monica Montefalcone, the sea was a place to study: its plants, reefs, hidden habitats and seasonal changes. A meadow of Posidonia oceanica was not just a patch of green beneath the water. It provided a nursery, offered shelter, stored carbon, and afforded coastal protection. To most swimmers it might have looked like seagrass. To [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[To Monica Montefalcone, the sea was a place to study: its plants, reefs, hidden habitats and seasonal changes. A meadow of Posidonia oceanica was not just a patch of green beneath the water. It provided a nursery, offered shelter, stored carbon, and afforded coastal protection. To most swimmers it might have looked like seagrass. To Montefalcone it was a living system, and one that recovered slowly once damaged. That slowness mattered. Posidonia grows at a pace that does not fit human timetables. In the Mediterranean, more than half of its meadows have been lost over the past century; in Liguria, the losses were especially severe. Laws and European directives could help protect what remained, she argued, but protection alone was not enough. Where hundreds of hectares had disappeared, waiting for nature to repair itself would mean leaving the work to future generations. Active restoration, including the manual replanting of seagrass, was therefore a practical response to a practical problem. Monica Montefalcone. From Sky TG24 Montefalcone, who died on May 14th in a diving accident in the Maldives, was 51. Her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, 23, died with her, along with Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow who had worked with her, Federico Gualtieri, a recent marine-biology graduate, and Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor and boat operations manager. Four of the victims were connected to the University of Genoa, where Montefalcone was an associate professor of ecology. The group had been diving in caves in Vaavu Atoll. The final details of the accident&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/monica-montefalcone-leading-seagrass-scientist-dies-in-a-maldives-diving-accident-aged-51/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Tensions rise in DRC mining region as community leaders arrested over protest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/tensions-rise-in-drc-mining-region-as-community-leaders-arrested-over-protest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/tensions-rise-in-drc-mining-region-as-community-leaders-arrested-over-protest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 21:41:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/09191918/2-Adelard-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319585</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[cobalt, Copper, Environment, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Resource Conflict, Rivers, and Social Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities. Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities. Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.” The case centers around Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), one of the world’s largest copper and cobalt miners and a subsidiary of CMOC (China Molybdenum) Group, which in 2020 built a lime processing plant near the village of Kabombwa in Lualaba. Two years later, following an investigation, the NGO African Natural Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) alleged that TFM’s plant was releasing acidic water into a nearby river, causing 11 deaths between 2020 and 2022. The company denied AFREWATCH’s findings, yet in 2023 relocated several Kabombwa residents through a provincial government commission, and paid out compensation ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. Three years after the relocation, many residents remain deeply dissatisfied. “They realized the amount they received was far from sufficient and does not allow them to live decently,” Leonard Zama, activist and director of the Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights and Social Reintegration (IPDHOR ASBL), told Mongabay by phone. During the relocation, TFM also promised support for housing and health care for three years, but the agreement was only verbal “and nothing was done,” Zama added. Frustrated by what they describe as inadequate responses to their demands by the end&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/tensions-rise-in-drc-mining-region-as-community-leaders-arrested-over-protest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>New energy deals for Africa sealed at Nairobi summit</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-energy-deals-for-africa-sealed-at-nairobi-summit/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-energy-deals-for-africa-sealed-at-nairobi-summit/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 20:01:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15191501/47318373611_2f36a5c5bb_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319567</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Politics, Green Energy, Oil, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[European and African business leaders and heads of state have announced a raft of clean energy and infrastructure investments at the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. Forty companies announced plans to invest roughly 27 billion euros ($31.5 billion) across about 30 projects in Africa. They aim to generate a combined 100 billion euros ($116.5 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[European and African business leaders and heads of state have announced a raft of clean energy and infrastructure investments at the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. Forty companies announced plans to invest roughly 27 billion euros ($31.5 billion) across about 30 projects in Africa. They aim to generate a combined 100 billion euros ($116.5 billion) in revenue while employing more than 600,000 people across the continent. The wider goal is to deepen industrial ties and accelerate Africa’s transition to low-carbon power. Energy attracted the largest share of investments, roughly 14 billion euros ($16.3 billion). Agriculture, human capital, finance, AI, industrialization and the blue economy were also a focus. Kenya and France jointly hosted the May 11-12 gathering, which organizers said was designed to build a “partnership of equals.” Africa and Europe, particularly France, have historically had a contentious relationship rooted in colonialism. Commitments on renewable energy French utility EDF confirmed plans for 2 gigawatts of hydropower projects across several African countries. French oil and gas major TotalEnergies outlined more than $10 billion in new investments by 2030, including $2 billion for renewable power in Rwanda and $400 million for clean cooking initiatives in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. TotalEnergies will also work with Ellipse Projects on the construction and renovation of hospital infrastructure worth $700 million. Infrastructure investor Meridiam announced $200 million to double the capacity of Kenya’s Kipeto wind project, while Global Telecom Holding pledged $350 million for a 250-megawatt solar farm in Zambia. AXIAN Group and partners committed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-energy-deals-for-africa-sealed-at-nairobi-summit/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-energy-deals-for-africa-sealed-at-nairobi-summit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>In Thailand, burned sugarcane plantations become traps for leopard cat cubs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 19:43:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15134718/rescued-leopard-cat-6-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319496</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Farming, Fires, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Plantations, Regulations, Small Cats, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nuntita Ruksachat, head veterinarian at the Khon Kaen wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand, holds up a feline cub no larger than her hand. Part of a litter rescued just days ago, the cub’s fur is patchy, revealing blistered skin underneath. Its whiskers, clearly singed, are short and stubby. “They were rescued from a burned [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nuntita Ruksachat, head veterinarian at the Khon Kaen wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand, holds up a feline cub no larger than her hand. Part of a litter rescued just days ago, the cub’s fur is patchy, revealing blistered skin underneath. Its whiskers, clearly singed, are short and stubby. “They were rescued from a burned sugarcane plantation,” she says. Behind her, cats pace inside rows of cages. More than 50 leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) cubs are currently housed at the rescue center, which is run by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s (DNP). The youngest are kept in cages, while older ones have been moved to larger enclosures. Leopard cats are small wild felines found across much of Asia, from Afghanistan to South Korea. Roughly the size of domestic cats, their bodies are slightly leaner, and their fur is marked with black spots and stripes. The leopard cat is a highly adaptable species, and as forests have shrunk across its range, it has learnt to live in human-dominated landscapes. In Thailand&#8217;s northeast, sugarcane plantations provide leopard cat mothers and their litters with shelter and prey. But every crop burning season — the period between December and April, when farmers in Thailand typically burn their fields — those same plantations can turn lethal. The rescue center receives a steady influx of leopard cat cubs from across the northeast. Most are found alone and weak on plantations or in nearby forests, some with scorched fur and whiskers. Rows of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Light pollution reshapes predator-prey dynamics at California&#8217;s urban edge, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/light-pollution-reshapes-predator-prey-dynamics-at-californias-urban-edge-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/light-pollution-reshapes-predator-prey-dynamics-at-californias-urban-edge-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 19:28:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Big Cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mammals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15191816/puma-dark-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319568</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Environment, Green, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study from two California counties finds that artificial light at night is a stronger driver of wildlife behavior at the edge of urban environments than noise. This has ripple effects for predators and prey. Researchers analyzed more than 35,000 camera-trap days from 61 stations in San Mateo county, on California&#8217;s central coast, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study from two California counties finds that artificial light at night is a stronger driver of wildlife behavior at the edge of urban environments than noise. This has ripple effects for predators and prey. Researchers analyzed more than 35,000 camera-trap days from 61 stations in San Mateo county, on California&#8217;s central coast, and Orange county, in Southern California, between 2022 and 2024. They tracked an apex predator, the puma (Puma concolor); the bobcat (Lynx rufus); and an ungulate prey species, the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). The paper was published in Urban Ecosystems. “While scientists have known for a while that wildlife change their behavior around cities, often becoming more nocturnal to avoid humans, our study isolated one part of the urban environment that is driving this,”co-author Zara McDonald, biologist and president of the Felidae Conservation Fund, told Mongabay by email. “Our key finding is that artificial light pollution is actually altering the predator-prey dynamic.” Predators like pumas and bobcats avoided bright lights at night, such as areas lit by streetlights and other electric lighting. Mule deer, however, were more active in those same areas, though they avoided bright moonlight and noisy areas. The authors say the deer use human-modified spaces that predators avoid. A puma on the urban edge in California. Camera trap image courtesy of Felidae Conservation Fund “Essentially, artificial light is acting as a spatial barrier for carnivores and a &#8216;protective shield&#8217; for prey,” McDonald said. The contrast was visually striking in the images and footage&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/light-pollution-reshapes-predator-prey-dynamics-at-californias-urban-edge-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>2026 FIFA World Cup threatened by extreme heat: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/2026-fifa-world-cup-threatened-by-extreme-heat-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/2026-fifa-world-cup-threatened-by-extreme-heat-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 18:55:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15185256/Metlife_finals.00_00_40_07.Still004_815x524-1_0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319564</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Extreme Weather, Health, Heatwave, and Planetary Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In less than a month, the world’s attention will shift to one of the biggest sporting events on the planet: the FIFA World Cup. As fans prepare to travel to stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada, scientists are warning that dangerous heat linked to climate change could create unsafe conditions for both athletes [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In less than a month, the world’s attention will shift to one of the biggest sporting events on the planet: the FIFA World Cup. As fans prepare to travel to stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada, scientists are warning that dangerous heat linked to climate change could create unsafe conditions for both athletes and spectators. A new analysis warns that dangerous levels of heat and humidity are now nearly twice as likely as they were the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup, in 1994, largely due to human-driven climate change. The study, conducted as part of the World Weather Attribution initiative, found that more than two dozen matches this summer are expected to be played under potentially dangerous heat-stress conditions. “Matches this summer will be played in conditions made hotter by climate change, putting players and fans at risk,” Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said in a statement obtained by Mongabay. Researchers used the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), a measure of heat stress in direct sun that combines temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind and cloud cover to identify trends across several host cities. A WBGT above 26° Celsius (79° Fahrenheit) is considered risky, while temperatures above 28°C (82°F) are deemed unsafe for play, according to the study. During the upcoming tournament, the WBGT for 26 matches is expected to reach or exceed 26°C. In 1994, there were likely 21. Five matches could surpass the dangerous 28°C threshold this year,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/2026-fifa-world-cup-threatened-by-extreme-heat-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/2026-fifa-world-cup-threatened-by-extreme-heat-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>Radio and satellite alerts help Zambian farmers live with dangerous wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 18:54:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15184240/Elephants_IFAW_fence-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319556</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[animal tracking, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Corridors, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Fences, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, human-elephant conflict, Human-wildlife Conflict, Infrastructure, Mammals, Migration, Protected Areas, Tracking, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia – In a yellow, single-story building in the eastern Zambian town of Lundazi, a radio presenter fields numerous calls from anxious villagers on nearby farms. Sitting across from presenter Joseph Mwale in the air-conditioned studio are two officials from Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). One of them, Senior Ranger Mathews [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia – In a yellow, single-story building in the eastern Zambian town of Lundazi, a radio presenter fields numerous calls from anxious villagers on nearby farms. Sitting across from presenter Joseph Mwale in the air-conditioned studio are two officials from Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). One of them, Senior Ranger Mathews Mumbi, tells listeners: “Avoid going out at night to avoid the ngozi (accidental harm).” Many of the villagers tuning in to the Thursday evening program live in a transfrontier conservation area (TFCA) straddling eastern Zambia and neighboring Malawi: dangerous encounters with wild animals is a way of life here. The twice-weekly radio show on Chikaya FM, a community radio station, is sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which works with the DNPW to promote human-wildlife coexistence across three Zambian farming districts – Lundazi, Lumezi and Chipangali — home to around half a million people. In theory, the TFCA links Kasungu with Zambia’s Lukusuzi and Luambe National Parks, but to reach the Zambian parks, elephants and other wild animals must cross farmland and roads and navigate past schools and homesteads. Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife&#8217;s Mwizaso Chipeta (left) and Mathews Mumbi field questions from callers about human-wildlife conflict from callers during a radio show on Chikaya FM, while IFAW’s community engagement manager Alstone Mwanza (right) listens in. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. During a break in the radio show, the station runs an advert with the sound of an elephant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Marine conservation suffers when the ocean is not accessible to all, especially on remote islands (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 16:54:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elsie Gabriel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15163150/pexels-lucasandrade-20340263-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319520</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Communication, Conservation, Education, Environment, Environmental Education, Green, Marine Conservation, Marine Ecosystems, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global push to protect oceans is gaining momentum, from coral reef restoration to ambitious targets under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Yet one critical dimension remains largely overlooked: accessibility. If the ocean is to be protected, it must first be experienced. Today, for millions of people, it remains fundamentally out of reach. This [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global push to protect oceans is gaining momentum, from coral reef restoration to ambitious targets under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Yet one critical dimension remains largely overlooked: accessibility. If the ocean is to be protected, it must first be experienced. Today, for millions of people, it remains fundamentally out of reach. This is not just a social gap. It is a conservation failure. Ocean conservation depends on connection. People protect what they value, and they value what they can experience. Research shows that direct interaction with natural environments strengthens long-term environmental stewardship. Yet coastal and marine systems across much of the world remain structurally inaccessible to persons with disabilities, older populations, and marginalized communities. Workshop for residents of Lakshadweep, India, on accessible diving and ocean literacy. Image courtesy of Accessible Ocean Tourism. Beaches lack barrier-free access. Transport systems remain exclusionary. Marine experiences such as snorkeling and diving are rarely adapted. The result is a quiet but widespread exclusion from the ecosystems conservation seeks to protect. Globally, governments have committed to ensuring that no one is left behind under the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet in ocean spaces, exclusion persists. Accessibility is still treated as an afterthought, added through isolated initiatives rather than embedded into planning and conservation systems. This has direct consequences. When access to the ocean is limited, ocean literacy declines, while public understanding of marine ecosystems is a key driver of conservation outcomes. Communities that cannot engage with the ocean are less likely to participate in citizen science, conservation dialogue, or local stewardship. Conservation becomes something done for people,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/marine-conservation-suffers-when-the-ocean-is-not-accessible-to-all-especially-on-remote-islands-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Endangered Persian leopards persist across borders, despite hunters and landmines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 16:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15145758/captive-leopard-cat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319523</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Asia, and Georgia (Country)]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Leopards, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, War, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Corridors, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to &#8220;just watch.&#8221; For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to &#8220;just watch.&#8221; For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard entered the frame. Lortkipanidze, who heads the Georgian conservation NGO NACRES, was stunned: It was just the third sighting of a Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) in the south Caucasus nation in 20 years. The footage wasn&#8217;t from a wildlife camera trap. It came from a standard CCTV camera that surveilled the perimeter of a new breeding enclosure for endangered Caucasian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral) in Algeti National Park, situated an hour west of Tbilisi. The video quickly circulated around the conservation community. Vazha Kochiashvili, a biologist with WWF Caucasus, saw it: It was sent to him by the man tasked with checking the deer enclosure footage for Georgia&#8217;s National Agency of Wildlife, Sergo Tabagari, who called him immediately after he saw the cat while reviewing footage. Kochiashvili said he had a hunch and asked his friend: &#8220;Does the leopard have three legs?&#8221; It did. The male leopard’s name is Aren and, over the last few years, he’s roamed across at least two international borders. Persian leopards once traversed a vast territory that lies between Russia, the Middle East and the Caspian and Black seas. They’re wide-ranging animals, and Aren’s journey underscores the myriad&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>At least 65 dead in latest Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/at-least-65-dead-in-latest-ebola-outbreak-in-eastern-dr-congo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/at-least-65-dead-in-latest-ebola-outbreak-in-eastern-dr-congo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 16:11:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15160241/AP26135299264877-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319542</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Diseases, Environment, Green, Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an announcement made by The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on May 15. Sixty-five people have died and around 246 suspected cases have been identified so far, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an announcement made by The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on May 15. Sixty-five people have died and around 246 suspected cases have been identified so far, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones in Ituri province. Africa CDC said four of the deaths have been confirmed through laboratory testing. Mongabay contacted military authorities in Ituri as well as several provincial lawmakers for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication. The number of deaths and cases could rise rapidly. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, the provincial capital located on the shores of Lake Albert near the border with Uganda. Due to its geographic and political position, the city is a major cultural, economic and social hub, making the presence of suspected cases particularly concerning for Africa CDC. “Given the high population movement between affected areas and neighboring countries, rapid regional coordination is critical,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, in a statement shared with Mongabay. “We are working with the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and partners to strengthen surveillance, preparedness and response efforts, and to help contain the outbreak as quickly as possible.” In response to the latest outbreak, the pan-African agency announced that an emergency meeting would be held May 15 “to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness and outbreak response efforts.” Participants are expected to include health&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/at-least-65-dead-in-latest-ebola-outbreak-in-eastern-dr-congo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Canada aims to double its electric grid by 2050 with clean energy and lower costs for users</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/canada-aims-to-double-its-electric-grid-by-2050-with-clean-energy-and-lower-costs-for-users/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/canada-aims-to-double-its-electric-grid-by-2050-with-clean-energy-and-lower-costs-for-users/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 15:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15155237/AP24321194981277-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319536</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Politics, Geothermal Energy, Green Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a clean electricity strategy Thursday he says will help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 and lower energy costs for the majority of Canadian households. Canada is facing major challenges, including tariffs imposed by the United States, higher energy costs resulting from the war with Iran, plus the effects of climate change, Carney said. [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a clean electricity strategy Thursday he says will help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 and lower energy costs for the majority of Canadian households. Canada is facing major challenges, including tariffs imposed by the United States, higher energy costs resulting from the war with Iran, plus the effects of climate change, Carney said. “When the world fundamentally changes, we must respond with new approaches,” he said. The new strategy includes regulations that will allow natural gas to play a larger role in building the grid. Construction is expected to cost more than $1 trillion Canadian ($730 billon). “The path to affordability is electrification,” Carney told a news conference in Ottawa. “The path to competitiveness is electrification. The path to net zero is electricity.” Carney said the plan includes new partnerships with Indigenous people and a willingness to use a wide range of energy, including hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, some gas, carbon capture and geothermal. “The scale is huge, the timeline is short and the task of getting the right mix of power is complex,” he said. “We can’t simply rely on restrictions and prohibitions. We must do things differently.” The government forecasts 130,000 new workers will be needed to double the size of grid. The strategy signals a shift from the existing clean electricity regulations presented by the former Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. That plan to decarbonize Canada’s grid by 2050 set limits on carbon dioxide pollution from almost all electricity generation units that use fossil fuels. Electricity accounts&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/canada-aims-to-double-its-electric-grid-by-2050-with-clean-energy-and-lower-costs-for-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Zambian prodigy draws on theoretical physics to improve weather prediction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 13:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15120413/54351889545_65ed900e9f_b-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319504</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Drought, Environment, Environmental Politics, Technology, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Prosper Chanda, 18, does not shy away from big problems. At the age of 3, he dived into algebra, and then as an adolescent he turned his attention toward advanced physics. At a time when most youth his age are dealing with late-stage teen angst, Chanda is awaiting the publication of a research paper that [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Prosper Chanda, 18, does not shy away from big problems. At the age of 3, he dived into algebra, and then as an adolescent he turned his attention toward advanced physics. At a time when most youth his age are dealing with late-stage teen angst, Chanda is awaiting the publication of a research paper that attempts to reconcile classical and quantum physics frameworks. Chanda, who hails from Kasama in Zambia’s Northern province, is also applying the conceptual frameworks of theoretical physics to the practical problem of accurate weather prediction. The model is based on what he calls Prosper’s Unified Position Equation, or PUPE. For this initiative, he was shortlisted along with four other teams from Africa for this year’s Earth Prize, which recognizes the efforts of 13-to-19-year-olds offering innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Aerial view of solar-powered drip irrigation scheme in Tauya village, Zambia. In Zambia, the majority of rural communities depend on rain-fed agriculture. However, erratic weather patterns, including drought, often lead to significant crop damage and livestock losses. Food security remains a pressing issue. Photo by Enoch Kavindele Jr/UNDP Zambia via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0). Chanda noticed the growing challenge in Zambia of not having precise weather predictions in times where the impacts of global warming are becoming increasingly devastating. &#8220;Communities are not well-informed about weather events and climate systems,” Chanda told Mongabay via voice note. “Those things tend to affect the people and the communities due to misinformation, and they are not informed fast.&#8221; Currently, most&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Endangered Species Day highlights wildlife wins — and mounting losses</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-species-day-highlights-wildlife-wins-and-mounting-losses/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-species-day-highlights-wildlife-wins-and-mounting-losses/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 12:33:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14072315/k.-Reticulate-whipray-%C2%A9brudermann--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319508</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[At least 18,000 animal species globally are threatened with extinction: they’re listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Sustained conservation efforts have resulted in rebounding numbers for many species, including populations of some wolves, whales, lizards and parrots. But many others are struggling to survive as they face habitat [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[At least 18,000 animal species globally are threatened with extinction: they’re listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Sustained conservation efforts have resulted in rebounding numbers for many species, including populations of some wolves, whales, lizards and parrots. But many others are struggling to survive as they face habitat loss and fatal human-led pressures. On Endangered Species Day on May 15, we’re highlighting some of these stories that Mongabay recently reported on. Wolves are back in California’s wild Gray wolves (Canis lupus) began to repopulate the western U.S. state of California in 2015, after several decades of local extinction. Now, after dedicated rewilding efforts, an estimated 50 to 70 wolves roam the state, organized in at least 10 separate packs. According to a 2013 poll, more than two-thirds of California’s voters supported the reintroduction of wolves to the wild, but some opinions have since shifted. Between 2015 and 2024, wolves killed least 142 head of cattle, about 0.002% of California’s nearly 7-million-strong herd. This triggered one county to kill four wolves of a pack who had become reliant on livestock as a food source. Some ranchers are now adopting nonlethal deterrents, such as faldry (strips of fabric hung on a fence), drones blaring loud music, and electric fences, to keep wolves at bay, reported Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman. West African leopard population listed as endangered The leopard population in West Africa has declined by 50% over the past two decades. About 350 mature individuals remain&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/endangered-species-day-highlights-wildlife-wins-and-mounting-losses/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>European bottom trawling costs billions every year in climate impacts, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/european-bottom-trawling-costs-billions-every-year-in-climate-impacts-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/european-bottom-trawling-costs-billions-every-year-in-climate-impacts-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 09:28:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15092639/GP0SU3Y6I-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319502</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fish and Fisheries]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Europe’s fishing industry makes around 180 million euros ($210 million) every year in profits from bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy fishing gear along seabeds. But a new study found when climate costs associated with the practice are calculated, society is paying a price up to 90 times higher than the fishing industry profits. “Bottom [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Europe’s fishing industry makes around 180 million euros ($210 million) every year in profits from bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy fishing gear along seabeds. But a new study found when climate costs associated with the practice are calculated, society is paying a price up to 90 times higher than the fishing industry profits. “Bottom trawl gear scrapes up the seafloor, releasing carbon that’s been stored in the ocean seabed for centuries,” lead author Katherine Millage, a marine researcher for National Geographic Pristine Seas, wrote in a statement. That carbon release contributes to expensive climate impacts like reduced agriculture productivity and problems for human health. The cost calculations vary but are between 43 euros ($50) per metric ton of emissions on the low end and 161 euros ($188) on the high end. “Even when we use a very conservative estimate of the social cost per metric ton of emitted CO₂, society is left bearing a heavy economic burden,” Millage said. ​​​​‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌​​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌​​‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌​​‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌​​‌‌​​​‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​​&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;​​‌​‌​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​​​‌​‌​​​​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌​​‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌​​‌&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌&#x200d;​‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌​​‌&#x200d;​‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌‌​‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​​​&#x200d;​​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;​​‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌​‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌​‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​‌‌​‌&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;​‌‌​​‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​​‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​​‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌‌​​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌​​‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌​​‌‌​​​‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​​&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;​​‌​‌​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​​​‌​‌​​​​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌​​‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌​​‌&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌&#x200d;​‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​​‌&#x200d;​‌‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌‌​‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​​​&#x200d;​​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;​​‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌​‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌​‌​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​​&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​‌​‌​​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​‌‌​‌&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌&#x200d;‌‌​&#x200d;‌​‌&#x200d;​‌‌​&#x200d;‌‌​​&#x200d;​​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;​‌‌​​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌​​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌​&#x200d;‌​‌​​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;​‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌&#x200d;‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;‌‌​‌&#x200d;&#x200d;​‌&#x200d;‌‌‌&#x200d;‌​​&#x200d;​&#x200d;‌‌ The CO2 emissions from disturbing the sediment cost between 4.87 billion euros and 18 billion euros ($5.7 billion to $21 billion) a year, the study found However, bottom trawl and dredge fisheries do provide more than a quarter of global wild-caught fish and shellfish. The study calculated that economic benefit along with secondary benefits such as employment. Still, the net cost of bottom trawling adds up to between 2 billion euros and 16 billion euros ($2.3 billion and $19 billion) per year for Europeans. Globally, bottom trawling catches around&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/european-bottom-trawling-costs-billions-every-year-in-climate-impacts-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>How AI could save koalas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/how-ai-could-save-koalas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/how-ai-could-save-koalas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 09:06:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15090543/gray-koala-sitting-on-a-tree-branch-2026-03-24-22-45-50-utc-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319499</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Conservation, Human-wildlife Conflict, Urbanization, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new AI-powered camera system could make road crossings less of a nightmare for koalas. Koalas face multiple threats to their survival including deforestation, urbanization, diseases and bushfires. As humans encroach into their habitats, they are forced to cross roads to move across fragmented forests. Because of this, vehicle strikes have also become a major [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new AI-powered camera system could make road crossings less of a nightmare for koalas. Koalas face multiple threats to their survival including deforestation, urbanization, diseases and bushfires. As humans encroach into their habitats, they are forced to cross roads to move across fragmented forests. Because of this, vehicle strikes have also become a major cause of koala deaths. Scientists at Griffith University in Australia are now working to detect koalas crossing the roads in real-time. Watch this video to learn more.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/how-ai-could-save-koalas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/how-ai-could-save-koalas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Illegal wildlife trade in Himalayan countries threaten mountain ecosystem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 05:34:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15053405/Pangolin_scale_and_claw_worn_as_talisman_-_oo_246940_cropped_to_D-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Endangered Species, and Environmental Crime]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Illegal wildlife trade across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region has more than doubled since 2019, according to a January 2026 study. This surge in trafficking, which targets species of carnivores, elephants, and pangolins, poses a significant threat to the fragile mountain ecosystem and the 1.8 billion people who depend on its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Illegal wildlife trade across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region has more than doubled since 2019, according to a January 2026 study. This surge in trafficking, which targets species of carnivores, elephants, and pangolins, poses a significant threat to the fragile mountain ecosystem and the 1.8 billion people who depend on its biodiversity, reports contributor Vandana K. for Mongabay India. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), which hosts four global biodiversity hotspots, spans roughly 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) across eight countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. For this region, the researchers analyzed wildlife trade and seizure data from 2001-2020 and found that India and China recorded thousands of seizure incidents, with animals trafficked for live trade, body parts, and traditional medicine. The volume of illegal wildlife trade more than doubled from 2019, compared to previous years. The study noted researchers linked the increase in wildlife trade between 2019 and 2021 to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns led to reduced surveillance and law enforcement, while economic hardships and disrupted food chains pushed low-income communities toward poaching. India reported a 151% increase in poaching during the pandemic, with rises also noted in Nepal and Bangladesh. The illegal trade is driven by consumer demand for exotic pets and wildlife products for luxury fashion and traditional medicine. To meet this demand, a large variety of species and their parts became part of cross-border trade, the study said. “The illegal goods were taken through porous borders and also high mountain&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Karajarri celebrate Australia’s first ‘Sea Country’ Indigenous Protected Area</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/karajarri-celebrate-australias-first-sea-country-indigenous-protected-area/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/karajarri-celebrate-australias-first-sea-country-indigenous-protected-area/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 16:46:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14114351/turtle-by-Dylan-Goldspink-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319450</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity Hotspots, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Protected Areas, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In northwestern Australia lies a remote and wildly diverse region called the Kimberley. There, the iron-red soils of the Pindan Country connect forests and the Great Sandy Desert, all bracketed by a vast stretch of Indian Ocean coastline. Its springs and wetlands host migratory birds. Offshore, sawfish, as visually striking as they are rare, ply [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In northwestern Australia lies a remote and wildly diverse region called the Kimberley. There, the iron-red soils of the Pindan Country connect forests and the Great Sandy Desert, all bracketed by a vast stretch of Indian Ocean coastline. Its springs and wetlands host migratory birds. Offshore, sawfish, as visually striking as they are rare, ply the waters just beyond the unbroken Eighty Mile Beach, itself a nesting site for the little-known flatback turtle (Natator depressus). The Kimberley has also long been a home to humans, as rock art more than 17,000 years old attests, and among the heirs of that legacy are the Karajarri people. Over the past 30 years, the Karajarri secured legal recognition of their claims to the land, later establishing an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), Karajarri Pirra Ngurra, that now covers an area of land nearly the size of Rwanda in the state of Western Australia. They also developed a ranger program that draws on long-held cultural knowledge of the landscape. In March 2026, the Karajarri people dedicated Karajarri Jurarr Ngurra, Australia’s first “Sea Country” IPA, comprising 237,489 hectares (nearly 587,000 acres) of marine and coastal ecosystems. It includes part of Malumpurr, the Karajarri word for Eighty Mile Beach. The IPA “strengthens long‑standing efforts by Karajarri Traditional Owners and Karajarri Rangers to protect the region’s biodiversity and keep Country healthy,” Malarndirri McCarthy, Australia’s minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a March 20 government statement about the Karajarri Sea Country IPA dedication. The aim of the Karajarri IPAs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/karajarri-celebrate-australias-first-sea-country-indigenous-protected-area/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>After quinoa’s boom, Bolivian farmers face degraded soils and climate stress</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/after-quinoas-boom-bolivian-farmers-face-degraded-soils-and-climate-stress/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/after-quinoas-boom-bolivian-farmers-face-degraded-soils-and-climate-stress/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 15:15:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Benjamin Swift]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandrapopescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[agroecology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drought]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ecosystem health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ecosystem Restoration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Impact Of Climate Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monocultures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soil]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13161907/Benjamin-Swift_DJI_0055-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319215</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Drought, Ecosystem Restoration, Ecosystems, Environment, Farming, Fertilizers, Monocultures, Organic Farming, Precipitation, and Regenerative production landscapes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[AROMA MARKA, Bolivia — The rolling hills around the town of Aroma Marka are a cacophony of colors: golden-yellow, deep-red and purplish-black quinoa pods smatter the otherwise barren landscape here in Bolivia’s southern Altiplano, the Andean Plateau. At 3,800 meters (about 12,500 feet) above sea level, the Altiplano stretches across much of western Bolivia and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[AROMA MARKA, Bolivia — The rolling hills around the town of Aroma Marka are a cacophony of colors: golden-yellow, deep-red and purplish-black quinoa pods smatter the otherwise barren landscape here in Bolivia’s southern Altiplano, the Andean Plateau. At 3,800 meters (about 12,500 feet) above sea level, the Altiplano stretches across much of western Bolivia and into Peru, Chile and Argentina. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) has been grown on the Altiplano since pre-Hispanic times, but it was only recently that the nutrient-dense pseudocereal was put on the global map, fueling a production boom in the Andes. Prices later tumbled as countries outside the region also began cultivating it. Yet the striking scenery belies the lasting scars the 2010-2014 quinoa boom left in the region. At its height, sky-high prices triggered a production frenzy, drawing former residents back from cities to plant the “golden grain.” But Walter Canaviri, a quinoa producer and local leader, remembers that the sudden spike came at a cost. “Everyone wanted to produce more,” he told Mongabay. In the rush to capitalize on the moment, some growers encroached on neighbors’ lands, leading to disputes. “It was a sad time for this area because everyone turned against everyone,” he said. While the quinoa boom brought a temporary boon for rural Andean Indigenous communities, it also came with the destruction of local ecosystems, soil degradation, and social conflict – all of which have been exacerbated by changes in regional weather patterns and global climate change. Though Bolivian producers like Canaviri are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/after-quinoas-boom-bolivian-farmers-face-degraded-soils-and-climate-stress/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Salt marsh recovery isn’t enough to offset destroyed older wetlands, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/salt-marsh-recovery-isnt-enough-to-offset-destroyed-older-wetlands-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/salt-marsh-recovery-isnt-enough-to-offset-destroyed-older-wetlands-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 15:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14145955/4355216998_3364d2c127_k-Firefly-Upscaler-2x-scale-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319471</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Along Earth&#8217;s coastlines, grassy wetlands flooded by seawater, called salt marshes, trap and store carbon at rates roughly 40 times higher than forests on land. As salt marshes have expanded in some regions, scientists were hopeful their carbon stores might have largely recovered as well, but a new study found that’s not the case. Researchers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Along Earth&#8217;s coastlines, grassy wetlands flooded by seawater, called salt marshes, trap and store carbon at rates roughly 40 times higher than forests on land. As salt marshes have expanded in some regions, scientists were hopeful their carbon stores might have largely recovered as well, but a new study found that’s not the case. Researchers measuring carbon storage in salt marsh soil found that destruction of the world’s salt marshes resulted in a net loss of roughly half a million metric tons of surface soil organic carbon (SOC) between 2002 and 2019 — the equivalent of the emissions from 6,600 passenger cars over the same period. Most of that was from mature salt marshes that stored much more carbon than newly established marshes. &#8220;The most surprising finding … is the paradox that salt marsh area is recovering globally, yet soil organic carbon is undergoing a net loss,&#8221; study co-author Xinxin Wang, a wetland ecologist at Fudan University in China, told Mongabay. The southern U.S. is a global hotspot for SOC loss from marshes, the study notes, with Louisiana’s Gulf Coast ground zero. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the region in 2005, causing immediate damage to rich marshlands. Louisiana’s salt marshes have suffered from decades of industrialization, including more than 75,000 oil and gas recovery wells and nutrient runoff from agriculture. The weakened salt marshes were torn apart by the storms and largely transformed into open mudflats. Nearly 200,000 barrels of oil and other petrochemicals were spilled during Hurricane Katrina. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/salt-marsh-recovery-isnt-enough-to-offset-destroyed-older-wetlands-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/salt-marsh-recovery-isnt-enough-to-offset-destroyed-older-wetlands-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Scientists mark Attenborough’s 100th birthday with newly named wasp</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/scientists-mark-attenboroughs-100th-birthday-with-newly-named-wasp/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/scientists-mark-attenboroughs-100th-birthday-with-newly-named-wasp/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 14:30:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/full-wasp-©-Trustees-of-the-Natural-History-Museum-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319468</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Green, Insects, New Species, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A tiny wasp, collected in the early 1980s in Chile’s Valdivia province, lay inside an unsorted drawer in the Natural History Museum, London, for more than 40 years. After taking a close look, researchers have recently confirmed it’s not only a new-to-science species, but also represents a new genus. The wasp, only 3.5 millimeters (0.14 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A tiny wasp, collected in the early 1980s in Chile’s Valdivia province, lay inside an unsorted drawer in the Natural History Museum, London, for more than 40 years. After taking a close look, researchers have recently confirmed it’s not only a new-to-science species, but also represents a new genus. The wasp, only 3.5 millimeters (0.14 inches) long, is a kind of ichneumonid or Darwin wasp. This is a family of parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs inside the larvae, pupae or eggs of other arthropods, killing the host as the young wasp develops. Researchers have named the newly described wasp Attenboroughnculus tau. The genus name is in honor of nature broadcaster David Attenborough, who marked his 100th birthday on May 8. The authors write that they wanted to recognize Attenborough’s his contributions to humanity’s understanding of the natural world. In particular, they highlighted his work featuring Chile’s diverse and extreme landscapes, its unique environmental challenges, and the world of parasitoid wasps presented in his documentaries. “When I was young, five or six maybe, I was given the Life on Earth book. In it [Attenborough] mentions taxonomists and what they do, and I was hooked,” Gavin Broad, study co-author and principal curator of wasps at the museum, said in a statement. “I decided from a far too early age I was going to be a taxonomist, thanks to David Attenborough, and weirdly I’ve ended up as a taxonomist. So I’ll pay something back.” Study lead author Augustijn De Ketelaere, from the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/scientists-mark-attenboroughs-100th-birthday-with-newly-named-wasp/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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