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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/monash-university/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:12:07 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Stories by Monash University -</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/monash-university/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>A looming rock collapse threatens a Swiss village as thawing permafrost destabilizes the Alps</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/a-looming-rock-collapse-threatens-a-swiss-village-as-thawing-permafrost-destabilizes-the-alps/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/a-looming-rock-collapse-threatens-a-swiss-village-as-thawing-permafrost-destabilizes-the-alps/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 17:12:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18170831/AP26225333234129-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326552</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Global, and Switzerland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Disasters, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Landslides, and Mountains]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KANDERSTEG, Switzerland (AP) — An unstable mountain rock formation looming above the Swiss village of Kandersteg threatens a landslide that could rival the disaster that destroyed nearby Blatten last year, a collapse scientists linked to thawing permafrost and glacier dynamics. The 1,300 residents of Kandersteg, in Switzerland’s Bern canton, live amid a quintessential Alpine landscape of sharp [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KANDERSTEG, Switzerland (AP) — An unstable mountain rock formation looming above the Swiss village of Kandersteg threatens a landslide that could rival the disaster that destroyed nearby Blatten last year, a collapse scientists linked to thawing permafrost and glacier dynamics. The 1,300 residents of Kandersteg, in Switzerland’s Bern canton, live amid a quintessential Alpine landscape of sharp peaks, white glaciers, steep green valleys and the distant sound of cowbells. But a catastrophe looms over the quiet village: a mountainside rock formation called Spitze Stei, part of a mountain landscape increasingly affected by thawing permafrost, threatens to collapse into the valley in a massive landslide. “You are aware that it’s happening, but not afraid,” said Brigitte Jüni, an inhabitant of Kandersteg. She said authorities took all the precautions they could. “But then it’s nature. It’s nature and you never know,” Jüni added. As glaciers and permafrost — the frozen soil sediment and rock that acts like a glue holding mountains together — melt due to higher temperatures caused by climate change, the threat of landslides is rising in the Swiss Alps. In May 2025, a huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down the mountainside in the nearby Loetschental valley, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of Blatten, which had been evacuated earlier as a precaution. Markus Stoffel, professor for climate change and natural risks at the University of Geneva, said climate change leads to the melting of both glaciers and permafrost. “In the mountains&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/a-looming-rock-collapse-threatens-a-swiss-village-as-thawing-permafrost-destabilizes-the-alps/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/a-looming-rock-collapse-threatens-a-swiss-village-as-thawing-permafrost-destabilizes-the-alps/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous food sovereignty is one of the most overlooked conservation strategies (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 16:21:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Brijlal ChaudhariGemma Sethsmith]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/23081210/44366384701_940bc33dc5_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326534</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Food, food security, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As governments and conservation organizations search for solutions to the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity, they are overlooking one of the most effective approaches already working on the ground: Indigenous food sovereignty. Around the world, Indigenous communities manage or hold tenure rights to roughly a quarter of Earth’s land surface, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As governments and conservation organizations search for solutions to the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity, they are overlooking one of the most effective approaches already working on the ground: Indigenous food sovereignty. Around the world, Indigenous communities manage or hold tenure rights to roughly a quarter of Earth’s land surface, which contains 37% of remaining natural lands worldwide and a third of the planet’s intact forest landscapes. They conserve seeds, maintain diverse farming landscapes, protect forests and rivers and fisheries, and pass ecological knowledge from one generation to the next. Yet these systems are rarely recognized as central to conservation policy, despite their proven contributions to both biodiversity and community resilience. This needs to change. Food sovereignty leader Richard Rojo in his Vanuatu taro garden. Image courtesy of Monica Kidd. The global food system is becoming increasingly uniform. Just three crops — wheat, rice, and maize — provide more than half of the world’s plant-derived calories. Driven by profit, industrial agriculture has transformed vast landscapes into monocultures, contributing to habitat loss, declining soil health, water pollution and the erosion of crop diversity. At the same time, communities everywhere are becoming more vulnerable to climate shocks, market instability and diet-related disease. In contrast, Indigenous food systems are often built on diversity, reciprocity with the land and the way many Indigenous communities perceive wealth. For one of our communities, for example, the Tharu of Nepal, wealth is found in mutual aid, collective reciprocity, and the sacred relations&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-food-sovereignty-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-conservation-strategies-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326534</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On an Indonesian island, an ancient ritual evolves to protect an endangered cockatoo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 14:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18135704/KKI_Huaulu_10-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326518</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Biocultural Diversity, Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hunting, Indigenous Peoples, Over-hunting, Parrots, Poaching, Research, Science, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is preserving a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual while helping protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo, a new study has found. The study, published in July in the Journal of Ethnobiology, documents how the Huaulu people adapted the sacred Cidaku initiation ceremony in collaboration with conservationists and government authorities. The ritual [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is preserving a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual while helping protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo, a new study has found. The study, published in July in the Journal of Ethnobiology, documents how the Huaulu people adapted the sacred Cidaku initiation ceremony in collaboration with conservationists and government authorities. The ritual marks young men’s transition to adulthood and traditionally involved wearing the distinctive crest feathers of the salmon-crested cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), a bird found nowhere else on Earth. The Huaulu, one of Seram’s oldest Indigenous communities, regard Seram’s forests as a living realm inhabited by powerful spirits, shaping their approach to conservation. “The use of cockatoo feathers is specifically embedded within this cultural system and is very different from hunting birds for commercial purposes,” study lead author Dwi Agustina, a researcher at Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University and program coordinator at the Indonesia’s Cockatoo Conservation Association (KKI), told Mongabay in an email. An endangered salmon-crested cockatoo on Seram Island, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Balázs Tisza/Wildlife Messengers. The Cidaku ritual once had ties to head-taking, but after colonial authorities and Christian missionaries suppressed the practice in the early 20th century, the Huaulu adapted the ceremony around hunting wild animals. The salmon-crested cockatoo became one traditional target, with its crest feathers used in the ceremonial puheliam headdress: the white feathers as a symbol of sacred life, peace and community, and the peach-tinged feathers signifying great strength and courage. Over the decades, however, the species has become endangered, largely due&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-an-indonesian-island-an-ancient-ritual-evolves-to-protect-an-endangered-cockatoo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326518</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As an industry and a cooking ingredient, seaweed is gaining ground in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-an-industry-and-a-cooking-ingredient-seaweed-is-gaining-ground-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-an-industry-and-a-cooking-ingredient-seaweed-is-gaining-ground-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 12:26:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Letícia Klein]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18152140/IMG_2934-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326525</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[algae, Food, Food Industry, food security, Marine, Natural Resources, Nutrition, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a Brazilian beach, a family gave seaweed new life.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Aparecida Rosa Ayres often says she has known seaweed since she was in her mother’s womb, thanks to the stories she used to tell her. As a child, her mother used seaweed as doll hair while playing on the beach. Today, the 47-year-old Caiçara woman has given it a new meaning: It is the star ingredient at Rancho Ayres, her restaurant on Paraty’s São Gonçalo Beach. While the seaweed of her mother’s childhood was native to Ilha Grande Bay, the variety Aparecida uses for cooking is Kappaphycus alvarezii, a macroalgae of Philippine origin that she first found in 2013. Eight years later, she took a course offered by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the Paraty municipal government on the potential of seaweed farming for the regional bioeconomy. That course inspired Algas na Mesa Paraty, an initiative that combines what Aparecida calls “seaweed gastronomy” with historical revival at the São Gonçalo and São Gonçalinho beaches. “We are the daughters of the waters; we were born in the maritório [marine territory], so the use of seaweed comes as a form of resistance and permanence to preserve the territory,” Aparecida says. She descends from one of the traditional Caiçara families (traditional population from south/southeast Brazil) displaced from their homes by the beach during the construction of the Rio-Santos federal road (BR-101) between 1969 and 1975. However, the Caiçara continued to use the beaches for work and leisure. There, families built ranchos — facilities that support mariculture, community-based tourism and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-an-industry-and-a-cooking-ingredient-seaweed-is-gaining-ground-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-an-industry-and-a-cooking-ingredient-seaweed-is-gaining-ground-in-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326525</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia leads global tally of abuses linked to Chinese transition-mineral investments</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 10:59:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/01140403/image_processing20240603-2-tg8aa4-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326494</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Batteries, Conflict, Critical Minerals, Electric Cars, Energy, Energy Transition, Health, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Social Conflict, Transportation, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The report by the Business &#38; Human Rights Resource Centre [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The report by the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRC) documented 323 publicly reported allegations across 24 countries during the three-year period, plus three confidential cases involving attacks on human rights defenders. That brings the total to 326 allegations for 2023-2025. The number of recorded allegations has also risen each year, from 51 in 2021 to 148 in 2025, bringing the five-year total to 434. That increase doesn’t necessarily mean the number of abuses themselves have tripled, as changes in reporting, monitoring, and the database can affect the figures. Still, the rising trend comes as investment in the minerals used in electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable energy technologies expands rapidly, raising risks for workers, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and the environment. The report also documented 18 attacks against human rights defenders across all 24 countries between 2023 and 2025, including cases involving judicial harassment, violence, and intimidation. Indonesia Of the 323 allegations analyzed in detail, 96 were in Indonesia, the highest of any country. The Democratic Republic of Congo was second with 52, followed by Myanmar with 36, Serbia with 32, and Zimbabwe with 20. Ninety of the 96 Indonesian allegations involved nickel. Of those, 71 concerned nickel processing, 17 nickel extraction, and two&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326494</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mobile queen conch hatcheries strive to help the species, engage Caribbean communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/mobile-queen-conch-hatcheries-strive-to-help-the-species-engage-caribbean-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/mobile-queen-conch-hatcheries-strive-to-help-the-species-engage-caribbean-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 09:54:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[André Habet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17144351/Henry-Carey-holds-up-shells-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326429</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Molluscs, Oceans, Overfishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Queen conch were once so abundant that fishers in many parts of the Caribbean could wade into knee-deep waters and gather armfuls of the pink, whorled shells. Today, however, the giant marine snails are in decline across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, while some populations have already collapsed. Growing demand for queen [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Queen conch were once so abundant that fishers in many parts of the Caribbean could wade into knee-deep waters and gather armfuls of the pink, whorled shells. Today, however, the giant marine snails are in decline across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, while some populations have already collapsed. Growing demand for queen conch (Aliger gigas) meat and shells has led to overharvesting; habitat degradation, pollution and warming waters add further threats. Despite a 1992 CITES Appendix II listing to regulate their international trade, seasonal restrictions and bans by several Caribbean countries to address overfishing and juvenile harvesting, and a 2024 designation as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, few queen conch survive to adulthood compared to historical baselines. In a bid to slow the species’ decline by helping more conch reach reproductive age, scientists are deploying an innovative set of solar-powered mobile hatcheries to shelter them through their vulnerable early life stages. The Queen Conch Lab (QCL), affiliated with Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the U.S., partners with local conservation organizations to deploy the hatcheries. The aim is not just to build nurseries that will nurture and protect developing conch, but to create community learning spaces where students and other visitors can gain knowledge about the species’ life cycle and participate in restoration efforts, according to Megan Davis, director of the QCL and a research professor at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. A researcher holds a juvenile queen conch. Image by Jennifer Doerr, NOAA&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/mobile-queen-conch-hatcheries-strive-to-help-the-species-engage-caribbean-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326429</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite energy crisis, Bangladesh’s factories are slow to adopt solar power: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 07:37:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Md Asaduz Zaman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18072353/solar-power-energy-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326474</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Developing Countries, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Transition, Environment, Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories&#8217; rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potential solution to the escalating crisis, but has been overlooked for many years despite [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories&#8217; rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potential solution to the escalating crisis, but has been overlooked for many years despite Bangladesh having sufficient amounts of sunshine. Rather, the country relies almost entirely on grid electricity, which is mostly generated from imported fossil fuels. More than two-thirds or 69% of factories have still not adopted renewable energy technologies (RET), according to a recent study funded by the International Growth Centre (IGC). “Only 31% of factories have adopted RET (predominantly rooftop solar), with very low average capacity,” the study says. “Half of all solar installations do not even contribute to production processes.” This analysis is based on a survey of 661 factories in the cities of Gazipur and Savar, located close to the capital Dhaka, conducted by Atonu Rabbani of Dhaka University and a BRAC University research team and completed in October 2025. Bangladesh’s garment sector has more than 3,320 active factories. Of these, more than are located in Savar and Gazipur. The study focuses on these two industrial hubs using the Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) database and samples more than 650 factories out of 1,937 in the two cities. A separate study conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) finds that solar adoption is mostly seen in large and environmentally certified factories (LEED-certified). Large factories&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326474</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Land crisis and ‘green revolution’ practices trap millions of Malawi’s farmers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-crisis-and-green-revolution-practices-trap-millions-of-malawis-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-crisis-and-green-revolution-practices-trap-millions-of-malawis-farmers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 07:30:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17101100/BRIGHT_LastonMchisweWithCabbage2_ThyoloDistrictMalawi_CharlesMpaka-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326364</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Commodity agriculture, Community Development, Development, Economics, Environment, Farming, Fertilizers, Food, Food Industry, Food Prices, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GOLIATI, Malawi — All that’s left to eat in Tapiwa Ligomeka’s one-room home is stored in a small plastic basin in one corner. Two days earlier, her husband came home with 2 kilos of maize meal, about 5 pounds — all he could afford to buy after a day hustling for casual work carrying traders’ [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GOLIATI, Malawi — All that’s left to eat in Tapiwa Ligomeka’s one-room home is stored in a small plastic basin in one corner. Two days earlier, her husband came home with 2 kilos of maize meal, about 5 pounds — all he could afford to buy after a day hustling for casual work carrying traders’ goods at a nearby market, here in southern Malawi’s Thyolo district. On the day Mongabay visits her home, Ligomeka has just returned to her thatched-roof house in the village of Goliati, clutching a bundle of dry maize and pigeon pea stalks to make a fire later, her 8-month-old baby strapped to her back. It’s coming up to noon on a Sunday; her husband is still out watering his tomato crop near the river. “I’ll wait for him,” says Ligomeka, 18, dropping her bundle by the cold fireplace on the verandah. “This flour cannot make enough nsima for us to eat separately.” Nsima is the Chewa term for Malawi’s staple dish, a stiff porridge made from maize flour and usually eaten with vegetables, legumes, and, for those who can afford it, meat or fish. “It also means there won’t be anything for us to eat this evening,” Ligomeka says, measuring the flour with scoops of her right hand. “Sometimes, that goes on for two days.” She says the couple harvested 178 kg (392 lb) of maize from their small farm in March. They couldn’t afford fertilizer for their plot, which measures less than half an acre,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/land-crisis-and-green-revolution-practices-trap-millions-of-malawis-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326364</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Cocoa fever’ in Liberia’s Grand Gedeh is wiping out native forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/cocoa-fever-in-liberias-grand-gedeh-is-wiping-out-native-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/cocoa-fever-in-liberias-grand-gedeh-is-wiping-out-native-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 07:17:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/15121122/Photo-16-Cocoa-33-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326476</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Liberia, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Agroforestry, Biodiversity, Cacao, Community Forests, Conservation, Crops, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Food Vs Forests Debate, Forest Loss, Forests, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Until 2020, 99% of Liberia&#8217;s Grand Gedeh county was covered by natural forests. Since then, cacao farms have rapidly encroached on those forests, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. Grand Gedeh in southeastern Liberia borders Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest exporter of cacao beans. Much of Côte d’Ivoire’s forests have been cleared for cacao and many of its cacao [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Until 2020, 99% of Liberia&#8217;s Grand Gedeh county was covered by natural forests. Since then, cacao farms have rapidly encroached on those forests, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. Grand Gedeh in southeastern Liberia borders Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest exporter of cacao beans. Much of Côte d’Ivoire’s forests have been cleared for cacao and many of its cacao plantations are now ageing and nutrient poor. That’s prompted cacao workers from Côte d’Ivoire to turn their attention to Liberia, where landowners have offered them their land in exchange for a share in cocoa earnings. Data from Global Forest Watch show that in 2025, Grand Gedeh lost more forest than any other Liberian county in a single year since 2002. “In Côte d’Ivoire there are no forests, that’s why I came to Liberia,” said Mohammed, a cacao farm worker near the town of Zleh in Grand Gedeh’s Gbarzon district. Around Zleh, roughly 82% of the community’s 6,900 hectares (17,000 acres) of customary forest land have been given over to cacao, Zleh’s town chief said. Yei Neagor, in charge of the regional headquarters of Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA) in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh’s capital, told Mongabay that Gbarzon has seen the worst forest loss in the county. “I will be honest to tell you that about 70% of the forest there is gone,” she said. Forests in southeastern Liberia are communally owned, and laws regulate how private individuals can lease them for commercial agriculture. In practice, those laws aren’t being followed, said Ashai Wulu Gaye, chair&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/cocoa-fever-in-liberias-grand-gedeh-is-wiping-out-native-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326476</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s newest national parks drive tiger recovery, but emerging concerns threaten progress</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/nepals-newest-national-parks-drive-tiger-recovery-but-emerging-concerns-threaten-progress/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/nepals-newest-national-parks-drive-tiger-recovery-but-emerging-concerns-threaten-progress/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 06:42:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18064152/Bardiya-National-Park-is-known-for-its-tigers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326472</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Camera Trapping, Habitat Loss, Invasive Species, Leopards, Mammals, National Parks, Parks, Population, Tigers, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the last four years, Nepal’s wild tiger population has experienced a historic increase. In 2022, the tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population was numbered at 355 individuals. Now, it has reached an estimated 429 individuals — nearly a four-fold jump from 16 years ago, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi. Bed Kumar Dhakal, spokesperson for the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the last four years, Nepal’s wild tiger population has experienced a historic increase. In 2022, the tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population was numbered at 355 individuals. Now, it has reached an estimated 429 individuals — nearly a four-fold jump from 16 years ago, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi. Bed Kumar Dhakal, spokesperson for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, said that the department&#8217;s latest tiger monitoring survey results &#8220;reflect the positive outcomes of ongoing efforts in the field of tiger conservation in Nepal, such as habitat conservation and management, poaching control, conservation of prey species, and biological corridor conservation.&#8221; However, a closer look at the latest numbers reveals an uneven recovery. Growth is concentrated almost entirely within the country&#8217;s newest national parks, Banke, Parsa and Shuklaphanta, while Bardiya, the country&#8217;s second-oldest park, experienced a population decline. Shant Raj Jnawali, a researcher and conservationist, said the uneven growth of tiger numbers across Nepal’s parks is due to water availability, spread of weed species and improved connectivity with potential habitats in India, rather than administrative or management changes. “We have seen some areas of Bardiya, especially the banks of the Geruwa River, and Chitwan (west) are facing droughts due to changing river course,” Jnawali said. This dry spell, he added, may be pushing tigers toward parks with better water infrastructure, such as Banke and Parsa, where officials have heavily invested in artificial ponds. Additionally, older parks are suffering from invasive weeds such as bitter vine (Mikania micrantha) and common&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/nepals-newest-national-parks-drive-tiger-recovery-but-emerging-concerns-threaten-progress/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/nepals-newest-national-parks-drive-tiger-recovery-but-emerging-concerns-threaten-progress/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326472</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Texas activist’s claims of Indigenous ancestry face scrutiny</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/texas-activists-claims-of-indigenous-ancestry-face-scrutiny/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/texas-activists-claims-of-indigenous-ancestry-face-scrutiny/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 20:21:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17200313/AP37267075943-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326461</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, Texas, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Culture, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A recent investigation from Grist, a U.S.-based nonprofit media organization, raises questions about environmental activist Juan Mancias’ Indigenous claim to the land he works to protect in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2017, Mancias traveled to France and helped pressure French banks to withdraw support for oil and gas projects that he said threatened [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A recent investigation from Grist, a U.S.-based nonprofit media organization, raises questions about environmental activist Juan Mancias’ Indigenous claim to the land he works to protect in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2017, Mancias traveled to France and helped pressure French banks to withdraw support for oil and gas projects that he said threatened ancestral Indigenous lands and a rare coastal ecosystem. Since that success, the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe, which Mancias is the chairman of, has received recognition in the United Nations and financing for environmental work. The Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe isn’t currently recognized by U.S. federal or state governments; Indigenous groups seeking recognition, as Mancias has, must establish a substantially continuous tribal existence as an autonomous entity. Experts believed &#8220;Carrizo&#8221; or &#8220;Comecrudo&#8221; people disappeared from the area after violence, disease or assimilation dramatically reduced their populations. For years, Mancias has said that his grandfather and dozens of tribal families fled their Rio Grande homeland in the 1940s and moved north to the Texas panhandle where they blended in with Mexican farm workers. According to Mancias, they kept their culture alive, secretly speaking their native language and sharing oral histories. Mancias says he lives by two guiding principles from his grandparents. His grandmother told him, “Know your people, know who you are,” while his grandfather told him, “Go get our land back,” according to news reports. It’s a compelling story and one shared by other Native American peoples, Grist reported. However, Grist found inconsistencies in Mancias’ account that raise questions about&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/texas-activists-claims-of-indigenous-ancestry-face-scrutiny/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326461</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lake Powell hits record low, threatening key water and electricity supply for millions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/lake-powell-hits-record-low-threatening-key-water-and-electricity-supply-for-millions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/lake-powell-hits-record-low-threatening-key-water-and-electricity-supply-for-millions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 19:41:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17193454/AP26202644055978-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326458</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Disasters, Drought, Ecosystems, Environment, Extreme Weather, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, and Lakes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The water level at Lake Powell, the United States’ second-largest reservoir, has fallen to a record low, heightening concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Colorado River system. The alarming milestone at Lake Powell, reached Saturday, comes about a week after the river’s other major reservoir, Lake Mead, also hit a historic low. Plummeting water levels [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The water level at Lake Powell, the United States’ second-largest reservoir, has fallen to a record low, heightening concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Colorado River system. The alarming milestone at Lake Powell, reached Saturday, comes about a week after the river’s other major reservoir, Lake Mead, also hit a historic low. Plummeting water levels pose a major threat to the Colorado River Basin, which is a key resource for wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven U.S. states. The historic lows come as the federal government and states that rely on the river — California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado — struggle to reach agreement on a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource. Persistent overuse combined with a record-dry winter and rising temperatures have been depleting both Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell’s elevation dropped to 3,519.91 feet (1072.9 meters) above sea level on Saturday, dropping just slightly below a previous record set in April 2023, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The lake is more than 20 feet (6.10 meters) lower than it was at the start of the year, USBR data shows. The reservoir is now about 30 feet (9.1 meters) away from the point at which turbines would stop producing hydroelectric power. Federal officials warned in April that a “major intervention” would be necessary to avoid reaching that threshold by the end of this year. USBR in July proposed a 10-year plan that includes major potential water cuts for Arizona, California and Nevada.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/lake-powell-hits-record-low-threatening-key-water-and-electricity-supply-for-millions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326458</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fatal barge crashes fuel fear over Madeira River waterway expansion in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/fatal-barge-crashes-fuel-fear-over-madeira-river-waterway-expansion-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/fatal-barge-crashes-fuel-fear-over-madeira-river-waterway-expansion-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 19:21:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karla Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17140812/DJI_0060-river-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326412</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Disasters, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Law, Pollution, Rivers, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With an election looming, Amazon communities worry their safety will be traded for faster agribusiness growth.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CALAMA AND PARAÍSO GRANDE, Brazil — A mother and her three kids died after a barge loaded with soybeans collided with a floating structure and completely destroyed their stilt house on Jan. 17, 2025,  in the Urumatuba riverine community along the Madeira River, in the Brazilian Amazon. Four months later, another freight vessel hit three mining barges anchored in the neighboring Nova Catarina riverine community, in the Manicoré municipality, in Amazonas state. The owner of one of the mining barges was the husband of the woman and father of the three kids who died in the January accident, according to a local news outlet. Mongabay was reporting in riverine communities in the region of the city of Humaitá, 190 kilometers (118 miles) southeast and downstream from Manicoré, when the second accident happened. All those interviewed on that day and the following days said they were terrified by the event — and knew someone who suffered losses or even died in collisions involving grain barges in the Madeira River. &#8220;We are very worried here in our community about these vessels,&#8221; smallholder Maria Delci Barros de Morais, 59, told Mongabay on the balcony of her house in the riverine community of Paraíso Grande, located 30 minutes by fast boat from Humaitá. &#8220;They&#8217;ve already run over someone we know.&#8221; The barge smashed the boat used by the family as a home, she recalled. &#8220;Thank God no one died.&#8221; According to Morais, the risk increases during the Madeira River&#8217;s high-water season, between December and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/fatal-barge-crashes-fuel-fear-over-madeira-river-waterway-expansion-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326412</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Concerns grow over ‘green’ biomass power in Japan after spate of accidents</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 15:45:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nithin Coca]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12124729/220115_Night_view_of_Handa_Biomass_Power_Plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326053</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Industry, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity might not be safe. In the past few years, there have been at least 14 fires, explosions and accidents at biomass power plants across Japan. These incidents, combined with rising prices, pollution concerns and growing opposition are leading some to question the future of Japan&#8217;s large-scale biomass plants, an estimated 34 of which produce 3.5 gigawatts of power. For many living near the plants or pushing Japan to decarbonize, this would be welcome as accident and pollution concerns grow. “Explosions at biomass power plants in Japan have been occurring too frequently, and despite this, regulations are being applied leniently,” An Nakane, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth Japan, told Mongabay. “The government should urge operators to formulate business plans that take into account the safety of nearby residents.” Tanks storing palm kernel shells and wood pellets at a biomass power plant in Japan&#8217;s Okinawa. Image by Annelise Giseburt for Mongabay. Why Japan has so many accidents Japan expanded the use woody biomass as an alternative to coal by including it alongside solar and wind in its clean energy feed-in-tariff program. This move came despite concerns that wood pellet production often rests on the destruction&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326053</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Increasingly rare: Jaguarundi moves up a notch on the endangered species list</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/increasingly-rare-jaguarundi-moves-up-a-notch-on-the-endangered-species-list/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/increasingly-rare-jaguarundi-moves-up-a-notch-on-the-endangered-species-list/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 13:40:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17060839/1-jaguarundi-Germany-zoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326352</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Brazil, Caatinga, Central America, Cerrado, Global, Latin America, Mexico, North America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Defaunation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Grasslands, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Roadkill, Savannas, Small Cats, Threatened species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Distinct for their rather uncat-like appearance, jaguarundis have long flown under the research and conservation radar. However, its latest uplisting to near threatened on the IUCN Red List could change that. These small cats — weighing up to around 7 kilograms (15 pounds) — roam savannah and forest landscapes across a massive range stretching from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Distinct for their rather uncat-like appearance, jaguarundis have long flown under the research and conservation radar. However, its latest uplisting to near threatened on the IUCN Red List could change that. These small cats — weighing up to around 7 kilograms (15 pounds) — roam savannah and forest landscapes across a massive range stretching from Mexico through Central America and all the way to southern Brazil and Argentina. Tadeu de Oliveira, co-chair of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, who led the latest review, said the assessment had to battle against the perception that jaguarundis are common and, thus, not threatened. That’s partly because, as a diurnal species, they roam and hunt in open spaces during the day, making them more visible than many other feline species, he said. They also inhabit degraded, less-than-pristine landscapes. “If you have a forest and that becomes savannah-like, it will mimic the ideal habitat for the species,” de Oliveira said. “It&#8217;s not [the jaguarundi’s] favorable habitat, but it will allow it to be there.” As this cat moves through open spaces, it is more frequently seen than other feline species that live in dense forest. Jaguarundis are sometimes known as the “otter cat” due to their distinctive, uncat-like appearance. They’re unique for their wide range of vocalizations, including “chirping” like a bird. Image by Wild Cats Brazil-Americas Conservation Program/Gatos do Mato. “It&#8217;s easier to be seen and because of that, people perceived it as common,” de Oliveira said. “But when you quantify it data-wise, it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/increasingly-rare-jaguarundi-moves-up-a-notch-on-the-endangered-species-list/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326352</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Only a few hundred Timor green pigeons may remain. There is still time to save them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/only-a-few-hundred-timor-green-pigeons-may-remain-there-is-still-time-to-save-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/only-a-few-hundred-timor-green-pigeons-may-remain-there-is-still-time-to-save-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 11:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12120441/Timor-green-pigeon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326393</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Islands, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On April 20, on the south coast of Timor-Leste, Jafet Potenzo Lopes saw three green pigeons. He had not seen the species for years. The birds were Timor green pigeons, and the site, in Manatuto municipality, had no [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On April 20, on the south coast of Timor-Leste, Jafet Potenzo Lopes saw three green pigeons. He had not seen the species for years. The birds were Timor green pigeons, and the site, in Manatuto municipality, had no previous record of them. With the species nearing extinction, finding three birds in a new place was encouraging. The latest estimates suggest how few remain. A study published this year in Oryx, drawing on more than 1,400 days of field surveys between 2002 and 2025, estimates the global population at 100-500 birds across eight sites. The true number may be near the lower end of that range. Only Nino Konis Santana National Park in eastern Timor-Leste is thought to hold more than 50 birds. The researchers recommend changing the status of the Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus) on the IUCN Red List from endangered to critically endangered, reports contributor Timothy Mihocik for Mongabay. In Indonesia, where many older records came from West Timor and nearby islands, the pigeon may already be functionally extinct. Most of the remaining birds are in Timor-Leste, where hunting continues even in protected areas. Timor green pigeons gather at fruiting trees and are unusually vulnerable: After one bird is shot, others may stay in the canopy. Forest conversion has also reduced their habitat. More than 80% of known records come from protected areas, yet researchers say those areas lack the funding&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/only-a-few-hundred-timor-green-pigeons-may-remain-there-is-still-time-to-save-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/only-a-few-hundred-timor-green-pigeons-may-remain-there-is-still-time-to-save-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326393</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Safeguarding passageways is the next step for India&#8217;s growing tiger populations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/safeguarding-passageways-is-the-next-step-for-indias-growing-tiger-populations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/safeguarding-passageways-is-the-next-step-for-indias-growing-tiger-populations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 09:52:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17095156/9.-Tigress-negotiating-an-underpass-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326386</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Habitat, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Hope and optimism, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Protected Areas, Roads, Solutions, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Bengal tiger numbers rebound in India and increasingly disperse into human-dominated areas, conservationists are urging the government to prioritize protecting ecological corridors that connect vital habitats and tiger populations. But they also warn that corridors shouldn’t become sticking plasters for compromised core habitats, reports contributor Nirmal Ghosh for Mongabay. India is home to roughly [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Bengal tiger numbers rebound in India and increasingly disperse into human-dominated areas, conservationists are urging the government to prioritize protecting ecological corridors that connect vital habitats and tiger populations. But they also warn that corridors shouldn’t become sticking plasters for compromised core habitats, reports contributor Nirmal Ghosh for Mongabay. India is home to roughly 75% of the world’s wild tigers. The national population has more than doubled from an estimated 1,827 in 1972 to an estimated 3,682 in the 2022 census. However, this conservation success has created new challenges. Experts estimate that 35% of India&#8217;s wild tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) now live outside protected areas. Young tigers leave their mothers to establish large home ranges, which for males can cover up to 200 square kilometers (77 square miles). In doing so, tigers frequently navigate a highly fragmented matrix of roads, railways and urban sprawl. Without safe pathways, isolated tiger populations risk inbreeding and local extinction. In response to rapid infrastructure development, India has constructed more wildlife underpasses and overpasses than any other Asian country, according to Bilal Habib, a scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), a government-run research center. This includes the world&#8217;s 10 largest wildlife mitigation structures built since 2017, such as a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) underpass beneath a newly opened expressway connecting New Delhi to the city of Dehradun. “I don&#8217;t think anywhere in the world, any developing country has spent as much money as we have on mitigation, exclusively for wildlife conservation,” Habib told Mongabay. At the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/safeguarding-passageways-is-the-next-step-for-indias-growing-tiger-populations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/safeguarding-passageways-is-the-next-step-for-indias-growing-tiger-populations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326386</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Aceh’s community fishers struggle to preserve tradition amid blooms of plastic pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/acehs-community-fishers-struggle-to-preserve-tradition-amid-blooms-of-plastic-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/acehs-community-fishers-struggle-to-preserve-tradition-amid-blooms-of-plastic-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 08:48:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nurul Hasanah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17083116/Gampong-Jawa-fishers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326365</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Development, Culture, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, Traditional People, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Seven fishers moved in concert along the shore of Gampong Jawa Beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost city, hauling in a blue net nearly half a mile long from the Indian Ocean. “Forward &#8230; Keep it going … Now, move back!” instructed Surya Abid, the panglima laot, or “sea commander,” of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Seven fishers moved in concert along the shore of Gampong Jawa Beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost city, hauling in a blue net nearly half a mile long from the Indian Ocean. “Forward &#8230; Keep it going … Now, move back!” instructed Surya Abid, the panglima laot, or “sea commander,” of the Gampong Jawa community. The practice known as tarek pukat is a form of community fishing dating to the Aceh Sultanate, which ruled here from the 15th century until defeat to the Dutch colonial navy in 1903. Its rules are overseen by the panglima laot, an Indigenous Acehnese institution that governed fishing through customary law long before the existence of the modern Indonesian state. Toward the end of 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake under nearby Simeleue Island triggered the infamous Indian Ocean tsunami — a disaster that, in Gampong Jawa, wiped out more than 90% of the population. Memorials in and around Banda Aceh are built 30 meters (100 feet) high to honor those lost and remind future generations of the wave height that left 167,540 people dead or missing in Indonesia alone. Today, only a small number of fishers still work together handling these vast nets to catch fish, following unwritten customary rules to protect threatened marine species including sea turtles and their eggs. In Gampong Jawa, those rules are overseen by Surya, the local panglima laot. Efendi, an assistant to the panglima laot (customary fishery lead), mends a torn fishing net. Image by Nurul&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/acehs-community-fishers-struggle-to-preserve-tradition-amid-blooms-of-plastic-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/acehs-community-fishers-struggle-to-preserve-tradition-amid-blooms-of-plastic-pollution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326365</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging and the slow disappearance of Australia&#8217;s large old trees (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/logging-and-the-slow-disappearance-of-australias-large-old-trees-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/logging-and-the-slow-disappearance-of-australias-large-old-trees-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 00:43:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Lindenmayer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/16122929/Wollert-Leadbeaters-Possum-on-Wurundjeri-Country-Steven-Kuiter-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326317</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Ecosystems, Environment, forest degradation, Forestry, Forests, Logging, Old Growth Forests, Primary Forests, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Large old trees are among the most important structures in native forests, in Australia and around the world. They store disproportionately large amounts of carbon relative to small, young trees, and they provide the nesting and denning hollows that hundreds of animal species depend on. A single large old tree can take two or three [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Large old trees are among the most important structures in native forests, in Australia and around the world. They store disproportionately large amounts of carbon relative to small, young trees, and they provide the nesting and denning hollows that hundreds of animal species depend on. A single large old tree can take two or three centuries to grow. There is a persistent claim that logging does little or no lasting harm to these trees. It is worth examining what the evidence actually shows. I have studied populations of thousands of large old trees for more than four decades and published that work in the international peer-reviewed literature. I have also written a series of global reviews on large old trees and co-edited an international book on the subject – so the issue of logging effects on large old trees can be examined from data rather than assertion. Our long-term research has shown quite clearly that logged and regenerated forests have far fewer large old trees than places that have not been logged. There are several reasons for this – some obvious and some not so obvious. First, most trees are removed in a logging operation. Second, trees that are retained in logged areas are very exposed to increased windspeeds – the previous tree cover is not there to slow air movement. Third, the debris left on the forest floor after logging is burnt in a fire lit deliberately to help regenerate the forest. These are very high severity fires which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/logging-and-the-slow-disappearance-of-australias-large-old-trees-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326317</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South Africa’s top court blocks Shell oil exploration off country’s Wild Coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/south-africas-top-court-blocks-shell-oil-exploration-off-countrys-wild-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/south-africas-top-court-blocks-shell-oil-exploration-off-countrys-wild-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 00:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/16235549/Fishermen-Silhouettes-PSJ-AH-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326335</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fishing, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Law, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Oil, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a landmark judgment on Aug. 14, South Africa’s Constitutional Court set aside exploration rights held by oil giant Shell and Impact Africa, a South African oil and gas company. The ruling prevents the companies from exploring for fossil fuels off South Africa’s Wild Coast. The case was brought by Wild Coast communities and environmental [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a landmark judgment on Aug. 14, South Africa’s Constitutional Court set aside exploration rights held by oil giant Shell and Impact Africa, a South African oil and gas company. The ruling prevents the companies from exploring for fossil fuels off South Africa’s Wild Coast. The case was brought by Wild Coast communities and environmental organizations after Shell announced plans in 2021 to conduct a 3D seismic survey off the country’s Eastern Cape province coastline. They argued that authorities had failed to meaningfully consult affected communities or consider harms to their spiritual and cultural rights and livelihoods. Authorities also failed to consider the potential harm to marine life and climate change, the plaintiffs argued. In the judgement, Justice Jody Kollapen wrote the majority opinion and said consulting communities isn&#8217;t just a procedural requirement, but “a process which affirms human dignity by affording a seat at the table to those whose lives are impacted by decisions.” Acknowledging the “cornerstone role that dispossession played in the apartheid regime,” the court noted that South Africa’s natural resources are highly contested and that the case is embedded in “well-documented struggles by coastal communities to protect their land, marine resources and ways of life in the face of extractive activities.” The judges also considered last year’s International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on countries’ obligations in the context of climate change: “Decisions must be taken within a framework of heightened diligence, informed by scientific knowledge, international commitments and the foreseeable impacts of emissions on present&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/south-africas-top-court-blocks-shell-oil-exploration-off-countrys-wild-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326335</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Is this the world&#8217;s loneliest tree?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/is-this-the-worlds-loneliest-tree/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/is-this-the-worlds-loneliest-tree/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2026 20:05:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/16200444/Mongabay_Thumbnail_EndangeredTreeFeatured.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326332</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environment, Extinction, Plants, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The last known wild individual of Dendroseris neriifolia hangs off the side of a steep cliff on a remote island. To try to prevent its total extinction in the wild, conservationists recently went to great lengths—and heights—to collect seeds from the tree. They have begun trials to cultivate them with the help of the Millennium [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The last known wild individual of Dendroseris neriifolia hangs off the side of a steep cliff on a remote island. To try to prevent its total extinction in the wild, conservationists recently went to great lengths—and heights—to collect seeds from the tree. They have begun trials to cultivate them with the help of the Millennium Seed Bank @kewgardens.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/is-this-the-worlds-loneliest-tree/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/is-this-the-worlds-loneliest-tree/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326332</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Steve Smit, South Africa’s “Monkey Man,” has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/steve-smit-south-africas-monkey-man-has-died/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/steve-smit-south-africas-monkey-man-has-died/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Aug 2026 21:18:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/15211254/steve-smit-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326312</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Monkeys, Obituary, Primates, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2015 Steve Smit badly injured his right eye while trying to round up rescued chickens in his garden in Westville, near Durban. A branch struck him and almost cost him his sight. Doctors told him to rest. Within weeks he had gone on more than 20 wildlife rescues, wearing an eye patch. For three [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2015 Steve Smit badly injured his right eye while trying to round up rescued chickens in his garden in Westville, near Durban. A branch struck him and almost cost him his sight. Doctors told him to rest. Within weeks he had gone on more than 20 wildlife rescues, wearing an eye patch. For three decades Smit climbed trees, crossed roofs, crawled under buildings, and entered gardens to retrieve vervet monkeys that had been shot, shocked on power lines, hit by cars, bitten by dogs, or caught in wire. Around KwaZulu-Natal he became known simply as the “Monkey Man.” He died on August 12th after a battle with cancer. He was 70. Before rescuing monkeys became his full-time occupation, Smit spent roughly 25 years in South Africa’s intelligence services. He had first joined the police after objecting to military conscription, and later moved through the Bureau of State Security and National Intelligence Service. In an oral-history interview in 2007, he recalled being troubled by the conduct and culture of some of the institutions in which he worked. His involvement with animals began while he was still in government service. In 1985 he founded FALCON, the Front for Animal Liberation and Conservation of Nature, described as South Africa’s first animal-rights organization. It later became Justice for Animals. Smit campaigned against vivisection, recreational hunting, circuses, wildlife trade, and other uses of animals that he regarded as exploitation. His position often put him at odds with conservationists. Smit was concerned not only with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/steve-smit-south-africas-monkey-man-has-died/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/steve-smit-south-africas-monkey-man-has-died/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326312</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>John Salehe helped shape Tanzania’s community conservation movement</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/john-salehe-helped-shape-tanzanias-community-conservation-movement/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/john-salehe-helped-shape-tanzanias-community-conservation-movement/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Aug 2026 15:40:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/15153817/John-Salehe-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=326313</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Obituary, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For wildlife moving between Lake Manyara and Tarangire, a line on a map was never enough. Elephants, wildebeest, and other animals crossed land used by pastoralists and farmers, where roads, cultivation, and settlements were expanding. Keeping such routes open meant persuading people who lived there that wildlife had a place in their future. It meant [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For wildlife moving between Lake Manyara and Tarangire, a line on a map was never enough. Elephants, wildebeest, and other animals crossed land used by pastoralists and farmers, where roads, cultivation, and settlements were expanding. Keeping such routes open meant persuading people who lived there that wildlife had a place in their future. It meant dealing with livestock killed by predators, arguments over revenue, and the tedious business of local institutions. John Gospel Yonazi Salehe, who died on June 19th aged 71, spent much of his working life on such problems. A Tanzanian forester by training, he worked for the government, FAO, UNDP, WWF, and, eventually, the African Wildlife Foundation, where he became Tanzania country director. His career stretched for more than four decades and across forests, wildlife areas, and development projects in East Africa. Salehe’s conservation was practical and strongly social. In the Maasai Steppe he worked to protect wildlife corridors and strengthen community-run Wildlife Management Areas. He wanted the benefits from conservation to reach households, and supported measures such as predator-proof livestock enclosures and compensation for losses to wildlife. Communities were not an audience for conservation after the important decisions had been made. They were part of how it was supposed to work. The same thinking shaped his work on forests. In central Tanzania, where charcoal production and farming put pressure on woodland, he argued that restrictions had to be accompanied by viable livelihoods. Higher agricultural productivity, land-use planning, and secure tenure could reduce pressure on forests, he&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/john-salehe-helped-shape-tanzanias-community-conservation-movement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/08/john-salehe-helped-shape-tanzanias-community-conservation-movement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326313</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The king of the Andes: How a village learned to coexist with condors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/the-king-of-the-andes-how-a-village-learned-to-coexist-with-condors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/the-king-of-the-andes-how-a-village-learned-to-coexist-with-condors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Aug 2026 07:40:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christina NoriegaJulia LimaMonica Wise Robles]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/15075140/AndeanCondor3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=videos&#038;p=326307</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Human-wildlife Conflict, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PÁRAMO EL ALMORZADERO, Colombia — Doris Torres is a sheepherder who grew up seeing Andean condors as enemies. In this remote village high in the Colombian Andes, the birds were blamed for livestock losses and often killed through poisoning or shooting — persecution that helped push their population to the brink. But as Torres learned [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PÁRAMO EL ALMORZADERO, Colombia — Doris Torres is a sheepherder who grew up seeing Andean condors as enemies. In this remote village high in the Colombian Andes, the birds were blamed for livestock losses and often killed through poisoning or shooting — persecution that helped push their population to the brink. But as Torres learned more about the condor and its importance to the Andean ecosystem, her relationship with the species began to change. She became an unlikely conservationist and is now at the heart of a grassroots effort helping bring condors back to these mountains. Working with Fernando Castro, from the Parque Jaime Duque Foundation, Torres and other villagers have transformed a long-standing conflict into a model of coexistence. Former enemies of the condor have become its protectors, creating a rare safe haven for one of Colombia’s most threatened birds of prey. Today, condors are once again soaring over the páramo. And the community is preparing for the next step: welcoming young condors bred in captivity by Castro and his team in Bogotá. Using artificial incubation and condor-shaped hand puppets to raise the chicks without accustoming them to humans, the team hopes to release at least three juveniles into the wild by the end of 2027. Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions and topics that matter to you. Are there any inspiring people, urgent issues, or local stories that you’d like us to cover? We want to hear from you. Be a part of our reporting process—get in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/08/the-king-of-the-andes-how-a-village-learned-to-coexist-with-condors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326307</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global marine protected areas fail to safeguard most sharks and rays: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-marine-protected-areas-fail-to-safeguard-most-sharks-and-rays-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-marine-protected-areas-fail-to-safeguard-most-sharks-and-rays-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 16:41:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Madeline Shaw]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14141331/a.-BANNER-%C2%A9-Jonathan-Lavan-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326271</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Protected Areas, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, 196 countries agreed to the ambitious conservation goal of “30&#215;30”: setting aside 30% of the planet’s coastal and marine areas for conservation by 2030 as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Now, halfway to 2030, only about 10% of the ocean is covered by protected areas, leaving many countries far short of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, 196 countries agreed to the ambitious conservation goal of “30&#215;30”: setting aside 30% of the planet’s coastal and marine areas for conservation by 2030 as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Now, halfway to 2030, only about 10% of the ocean is covered by protected areas, leaving many countries far short of meeting this biodiversity goal by the end of the decade. Even within these existing reserves, new research shows significant gaps for one of the most threatened marine groups: sharks and rays. A study published in Conservation Letters in July finds that most species of sharks and rays have less than 10% of their ranges covered by any marine protected area (MPA), with significant shortfalls for threatened and critically endangered species. The analysis also reveals major gaps in reporting on the extent of fishing and harvesting restrictions in these preserves, also known as “take-status”, which is important for assessing meaningful protection for these animals. “Simply increasing the amount of protected ocean doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean we&#8217;re actually protecting those threatened species,” Amanda Arnold, a marine biodiversity researcher at Simon Fraser University in Canada and the lead author of the study, told Mongabay. “It’s not covering the breadth of biodiversity.” Sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), a critically endangered species according to the IUCN. Image mattdowse via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0). Research suggests that to offer measurable conservation benefits, marine preserves should cover at least a tenth of a species’ range, with 20-40% coverage maximizing conservation gains. Yet few&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-marine-protected-areas-fail-to-safeguard-most-sharks-and-rays-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/global-marine-protected-areas-fail-to-safeguard-most-sharks-and-rays-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326271</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Among the sacred hills of Colombia’s Guainía</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/08/among-the-sacred-hills-of-colombias-guainia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/08/among-the-sacred-hills-of-colombias-guainia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 15:03:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/13112005/colombia_260721171023_0823z-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=custom-story&#038;p=326145</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Media, Mountains, Photos, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[I had been struck by photographs of the Cerros de Mavicure rising above the forest and the Inírida River in eastern Colombia. The dark rock, exposed against an almost unbroken expanse of green, seemed unlike anywhere else I had visited in the Amazon. Last month, ahead of Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in Bogotá, I finally [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[I had been struck by photographs of the Cerros de Mavicure rising above the forest and the Inírida River in eastern Colombia. The dark rock, exposed against an almost unbroken expanse of green, seemed unlike anywhere else I had visited in the Amazon. Last month, ahead of Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in Bogotá, I finally had the chance to visit. I traveled with Daniela Quintero Díaz, Mongabay Latam’s investigations editor, and Oilber Díaz, a member of the Puinave people who guided us through the region. The three main hills, Mavicure, Mono and Pajarito, are outcrops of the Guiana Shield. They span two Indigenous territories. Mavicure, the hill visitors climb, lies within El Venado, while Mono and Pajarito are within El Remanso. Each territory has a nearby community of the same name. The hills are regarded as sacred by Indigenous peoples in the region. In Puinave tradition, they are connected to stories of creation, animals, family, and the rules governing relations between people and the natural world.&nbsp; Cerros de Mavicure. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Dreyk, a member of the Cubeo people from the Venado community, led us up Mavicure. The trail crossed steep granite, with forest growing in narrow seams and pockets of soil. From higher ground, the scale of the landscape became clearer. The hills rose abruptly from the canopy, while the Inírida curved around them. We reached a viewpoint in time for a beautiful sunset. On the descent after dark, frogs and geckos appeared along the trail. Cerros&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/08/among-the-sacred-hills-of-colombias-guainia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326145</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Caught on camera: Sand cats may have a ‘sizable population’ in Qatar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/caught-on-camera-sand-cats-may-have-a-sizable-population-in-qatar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/caught-on-camera-sand-cats-may-have-a-sizable-population-in-qatar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 14:33:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31051336/sand-cat-in-a-zoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324908</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Middle East, and Qatar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Cats, Conservation, Deserts, Ecosystems, Environment, Habitat, Mammals, Research, Small Cats, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Muhammad Ali Nawaz didn’t expect to see so many cats. Nawaz, a wildlife ecologist at Qatar University, had set out to survey Qatar for the sand cat, a tiny, seldom-studied felid that lives in deserts across Southwest and Central Asia, northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Though there were anecdotal reports of the species in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Muhammad Ali Nawaz didn’t expect to see so many cats. Nawaz, a wildlife ecologist at Qatar University, had set out to survey Qatar for the sand cat, a tiny, seldom-studied felid that lives in deserts across Southwest and Central Asia, northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Though there were anecdotal reports of the species in Qatar — some cats photographed, some not — there were no systematic records. So, Nawaz and his collaborators set out an array of cameras and waited. “When I collected the cameras, it was a big surprise,” he told Mongabay on a video call. Between 2022 and 2025, the cameras photographed sand cats (Felis margarita) more than 100 times, all in Qatar’s Al-Ureiq Reserve — a protected area of roughly 55 square kilometers (21 square miles). Though it’s unclear how many individual cats triggered cameras, these images provide solid evidence of the species’ range and information on its habitat preferences, data that was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science. “This is a remarkable kind of a discovery and gives hope for the terrestrial wildlife in the country,” Nawaz said. Photographs captured during this study provide solid evidence of the species’ range and information on its habitat preferences. Image courtesy of Muhammad Ali Nawaz. A resilient desert-dweller Sand cats are perfectly suited for their desert homes. These diminutive felids’ sand-colored fur provides stellar camouflage. Dense fur on their paws insulates against hot sand. Their keen hearing can detect prey underground. They eat small mammals,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/caught-on-camera-sand-cats-may-have-a-sizable-population-in-qatar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324908</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New studies portray Amazon as surprisingly resilient, but tipping point looms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-studies-portray-amazon-as-surprisingly-resilient-but-tipping-point-looms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-studies-portray-amazon-as-surprisingly-resilient-but-tipping-point-looms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 14:31:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amanda Magnani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/22045842/amazon_203232-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326259</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Three 2026 studies reveal that the Amazon can regrow quickly, but deforestation and warming could trigger a system-wide tipping point in the next 15 years.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For decades, scientists have been trying to answer a key question: What would the Amazon rainforest look like if deforestation, climate change and fires continue? And, a follow-up question: When would that transformation happen? While several researchers have made progress on the answers over the years, a series of studies in 2026 sheds new light on the prognoses. The three reports published earlier this year examine the health of the rainforest from different angles. In April, a study published in Nature shows the Amazon heals faster than expected, but takes longer to fully recover its biodiversity after extreme events. A PNAS study, based on research conducted over two decades and also published in April, finds that the forest is more resilient to fires than anticipated and shows no sign of transitioning to savanna — a different outcome than has long been suspected. However, the researchers warn that the new ecosystems emerging from the forest recovery process are more vulnerable to future climate disturbances. In May, another paper published in Nature examines the impacts of deforestation, notably the increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, finding that this increase could push the biome to a tipping point by 2040. Emergent rainforest tree in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler for Mongabay. But according to Luciana Gatti, senior researcher at Brazil&#8217;s space agency (INPE), climate in the Amazon has already changed sufficiently that typical rainforest trees no longer find the necessary conditions for survival: abundant water and mild temperatures.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-studies-portray-amazon-as-surprisingly-resilient-but-tipping-point-looms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326259</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How women farmers are helping elephants and forests in a Sumatran national park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-women-farmers-are-helping-elephants-and-forests-in-a-sumatran-national-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-women-farmers-are-helping-elephants-and-forests-in-a-sumatran-national-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 14:22:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[SuryadiYenni Kwok]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14132827/Ernita-farmer-and-member-of-womens-group-Perbani-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326257</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Riau, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Culture, Elephants, Environment, Gender, Human-wildlife Conflict, National Parks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUBUK KEMBANG BUNGA, Indonesia — Tesso Nilo National Park, located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, often makes headlines due to human-wildlife conflict — a byproduct of illegal encroachment and deforestation by oil palm plantations. However, there is a ray of hope, thanks to female farmers who live in a buffer zone of the national [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[LUBUK KEMBANG BUNGA, Indonesia — Tesso Nilo National Park, located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, often makes headlines due to human-wildlife conflict — a byproduct of illegal encroachment and deforestation by oil palm plantations. However, there is a ray of hope, thanks to female farmers who live in a buffer zone of the national park. In the village of Lubuk Kembang Bunga, in the buffer zone next to the park, women are leading an initiative to plant fruit trees that both serve a conservation purpose and provide extra income. To prevent elephants from destroying their fruit plantations, the villagers plant citrus trees, which repel the pachyderms. Elsewhere, they also plant fruits beloved by these large animals, such as jackfruit, its cousin cempedak, and stink beans, known in Indonesian as petai. Ernita, a 33-year-old farmer, said she can now breathe easy after planting citrus trees on the perimeter of her oil palm farm. “Before we had the citrus trees, elephants always ate our oil palm fruits,” she told Mongabay Indonesia. “We had to replant the trees four or five times … Praise be to God, since we planted the citrus trees, the elephants haven’t eaten our oil palm fruits.” Ernita’s farm lies just outside Tesso Nilo, so she can grow various crops, including oil palm. But other parts of Lubuk Kembang Bunga village fall within the park’s borders, where, technically at least, oil palm cultivation isn’t permitted. Ernita, a farmer and member of Perbani, grows citrus trees on the perimeter&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-women-farmers-are-helping-elephants-and-forests-in-a-sumatran-national-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326257</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sand mining plans spark opposition from fishers in Indonesia’s Riau Islands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 13:37:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten GokkonYogi Eka Sahputra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14123631/m11-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326242</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian Fisheries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Riau Islands, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Blue Carbon, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Development, Dredging, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Mining, Natural Resources, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NUMBING ISLAND, Indonesia — The waters off Numbing Island, part of the Riau archipelago between Sumatra and Singapore, are among Indonesia’s richest fishing grounds. Local fisher Edy says the abundant fish stocks have enabled him to support his family and pay for his children&#8217;s university education. He typically earns between 1 million and 2 million [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[NUMBING ISLAND, Indonesia — The waters off Numbing Island, part of the Riau archipelago between Sumatra and Singapore, are among Indonesia’s richest fishing grounds. Local fisher Edy says the abundant fish stocks have enabled him to support his family and pay for his children&#8217;s university education. He typically earns between 1 million and 2 million rupiah ($55-$110) per fishing trip and makes four trips a month. However, Edy says he fears a proposed sand-mining project will threaten his and other fishers’ livelihoods. He said dredging would make the water more turbid, driving fish away from their traditional habitats and forcing fishers to sail farther out to sea to find them. “That is why I am afraid of this mining project. It will damage the sea. We have experienced this before, when marine sand mining took place near Batam,” he said, referring to one of the largest of the Riau islands, located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Numbing. “Our waters also became cloudy.” Numbing Island in Indonesia’s Riau Islands province. Image by Yogi Eka Sahputra/Mongabay Indonesia. A wave of opposition to the planned sea-sand mining in the waters around Riau Islands province has emerged among not only fishers from Numbing and surrounding areas, but also Indonesian lawmakers. Local authorities paint the project off Numbing, which is part of the Riau Islands’ Bintan district, as necessary to dredge marine sediment to facilitate large ship traffic. This would make it exempt from Indonesian law that prohibits sand mining in coastal areas and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/sand-mining-plans-spark-opposition-from-fishers-in-indonesias-riau-islands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326242</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How AI helps gather remote biodiversity data: Interview with Microsoft’s Juan Lavista Ferres</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-ai-helps-gather-remote-biodiversity-data-interview-with-microsofts-juan-lavista-ferres/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-ai-helps-gather-remote-biodiversity-data-interview-with-microsofts-juan-lavista-ferres/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 13:06:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14125321/pierre-perraut-vfK_PwXZO6w-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326232</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Interviews, Media, Monitoring, Software, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At a meeting with conservationists a couple of years back, Juan Lavista Ferres had a eureka moment. As the director of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, Lavista Ferres has extensively worked on projects that use artificial intelligence technology to process and analyze biodiversity data. At that particular meeting, however, he realized that a glaring gap [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At a meeting with conservationists a couple of years back, Juan Lavista Ferres had a eureka moment. As the director of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, Lavista Ferres has extensively worked on projects that use artificial intelligence technology to process and analyze biodiversity data. At that particular meeting, however, he realized that a glaring gap persisted. “It takes a huge amount of effort to collect data,” Lavista Ferres, who is also Microsoft&#8217;s chief data scientist, told Mongabay in a video interview. “We never realized how bad it was until we worked closely with them [the conservationists] to see the whole workflow.” On returning to his lab, Lavista Ferres put together a team to find a solution. The result was Project SPARROW. Short for solar-powered acoustic and remote recording observation watch, SPARROW combines edge computing and AI to monitor biodiversity in real time and continuously. Powered by solar energy, the tool has been developed to function autonomously in remote forests to gather and process visual and audio data. “The whole idea of SPARROW is to make it trivial for conservationists to be able to collect data,” Lavista Ferres said. SPARROW has been deployed in 11 countries across five continents and has demonstrated that it can function continuously without human intervention for more than a year. Deployments in remote forests come with their own set of challenges, however, as devices are difficult to access. Amazon Conservation Association&#8217;s Los Amigos biological station. Courtesy of ACA. “Our most important challenge is to make sure&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/how-ai-helps-gather-remote-biodiversity-data-interview-with-microsofts-juan-lavista-ferres/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326232</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;To speak of agroecology is to speak of farmers’ autonomy&#8217;: Interview with Olga Muthambe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 12:34:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Far Vubil]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/14152821/Olga-corte-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Mozambique, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, agribusiness, Agriculture, Agroecology, Business, Conflict, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Natural Resources, and Social Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Mozambique, southeast Africa, more than 1,600 women participate in agroecological practice programs across the provinces of Maputo and Gaza (both in the south), Tete (central region) and Cabo Delgado (far north). These initiatives are led by Hikone Moçambique, a civil society association founded in 2013 that seeks to empower rural women. The organization’s work [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Mozambique, southeast Africa, more than 1,600 women participate in agroecological practice programs across the provinces of Maputo and Gaza (both in the south), Tete (central region) and Cabo Delgado (far north). These initiatives are led by Hikone Moçambique, a civil society association founded in 2013 that seeks to empower rural women. The organization’s work focuses primarily on Mozambican women facing social vulnerability. The displacement of local populations, with resulting impacts on livelihoods, along with expropriation and concentration of land and resources, are some of the most common adverse effects associated with extractive industries that often amount to appropriation of nature through labor exploitation. According to Hikone Moçambique, extractive industries also undermine food sovereignty and exacerbate inequalities, disproportionately affecting women, who lose their income-generating alternatives. Hikone was co-founded by Mozambican social activist and current executive director Olga Muthambe. A feminist, community development practitioner, self-taught educator and mother of seven, she has over 30 years of experience with rural communities. In the 1990s, Muthambe worked with women and youth rehabilitation projects following the civil war in Mozambique (1977-1992), where she led initiatives to ensure food security. Decades later, in 2021, in the midst of another armed conflict in Cabo Delgado, the NGO expanded its work to support women affected by violence and forced displacement, which impacted around one million people in that province alone. Throughout its history, the organization has worked with more than 5,000 women across various activities, including training, community gatherings and seminars throughout Mozambique. In 2025, Muthambe also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/to-speak-of-agroecology-is-to-speak-of-farmers-autonomy-interview-with-olga-muthambe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326233</doi>				</item>
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