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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/paul-hilton/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:39:46 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Paul Hilton Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/paul-hilton/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Legal protections for Brazil’s isolated Indigenous peoples: Interview with prosecutor Daniel Luís Dalberto</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/legal-protections-for-brazils-isolated-indigenous-peoples-interview-with-prosecutor-daniel-luis-dalberto/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/legal-protections-for-brazils-isolated-indigenous-peoples-interview-with-prosecutor-daniel-luis-dalberto/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 13:21:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/03125631/1-Tawaya-Village-of-the-Matis-people-in-Javari-Valley-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320530</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon People, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Land Rights, Law, Rainforests, and Saving The Amazon]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The year 2011 marked the first time a land-use restriction order was enforced for the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Territory, a swath of Brazilian Amazon roughly twice the size of Singapore and home to people living in voluntary isolation. The order was meant to protect the latter by prohibiting unauthorized individuals from entering — but rates of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The year 2011 marked the first time a land-use restriction order was enforced for the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Territory, a swath of Brazilian Amazon roughly twice the size of Singapore and home to people living in voluntary isolation. The order was meant to protect the latter by prohibiting unauthorized individuals from entering — but rates of forest loss and invasions grew. In 2019, Ituna/Itatá was one of the Indigenous territories with the highest forest loss, primarily due to illegal land grabbers. In Brazil, land-use restriction orders exist to protect isolated Indigenous peoples and are a temporary tool in cases where the demarcation process to formalize the protected status and boundaries of Indigenous territories are not yet complete. But as recent Mongabay reporting has shown, they’re often renewed many times over for years while the formal land titling stalls, and aren’t always effective at protecting isolated peoples’ lands from invaders. Following one of the latest land-use restriction orders in 2022 for the Ituna/Itatá territory, the area lost 2,211 hectares (5,464 acres) of tree cover, or about 1.5% of its total area, according to satellite analysis by Mongabay. The most recent renewal was in 2025. Brazilian federal public prosecutor Daniel Luís Dalberto, head of the office for recently contacted Indigenous peoples and those living in voluntary isolation, told Mongabay in a recent interview that while the legal measure is important, it should have “a short time frame, until the Indigenous territory is demarcated as quickly as possible,” and should be accompanied by other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/legal-protections-for-brazils-isolated-indigenous-peoples-interview-with-prosecutor-daniel-luis-dalberto/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/legal-protections-for-brazils-isolated-indigenous-peoples-interview-with-prosecutor-daniel-luis-dalberto/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Can deforestation predict Ebola outbreaks? Q&#038;A with CDC’s Carson Telford</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 09:39:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/10/02142438/hammer-headed-fruit-bat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320520</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, East Africa, Uganda, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Deforestation, Ebola, Environment, Governance, Government, Health, Nature And Health, Planetary Health, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa has already left at least 49 people dead, with health authorities racing to stop the spread of the disease. What if they could have known ahead of time where it would begin? That’s the question behind a study published last year by Carson Telford and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa has already left at least 49 people dead, with health authorities racing to stop the spread of the disease. What if they could have known ahead of time where it would begin? That’s the question behind a study published last year by Carson Telford and a group of researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). They wanted to know whether it would be possible to predict where Ebola outbreaks might start by looking at the characteristics of areas where the virus had already “spilled over” from an animal host into a human. Telford and his colleagues analyzed 24 outbreaks between 2001 and 2022, using variables like population density and forest cover to train their model. When they ran the analysis of where those outbreaks occurred, they found a high correlation with forest loss and fragmentation. The model they built with that data was strikingly accurate. It put a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo in its top 0.1% of risk areas — just a few months before an outbreak happened there in 2022. Another that followed in Uganda was in a district it had identified as being in the top 6% for that country. Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo spoke to Telford about the link between Ebola and deforestation, and how understanding it could help stop outbreaks early on. Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment center. Image by Moses Sawasawa via Associated Press. Mongabay: How would&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>The European wildcat is back. In some places.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-european-wildcat-is-back-in-some-places/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-european-wildcat-is-back-in-some-places/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 09:23:19 +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/20/2026/05/07014556/Image_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320523</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The European wildcat is not one conservation story, but several. In the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains, the signs are encouraging. Conservationists have found a male and female wildcat, which they named Jonáš and Tonka, the first recorded in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The European wildcat is not one conservation story, but several. In the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains, the signs are encouraging. Conservationists have found a male and female wildcat, which they named Jonáš and Tonka, the first recorded in the region in nearly a century. Tonka has since given birth to at least three kittens. For a species once pushed out by habitat loss, persecution, and the spread of domestic cats, that is a meaningful foothold, reports contributor Sean Mowbray for Mongabay. The animal itself is easy to overlook. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) is roughly the size of a large housecat and lives mostly out of sight in forests. The species, found across Europe, is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. That label can make the picture look simpler than it is. Yet its fortunes vary sharply from place to place. In parts of Central Europe, wildcats are moving back into former habitat as forests recover and hunting pressure has fallen. Germany and France show what can happen when habitat protection, legal safeguards, and time line up. Italy, too, has seen enough progress for the species to be downlisted nationally. Elsewhere, the picture is much more fragile. In Scotland, the wildcat was declared functionally extinct in the wild in 2018. A breeding and release program in Cairngorms National Park, in the Scottish Highlands, is now trying to rebuild a population&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-european-wildcat-is-back-in-some-places/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-european-wildcat-is-back-in-some-places/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Chimpanzees vs. a mega railway</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/chimpanzees-vs-a-mega-railway/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/chimpanzees-vs-a-mega-railway/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 08:01:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Juan Maza]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/03075726/chimpanzee-guinea-conakry-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320518</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Guinea, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Endangered, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Infrastructure, Mining, Rainforests, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A massive railway project, The Simandou corridor, in Guinea is cutting through one of West Africa’s most important ecosystems. The Simandou corridor is fragmenting forests that are home to the largest population of endangered western chimpanzees, putting their survival at risk. But why is this massive railway project being built? Deep within Guinea’s forests lie [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A massive railway project, The Simandou corridor, in Guinea is cutting through one of West Africa’s most important ecosystems. The Simandou corridor is fragmenting forests that are home to the largest population of endangered western chimpanzees, putting their survival at risk. But why is this massive railway project being built? Deep within Guinea’s forests lie the world’s largest untapped iron ore deposits, and they require infrastructure to enter the global supply chain. However, as tracks slice through the rainforest, wildlife is pushed into smaller, isolated areas, making survival harder than ever.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/chimpanzees-vs-a-mega-railway/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/chimpanzees-vs-a-mega-railway/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Solar power brings energy to rural Indonesia, but inequality remains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/solar-power-brings-energy-to-rural-indonesia-but-inequality-remains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/solar-power-brings-energy-to-rural-indonesia-but-inequality-remains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 03:52:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/03035151/Rows-of-solar-panels-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320514</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Policy, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Gender, Governance, Government, Green Energy, Just Transition, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the remote, over-the-water village of Muara Enggelam in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the introduction of reliable solar energy has become a catalyst for female entrepreneurship and economic stability. Historically cut off from basic services and reliant on expensive, noisy diesel generators that ran only from dusk to dawn, the village underwent a transformation starting in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the remote, over-the-water village of Muara Enggelam in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the introduction of reliable solar energy has become a catalyst for female entrepreneurship and economic stability. Historically cut off from basic services and reliant on expensive, noisy diesel generators that ran only from dusk to dawn, the village underwent a transformation starting in 2015 following a solar power allocation from Indonesia’s energy ministry, reports Mongabay Indonesia contributor Yuda Almerio. For women like Asniah, a mother of three, 24-hour electricity thanks to a solar array meant the ability to scale a home business. She began using electric blenders to produce amplang (fish crackers), a task that was previously difficult due to the high cost and unreliability of diesel fuel. “Using a blender was a bit of a worry, because the fuel would run out quickly,” Asniah told Mongabay Indonesia. “A liter [of diesel] wouldn&#8217;t last an hour — now it&#8217;s much more convenient.” Asniah has since expanded her ventures to include a food stall and a digital boutique, utilizing social media for marketing. Muara Enggelam’s solar infrastructure is managed by a village-owned enterprise, BUMDes, led by Jam&#8217;ah, a mother of one. This makes it a rare example of female leadership in the energy sector; the United Nations Development Program estimates that women make up less than 5% of energy managers in Indonesia. “Using a generator was expensive, that’s why so few people started businesses,” Jam’ah said. “The solar energy has been a relief for people.” While Muara Enggelam serves&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/solar-power-brings-energy-to-rural-indonesia-but-inequality-remains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Descendants of people pushed out for DRC national park lead forest conservation efforts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/descendants-of-people-pushed-out-for-drc-national-park-lead-forest-conservation-efforts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/descendants-of-people-pushed-out-for-drc-national-park-lead-forest-conservation-efforts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 22:30:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jérémie Kyaswekera]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02221422/Image-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320504</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Congo, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Communities and conservation, Community Forestry, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Forest Loss, Forests, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, National Parks, Protected Areas, Solutions, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo — In the lush forests of North Kivu, Gangala Yafali Mangusa Jr. leads a forest patrol with members of his community. Together, they monitor human activity, identify threats and prevent damage to biodiversity, such as large-scale logging, unregulated timber harvesting and artisanal mining. “For example, once a month or once [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo — In the lush forests of North Kivu, Gangala Yafali Mangusa Jr. leads a forest patrol with members of his community. Together, they monitor human activity, identify threats and prevent damage to biodiversity, such as large-scale logging, unregulated timber harvesting and artisanal mining. “For example, once a month or once a quarter, we conduct inspections to check whether there are people in the community who are illegally hunting [protected] animals,” he explains. In his 30s, Mangusa Jr. leads the local management committee in the Bamasobha Local Community Forest Concession (CFCL), located in Lubero, a region threatened by terrorist attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Composed of Indigenous Batwa, Bapiri and local communities, Mangusa Jr.’s team works together to protect this community forest, promote sustainable management of natural resources and strengthen coexistence between communities and the ecosystems on which they depend. According to him, this commitment is rooted in a personal history marked by tensions and, at times, violence experienced around the Maiko National Park — a sprawling park protecting endemic species such as eastern lowland gorillas, okapi, chimpanzees and forest elephants — after the 1970s. Aerial view of forest and river in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Image by MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). He recounts that, when the park was established, his family, like so many others, faced park rangers for several years who had been sent to enforce the new park boundaries, particularly in the Batike settlement, within&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/descendants-of-people-pushed-out-for-drc-national-park-lead-forest-conservation-efforts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>From pledges to road maps, nations organize around fossil fuel phaseout</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/06/from-pledges-to-road-maps-nations-organize-around-fossil-fuel-phaseout/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/06/from-pledges-to-road-maps-nations-organize-around-fossil-fuel-phaseout/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 20:27:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike DiGirolamo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mikedigirolamo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02075811/amazon_201578-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=320472</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Negotiations, Climate Change Policy, Climate Change Politics, Energy, Energy Transition, Featured, Fossil Fuels, Interviews, Planetary Boundaries, and Podcast]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A group of 57 nations mostly from the Global South, describing themselves as “coalition of the willing” intent on making the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels, or TAFF, convened in the Colombian city of Santa Marta, from April 24-29, 2026, for the inaugural TAFF summit. Also referred to as the “Santa Marta Coalition,” this group of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[A group of 57 nations mostly from the Global South, describing themselves as “coalition of the willing” intent on making the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels, or TAFF, convened in the Colombian city of Santa Marta, from April 24-29, 2026, for the inaugural TAFF summit. Also referred to as the “Santa Marta Coalition,” this group of countries met to discuss and develop frameworks and pathways for nations to phase out fossil fuel dependency. Joining the Mongabay Newscast this week is Mamphela Ramphele, a medical doctor, activist and member of the Planetary Guardians, a network of experts advocating for the planetary boundaries as a measurement framework. Ramphele explains the highlights of the conference, which included the unveiling of a dedicated scientific panel to advise nations on developing road maps to transition off fossil fuels. The science panel includes experts such as Carlos Nobre from Brazil and Johan Rockström from Sweden, who pioneered the planetary boundaries concept. The conference also saw the establishment of “workstreams” to help nations connect their phaseout road maps to their emissions reduction targets as part of their U.N. climate commitments; leverage support to change their financial systems for the transition; and reform trade systems. Two nations in attendance, Colombia and France, announced their own phaseout road maps at the conference. Ramphele, from South Africa, suggests that as countries in the Santa Marta Coalition develop and implement their own road maps, other nations not yet on board will eventually be pressured to follow. Until a legally binding agreement, such&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/06/from-pledges-to-road-maps-nations-organize-around-fossil-fuel-phaseout/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>New book offers tips to translate climate science into political gains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/new-book-offers-tips-to-translate-climate-science-into-political-gains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/new-book-offers-tips-to-translate-climate-science-into-political-gains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 15:35:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02144919/Earth-Day-activism-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Books, Climate, Climate Activism, Climate Change, Climate Change Negotiations, Climate Change Politics, Climate Science, Earth Science, Governance, Government, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At a time when climate politics in the United States and globally remain deeply polarized, Will Hackman, a climate advocate and political operative, argues that the climate movement needs a new language — one rooted less in doom, guilt and abstract planetary crisis, and more in people’s everyday lives, health, safety, costs and communities. In [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At a time when climate politics in the United States and globally remain deeply polarized, Will Hackman, a climate advocate and political operative, argues that the climate movement needs a new language — one rooted less in doom, guilt and abstract planetary crisis, and more in people’s everyday lives, health, safety, costs and communities. In his new book, Radically Reframing Climate Change: A Guide to Saving Ourselves, he makes the case that climate advocates have too often spoken to those who already agree with them, while failing to reach people who may be cautious, doubtful or simply disconnected from the issue. The challenge, he says, is not only scientific or technological. It is political, cultural and communicative. In the United States, climate change remains politically polarized, with surveys showing that Republicans are less likely than Democrats to view it as an urgent threat, making climate messaging particularly challenging across ideological divides. Mongabay spoke with Hackman over video call about climate messaging, grassroots activism, fossil fuels, political polarization, and why he believes the climate movement must rebuild, creating a broader and more hopeful constituency. Mongabay: You write in your book that much of climate messaging has been framed around fear, guilt and apocalypse. Is that still the right way to talk about climate change? Will Hackman: I think the nature-based messages — polar bears, melting glaciers, “there is no planet B,” “save the planet,” “world on fire” — work for people who already care about climate change. But they do not&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/new-book-offers-tips-to-translate-climate-science-into-political-gains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Fisheries and climate research would be hit hard in Trump’s proposed budget</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fisheries-and-climate-research-would-be-hit-hard-in-trumps-proposed-budget/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fisheries-and-climate-research-would-be-hit-hard-in-trumps-proposed-budget/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 12:58:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01110627/o.-Julie-Larsen_3784-Harbor-Seals-and-Gulls-Maine-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320392</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, climate policy, Climate Politics, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Environmental Policy, Finance, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Government, Industry, Ocean, Politics, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Physicist Stephen Volz had been working with colleagues at the U.S.’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for nearly 10 years to produce a new generation of geostationary satellites — instruments that would provide critical observations about atmospheric conditions, climate patterns and weather. But when Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, this long-term project [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Physicist Stephen Volz had been working with colleagues at the U.S.’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for nearly 10 years to produce a new generation of geostationary satellites — instruments that would provide critical observations about atmospheric conditions, climate patterns and weather. But when Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, this long-term project was thrown into disarray. “This administration canceled three of the five instruments on that program,” Volz, the assistant administrator for NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, who has been on administrative leave since July 2025, told Mongabay. The cancellations applied to instruments that measured air pollutants, tracked lightning to forecast hurricanes and tornadoes, and monitored ocean color to detect events such as algal blooms, sargassum seaweed surges and salinity changes, according to Volz. “They said, ‘those are all wasted money, they&#8217;re climate alarmist, I don&#8217;t need air quality, I don&#8217;t need ocean color,’” Volz said about the administration’s decision. The axing of this project is just one example of what experts describe as a broad, long-term effort by the Trump administration to weaken NOAA. The long-standing scientific and regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce has historically been responsible for everything from forecasting the weather and monitoring the climate to managing fisheries and protecting marine mammals. The White House did not respond to Mongabay’s request for comment. NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite, which tracks hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean basin, as well as monitor severe weather, atmospheric rivers, wildfires, volcanic eruptions&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/fisheries-and-climate-research-would-be-hit-hard-in-trumps-proposed-budget/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Uncertainty about weakening Atlantic currents isn’t a reason to wait but to act (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 10:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Helen Findlay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02100930/Puffin_UjvalPasupuleti_09-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320448</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, England, Europe, European Union, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Fisheries, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Ecosystems, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When a scientist says, “We don’t know yet,” it can sound like a shrug. In reality, it often means the opposite: We are worried enough to be careful. The public can reasonably ask why some climate risks, especially tipping points, don’t arrive with alarm and immediate action. George Monbiot recently voiced a frustration many people [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When a scientist says, “We don’t know yet,” it can sound like a shrug. In reality, it often means the opposite: We are worried enough to be careful. The public can reasonably ask why some climate risks, especially tipping points, don’t arrive with alarm and immediate action. George Monbiot recently voiced a frustration many people feel: Why has the possibility of an Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) shift not prompted a bigger political and media response? Climate scientists are trained to avoid overclaiming and, instead, to communicate what the evidence shows, what it suggests, and what remains unresolved. That approach underpins my team’s recent research on ocean acidification, supported by the Frontiers Planet Prize. In that work, published in Global Change Biology, we found that large parts of the global ocean have already crossed into a “zone of risk” for ecosystem change. That caution can serve to downplay the threat, but the latest research on the AMOC should be understood as a warning sign: The potential outcomes could be even more severe than projected, and the uncertainty around timing and thresholds is not a reason to delay, but an argument for action now. Ocean life depends on AMOC The AMOC is often described as a giant conveyor belt of Atlantic currents. Warm, salty surface waters flow north from the tropics to the subpolar North Atlantic. On its way, the water releases heat to the atmosphere, so that by the time it reaches the subpolar region, it has cooled and become&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Survivors sue Indonesian government over response to catastrophic Sumatra floods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/survivors-sue-indonesian-government-over-response-to-catastrophic-sumatra-floods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/survivors-sue-indonesian-government-over-response-to-catastrophic-sumatra-floods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 09:28:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/15024510/AP25336127205797-Batang_Toru-Sumatra-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320475</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Disaster, Disasters, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environmental Law, Flooding, Law, Law Enforcement, Rainforest Deforestation, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A group of Indonesian citizens affected by the late-2025 Sumatra floods and landslides have filed a lawsuit with a court in Jakarta in an effort to hold the Indonesian government accountable for what they describe as an “ecological disaster.” The disasters claimed more than 1,200 lives and damaged more than 600,000 buildings across [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A group of Indonesian citizens affected by the late-2025 Sumatra floods and landslides have filed a lawsuit with a court in Jakarta in an effort to hold the Indonesian government accountable for what they describe as an “ecological disaster.” The disasters claimed more than 1,200 lives and damaged more than 600,000 buildings across three provinces, resulting in more than 100 trillion rupiah ($5.6 billion) in estimated economic losses. The plaintiffs argue the damage from Cyclone Senyar was amplified by decades of policy failures, including deforestation, extractive concessions, degraded watersheds, weak zoning, poor environmental enforcement and the absence of an effective early-warning system. Through the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are effectively asking the court to determine whether the catastrophe transcended a natural calamity and could be categorized as a foreseeable failure of governance linked to environmental degradation and state inaction. The lawsuit combines elements of Indonesia’s citizen lawsuit mechanism with a challenge to alleged unlawful government administrative inaction under a 2014 law on public services. Alfi Syukri, a lawyer with the West Sumatra chapter of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), who is representing the plaintiffs, noted that Indonesia’s meteorological agency, the BMKG, had repeatedly warned authorities about the potential for extreme weather linked to Cyclone Senyar before the disaster intensified. “So in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra [provinces], the head of BMKG Region 1 had already issued warnings eight days before [the Nov. 25 landfall], then repeated them four days before, and again two days before,” BMKG chief Teuku&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/survivors-sue-indonesian-government-over-response-to-catastrophic-sumatra-floods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>National platform launches in Australia to turn wildlife imagery into action</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/national-platform-launches-in-australia-to-turn-wildlife-imagery-into-action/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/national-platform-launches-in-australia-to-turn-wildlife-imagery-into-action/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 08:50:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Megan Strauss]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01232554/Z8K5-PwQ-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320454</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, computer vision, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Mammals, Monitoring, Technology, Wildilfe, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife monitoring in Australia could get a boost from a new platform that uses AI and computer vision to speed up the processing of millions of camera trap images being collected across the country. The national initiative named the Wildlife Observatory of Australia (WildObs) is a way to collect, store and share camera trap data [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife monitoring in Australia could get a boost from a new platform that uses AI and computer vision to speed up the processing of millions of camera trap images being collected across the country. The national initiative named the Wildlife Observatory of Australia (WildObs) is a way to collect, store and share camera trap data at scale, while improving collaboration between scientists, governments and environmental groups, according to the WildObs website. The platform is being developed by researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ), with backing from the Australian Research Data Commons, Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Camera traps are commonly used to monitor wildlife globally: they’re easy to set up and can be left at locations for long periods, providing an invaluable window into the natural world. Across Australia, thousands of projects collect millions of images, Matthew Luskin, associate professor at the UQ School of the Environment and director of WildObs, said in a statement. However, processing the images and identifying species takes time, money and computing power. WildOBS plans to speed it up. “In conservation, timing matters and detecting problems early can mean the difference between recovery and extinction,” Luskin said. WildObs requires users of the platform to upload images, which get stored and processed in the cloud. The platform’s models have been trained specifically to identify species found in Australia and can help track biodiversity trends, monitor invasive species and identify conservation priorities, according to the UQ statement. “In one collaborative space,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/national-platform-launches-in-australia-to-turn-wildlife-imagery-into-action/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Amazon oil drilling plan excludes unique hybrid manatees too big for rescue</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 07:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/28095403/1.-Acervo_FMA_04-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Biodiversity, Amazon Conservation, Animals, Conservation, Environment, Freshwater Animals, Mammals, Marine, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A rare hybrid population faces an oil frontier with a rescue plan that experts call insufficient.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October 2025, Brazilian state oil company Petrobras began drilling in the seabed where the Amazon River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, following a long, controversial environmental licensing process. At the center of the debate were concerns about the unique wildlife living here, on the shores of the states of Amapá and Pará, and about the company&#8217;s capacity to rescue these animals in the event of an oil spill. ​The potential victims range from marine birds and turtles to the recently discovered Amazon reef system. One endangered marine mammal, however, has prompted particular concern because of the extra challenges to rescuing it in the event of a disaster: the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), a species that grows to a length of around 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) and weighs an average of 700 kilograms (more than 1,500 pounds); some individuals reach up to 1,600 kg (more than 3,500 lbs). ​“Handling and transporting animals of this size requires complex logistics and large-scale equipment,” said marine biologist Fábia de Oliveira Luna, coordinator at the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals (CMA), which is part of Brazil&#8217;s environmental ministry. With a population estimated at only 1,047 individuals in Brazil and a reproduction rate of one calf every four years, “every individual removed undermines the survival of the population,” Luna told Mongabay. ​According to scientists, the oil project also jeopardizes a unique genetic code shared only by animals from this region, a result of the interbreeding between the marine manatee and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>World Peatland Day honors a crucial ecosystem in the fight against climate change</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/world-peatland-day-honors-a-crucial-ecosystem-in-the-fight-against-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/world-peatland-day-honors-a-crucial-ecosystem-in-the-fight-against-climate-change/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 05:33:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02052713/image1_GP0STR4PX_Medium-res-with-credit-line-1200px-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320460</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Finland, Global, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Peatlands, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peatlands are boggy wet ecosystems found from boreal forests in the Russian Arctic to the tropics of central Africa. Typically, when vegetation decomposes it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, when that same organic matter falls in a bog and is covered with water, carbon gets trapped and becomes sequestered there, sometimes for millennia. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peatlands are boggy wet ecosystems found from boreal forests in the Russian Arctic to the tropics of central Africa. Typically, when vegetation decomposes it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, when that same organic matter falls in a bog and is covered with water, carbon gets trapped and becomes sequestered there, sometimes for millennia. This makes peatlands essential for the world’s carbon balance. Even though they cover just 3% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, they store nearly a third of the world’s carbon. On this World Peatland Day, June 2, here’s a look at some of Mongabay’s recent peatland reporting: ‘Ancient’ carbon leaking from Congo Basin lakes The largest tropical peatland in the world, located in Africa’s Congo Basin, was only mapped about a decade ago. Scientists believe the Cuvette Centrale peatlands are roughly the size of England and hold some 30 billion metric tons of carbon. Researchers recently found some lakes in the Cuvette Centrale are slowly releasing ancient carbon. Using statistical modeling they estimated that much of the carbon being emitted locally is between 2,000 and 3,500 years old. “[I]t surprised us that almost half was coming from ancient peat carbon,” lead author of the study Travis Drake told Mongabay’s John Cannon. Scientists don’t yet know if the released carbon is a natural phenomenon or a result of something altering the system. Preserving Arctic peatlands with Indigenous knowledge In the frigid Arctic, melting permafrost from climate change is a big driver of carbon emissions from peatlands. Now,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/world-peatland-day-honors-a-crucial-ecosystem-in-the-fight-against-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Australia has the money to protect nature. It just isn&#8217;t spending it, expert says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/australia-has-the-money-to-protect-nature-it-just-isnt-spending-it-expert-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/australia-has-the-money-to-protect-nature-it-just-isnt-spending-it-expert-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 05:09:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02050610/21197082092_ddaf91e3a6_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320458</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“I think the international community really does need to put more pressure on Australia to do better,” says Euan Ritchie, a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Deakin University in Australia, in a recent episode of Mongabay’s Newscast. From animals like kangaroos, koalas and platypuses, to plants like waratah, kangaroo paw and climbing heath, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“I think the international community really does need to put more pressure on Australia to do better,” says Euan Ritchie, a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Deakin University in Australia, in a recent episode of Mongabay’s Newscast. From animals like kangaroos, koalas and platypuses, to plants like waratah, kangaroo paw and climbing heath, Australia has exceptionally high biodiversity, with a unique assemblage of wildlife found nowhere else on the planet. The Australian government claims the country is on track to meet many of its targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the landmark agreement that aims to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity, and ensure the sustainable use of biodiversity equitable sharing of benefits, among other goals, by 2050. However, Ritchie, who’s also the president of the Australian Mammal Society and a councilor for the country’s Biodiversity Council, argues that “Australia is failing miserably” on all those measures. This is despite Australia being one of the wealthiest nations on Earth in terms of GDP per capita, with a “huge number of really knowledgeable scientists,” he tells Newscast host Mike DiGirolamo. “If we look at the number of threatened species in Australia, it’s more than 2,200 now, and that list continues to increase,” Ritchie says. “We have ecosystems that are collapsing, 17 in total within Australia and two more further south into sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions that are collapsing.” The iconic koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is also now endangered in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/australia-has-the-money-to-protect-nature-it-just-isnt-spending-it-expert-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Conservationists wary of Nepal&#8217;s plan to relocate blackbucks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/conservationists-wary-of-nepals-plan-to-relocate-blackbucks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/conservationists-wary-of-nepals-plan-to-relocate-blackbucks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 04:04:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02040424/A_male_blackbuck_photographed_at_Blackbuck_Conservation_Area_Bardiya_Nepal-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320456</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Predators, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nepal is preparing to relocate 18 blackbucks from the country’s west to its south central region, near the popular Chitwan National Park. Officials say the translocation will help establish a population of the antelope in a new habitat and safeguard the species against localized disasters or disease, but conservationists question the choice of habitat and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Nepal is preparing to relocate 18 blackbucks from the country’s west to its south central region, near the popular Chitwan National Park. Officials say the translocation will help establish a population of the antelope in a new habitat and safeguard the species against localized disasters or disease, but conservationists question the choice of habitat and considerations of predation risk, reports Mongabay contributor Bibek Bhandari. According to the translocation plan, six male and 12 female blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) will be moved from Shuklaphanta National Park and Blackbuck Conservation Area in Bardiya to an enclosure in Tikauli, a corridor forest near Chitwan. While blackbucks are not listed as globally threatened on the IUCN Red List, they are considered to be critically endangered within Nepal. Conservation efforts have helped revive the blackbuck population in Nepal from just nine known individuals in 1975 in Bardiya to more than 500 today. At Tikauli, the blackbucks will be housed in a roughly 20-hectare (50-acre) enclosed area within a protected forest. However, ecologists are concerned about the suitability of Tikauli. Amar Kunwar, a community ecologist who has researched blackbuck conservation, told Mongabay that the mammals prefer hot, arid regions with short grasslands. Chitwan’s monsoonal climate is humid and prone to flooding, and its grasses can reach heights of 4.5 meters (15 feet), which limits food availability and hinders the animals&#8217; ability to detect predators. Chitwan also supports high tiger and leopard densities. “As blackbucks roam the area once translocated, they are likely to attract leopards,” said Bishnu&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/conservationists-wary-of-nepals-plan-to-relocate-blackbucks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>In Java, a women’s collective is helping save gibbons through forest-inspired textiles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 02:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Falahi Mubarok]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01143027/Kain-ecoprint-di-Basecamp-Ambu-Halimun-Foto_-Falahi-Mubarok-3--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320422</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Southeast Asia, and West Java]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Apes, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Gibbons, Industry, Natural Resources, Primates, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Women in conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BOGOR, Indonesia — In a village bordering Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park on the Indonesian island of Java, local people browse a row of fabrics carrying impressions of plants and the silhouette of the forest’s silvery gibbon. They are made by the women-led Ambu Halimun collective, whose name translates to “mothers of Halimun” in the local [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BOGOR, Indonesia — In a village bordering Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park on the Indonesian island of Java, local people browse a row of fabrics carrying impressions of plants and the silhouette of the forest’s silvery gibbon. They are made by the women-led Ambu Halimun collective, whose name translates to “mothers of Halimun” in the local dialect. The project focused on boiling and pressing distinctive local plants into motifs on fabric, which drew women like Mirna Maharani into closer observation of the vegetation surrounding the village of Citalahab. Species once overlooked, even dismissed as weeds, have since acquired new value as sources of color, pattern and identity, Mirna explained. “Now, we are preserving them,” said Mirna, 30, a mother of two. Formed in 2020 during the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the goal of Ambu Halimun was to engage women in conservation while providing an arena to uplift economic agency and professional development. Ambu Halimun is a women&#8217;s empowerment group that produces eco-friendly textiles in Bogor, West Java. Image by Falahi Mubarok/Mongabay Indonesia. Primatologist Rahayu Oktaviani, co-founder of the Kiara Foundation, which came up with the Ambu Halimun initiative, said she wanted to seed an original approach to conservation that would benefit women in Citalahab. “The forest isn’t something that is separate to them,” Rahayu told Mongabay Indonesia. “That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re building a sense of ownership.” Last year, Rahayu received the Whitley Award in recognition of her organization’s grassroots conservation work with Java’s silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), which included the work&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-java-a-womens-collective-is-helping-save-gibbons-through-forest-inspired-textiles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>How we tracked China’s deep-sea mining fleet</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 20:33:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire AlbertsKara Fox]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01160549/Model_of_Jiaolong_submersible_at_the_Five-Year_Achievements_Exhibition_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320430</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China, Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean, Taiwan, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea Mining, Energy, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, Military, Mongabay Data Studio, Mongabay investigation, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A version of this story was originally published by the Pulitzer Center, which supported Elizabeth Claire Alberts as an Ocean Reporting Network fellow. We didn’t set out to investigate China’s deep-sea mining fleet, but as our research into the burgeoning industry developed over our yearlong partnership, it became clear that an investigation into the fleet’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A version of this story was originally published by the Pulitzer Center, which supported Elizabeth Claire Alberts as an Ocean Reporting Network fellow. We didn’t set out to investigate China’s deep-sea mining fleet, but as our research into the burgeoning industry developed over our yearlong partnership, it became clear that an investigation into the fleet’s alleged military dual use was emerging as an important, untold story. Shortly after we embarked on our joint project, geopolitics around the deep-sea mining landscape began to shift dramatically. In February 2025, China signed an agreement with the Cook Islands government to collaborate on deep-sea mining research and exploration. At the same time, it was pursuing a similar deal with the archipelago nation of Kiribati, marking a notable expansion of Chinese influence in the Pacific. China holds the largest number of exploration contracts issued by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-affiliated deep-sea mining regulator, and is also its biggest financial contributor. It also operates the world’s largest oceanographic research fleet. Against this backdrop, we kept returning to a central question: was China’s pursuit of deep-sea mining driven solely for accessing mineral resources, or was it also shaped by broader geopolitical strategy? Through extensive reporting, we learned that China’s interest in seabed mining was motivated by both of these things, and that some of its vessels were engaged in both deep-sea mining work and militarily strategic surveillance. Meanwhile, deep-sea mining efforts have been gathering pace in the United States. In March 2025, The Metals Company,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-we-tracked-chinas-deep-sea-mining-fleet/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Shark Meat Nation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/06/shark-meat-nation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/06/shark-meat-nation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 18:27:33 +0000</pubDate>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alejandroprescottcornejo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/27124306/tubarao-azul_Prionace-glauca_banco-de-imagens_2025-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=specials&#038;p=320444</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Health, Marine Animals, Meat, Mercury, Overfishing, and Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil is the world’s largest consumer and importer of shark meat. But it’s not just restaurants and grocery stores — a Mongabay investigation found that the country’s government agencies have purchased thousands of tons of shark meat to serve in schools, hospitals, prisons, military bases, homeless shelters and other public institutions. The findings raise serious [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Brazil is the world’s largest consumer and importer of shark meat. But it’s not just restaurants and grocery stores — a Mongabay investigation found that the country’s government agencies have purchased thousands of tons of shark meat to serve in schools, hospitals, prisons, military bases, homeless shelters and other public institutions. The findings raise serious environmental and public health concerns because sharks are widely overfished and their meat tends to be high in heavy metals like mercury and arsenic.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/06/shark-meat-nation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Brooklyn Rivera, defender of Nicaragua’s Indigenous lands, dies in detention</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/brooklyn-rivera-defender-of-nicaraguas-indigenous-lands-dies-in-detention/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/brooklyn-rivera-defender-of-nicaraguas-indigenous-lands-dies-in-detention/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 16:19:43 +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/20/2026/06/01190642/Brooklyn-Rivera-La-Prensa-1600x900-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320434</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Latin America, Mesoamerica, and Nicaragua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Endangered Environmentalists, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[La Moskitia, on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, is often treated in Managua as a frontier: timber, gold, cattle, rivers, votes, and military concern. To the Miskitu, Sumu-Mayangna, Rama, Garífuna, and Creole peoples who live there, it is older than the Nicaraguan state. Its forests, savannas, rivers, and marine life are part of a political claim as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[La Moskitia, on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, is often treated in Managua as a frontier: timber, gold, cattle, rivers, votes, and military concern. To the Miskitu, Sumu-Mayangna, Rama, Garífuna, and Creole peoples who live there, it is older than the Nicaraguan state. Its forests, savannas, rivers, and marine life are part of a political claim as well as a homeland. The demand has long been plain enough: land, autonomy, and a say over what happens there. Brooklyn Rivera Bryan spent most of his life carrying that demand into war, negotiation, electoral politics, exile, and prison. Known in Miskitu communities as Taupla Brooklyn, he died on May 30th, aged 73, in the custody of Daniel Ortega’s government. He had been detained since September 2023. For months the government denied holding him. It later acknowledged his imprisonment. No public trial was held. His family was denied visits. His public life began after the Sandinista revolution of 1979, when the new government sought to draw the Atlantic Coast into a national project directed from the Pacific. The Miskitu experience of that project was marked by surveillance, arrests, violence, and forced displacement. In 1981 Rivera was arrested while leading Misurasata, an Indigenous organization whose name linked the Miskitu, Sumu, Rama, and Sandinistas. By 1982, thousands of Miskitu had been moved from villages along the Río Coco. Many fled to Honduras. Rivera’s cause was narrower and more durable than the Cold War frame around him: an autonomous Indigenous territory in Yapti Tasba, the aboriginal homeland. That&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/brooklyn-rivera-defender-of-nicaraguas-indigenous-lands-dies-in-detention/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Europe removes record number of dams in 2025 to restore rivers, help species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/europe-removes-record-number-of-dams-in-2025-to-restore-rivers-help-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/europe-removes-record-number-of-dams-in-2025-to-restore-rivers-help-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 16:01:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01155756/1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320438</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Dams, Freshwater, Freshwater Animals, Freshwater Ecosystems, Freshwater Fish, Rivers, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A massive slab of wartime concrete blocked the Pčinja River in Kumanovo, North Macedonia for more than 70 years. A 53-meter-long and 30-meter-wide (174 by 98 feet) structure of reinforced concrete packed with salvaged railway steel impeded the free flow of water and fish for at least 70 kilometers (44 miles) upstream. It was considered [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[A massive slab of wartime concrete blocked the Pčinja River in Kumanovo, North Macedonia for more than 70 years. A 53-meter-long and 30-meter-wide (174 by 98 feet) structure of reinforced concrete packed with salvaged railway steel impeded the free flow of water and fish for at least 70 kilometers (44 miles) upstream. It was considered a safety hazard by the local Shuplji Kamen community. In late 2025, the barrier was demolished after efforts by the nation’s Eko-svest environmental organization. It was the first large-scale removal of its type in North Macedonia. It was also one of 603 obsolete river barriers, including dams, weirs and culverts, removed from European rivers in 2025, according to the 2025 Dam Removal Europe report. Researchers estimated removing those objects reconnected more than 3,740 km (2,324 miles) of rivers across the continent, a new single year record for dam removal in Europe. “Barrier removal [is] one of the biggest ecological ‘easy wins’ available today,” Chris Baker, director of Wetlands International Europe (WIE) wrote in a statement. “These obsolete barriers no longer provide any benefits, yet they continue to degrade rivers.&#8221; According to WIE, there are roughly 1.2 million barriers in place today that fragment Europe’s rivers, of them more than 150,000 are “considered obsolete.” Since 2020, nearly 2,300 dams have been removed across Europe, mostly in Sweden, Finland and Spain. Iceland, along with North Macedonia, carried out its first removal in 2025. Iceland removed an old hydroelectric dam that was no longer in use. The barrier&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/europe-removes-record-number-of-dams-in-2025-to-restore-rivers-help-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In Brazil, a project paying farmers for forests is looking to scale up</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-brazil-a-project-paying-farmers-for-forests-is-looking-to-scale-up/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-brazil-a-project-paying-farmers-for-forests-is-looking-to-scale-up/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 11:01:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Constance Malleret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon Emissions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservation Solutions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Happy-upbeat Environmental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nature-based climate solutions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Payments For Ecosystem Services]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/01104033/10895990-3d53-4c9b-99ef-0ed67f41bc96-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320294</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Amazon Conservation, Avoided Deforestation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Ecosystem Services Payments, Farming, Nature-based climate solutions, Payments For Ecosystem Services, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Landowner Carlos Roberto Simonetti gets three harvests per year from the corn, soy and cotton plantations on his 17,000-hectare (about 42,000 acres) farm called Fazenda Natureza Feliz, or Happy Nature, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Over the course of four years, he would also get what he calls a fourth harvest, this time [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Landowner Carlos Roberto Simonetti gets three harvests per year from the corn, soy and cotton plantations on his 17,000-hectare (about 42,000 acres) farm called Fazenda Natureza Feliz, or Happy Nature, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Over the course of four years, he would also get what he calls a fourth harvest, this time from the forested areas of his property, located where the Cerrado savanna meets the Amazon Rainforest. That’s because Simonetti would receive regular payments for protecting native vegetation beyond what the law requires, as part of a pilot project for payment for ecosystem services (PES) run by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), an NGO, in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. The program, called CONSERV, gives landowners financial incentives to keep the forest standing even in areas which they are legally allowed to clear. The pilot project, which initially ran between 2020 and 2024 on 23 different properties, protected 20,707 hectares (about 51,170 acres) of land in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes with funding from the governments of Norway and The Netherlands. Ongoing contracts funded by Soft Commodities Forum members – agribusiness companies committed to preserving the Cerrado – are protecting a further 7,000 hectares (about 17,300 acres) in the states of Mato Grosso and Maranhão. IPAM is now seeking to scale up the program without relying on donations. The risk of legal deforestation The idea for CONSERV goes back to 2016, when an internal IPAM report calculated that around 1.5 million hectares (3.7&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-brazil-a-project-paying-farmers-for-forests-is-looking-to-scale-up/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>The global trafficking ring preying on a rare golden monkey from Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-global-trafficking-ring-preying-on-a-rare-golden-monkey-from-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-global-trafficking-ring-preying-on-a-rare-golden-monkey-from-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 10:15:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda WenzelMarco Mantovani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01150425/1.-photo_togo_traffic_CREDIT_EAGLE-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320300</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Brazil, India, Latin America, South America, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, India-wildlife, Law, Mammals, Monkeys, Primates, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Crime, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Smuggled in cars, aboard airplanes, or on sailboats crossing the Atlantic Ocean, tiny golden-furred monkeys are being wrenched from their Brazilian forest homes and trafficked overseas by sophisticated criminal networks. These golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) are moved through Latin America and Africa, with strong indications that they are bound for the Asian black market. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Smuggled in cars, aboard airplanes, or on sailboats crossing the Atlantic Ocean, tiny golden-furred monkeys are being wrenched from their Brazilian forest homes and trafficked overseas by sophisticated criminal networks. These golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) are moved through Latin America and Africa, with strong indications that they are bound for the Asian black market. Collectors are willing to pay as much as $100,000 for this friendly animal, which is one of Brazil’s conservation symbols. Some of the tamarins die before reaching their destination. Those that survive may end their journey emaciated, sick and sometimes, mutilated. “It is frightening in the sense that [tamarin trafficking] is a threat we believed was relatively under control,” said Luis Paulo Ferraz, executive secretary of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association (AMLD), which has led an international effort to preserve the species since the 1990s. In recent years, his team has increasingly encountered people venturing deep into the forests of Rio de Janeiro state to capture these animals. “Our field team started coming face to face with these guys, to the point that I became deeply concerned about having my staff working in areas where criminals were operating.” The golden lion tamarin, featured on Brazil’s 20-real banknote, drew the attention of the Brazilian Federal Police in 2023 after seven of these monkeys and 29 Lear’s macaws (Anodorhynchus leari), another species native to Brazil, were seized at a captive facility in neighboring Suriname. In February 2024, authorities in Togo were startled to find the same two&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/the-global-trafficking-ring-preying-on-a-rare-golden-monkey-from-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Global sand demand is outpacing nature&#8217;s ability to replenish it, UN says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/global-sand-demand-is-outpacing-natures-ability-to-replenish-it-un-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/global-sand-demand-is-outpacing-natures-ability-to-replenish-it-un-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 04:46:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01044535/Gezerasph-Sao-Miguel_Sao-Paulo-Brazil-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320384</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Coastal Ecosystems, Dredging, Environment, Erosion, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater Ecosystems, Governance, Infrastructure, Mining, Rivers, Supply Chain, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global sand mining industry removes around 50 billion metric tons of material each year, outpacing the rate at which sand replenishes through the slow geological processes of weathering, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. According to a report by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), the demand for sand is expected to grow by 45% by 2060 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global sand mining industry removes around 50 billion metric tons of material each year, outpacing the rate at which sand replenishes through the slow geological processes of weathering, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. According to a report by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), the demand for sand is expected to grow by 45% by 2060 for the building sector alone. Pascal Peduzzi, director of UNEP&#8217;s GRID-Geneva program, described sand as the “unrecognized hero of development” in a press release. But he added that its role in sustaining biodiversity and vulnerable coastal communities is frequently overlooked. “Sand is our first line of defence against sea level rise, storm surges, and salination of coastal aquifers — all hazards exacerbated by climate change,” he said. The impacts of this unsustainable sand extraction are particularly visible in Southeast Asia, which serves as a global epicenter for supply and demand. The report highlights how large-scale land reclamations and urban development projects have led to irreversible river erosion, coastal degradation, and the loss of local livelihoods. In the Philippines, for example, dredging for a new airport displaced 700 families and damaged critical fishing grounds. Similarly, sand mining in the Mekong River has caused riverbank collapses and reduced wet-season flows into Cambodia&#8217;s Tonle Sap Lake. Despite these consequences, the UNEP report notes that governance of sand resources remains fragmented and driven by short-term economic gains while long-term environmental and social costs accumulate. The report calls for an overhaul of industry processes, urging governments to adopt “national and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/global-sand-demand-is-outpacing-natures-ability-to-replenish-it-un-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Intense heat during Mecca&#8217;s spring threatens millions of Hajj pilgrims</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/intense-heat-during-meccas-spring-threatens-millions-of-hajj-pilgrims/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/intense-heat-during-meccas-spring-threatens-millions-of-hajj-pilgrims/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 03:02:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01030126/The_Kaaba_during_Hajj11-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320381</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Middle East, and Saudi Arabia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Extreme Weather, greenhouse gases, Heatwave, Religions, Temperatures, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As millions of Muslims gather for the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a new scientific analysis warned the &#8220;safe window&#8221; for the event is shrinking, with increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke due to human-induced climate change. The report was released by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), an initiative that analyses the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As millions of Muslims gather for the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a new scientific analysis warned the &#8220;safe window&#8221; for the event is shrinking, with increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke due to human-induced climate change. The report was released by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), an initiative that analyses the role of climate change in extreme weather events. The Hajj follows the Islamic lunar calendar, which is 10-15 days shorter than the more commonly used solar Gregorian calendar. This means dates of the Hajj shift earlier each year. Historically, the month of May in Saudi Arabia had milder temperatures compared to the summer months of June to September. Researchers from the WWA found May temperatures in Mecca now mirror the intense summer heat typical of the 1980s. Climate change has led to average May temperatures in Mecca surging by roughly 3.5°Celsius (6.3°Fahrenheit) compared to a pre-industrial climate, before the accelerated release of human-triggered greenhouse gases. Peak temperatures for May are now about 2°C (3.6°F ) hotter. “Climate change has once again shown us that expectations based on a climate that no longer exists can be thrown out of the window,” report co-author Clair Barnes , a research associate at Imperial College London, said in a statement. “Our analysis shows very clearly that less of the year is now safe for the millions of Muslims who wish to undertake the Hajj.” The risks are acute for pilgrims who spend 20 to 30 hours outdoors, often walking long&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/intense-heat-during-meccas-spring-threatens-millions-of-hajj-pilgrims/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>27 Moon Bears rescued from illegal Laos bile farm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 02:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/01023847/27-bears-saved-from-illegal-bile-farm_Free-the-bears3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320379</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bears, Conservation, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Crime, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In what was described as the largest bear farm rescue in Southeast Asia, authorities in Laos in conjunction with the international NGO Free the Bears freed 27 Asiatic black bears from a foreign-owned illegal bear bile farm in Laos. All 27 rescued bears were transferred to the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by Free the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In what was described as the largest bear farm rescue in Southeast Asia, authorities in Laos in conjunction with the international NGO Free the Bears freed 27 Asiatic black bears from a foreign-owned illegal bear bile farm in Laos. All 27 rescued bears were transferred to the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by Free the Bears, the organization said in a press release. “No animal should endure such cruelty,” Matt Hunt, Free the Bears CEO, said in a statement. “And we’re so glad we can now bring these 27 bears to the safety of our sanctuary where they can join more than 150 other bears rescued over the past 23 years.” The NGO said the bear bile facility was owned and operated by a Chinese national and was registered as a zoo to evade regulatory oversight, while operating as a commercial bile extraction site. During the raid, rescuers discovered infrastructure designed to hold up to 200 bears, suggesting a planned industrial-scale expansion that was thwarted. The rescued bears, aged between 1 and 3, are believed to have been poached from the wild as cubs, the NGO said. Bear bile farms across Southeast Asia often keep Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus), sometimes referred to as moon bears, in tiny cages, where their bile is extracted from their gallbladders for use in traditional medicine. “However, much of the use of bear products appears to be based more on traditions and beliefs than on actual medicinal values,” Chris Shepherd, senior conservation advocate for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/27-moon-bears-rescued-from-illegal-laos-bile-farm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Nature’s feedback loops can drive collapse. Thomas Crowther thinks they can also drive recovery</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/natures-feedback-loops-can-drive-collapse-thomas-crowther-thinks-they-can-also-drive-recovery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/natures-feedback-loops-can-drive-collapse-thomas-crowther-thinks-they-can-also-drive-recovery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 00:55:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/12020804/thomas-crowther-13-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319071</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature conservation Influencers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioacoustics, Bioacoustics and conservation, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Forests, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Technology, Technology And Conservation, Tropical Forests, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Thomas Crowther’s career has been shaped by large claims about small things. A seed, a patch of soil, a soundscape, a moment of fear, a local restoration project: each, in his telling, can become part of a larger system of cause and effect. His new book, Nature’s Echo, is built around that idea. Feedback loops, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Thomas Crowther’s career has been shaped by large claims about small things. A seed, a patch of soil, a soundscape, a moment of fear, a local restoration project: each, in his telling, can become part of a larger system of cause and effect. His new book, Nature’s Echo, is built around that idea. Feedback loops, he argues, are not just a feature of ecology. They are among the forces that formed stars, spread life across Earth, drive climate change, and may yet help repair damaged ecosystems. Crowther, a British ecologist, became one of the best-known figures in global ecology while at ETH Zurich, where he founded the Crowther Lab and built a large interdisciplinary research group. His work helped popularize the idea that ecosystem restoration could play a major role in addressing climate change, especially after a 2019 Science paper on the potential for additional tree cover drew worldwide attention, as well as criticism from scientists who warned against simplistic tree-planting narratives. His work also helped give rise to the World Economic Forum’s Trillion Trees initiative, and he has served as co-chair of the advisory board to the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. He is also the founder of Restor, an open-data platform that connects conservation and restoration initiatives around the world. Screenshot of the Restor interface. That public profile has made Crowther both influential and contested. In 2024 he was also at the center of a dispute over his departure from ETH Zurich. The university said its decision followed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/natures-feedback-loops-can-drive-collapse-thomas-crowther-thinks-they-can-also-drive-recovery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Davis “Yellowash” Washines, Yakama elder who spoke for the river and salmon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/davis-yellowash-washines-yakama-elder-who-spoke-for-the-river-and-salmon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/davis-yellowash-washines-yakama-elder-who-spoke-for-the-river-and-salmon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 May 2026 14:35:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/30143156/Davis-Yellowash-Washines-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320347</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America, United States, and Washington]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Fish, Fishing, Indigenous Culture, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Obituary, Rivers, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At Bradford Island, near Bonneville Dam, the river carried more than water. Beneath the surface of the Columbia were toxic sediments, dumped near a place where Yakama people had fished since time immemorial. To officials, it was a cleanup site. To the Yakama Nation, it was a usual and accustomed fishing place, protected by treaty. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At Bradford Island, near Bonneville Dam, the river carried more than water. Beneath the surface of the Columbia were toxic sediments, dumped near a place where Yakama people had fished since time immemorial. To officials, it was a cleanup site. To the Yakama Nation, it was a usual and accustomed fishing place, protected by treaty. To Davis Washines, known to many as Yellowash, it was also a crime scene. The victims, he said, were first the water, then the salmon and other life that depended on it, and then the people who depended on them. He did not speak that way for emphasis. He spoke from a life spent moving between law enforcement, ceremony, public service, and the river. Evidence mattered to him. So did harm, responsibility, and the obligations carried through Yakama law, culture, and memory. Yellowash died on May 1st, at his home in White Swan, Washington. He was 74. By then he had held many titles: Yakama Tribal Police chief, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission police chief, member of the Yakama Tribal Council, chairman of the Yakama Nation General Council, government relations liaison in the Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources, trustee, board chair, counselor, teacher, and ceremonial leader. The titles marked a long public life. They did not fully describe it. He began that life in public service in 1973 with the Yakama Tribal Police Department and rose to chief in 1986. He later returned to that role, and then became chief of police for the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/davis-yellowash-washines-yakama-elder-who-spoke-for-the-river-and-salmon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Hidden ‘bubble cave’ may help world’s rarest seal steer clear of humans: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/hidden-bubble-cave-may-help-worlds-rarest-seal-steer-clear-of-humans-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/hidden-bubble-cave-may-help-worlds-rarest-seal-steer-clear-of-humans-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 May 2026 06:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Megan Strauss]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/30034826/20260512_on_seals_bubble_caves_lede-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=320342</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Greece, and Mediterranean Sea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Green, Habitat, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the Greek islet of Formicula, researchers have found rare Mediterranean monk seals will take refuge in an air-filled “bubble cave,” according to a recent study. This type of hidden chamber, accessible via underwater passages, allows the seals to breathe, and possibly hide from tourists, the researchers said. Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), the world’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the Greek islet of Formicula, researchers have found rare Mediterranean monk seals will take refuge in an air-filled “bubble cave,” according to a recent study. This type of hidden chamber, accessible via underwater passages, allows the seals to breathe, and possibly hide from tourists, the researchers said. Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), the world’s rarest pinniped, are the only seals found in the Mediterranean Sea. Fewer than 1,000 of them remain, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority.     Historically, these seals hauled out on open coastal beaches to rest, molt and give birth to pups. But with increasing human disturbance from tourism, fishing and land development, they retreated to marine caves along the Mediterranean coastline to rest and breed. Study lead author Joan Gonzalvo of the Ionian Dolphin Project at the Tethys Research Institute in Italy described the “ideal cave” to Mongabay as one with a pool, a dry beach for hauling out, an entrance corridor and protection from adverse weather and choppy seas. Typically, these caves are accessible by entrances above or below water level. During a habitat assessment in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, the team was setting up a camera to monitor one of these “comfortable” marine caves on Formicula when they discovered that an underwater corridor connected to it led to a second smaller chamber. This “bubble cave” had water and a pocket of air on top, but no dry beach or platform to haul out. The team placed an underwater camera in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/hidden-bubble-cave-may-help-worlds-rarest-seal-steer-clear-of-humans-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>What is happening to Thailand’s famous giant nets</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/05/what-is-happening-to-thailands-famous-giant-nets/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/05/what-is-happening-to-thailands-famous-giant-nets/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 May 2026 06:13:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/29121038/Mongabay_Featured_YoYak-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=videos&#038;p=320279</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Culture, Fishing, Indigenous Culture, Pollution, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SONGKHLA LAKE, Thailand — Jampen tends her Yo Yak lift nets and grandkids amid vanishing Luk Bre fish. As pollution threatens this ancestral tradition, villagers join researchers to build fish shelters, map routes with GIS, and innovate processing. Can local wisdom and science revive a fading way of life? Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[SONGKHLA LAKE, Thailand — Jampen tends her Yo Yak lift nets and grandkids amid vanishing Luk Bre fish. As pollution threatens this ancestral tradition, villagers join researchers to build fish shelters, map routes with GIS, and innovate processing. Can local wisdom and science revive a fading way of life? 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 touch with us here! Banner image: Yo Yak at Songkhla Lake, Thailand. ©Thomas Cristofoletti. These tiny houses are designed to stand in extreme floodsThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/05/what-is-happening-to-thailands-famous-giant-nets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>‘People kept dying’: Interview with Dr. Macky Mbavugha on DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 19:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/29142534/AP26135299264877-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320317</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Diseases, Ebola, Economics, Environment, Gold Mining, Governance, Government, Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On May 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, sent an open letter to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling to the country for a field visit: “I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[On May 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, sent an open letter to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling to the country for a field visit: “I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know that you are not alone,” he wrote, before recalling his involvement during the deadly Ebola outbreak that struck the northeastern DRC between 2018 and 2020. Since May 15, the country has been facing a new outbreak, this time caused by the Bundibugyo variant, a strain of the disease for which there is currently neither treatment nor vaccine. Since the outbreak was declared, the death toll has continued to rise. According to the latest figures, DRC authorities recorded 121 confirmed cases with 17 confirmed deaths, as well as more than 1,077 suspected cases and 238 suspected deaths. The hemorrhagic fever first emerged in Ituri province, on the border with Uganda, before spreading to North Kivu province and to Uganda. That prompted Uganda to close its border with the DRC. While Ituri remains the worst-hit province, the risk of regional spread is high. On May 23, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) identified 10 other African countries at risk from this Ebola outbreak: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. As a result, the international response is intensifying. Dr. Macky Mbavugha is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Sri Lanka flamingo deaths raise concerns over power infrastructure in wetlands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/sri-lanka-flamingo-deaths-raise-concerns-over-power-infrastructure-in-wetlands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/sri-lanka-flamingo-deaths-raise-concerns-over-power-infrastructure-in-wetlands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 16:25:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/29131953/655002404_1516429923470661_2300597700715772004_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320298</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Development, Energy, Environment, Governance, Habitat Destruction, Habitat Loss, Migration, Poaching, Pollution, Tourism, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MANNAR, Sri Lanka — Each year, the arrival of greater flamingos transforms the lagoons of northern Sri Lanka into a mesmerizing spectacle of pale pink and white. Their synchronized movements across the shallow waters of Mannar attract birdwatchers, photographers, tourists and nature lovers from around the country and abroad. But behind this beauty lies a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[MANNAR, Sri Lanka — Each year, the arrival of greater flamingos transforms the lagoons of northern Sri Lanka into a mesmerizing spectacle of pale pink and white. Their synchronized movements across the shallow waters of Mannar attract birdwatchers, photographers, tourists and nature lovers from around the country and abroad. But behind this beauty lies a growing crisis. Recently, three flamingos were killed in Mannar after a collision with overhead power lines that crossed their flight path. Initial reports suggested electrocution, but according to Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) veterinary surgeon Balachandran Giritharan, who conducted the necropsies, the birds were not electrocuted. Instead, their long necks were slashed mid-flight when they struck the cables. The incident has renewed concerns among conservationists who have previously warned against energy infrastructure cutting across sensitive wetland habitats such as Vankalai Sanctuary, another Ramsar wetland in Mannar. Environmentalists had identified large waterbirds such as flamingos as being vulnerable to collisions. The latest flamingo deaths also add to the mounting environmental concerns surrounding development projects, particularly in Mannar, including proposed wind power projects. The issue drew international attention after the withdrawal of developer Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) from a disputed wind power project in Sri Lanka earlier this year. The Mannar region, with its strategic wind resources, has increasingly become a battleground between renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation. Flamingos are more vulnerable to collisions with power cables during dusk and early morning hours. Image courtesy of Indika Jayathissa. A global threat to flamingos Across the world,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/sri-lanka-flamingo-deaths-raise-concerns-over-power-infrastructure-in-wetlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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