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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?byline=tim-henry&#038;post_type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/tim-henry/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 21:35:20 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Tim Henry Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/tim-henry/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
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				<item>
					<title>NGO support can negatively impact allocation of Amazonian territorial rights, research finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/ngo-support-can-negatively-impact-allocation-of-amazonian-territorial-rights-research-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/ngo-support-can-negatively-impact-allocation-of-amazonian-territorial-rights-research-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 21:35:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06213342/1-Members-of-Siekopai-communities-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322687</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Reform, Land Rights, Protected Areas, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a critical role in the fight to secure title to ancestral Indigenous lands in the Amazon. They can provide financial assistance and legal representation in court, but new research shows that for groups that do not benefit from this support, the arrival of NGOs may cause more harm than good. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a critical role in the fight to secure title to ancestral Indigenous lands in the Amazon. They can provide financial assistance and legal representation in court, but new research shows that for groups that do not benefit from this support, the arrival of NGOs may cause more harm than good. A recent paper, published in Political Geography, highlights how this dynamic has played out in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. There, with the backing of the NGO Amazon Frontlines, the Siekopai community of San Pablo de Katëtsiaya won title to 42,360 hectares (104,674 acres) of their ancestral land. However, the area had long been occupied by another Indigenous group, the Kichwa community of Zancudo Cocha, or Zancudo, which also had deep cultural and spiritual ties to the land but was not included in Amazon Frontline’s efforts. Such unequal support is termed “uneven territorial sponsorship” by the study authors. It can come from third parties including NGOs, states, religious organizations and others when they support one community at the disadvantage of another that may have a similar ancestral claim to the land. In Ecuador, it has led to tensions between the two communities, with reported incidents of violence and a lack of compromise. Amazon Frontlines helped the Siekopai secure title to the territory by framing their claim in a more non-Indigenous, Western, legal tradition, which defines territory as sovereign, sacred and timeless, according to the paper. In contrast, Amazonian communities tend to see territorial claims as more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/ngo-support-can-negatively-impact-allocation-of-amazonian-territorial-rights-research-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/ngo-support-can-negatively-impact-allocation-of-amazonian-territorial-rights-research-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322687</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As East Africa’s oceans change, coastal women build new livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/as-east-africas-oceans-change-coastal-women-build-new-livelihoods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/as-east-africas-oceans-change-coastal-women-build-new-livelihoods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 21:18:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06211809/AP26184586755133-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322685</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MALINDI, Kenya (AP) — Across East Africa’s coastline, climate change and industrial fishing are threatening the livelihoods of millions who depend on the ocean. In Kenya, women are turning to community tourism, mangrove restoration and other nature-based enterprises as declining fish stocks force them to adapt. Their experiences mirror a regional push to strengthen coastal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MALINDI, Kenya (AP) — Across East Africa’s coastline, climate change and industrial fishing are threatening the livelihoods of millions who depend on the ocean. In Kenya, women are turning to community tourism, mangrove restoration and other nature-based enterprises as declining fish stocks force them to adapt. Their experiences mirror a regional push to strengthen coastal resilience through sustainable livelihoods and marine conservation, as governments and environmental groups call for stronger action to protect fisheries, curb illegal fishing and safeguard the future of the region’s oceans. Conservation groups also are urging African governments to ratify a landmark U.N. pact establishing marine protected areas in international waters and fair sharing of marine resources. By Allan Olingo, Associated Press Banner image: An unfinished restaurant under construction by a women&#8217;s group led by Nuru Mohammed is seen in Sabaki, Malindi, Kenya, on June 15, 2026. Allan Olingo, Associated Press. This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/as-east-africas-oceans-change-coastal-women-build-new-livelihoods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/as-east-africas-oceans-change-coastal-women-build-new-livelihoods/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322685</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>María Laura Tolmos, 37, turned a childhood in the Amazon into her life’s work</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/maria-laura-tolmos-37-turned-a-childhood-in-the-amazon-into-her-lifes-work/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/maria-laura-tolmos-37-turned-a-childhood-in-the-amazon-into-her-lifes-work/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 19:45:35 +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/20/2026/07/06193543/Marie_Rainer-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322527</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; Maria Laura Tolmos Coquelet grew up in the Peruvian Amazon. As a child, she explored rivers by kayak and looked for animals along the banks. Nature was not a distant idea to her. It was home, and it shaped the course of her life. Tolmos, who died of breast cancer on June 21st in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; Maria Laura Tolmos Coquelet grew up in the Peruvian Amazon. As a child, she explored rivers by kayak and looked for animals along the banks. Nature was not a distant idea to her. It was home, and it shaped the course of her life. Tolmos, who died of breast cancer on June 21st in Barcelona, aged 37, became a forest scientist because the forest had never been remote to her. She studied forest sciences in Peru, then went to Germany for a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in forest sciences and forest ecology at the University of Göttingen, which she completed in 2024. Her research examined patterns of plant and tree diversity across islands, island-like ecosystems, mountains, and tropical landscapes. She studied different dimensions of biodiversity, from taxonomy to evolutionary history to function, and the environmental gradients that shape them. Her science was exacting because its source was personal. Deforestation, pollution, and the overuse of natural resources were pressures she had seen in places she knew. At Wilderness International, where she served as co-director of science and sat on the board of Wilderness International Perú, she helped turn concern into method: field knowledge, ecological assessment, institutional trust, and long-term protection. Alongside her husband, Fabian Mühlberger, and others, she helped create the team that founded Wilderness International Perú in 2019. María Laura Tolmos. From her social media. She was, colleagues said, a stickler for detail in the best sense. She wanted clean data, robust methods, and answers that could withstand&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/maria-laura-tolmos-37-turned-a-childhood-in-the-amazon-into-her-lifes-work/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322527</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The women leading a quiet conservation revolution in a Nigerian gorilla sanctuary</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-women-leading-a-quiet-conservation-revolution-in-a-nigerian-gorilla-sanctuary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-women-leading-a-quiet-conservation-revolution-in-a-nigerian-gorilla-sanctuary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 19:06:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Orji Sunday]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06183609/IMG_5299_UlomWomen-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322651</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Gender, Gorillas, Governance, Great Apes, Illegal Logging, Mammals, Primates, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BOKI, Nigeria — The morning light fills Ulom with warmth and radiance. A dome of mountains, their green vegetation spread out like giant green walls, is visible at the edge of this serene village in Nigeria’s southeast. In the king’s palace, a women&#8217;s group kicks off its monthly meeting with prayers and choruses. Today’s meeting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BOKI, Nigeria — The morning light fills Ulom with warmth and radiance. A dome of mountains, their green vegetation spread out like giant green walls, is visible at the edge of this serene village in Nigeria’s southeast. In the king’s palace, a women&#8217;s group kicks off its monthly meeting with prayers and choruses. Today’s meeting centers on river pollution, a significant issue being addressed as part of a broader initiative to save Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (AMWS), a 100-square-kilometer (39-square-mile) wildlife hotspot situated near Ulom. Gazetted in 2000, the sanctuary is inhabited by the critically endangered Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus); porcupines; duikers; and dozens of bird, bat, and butterfly species. Afi is the shared heritage of 16 villages, including Ulom, broadly known as the sanctuary’s landlords. Together, these communities have set up initiatives and bylaws aimed at protecting the hotspot, often in collaboration with nonprofits and other stakeholders. The women&#8217;s collective meeting here today is one signal of a growing surge of women’s conservation leadership across the host communities. Asu Margaret, the group secretary, reads aloud from a notebook. &#8220;In our previous meeting we discussed how to prevent wildfires in the Afi Mountains,” she says. “We rejected the felling of trees. We maintain the ban on timber dealers.” Only about 300 Cross River gorillas are estimated to survive in the wild; roughly 100 of them live in a patchwork of interconnected protected areas that includes Afi, Mbe Mountains,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-women-leading-a-quiet-conservation-revolution-in-a-nigerian-gorilla-sanctuary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-women-leading-a-quiet-conservation-revolution-in-a-nigerian-gorilla-sanctuary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322651</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>War reveals the isolation of Iran’s scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 18:39:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03153524/greater-flamingo-Phoenicopterus-roseus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322511</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Finance, Funding, NGOs, Politics, Research, Science, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The smiles on the faces of Iman Ebrahimi and his colleagues in the photograph are revealing: After more than a month of war in Iran, a tenuous ceasefire in mid-April offered a brief window for the team to travel to one of Ebrahimi’s favorite field sites. Maharloo Lake is the “hottest spot for flamingo breeding [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The smiles on the faces of Iman Ebrahimi and his colleagues in the photograph are revealing: After more than a month of war in Iran, a tenuous ceasefire in mid-April offered a brief window for the team to travel to one of Ebrahimi’s favorite field sites. Maharloo Lake is the “hottest spot for flamingo breeding in Iran,” he said excitedly on a video call during a rare period of stable internet early in the war. They saw “at least 5,000” greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) that day, he said, though there were probably more beyond the reach of their binoculars. “It was incredible.” A salt lake that tinges pink when summer heat shrinks its footprint, the lake was flush with water when they visited. “This is a very lovely place, but I&#8217;ve never seen Maharloo like this,” Ebrahimi said. The winter rains had been heavier than normal, to be sure, but he said he also suspects that agricultural and industrial activity, muted by the war, were drawing off less water from the lake — an unanticipated impact. Ebrahimi and his teammates from the NGO AvayeBoom Bird Conservation Society are doing their best to track the conflict’s effects on Iran’s environment. They’ve noticed, for example, shifts in bird aggregations, apparently moving away from areas that reverberate with airstrikes. But the war has also laid bare the damage caused by international sanctions imposed by the U.S., the EU and the U.N., along with other moves to cut Iran off from the rest of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/war-reveals-the-isolation-of-irans-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322511</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil boosts budget and number of firefighters amid strong El Niño forecast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/brazil-boosts-budget-and-number-of-firefighters-amid-strong-el-nino-forecast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/brazil-boosts-budget-and-number-of-firefighters-amid-strong-el-nino-forecast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 17:12:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06170939/CV_Black_Carbon_Brazil_EDITORIAL_02-768x512.gif" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322606</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Disasters, Earth Science, El Nino, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil has increased wildfire spending and has hired a record number of federal firefighters in anticipation of extreme drought in the Amazon due to what could be one of the strongest El Niño events in more than a century. The El Niño climate pattern, which emerges from unusually warm waters in the tropical Pacific, typically [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Brazil has increased wildfire spending and has hired a record number of federal firefighters in anticipation of extreme drought in the Amazon due to what could be one of the strongest El Niño events in more than a century. The El Niño climate pattern, which emerges from unusually warm waters in the tropical Pacific, typically brings hotter, drier conditions to large parts of the Amazon. This raises the risk of severe drought and large wildfires. With a ‘strong’ to ‘very strong’ El Niño predicted this year, the impacts on the world’s largest rainforest are also expected to be more extreme. “I&#8217;m not calm. I&#8217;m very alert,” João Paulo Sotero, director of deforestation and fire policy at Brazil&#8217;s environment ministry, told Mongabay in a video interview. “We are much better prepared [now] than we were in 2024 and 2025 … we are prepared for the worst scenario.” Sotero said Brazil has increased funding for fire management in 2026 to 1.023 billion reais ($197 million), up 28% from 2025, or 24% after adjusting for inflation, rising after pro&#8211;deforestation president Jair Bolsonaro left office at the end of 2022. The budget is now five times larger than it was in 2019. The environment ministry also hired 4,410 additional federal firefighters for the 2026 fire season. In 2024, 3,224 firefighters were hired, while 4,358 firefighters were hired in 2025. Map by Emilie Languedoc/Mongabay. According to Sotero, his team has identified high-risk locations in the Amazon to focus efforts, including a new deforestation frontier in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/brazil-boosts-budget-and-number-of-firefighters-amid-strong-el-nino-forecast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322606</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Listen to whales to improve connection, care &#038; ocean health (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listen-to-whales-to-improve-connection-care-ocean-health-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listen-to-whales-to-improve-connection-care-ocean-health-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 17:07:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David GruberSylvia Earle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/11143500/whales-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322579</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Cetaceans, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Ecosystems, Environment, Mammals, Marine, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Science, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seventy years ago, Le Monde du Silence, a film by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle, depicted the ocean as silent. Today, we know that the ocean is filled with the melodies of millions of vocalizing sea creatures, from the crisp snapping of shrimps to the complex singing and speaking of whales. In fact, the first [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seventy years ago, Le Monde du Silence, a film by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle, depicted the ocean as silent. Today, we know that the ocean is filled with the melodies of millions of vocalizing sea creatures, from the crisp snapping of shrimps to the complex singing and speaking of whales. In fact, the first life to vocalize with intent likely began in the sea. It is far from silent. Together, our careers span generations of ocean exploration. Sylvia has spent more than seven decades advancing ocean exploration and conservation, helping inspire the protection of critical marine ecosystems. And David has worked for more than three decades to better understand how marine life perceive their world, which has led him to a current focus with Project CETI translating the communication of whales. This is uncovering a vast depth and complexity in whale voices, which we are just beginning to understand. While there have been remarkable conservation successes, the overall trend is clear: the health of the ocean is declining faster than our efforts to protect it. Throughout our careers, we have witnessed extraordinary discoveries about marine life as well as humans’ ability to access even its deepest reaches, alongside dramatic changes to the ocean itself. We have celebrated conservation victories and scientific and technological breakthroughs. But we have also watched habitats disappear, species decline, and human impacts reach even the most remote corners of our oceans. David Gruber and Sylvia Earle in conversation for the Project CETI program, &#8220;The Deep&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/listen-to-whales-to-improve-connection-care-ocean-health-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322579</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>King vultures in Costa Rica: Photo of the week</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/king-vultures-in-costa-rica-photo-of-the-week/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/king-vultures-in-costa-rica-photo-of-the-week/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 16:45:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06171930/King-Vulture-CostaRica26_-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322615</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America and Costa Rica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Photos, Vultures, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two king vultures (Sarcoramphus papa), one of the largest vulture species in the Americas, perch on a tree branch in Costa Rica. One leans over to nibble the other. The king vulture’s range stretches from Mexico south through the Amazon Rainforest and down to northern Argentina. These birds have a wingspan of up to 2 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two king vultures (Sarcoramphus papa), one of the largest vulture species in the Americas, perch on a tree branch in Costa Rica. One leans over to nibble the other. The king vulture’s range stretches from Mexico south through the Amazon Rainforest and down to northern Argentina. These birds have a wingspan of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet), white plumage with black wingtips, and a remarkably colorful head with orange, yellow, red and purple hues. The species is featured symbolically in ancient Maya carvings, manuscripts and painted ceramics that date back millennia. More recently in the Amazon, historians detailed Indigenous oral traditions that feature king vultures as a master of fire. Peter Hudson, a professor of biology at Penn State University, U.S., captured the photo above in April 2026. “They really look very, very prehistoric,” he told Mongabay by phone. “They&#8217;re beautiful birds, absolutely stunning.” In Costa Rica, ecotourism has helped garner support for the conservation of vultures and other species, Hudson said. In the areas surrounding national parks and public nature reserves, private landowners are becoming more interested in conservation and offering tourists hides from which they can observe wildlife. It was from one of these hideouts on private land that Hudson spotted and photographed the king vultures. In total, he spotted six vultures, one which he suspects was a juvenile. “[The owner of the hideout] was going ecstatic when one of them was leaning over to sort of nibble at the other one,” Hudson said, describing the moment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/king-vultures-in-costa-rica-photo-of-the-week/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/king-vultures-in-costa-rica-photo-of-the-week/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322615</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil’s expanding offshore oil frontier puts biodiversity at risk: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 15:42:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Daniel Shailer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06151639/mesophotic-reef-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity Hotspots, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, extractives, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Health, Marine, Oil, Oil Drilling, Oil Spills, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In late August 2019, fishing communities along the northeast coast of Brazil reported black oily stains washing up on beaches, with crude clumping between the roots of mangroves, on the shells of turtles and on growing numbers of beached fish. The origin of the spill was never confirmed: Then-president Jair Bolsonaro first blamed a Venezuelan [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In late August 2019, fishing communities along the northeast coast of Brazil reported black oily stains washing up on beaches, with crude clumping between the roots of mangroves, on the shells of turtles and on growing numbers of beached fish. The origin of the spill was never confirmed: Then-president Jair Bolsonaro first blamed a Venezuelan tanker, then Greenpeace. What was soon clear, however, was the scale of the disaster. Carried by strong winds and ocean currents, by early 2020 the oil had contaminated thousands of kilometers of coastline across all nine Brazilian states in the region. As the country’s government issued its first oil exploration licenses off the northeast coast in two decades earlier this year, research published last month looks to predict the scale and spread of a potential future spill. According to the study, outdated marine habitat maps and a failure to consider expansion across multiple sites in the region has led officials to underestimate the environmental risks of oil spills, especially for seagrass meadows and deepwater corals. Regions where a spill is more likely to happen should prepare an emergency response, the paper recommends, while “areas of high conservation importance but relatively lower oil spill risk” could be targeted for new or expanded Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a precaution. “Most of the licensing just looks at one activity in one location: not the whole seascape,” Rafael Magris, an ecologist at the Chico Mendez Institute for Biodiversity Conservation and lead author of the research, told Mongabay in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s birdwatchers help monitor wildlife and promote tourism</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 15:09:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bibek Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06123303/Spiny-Babbler-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322563</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Citizen Science, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, data, Ecotourism, Environment, Research, Science, Tourism, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — As a child, Shankar Tiwari and his friends killed birds for fun around Chitwan National Park in central Nepal, where they grew up. Years later, a foreign guest at the hotel where Tiwari worked took him birdwatching and turned the hunter into a bird lover. The striking yellow and black plumage and red [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — As a child, Shankar Tiwari and his friends killed birds for fun around Chitwan National Park in central Nepal, where they grew up. Years later, a foreign guest at the hotel where Tiwari worked took him birdwatching and turned the hunter into a bird lover. The striking yellow and black plumage and red eyes of the black-hooded oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), which he saw magnified through binoculars for the first time, sparked Tiwari&#8217;s lifelong passion for birds, he said. Today, the 57-year-old is one of Nepal&#8217;s leading birdwatching guides and a prominent member of the country&#8217;s growing birdwatching community that is contributing to bird conservation while promoting it as a tourism attraction. Enthusiasts look for birds in Suryabinayak, Kathmandu Image courtesy of Prasan Shrestha. &#8220;The birdwatching community has grown significantly today,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This has helped not just in raising awareness of the birds, but the community also helps in keeping tabs on the birds — how their habitat and population have changed over the years.&#8221; A new study suggests that birdwatching is becoming increasingly popular in Nepal, particularly among the young, and that this trend &#8220;contributes to biodiversity conservation through public engagement and ecological data collection.&#8221; In Nepal&#8217;s capital, Kathmandu, nonprofits like Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) and Friends of Birds organize events on weekends, drawing a diverse group of birdwatchers. Despite the increasing popularity of birdwatching, the study notes, public participation and data sharing remain limited. A black-hooded oriole, the bird that sparked Tiwari’s lifelong passion for birds.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322563</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sightings off Southern Africa suggest blue and fin whales may be rebounding</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sightings-off-southern-africa-suggest-blue-and-fin-whales-may-be-rebounding/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sightings-off-southern-africa-suggest-blue-and-fin-whales-may-be-rebounding/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 11:59:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06115424/Fin-whale-off-Namibia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322564</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Namibia, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Citizen Science, Conservation, Mammals, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Research, Science, Whales, Whaling, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sightings of blue whales and fin whales off Southern Africa’s Atlantic coast have increased in recent years, according to a newly published study. This could signal recovery of the marine mammals after being virtually eliminated from the area by commercial whaling in the 20th century, the study authors say. Scientists estimate around 350,000 Antarctic blue [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sightings of blue whales and fin whales off Southern Africa’s Atlantic coast have increased in recent years, according to a newly published study. This could signal recovery of the marine mammals after being virtually eliminated from the area by commercial whaling in the 20th century, the study authors say. Scientists estimate around 350,000 Antarctic blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) and some 725,000 fin whales (B. physalus quoyi) were killed in the Atlantic during the industrial whaling era from 1913-1978, driving both whales to near extinction. A research team led by Bridget James of the University of Cape Town, South Africa, set out to assess if both subspecies are recovering in the Benguela ecosystem in the southeastern Atlantic. It’s a stretch of water between the west coasts of northern Angola, Namibia and South Africa, where currents bring nutrients from lower ocean depths to the surface, producing rich blooms of krill, a marine crustacean that both whale subspecies eat. The team found that between 1964 and March 2025, there were 17 reports of blue whale sightings and one report of stranding in the region. They also recorded 76 fin whale sightings and six strandings. The blue whales were most often seen between late spring to summer (October-December) and autumn (March-April) in the Benguela ecosystem, while fin whales were seen year-round. While the number of sightings is still relatively low, 95% of them were recorded since 2012. James told Mongabay by email that the Benguela ecosystem is a migratory corridor between breeding and feeding grounds for the whales, and that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sightings-off-southern-africa-suggest-blue-and-fin-whales-may-be-rebounding/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322564</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dusky langurs start using new canopy bridge in Malaysia&#8217;s Penang Island</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/dusky-langurs-start-using-new-canopy-bridge-in-malaysias-penang-island/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/dusky-langurs-start-using-new-canopy-bridge-in-malaysias-penang-island/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 09:42:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06094009/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-01-at-7.47.47-AM-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322542</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cities, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Development, Endangered Species, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Human-wildlife Conflict, Innovation, Mammals, Monkeys, Primates, Rainforests, Solutions, urban ecology, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Endangered dusky langurs have successfully begun using a new artificial canopy bridge in a major tourism hub on Malaysia’s Penang Island. Camera traps set up by the Langur Project Penang (LPP) confirmed that the first dusky langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) crossed the bridge made out of old fire hoses on June 1, about two months after [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Endangered dusky langurs have successfully begun using a new artificial canopy bridge in a major tourism hub on Malaysia’s Penang Island. Camera traps set up by the Langur Project Penang (LPP) confirmed that the first dusky langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) crossed the bridge made out of old fire hoses on June 1, about two months after it was installed on April 8, 2026. Known as &#8220;The Obscura,&#8221; the bridge was installed in Batu Ferringhi, a beach resort town in the northern part of Penang Island. LPP founder Yap Jo Leen previously told Mongabay that the bridge provides a safe path for urban wildlife, such as langurs and macaques, to cross busy roads without risking death by vehicles or electric wires. LPP, a citizen science-driven conservation initiative, works to mitigate the habitat fragmentation caused by Malaysia’s rapid urban development. Mongabay previously reported that Malaysia has lost more than half its forest cover since 1900 as its human population has climbed. What forest remains is increasingly divided by roads and residential infrastructure, isolating populations of wild animals in residential areas away from their natural habitats. Yap documented eight langurs killed by vehicles during her research in Penang between 2016 and 2018. Since then, LPP has installed three bridges made of fire hoses, The Obscura being the latest, to help the langurs cross roads. The first bridge, Ah Lai’s Crossing, was installed in 2019 to help a group of langurs navigate a busy coastal road to find food. While a long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/dusky-langurs-start-using-new-canopy-bridge-in-malaysias-penang-island/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322542</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Southeast Asia, peer-support network boosts women’s well-being in conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-southeast-asia-peer-support-network-boosts-womens-well-being-in-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-southeast-asia-peer-support-network-boosts-womens-well-being-in-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 08:21:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06075921/Banner_Group-sharing-at-a-women-support-network-meeting.-Image-courtesy-of-ASAP-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322529</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation leadership, Culture, Environment, Gender, Health, Solutions, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Jessa Cabaay began working in marine conservation in the Philippines, she frequently found she was the only woman in the room. Her isolation meant she often felt anxious while presenting at stakeholder meetings, sensing her audience questioned her credibility. “Most of the fishing communities I was working with were older and male,” Cabaay says, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Jessa Cabaay began working in marine conservation in the Philippines, she frequently found she was the only woman in the room. Her isolation meant she often felt anxious while presenting at stakeholder meetings, sensing her audience questioned her credibility. “Most of the fishing communities I was working with were older and male,” Cabaay says, describing her experience of discussions on planning out marine protected areas (MPAs). “They didn’t listen the first few times I tried to talk to them.” Cabaay says she observed that her male colleagues were rarely under the same pressure to prove their competence. Now the technical manager of Community Centered Conservation (C3), a Philippine-based nonprofit, she says the fishers’ skepticism likely reflected cultural beliefs held in many Philippine coastal communities that place women in domestic roles rather than professional ones. “There are expectations that as a woman, you follow; you cannot lead,” she says. Lacking female colleagues to turn to for support and advice, Cabaay persevered largely alone through her early-career struggles. Now, however, she finds strength and encouragement through a peer-support network that links female conservation professionals across Southeast Asia. Connecting with other women facing similar challenges has been a game changer, she says: “I realized I’m not struggling alone. We all feel the same.” The initiative, the Network of Women (NOW), is led by the Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP), a Singapore-based interagency coalition that focuses on critically endangered species of land and freshwater vertebrates. Launched in 2021, the program combines in-person leadership&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/in-southeast-asia-peer-support-network-boosts-womens-well-being-in-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322529</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What are these parrots saying?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/what-are-these-parrots-saying/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/what-are-these-parrots-saying/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jul 2026 15:47:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Julia Lemos Lima]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lucia Torres]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/05154614/Yellow-naped-Amazon8-c-World-Parrot-Trust-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322525</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Communication, Language, Parrots, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[New research shows that the yellow-naped amazon (Amazona auropalliata), a critically endangered parrot in Central America, has a sophisticated way of communicating. Instead of just making noise, these birds perform complex &#8220;warble duets&#8221; that act like synchronized sentences to protect their territory. Using software designed for human language, scientists discovered that these parrots have a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[New research shows that the yellow-naped amazon (Amazona auropalliata), a critically endangered parrot in Central America, has a sophisticated way of communicating. Instead of just making noise, these birds perform complex &#8220;warble duets&#8221; that act like synchronized sentences to protect their territory. Using software designed for human language, scientists discovered that these parrots have a &#8220;vocabulary&#8221; of 36 different calls. Their duets follow &#8220;syntactic rules&#8221; — essentially parrot grammar — to keep their messages organized. Partners coordinate their timing and use sex-specific calls to stay in sync. This proves that these clever birds have advanced cognitive abilities similar to humans.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/what-are-these-parrots-saying/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/what-are-these-parrots-saying/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322525</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tropical mountain wildlife are at high risk from climate change impacts, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tropical-mountain-wildlife-are-at-high-risk-from-climate-change-impacts-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tropical-mountain-wildlife-are-at-high-risk-from-climate-change-impacts-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 18:45:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03141315/mountain-shot-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322508</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, Mammals, Mountains, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the planet warms, animals living in tropical mountains may find it increasingly difficult to shift to new areas, according to a new study. Tropical mountains are particularly at risk when the impacts of climate change combine with changes in land use and human pressures, Chiara Dragonetti, co-author of the study published in June, told [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the planet warms, animals living in tropical mountains may find it increasingly difficult to shift to new areas, according to a new study. Tropical mountains are particularly at risk when the impacts of climate change combine with changes in land use and human pressures, Chiara Dragonetti, co-author of the study published in June, told Mongabay in a video call. Many mountain-dwelling species are endemic to those areas and can only tolerate climatic conditions within narrow limits, researchers have previously found. Higher altitudes may be the right temperature but the wrong habitat, and species already living at high altitudes can only shift so high. Eventually, animals can run out of safe space on a mountain in a pattern scientists have dubbed an “escalator to extinction.”  Changes in how mountain land is used can further limit animals&#8217; movement. Dragonetti wanted to understand how mountain wildlife will fare in a warming world, while also considering land-use changes and the species’ dispersal abilities. She and her colleagues analyzed existing global datasets of distribution for 395 different mountain-dwelling species, including 361 birds and 34 mammals, breaking them down by animals that can easily disperse, such as birds, and those that can’t easily relocate, such as sloths. They then used computer models to project where these species could occur in 2050, under future high and low greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. The study found that under a high emissions scenario, wildlife would lose 16% more range (or places they can live) compared to a low emissions&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tropical-mountain-wildlife-are-at-high-risk-from-climate-change-impacts-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/tropical-mountain-wildlife-are-at-high-risk-from-climate-change-impacts-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322508</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Australia’s seagrass meadows under pressure as climate change turns up the heat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/australias-seagrass-meadows-under-pressure-as-climate-change-turns-up-the-heat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/australias-seagrass-meadows-under-pressure-as-climate-change-turns-up-the-heat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 15:19:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02094729/3-leafy-sea-dragon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322342</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Great Barrier Reef, and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Climate, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystem Engineers, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Warming, Habitat, Impact Of Climate Change, Marine, Marine Conservation, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Plants, Research, Restoration, Science, Seagrass, Solutions, Temperatures, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is renowned for its coral, but far less so for its expansive seagrass meadows. “People don&#8217;t dive on them, don&#8217;t snorkel on them, and don&#8217;t go rock pooling on them,” said Emma Jackson, director of the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre (CMERC) at Central Queensland University. She’s a self-confessed seagrass nerd. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is renowned for its coral, but far less so for its expansive seagrass meadows. “People don&#8217;t dive on them, don&#8217;t snorkel on them, and don&#8217;t go rock pooling on them,” said Emma Jackson, director of the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre (CMERC) at Central Queensland University. She’s a self-confessed seagrass nerd. One reason, she said, is because “they have this wealth of different ecosystem services.” Though they’re known as the “ugly cousins” of coral reefs, these flowering grass-like plants provide a home and foraging grounds for marine life, as well as habitat for commercial fish species. These meadows stabilize sediments, help cleanse the water column and sequester substantial amounts of carbon. “I think when people understand that, then they can share my nerdiness and share that passion for seagrass,” Jackson said. Emma Jackson, who directs CMERC (right), envisions large-scale restoration using many seagrass species, with the process as routine as seeding a lawn. Image courtesy CMERC. The Great Barrier Reef is home to around 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) of seagrass, an area larger than Belgium, which accounts for about 11% of the world’s total. Australia is a global hotspot of seagrass biodiversity, hosting around half of the world’s 60 species of the plants. But as climate change ratchets up temperatures and triggers more frequent extreme weather events, Australia’s marine meadows are increasingly battered by intense storms and cyclones, flooding, and devastating marine heat waves. Algal blooms are also impacting seagrasses by blocking out sunlight&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/australias-seagrass-meadows-under-pressure-as-climate-change-turns-up-the-heat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/australias-seagrass-meadows-under-pressure-as-climate-change-turns-up-the-heat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322342</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New data reveals surge in human rights abuses linked to transition minerals mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-data-reveals-surge-in-human-rights-abuses-linked-to-transition-minerals-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-data-reveals-surge-in-human-rights-abuses-linked-to-transition-minerals-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 15:01:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03145709/AP23293755373969-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322510</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conflict, Critical Minerals, Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[New data released by the Business &#38; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that, worldwide, South America has the most abuse allegations associated with large-scale mining for transition minerals over the past 15 years. Such minerals are essential for the shift away from fossil fuels and are critical for other industries, such as tech and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[New data released by the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that, worldwide, South America has the most abuse allegations associated with large-scale mining for transition minerals over the past 15 years. Such minerals are essential for the shift away from fossil fuels and are critical for other industries, such as tech and defense. Many of the allegations were associated with environmental harm including water pollution and deforestation. Roughly 36% of such abuse allegations recorded between 2010 and 2025 were in South America. Many of the abuses involved local community rights violations, labor rights violations and attacks against defenders. Of the allegations reported worldwide in 2025, 17% were related to the abuse of Indigenous People’s rights, including their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent before mining activities could take place in their territory.   The researchers analyzed the BHRRC’s Transition Minerals Tracker to identify allegations of abuse related to mining nine key transitional minerals, including bauxite, cobalt, copper and lithium. They identified 329 allegations of abuse in 2025, up from 156 in 2024. Between 2010 and 2025, Peru had the most reported allegations (174), followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (151) and Chile (137). “This year’s data really lays bare the cost of conflict: we’re seeing project delays and suspensions as a direct result of human rights concerns, which poses a real threat to the transition as a whole,” author of the report Blanca Racionero Gomez, natural resources and just energy transition senior researcher at the BHRRC,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-data-reveals-surge-in-human-rights-abuses-linked-to-transition-minerals-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/new-data-reveals-surge-in-human-rights-abuses-linked-to-transition-minerals-mining/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322510</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Malawi agroecologists see opportunity in Gulf fertilizer supply disruption</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/malawi-agroecologists-see-opportunity-in-gulf-fertilizer-supply-disruption/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/malawi-agroecologists-see-opportunity-in-gulf-fertilizer-supply-disruption/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 14:04:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03135918/5549095911_375e8f47bf_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322462</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, climate finance, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Fertilizers, Finance, Industrial Agriculture, and Subsistence Agriculture]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the first rays of the sun streak through the misty morning early in June, James Singano spits into his right hand for a good grip of the hoe handle. With one swing, he brings down a shrub. Malawi’s farming season is five months away, but Singano has started clearing the land where he inter-crops [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the first rays of the sun streak through the misty morning early in June, James Singano spits into his right hand for a good grip of the hoe handle. With one swing, he brings down a shrub. Malawi’s farming season is five months away, but Singano has started clearing the land where he inter-crops maize, a staple food here, with pigeon peas. He is one of the more than 4 million smallholder farmers that depend on subsistence farming and contribute significantly to national food security by producing 80% of Malawi&#8217;s annual maize harvest. Most of them farm on less than a hectare. From his farm in the outskirts of Blantyre City in Southern Malawi, Singano’s maize harvest varies between 400kg and 600kg annually, which hardly feeds his family of six for a year. He says the land’s yield has consistently over the last 21 years, since he inherited it from his parents. “They (parents) did not need fertilizer to produce enough maize for our family,” he says, sweeping off the shrub he has cut with his bare foot onto a heap of grass nearby. “These days, farming is a lot of toil for very little harvest because the soil isn’t producing as much and fertilizer is getting harder to afford.” Maize is staple crop in Malawi and its production is heavily dependent on chemical fertilizers. Malawi imports over 90 percent of the over 400,000 tons of fertilizers it consumes annually – Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay. Soils losing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/malawi-agroecologists-see-opportunity-in-gulf-fertilizer-supply-disruption/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/malawi-agroecologists-see-opportunity-in-gulf-fertilizer-supply-disruption/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322462</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Declining carp fishes in Bangladesh&#8217;s Kaptai Lake leave small-scale fishers struggling</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:37:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sifayet Ullah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03120854/52968673629_93956cfcf2_4k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322452</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community Development, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Degradation, Lakes, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A faded towel draped over his shoulders, 53-year-old Khokon Jaladas sat quietly in the yard of his home. Just beyond his house, a few fishing boats moored in Kaptai Lake, the largest manmade reservoir in Bangladesh. He watched them quietly. Until a few years ago, he would have been out on the water too, spending [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A faded towel draped over his shoulders, 53-year-old Khokon Jaladas sat quietly in the yard of his home. Just beyond his house, a few fishing boats moored in Kaptai Lake, the largest manmade reservoir in Bangladesh. He watched them quietly. Until a few years ago, he would have been out on the water too, spending long hours casting nets and trying to catch enough fish to feed his family. But now, fishing alone is no longer enough for him. To make ends meet, he works as a laborer in the boat building sector while continuing to fish whenever he can. “There used to be plenty of carp fish. We could catch fish easily and earned Tk 1200 ($10) to 1600 ($13) per day. But now, catches of high-value carp species dwindled,” Khokon said from Old Jelepara, a settlement on the edge of the lake in Rangamati district’s Sadar upazila (sub-district). “Sometimes, I return home empty handed from the lake. For this, it would be difficult to support my six-member family without doing other work,” Khokon said. Around Kaptai Lake, Khokon’s story is becoming far too common. For generations, the fishers met their livelihoods catching high-value carp species. As these fish become harder to find, many have no choice but to leave the profession. Created by a hydroelectric dam on the Karnaphuli River in 1960, the Kaptai Lake is one of Bangladesh’s most important hubs of inland fisheries. Fisherman Khokon Jaladas sits in the yard of his home near Kaptai Lake,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/declining-carp-fishes-in-bangladeshs-kaptai-lake-leave-small-scale-fishers-struggling/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322452</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Running on empty: How the gulf war is threatening Kenya’s food security</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/running-on-empty-how-the-gulf-war-is-threatening-kenyas-food-security/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/running-on-empty-how-the-gulf-war-is-threatening-kenyas-food-security/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:28:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Achieng’ Otieno]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03132332/72-year-old-Peter-Kitur-at-his-farm-in-Kipkeikei-Trans-Nzoia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322457</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Science, Environment, Farming, Fertilizers, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, Natural Resources, Science, and Subsistence Agriculture]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Philip Kitur walks through a neat row of maize stalks, with budding leaves painting a picture of a bountiful harvest. The 71-year-old has a 41-acre parcel at Kipkeikei village in Trans-Nzoia County. However, hidden behind Kitur’s smile is the fear of losing a significant yield if he does not access fertilizer. “The crop is due [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Philip Kitur walks through a neat row of maize stalks, with budding leaves painting a picture of a bountiful harvest. The 71-year-old has a 41-acre parcel at Kipkeikei village in Trans-Nzoia County. However, hidden behind Kitur’s smile is the fear of losing a significant yield if he does not access fertilizer. “The crop is due for top dressing, but I have not accessed urea, without which I may lose up to 30% of my harvest,” he told Mongabay. Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, says the country has adequate stocks of fertilizer, including 2 million bags for top-dressing. He says Kenya is working around finding alternative sources for the fertilizer to ensure food security in spite of global shocks triggered by the tension between Iran and USA. “While we cannot preempt or predict how long the conflict in the Middle East will take, we have had conversations on sourcing Urea from Algeria and fertilizer from Morocco,” Kagwe told Mongabay in an interview done virtually. A maize farm belonging to Dennis Chemonges, a farmer in Cherengani, in Kenya&#8217;s Trans-Nzoia. The crop is due for top dressing. Photo by Achieng&#8217; Otieno. Key food basket Trans-Nzoia is one of Kenya’s food baskets, especially for maize, which is a staple food. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ 2025 National Agriculture Production Report, Trans-Nzoia accounted for 423,156 (10.5%) of the 4,028,320 tons of maize produced in 2024. However, there has been immense strain in Kenya’s ability to sustain its maize production over&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/running-on-empty-how-the-gulf-war-is-threatening-kenyas-food-security/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/running-on-empty-how-the-gulf-war-is-threatening-kenyas-food-security/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322457</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Iran rearrests prominent conservationists freed just two years ago</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/iran-rearrests-prominent-conservationists-freed-just-two-years-ago/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/iran-rearrests-prominent-conservationists-freed-just-two-years-ago/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:13:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03131308/Iranian_Cheetah_roars-768x488.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322477</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Mammals, Monitoring, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Iranian security forces in Tehran arrested wildlife conservationists Houman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani, alongside Sepideh’s sister, Sima Kashani, on July 1, 2026, according to reports from multiple Iranian news sources. Jowkar and Sepideh, who are married, are experts on the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and were previously arrested in 2018 on espionage [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Iranian security forces in Tehran arrested wildlife conservationists Houman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani, alongside Sepideh’s sister, Sima Kashani, on July 1, 2026, according to reports from multiple Iranian news sources. Jowkar and Sepideh, who are married, are experts on the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and were previously arrested in 2018 on espionage charges related to their alleged use of camera traps. The cheetah subspecies, found only in Iran, is believed to have fewer than 30 individuals  remaining in the wild. Hojjat Kermani, the trio’s attorney, told media that security agents confiscated electronic devices during a raid at the couple&#8217;s residence, before taking all three into custody. The conservation NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) expressed “profound concern and alarm” over the detentions. It urged Iranian authorities to clarify the group&#8217;s legal status and whereabouts. Mongabay previously reported that Jowkar and Sepideh were members of the now-defunct Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), a Tehran-based conservation organization. They were among a group of eight conservationists arrested in January 2018 on charges alleging use of wildlife camera traps for the purpose of spying on Iran, including monitoring the country’s missile program. Those 2018 charges were widely condemned by the international scientific community as baseless. One of the arrested researchers, Kavous Seyed Emami, died in custody with Iranian authorities saying the death was a suicide, a claim doubted by Seyed Emami&#8217;s family. Jowkar and Sepideh were eventually pardoned and released in April 2024 after serving six years in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Authorities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/iran-rearrests-prominent-conservationists-freed-just-two-years-ago/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/iran-rearrests-prominent-conservationists-freed-just-two-years-ago/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322477</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zambia’s bumper harvest masks likely food insecurity amid geopolitics and climate threats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:12:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03133435/5433664321_547a088000_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322469</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change Denial, Climate Science, El Nino, Environment, Fertilizers, Finance, Food, Food Industry, Food Prices, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Natural Resources, Nature-based climate solutions, Nutrition, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, has prompted warnings that disruptions to the supply of fuel and fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz could cause food insecurity in some African countries. While experts say it will take time for the effects of the conflict to be felt in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, has prompted warnings that disruptions to the supply of fuel and fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz could cause food insecurity in some African countries. While experts say it will take time for the effects of the conflict to be felt in Zambia, they also point to vulnerabilities in the country&#8217;s food system and suggest greater resilience to possible stresses. Zambia&#8217;s food security is generally understood to rest on a single crop: maize. Zambia Statistics Agency reports that the price of a 25-kilogram bag of breakfast mealie meal declined slightly from April to May. In fact, the price of mealie meal is 15% lower than it was this time last year. The FAO&#8217;s April 2026 country briefing for Zambia said good rains since last October point to a second consecutive year of above-average harvests of maize. The rains are also expected to support a rebound of wheat harvest, as full reservoirs mean a steady supply of hydroelectric power that will allow the crop’s growers (primarily large-scale, industrial farmers) to irrigate their fields. The briefing reported that reference prices for maize were 25% lower year-on-year in March, thanks to plentiful domestic supply and a strengthening of the currency. Maize meal prices also declined by 15%, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency. Drawing on the IPC classification, the FAO said the number of Zambians facing &#8220;crisis&#8221; levels of acute food insecurity in the six months to March 2026 was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322469</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Researchers in Nigeria successfully cultivate wild mushroom in agricultural waste</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/researchers-in-nigeria-successfully-cultivate-wild-mushroom-in-agricultural-waste/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/researchers-in-nigeria-successfully-cultivate-wild-mushroom-in-agricultural-waste/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 12:30:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03122553/1280px-Lentinus_squarrosulus_20180824_155055-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322459</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Environment, Food, food security, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they report in a recent study. Lentinus squarrosulus is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they report in a recent study. Lentinus squarrosulus is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including in eastern Nigeria. This mushroom is both edible and has medicinal value, and is at risk of becoming scarce in the wild because of habitat destruction. If domesticated, however, this mushroom could be an inexpensive and reliable source of protein, mushroom researcher Chiemeziem Agbonma Onyeka told Mongabay by email. “Mushroom farming in Africa is still developing,” Onyeka said. “In many regions, there is still limited awareness that mushrooms can be cultivated as a reliable year-round agricultural crop rather than only collected from the wild during specific seasons.” Onyeka set out to learn how to cultivate L. squarrosulus for her doctoral work at the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria. Her goal was to find a way to provide a year-round crop that people could grow, reliably and safely, using waste as a growing material or substrate. Onyeka and her colleagues collected wild L. squarrosulus and tried cultivating them on sawdust from three different types of wood: mango (Mangifera indica), African breadfruit (Treculia Africana) and African pear (Dacryodes edulis). Sawdust is a common byproduct of agriculture and forestry waste. The researchers found that L. squarrosulus mushrooms grew fastest and generated the greatest number of fruiting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/researchers-in-nigeria-successfully-cultivate-wild-mushroom-in-agricultural-waste/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/researchers-in-nigeria-successfully-cultivate-wild-mushroom-in-agricultural-waste/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322459</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare fungi help restore Palmyra Atoll rainforests, new study finds. Here&#8217;s how</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-fungi-help-restore-palmyra-atoll-rainforests-new-study-finds-heres-how/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-fungi-help-restore-palmyra-atoll-rainforests-new-study-finds-heres-how/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 06:10:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03060945/Picture2-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322449</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Earth Science, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Fungi, Islands, Marine, Oceans, Research, Science, Seabirds, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Palmyra Atoll in the North Pacific is one of the most remote island systems on Earth. A native rainforest tree on the island performs a critical ecological service by providing nesting sites for thousands of seabirds, whose guano fuels the surrounding coral reefs. But a new study revealed that this entire cycle depends on an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Palmyra Atoll in the North Pacific is one of the most remote island systems on Earth. A native rainforest tree on the island performs a critical ecological service by providing nesting sites for thousands of seabirds, whose guano fuels the surrounding coral reefs. But a new study revealed that this entire cycle depends on an invisible partner: Symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi. Researchers mapped the fungal diversity across the atoll and discovered the native pisonia (Pisonia grandis) trees have a 100%  with a specific genus of fungi called Tomentella — meaning the trees depend on the fungi to survive. These fungi capture intense pulses of nitrogen and phosphorus from bird guano that would otherwise wash into the ocean. This relationship was present in every tree the team sampled. “Most ectomycorrhizal fungi struggle in extremely nutrient-rich soils, but the Tomentella fungi associated with Pisonia appear to be adapted to the high phosphorus levels created by seabird guano,” study co-author Alex Wegmann told Mongabay over email. “This suggests a long evolutionary partnership between the fungi, the trees, and the massive seabird colonies that shape these atoll ecosystems.” The discovery has major implications for the ongoing effort to restore Palmyra’s native forests by removing 1.5 million invasive coconut palms. The study found that Tomentella abundance drops off sharply when there are more than 250 meters (820 feet) away from a pisonia tree. Therefore, natural regeneration might fail in large areas cleared of coconut palms, because the necessary fungi aren&#8217;t present in the soil, the study&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-fungi-help-restore-palmyra-atoll-rainforests-new-study-finds-heres-how/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/rare-fungi-help-restore-palmyra-atoll-rainforests-new-study-finds-heres-how/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322449</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can selective logging help the Congo Basin store more carbon?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-selective-logging-help-the-congo-basin-store-more-carbon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-selective-logging-help-the-congo-basin-store-more-carbon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 22:38:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claudia Geib]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02103623/elephants-in-the-congo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322365</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Congo Basin]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Logging, Rainforests, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The rainforests of the Congo Basin are the planet’s largest forested carbon sink: as these 3.3 million square kilometers (1.3 million square miles) of trees in Central Africa breathe in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they turn it into leaves and bark and branches, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Yet a recently [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The rainforests of the Congo Basin are the planet’s largest forested carbon sink: as these 3.3 million square kilometers (1.3 million square miles) of trees in Central Africa breathe in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they turn it into leaves and bark and branches, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Yet a recently published study quantifying this carbon storage presents a surprising suggestion: that the most effective way to trap even more carbon in Congo Basin rainforests may be to cut some of its trees down. The study, published as an advance copy in April in ­­Nature Communications, found that selectively managed logging areas make up about 57% of the net carbon removals in the Congo Basin. The authors suggest this shows these forests could provide benefits to both the planet and local communities if sustainable logging is permitted. “The question is: is logging, or any other sustainable use of those forests, only bad for the environment?” said lead researcher Le Bienfaiteur Sagang, a tropical ecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Can we use these forests, give them more value, provide jobs for the locals, and still provide a good contribution to the climate?” Sagang and his co-authors decided to put this questions to test. They designed a machine-learning program that combined land-cover data, captured between 1990 and 2020 across the Congo Basin’s six forested countries, with aboveground carbon levels estimated from other studies via lidar, which creates complex 3D landscape scans using lasers. This rainforest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-selective-logging-help-the-congo-basin-store-more-carbon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-selective-logging-help-the-congo-basin-store-more-carbon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322365</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s ratification of fishing labor reforms will also boost conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-ratification-of-fishing-labor-reforms-will-also-boost-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-ratification-of-fishing-labor-reforms-will-also-boost-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 20:46:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Muhamad Nour]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/10134543/2-Crew-members-from-Southeast-Asia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322408</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Oceans, Overfishing, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia&#8217;s recent ratification of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (C188) is a historic milestone for the country&#8217;s fisheries sector. The ratification is expected to strengthen the protection of fishers; improve working and living conditions at sea; and enhance the competitiveness of Indonesian seafood products in international markets, where buyers increasingly require compliance with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia&#8217;s recent ratification of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (C188) is a historic milestone for the country&#8217;s fisheries sector. The ratification is expected to strengthen the protection of fishers; improve working and living conditions at sea; and enhance the competitiveness of Indonesian seafood products in international markets, where buyers increasingly require compliance with labor, human rights and sustainability standards. One of the key lessons from Indonesia’s ratification of ILO Convention No. 188 is that fisheries labor reform requires a broad coalition beyond traditional labor actors. Because the convention directly affects the fisheries sector, successful advocacy depended on active engagement from fisheries authorities, fishing companies, fishers’ organizations and other sectoral stakeholders.Indonesia’s progress was driven by an inclusive “tripartite plus” approach, which combined collaboration among government, employers and workers, with advocacy and technical support from civil society organizations and international partners, including Greenpeace, the Freedom Fund, International Justice Mission and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). These stakeholders played a critical role in raising awareness, generating evidence, strengthening engagement and building public support for ratification. Over the years, various ILO-supported projects also created important momentum by facilitating dialogue, evidence generation and stakeholder engagement on labor issues in fisheries. A clear stakeholder mapping process helped identify the respective roles and interests of each actor, enabling more strategic advocacy and stronger ownership of the ratification process. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) emerged as a critical partner alongside the Ministry of Manpower, demonstrating that labor protection in fisheries cannot be achieved&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indonesias-ratification-of-fishing-labor-reforms-will-also-boost-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322408</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dutch importers linked to suspect Amazon timber, investigation finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/dutch-importers-linked-to-suspect-amazon-timber-investigation-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/dutch-importers-linked-to-suspect-amazon-timber-investigation-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 20:34:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02202022/a.-Beyond-Fire_Timber_03_DSC_4594-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322420</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Business, Environment, Environmental Law, EUDR, Forestry, Governance, Illegal Logging, International Trade, Logging, Sustainable Forest Management, timber trade, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two Dutch timber importers are at the center of a new investigation that shows they may have purchased suspect wood sourced to one of the largest logging companies in Brazil, which had temporarily lost its permits and been banned from clearing. Brazilian logging company Samise Indústria Comércio e Exportação was clearing the forest to make [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two Dutch timber importers are at the center of a new investigation that shows they may have purchased suspect wood sourced to one of the largest logging companies in Brazil, which had temporarily lost its permits and been banned from clearing. Brazilian logging company Samise Indústria Comércio e Exportação was clearing the forest to make roads and lumber yards months before receiving operating permits, according to an investigation by Earthsight, a U.K.-based nonprofit that exposes environmental and social crime. Employees also allegedly tampered with identification tags before inspections and transported illegally cleared lumber. Some of the wood was eventually moved to sawmills owned by Brazilian company Greenex S/A Indústria Comércio e Exportação de Madeira, then exported to Dutch companies Hoogendoorn Hout and Van den Berg Houtgroep, the investigation found. The transactions reveal weak points in international trade regulations and the certification process, intended to verify sustainably sourced wood, the report said. “[Trade regulations] must go beyond surface-level checks on their supply chains,” Rafael Pieroni, Earthsight’s Latin America team lead, said in a statement. “European importers must refrain from treating certification as a substitute for rigorous due diligence.” In the 2010s, Samise was one of three companies granted forestry concessions inside the 429,000-hectare (1.1-million-acre) Saracá-Taquera National Forest, which is covered almost entirely with primary forest and home to 29 mammal species found nowhere outside the Amazon. In May 2023, Samise’s operations were banned due to evidence of fraud discovered by Brazil’s Chico Mendes Biodiversity Conservation Institute (ICMBio), the agency responsible for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/dutch-importers-linked-to-suspect-amazon-timber-investigation-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/dutch-importers-linked-to-suspect-amazon-timber-investigation-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322420</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>UK deforestation rules take step forward after a long delay</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/uk-deforestation-rules-take-step-forward-after-a-long-delay/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/uk-deforestation-rules-take-step-forward-after-a-long-delay/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 18:46:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02184529/ecuador_230302-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322433</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Business, Cattle, Conservation, Crops, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, EUDR, Forestry, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Law, Livestock, Logging, Solutions, Soy, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The U.K government has announced that it will advance long-delayed regulations on commodities linked to deforestation. On June 23, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued a press release promising to “take forward new rules” that will force companies in Great Britain to carry out due diligence on the products they sell. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The U.K government has announced that it will advance long-delayed regulations on commodities linked to deforestation. On June 23, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued a press release promising to “take forward new rules” that will force companies in Great Britain to carry out due diligence on the products they sell. “Under the proposals UK businesses who trade in commodities sourced from rainforests such as soy, palm oil, cocoa and rubber will need to check that their supply chains are not contributing to illegal deforestation,” it said. The rules have been anticipated since the passage of the U.K.’s Environment Act in 2021. “Schedule 17” of the Act established a legal basis for strict rules covering forest risk commodities, but the U.K. government has yet to issue those rules or submit them to Parliament. The slow implementation of Schedule 17 has drawn the ire of environmental groups and their allies.  In a press release, U.K.-based NGO Forest Coalition welcomed the latest announcement. “In our view the delay has been unacceptable because the U.K. imports deforestation-tainted commodities,” said Cassie Dummett, the group’s coordinator, in a phone interview with Mongabay. “That means members of the public are buying deforestation in the food they buy, unwittingly.” The U.K. government said the regulation will closely mirror the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which, despite repeated delays, is set to take effect at the end of 2026. Both rules will cover a similar set of commodities, including cattle, cocoa, palm oil, rubber&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/uk-deforestation-rules-take-step-forward-after-a-long-delay/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322433</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Santa Marta report by 57 nations defines rapid fossil fuel transition path</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/santa-marta-report-by-57-nations-defines-rapid-fossil-fuel-transition-path/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/santa-marta-report-by-57-nations-defines-rapid-fossil-fuel-transition-path/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 16:17:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Julian Reingold]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02091344/banner-Image-Report-presentation-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322332</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Global, and Netherlands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[London Climate Action Week (LCAW) kicked off in June amid an unprecedented European heat wave and with a special statement by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warning, “We have just lived through the eleven hottest years ever recorded … with higher temperatures to come. London isn’t just calling — it’s cooking,” he said. &#8220;We cannot [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[London Climate Action Week (LCAW) kicked off in June amid an unprecedented European heat wave and with a special statement by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warning, “We have just lived through the eleven hottest years ever recorded … with higher temperatures to come. London isn’t just calling — it’s cooking,” he said. &#8220;We cannot double down on a system based on fossil fuels that is driving both the climate crisis and the energy crisis … These twin crises have once again exposed the limits of an outdated model of development,” the U.N. chief said. “This is our moment of choice. Our moment of truth. Our moment of opportunity. Let&#8217;s seize it.&#8221; Just such an opportunity came later at LCAW with the launch of the outcome report derived from the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, which was held in April in Santa Marta, Colombia. That landmark summit was co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands and convened 57 countries, a “Coalition of the Willing” accounting for roughly 30% of global energy demand and about 20% of global energy supply — a group committed to a rapid fossil fuel phaseout. The meeting was called to serve as a viable complement to the formal U.N. climate consensus negotiating process, which has been blocked from climate action for decades by large petrostates and lobbied against by the fossil fuel industry. The new report released June 23 presents a summary of Coalition of the Willing stakeholder-led dialogues and includes strategies for a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/santa-marta-report-by-57-nations-defines-rapid-fossil-fuel-transition-path/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322332</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Sightings of humpback whales surge in Rio de Janeiro, fueling demand for whale-watching trips</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sightings-of-humpback-whales-surge-in-rio-de-janeiro-fueling-demand-for-whale-watching-trips/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sightings-of-humpback-whales-surge-in-rio-de-janeiro-fueling-demand-for-whale-watching-trips/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 15:27:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02152517/AP26181808461174-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=322415</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Mammals, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Migration, Oceans, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Sightings of humpback whales off Rio de Janeiro’s coast are surging as they recover from decimation due to commercial whaling, prompting an acceleration in the demand for whale-watching excursions to spot the huge marine creatures during their annual migration. The species&#8217; population has jumped from around 2,000 to around 35,000 [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Sightings of humpback whales off Rio de Janeiro’s coast are surging as they recover from decimation due to commercial whaling, prompting an acceleration in the demand for whale-watching excursions to spot the huge marine creatures during their annual migration. The species&#8217; population has jumped from around 2,000 to around 35,000 in approximately 40 years, close to their population before whaling, said Enrico Marcovaldi, co-founder of the Humpback Whale Project. That means they are increasingly being spotted in Rio’s postcard Guanabara Bay. “It’s wonderful. It shows that the whales are making a recovery, are healthy and thriving, and hopefully they’ll continue to do so,” said Marcovaldi. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission decided that there should be a pause in commercial whaling on all whale species and populations from the 1985/1986 season onward. Louise Raulais, who runs the Rio Ocean Club with her partner Theo Andrade, is among those who see the tourism opportunities in the whales&#8217; resurgence. This year, the company began offering sailboat trips for between five and 10 people to observe the whales. Raulais said they always have a biologist onboard to share information, which can stimulate a desire to protect the whales and the ocean. “These animals are so iconic and charismatic that they have the power to transform people, to change the way they see the world,” said Raulais. Humpback whales are known for roaming long distances across major oceans in predictable patterns, typically following migration routes learned from their mothers. They feed on krill and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/07/sightings-of-humpback-whales-surge-in-rio-de-janeiro-fueling-demand-for-whale-watching-trips/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322415</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Crackdown lets rainforest reclaim illegal road in rare win for the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/crackdown-lets-rainforest-reclaim-illegal-road-in-rare-win-for-the-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/crackdown-lets-rainforest-reclaim-illegal-road-in-rare-win-for-the-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 14:38:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafael Spuldar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/19153134/dirt-roads-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Crime, Development, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Law, Politics, Protected Areas, Remote Sensing, Roads, and Satellite Imagery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A vanishing road in the Xingu region exemplifies what is at stake in Brazil’s October election.]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[In 2022, an illegal road cutting the length of a full marathon through two strictly protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon threatened to do what conservationists feared most: Split the Xingu Socioenvironmental Corridor, a mosaic of Indigenous territories and conservation units covering some 26 million hectares (64 million acres), in half. Four years later, satellite images reveal the 42.8-kilometer (26.6-mile) road is gone, swallowed by regrowing forest — something rarely seen in the region. Its disappearance runs counter to everything that typically happens when a road appears in the Amazon. “Here, the road is the beginning of everything, the beginning of the devastation,” Bruno Ferreira, a researcher at the conservation nonprofit Imazon, part of the MapBiomas mapping network, told Mongabay. Usually, roads give birth to a set of new roads (legal or illegal) that spawn from the main one, creating a fishbone pattern in satellite images. Imazon research suggests that 95% of deforestation in the Amazon happens within 5 km (3 mi) of a road, meaning that illegal cattle ranching and logging would have been virtually unstoppable had this one road been consolidated. For the organizations monitoring the region around the Xingu, a key tributary of the Amazon, the now dead road is proof that the alliance between civil society and a willing government can reverse destruction that once seemed irreversible — and a reminder of what is at stake as Brazil heads into a tightly contested presidential election in October. Uncovered in 2022, the 42-kilometer-long illegal road ran along&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/crackdown-lets-rainforest-reclaim-illegal-road-in-rare-win-for-the-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered West African leopards show signs of recovery, despite odds. &#8216;It&#8217;s a win&#8217;</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/endangered-west-african-leopards-show-signs-of-recovery-despite-odds-its-a-win/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/endangered-west-african-leopards-show-signs-of-recovery-despite-odds-its-a-win/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 13:13:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02112035/Image-2-e1782991483626-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322381</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Endangered Species, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Leopards, Mammals, National Parks, Predators, Protected Areas, Top Predators, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s been difficult to monitor West African leopards in Benin’s Pendjari National Park: It’s a large wilderness area, situated within a hotspot of armed conflict. The park is among the last strongholds for this geographically distinct leopard population — but a recent study shared hopeful news. Leopard density in the park increased over a six-year [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It’s been difficult to monitor West African leopards in Benin’s Pendjari National Park: It’s a large wilderness area, situated within a hotspot of armed conflict. The park is among the last strongholds for this geographically distinct leopard population — but a recent study shared hopeful news. Leopard density in the park increased over a six-year period, according to a study published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation. The park has been managed by the nonprofit African Parks since 2017 in partnership with the government — and this conservation effort seems to be working. “It’s a win,” said study lead author Marine Drouilly, a biologist with Panthera, the global wild cat conservation non-profit. West African leopards are geographically separated from other African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) populations. In 2025, they were listed as regionally endangered on the IUCN Red List, after suffering a 50% decline over the past two decades. Numbers are estimated at just 354 across West Africa. In addition to Pendjari, important strongholds include the Niokolo-Koba–Badiar landscape in Senegal and the Guinea, Taï and Comoé National Parks in Côte d’Ivoire and Mole National Park in Ghana. A rapidly growing human population across West Africa means wildlife habitat is disappearing and becoming more fragmented, isolating already small leopard populations, Drouilly said, while widespread bushmeat hunting leaves leopards without enough prey. There’s a growing threat from poachers continent-wide, as leopards are targeted for their spotted skins, canine teeth, bones and other body parts,  killed to supply the illegal wildlife trade&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/endangered-west-african-leopards-show-signs-of-recovery-despite-odds-its-a-win/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322381</doi>				</item>
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