<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?byline=virginia-commonwealth-university&#038;post_type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/virginia-commonwealth-university/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:23:59 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Virginia Commonwealth University Archives</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/virginia-commonwealth-university/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
				<item>
					<title>War, climate change, and AI on the agenda at this year&#8217;s U.N. Indigenous forum</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-climate-change-and-ai-on-the-agenda-at-this-years-u-n-indigenous-forum/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-climate-change-and-ai-on-the-agenda-at-this-years-u-n-indigenous-forum/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 19:23:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anita Hofschneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20190504/unfpii-2026-v2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317813</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Conflict, Environment, Environmental Policy, Environmental Politics, Health, Human Rights, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Politics, and United Nations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This story is republished through the Indigenous News Alliance. Hundreds of delegates are arriving at the United Nations this week for the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples. But they arrive against an increasingly hostilechallenging global backdrop, facing an artificial intelligence boom driving new extraction on ancestral lands, a U.S. administration that has made it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This story is republished through the Indigenous News Alliance. Hundreds of delegates are arriving at the United Nations this week for the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples. But they arrive against an increasingly hostilechallenging global backdrop, facing an artificial intelligence boom driving new extraction on ancestral lands, a U.S. administration that has made it increasingly difficult for Global South delegates to secure visas to attend, and the twin challenges of climate change and green energy projects that have frequently run afoul of Indigenous land rights. This year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is focused on the grim topic of survival in the midst of war, with its official theme &#8220;Ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ health, including in the context of conflict.” Experts emphasize that Indigenous peoples already face health inequities from colonialism and climate change, and these harms are compounded by armed conflicts and militarization that risk ecological degradation and further displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands. Experts say that health for Indigenous peoples is directly tied to the environment, land, and sovereignty, and can’t be siloed into clinical discussions about medicine or public health. Warfare isn’t the only concern — advocates are seeing the extraction of critical minerals for the greenenergy transition drive Indigenous rights violations, and are echoing a long-standing call to make climate financing directly available to their communities, instead of through state or foreign intermediaries. But before diplomatic conversations can begin, many delegates must confront the practical barrier of visa restrictions put in place by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-climate-change-and-ai-on-the-agenda-at-this-years-u-n-indigenous-forum/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-climate-change-and-ai-on-the-agenda-at-this-years-u-n-indigenous-forum/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chernobyl&#8217;s radioactive landscape is a testament to nature’s resilience and survival spirit</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/chernobyls-radioactive-landscape-is-a-testament-to-natures-resilience-and-survival-spirit/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/chernobyls-radioactive-landscape-is-a-testament-to-natures-resilience-and-survival-spirit/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 19:21:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20191807/AP26107515065733-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317817</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ukraine]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Endangered Species, Habitat, Happy-upbeat Environmental, and Nuclear Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) — Wildlife is thriving again four decades after the nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant in what became the exclusion zone created by the forced mass evacuations of the population. Wolves, bears and lynx have rebounded in the radioactive landscape, along with a rare breed of horses native to Mongolia. Scientists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) — Wildlife is thriving again four decades after the nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant in what became the exclusion zone created by the forced mass evacuations of the population. Wolves, bears and lynx have rebounded in the radioactive landscape, along with a rare breed of horses native to Mongolia. Scientists say it shows nature’s ability to recover when human activity is removed. Hidden cameras have revealed the animal population adapting by using abandoned buildings for shelter. Chernobyl remains too dangerous for people but has become an unexpected refuge — and research site — for resilient ecosystems shaped by disaster and war. By Derek Gatopoulos and Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated Press  Banner image: Wild Przewalski horses graze in a forest inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Chornobyl is the Ukrainian name for the city. Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated PressThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/chernobyls-radioactive-landscape-is-a-testament-to-natures-resilience-and-survival-spirit/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/chernobyls-radioactive-landscape-is-a-testament-to-natures-resilience-and-survival-spirit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nigerian bat specialist wins Goldman Prize for community conservation work</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/nigerian-bat-specialist-wins-goldman-prize-for-community-conservation-work/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/nigerian-bat-specialist-wins-goldman-prize-for-community-conservation-work/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 18:59:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ini Ekott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20162403/TanshiEtAlDataCollection_OdukpaniNigeria_EtinosaYvonneGoldmanEnvironmentalPrize-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317806</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the forested highlands of southern Nigeria’s Cross River state, plumes of smoke signal the annual fire season from January to April, when farmers routinely use fire to clear new land for planting cacao, maize and cassava. In five villages near the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, the period is also marked by another signal: the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the forested highlands of southern Nigeria’s Cross River state, plumes of smoke signal the annual fire season from January to April, when farmers routinely use fire to clear new land for planting cacao, maize and cassava. In five villages near the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, the period is also marked by another signal: the sound of metal gongs announcing weather conditions too risky to set fires. In Buanchor and four other villages, on days when dangerously dry conditions prevail, town criers fan out with gongs to warn residents not to burn the bush. Since 2022, weather stations set up in each of the communities track temperature, humidity and wind. The data are used to produce a daily alert that’s displayed on a signboard in each village, color-coded green for safe, yellow — when there’s been no rain for two weeks — for caution, and red for high danger. On high-risk days, 50 trained forest guardians patrol danger zones equipped with water backpacks, GPS, radios, fire boots and motorcycles. Anyone caught setting a fire on a “no-burn” day faces a fine equivalent to between $4 and $14 under a community bylaw. These fire prevention efforts stem from an unlikely source: In 2016, ecologist and bat specialist Iroro Tanshi witnessed a wildfire that swept from farmland into the 100-square-kilometer (38.6-square-mile) Afi sanctuary, where she was exploring caves that provide roosts for several bat species. She and her team had just discovered the caves harbored the short-tailed roundleaf bat (Hipposideros curtus), last&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/nigerian-bat-specialist-wins-goldman-prize-for-community-conservation-work/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/nigerian-bat-specialist-wins-goldman-prize-for-community-conservation-work/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>To tackle trafficking in gibbons, experts probe what drives demand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/to-tackle-trafficking-in-gibbons-experts-probe-what-drives-demand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/to-tackle-trafficking-in-gibbons-experts-probe-what-drives-demand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 18:37:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17085412/gibbon-in-a-cage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317705</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Gibbons, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“When we first got Joy, we thought he was a monkey,” says Esther. A hunter had come to her village in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, to sell wild meat. He showed Esther (not her real name) and her husband a weeks-old primate with long arms, dark skin and large, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“When we first got Joy, we thought he was a monkey,” says Esther. A hunter had come to her village in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, to sell wild meat. He showed Esther (not her real name) and her husband a weeks-old primate with long arms, dark skin and large, round eyes. Worried the animal might otherwise be killed for food, she decided to take him home. It was only later that she realized Joy was not a monkey, but a gibbon. Gibbons are small apes, more closely related to chimpanzees and humans than to monkeys. Across their range in South and Southeast Asia, they are increasingly threatened by the exotic pet trade. Despite laws that prohibit their capture, sale and ownership, demand for pet gibbons continues to drive illegal trade in wild-caught animals, much of which now plays out online. In 2025, gibbon trafficking seizures reached an all-time high, with confiscations of 336 individual gibbons recorded between January and August alone, accounting for around 20% of all records since 2016, according to an analysis by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. Because gibbons are highly social animals and will defend their young to the death, the capture of an infant gibbon often represents the annihilation of an entire family group. Between 2016 and August 2025, more than 200 seizures were recorded, but “in reality, the trade is likely much bigger,” says Elizabeth John of TRAFFIC. While Indonesia and Vietnam have historically dominated the trade, India&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/to-tackle-trafficking-in-gibbons-experts-probe-what-drives-demand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/to-tackle-trafficking-in-gibbons-experts-probe-what-drives-demand/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservation collects more data than ever. What is it for?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/conservation-collects-more-data-than-ever-what-is-it-for/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/conservation-collects-more-data-than-ever-what-is-it-for/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 16:35:44 +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/20/2026/04/18141901/cr_20260408_173738634-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317734</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Data, Biodiversity, Conservation, data, Environment, and Monitoring]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; Before launching a monitoring program, conservationists are often asked how data will be collected, which indicators will be used, and how results will be analyzed. Less often, they are asked a simpler question: what is the monitoring for? A recent paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, led by Kate J. Helmstedt, argues [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; Before launching a monitoring program, conservationists are often asked how data will be collected, which indicators will be used, and how results will be analyzed. Less often, they are asked a simpler question: what is the monitoring for? A recent paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, led by Kate J. Helmstedt, argues that this question should come first. Monitoring, the authors suggest, delivers impact when it is tied to a clear explanation of how the information collected will influence decisions, policy, or outcomes for biodiversity. This may sound self-evident, yet conservation has long treated data collection as a default activity. Over the past decade, that tendency has been reinforced by rapid advances in technology. Satellites track forest loss in near real time. Camera traps document passing animals. Acoustic sensors record entire ecosystems. Environmental DNA can detect species from traces in water or soil. The result is a steady expansion in what can be measured, often accompanied by an assumption that more information will improve outcomes. Topher White of Rainforest Connection installing a bioacoustic device in the forest canopy. Image by Ben Von Wong. Work on conservation effectiveness has complicated that assumption. Monitoring trends—like forest cover, species abundance, compliance rates, and habitat condition—can describe what is happening without explaining why. Establishing impact requires a counterfactual: an estimate of what would have happened without the intervention. Even where methods improve, the link to outcomes is not guaranteed. Time and funding directed toward data collection can reduce what is available&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/conservation-collects-more-data-than-ever-what-is-it-for/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/conservation-collects-more-data-than-ever-what-is-it-for/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil taps legal loophole to issue bids for Amazon ‘tipping point’ road</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/brazil-taps-legal-loophole-to-issue-bids-for-amazon-tipping-point-road/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/brazil-taps-legal-loophole-to-issue-bids-for-amazon-tipping-point-road/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 15:37:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20152755/whatsapp-image-2025-07-04-at-162130-1600x728-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317801</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Destruction, Amazon People, Climate Change, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Groups, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Politics, Rainforest Deforestation, Threats To Rainforests, and Threats To The Amazon]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A strategic shift in law clears the way for a highway that scientists warn will push the Amazon to a tipping point.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heavy machinery will soon be working on the road that may determine the future of the Amazon Rainforest: On April 13, the Brazilian government issued calls for four bids to pave the controversial BR-319 highway. Inaugurated in 1976 to connect two major Amazonian municipalities, Manaus and Porto Velho, the BR-319 runs 885 kilometers (550 miles) and crosses one of the best-preserved areas of the Brazilian Amazon, home to 69 Indigenous territories and 41 conservation units. The middle section of the highway was never fully paved, and after decades of abandonment, it became undrivable, especially during the rainy season. Paving this 339-km (211-mi) critical stretch has long been advocated by locals, politicians and businesspeople, who currently rely on plane or boat to travel. Paving the road to improve connectivity, however, would come at a high environmental cost. Scientists say upgrading BR-319 may push the rainforest to a tipping point, transforming it into a much drier, less biodiverse ecosystem. However, the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who came to office on a pro-environmental platform, is exploiting an environmental licensing loophole to announce it will start roadworks in the second half of this year. It has budgeted 1.3 billion reais ($260 million) for the project. “The idea is to get started quickly, with independent mobilizations, taking advantage of the Amazonian summer and making as much progress as possible,” Fabrício Galvão, general director of the National Department of Transportation Infrastructure (DNIT), said at the project announcement. In October, Lula will run&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/brazil-taps-legal-loophole-to-issue-bids-for-amazon-tipping-point-road/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/brazil-taps-legal-loophole-to-issue-bids-for-amazon-tipping-point-road/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park: &#8220;If conservation creates hardships, it won&#8217;t work&#8221;</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 13:34:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20115458/image1_649645552_1381072780725700_2134234773966713765_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317784</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Crisis, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Economics, Environment, Governance, Government, Hydroelectric Power, National Parks, Nature's resilience, and Parks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SALONGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of the Congo — For over two decades, Emmanuel de Merode has worked at the intersection of conservation, conflict, and development in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As director of Virunga National Park, he has overseen one of Africa’s most ambitious—and controversial—conservation experiments: protecting biodiversity by improving the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SALONGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of the Congo — For over two decades, Emmanuel de Merode has worked at the intersection of conservation, conflict, and development in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As director of Virunga National Park, he has overseen one of Africa’s most ambitious—and controversial—conservation experiments: protecting biodiversity by improving the living conditions of the millions of people living around the park. His guiding principle, shaped by years of experience, rests on the idea that conservation must benefit local populations. &#8220;If conservation creates hardships, it won&#8217;t work,&#8221; he said during a recent visit by Mongabay to Salonga National Park. Established in 1925, Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest national park and one of its most biodiverse. Stretching from the Rwenzori Mountains to the volcanic plains along the border between Rwanda and Uganda, it is home to mountain gorillas, forest elephants, and three species of great apes. Yet it has also been shaped by decades of conflict, the presence of armed groups, and the illegal exploitation of resources—making conservation far more complex than the mere protection of wildlife. Fabrice, a ranger at Virunga National Park since 2013 and now a Deputy Sector Warden, pauses during a patrol. Virunga has lost more rangers than any other protected area in Africa, illustrating the human cost of conservation and raising the question of whether new conservation models can better protect both biodiversity and those charged with defending it. Image courtesy of Virunga National Park. For de Merode, these realities profoundly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/emmanuel-de-merode-director-of-virunga-national-park-if-conservation-creates-hardships-it-wont-work/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>DRC: Can the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor turn a war economy into one of hope?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 13:33:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20113123/image3__26337668410_35828ed6c6_k-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317778</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Gas, Lakes, mine, Oil, Protected Areas, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Félix Tshisekedi is banking on one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation and development plans to transform the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently reiterated this vision in Bandundu during the annual Conference of Provincial Governors. “Through this Green Corridor, we are choosing to replace [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Félix Tshisekedi is banking on one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation and development plans to transform the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently reiterated this vision in Bandundu during the annual Conference of Provincial Governors. “Through this Green Corridor, we are choosing to replace a war economy with an economy of life, work, and hope,” Tshisekedi said. According to official documents and public statements, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor would stretch from eastern DRC all the way to Kinshasa in the west. If implemented as planned, it would cover more than 544,270 square kilometers (210144 sq miles) —an area comparable in size to France—and would integrate conservation, economic development, and community protection. The initiative was first announced during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025. An aerial view of the village of Lac Paku within the peatland forest near Mbandaka, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Green Corridor traverses the Équateur province. Image by Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace. Conservation Spaces and Drivers of Economic Stability Individuals involved in the planning process told Mongabay that the initiative could create more than 500,000 jobs—particularly for youth and women—preserve over one million hectares of land, and transport food products from the East to the major consumer market in Kinshasa. For the Congolese government, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor goes beyond mere forest protection. &#8220;The objective is to protect our forests, restore ecosystems, create sustainable jobs, support responsible agriculture, stimulate local processing, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Malawi government suspends coal miner’s license over river pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 11:20:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Mpaka]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20104353/3-2_Coal-mine-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317771</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Critical Minerals, Environment, environmental justice, Governance, Government, Health, mine, Nature And Health, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Malawi government has suspended the mining license of a coal company for dumping mining waste into two rivers that communities rely on for water. The suspension follows an uproar by one of the communities in Malawi’s coal mining heartland in the north of the country. Community members demanded the closure of the mine for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Malawi government has suspended the mining license of a coal company for dumping mining waste into two rivers that communities rely on for water. The suspension follows an uproar by one of the communities in Malawi’s coal mining heartland in the north of the country. Community members demanded the closure of the mine for contaminating the rivers that supply water for their domestic and agricultural needs. Preliminary investigations by government agencies responsible for water and the environment confirmed the pollution. The northern region, particularly the two districts of Karonga and Rumphi, has Malawi’s largest coal mines. The country depends on coal as a fuel for everything from tobacco curing to cement production. However, mines in the region have a track record of environmental destruction and labor violations, issues that both local rights bodies and global watchdog Human Rights Watch have exposed. In a letter dated April 8, 2026, Malawi’s Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA) announced the immediate suspension of the mining license for Coal &amp; Minerals Group Limited, the company operating the polluting mine. It cited the water contamination as “seriously threatening” the health and safety of the public and the environment. According to the MMRA, investigations by government regulatory agencies found evidence of coal-associated waste discharge into the two rivers, uncontrolled runoff from the mining pits and stockpiles, and poorly designed storage facilities to hold the mining waste, or tailings. The authority also noted that the company did not have critical plans such as a mining operations&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/malawi-government-suspends-coal-miners-license-over-river-pollution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A red flower found nowhere else loses ground as mining expands in Brazil’s Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/a-red-flower-found-nowhere-else-loses-ground-as-mining-expands-in-brazils-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/a-red-flower-found-nowhere-else-loses-ground-as-mining-expands-in-brazils-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 10:02:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20095612/img-481-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317756</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Mining, Biodiversity, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Flowers, Mining, Plants, Research, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Brazil’s eastern Amazon, a bright red flower found nowhere else on Earth is threatened with extinction from expanding iron ore mining, scientists warn. The flowering plant, Ipomoea cavalcantei, known locally as flor-de-Carajás, only grows in cangas, an island-like ecosystem of metal-rich rocky soils and shallow vegetation in the middle of dense rainforest. There are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Brazil’s eastern Amazon, a bright red flower found nowhere else on Earth is threatened with extinction from expanding iron ore mining, scientists warn. The flowering plant, Ipomoea cavalcantei, known locally as flor-de-Carajás, only grows in cangas, an island-like ecosystem of metal-rich rocky soils and shallow vegetation in the middle of dense rainforest. There are only five patches of this unique habitat in the world, all of them in Brazil. &#8220;You’re walking through a forest, and suddenly you step into this environment where the ground is basically iron, and you’re quite literally stepping on iron,&#8221; Rita Portela, a biologist who studies the biodiversity of the Carajás region of southern Pará state, told Mongabay by phone. “It’s a very beautiful flower … it really stands out, because there aren’t many flowers with such an intense color in the cangas.&#8221; The canga soils where the plant grows sit atop some of the highest-grade iron ore deposits in the world. The ore extracted here is so rich in iron that it’s blended with lower-grade ore from other parts of Brazil to meet industrial standards. Two of the five patches are protected as part of Carajás National Forest. Another two are mining sites for Brazilian mining giant Vale. In September 2025, Vale obtained the license to begin mining on the fifth patch of canga. The company, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, plans to begin operations in the second half of 2026, which means three of the world’s five cangas will be mining sites.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/a-red-flower-found-nowhere-else-loses-ground-as-mining-expands-in-brazils-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/a-red-flower-found-nowhere-else-loses-ground-as-mining-expands-in-brazils-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Meet the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/meet-the-2026-goldman-environmental-prize-winners/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/meet-the-2026-goldman-environmental-prize-winners/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 08:00:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Lizkimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20070038/Goldman-Environmental-Prize-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317746</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate Activism, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Environment, Environmental Activism, Forests, Governance, and Happy-upbeat Environmental]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Six environmental activists from around the world will be awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on April 20. Known as the &#8220;Green Nobel Prize,&#8221; the Goldman Prize honors activists from the six inhabited continental regions. In a historic first, all six winners are women. This year&#8217;s winners fought to protect a rare bat in Nigeria by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Six environmental activists from around the world will be awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on April 20. Known as the &#8220;Green Nobel Prize,&#8221; the Goldman Prize honors activists from the six inhabited continental regions. In a historic first, all six winners are women. This year&#8217;s winners fought to protect a rare bat in Nigeria by training community members to prevent wildfires; won a court ruling in South Korea forcing the government to set stronger climate targets; stopped an oil drilling project in the U.K. after a decade of legal battles; pressured a global mining giant to clean up a toxic abandoned mine in Papua New Guinea; blocked the largest proposed open-pit mine in North American history in Alaska; and helped prevent commercial fracking from taking hold in Colombia. &#8220;While we continue to fight uphill to protect the environment and implement lifesaving climate policies — in the US and globally — it is clear that true leaders can be found all around us,&#8221; said John Goldman, vice president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation. &#8220;I am especially thrilled to honor our first-ever cohort of six women, as this is a powerful reflection of the absolutely central role that women play in the environmental community globally.&#8221; The winners will be honored at a ceremony in San Francisco, in the U.S., on April 20, hosted by Telemundo anchor Vanessa Hauc, with musical guest Caminos Flamencos. The event will be livestreamed at 5:30 p.m. local time (00:30 a.m. UTC on April 21) on the Goldman&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/meet-the-2026-goldman-environmental-prize-winners/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/meet-the-2026-goldman-environmental-prize-winners/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Asia’s longest free-flowing river contaminated by arsenic linked to Myanmar mines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 02:52:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[critical minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy Transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extractives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freshwater Ecosystems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freshwater Fish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Global Trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gold Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Illegal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Communities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Resource Conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[riverine communities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rivers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Water Pollution]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/14102130/IMG_0208-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317477</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, Salween River, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Critical Minerals, Drinking Water, extractives, Freshwater Ecosystems, Freshwater Fish, Global Trade, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Communities, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Tropical Rivers, Water Crisis, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MAE HONG SON, Thailand — Saw Si Paw Rak Salween guns the wooden fishing boat’s engine and steers along the river that inspired his family name. He is ethnic Karen — his parents migrated from Myanmar’s side of the Salween River to the Thai side. When he acquired Thai citizenship, Saw Si Paw had to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MAE HONG SON, Thailand — Saw Si Paw Rak Salween guns the wooden fishing boat’s engine and steers along the river that inspired his family name. He is ethnic Karen — his parents migrated from Myanmar’s side of the Salween River to the Thai side. When he acquired Thai citizenship, Saw Si Paw had to select his own family name, a convention not followed in much of Myanmar. He settled on Rak Salween, which translates to “Love the Salween River.” Saw Si Paw’s love for the wild, free-flowing waterway extends beyond his chosen name. Together with his father, he guides the boat to his family’s 8-meter (26-foot) fishing nets left overnight on the Myanmar side of the river. Fishing is all he’s ever known, having learned the trade from his father and plied it on the Salween his entire life. So, it was especially jarring for him to hear about toxic chemicals recently found in the Salween. Independent testing of the Salween River began in September 2025, when researchers from Thailand’s Institute of Health Sciences Research at Chiang Mai University found alarming levels of contamination detected in the nearby Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Thailand, much of which has been linked to unregulated mining in Myanmar. In particular, rare earth mines exporting crucial minerals — needed for artificial intelligence, mobile phones, laptops, electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, among other things — have been blamed. But the mining of gold and various critical&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/asias-longest-free-flowing-river-contaminated-by-arsenic-linked-to-myanmar-mines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Studying the world’s largest gathering of forest elephants with sound and field observation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Apr 2026 14:46:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David AkanaRhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/19152433/ivonne-kienast-2026-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316782</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Congo, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Bioacoustics, Bioacoustics and conservation, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Education, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Featured, Forest Elephants, Forest People, Forests, Gorillas, Great Apes, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Primates, Rainforests, Research, Technology And Conservation, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildtech, Women in conservation, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the far southwest of the Central African Republic, where dense forest gives way to a broad clearing, elephants gather in numbers rarely seen elsewhere. The place is known as Dzanga Bai. Forest elephants are among the least visible large mammals in Africa. In closed-canopy rainforest, they move in small groups, often at night, communicating [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the far southwest of the Central African Republic, where dense forest gives way to a broad clearing, elephants gather in numbers rarely seen elsewhere. The place is known as Dzanga Bai. Forest elephants are among the least visible large mammals in Africa. In closed-canopy rainforest, they move in small groups, often at night, communicating over long distances through low-frequency calls that travel beyond human hearing. Much of their social life unfolds out of sight. Dzanga Bai is one of the few places where that pattern breaks. Here, elephants emerge from the forest to feed on minerals in the soil. They linger. Families converge, separate, and return. Individuals can be recognized over years. Behaviors that are otherwise inferred—through tracks, fragments of sound, or brief encounters—can be followed more directly. Dzanga Bai in Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve, Central African Republic. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler For decades, the clearing has drawn researchers trying to understand a species that resists easy study. Long-term work here, including that of researchers such as Andrea Turkalo, has shaped much of what is known about forest elephants. Ivonne Kienast is part of that effort. She leads the Dzanga Forest Elephant Project, part of the Elephant Listening Project at Cornell University. Her work combines long-term behavioral observation with passive acoustic monitoring. The objective is to understand how forest elephants live and to detect early signs of change. In practice, this means continuous field presence, physically demanding work, and coordination across a network of relationships that extend well beyond&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/studying-the-worlds-largest-gathering-of-forest-elephants-with-sound-and-field-observation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>What the grim outlook for Alpine Ash forests tells us about forestry dogma (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/what-the-grim-outlook-for-alpine-ash-forests-tell-us-about-forestry-dogma-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/what-the-grim-outlook-for-alpine-ash-forests-tell-us-about-forestry-dogma-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Apr 2026 02:23:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chris TaylorDavid LindenmayerPhil Zylstra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16183627/1-header-Alpine-Ash-forest-Chris-Taylor-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317672</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Editorials, Environment, Fire Management, Fires, Forest Fires, Forestry, Forests, Green, Logging, and wildfires]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In March, the Australian Government announced that the Alpine Ash forests of mainland Australia have been listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under national environmental law. The Australian Government made the decision based on the recommendations of the independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee, although it has been opposed by logging lobby interests such as the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In March, the Australian Government announced that the Alpine Ash forests of mainland Australia have been listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under national environmental law. The Australian Government made the decision based on the recommendations of the independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee, although it has been opposed by logging lobby interests such as the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA). Australian Alpine Ash forests are extraordinary places; they support trees up to 60 meters tall and provide habitat for a range of threatened species such as the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum. Alpine Ash forests have been listed as an Endangered Ecological Community for several key reasons, the primary ones being widespread logging, recurrent high-severity wildfire, and the fact that logged and regenerated forests are more flammable than intact forests. Importantly, young Alpine Ash trees have a prolonged juvenile period during which they do not produce viable seeds. As a result, repeated fires at short intervals have the potential to eliminate stands of Alpine Ash altogether. Clearfell logging in Alpine Ash forest March 2018, Royston Range, Victoria. Photo by Chris Taylor There is great urgency to protect Alpine Ash forests as an iconic and important ecosystem. Robust ecological science is needed to do this. An example that underscores this urgency is the Alpine Ash forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria, where only 0.47% of their extent remains as old-growth forest. Extensive logging practices have also resulted in the death of many Alpine Ash trees, which are becoming increasingly rare However,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/what-the-grim-outlook-for-alpine-ash-forests-tell-us-about-forestry-dogma-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/what-the-grim-outlook-for-alpine-ash-forests-tell-us-about-forestry-dogma-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>World&#8217;s fattest parrots have mating frenzy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/worlds-fattest-parrots-have-mating-frenzy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/worlds-fattest-parrots-have-mating-frenzy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Apr 2026 11:18:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/18111619/Kakapo_Sirocco_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317735</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[New Zealand and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Conservation, Endangered, Extinction, and Wildilfe]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With an adult population of only 236, the kākāpō—the world&#8217;s largest parrot—was teetering on the brink extinction. But this year, they have been mating at a record pace, and hatched almost 100 healthy chicks so far. Watch the video to find out why these fat birds are having such a good year, and to celebrate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With an adult population of only 236, the kākāpō—the world&#8217;s largest parrot—was teetering on the brink extinction. But this year, they have been mating at a record pace, and hatched almost 100 healthy chicks so far. Watch the video to find out why these fat birds are having such a good year, and to celebrate good news around this critically endangered species.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/worlds-fattest-parrots-have-mating-frenzy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/worlds-fattest-parrots-have-mating-frenzy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Energy crisis revives push to drill in Philippines’ largest intact wetland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 21:11:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bong S. Sarmiento]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17185118/Philippine-Duck-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and The Philippines]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Energy, Energy Politics, Environment, Environmental Law, Fossil Fuels, Gas, Governance, Oil, Oil Drilling, Resource Conflict, War, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — There’s been a renewed push in the Philippines to develop oil and gas deposits in the southern Liguasan Marsh, prompted by the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The 288,000-hectare (712,000-acre) Liguasan Marsh, the largest intact wetland in the Philippines and home [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — There’s been a renewed push in the Philippines to develop oil and gas deposits in the southern Liguasan Marsh, prompted by the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The 288,000-hectare (712,000-acre) Liguasan Marsh, the largest intact wetland in the Philippines and home to diverse fauna and flora, is considered by nonprofit conservation group BirdLife International an “important bird and biodiversity area” (IBA). A sizeable portion of Liguasan, on the southern island of Mindanao, has been declared a game refuge and bird sanctuary since 1941. The marsh is home to the critically endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and is the country’s last frontier for Tachybaptus ruficollis cotabato, a subspecies of the little grebe found only here, and the comb-crested jacana (Irediparra gallinacea). It also contains a significant volume of untapped oil and gas. A portion of the vast Liguasan Marsh beckons along the highway in Maguindanao province in the Bangsamoro region in the southern Philippines, in 2021. Image by Bong S. Sarmiento. In the 1990s, a joint exploration by the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and its Malaysian counterpart, Petronas, found that at least 202 million barrels of recoverable crude oil and 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas sit within Liguasan Marsh. Exploration did not proceed further due to ongoing conflict between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a 40,000-strong armed group fighting for the right of self-determination in the southern Philippines. A&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rehab center opens for Brazil’s golden-headed lion tamarins amid urban sprawl threat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 21:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17205612/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-16-at-03.17.14-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317730</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Governance, Mammals, Monkeys, Primates, Rainforests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil has opened its first rehabilitation center for golden-headed lion tamarins, an endangered monkey species threatened by urban expansion and the loss of agroforestry farms to monocrop plantations. The tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, have been filmed in and around Ilhéus, a coastal city in Bahia state, eating fruit inside a supermarket or running across high-voltage electricity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Brazil has opened its first rehabilitation center for golden-headed lion tamarins, an endangered monkey species threatened by urban expansion and the loss of agroforestry farms to monocrop plantations. The tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, have been filmed in and around Ilhéus, a coastal city in Bahia state, eating fruit inside a supermarket or running across high-voltage electricity lines; many have been electrocuted this way. Road strikes have also injured or killed several individuals, as have attacks by domestic dogs. Until now, there wasn’t any specialized place to take the monkeys and prepare them for reintegration into the wild, according to Leonardo Oliveira, a biologist who has studied the species for more than 20 years. &#8220;Often, for the general public seeing these monkeys in their backyard or at the market gives them the false impression that everything is fine: &#8216;Wow, there are so many of them, they&#8217;re even coming into the city.&#8217; No. The city is the one moving into their space,&#8221; Oliveira, who will work with the new rehabilitation center, told Mongabay by phone. A golden-headed lion tamarin on an electricity pole in Ilhéus. Image courtesy of the Tamarin Trust. Golden-headed lion tamarins are found only in Brazil. From 1992 to 2024, their range shrank by 42%, from an estimated 22,500 square kilometers (8,700 square miles) to 13,000 km2 (5,000 mi2). This resulted in a nearly 60% population decline, from an estimated 50,000 individuals 30 years ago, to fewer than 24,401 individuals today, according to a 2024 population reassessment. A large part&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/rehab-center-opens-for-brazils-golden-headed-lion-tamarins-amid-urban-sprawl-threat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Sri Lanka, animals pay the price for overcrowding and speeding jeeps</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-sri-lanka-animals-pay-the-price-for-overcrowding-and-speeding-jeeps/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-sri-lanka-animals-pay-the-price-for-overcrowding-and-speeding-jeeps/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 17:25:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17164435/1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317720</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Conservation, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Ethics, Governance, Leopards, Mammals, National Parks, Parks, Photography, Protected Areas, Regulations, Research, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[YALA, Sri Lanka — Spotting a leopard at Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s most famous wildlife park located in the deep south, tops the list of priorities for many local and foreign wildlife enthusiasts. Block I of Yala National Park attracts the most number of visitors, as it is known to have the highest density [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[YALA, Sri Lanka — Spotting a leopard at Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s most famous wildlife park located in the deep south, tops the list of priorities for many local and foreign wildlife enthusiasts. Block I of Yala National Park attracts the most number of visitors, as it is known to have the highest density of leopards, with at least one leopard per square kilometer (0.4 square miles). Due to this pressure, many visitors flock to Yala Block I all year round, with the hope of spotting one or more leopards, resulting in overcrowding, “leopard jams” and speeding jeeps, posing significant threats to its wildlife. Hit-and-run cases Past incidents indicate dangers associated with speeding jeeps for both humans and wildlife. In October 2011, a young leopard was killed in a hit-and-run safari jeep accident. Another jungle cat died in a hit-and-run incident in June 2012. Then, in September 2021, two safari jeeps carrying local and foreign visitors collided, injuring one local visitor. Recently, Lucas, a magnificent male leopard in the Block I area, made headlines when a safari jeep had come into close contact with the animal. The incident itself was mired in controversy, as some factions claimed the animal had been “slightly bumped” from behind, while park officials denied these claims. Ravindra Kumara, Yala National Park warden, told Mongabay the incident was not an accident as reported in the media. “Usually, when a safari jeep is close to an animal, jeep drivers have been advised to switch off the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-sri-lanka-animals-pay-the-price-for-overcrowding-and-speeding-jeeps/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-sri-lanka-animals-pay-the-price-for-overcrowding-and-speeding-jeeps/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Virtus Minerals signs first major deal under US-DRC critical minerals partnership</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/virtus-minerals-signs-first-major-deal-under-us-drc-critical-minerals-partnership/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/virtus-minerals-signs-first-major-deal-under-us-drc-critical-minerals-partnership/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 15:03:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/26144520/image3_IMG_7055bis-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317717</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[cobalt, Copper, Critical Minerals, Human Rights, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a major advance for the U.S. push to secure critical minerals and compete with Chinese firms in Central Africa, U.S.-based Virtus Minerals has signed a megadeal for copper and cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After lengthy negotiations that reportedly included heavy behind-the-scenes pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a major advance for the U.S. push to secure critical minerals and compete with Chinese firms in Central Africa, U.S.-based Virtus Minerals has signed a megadeal for copper and cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After lengthy negotiations that reportedly included heavy behind-the-scenes pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s government, Virtus has acquired Chemaf, a mining company that operates in southeastern DRC, along with all its assets. The deal is the first concluded by a U.S. firm in the DRC since the two countries signed an agreement on critical minerals access in December 2025. Virtus has just eight employees and little track record in major mining ventures. However, the company now holds the rights to deposits that include the Mutoshi mine, which is capable of producing up to 5% of the world’s cobalt supply. According to The Wall Street Journal, Virtus says it plans to sell the minerals it produces exclusively to American or “U.S.-aligned” buyers. But the region where Virtus will operate has long suffered pollution and environmental damage related to mining. Among the unanswered questions surrounding the takeover is how Virtus plans to address such concerns and whether the U.S. firm will hold itself to a higher standard than its Chinese counterparts. After Chemaf acquired the mine in 2015, Amnesty International said the company warned nearby residents they would have to move. When they refused, Congolese soldiers allegedly destroyed an entire town. “The two primary mines are situated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/virtus-minerals-signs-first-major-deal-under-us-drc-critical-minerals-partnership/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/virtus-minerals-signs-first-major-deal-under-us-drc-critical-minerals-partnership/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chimp ‘civil war’ follows rare community split in a Ugandan national park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chimp-civil-war-follows-rare-community-split-in-a-ugandan-national-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chimp-civil-war-follows-rare-community-split-in-a-ugandan-national-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 13:27:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17012030/4.-Old-male-BF-was-the-last-male-to-go-between-groups-photo-by-Aaron-Sandel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317688</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Apes, Chimpanzees, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Great Apes, Infectious Wildlife Disease, Primates, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A chimpanzee community in Uganda’s Kibale National Park that split into rival factions later attacked former allies in what researchers are describing as a rare chimpanzee “civil war.” The new study, published in the journal Science, draws on nearly three decades of observations at the Ngogo chimpanzee research site, led by primatologist Aaron A. Sandel [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A chimpanzee community in Uganda’s Kibale National Park that split into rival factions later attacked former allies in what researchers are describing as a rare chimpanzee “civil war.” The new study, published in the journal Science, draws on nearly three decades of observations at the Ngogo chimpanzee research site, led by primatologist Aaron A. Sandel of the University of Texas at Austin, in the U.S. He and his colleagues say this is a rare event that may occur only once every 500 years. It’s only been observed once before by humans. Before the split, the Ngogo community was unusually large, with roughly 150 to 200 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), making it one of the largest chimp groups ever recorded in the wild. After the rupture, the community divided into two factions, which researchers call the Central and Western groups — named after the areas of forest they occupied. Before the Ngogo chimps divided into two groups, it was one of the largest groups ever recorded: between 150 &#8211;  200 animals. Image by Aaron Sandel. Between 2018 and 2024, the Western group carried out 24 attacks on the Central group, killing at least seven adult males and 17 infants. Sandel told Mongabay the conflict is still unfolding and may have lasting consequences for the population. “The Central group is at risk — they have had a dramatic increase in mortality,” Sandel said. “A key question is: How are they going to fight back?” Unlike most primate group fissions, the Ngogo split involved&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chimp-civil-war-follows-rare-community-split-in-a-ugandan-national-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chimp-civil-war-follows-rare-community-split-in-a-ugandan-national-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thomas J. Walker studied the songs of crickets and katydids</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/thomas-j-walker-studied-the-songs-of-crickets-and-katydids/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/thomas-j-walker-studied-the-songs-of-crickets-and-katydids/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 12:38:26 +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/20/2026/04/17123030/thomas-j-walker-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317632</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Insects, Invertebrates, and Obituary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Late summer evenings in much of North America carry a particular kind of insistence. It comes not from anything visible, but from a steady, patterned sound: a rasp, a pulse, a sequence that seems at once mechanical and expressive. For generations it was treated as background, a seasonal accompaniment to heat and dusk. Yet for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Late summer evenings in much of North America carry a particular kind of insistence. It comes not from anything visible, but from a steady, patterned sound: a rasp, a pulse, a sequence that seems at once mechanical and expressive. For generations it was treated as background, a seasonal accompaniment to heat and dusk. Yet for those who listened more closely, the sound suggested something else—a system, perhaps even a language, shaped by anatomy but not wholly explained by it. Understanding that gap—between structure and performance, between what could be seen and what had to be heard—became a life’s work for Thomas J. Walker, an entomologist who approached insects not simply as specimens but as part of an acoustic world. He died on April 8th 2026, aged 94. He was born in 1931 in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and raised on a farm during the Depression. The setting was unremarkable in one sense; many naturalists trace their beginnings to such places. But the combination of agricultural routine and long hours outdoors left him attentive to patterns that others ignored. Boy Scouts and farm work provided structure, though not direction. That came later, through formal study, first at the University of Tennessee and then at Ohio State University, where he completed a doctorate in entomology. Walker joined the University of Florida in 1957 and remained there for more than four decades. His academic titles changed—assistant professor, then professor, and eventually professor emeritus—but his interests remained consistent. He focused on insect ecology, behavior and systematics,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/thomas-j-walker-studied-the-songs-of-crickets-and-katydids/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/thomas-j-walker-studied-the-songs-of-crickets-and-katydids/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Colombia announces plan to cull Pablo Escobar&#8217;s feral hippos</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/colombia-announces-plan-to-cull-pablo-escobars-feral-hippos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/colombia-announces-plan-to-cull-pablo-escobars-feral-hippos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 08:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17075702/Hipopotamo_Vanessa_PTHN-scaled-e1776412757713-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317702</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Hippos, Wildlife, Wildlife Crime, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Colombian government has authorized a plan to euthanize dozens of hippos descended from animals smuggled into the country by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. There are an estimated 200 hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) scattered throughout Colombia, according to a 2022 census, which could exceed 1,000 by 2035. The animals are not native to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Colombian government has authorized a plan to euthanize dozens of hippos descended from animals smuggled into the country by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. There are an estimated 200 hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) scattered throughout Colombia, according to a 2022 census, which could exceed 1,000 by 2035. The animals are not native to South America; all are descendants of four hippos (three females, one male) that Escobar brought over illegally for the private zoo at his Hacienda Nápoles estate, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the city of Medellín. The hippos went feral after his death, multiplying and spreading to nearby waterways, eventually reaching the Magdalena, Colombia’s biggest river. Irene Vélez, Colombia’s environment minister, announced on April 13 that the government aims to cull approximately 80 hippos starting in the latter half of 2026, marking the first sanctioned hunt in 40 years. The government has budgeted some 7.2 billion pesos ($2 million) for the cull, which also includes provisions for confinement and relocation. “It is out of responsibility to our ecosystems that we must take these actions,” Vélez said at a press conference as reported by Spanish newspaper El País. She noted that previous efforts, such as sterilization, had failed to control the population and that talks with other countries about transferring the hippos to their zoos or sanctuaries hadn’t amounted to anything. “Today we are announcing a euthanasia protocol so that environmental authorities can implement it with the support of scientific institutions, because without this action it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/colombia-announces-plan-to-cull-pablo-escobars-feral-hippos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/colombia-announces-plan-to-cull-pablo-escobars-feral-hippos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>EU deforestation law nudges timber trade, Indonesia probe shows, but risks persist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/eu-deforestation-law-nudges-timber-trade-indonesia-probe-shows-but-risks-persist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/eu-deforestation-law-nudges-timber-trade-indonesia-probe-shows-but-risks-persist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 04:31:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17040959/Picture1-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317697</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Kalimantan, Europe, European Union, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Forests, Global Trade, Rainforest Deforestation, Regulations, Supply Chain, Timber, Timber Laws, timber trade, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Several European timber firms have cut ties with suppliers linked to deforestation in Indonesia following a 2025 investigation, suggesting that an upcoming European Union regulation is already influencing behavior ahead of its implementation at the end of 2026. Still, new trade data show imports from high-risk suppliers continued in 2025, raising concerns that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Several European timber firms have cut ties with suppliers linked to deforestation in Indonesia following a 2025 investigation, suggesting that an upcoming European Union regulation is already influencing behavior ahead of its implementation at the end of 2026. Still, new trade data show imports from high-risk suppliers continued in 2025, raising concerns that timber linked to forest clearance may still be entering EU supply chains. In their 2025 investigation, U.K.-based NGO Earthsight and its Indonesian partner, Auriga Nusantara, traced timber from recently cleared forests in Indonesian Borneo to European importers, using government documents, satellite imagery and trade records. Analyzing nearly 10,000 unpublished documents submitted to Indonesian authorities, the investigators identified cases where timber produced through forest clearance had entered European supply chains in some cases. The findings showed that the top five users of deforestation-linked wood in Indonesia in 2024 all exported products to the EU. Their main European customers were companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which together ordered more than 23,000 cubic meters (812,200 cubic feet) of wood products that year, including plywood, decking and door frames. While only some shipments could be directly verified, the investigation pointed to a wider risk that timber linked to deforestation is entering EU markets through opaque supply chains. But despite these findings, the investigation has already prompted changes among some of the companies involved, with several cutting ties with the suppliers named in the report. Under the EU’s new antideforestation regulation, the EUDR, set to come into force&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/eu-deforestation-law-nudges-timber-trade-indonesia-probe-shows-but-risks-persist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/eu-deforestation-law-nudges-timber-trade-indonesia-probe-shows-but-risks-persist/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community-led ecotourism protects rebounding wild cattle in Thailand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/community-led-ecotourism-protects-rebounding-wild-cattle-in-thailand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/community-led-ecotourism-protects-rebounding-wild-cattle-in-thailand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 02:57:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17025703/Herd-of-banteng-in-the-Huai-Kha-Khaeng-buffer-area.-Image-courtesy-of-KU-Faculty-of-ForestryDNPWCS-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317694</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Endangered Species, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The critically endangered banteng is making a comeback in Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, and has become a unique community-led conservation icon, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Thailand’s population of banteng (Bos javanicus), one of the world’s rarest wild cattle species, was once reduced to just a few hundred individuals due to decades of deforestation, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The critically endangered banteng is making a comeback in Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, and has become a unique community-led conservation icon, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Thailand’s population of banteng (Bos javanicus), one of the world’s rarest wild cattle species, was once reduced to just a few hundred individuals due to decades of deforestation, agricultural expansion and hunting. However, habitat protection and reduced poaching pressure, widely credited to the implementation of SMART (Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool) ranger patrols, have helped the banteng population in Huai Kha Khaeng double over the past 20 years. With an estimated population of at least 1,400 individuals today, the sanctuary is now recognized as home to the largest banteng population in Southeast Asia. The successful recovery has prompted several herds to naturally disperse from the protected area into surrounding buffer zones. This expansion initially caused concern over the potential for human-wildlife conflict, as the wild cattle entered lands used by local communities for farming and livestock grazing. Villagers faced crop damage, while the banteng faced the risk of poaching in areas with limited law enforcement. To address these challenges, residents of Rabam subdistrict, among the most affected by banteng presence, established a community-based ecotourism initiative in 2021 that focused on banteng-watching tours. The project has since transformed the species into a vital financial and cultural asset for the community. Today, more than 320 residents from 19 villages participate in the program, which includes wildlife watching, boat tours, and traditional cultural activities. For many&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/community-led-ecotourism-protects-rebounding-wild-cattle-in-thailand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/community-led-ecotourism-protects-rebounding-wild-cattle-in-thailand/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Landmark US Magnuson-Stevens fisheries law turns 50 amid budget cut concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/landmark-us-magnuson-stevens-fisheries-law-turns-50-amid-budget-cut-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/landmark-us-magnuson-stevens-fisheries-law-turns-50-amid-budget-cut-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 22:27:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bobby Bascomb]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16222307/fis00525-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317684</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Marine Conservation, Ocean, Overfishing, Regulations, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[April 13 marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), a landmark conservation law credited with saving numerous U.S. fisheries from collapse and protecting vital ocean habitats. Despite decades of success, conservationists warn that recent federal funding cuts could undermine those gains. The MSA was passed in 1976, in the same decade the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[April 13 marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), a landmark conservation law credited with saving numerous U.S. fisheries from collapse and protecting vital ocean habitats. Despite decades of success, conservationists warn that recent federal funding cuts could undermine those gains. The MSA was passed in 1976, in the same decade the Environmental Protection Agency was established, and half a dozen bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air and Clean Water acts were enacted. It was a time of widespread environmental degradation: Ohio’s Cuyahoga River frequently caught fire and smog choked cities like Los Angeles. U.S. fisheries were in a similarly dire state. “Fishing off the U.S. coast was a free-for-all, with vessels from both the U.S. and other nations racing to catch as many fish as they could,” Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at the advocacy organization Oceana, told Mongabay in an email. Before the MSA was enacted, international waters began just 19 kilometers (12 miles) from shore. Beyond that, both American and international fishing fleets could operate with very few regulations. It was a classic example of the tragedy of the commons; fishers were incentivized to capture as many fish as they possibly could before the fish were gone. By the 1970s, numerous fisheries were on the brink of collapse, including groundfish, lobster, haddock, cod and yellowtail flounder. Many fish populations could not reproduce enough to sustain themselves or a fishing industry. In response, Senators Warren Magnuson and Ted Stevens introduced the MSA. It extended&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/landmark-us-magnuson-stevens-fisheries-law-turns-50-amid-budget-cut-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/landmark-us-magnuson-stevens-fisheries-law-turns-50-amid-budget-cut-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Tasmania, the mines have closed but the rivers remember</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-tasmania-the-mines-have-closed-but-the-rivers-remember/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-tasmania-the-mines-have-closed-but-the-rivers-remember/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 21:17:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stefan Lovgren]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16164414/4-King-River-drone-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317656</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Oceania, and Tasmania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Crisis, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Health, Mining, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Poisoning, Pollution, Rivers, Toxicology, Waste, Water, Water Crisis, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The King River snakes through some of Tasmania’s most dramatic and diverse landscape, flowing past rainforest, button grass plains and the rugged peaks of the West Coast Range before emptying into a large bay near Strahan, a quiet fishing town. To the casual visitor, the winding stream looks as wild as the lightly settled country [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The King River snakes through some of Tasmania’s most dramatic and diverse landscape, flowing past rainforest, button grass plains and the rugged peaks of the West Coast Range before emptying into a large bay near Strahan, a quiet fishing town. To the casual visitor, the winding stream looks as wild as the lightly settled country around it. But on a February morning, the King’s tea-brown waters flowing past forested banks near the sea were disturbingly silent. The air hummed with large, persistent horseflies and little else. Healthy Tasmanian streams typically teem with aquatic insects, including mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies, which form the foundation of freshwater food webs. Not here. Along the lower King River, many aquatic species are gone; an enduring effect of copper mining above Queenstown, which sent uncounted tons of mine waste downstream. That pollution originated at Mount Lyell, one of Australia’s largest historic copper mines. Established in the early 1890s, its tailing piles discharged toxic contaminants into the nearby Queen River, a tributary that flows directly into the King. Historic mine workings at Mount Lyell near Queenstown, Tasmania state, Australia, where more than a century of copper mining has left a lasting environmental legacy that continues impacting biodiversity and posing risks to public health. Image by Stefan Lovgren. Although large-scale dumping ended long before the mine was finally closed in 2014, that hidden legacy of pollution remains embedded in river waters, sediments and floodplains. Surveys of aquatic life have repeatedly found that the sensitive species expected in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-tasmania-the-mines-have-closed-but-the-rivers-remember/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/in-tasmania-the-mines-have-closed-but-the-rivers-remember/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>BP sued in Kenya over alleged toxic waste from 1980s oil exploration</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/bp-sued-in-kenya-over-alleged-toxic-waste-from-1980s-oil-exploration/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/bp-sued-in-kenya-over-alleged-toxic-waste-from-1980s-oil-exploration/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 20:33:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16203218/AP26106502506670-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317681</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Health, Oil, Oil Drilling, Pollution, Toxicology, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The High Court in Kenya ruled Thursday that a class action lawsuit can move forward against multinational oil and gas company BP alleging that decades-long toxic waste disposal contaminated drinking water in northern Kenya. The lawsuit, filed by 299 petitioners in February at the Land and Environment Court in Isiolo, alleged [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The High Court in Kenya ruled Thursday that a class action lawsuit can move forward against multinational oil and gas company BP alleging that decades-long toxic waste disposal contaminated drinking water in northern Kenya. The lawsuit, filed by 299 petitioners in February at the Land and Environment Court in Isiolo, alleged that BP caused serious environmental pollution by improperly disposing of and discharging toxic waste from oil exploration activities in parts of northern Kenya. It claimed that the waste, which contained radioactive materials, contaminated ground water and sickened or killed hundreds of residents and livestock nearby. “During operations at the sites, hazardous and toxic contaminants were improperly disposed, discharged and released into the environment,” the petition said. The exploration work was carried out in the 1980s by Amoco Corporation, which was later acquired by BP in 1998. In that period, Amoco drilled several dry wells near Kargi and Kalacha in the Chalbi Desert in northern Kenya. The petition alleged that more than 500 residents living near the exploration sites died from cancers and other illnesses linked to drinking water contaminated with heavy metals and carcinogens. Court documents cite contaminants including radium isotopes, arsenic, lead and nitrates allegedly dumped in unlined pits or left exposed. The suit also accuses multiple Kenyan government ministries and agencies responsible for environment, water, mining and health of failing to act despite evidence of contamination. The case is scheduled to resume in May. BP has not issued a public response and declined&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/bp-sued-in-kenya-over-alleged-toxic-waste-from-1980s-oil-exploration/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/bp-sued-in-kenya-over-alleged-toxic-waste-from-1980s-oil-exploration/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>From the Atlantic Forest to the Amazon: Alexandre de Santi on camaraderie and uncovering hidden truths in Brazil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-the-atlantic-forest-to-the-amazon-alexandre-de-santi-on-camaraderie-and-uncovering-hidden-truths-in-brazil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-the-atlantic-forest-to-the-amazon-alexandre-de-santi-on-camaraderie-and-uncovering-hidden-truths-in-brazil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 18:31:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alana Linderoth]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16182105/20240314_201222-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317667</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Conservation, Climate, Environmental Journalism, Interviews, and Interviews With Environmental Journalists]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When telling stories about nature, Alexandre de Santi’s interest stems from the climate. “Climate collapse is the greatest challenge of my generation,” he says. Before joining Mongabay, Santi began his career as a reporter in 1999. His trajectory included founding the editorial studio Fronteira, contributing as a founding associate of Porto Alegre-based news nonprofit Matinal, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When telling stories about nature, Alexandre de Santi’s interest stems from the climate. “Climate collapse is the greatest challenge of my generation,” he says. Before joining Mongabay, Santi began his career as a reporter in 1999. His trajectory included founding the editorial studio Fronteira, contributing as a founding associate of Porto Alegre-based news nonprofit Matinal, and serving as deputy editor at The Intercept Brazil, where he played a key role in major investigations, including the Vaza Jato scandal that led to political turmoil in Brazil. Santi joined Mongabay in 2022 and became managing editor for Brazil in 2025. He has always lived in the country’s urban landscapes where the Atlantic Forest once stood. Today, less than 24% of it remains. “It always struck me how the forest is always trying to regain its space in the urban concrete,” he says. For Santi, Brazil’s urban expansion stands in stark contrast to the nature and communities that predate it. He says Indigenous peoples have long understood how to coexist with the natural world rather than oppose it. While fully adopting traditional lifestyles is unrealistic today, drawing inspiration from “many of those concepts” could guide Brazil and other rapidly growing countries toward an alternative development model, he says. Santi sees reasons to hope for the future. “There’s too much potential and an opportunity to make things better.” One of his proudest achievements at Mongabay was editing an investigation into Brazil’s carbon credit market that exposed a timber laundering scam. “We revealed something truly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-the-atlantic-forest-to-the-amazon-alexandre-de-santi-on-camaraderie-and-uncovering-hidden-truths-in-brazil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/from-the-atlantic-forest-to-the-amazon-alexandre-de-santi-on-camaraderie-and-uncovering-hidden-truths-in-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Drones aid dugong conservation as threats mount across their range</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drones-aid-dugong-conservation-as-threats-mount-across-their-range/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drones-aid-dugong-conservation-as-threats-mount-across-their-range/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 18:03:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark Hillsdon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16142053/BANNER-Dugong_Marsa_Alam-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317639</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Drones, Dugong, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Fishing, Habitat Degradation, Mammals, Marine Animals, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Ecosystems, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, and Seagrass]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Drone technology is providing important new insights into the lives of dugongs, while also revealing the vital role they play in managing seagrass meadows, one of the ocean’s most important carbon sinks. Often referred to as sea cows, dugongs (Dugong dugon) are marine herbivores that can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) long and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Drone technology is providing important new insights into the lives of dugongs, while also revealing the vital role they play in managing seagrass meadows, one of the ocean’s most important carbon sinks. Often referred to as sea cows, dugongs (Dugong dugon) are marine herbivores that can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) long and weigh up to 420 kilograms (925 pounds). They feed almost exclusively on seagrass in shallow coastal waters across a wide range in the Indian and southeastern Pacific oceans. However, their population spread was revealed to be extremely uneven in an August 2025 report, published by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and touted as “offering the most comprehensive global update on the status and conservation needs of dugongs in over two decades.” By far the largest concentration of dugongs is in Australia, where an estimated 166,000 live in the country’s coastal waters, the CMS report shows. Other hotspots include the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, and Indonesia, while around 300 dugongs live along the coast of Mozambique, their last stronghold in Africa. But elsewhere the picture is less healthy. The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, has listed the dugong as globally vulnerable to extinction for more than 40 years now. Some jurisdictions, such as the French territory of New Caledonia and Japan’s Nasei Islands, have listed the dugong as endangered. In 2022, research declared the species extinct in China. According to Helene Marsh, a professor of environmental sciences&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drones-aid-dugong-conservation-as-threats-mount-across-their-range/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drones-aid-dugong-conservation-as-threats-mount-across-their-range/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Americas flyways atlas maps the routes of 89 at-risk migratory bird species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 16:51:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Adam Litchkofski]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16153833/4-cerulean-warbler-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317648</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Global, North America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Crisis, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, data collection, Environment, Environmental Policy, Habitat Loss, Mapping, Migration, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Technology And Conservation, Urban Planning, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Announced at the end of March, the “Atlas for the Americas Flyways” website tracks high concentrations of migratory bird species at risk of major population declines along their routes throughout the Americas. This new United Nations-backed tool identifies heavily trafficked breeding grounds, migratory stopover locations and wintering areas, with the aim of providing policymakers and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Announced at the end of March, the “Atlas for the Americas Flyways” website tracks high concentrations of migratory bird species at risk of major population declines along their routes throughout the Americas. This new United Nations-backed tool identifies heavily trafficked breeding grounds, migratory stopover locations and wintering areas, with the aim of providing policymakers and conservationists with actionable, location-based guidance on where and how to protect and conserve these species. It closely tracks 89 at-risk migratory bird species out of the 622 that traverse North, Central and South America. Available for everyone to explore, the atlas presents a useful, fascinating and fun opportunity to explore the annual journeys of these birds. The atlas was developed by researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Its mapping spans the 56 countries that make up the Americas, explains CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel, and focuses on the Atlantic, Pacific and mid-continent flyways. The buff-breasted sandpiper, highlighted in the new atlas, is a migratory bird species with an elevated risk of extinction due to rapid population declines driven by habitat loss in its South American wintering grounds and at migratory stopover sites. Image courtesy of Luke Seitz via Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The mapping tool was created using 20 years of data gathered on the Cornell Lab’s eBird website, an online database and citizen-science project that tracks bird distribution and abundance. Compiling the atlas wouldn’t have been possible, say researchers, without&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/americas-flyways-atlas-maps-the-routes-of-89-at-risk-migratory-bird-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Listening to forests reveals signs of recovery beyond tree cover</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/listening-to-forests-reveals-signs-of-recovery-beyond-tree-cover/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/listening-to-forests-reveals-signs-of-recovery-beyond-tree-cover/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 14:12:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/16140215/Banner-Image-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317628</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Costa Rica, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioacoustics and conservation, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystem Services Payments, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Payments For Ecosystem Services, Research, Technology, and Technology And Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Can listening to forests help us understand if the life inside them is thriving? Apparently, yes. Giacomo Delgado likens it to a doctor examining heart health. “A doctor has listened to many people&#8217;s hearts, and knows what healthy hearts sound like,” Delgado, a doctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zürich, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Can listening to forests help us understand if the life inside them is thriving? Apparently, yes. Giacomo Delgado likens it to a doctor examining heart health. “A doctor has listened to many people&#8217;s hearts, and knows what healthy hearts sound like,” Delgado, a doctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zürich, told Mongabay in a video interview. “She then starts to compare your heart to other heart sounds to see if you have a healthy heart.” A team of researchers, led by Delgado, has used the same logic to assess the success of a forest protection and restoration mechanism in Costa Rica. Using more than 16,000 hours of audio recordings of the forest, they found that biodiversity was restored in naturally regenerated forests. These forests were also found to sound similar to forests that have been protected for years. In 1950, half of Costa Rica was forested; by 1995, forest cover had been reduced to 25%, driven in part by cattle ranching and agriculture expansion in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, however, Costa Rica became something of a pioneer in the payment for ecosystem services (PES) system, a mechanism where landowners and local communities are financially compensated for protecting and preserving forests. The country’s PES initiative, launched in 1997, is one of the first national-level programs of its kind in the world, and to date has covered more than 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres). “Costa Rica’s PES program is notable not only for its&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/listening-to-forests-reveals-signs-of-recovery-beyond-tree-cover/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/listening-to-forests-reveals-signs-of-recovery-beyond-tree-cover/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>From carp to hippos, 43% of large freshwater animal species spread far beyond native ranges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/from-carp-to-hippos-43-of-large-freshwater-animal-species-spread-far-beyond-native-ranges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/from-carp-to-hippos-43-of-large-freshwater-animal-species-spread-far-beyond-native-ranges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 09:52:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/10042851/6-Nile-perch-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=317629</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Aquaculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Green, Research, Rivers, Turtles, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From fish and turtles, to hippos and crocodiles, about 43% of all known large freshwater animal species have been deliberately introduced into ecosystems outside their native ranges, a recent study finds. Most species were introduced to boost fisheries, food security or tourism, but many have had unintended consequences for local wildlife, habitats and people. Fengzhi [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From fish and turtles, to hippos and crocodiles, about 43% of all known large freshwater animal species have been deliberately introduced into ecosystems outside their native ranges, a recent study finds. Most species were introduced to boost fisheries, food security or tourism, but many have had unintended consequences for local wildlife, habitats and people. Fengzhi He, the study’s co-author, told Mongabay this research stemmed from his earlier work documenting where large freshwater animal species, weighing more than 30 kilograms (66 pounds), occur globally. He noticed many were present outside their native ranges. “I realized the complex interactions between alien freshwater megafauna and people and started this project together with our colleagues,” said He, a freshwater ecologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology. Of the 216 known large freshwater animal species, 93 have been introduced in rivers, wetlands and lakes outside their native ranges, the study found. These introductions span 142 countries and regions. Most introductions were to improve fisheries and aquaculture. For example, large fish like common carp (Cyprinus carpio) have been introduced to more than 100 countries, while African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) are now in more than 30 countries. “Their introductions have been documented for many years in some regions and have become an important part of local aquaculture,” He said. Species like the Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis), Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) have been introduced in China for leather farming. Certain turtles, river stingrays, crocodilians and large fishes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/from-carp-to-hippos-43-of-large-freshwater-animal-species-spread-far-beyond-native-ranges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/from-carp-to-hippos-43-of-large-freshwater-animal-species-spread-far-beyond-native-ranges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
			</channel>
</rss>