https://news.mongabay.com/list/bushmeat/ Environmental science and conservation news Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:41:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/bushmeat/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wild-animal-consumption-on-the-rise-in-central-africa-study-finds/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wild-animal-consumption-on-the-rise-in-central-africa-study-finds/#respond 21 May 2026 19:16:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=319951 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wild-animal-consumption-on-the-rise-in-central-africa-study-finds/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319951 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/01/critical-wetland-in-angola-gets-formal-ramsar-recognition/ https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/01/critical-wetland-in-angola-gets-formal-ramsar-recognition/#respond 21 Jan 2026 22:27:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&p=313198 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/01/critical-wetland-in-angola-gets-formal-ramsar-recognition/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313198 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/small-cat-conservationists-hail-ugandas-new-echuya-forest-national-park/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/small-cat-conservationists-hail-ugandas-new-echuya-forest-national-park/#respond 11 Dec 2025 14:56:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311098 - African golden cats are forest dependent and considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. They’re especially threatened by snaring across their range. It’s unknown exactly how Echuya’s population is faring, but camera-trapping efforts in 2015 required 90 days to record just one of these elusive cats.
- Data coming out of Uganda suggest that national parks can act as strongholds for the felid, raising hopes that Echuya’s population can recover and possibly thrive.
- Wildcat conservationists have also developed programs to build engagement and benefit communities near the new park, initiating goat and sheep “seed banks” as alternatives to bushmeat, setting up savings and loan associations to improve quality of life, and arranging community soccer matches to build goodwill.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/small-cat-conservationists-hail-ugandas-new-echuya-forest-national-park/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311098 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lemurs-are-being-eaten-as-an-urban-delicacy-in-madagascar/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lemurs-are-being-eaten-as-an-urban-delicacy-in-madagascar/#respond 28 Nov 2025 14:48:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310301 - Peri-urban hunters run efficient one-stop operations, earning up to a third of their cash income from lemur sales while traveling long distances to harvest increasingly rare species.
- Wealthier consumers fuel demand based on perceptions of taste, luxury, and health benefits, with little fear of legal consequences and high prices reinforcing the status of lemur dishes.
- The trade targets vulnerable species, peaks during breeding season, and threatens rapid population declines; effective responses require firearm regulation, alternative livelihoods for hunters, and demand-focused strategies.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lemurs-are-being-eaten-as-an-urban-delicacy-in-madagascar/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310301 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/urban-appetite-for-lemur-meat-piles-pressure-on-iconic-primates/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/urban-appetite-for-lemur-meat-piles-pressure-on-iconic-primates/#respond 01 Oct 2025 18:46:11 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306910 - While rural subsistence hunting is seasonal and opportunistic, the year-round urban luxury trade for lemur meat threatens large-bodied species, including during key reproductive periods.
- Primatologists recently issued a statement calling for strategies aimed at different actors involved in lemur meat hunting, including stricter gun regulations and enforcement directed at the urban trade, and the development of economic alternatives for rural subsistence hunters.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/urban-appetite-for-lemur-meat-piles-pressure-on-iconic-primates/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306910 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/conservationists-warn-of-targeted-poaching-behind-sri-lankas-leopard-killings/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/conservationists-warn-of-targeted-poaching-behind-sri-lankas-leopard-killings/#respond 13 Aug 2025 13:38:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304223 - Conservationists warn that leopards may no longer be just accidental victims of snares, but are increasingly being hunted with intent.
- Historical echoes of colonial-era leopard hunting and modern superstitions may be quietly fueling an underground trade, experts say.
- With fewer than 1,000 mature individuals left, every leopard death pushes Sri Lanka’s iconic apex predator closer to extinction.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/conservationists-warn-of-targeted-poaching-behind-sri-lankas-leopard-killings/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304223 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/study-finds-worrying-uptick-in-proboscis-monkey-trade-in-indonesia/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/study-finds-worrying-uptick-in-proboscis-monkey-trade-in-indonesia/#respond 18 Jul 2025 17:47:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302807 - A recent study, analyzing 25-year seizure and trade data involving proboscis monkey trade, finds nearly 100 individuals in trade in Indonesia, with an alarming rise in online trade and zoo exchanges in recent years, many of which are likely acquired from the wild.
- Conservationists say this uptick in trade poses a threat to the endangered species and urge Indonesian authorities to enforce existing legislation to protect proboscis monkeys from trade. They also say social media platforms must do more to curb wildlife trade on their platforms, which is also a concern for proboscis monkeys.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/study-finds-worrying-uptick-in-proboscis-monkey-trade-in-indonesia/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302807 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pandemic-era-slump-in-ivory-and-pangolin-scale-trafficking-persists-report-finds/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pandemic-era-slump-in-ivory-and-pangolin-scale-trafficking-persists-report-finds/#respond 17 Jun 2025 08:31:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300838 - The report attributes this dip to pandemic-induced lockdowns, increased law enforcement and intelligence gathering, successful prosecutions, and declines in the prices of ivory and pangolin scales.
- While Nigeria has been a major export hub for both commodities, the report finds that trafficking hotspots are shifting to other countries such as Angola and Mozambique, which have historically been hubs of the rhino horn trade.
- The report recommends that African nations strengthen law enforcement and intelligence gathering, dismantle crime networks by targeting those at the top tiers of these networks, and foster better cooperation between countries and other organizations to address trafficking.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pandemic-era-slump-in-ivory-and-pangolin-scale-trafficking-persists-report-finds/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300838 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/action-plan-aims-to-save-asias-leaf-eating-monkeys-amid-alarming-declines/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/action-plan-aims-to-save-asias-leaf-eating-monkeys-amid-alarming-declines/#respond 15 Apr 2025 14:42:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297655 - The 10-year Asian Langurs Conservation Action Plan focuses on the six countries in the Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, a region known for its astonishing range of habitats and species.
- Based on insights from leading primatologists, the plan prioritizes measures needed to safeguard 28 species and subspecies of langurs.
- Key goals include strengthening and enforcing existing wildlife laws, reducing demand for langurs and their body parts, and raising awareness about their protected status and cultural and ecological importance.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/action-plan-aims-to-save-asias-leaf-eating-monkeys-amid-alarming-declines/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297655 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/an-oil-rich-west-african-island-offers-decades-of-insight-into-the-wild-meat-trade/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/an-oil-rich-west-african-island-offers-decades-of-insight-into-the-wild-meat-trade/#respond 02 Apr 2025 15:14:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296849 - A recent study, part of the longest wild meat market study in the world, investigates the drivers of the trade on the island and tracks how it has changed over the last 30 years amid economic downturns, conservation actions and public health concerns.
- The study found that public health messaging and on-the-ground conservation interventions such as patrolling and monitoring help create a dent in the trade, but that a lack of law enforcement drives up the trade.
- Conservationists say the study’s findings can help decision-makers understand how socioeconomic factors and shifting demographics impact both demand and wild meat supply.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/an-oil-rich-west-african-island-offers-decades-of-insight-into-the-wild-meat-trade/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296849 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/some-people-will-die-conversations-with-nigerias-gorilla-hunters/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/some-people-will-die-conversations-with-nigerias-gorilla-hunters/#respond 27 Feb 2025 00:34:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295078 - Hunting remains a key threat to the survival of gorillas and chimpanzees in Nigeria.
- In the traditions of many Nigerian clans, apes — especially gorillas — are imbued with a deep spiritual significance and recognized for their close relation to humans.
- In some cases, these beliefs contribute to the protection of apes and strong taboos against hunting or harming them; in other cases, they fuel a demand for ape parts for ritual and medicinal uses.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/some-people-will-die-conversations-with-nigerias-gorilla-hunters/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295078 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/study-links-african-lion-survival-to-prey-availability/ https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/study-links-african-lion-survival-to-prey-availability/#respond 21 Feb 2025 12:44:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294828 - Preventing prey depletion can help improve lion reproduction and population growth in areas prone to poaching for bushmeat, a leading cause of the species’ decline, the study notes.
- “In areas with high protection, the annual probability of [lion] population growth was 89.3%, but in areas with low protection the probability of growth was only 30.2%,” the study reads.
- The study underscores the importance of conservation programs that consider surrounding communities as crucial allies in species protection, says an expert.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/study-links-african-lion-survival-to-prey-availability/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294828 https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/02/as-africa-eyes-protected-areas-expansion-of-1-million-square-miles-concerns-over-brutal-enforcement-persist/ https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/02/as-africa-eyes-protected-areas-expansion-of-1-million-square-miles-concerns-over-brutal-enforcement-persist/#respond 04 Feb 2025 20:06:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=podcasts&p=293843 Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/02/as-africa-eyes-protected-areas-expansion-of-1-million-square-miles-concerns-over-brutal-enforcement-persist/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293843 https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/illegal-gold-mining-drives-deforestation-in-drc-reserve-home-to-african-unicorn/ https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/illegal-gold-mining-drives-deforestation-in-drc-reserve-home-to-african-unicorn/#respond 26 Nov 2024 00:29:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290668 - The reserve is also the home to Indigenous Mbuti and Efe forest peoples, who depend on forest resources.
- Deforestation in the reserve remained high in 2023, and continued to spread this year, according to satellite data from the Global Forest Watch platform.
- Illegal artisanal and semi-industrial gold mining within the reserve is driving deforestation, poaching and environmental destruction.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/illegal-gold-mining-drives-deforestation-in-drc-reserve-home-to-african-unicorn/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290668 https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/sierra-leone-group-helps-farmers-adapt-to-changing-climate-protect-forest/ https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/sierra-leone-group-helps-farmers-adapt-to-changing-climate-protect-forest/#respond 18 Sep 2024 08:27:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287511 - The landscape around Kambui Hills, a commercial timber reserve, is vital to local communities for agriculture, tourism, cultural significance as well as water conservation and climate regulation; the area is also home to numerous endangered species.
- Local farmers are facing changing climatic patterns and declining harvests of their primary crop, rice; SLEM has promoted alternative, more climate-resistant options, such as sweet potato, cassava and yams as well as fruit trees like mango and papaya.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/sierra-leone-group-helps-farmers-adapt-to-changing-climate-protect-forest/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287511 https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/ https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/#respond 22 Aug 2024 09:49:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286382 - The insiders have experience working at Ortello — sometimes spelled Otterlo — Business Corporation (OBC), a UAE-based company that runs shoots in Loliondo, northern Tanzania.
- Tanzanian authorities have served waves of eviction notices affecting Maasai herders in and around Loliondo, as part of efforts to expand hunting and safari tourism.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286382 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/incentivizing-conservation-shows-success-against-wildlife-hunting-in-cameroon/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/incentivizing-conservation-shows-success-against-wildlife-hunting-in-cameroon/#respond 19 Dec 2023 23:09:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276863 - Thirty-five of the 64 hunters enrolled in the study near Dja Faunal Reserve were able to increase their income from fishing or cacao farming, the two main economic activities aside from hunting in the region.
- The participants spent more time working on their farms and less in the forest hunting with guns, an important indicator that they weren’t targeting “animals of conservation importance and primates in particular.”
- While the results of the experiment are promising, experts say it’s not a silver bullet and should be used alongside other solutions, including education, governance, and sustainable natural resource management.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/incentivizing-conservation-shows-success-against-wildlife-hunting-in-cameroon/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276863 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/poverty-and-plantations-nigerian-reserve-struggles-against-the-odds/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/poverty-and-plantations-nigerian-reserve-struggles-against-the-odds/#respond 01 Dec 2023 03:55:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276174 - But the influx of thousands of settlers into the reserve is coming at the cost of its rainforests, with satellite data and imagery showing ongoing clearing into primary forest.
- Palm oil companies are also establishing industrial plantations in the reserve.
- Conservationists and officials warn that vulnerable wildlife populations may be wiped out if forest loss and bushmeat hunting continues at its current rate.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/poverty-and-plantations-nigerian-reserve-struggles-against-the-odds/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276174 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/#respond 13 Oct 2023 01:41:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274269 - Deforestation in the reserve is accelerating, according to data from Global Forest Watch.
- Artisanal and semi-industrial mining is a grave threat to the reserve, leading to deforestation and pollution of waterways, particularly in the south of the reserve along the Ituri River and the National Road 4.
- A disagreement over the boundaries of the reserve between park authorities and the mining cadastre complicates law enforcement and requires resolution at the ministerial level.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-274269 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/study-wild-meat-trade-from-africa-into-belgium-a-health-and-conservation-risk/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/study-wild-meat-trade-from-africa-into-belgium-a-health-and-conservation-risk/#respond 12 Sep 2023 17:23:53 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273236 - The source for much of this meat is West and Central Africa, with some of the seized meat found to be from threatened or protected species such as tree pangolins and dwarf crocodiles.
- The study comes more than a decade after the same group of researchers found an estimated 5 metric tons of bushmeat entering via Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris weekly, suggesting enforcement since then hasn’t been effective.
- Experts are calling for better detection of wild meat trafficking and stricter enforcement of penalties against the trade in protected species, as well as more frequent checks of the legal trade to uncover illegal shipments.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/study-wild-meat-trade-from-africa-into-belgium-a-health-and-conservation-risk/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-273236 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-nepal-chepang-take-up-the-challenge-to-revive-their-cultural-keystone-tree/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-nepal-chepang-take-up-the-challenge-to-revive-their-cultural-keystone-tree/#respond 31 May 2023 23:00:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269264 - According to folklore, the Chepang tribe, the chiuri tree and bats are all part of a three-pronged system of survival, as each helps the other two; that system — and the chiuri tree — has fallen to the wayside.
- Now, young Chepangs are trying to revive the chiuri tree and market the valuable fruits.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-nepal-chepang-take-up-the-challenge-to-revive-their-cultural-keystone-tree/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-269264 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/survival-and-economics-complicate-the-drcs-bushmeat-and-wild-animal-trade/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/survival-and-economics-complicate-the-drcs-bushmeat-and-wild-animal-trade/#respond 30 May 2023 16:20:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269170 - In the Democratic Republic of Congo, subsistence hunting is often intertwined with the trade of bushmeat and in some cases live animals to sate the demand from larger markets, which can increase the pressure on wildlife populations.
- The trade of bushmeat provides one of the few sources of income for hunters, porters and traders, as well as a source of protein for families, in the town of Lodja, which sits close to forests that are home to unique species.
- Activists in Lodja and the DRC are working to save live animals from entering the illicit trade of endangered species and encourage alternative sources of income to the commercial trade of wild meat and animals.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/survival-and-economics-complicate-the-drcs-bushmeat-and-wild-animal-trade/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-269170 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/support-wildlife-rangers-to-protect-wildlife-habitats-for-the-future-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/support-wildlife-rangers-to-protect-wildlife-habitats-for-the-future-commentary/#respond 14 Nov 2022 19:04:32 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262553 - Funding can support significant improvements in the working conditions of rangers, enabling them to work more effectively toward reducing the illegal wildlife trade and human-wildlife conflicts.
- The winner of the 2022 Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award shares his thoughts about the situation and how increased support is good for wildlife, people, and habitats in this new op-ed.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/support-wildlife-rangers-to-protect-wildlife-habitats-for-the-future-commentary/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262553 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/shining-a-light-on-sri-lankas-little-studied-pangolins-qa-with-priyan-perera/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/shining-a-light-on-sri-lankas-little-studied-pangolins-qa-with-priyan-perera/#respond 24 Apr 2022 19:58:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255094 - Efforts to protect the species here have failed to take off as a result of poor general awareness about the animal, persistent myths about eating its flesh, and a dearth of scientific studies into Sri Lanka’s pangolins.
- Priyan Perera, a globally recognized expert on the species, says he hopes to change that, starting by first filling in the knowledge gaps about the pangolins and their behavior, while also raising awareness in communities and schools to discourage hunting.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Perera talks about the importance of better understanding Sri Lanka’s Indian pangolins, incidents pointing to the nascent trafficking trend, and how to care for seized or injured pangolins.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/shining-a-light-on-sri-lankas-little-studied-pangolins-qa-with-priyan-perera/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-255094 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/bonobos-torn-from-the-wild-make-their-return-with-a-helping-hand/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/bonobos-torn-from-the-wild-make-their-return-with-a-helping-hand/#respond 07 Apr 2022 17:31:15 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254613 - Friends of Bonobos runs a bonobo sanctuary in the DRC where bonobos orphaned by illegal poaching are tended to and rehabilitated.
- The nonprofit released the first group of bonobos in the Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve in 2009, and after more than a decade of preparation and several delays, the second batch was safely moved into the reserve in March.
- The Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve was officially designated a protected area in 2019, and Friends of Bonobos plans to seek National Park status for the forest. This effort could help ensure the two groups remain safe in the wild.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/bonobos-torn-from-the-wild-make-their-return-with-a-helping-hand/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-254613 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/patrols-work-but-community-based-conservation-needs-a-rethink-study-shows/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/patrols-work-but-community-based-conservation-needs-a-rethink-study-shows/#respond 11 Mar 2022 08:03:16 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253641 - Patrolling appears to deter poachers from laying down traps, which often unintentionally ensnare the park’s threatened chimpanzees and other primate species.
- But the prosperity of neighboring communities and a better relationship between park managers and people didn’t translate into a reduction in illegal activities like poaching or firewood removal.
- “In the next 10 years, we need to come up with new ways of community engagement so that conservation plans remain a success,” first author Dipto Sarkar said.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/patrols-work-but-community-based-conservation-needs-a-rethink-study-shows/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-253641 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/refuge-of-endangered-african-unicorn-threatened-by-mining-poaching-habitat-loss/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/refuge-of-endangered-african-unicorn-threatened-by-mining-poaching-habitat-loss/#respond 25 Feb 2022 00:01:19 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253106 - While Okapi Wildlife Reserve has escaped much of the environmental destruction affecting surrounding areas, satellite data show deforestation has been increasing in the reserve in recent years.
- Satellite imagery shows the expansion of what appear to be gold mines in the latter half of 2021.
- Conservationists say illegal mining is attracting more people to the reserve, which in turn increases poaching and deforestation.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/refuge-of-endangered-african-unicorn-threatened-by-mining-poaching-habitat-loss/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-253106 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/deforestation-threatens-tree-kangaroo-habitat-in-papua-new-guinea/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/deforestation-threatens-tree-kangaroo-habitat-in-papua-new-guinea/#respond 14 Oct 2021 11:18:56 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=248200 - The still-unofficial Torricelli Mountain Range Conservation Area is home to critically endangered tree kangaroo species, along with a host of other biodiversity.
- In May 2021, communities voiced concern about road construction that was approaching the boundaries of the proposed conservation area and that the intended target may have been high-value timber species found within the region’s forests.
- Investment in local communities and the protection of the forests that these communities provide have led to an apparent rise in tree kangaroo populations, but logging and other potentially destructive land uses such as conversion to large-scale agriculture remain threats in the Torricellis and throughout Papua New Guinea.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/deforestation-threatens-tree-kangaroo-habitat-in-papua-new-guinea/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-248200 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/biosurveillance-of-markets-and-legal-wildlife-trade-needed-to-curb-pandemic-risk-experts/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/biosurveillance-of-markets-and-legal-wildlife-trade-needed-to-curb-pandemic-risk-experts/#respond 14 Oct 2021 09:30:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=248150 - The world needs a decentralized disease biosurveillance system, experts say, that would allow public health professionals and wildlife scientists in remote areas to test for pathogens year-round, at source, with modern mobile technologies in order to help facilitate a rapid response to emerging zoonotic disease outbreaks.
- Though conservation advocates have long argued for an end to the illegal wildlife trade (which does pose zoonotic disease risk), but the legal trade poses a much greater threat to human health, say experts.
- Governments around the world are calling for the World Health Organization to create a pandemic treaty. Wildlife groups are pushing for such an agreement to include greater at-source protections to prevent zoonotic spillover.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/biosurveillance-of-markets-and-legal-wildlife-trade-needed-to-curb-pandemic-risk-experts/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-248150 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/domestic-bushmeat-consumption-an-urgent-threat-to-migratory-mammals-u-n-says/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/domestic-bushmeat-consumption-an-urgent-threat-to-migratory-mammals-u-n-says/#respond 20 Sep 2021 11:52:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=247314 - There is also strong evidence that wild meat taking and consumption is linked to zoonotic diseases.
- The authors say that while wild meat consumption cannot be eliminated because it is an indispensable source of nutrition and income for rural communities, they call for improved national regulations and international cooperation to safeguard threatened species.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/domestic-bushmeat-consumption-an-urgent-threat-to-migratory-mammals-u-n-says/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-247314 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/for-malagasy-trapped-in-poverty-threatened-lemurs-and-fossas-are-fair-game/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/for-malagasy-trapped-in-poverty-threatened-lemurs-and-fossas-are-fair-game/#respond 04 Aug 2021 09:20:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245505 - The research conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society relied on indirect questioning and revealed unusually high levels of consumption of meat from the fossa, Madagascar’s top predator.
- Hunting pressure combined with shrinking habitats could lead to the local extinction of the indri, a critically endangered species and the largest living lemur, along with three other lemur species in the park.
- WCS’s current research will feed into a “behavior change campaign” to promote alternatives to hunting like poultry and fish farming, and harvesting of edible insects.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/for-malagasy-trapped-in-poverty-threatened-lemurs-and-fossas-are-fair-game/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-245505 https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/bug-bites-edible-insect-production-ramps-up-quickly-in-madagascar/ https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/bug-bites-edible-insect-production-ramps-up-quickly-in-madagascar/#respond 19 Nov 2020 15:38:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=237013 - One program, which promotes itself with a deck of playing cards, encourages rainforest residents in the northeast to farm a bacon-flavored native planthopper called sakondry.
- Another program focuses on indoor production of crickets in the capital city, Antananarivo.
- Both projects are on the cusp of expanding to other parts of the country.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/bug-bites-edible-insect-production-ramps-up-quickly-in-madagascar/feed/ 0 https://doi.org/10.66709/news-237013