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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/andes/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 14 Nov 2026 14:25:16 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Andes environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/andes/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Study offers first map of Amazon’s climate-resilient upslope corridors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 14:26:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/22132538/howler-monkey-in-amazon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321550</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Earth Science, Ecosystems, Environment, Impact Of Climate Change, Mapping, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Rainforest Destruction, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amazon-based scientists have long known that rapidly rising temperatures mean that places where species live today won’t be where they live tomorrow. For a vast number of species — ranging from insects, birds and primates to all manner of plants — upslope migration could present a potential, though perilous, pathway to resilience and survival during [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amazon-based scientists have long known that rapidly rising temperatures mean that places where species live today won’t be where they live tomorrow. For a vast number of species — ranging from insects, birds and primates to all manner of plants — upslope migration could present a potential, though perilous, pathway to resilience and survival during the climate crisis. This knowledge has raised a vital question: What are the most likely and best protected routes by which species across the Amazon’s broad expanse can relocate upward, helping preserve biodiversity, and hopefully keeping intact the ecosystem services tropical forests now deliver? In what is deemed the first region-wide assessment of Amazonia’s climate resilience and connectivity, a new study points to the western part of the biome, particularly the Andean spine of Peru, as the most viable upslope corridors. According to researchers, this region has the highest concentration of key components needed to support species survival — including major elevation gradients, large established protected areas, and connected forested corridors to facilitate upslope species migration. The scientists pinpointed additional potential corridors in southwestern Colombia, northern Brazil, northern Bolivia, north-central Guyana, and western Suriname. But these areas are disadvantaged due to fewer protected areas, with connectivity in many locales broken by forest fragmentation due to deforestation and oil and gas drilling. Published in May in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, the new study, titled “A regional-scale assessment of climate-resilient corridors and connectivity in the Amazon,” was undertaken with the goal of providing findings that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/study-offers-first-map-of-amazons-climate-resilient-upslope-corridors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate change drives uneven shifts in tree diversity across Amazon and Andes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-drives-uneven-shifts-in-tree-diversity-across-amazon-and-andes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-drives-uneven-shifts-in-tree-diversity-across-amazon-and-andes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2026 09:57:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Constance Malleret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/14100659/amazon_241209124744z-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314949</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Deforestation, Fires, Forests, Impact Of Climate Change, Precipitation, Rainforests, Research, Threats To Rainforests, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The tropical forests of the Amazon and Andes are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet, but across both regions, changes in climate and landscape conditions are driving a shift in the number of tree species, recent research has found. Although the overall number of tree species across the Andes and Amazon hasn’t [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The tropical forests of the Amazon and Andes are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet, but across both regions, changes in climate and landscape conditions are driving a shift in the number of tree species, recent research has found. Although the overall number of tree species across the Andes and Amazon hasn’t changed in recent decades, some subregions are gaining species while others are losing them, according to the study published in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution. Trees provide vital ecosystem services, and changes in their diversity — what experts call tree richness — could have an impact, including on the forests’ role in temperature regulation or carbon storage. Using more than 40 years of tree diversity data, the study found that species richness declined in the central Andes, the Guyana Shield, and the central-eastern Amazon subregions. Meanwhile, it increased in the northern Andes and western Amazon, and didn’t change significantly in the southern Amazon. Researchers used data from 406 different forest plots across 10 countries, paired with records of climate indicators. “Forests are changing and now we have evidence that it’s linked to climate change,” said Belén Fadrique, a research fellow at the University of Liverpool in the U.K. and lead author of the study, which involved more than 160 co-authors. “We do find that a majority of sites are decreasing in richness,” Fadrique told Mongabay in a video interview. In total, 203 plots declined in tree richness and 146 increased, the research found. Overall, the richness&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-drives-uneven-shifts-in-tree-diversity-across-amazon-and-andes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-drives-uneven-shifts-in-tree-diversity-across-amazon-and-andes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314949</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2025 14:22:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/29141103/Screenshot-2025-12-28-at-5.12.22-PM-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312133</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Angola, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Cerrado, Global, Himalayas, India, Peru, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Acoustic, Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Captive Breeding, Climate Change, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Deep Sea, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystem Services, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Farming, Forests, Fungi, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Invasive Species, Marine, Mining, Oceans, Old Growth Forests, Pollution, Protected Areas, Ranching, Research, Science, Snakes, Species, Species Discovery, Swamps, Threatened species, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, Trees, Tropical Forests, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The world still holds its secrets. Hidden under wet rocks, in the ocean&#8217;s twilight crevices, and in the minutiae of the genetic code are creatures unknown and unnamed by the human species. Every year, scientists find hundreds of new animals, insects, plants and fungi. This year, researchers described a tiny new marsupial, a new Himalayan [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The world still holds its secrets. Hidden under wet rocks, in the ocean&#8217;s twilight crevices, and in the minutiae of the genetic code are creatures unknown and unnamed by the human species. Every year, scientists find hundreds of new animals, insects, plants and fungi. This year, researchers described a tiny new marsupial, a new Himalayan bat, an ancient tree, a bright blue butterfly, a parrot snake, and a fairy lantern plant, among others. &#8220;I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth,&#8221; Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay, &#8220;but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth&#8217;s species.&#8221; Some estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Unfortunately, many species may be threatened with extinction before they’re even formally named — victims of human activities like development and climate change. Some of these species could be food or medicine for humans, but each plays a unique role in Earth’s interconnected web of life. “We’re understanding more and more that every species on the planet has a role, and in one way or another, is linked to our well-being through the part they play in ecosystems,&#8221; said Boris Worm, a marine conservation biologist who co-authored a study that quantifies the number of undescribed species on land and in the ocean. “We can’t protect them … if we don’t know them.&#8221; Atlantic manta ray (Mobula yarae) with a diver off the coast of Mexico. Originally&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312133</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Project sees long-term success restoring forests in the high Andes: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/project-sees-long-term-success-restoring-forests-in-the-high-andes-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/project-sees-long-term-success-restoring-forests-in-the-high-andes-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2025 17:26:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/22091350/a.-Thibaud-Aronson-190206459-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311857</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Forest Restoration Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Livestock, Reforestation, Species, Trees, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[High in the Andes, Polylepis trees, with their stunted gnarled trunks and twisted limbs, cling to steep mountain slopes, boulder fields and sheltered ravines. Growing at altitudes of up to 5,000 meters (about 16,400 feet), they must withstand intense sun, biting wind, nighttime frost and seasonal drought. “They’re just crazy resilient trees,” says Tina Christmann, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[High in the Andes, Polylepis trees, with their stunted gnarled trunks and twisted limbs, cling to steep mountain slopes, boulder fields and sheltered ravines. Growing at altitudes of up to 5,000 meters (about 16,400 feet), they must withstand intense sun, biting wind, nighttime frost and seasonal drought. “They’re just crazy resilient trees,” says Tina Christmann, lecturer in environmental science at Southampton University in the U.K. Over centuries, grazing of the high mountain pastures has pushed Polylepis woodlands, called queñual in the local dialect, into only the most inaccessible locations. Researchers estimate they now cover a tiny sliver of their historic range across the Andes, about 2% of historic distribution in Peru and 10% in Bolivia. Yet the woodlands continue to play vital ecological roles. Polylepis trees have a remarkable ability to capture fog on their tiny leaves and channel water into the soil, feeding streams and rivers that travel all the way to the coast. The trees also weaken floods and stabilize mountain soils. Communities use the woodlands for firewood and medicinal herbs. A mature polylepis tree. Called queñual in local dialects in Peru, the polylepis includes 28 species of trees and shrubs. With their thick peeling bark, small waxy leaves, and stunted growth, polylepis trees are well adapted to the extreme temperatures, frequent droughts, strong winds and periodic fires that characterize the high Andes. Image by Tina Christmann. For decades, various groups have worked to restore Andean forest ecosystems, including the Polylepis woodlands. As part of her Ph.D. research,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/project-sees-long-term-success-restoring-forests-in-the-high-andes-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/project-sees-long-term-success-restoring-forests-in-the-high-andes-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311857</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amid systemic corruption, Amazon countries struggle to fight environmental crime</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/amid-systemic-corruption-amazon-countries-struggle-to-fight-environmental-crime/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/amid-systemic-corruption-amazon-countries-struggle-to-fight-environmental-crime/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2025 11:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Timothy J. Killeen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mayra]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/24000235/territorios_colectivos4mongabay-latam-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308249</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Perfect Storm in the Amazon]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Corruption, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The most powerful individuals in courtrooms are the judges. Their leadership is essential for bringing any type of reform to fruition, be it an anti-corruption campaign or an ‘all-of-government’ drive to fight environmental crime. In the Andean Republics, their involvement in crimes of commission via bribery and extortion is a major source of judicial corruption. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The most powerful individuals in courtrooms are the judges. Their leadership is essential for bringing any type of reform to fruition, be it an anti-corruption campaign or an ‘all-of-government’ drive to fight environmental crime. In the Andean Republics, their involvement in crimes of commission via bribery and extortion is a major source of judicial corruption. In Brazil, judges are more likely to commit crimes of omission with delaying tactics that allow cases to spend years in a state of suspended litigation. In Brazil, efforts to reform the judiciary are managed by the Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ), which, like the prosecutorial system, has an internal affairs unit (Corregedoria) that monitors the ethical conduct of its members. Although the CNJ has an impressive data management system that it uses to track its massive caseload, the Corregedoria does not provide (easily understandable) statistics that reveal its record in fighting judicial corruption. An investigative journalist with expertise in legal affairs reviewed data from the CNJ in 2012 and reported that 5,917 cases had been processed, of which 1,637 had been adjudicated at trial, leading to 205 convictions, while 2,918 were dismissed on technicalities or because of the statute of limitations. A separate study spanning 2005 to 2017 found that 82 judges had been subject to disciplinary action, which forced 53 into compulsory retirement, a punishment that removed them from the courts but did not deprive them of their pension. Despite the reforms, the system remains opaque, and there are few reports in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/amid-systemic-corruption-amazon-countries-struggle-to-fight-environmental-crime/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/amid-systemic-corruption-amazon-countries-struggle-to-fight-environmental-crime/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308249</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As the Andes’ glaciers melt, our values can help: Voices from the land (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-as-the-andes-glaciers-melt-our-values-can-help-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-as-the-andes-glaciers-melt-our-values-can-help-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2025 20:05:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yesid Achicue]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/06153917/C78B864E-CC37-41D0-AA35-364F92291911-5382-000005CD3E60FB7E-rotated-e1760472988787-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307630</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Voices from the Land]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Commentary, Culture, Environment, Glaciers, Global Warming, Indigenous Peoples, Mountains, and Religions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections on urgent issues shaping our time — environmental destruction, our relationship with nature, and systemic injustice. We write from the heart of our communities, where [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections on urgent issues shaping our time — environmental destruction, our relationship with nature, and systemic injustice. We write from the heart of our communities, where the impacts of these urgent crises are deeply felt, but also where solutions are rooted. Through this series, we speak from our territories, and ensure our truths are part of the global conversation. In the Colombian Andes, on the highest points above sea level, I have seen white masses that dazzle and spread life. Up here, I have been able to truly feel the water, smell the pristine air and experience the pulse of the Earth while contemplating the glories of a life cycle where the destiny of the planet seems to rest. It is no wonder that many years ago, when my older brother took me to see the sunrise that broke over braided mountain peaks in changing light, I was able to understand how one of the most amazing creations on Earth began to rise: the Andes mountain range, a serene place that has been part of a perfect balance, where symbiotic bonds are created with all that exists. The Andes, the longest continental mountain range in the world, stretches like a giant snake embracing all of South America. Throughout its immense presence, it winds through various territories and countries, including my own&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-as-the-andes-glaciers-melt-our-values-can-help-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307630</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered Andean cat is imperiled by climate change and its solutions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2025 14:58:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/10042617/Image_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302156</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Argentina, Atlantic Forest, Bolivia, Chile, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Cats, Climate Change, Conservation, DNA, Endangered Species, Environment, Extreme Weather, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Lithium, Mammals, Mining, Monitoring, Mountains, Natural Resources, Research, Small Cats, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many conservationists dedicated to protecting the endangered Andean cat have never seen one in the wild, with the species known to science by just a few photos until the late 1990s. And it took Juan Reppucci, leader of the Andean Cat Alliance’s In the Field 24/7 program, nine years to spot one of these elusive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Many conservationists dedicated to protecting the endangered Andean cat have never seen one in the wild, with the species known to science by just a few photos until the late 1990s. And it took Juan Reppucci, leader of the Andean Cat Alliance’s In the Field 24/7 program, nine years to spot one of these elusive cats in its natural habitat. The Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) is one of South America’s most endangered small cat species, roaming the high Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. About the size of a domestic cat, it resembles a miniature snow leopard. Thick fur and an elongated tail make it well adapted to the harsh alpine environment it calls home and for chasing its favorite prey — vizcacha, a rabbit-resembling rodent — across rocky landscapes. Reppucci’s sighting happened on a very “weird” day, he recalls. While out looking for a radio collar that had fallen from a Pampas cat (L. colocolo) in Jujuy province, Argentina, the researcher’s dog Monty (an ever-present companion and guide on field trips) got spooked by a herd of llamas and went missing. Juan Reppucci and his dog Monty, who acts as both field trip companion and guide for AGA research teams. “If it&#8217;s dark, I follow the dog because he knows the way,” Reppucci says. Image courtesy of AGA. Reppucci walked for hours searching for both the collar and Monty. Eventually he reached a cliff edge and paused to catch his breath. “I was super tired, because I was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302156</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How private funding helped one NGO survive the USAID cuts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-private-funding-helped-one-ngo-survive-the-usaid-cuts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-private-funding-helped-one-ngo-survive-the-usaid-cuts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2025 13:01:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/09213857/Adobe-Express-file-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302148</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes and Peru]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Funding, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Mountains, NGOs, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dramatic cuts to USAID funding earlier this year have slammed conservation organizations around the world. But some NGOs, like World Neighbors, have been able to continue their conservation projects with little disruption — thanks in part to their reliance on private rather than government funding. This approach, which focuses on funding from family foundations and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dramatic cuts to USAID funding earlier this year have slammed conservation organizations around the world. But some NGOs, like World Neighbors, have been able to continue their conservation projects with little disruption — thanks in part to their reliance on private rather than government funding. This approach, which focuses on funding from family foundations and corporate grants, has so far allowed World Neighbors to weather the unstable financial environment, Kate Schecter, the organization’s CEO, told Mongabay. Only its program in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which received funding from USAID, was impacted. “We don’t get millions and millions of dollars from these individual donors,” she added. “However, their passion and their commitment to our mission lasts much longer than a one- or two-year grant that you might get from USAID.” In the Peruvian Andes, WN found that its project to help communities build nine qochas, artificial water bodies constructed using ancient agricultural techniques to collect and store water, faced little disruption. The project, still ongoing, has helped save more than 56,000 cubic meters (12.3 million gallons) of water, improving water access for 31,664 people in 44 communities across the regions of Apurímac and Ayacucho. “We&#8217;re not a one-sector organization,” Schecter said. “We don&#8217;t just focus on water or agriculture. We believe that if these communities are going to be self-sustaining and if they&#8217;re going to be able to operate without our support, we need to address all the issues in the community.” For these purposes, private donors work because they allow the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-private-funding-helped-one-ngo-survive-the-usaid-cuts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-private-funding-helped-one-ngo-survive-the-usaid-cuts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302148</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Andes glacier melt threatens Amazon’s rivers &#038; intensifies droughts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/andes-glacier-melt-threatens-amazons-rivers-intensifies-droughts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/andes-glacier-melt-threatens-amazons-rivers-intensifies-droughts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2024 13:35:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amanda Magnani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/11113406/Receding-glacier-in-the-Sinakara-Valley--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291449</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Dolphins, Drought, Endangered Species, Environment, Extreme Weather, Freshwater, Glaciers, Mammals, Rivers, Threats To Rainforests, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The ice loss in the Andes could reduce the water flow to the Amazon rivers by up to 20%.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After two consecutive years of record-breaking droughts, the river levels in the Amazon Basin are slowly starting to recover. According to the Geological Survey of Brazil, the Madeira River, home to the most diverse fish life in the region, left the “drought” classification as its levels surpassed the 13-foot mark in late November. In both Madeira and Negro rivers, navigability is back to normal after months of suspension. However, the drought is far from over, and its impacts are still felt across the region. In 2024, 69% of municipalities in the Amazon recorded more intense drought levels than in 2023. In the Madeira River, the levels were so low that the Geological Survey had to install a new ruler to measure it. In Amazonas state alone, 850,000 people were affected and Indigenous communities still struggle with food insecurity and lack of access to drinking water. In the state of Pará, mass mortality of fish caused by the drought increases the vulnerability of riverine communities. Although river levels are beginning to rise, the rains from the Amazonian wet season are less than expected, and the drought may further intensify into December. While notably extreme, the droughts experienced by the Amazon River Basin in the past two years are not unusual. For the past 20 years, the nine countries that make up the Amazon Basin have seen drastic reductions in their total water surface area, with nine out of the past 10 years among the driest ever registered. They were also made&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/andes-glacier-melt-threatens-amazons-rivers-intensifies-droughts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/andes-glacier-melt-threatens-amazons-rivers-intensifies-droughts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291449</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Bear’s-eye camera’ reveals elusive Andean bear cannibalism and treetop mating</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/bears-eye-camera-reveals-elusive-andean-bear-cannibalism-and-treetop-mating/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/bears-eye-camera-reveals-elusive-andean-bear-cannibalism-and-treetop-mating/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Dec 2024 18:26:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/06173120/NS13649320_pedro-peloso-AB1_2978.jpg-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291319</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Forest Destruction, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the mountains of Peru, where ancient cloud forests meet the Amazon Rainforest, an Andean bear made scientific history. For four months, a camera collar captured the wild male’s daily life, revealing behaviors never before documented in the Southern Hemisphere’s only bear species, from treetop mating rituals to unexpected acts of cannibalism. The study, published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the mountains of Peru, where ancient cloud forests meet the Amazon Rainforest, an Andean bear made scientific history. For four months, a camera collar captured the wild male’s daily life, revealing behaviors never before documented in the Southern Hemisphere’s only bear species, from treetop mating rituals to unexpected acts of cannibalism. The study, published in Ecology and Evolution, provides a bear&#8217;s-eye view of life in one of South America&#8217;s steepest and wettest terrains and marks the first time this technology has been used on the species. &#8220;For 15 years, I&#8217;ve been traveling up and down that valley and never seen a bear,&#8221; Andrew Whitworth, executive director of Osa Conservation and co-author of the study, told Mongabay. &#8220;So, the prospect of capturing a bear was quite insane. … These are just sheer walls of cloud forest.&#8221; Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, a National Geographic Explorer and the study&#8217;s lead author, led the research team. She says her work to protect the Andean bears of Peru is inspired by the legends of her Indigenous Quechua heritage. National Geographic Explorer, Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, attaches a trail camera to the branch of a tall tree in the buffer Zone of Manu National Park, Madre de Dios. Photo courtesy of Pablo Durana via National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition. Guardians of the Andes Andean bears hold profound cultural significance in Andean communities. &#8220;In Andean Quechua culture, Andean bears are known as Ukuku or Ukumary. The Ukukus are mythical beings, half-human and half-bear,&#8221; Pillco Huarcaya&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/bears-eye-camera-reveals-elusive-andean-bear-cannibalism-and-treetop-mating/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/bears-eye-camera-reveals-elusive-andean-bear-cannibalism-and-treetop-mating/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/06175652/female-1.mp4" length="3481586" type="video/mp4" />
<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/06181054/river-walk-1-1.mp4" length="3418006" type="video/mp4" />
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					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291319</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a fun women’s gathering led to small wildcat conservation in Peru’s Andes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/how-a-fun-womens-gathering-led-to-small-wildcat-conservation-in-perus-andes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/how-a-fun-womens-gathering-led-to-small-wildcat-conservation-in-perus-andes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2024 14:19:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[James Hall]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/22141615/cat-mural-2-e1724336298482-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286409</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Pastoralists in a Changing World]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Citizen Science, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Endangered Species, Environment, Gender, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Predators, Small Cats, Solutions, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ida Auris Arango remembers the day in 2023 when she stumbled upon the Andean cat and its young on the mountainside. While shepherding her alpacas, she heard her dog barking and spotted the fog-gray feline cornered against a boulder, hackles raised and hissing as it shielded a pair of kittens. Grabbing the dog by the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ida Auris Arango remembers the day in 2023 when she stumbled upon the Andean cat and its young on the mountainside. While shepherding her alpacas, she heard her dog barking and spotted the fog-gray feline cornered against a boulder, hackles raised and hissing as it shielded a pair of kittens. Grabbing the dog by the scruff of its neck, she gave the cats time to vanish among the queuña (Polylepis) trees. &#8220;It had a right to life. It was beautiful, and I was happy to see it,&#8221; she says of the fleeting encounter with the endangered wildcat species, one of the Andes’ most elusive mammals. For much of Ida’s life, Quechua locals treated the deaths of wildcats with ambivalence or even welcomed them. Attacks on livestock had been causing economic losses and driving a conflict that seemed to have no clear resolution. But attitudes toward felines have been rapidly changing in the village of Licapa in the Andes of central Peru. The changes are the work of a new conservation project led by Indigenous women. A project first created by Quechua conservation biologist Merinia Mendoza Almeida and wildcat expert Jim Sanderson, women in the community have made it their own. At first, they were bemused by the project. But the women slowly began to weave it into their lives and found it fun. It became a community space, one that was not led by men who typically dominate social affairs, nor the Peruvian government. It was a women’s project, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/how-a-fun-womens-gathering-led-to-small-wildcat-conservation-in-perus-andes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/how-a-fun-womens-gathering-led-to-small-wildcat-conservation-in-perus-andes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286409</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Venezuela: Water crisis looms as deforestation spreads in Yacambú National Park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/venezuela-water-crisis-looms-as-deforestation-spreads-in-yacambu-national-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/venezuela-water-crisis-looms-as-deforestation-spreads-in-yacambu-national-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2024 19:59:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/25175327/WhatsApp-Image-2024-06-25-at-11.49.35-AM-1-768x450.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283655</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forests, Governance, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Politics, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Millions of people in northwestern Venezuela could be at risk of losing access to clean drinking water if more effort isn’t given to conserving natural watersheds and protected forests, environmentalists say. Illegal settlements have pushed into important protected areas like Yacambú National Park in the state of Lara, degrading forests that serve as natural aquifers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Millions of people in northwestern Venezuela could be at risk of losing access to clean drinking water if more effort isn’t given to conserving natural watersheds and protected forests, environmentalists say. Illegal settlements have pushed into important protected areas like Yacambú National Park in the state of Lara, degrading forests that serve as natural aquifers for multiple cities and towns. If those aquifers disappear, millions could face water scarcity in the years to come, experts believe. “This is a situation that has happened before, but it wasn’t that pronounced and it wasn’t really a threat,” said Alzehy Colmenárez, a member of the Forest Guardians movement in Lara, an informal environmental activist group. He added, “It’s really urgent that we attack this situation because if this continues for another five years, we won’t have any water.” The 270-square-kilometer (103-square-mile) Yacambú National Park sits near the Venezuelan Andes, giving it a mix of tropical moist forest and savanna. It also happens to sit just south of Barquisimeto, one of the largest cities in the country, with a population of around a million people. The Yacambú River connects to 25 smaller watersheds and tributaries that serve eight municipalities in and around the city, as well as jurisdictions in the neighboring state of Portuguesa. An illegal structure built by squatters in the park. Photo courtesy of Forest Guardians. Like most protected areas in Venezuela, Yacambú National Park has a written protection plan with conservation objectives designed to the specific needs of its flora and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/venezuela-water-crisis-looms-as-deforestation-spreads-in-yacambu-national-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283655</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Andes community-led conservation curbs more páramo loss than state-protected area: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/andes-community-led-conservation-curbs-more-paramo-loss-than-state-protected-area-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/andes-community-led-conservation-curbs-more-paramo-loss-than-state-protected-area-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Feb 2024 17:29:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/14123238/andes-man-and-child-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278839</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Drinking Water, Ecosystems, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Land Conflict, Plantations, Sustainability, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A recent study found that high-altitude ecosystems in the Andes, known as the páramo, managed by eight communities in Ecuador have led to a reduction in soil and vegetation decline, due to the incorporation of a concept called “social technology.” According to the paper, published in Mountain Research and Development, community-led conservation initiatives were more [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A recent study found that high-altitude ecosystems in the Andes, known as the páramo, managed by eight communities in Ecuador have led to a reduction in soil and vegetation decline, due to the incorporation of a concept called “social technology.” According to the paper, published in Mountain Research and Development, community-led conservation initiatives were more effective in curbing páramo loss than state-protected areas, demonstrating the importance of social technology for drought adaptation and páramo conservation. Social technology, understood in the Latin American context as tecnología social, is the application of social, political, scientific and digital resources to redefine the arrangements among social groups and processes in everyday life, particularly for production and consumption. It involves the inclusive participation of the entire community in this design and implementation of project proposals and recognizes the importance of local knowledge, dynamics and capacities. “Communities [in these reserves] concerned about the lack of water have realized that they need to take action and have therefore consolidated a set of actions that address three key issues; land use, livestock management and community governance,” María Cristina Torres, lead author of the study and professor at Ecuador’s National Polytechnic School, told Mongabay. “This is called social technology because the actions have been adopted by an empowered community, open to cooperation and agreements, and aware of the importance of protecting the páramo.” The páramo performs important ecological functions, such as regulating the water cycle. It acts as a natural sponge that retains and slowly releases water, thus contributing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/andes-community-led-conservation-curbs-more-paramo-loss-than-state-protected-area-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/andes-community-led-conservation-curbs-more-paramo-loss-than-state-protected-area-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-278839</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a group in Ecuador protects 10% of the world&#8217;s bird species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/how-a-group-in-ecuador-protects-10-of-the-worlds-bird-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/how-a-group-in-ecuador-protects-10-of-the-worlds-bird-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2023 00:01:05 +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/20/2023/12/08234145/Petrel-chick_Galapagos_James-Muchmore-2023-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276508</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Choco Forest, Ecuador, Galapagos, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Private Reserves, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Solutions, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1997, ornithologist Robert S. Ridgely discovered a previously undocumented bird species, the Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi), in the tropical montane forests on the Amazonian slope of the Andes in southeastern Ecuador. This ground-dwelling bird was immediately recognized as critically endangered due to its very small range and the threats to its habitat, which led [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1997, ornithologist Robert S. Ridgely discovered a previously undocumented bird species, the Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi), in the tropical montane forests on the Amazonian slope of the Andes in southeastern Ecuador. This ground-dwelling bird was immediately recognized as critically endangered due to its very small range and the threats to its habitat, which led to the establishment of the Jocotoco Foundation in 1998 and the subsequent purchase of land for the creation of the Tapichalaca Reserve. Since then, Jocotoco has established a network of 15 reserves across Ecuador. Each reserve has been selected to protect areas that are globally significant for bird conservation, ranging from the lowlands of the Amazon rainforest to the Galapagos Islands. These reserves safeguard a vast number of regionally endemic and globally threatened plants and animals, including 10% of the world&#8217;s bird species. Jocotoco antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi). Photo credit: Franco Mendoza Mountain tapir in Tapichalaca reserve. Photo credit: Nicolas Devos Beyond preserving habitats critical for endangered bird species and other wildlife, Jocotoco has integrated ecotourism, community engagement and education, and scientific research and monitoring into its conservation strategy. The organization works closely with local communities to promote conservation awareness and sustainable practices. Additionally, its ecotourism programs generate employment opportunities and revenue for people living around their reserves. Martin Schaefer, Jocotoco&#8217;s head, discussed the group&#8217;s adaptive approach with Mongabay: &#8220;For each species, we analyze its threats, assessing whether Jocotoco can make a difference and to what extent. Then, we determine the best approach. Sometimes, working with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/how-a-group-in-ecuador-protects-10-of-the-worlds-bird-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/how-a-group-in-ecuador-protects-10-of-the-worlds-bird-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276508</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Llama herding helps community in Peru recover from a melting glacier</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/llama-herding-helps-community-in-peru-recover-from-a-melting-glacier/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/llama-herding-helps-community-in-peru-recover-from-a-melting-glacier/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Nov 2023 14:27:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sierra Bouchér]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/25035935/AnaisZimmer_llamas_3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275893</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Ecosystems, Glaciers, Mammals, Restoration, Rewilding, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When a glacier melts, all it leaves in its wake is untouched ground. These craggy, lifeless rocks begin to feel sun and rain for the first time in millennia. They contain a few seeds, perhaps, stored in the freezing embrace of the glacier above them. But when the first rains touch their surface, most of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When a glacier melts, all it leaves in its wake is untouched ground. These craggy, lifeless rocks begin to feel sun and rain for the first time in millennia. They contain a few seeds, perhaps, stored in the freezing embrace of the glacier above them. But when the first rains touch their surface, most of what washes from the ground is poison. The rocky soils uncovered by melting glaciers send acidic water into the communities downstream. Over time, the plants and soils of a well-developed ecosystem will trap these harmful chemicals like a filter. But that can take decades, because such isolated high-altitude ecosystems recover extremely slowly once a glacier retreats. To speed up this natural protection in the face of climate change, scientists have joined with residents in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, to enlist their famously fuzzy agricultural helper: the llama (Llama glama). The Llama 2000 Asociación community brings llamas to the test plots in the Cordillera Blanca. Photo credit: Anaïs Zimmer After bringing llamas back to these exposed lands to graze, scientists saw dramatic improvements in the quality of the soil and the health of the recovering ecosystem in just three years. Not only did the llamas fertilize the soil, but they also brought new seeds to the land, according to a recent paper in Scientific Reports. “I did not expect it to have significant changes in plant cover and soil composition in three years. It&#8217;s pretty fast,” said environmental scientist Anaïs Zimmer of the University of Texas&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/llama-herding-helps-community-in-peru-recover-from-a-melting-glacier/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/llama-herding-helps-community-in-peru-recover-from-a-melting-glacier/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-275893</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sound recordings and AI tell us if forests are recovering, new study from Ecuador shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sound-recordings-and-ai-tell-us-if-forests-are-recovering-new-study-from-ecuador-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sound-recordings-and-ai-tell-us-if-forests-are-recovering-new-study-from-ecuador-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2023 19:05:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/28142158/manu_0231_1920X1280-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274548</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Choco Forest, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Reforestation, Remote Sensing, Technology, Trees, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Does planting trees bring back the animals? Around the world, people are working to restore forests, either by planting trees or allowing the flora to return naturally. But as the trees grow, it can be difficult to determine if communities of birds, bugs, frogs, and other life forms are also rebounding. In the Chocó of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Does planting trees bring back the animals? Around the world, people are working to restore forests, either by planting trees or allowing the flora to return naturally. But as the trees grow, it can be difficult to determine if communities of birds, bugs, frogs, and other life forms are also rebounding. In the Chocó of northwestern Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world, a group of German and Ecuadorian scientists measured biodiversity recovery across different land types, including active pastures and farms, abandoned farms regrowing into young secondary forests, and mature old-growth forests. Using a combination of acoustic monitoring and DNA-based surveys, the team found that species were returning to the regenerating forests after just a couple of decades. Old-growth Chocó forest on Jocotoco&#8217;s Canandé reserve. Photo by Javier Aznar. “We can see how the Chocó rainforest reestablishes itself over time. Within 25 years, you get a lot of species back,” Martin Schaefer, one of the study’s co-authors and the director of the Ecuadorian NGO Jocotoco Foundation, told Mongabay. “It’s a positive message that we need to bring to the public&#8230; Over just three decades, forests are regrowing.” The researchers also found that analyzing animal and insect sounds yields information about the overall biodiversity of the forest, including the silent creatures that don’t sing, call, chirp, or squawk. Sound-based monitoring using artificial intelligence tools is a powerful and cost-effective technique for monitoring biodiversity recovery in tropical forests and, the authors say, these tools are needed &#8220;to support&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sound-recordings-and-ai-tell-us-if-forests-are-recovering-new-study-from-ecuador-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/sound-recordings-and-ai-tell-us-if-forests-are-recovering-new-study-from-ecuador-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-274548</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘What we need to protect and why’: 20-year Amazon research hints at fate of tropics</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/what-we-need-to-protect-and-why-20-year-amazon-research-hints-at-fate-of-tropics/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/what-we-need-to-protect-and-why-20-year-amazon-research-hints-at-fate-of-tropics/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2023 14:44:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/20142420/7.-Andean-motmot-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271176</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Latin America, Peru, South America, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, carbon, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Extinction, Extreme Weather, Forest Carbon, forest degradation, Forests, Frogs, Migration, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Research, Snakes, Tipping points, Trees, Tropical Conservation Science, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Top tropical ecologists have spent two decades studying the impact of climate change on a single transect in the Peruvian Andes, an area unparalleled in its biodiversity. They find that every species studied there is struggling against warming temperatures.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PILLCOPATA, Peru — The trail through the lowland rainforest was dark and muddy. A half-dozen headlamps provided darting pools of light. An occasional creek bisected the path. Excellent conditions for frog spotting. Alessandro Catenazzi, a conservation biologist at Florida International University and a leading herpetologist, was joined on this nighttime excursion by his graduate students and me. Seeing only leaf litter and underbrush where I shone my lamp, Catenazzi unfailingly spied tiny amphibians. Aside from a gorgeous poison dart frog, most were as yet unnamed species. But then … “This is a map frog,” Catenazzi said, gently placing it in my open palm; it tucked calmly there, barely the width of two fingers. “Its mottled skin resembles a map,” he added. The frog tensed and leapt from my hand into the darkness, a fitting metaphor for the scientist’s findings. Earlier in the day, Catenazzi had delivered a grim presentation on surging frog mortality to about 40 scientists at Manu Biological Stationwhere he’s been conducting research and observing changes to the southern Peruvian Amazon for decades. The group gathered in this remote jungle outpost had come from Europe, Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Latin America for the 20th anniversary meeting of the Andes Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group (ABERG). Alessandro Catenazzi, a leading herpetologist at Florida International University in Miami, hunts frogs with his graduate students in the lowland rainforest of the Manu Biological Station in early June. Regarding frogs at cloud forest elevations, he said, &#8220;We are witnessing a collapse&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/what-we-need-to-protect-and-why-20-year-amazon-research-hints-at-fate-of-tropics/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/what-we-need-to-protect-and-why-20-year-amazon-research-hints-at-fate-of-tropics/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-271176</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A powerful U.S. political family is behind a copper mine in the Colombian rainforest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-powerful-political-family-from-new-hampshire-is-behind-a-copper-mine-in-the-colombian-rainforest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-powerful-political-family-from-new-hampshire-is-behind-a-copper-mine-in-the-colombian-rainforest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jun 2023 16:04:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrés Bermúdez Liévano]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/06/14155741/Portada-Una-famila-CV2-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269819</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation, Investigation, and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Copper, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Gold Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Renewable Energy, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This investigation is a collaboration between the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP), NBC News, Mongabay and El Espectador, with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network. Conservation of the Amazon rainforest is Colombia&#8217;s greatest contribution to solving the global climate crisis. In recent years, the Colombian jungle that forms part of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This investigation is a collaboration between the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP), NBC News, Mongabay and El Espectador, with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network. Conservation of the Amazon rainforest is Colombia&#8217;s greatest contribution to solving the global climate crisis. In recent years, the Colombian jungle that forms part of the Amazon, the world&#8217;s largest continuous rainforest, has climbed many rungs in official political discourse. Gustavo Petro, the current president, called it one of the four &#8220;pillars of the planet&#8217;s climate&#8221; and proposed that countries be allowed to swap their foreign debt for environmental services that would keep it standing. His predecessor, Iván Duque, said that &#8220;protecting the Amazon is not an option, but a moral duty&#8221; and the previous president, Juan Manuel Santos, created the world&#8217;s largest rainforest national park. These pledges will be put to the test by plans to open a copper mine in the highlands of Putumayo, where the Andean peaks meet the Amazon rainforest. If brought to fruition, the mine promoted by Canadian company Libero Copper in Mocoa would be the first major legal mining project in the Colombian Amazon. Incidentally, it could bring with it the felling of a forest that is protected today and that the country proposed to expand just a decade ago to safeguard it. A common squirrel monkey in Colombian Amazon. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. There are substantial arguments in favor of the mine. It would be Colombia&#8217;s largest endeavor in copper, a mineral the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-powerful-political-family-from-new-hampshire-is-behind-a-copper-mine-in-the-colombian-rainforest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/a-powerful-political-family-from-new-hampshire-is-behind-a-copper-mine-in-the-colombian-rainforest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-269819</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New research finds slow forest recovery in the Andes — and ways to improve</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/new-research-finds-slow-forest-recovery-in-the-andes-and-ways-to-improve/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/new-research-finds-slow-forest-recovery-in-the-andes-and-ways-to-improve/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 May 2023 12:33:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark Hillsdon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/16092821/rhett2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268653</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forest Regeneration, Forests, Protected Areas, Research, Restoration, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Degraded by human activity, mountain forests across the tropical Andes are having a hard time bouncing back. But while scientists have long analyzed what drives their decline, they have largely understudied how these ecosystems, some of the world’s most biodiverse, behave after disruption. But a better insight into forest recovery pathways could help governments in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Degraded by human activity, mountain forests across the tropical Andes are having a hard time bouncing back. But while scientists have long analyzed what drives their decline, they have largely understudied how these ecosystems, some of the world’s most biodiverse, behave after disruption. But a better insight into forest recovery pathways could help governments in the region direct restoration efforts where they are most needed, a new study suggests. “The Andes haven&#8217;t received the attention that a lot of the other key biodiversity hotspots have,” says Tina Christmann, environmental scientist at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study. Exploited for centuries, mountain forests in the tropical Andes have become increasingly threatened, as deforestation for land conversion, wildfires and climate change have accelerated degradation over the last decades. According to the study, between 2001 and 2014, about 5 million hectares (about 12.3 million acres) of woody vegetation was cleared in the tropical and subtropical Andes, undermining ecosystem services and boosting carbon emissions. But during the last 20 years, land abandonment due to economic shifts and rural-to-urban migration have also created opportunities for forest regeneration. Andean tropical mountain forests have a hard time recovering. But identifying what type of recovery they are experiencing could help researchers pinpoint where restoration is needed most. Image by Rhett Butler. Using high-resolution satellite imagery, researchers looked for potential restoration areas in former pastures, logging sites and agricultural lands, targeting areas where forests began to bounce&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/new-research-finds-slow-forest-recovery-in-the-andes-and-ways-to-improve/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/new-research-finds-slow-forest-recovery-in-the-andes-and-ways-to-improve/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268653</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In a Bolivian protected area torn up for gold, focus is on limiting damage</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-a-bolivian-protected-area-torn-up-for-gold-focus-is-on-limiting-damage/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-a-bolivian-protected-area-torn-up-for-gold-focus-is-on-limiting-damage/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 May 2023 23:35:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Thomas Graham]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/02225429/25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268173</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Forest Trackers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Bolivia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Gold Mining, Green, Mammals, Mining, Mountains, Pollution, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rivers, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LA PAZ — At dawn in Apolobamba, in the Bolivian highlands, groups of vicuña and alpaca — some sheared, some shaggy — amble around looking for scrub to graze on, though the frozen ground offers little. The scene is silent, but for the clanks and rumbles of machinery at the nearby gold mines. Apolobamba is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LA PAZ — At dawn in Apolobamba, in the Bolivian highlands, groups of vicuña and alpaca — some sheared, some shaggy — amble around looking for scrub to graze on, though the frozen ground offers little. The scene is silent, but for the clanks and rumbles of machinery at the nearby gold mines. Apolobamba is a protected area northwest of La Paz, Bolivia’s political capital, that borders Peru. It holds a vast array of ecosystems, from the 6,000-meter (20,000-foot) peaks of the Cordillera de Apolobamba, to the high plateau at around 4,000 m (13,000 ft) and tropics that spill down to 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level. Its rivers feed Lake Titicaca and the Amazon. And the riverbeds are scattered with particles of gold, as is much of the rest of Apolobamba. Vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) and alpacas (Lama pacos) were once Apolobamba’s main economic resource. But in the last two decades, high gold prices have driven communities to set up mining cooperatives, calling back relatives who had migrated out in search for work, and finding investors to pay for the heavy machinery. Today, there are more than 200 cooperatives working in the protected area, according to Oscar Loayza, former director of Apolobamba and now coordinator of GIT-OR, a civil society group focused on reducing the negative impacts of gold mining. Loayza added that more than 30% of the territory of Apolobamba has been awarded in mining concessions. Driving around the sectors of Puyo Puyo and Suches in the high&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-a-bolivian-protected-area-torn-up-for-gold-focus-is-on-limiting-damage/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/in-a-bolivian-protected-area-torn-up-for-gold-focus-is-on-limiting-damage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268173</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Plan to mine ‘clean energy’ metals in Colombian Amazon splits communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/plan-to-mine-clean-energy-metals-in-colombian-amazon-splits-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/plan-to-mine-clean-energy-metals-in-colombian-amazon-splits-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Mar 2023 21:34:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Natalia Torres Garzón]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/22202509/04_ACASCIO_Libero_Copper_2-scaled-e1679517721565-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266766</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering Climate Now, Global Commodities, and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Copper, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Fossils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Mining, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MOCOA, Colombia — “We are experiencing a profound crisis, not only in the Amazon but throughout humanity,” said Campo Elías de la Cruz, a Catholic priest and environmental activist who opposes mining activity in Colombia’s Putumayo region. “Over these three centuries, the umbilical cord of Mother Earth has been cut. Thousands of rubber trees were [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MOCOA, Colombia — “We are experiencing a profound crisis, not only in the Amazon but throughout humanity,” said Campo Elías de la Cruz, a Catholic priest and environmental activist who opposes mining activity in Colombia’s Putumayo region. “Over these three centuries, the umbilical cord of Mother Earth has been cut. Thousands of rubber trees were cut down alongside 70,000 Indigenous people who died during the exploitation of rubber, timber, quinine and oil. And today, in the 21st century, they tell us they are taking the copper from Mother Earth.” Campo Elias is referring to the rubber, quinine and timber rush that happened in the Amazon region during colonization. And also of current plans to explore and mine for copper and molybdenum to feed clean energy technologies in what could be one of the largest deposits of these minerals on the continent and in the world. In this richly biodiverse region, where the cool mountains of the Andes meet the Amazon Rainforest, opinions are divided and emotions are high among communities over the environmental and social costs of hosting this green mining project and the jobs it promises to bring. A monkey known as the Andean saddle-back tamarin (Leontocebus fuscicollis), is seen in the Mocoa area. The Putumayo region is a rich area in biodiversity with more than 150 animal species. Image by Antonio Cascio for Mongabay. In 2018, Canadian multinational Libero Copper acquired four mining titles to explore for and exploit minerals such as copper and molybdenum across more than&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/plan-to-mine-clean-energy-metals-in-colombian-amazon-splits-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266766</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘They paid for it with misery’: Q&#038;A with Chile dam critic Jose Marihuan Ancanao</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/they-paid-for-it-with-misery-qa-with-chile-dam-critic-jose-marihuan-ancanao/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/they-paid-for-it-with-misery-qa-with-chile-dam-critic-jose-marihuan-ancanao/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Nov 2022 08:01:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/11172627/FEATURE-2-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262563</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agriculture, Clean Energy, Conservation, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — The Bío Bío River is the second-longest in Chile, forming in the Andes near the Argentine border and running 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest before emptying into the Pacific. The river passes through rural, sometimes uninhabited, mountains and foothills, making it seem ideal for hydroelectric development. But other areas are home [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — The Bío Bío River is the second-longest in Chile, forming in the Andes near the Argentine border and running 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest before emptying into the Pacific. The river passes through rural, sometimes uninhabited, mountains and foothills, making it seem ideal for hydroelectric development. But other areas are home to Indigenous Pehuenche peoples, a subsection of the Mapuche who live in the mountains, turning seemingly benign dam projects into environmental and human rights catastrophes. In 2004, the construction of the 690-megawatt Ralco power plant flooded Pehuenche land and forced families to relocate farther down the mountains. Although the Chilean government promised to stop building dams that affect Indigenous land, several others have since been built or are underway, including the 90-MW Rucalhue power plant. Jose Marihuan Ancanao was relocated as a teenager by the Ralco dam and is now living near the Rucalhue construction site. Although development is currently paused while permits are being processed by the government, he said he’s worried construction will eventually start back up, damaging the environment and Indigenous culture. Jose Marihuan Ancanao on his property in southern Chile. (Photo by Maxwell Radwin) Marihuan serves as president of the Ayin Mapu La Peña community, and has watched residents speak out against the dam, participate in sit-ins, and file petitions with the government. Resistance to the project is taking place against the backdrop of nationwide political unrest, driven by the 2019 estallido social, or “social outburst,” that saw Chileans take to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/they-paid-for-it-with-misery-qa-with-chile-dam-critic-jose-marihuan-ancanao/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/they-paid-for-it-with-misery-qa-with-chile-dam-critic-jose-marihuan-ancanao/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262563</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dam construction ignites Indigenous youth movement in southern Chile</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/dam-construction-ignites-indigenous-youth-movement-in-southern-chile/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/dam-construction-ignites-indigenous-youth-movement-in-southern-chile/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Nov 2022 08:00:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/11165538/FEATURE-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Clean Energy, Conservation, Dams, Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Land Conflict, Mountains, Politics, Renewable Energy, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — For the last 30 years, more and more hydroelectric power plants have been popping up along Chile’s Bío Bío River, the second-largest in the country. Every time a new one breaks ground, Indigenous communities speak out about the environmental and cultural damage that will result, the flooding of their lands, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — For the last 30 years, more and more hydroelectric power plants have been popping up along Chile’s Bío Bío River, the second-largest in the country. Every time a new one breaks ground, Indigenous communities speak out about the environmental and cultural damage that will result, the flooding of their lands, and the families who will need to be relocated. The Bío Bío River forms high up in the Andes, near the Argentine border, and passes through local jurisdictions that are overwhelmingly Pehuenche, a subsection of Indigenous Mapuche with ancestral connections to the mountains. Today, despite the history of controversial projects, several dams are being developed on the Bío Bío River and its watershed. The largest of them, the 90-megawatt Rucalhue hydroelectric plant, has drawn an especially vocal backlash from residents. They say they’re fed up with mega infrastructure projects and foreign companies making false promises about jobs and reparations. “People from other countries come and get rich off Chile,” said Aurelia Marihuan Mora, a Pehuenche activist who fought against one of the first dams built in the area. “The foreign companies come here and enrich themselves on the country’s natural resources. And we’re the ones who pay for it.” But resistance to the Rucalhue power plant has taken a different form than the protests against past projects. The movement is more organized and ambitious, with young people helping to lead sit-ins, organizing a local plebiscite, and sending petitions to national government agencies. Activists trying to stop&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/dam-construction-ignites-indigenous-youth-movement-in-southern-chile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Toxic new frog species from Ecuador named after Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/toxic-new-frog-species-from-ecuador-named-after-family-guys-seth-macfarlane/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/toxic-new-frog-species-from-ecuador-named-after-family-guys-seth-macfarlane/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2022 12:23:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/10111217/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.07.25-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261305</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Frogs, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Mountains, New Discovery, Rainforests, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a mountaintop in Ecuador, a researcher spotted some spots. The polka-dotted frog, it turned out, was new to science and has now been named Hyloscirtus sethmacfarlanei in honor of Seth MacFarlane, the U.S. film and television creator responsible for the show Family Guy and a long-time supporter of the NGO Rainforest Trust. “It seemed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a mountaintop in Ecuador, a researcher spotted some spots. The polka-dotted frog, it turned out, was new to science and has now been named Hyloscirtus sethmacfarlanei in honor of Seth MacFarlane, the U.S. film and television creator responsible for the show Family Guy and a long-time supporter of the NGO Rainforest Trust. “It seemed perfect to name this frog, with its playful polka dots juxtaposed with its most likely threatened status, after Seth who is known more for his comedy than his dedication to science and conservation,” Rainforest Trust CEO James Deutsch said in a press release. The frog was found by Darwin Recalde, a local field technician, as part of an expedition to catalog and protect species in the Andes led by the EcoMinga Foundation, a partner of Rainforest Trust. The new species is described in the journal PeerJ. So far, researchers have only found four individual frogs, all within a few square meters of ridgeline atop Cerro Mayordomo, a mountain on the edge of the Amazon Basin. The area, which is protected by EcoMinga’s Machay Reserve, is described as steep and relatively inaccessible and has not been well studied. Scientists say they do not have enough data on the new frog species to assign a conservation status. “This is a very rare frog found only at high elevations in a remote part of Machay Reserve,” Lou Jost, president of EcoMinga Foundation, wrote in a blog post about the new frog. “It took us these four years to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/toxic-new-frog-species-from-ecuador-named-after-family-guys-seth-macfarlane/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-261305</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How bears “make” a forest (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-bears-make-a-forest-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-bears-make-a-forest-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2022 03:29:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Enrique Ortiz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/29025939/Oso-6-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=260797</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Carnivores, Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Mammals, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the Andean region the ageless story of Juan Oso, a half-human and half-bear character, has been heard throughout generations. It is said that Juan lived all sad and alone in a dark cave, until the day he met and fell in love with a shepherdess of the paramos, the alpine seasonally flooded grassland found [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the Andean region the ageless story of Juan Oso, a half-human and half-bear character, has been heard throughout generations. It is said that Juan lived all sad and alone in a dark cave, until the day he met and fell in love with a shepherdess of the paramos, the alpine seasonally flooded grassland found in the Andes. Seeing that her parents did not approve of the relationship, they both ran away to live happily together on top of a mountain. And, like any true love story, this one also had a tragic ending: Years later, a mob still inflamed by the family of the missing bride, chased the couple to a cave and killed them, finding only afterwards their love nest full of gold bars. Most curiously, this story is repeated throughout the whole Amazonian Andes, the territory that is home for the spectacled bear, or ukuku, as the Quechuas of southern Peru call it. View of the Kosñipata valley from the outlook at the Wayqecha Biological Station in Cuzco-Peru. Photo: Photo credit: Maxime Alliaga Andean bear “Ukuku” in a Andean grasslands ecosystem at 3500 meters above sea level close to the community Juan Velasco Alvarado. Photo credit: Conservación Amazónica ACCA. Paddington, “from the darkest of Peru” Perhaps due to its size or almost human habits, the ukuku has always fascinated people. It is represented in the iconography of ancient pre-Columbian cultures, and for the mountain dweller, it is a symbol of the cloud forests, equivalent to the condor,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-bears-make-a-forest-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-260797</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Andean eagles have managed to adapt to fragmenting habitats — for now</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/andean-eagles-have-managed-to-adapt-to-fragmenting-habitats-for-now/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/andean-eagles-have-managed-to-adapt-to-fragmenting-habitats-for-now/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jun 2022 15:37:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/06/30152620/FEATURE-1-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=257853</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Argentina, Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agriculture, Animals, Birds, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Forests, Hunting, Raptors, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Even the greatest, most mobile predators aren’t immune to the shrinking of South America’s forests. The endangered black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori), one of the largest raptors on the continent, has been forced to change its behavior to survive in increasingly fragmented habitats and growing threats from humans. A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Even the greatest, most mobile predators aren’t immune to the shrinking of South America’s forests. The endangered black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori), one of the largest raptors on the continent, has been forced to change its behavior to survive in increasingly fragmented habitats and growing threats from humans. A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation found that this aerial predator is successfully adapting to shrinking tropical and subtropical forests in the Andean mountains, but may still face serious threat of extinction if forest loss continues. “In order to maintain viable populations of this top predator and its key ecological functions,” the study said, “it is urgent to mitigate human persecution.” Between 2015 and 2020, researchers tagged eight eagles — which have a 180-centimeter (70-inch) wingspan and can weigh as much as 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) — in Colombia and Argentina, in hopes of better understanding how the species was hunting, nesting and traveling in an ever-diminishing forest ecosystem. Were they staying in one patch of fragmented forest or traveling between different patches? Were they able to move between mountain ranges? If they were making the trip, how often were they surviving? A Black-and-chestnut eagle and its offspring in a nest. (Photo courtesy of Américo Vilte) “These are eagles,” Manuel Grande, report co-author and professor at the National University of La Pampa in Argentina, told Mongabay, “so we know they can fly long distances. But on the other hand, it’s a forest species. So we weren’t sure if they were going&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/andean-eagles-have-managed-to-adapt-to-fragmenting-habitats-for-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-257853</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Drivers of Colombia’s peacetime deforestation weave a complex web</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/drivers-of-colombias-peacetime-deforestation-weave-a-complex-web/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/drivers-of-colombias-peacetime-deforestation-weave-a-complex-web/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2022 07:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gianluca Cerullo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/18145602/Common-Squirrel-Monkey-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255979</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Colombia, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forestry, Forests, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Research, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When the Colombian government struck its historic peace accord with the paramilitary group FARC in 2016, heralding an end to one of the world’s longest-running wars, scientists and journalists were already contemplating the potential repercussions for Colombia’s wild places. For many, peace brought hope that environmental protection would emerge phoenix-like from the ravages of conflict. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When the Colombian government struck its historic peace accord with the paramilitary group FARC in 2016, heralding an end to one of the world’s longest-running wars, scientists and journalists were already contemplating the potential repercussions for Colombia’s wild places. For many, peace brought hope that environmental protection would emerge phoenix-like from the ravages of conflict. Yet others feared peace might have a sting in its tail. What if illegal actors, renegade factions, powerful economic interests — or simply smallholders searching for a better life — swooped into the post-war vacuum left by the rebels’ exit? “Peace brought a mixture of feelings from an environmental perspective,” says Ediscon Para, an orchid conservationist from Cali, Colombia. “We had the chance to reach out to areas that had not been inventoried, but we also worried about what changing territorial control would be mean for deforestation.” In the intervening post-conflict years, both prophecies have panned out. Many protected areas have burned, and deforestation in parts of Colombia has accelerated as the FARC’s disbandment opened up previously forested areas to often illegal economic development. This, even as Colombian scientists continue to tally new species in far-flung, formerly guerrilla-dominated regions. Indeed, the fallout of wartime — and now peace — on Colombia’s diverse ecosystems has been far from straightforward, according to a paper recently  published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science. “We observe that in some areas, peace has not significantly changed the patterns of deforestation. In other places, deforestation has been exacerbated in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/drivers-of-colombias-peacetime-deforestation-weave-a-complex-web/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-255979</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>China-funded dam could disrupt key Argentine glaciers and biodiversity</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/china-funded-dam-could-disrupt-key-argentine-glaciers-and-biodiversity/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/china-funded-dam-could-disrupt-key-argentine-glaciers-and-biodiversity/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2022 07:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/11173453/FEATURE-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255734</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Argentina, Latin America, Patagonia, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Dams, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Glaciers, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Lakes, Protected Areas, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A hydroelectric dam complex in southern Argentina, one of the country’s largest energy projects, is facing backlash from conservationists and Indigenous communities who are worried about its impact on the surrounding glaciers. The mega project, which includes the Néstor Kirchner and Jorge Cepernic dams, is expected to supply around 5% of Argentina’s national energy needs. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A hydroelectric dam complex in southern Argentina, one of the country’s largest energy projects, is facing backlash from conservationists and Indigenous communities who are worried about its impact on the surrounding glaciers. The mega project, which includes the Néstor Kirchner and Jorge Cepernic dams, is expected to supply around 5% of Argentina’s national energy needs. But it may also flood vital wetlands, disrupt the trajectory of some of the world’s largest glaciers found outside of the poles, and destroy ancestral Mapuche land. Despite protests, lawsuits and court orders to pause construction so that adequate environmental studies can be carried out, work on the complex has continued, often to the bewilderment of conservationists. Early construction designs of the dam complex. (Photo courtesy of Ministry of Energy and Mining) “The authorities know the laws. They know how this should work,” Cristian Fernández of the Forest Bank Foundation for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, one of the organizations fighting the project in court, told Mongabay. The organizations Aves Argentinas and Vida Silvestre have also been involved in the judicial process. “The problem is that they don’t care,” Fernández added. “They don’t care because they want to move forward on the project at all costs.” Glaciers, rivers and migratory habitats The dams are being built on the 380-kilometer (236-mile) Santa Cruz River, the largest waterway in southern Argentina. The river starts in the Andes mountains and passes through Santa Cruz province before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, filling two lakes along the way. There&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/china-funded-dam-could-disrupt-key-argentine-glaciers-and-biodiversity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/china-funded-dam-could-disrupt-key-argentine-glaciers-and-biodiversity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-255734</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In landslide-prone Colombia, forests can serve as an inexpensive shield</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-landslide-prone-colombia-forests-can-serve-as-an-inexpensive-shield/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-landslide-prone-colombia-forests-can-serve-as-an-inexpensive-shield/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Apr 2022 16:51:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gianluca Cerullo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/13134423/A-landslide-near-Manizales-in-the-Central-Andes-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254747</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Forestry, Forests, Impact Of Climate Change, Mountains, Nature-based climate solutions, Solutions, Storms, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Only aerial footage captures the true scale of the horror: Houses have been flattened, roads ruined, and everything looks like it’s been covered in a film of dark-brown syrup. A sludgy scar down the mountainside shows the trail that a hunk of dislodged rock and earth took in the moments before it upturned the lives [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Only aerial footage captures the true scale of the horror: Houses have been flattened, roads ruined, and everything looks like it’s been covered in a film of dark-brown syrup. A sludgy scar down the mountainside shows the trail that a hunk of dislodged rock and earth took in the moments before it upturned the lives of dozens of homeowners in the Dosquebradas municipality of Colombia. “It felt like the whole world was coming down,” Maria Juliet Lugo, a survivor of the landslide that killed 14 people and left dozens of others hospitalized, told Al Jazeera after a rainstorm hit central Colombia this past February. Such scenes are becoming all too familiar across the country. Colombia’s undulating, rain-soaked topography makes it a landslide hotspot. Each year, hundreds of landslides wrack the nation; some 30,730 hit between 1900 and 2018. Not all leave untold destruction in their wake, but many do. In 2017, a downpour in Mocoa, capital of the department of Putumayo, triggered hundreds of landslides and kicked off a debris flow through the city streets, killing 333 people. And in May 2019, a series of mudslides that barreled into the Vía al Llano, Colombia’s major highway, cut the country in two, according to reporting by The Economist. For months, mud and rocks severed supply chains and cut off 1.7 million people living in Colombia’s farming heartland, causing food shortages and rocketing prices. The head of a landslide in the Eastern Andes of Colombia. Colombia’s rain-soaked, steep-sided topography make it a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-landslide-prone-colombia-forests-can-serve-as-an-inexpensive-shield/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/in-landslide-prone-colombia-forests-can-serve-as-an-inexpensive-shield/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-254747</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Moore Foundation pledges extra $300m to boost conservation of Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/moore-foundation-pledges-extra-300m-to-boost-conservation-of-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/moore-foundation-pledges-extra-300m-to-boost-conservation-of-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2022 16:26:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laurel Sutherland]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/04/10170712/amazon_200294-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253592</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Andes, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Biodiversity, Climate, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Finance, Forest Recovery, Forests, Funding, Indigenous Peoples, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[To support ongoing conservation efforts in the Amazon rainforest, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is putting an additional $300 million toward its Andes-Amazon Initiative, which is the largest private philanthropic push to protect and conserve Earth&#8217;s biggest tropical forest. The extension of the initiative will bring the foundation’s projected investment in the region from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[To support ongoing conservation efforts in the Amazon rainforest, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is putting an additional $300 million toward its Andes-Amazon Initiative, which is the largest private philanthropic push to protect and conserve Earth&#8217;s biggest tropical forest. The extension of the initiative will bring the foundation’s projected investment in the region from 2003-2031 to more than $800 million. Since its establishment in 2003, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s signature project, the Andes-Amazon Initiative, has helped extend protected status to 400 million hectares (988 million acres) of land across the Amazon Basin. The foundation now plans to boost this number by ensuring effective management of an additional 100 million hectares (247 million acres) in the region by 2031. Funding will go toward ensuring that 50 million hectares (123 million acres) of Indigenous and local community territories, and another 50 million hectares of freshwater and forest ecosystems, are effectively managed. The Andes-Amazon Initiative has the goal of ensuring the long-term ecological integrity and climatic function of the Amazon Basin. The Amazon rainforest. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay. “Earth’s largest remaining rainforest, the Amazon, provides one-fifth of the world’s fresh water, is home to the planet’s most diverse collection of birds, mammals, freshwater fish and plants, and serves as an immense carbon sink, making it a vital part of regulating climate and mitigating change,” the foundation said. The initiative’s success in conserving 400 million hectares of land in the Amazon is about 50% of the planned original&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/moore-foundation-pledges-extra-300m-to-boost-conservation-of-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-253592</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On agrobiodiversity, the Andes can teach the world much about crop conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/on-agrobiodiversity-the-andes-can-teach-the-world-much-about-crop-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/on-agrobiodiversity-the-andes-can-teach-the-world-much-about-crop-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2022 19:56:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barbara Wells]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/12194347/03Variedadnativas-cropped-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=251642</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Commentary, Community Development, Crops, food security, Green, Sustainability, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two of the world’s most ubiquitous and important crops have a 7,000-year-old backstory, which can be traced to the Andes in South America, where maize and potatoes have long been cultivated for food. And still today – despite a growing reliance around the world on just five staple crops – this remote mountain region is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two of the world’s most ubiquitous and important crops have a 7,000-year-old backstory, which can be traced to the Andes in South America, where maize and potatoes have long been cultivated for food. And still today – despite a growing reliance around the world on just five staple crops – this remote mountain region is so replete with diverse cereals, roots and pulses that it is regularly the origin of the next global “super food,” whether that&#8217;s quinoa, maca or amaranth. But in terms of potential dietary diversity, the latest food booms and busts are just a fraction of what the Andes has to offer – for people, planet and prosperity. Not only is this corner of the Global South a rich source of many different food crops, but within these crops are hundreds of different ancestral varieties, most of which have as yet untapped potential for nutrition, livelihoods and biodiversity. A family from Marcapata Ccollana display their diverse potato harvest. Image courtesy of Anahí Oroz/ACCA. Underexploited crops in all their forms continue to thrive in the vast Andean ecosystem, which has more microclimates than anywhere else in the world, playing a unique nutritional and environmental role. As a result, it is the natural place to turn to identify “future foods” that can cope with the rapidly changing conditions of a heating world. In particular, the Andes offers valuable lessons from its recent experience of the quinoa boom, which sidelined many smallholder farmers and incentivized rapid expansion of just a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/on-agrobiodiversity-the-andes-can-teach-the-world-much-about-crop-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-251642</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Peruvian Andes, ancient crops hold promise for a climate-blighted future</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/in-peruvian-andes-ancient-crops-hold-promise-for-a-climate-blighted-future/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/in-peruvian-andes-ancient-crops-hold-promise-for-a-climate-blighted-future/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Oct 2021 13:52:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aurora Solá]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Genevieve Belmaker]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/05133734/4-Marcapata-Ccollana-farmers-in-the-high-Andean-fog-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=247834</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Crops, Culture, Endangered Species, Environment, Food, food security, Governance, and Indigenous Peoples]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this year, the Peruvian government established a new agrobiodiversity zone a tenth the size of its capital, Lima, high in the Andes. Here, in the Marcapata Ccollana community, the 22,679-hectare (55,800-acre) zone is home to 99 varieties of potato that flourish alongside dozens of other root vegetables and a mélange of protein-rich and pest-resistant [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this year, the Peruvian government established a new agrobiodiversity zone a tenth the size of its capital, Lima, high in the Andes. Here, in the Marcapata Ccollana community, the 22,679-hectare (55,800-acre) zone is home to 99 varieties of potato that flourish alongside dozens of other root vegetables and a mélange of protein-rich and pest-resistant grains. This Quechua-speaking Indigenous community of 814 people is the fourth to be recognized as an agrobiodiversity reserve by the government of Peru as part of a strategy to preserve the genetic variety of useful plants and their wild relatives where they occur. The newly protected area is the result of a joint effort by the Marcapata Ccollana community, environmental nonprofits Amazon Conservation and Conservación Amazónica &#8211; ACCA, the U.N. Development Programme, and various branches of government including the Peruvian National Protected Areas Service, and the government of the Cusco region where the zone is located. It forms part of a mosaic of high-altitude protected areas, sitting just west from the Ccollasuyo agrobiodiversity zone, declared in late 2020, and bordering Ausangate, another regional conservation area that guards one of Peru’s highest peaks. “For Andean peoples, their crops and the productivity of their lands are some of their greatest riches,” said Anahí Oroz, field coordinator for the project at Conservación Amazónica &#8211; ACCA. A family from Marcapata Ccollana display their potato harvest. Image courtesy of Anahí Oroz/Conservación Amazónica &#8211; ACCA. Farming the highlands The farmers of Marcapata Ccollana use dung from the area’s alpacas, llamas, and vicuñas to increase&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/in-peruvian-andes-ancient-crops-hold-promise-for-a-climate-blighted-future/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-247834</doi>				</item>
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