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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?location=asia&#038;post_type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/asia/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 23:39:04 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Asia environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/asia/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Nine killed at illegal mine in latest Sumatra landslide tragedy as gold surge continues</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nine-killed-at-illegal-mine-in-latest-sumatra-landslide-tragedy-as-gold-surge-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nine-killed-at-illegal-mine-in-latest-sumatra-landslide-tragedy-as-gold-surge-continues/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 18:22:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Novia Harlina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21092147/gold-mining-west-sumatra-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319886</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Disaster, Disasters, Environment, Environmental Law, Gold Mining, Illegal Mining, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PADANG, Indonesia — Nine people were killed on May 14 in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province after heavy rain triggered the collapse of a 30-meter (100-foot) cliff at an illegal gold mine. “Three people survived, while nine others who were buried have been recovered deceased,” said Susmelawati Rosya, a spokesperson for the West Sumatra province police. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PADANG, Indonesia — Nine people were killed on May 14 in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province after heavy rain triggered the collapse of a 30-meter (100-foot) cliff at an illegal gold mine. “Three people survived, while nine others who were buried have been recovered deceased,” said Susmelawati Rosya, a spokesperson for the West Sumatra province police. Local officials said miners had ignored repeated warnings to stop work amid sustained torrential rain, and that the high international price of gold continued to draw people into the risky work. “They were reminded, but they continued with their activities,” said Zainal, the head of Guguk village, an ethnic Minangkabau village where the disaster occurred. On May 13, floodwaters swept away dozens of pontoons used by illegal gold miners near the confluence of three rivers, the Batang Sinamar, Batang Ombilin and Batang Kuantan. A day later, the heavy rain culminated in the fatal landslip at the mining site in Guguk village. Authorities say illegal mining on the rivers has become widespread in recent years. The local karst landscape is around 350 million years old and is being proposed as a global geopark to UNESCO, the United Nations’ science and cultural agency. A row of pontoons used by miners in the proposed Silokek geopark before they were washed away by heavy rain in May, 2026. Image by Novia Harlina/Mongabay Indonesia. Illegal gold mining accidents have repeatedly turned deadly in West Sumatra — and other areas of Sumatra — over the past decade, including landslides and tunnel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nine-killed-at-illegal-mine-in-latest-sumatra-landslide-tragedy-as-gold-surge-continues/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Norlan Pagal, fisherman and guardian of Tañon Strait, died on May 14th, aged 56</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/shot-for-defending-the-sea-norlan-pagal-kept-watching-from-shore/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/shot-for-defending-the-sea-norlan-pagal-kept-watching-from-shore/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 12:40:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21123838/Norlan-Pagal-video-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319928</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Communities and conservation, Conservation, Fishing, Illegal Fishing, Marine Conservation, Obituary, and Ocean]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The sea off San Remigio could look gentle from shore. White sand, clear water, and boats moving slowly across Tañon Strait. For many families in Barangay Anapog, in northern Cebu, it was also the pantry and workplace. Fish and shellfish were food, income, and a future to pass on. By the early 2000s, that future [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The sea off San Remigio could look gentle from shore. White sand, clear water, and boats moving slowly across Tañon Strait. For many families in Barangay Anapog, in northern Cebu, it was also the pantry and workplace. Fish and shellfish were food, income, and a future to pass on. By the early 2000s, that future was shrinking. Catches had fallen. Commercial boats entered waters reserved for small fishers. Dynamite and compressors damaged the reefs and frightened those who tried to stop them. The rules were known, but enforcement was weak, meaning that despite the sea’s protected status, it was still being stripped. Norlan Pagal had been a fisherman since 1979. He left school after Grade 4, but he learned fishery law closely and remembered what the sea had once provided. In 2002, when the decline became impossible to ignore, he joined the bantay dagat, the volunteer sea patrol that guards coastal waters in the Philippines. Three years later he became chair of the Anapog Fishermen Association. For more than a decade he helped watch over the Anapog Marine Protected Area and the wider Tañon Strait Protected Seascape. The work was direct and dangerous. He and other volunteers went out in small boats, sometimes paddling to confront fishers using illegal gear. They patrolled, reported violations, organized clean-ups, and helped restore mangroves. Sometimes they succeeded: commercial vessels were caught, sanctuaries defended, and rules enforced in a place where they had often been ignored. At other times the answer was violence. Norlan Pagal.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/shot-for-defending-the-sea-norlan-pagal-kept-watching-from-shore/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh’s energy crunch highlights the promise — and limits — of solar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 10:22:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Md Jahidul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21095035/solar-panels-in-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319893</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, electricity, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Politics, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Green Energy, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Bangladesh grapples with fuel shortages, power plant outages and rising energy import costs, the country’s small but growing solar sector is helping cushion the grid against widespread blackouts. According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), 16 of the 136 power plants and electricity import sources are solar facilities. At least 52 power plants are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Bangladesh grapples with fuel shortages, power plant outages and rising energy import costs, the country’s small but growing solar sector is helping cushion the grid against widespread blackouts. According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), 16 of the 136 power plants and electricity import sources are solar facilities. At least 52 power plants are currently fully shut down because of gas and coal shortages. Despite having installed electricity generation capacity far exceeding peak demand, Bangladesh has recently struggled in recent months to generate enough power to meet its needs. Fuel supply constraints, maintenance shutdowns and technical faults have forced many gas- and coal-fired plants to operate below capacity, leading to periodic load-shedding, or blackouts, across the country. While fossil fuel-dependent plants have been hampered by supply shortages, solar plants continue generating during daylight hours and remain largely insulated from global fuel price volatility. A BPDB report published May 10 showed that Bangladesh generated and imported a combined 312,620 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity on May 9. Of that total, solar contributed 5,377 MWh, compared to 127,700 MWh from gas and 105,400 MWh from coal. Although solar still accounts for only a small share of the national energy mix, experts say its importance becomes more apparent during crises when fossil fuel-dependent plants can’t operate at full capacity. The same BPDB report showed that Bangladesh faced a generation shortfall of 3,868 megawatts due to gas constraints and an additional 1,668 MW due to plant shutdowns and maintenance. Several major gas-fired plants were operating below capacity because of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In flood-prone Bangladesh, tiny homes are built to move with the river</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-flood-prone-bangladesh-tiny-homes-are-built-to-move-with-the-river/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-flood-prone-bangladesh-tiny-homes-are-built-to-move-with-the-river/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 08:28:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21082709/Screenshot-2026-05-21-at-11.39.03-AM-scaled-e1779352070266-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319884</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Community Development, Flooding, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the northeast of Bangladesh, residents living along the Jamuna River face a relentless cycle of environmental upheaval. Every rainy season, severe flooding routinely invades homes and wipes out crops, turning daily life into a struggle for survival. For families in these areas of low-lying sand beds, locally known as char areas, land is affordable [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the northeast of Bangladesh, residents living along the Jamuna River face a relentless cycle of environmental upheaval. Every rainy season, severe flooding routinely invades homes and wipes out crops, turning daily life into a struggle for survival. For families in these areas of low-lying sand beds, locally known as char areas, land is affordable but highly vulnerable. Rebuilding after each monsoon has historically been an exhausting requirement. However, Mongabay’s Lucia Torres reports in a recent video that an innovative architectural design is helping to ease the struggle. Khandoker Mohammad Bulbul, a newly married farmer who recently moved to the region, explains the economic reality of living in such a high-risk area. &#8220;I can buy seven or eight times more land here because the land price is very low in char areas,&#8221; he tells Mongabay. However, the trade-off for that affordability is constant danger: during floods, Bulbul says, “water enters our house. Sometimes it comes up to our waist.” To break this cycle, architects from Dhaka are collaborating with rural communities to build Khudi Bari, or tiny houses, designed to withstand climate extremes. These simple, flood-resistant structures are engineered to respond to the region’s shifting topography and the constant threat of river erosion. The Khudi Bari concept offers two distinct advantages for river-basin communities. First, the dwellings are elevated off the ground, protecting families and food supplies during high water. Second, because the flooding rivers constantly change the topography of the area, the houses are designed to be easily relocated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-flood-prone-bangladesh-tiny-homes-are-built-to-move-with-the-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Climate change triples chance of deadly 2026 South Asia pre-monsoon heatwave: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/climate-change-triples-chance-of-deadly-2026-south-asia-pre-monsoon-heatwave-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/climate-change-triples-chance-of-deadly-2026-south-asia-pre-monsoon-heatwave-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 06:55:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21065448/Screenshot-2026-05-19-at-3.12.10-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319879</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, Pakistan, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change And Extreme Weather, Drought, Extreme Weather, Heatwave, Science, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From mid-April through May 2026, India and Pakistan were gripped by a heatwave that saw daily maximum temperatures soar above 46° Celsius (114.8° Fahrenheit) in numerous cities. This ongoing period of intense heat has resulted in at least 10 reported deaths in Karachi, Pakistan and 6 reported cases of deaths from heat stroke in India, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From mid-April through May 2026, India and Pakistan were gripped by a heatwave that saw daily maximum temperatures soar above 46° Celsius (114.8° Fahrenheit) in numerous cities. This ongoing period of intense heat has resulted in at least 10 reported deaths in Karachi, Pakistan and 6 reported cases of deaths from heat stroke in India, as of April 27. A &#8220;super-rapid&#8221; study released by scientists from the World Weather Attribution indicates that such high temperature conditions in April are becoming more frequent, now occurring once every five years in the region. The researchers also found human-induced climate change made the 15-day heatwave period from April 15-29 approximately three times more likely than it would have been in a pre-industrial climate. The same heat “event would have been about 1°C (1.8°F)  cooler in a pre-industrial climate.” &#8220;What used to be rare heat in South Asia is now a regular reality,&#8221; Mariam Zachariah, a research associate in extreme weather and climate change at Imperial College London, said in a statement. She noted the pre-monsoon period in the region is becoming both longer and hotter, forcing hundreds of millions to face extreme heat for a greater portion of the year. The sweltering conditions triggered record-high electricity demand across India and induced agricultural drought affecting over 1 million square kilometers (386,102 square miles), threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions dependent on farming. The heat also coincided with major election periods and census operations, exposing millions of voters and officials to dangerous conditions.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/climate-change-triples-chance-of-deadly-2026-south-asia-pre-monsoon-heatwave-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Rural women at increasing risk of human-wildlife conflict in Nepal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/rural-women-at-increasing-risk-of-human-wildlife-conflict-in-nepal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/rural-women-at-increasing-risk-of-human-wildlife-conflict-in-nepal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 04:16:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21041540/women-under-a-tree-e1779336981974-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319872</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Cats, Conflict, Conservation Solutions, Elephants, Environment, Gender and Conservation, Human Rights, human-elephant conflict, Human-wildlife Conflict, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While Nepal celebrates tripling its wild tiger population, rural women in forest-edge communities face escalating danger. A demographic shift driven by large-scale migration of men abroad has in part forced women to take on nearly all agricultural and household responsibilities. Described as the &#8220;feminization of agriculture,&#8221; the shift has pushed women into high-risk forest edges [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[While Nepal celebrates tripling its wild tiger population, rural women in forest-edge communities face escalating danger. A demographic shift driven by large-scale migration of men abroad has in part forced women to take on nearly all agricultural and household responsibilities. Described as the &#8220;feminization of agriculture,&#8221; the shift has pushed women into high-risk forest edges for daily subsistence work, such as collecting firewood and fodder, reports contributor Tulsi Rauniyar for Mongabay. Most fatal wildlife encounters occur during routine activities. Binita Pariyar, a 17-year-old from a marginalized Dalit family, was killed by a tiger in December 2025 while cutting grass in the forest for her livestock. Following her death, five more people were killed in forests around Bardiya National Park within four weeks. Recent research indicates that nearly one-third of fatal attacks happen while herding cattle, and another third occur during grass cutting. Forest department records also show the majority of those attacked while cutting grass from 2021-2025 have been women. The forests they go to are specifically designated for the collection of fodder, firewood and grazing materials. Data from 2024 show that 84% of recorded attacks in Bardiya district occurred within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) of forest boundaries. Many recent deaths have taken place in and around the Khata Corridor, a stretch of forest connecting Bardiya National Park with Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary across the Indian border. “Wildlife movement in the corridor often peaks in the early morning and at dusk, along forest edges, trails and water sources,” said Rama Mishra,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/rural-women-at-increasing-risk-of-human-wildlife-conflict-in-nepal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Nepal proposes park for &#8216;problem&#8217; tigers amid rising conflicts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/nepal-proposes-park-for-problem-tigers-amid-rising-conflicts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/nepal-proposes-park-for-problem-tigers-amid-rising-conflicts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 04:03:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21040311/Bengal_tiger_in_Sanjay_Dubri_Tiger_Reserve_December_2024_by_Tisha_Mukherjee_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319870</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, National Parks, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Nepal government has proposed the creation of a park to house &#8220;problem&#8221; tigers – individuals involved in human fatalities. The big cats would be moved from current overcrowded holding centers to a 50-hectare (124-acre) facility, planned for the Durganar–Tikauli forest near Chitwan National Park, according to authorities, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi and contributor [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The Nepal government has proposed the creation of a park to house &#8220;problem&#8221; tigers – individuals involved in human fatalities. The big cats would be moved from current overcrowded holding centers to a 50-hectare (124-acre) facility, planned for the Durganar–Tikauli forest near Chitwan National Park, according to authorities, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi and contributor Mukesh Pokhrel. Nepal’s tiger conservation has shown success, with the population of endangered Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) growing from 121 in 2009 to 355 in 2022. However, as the tiger population rises, so do human-tiger conflicts. Between 2019 and 2023, government records show 38 people died in tiger attacks, and 15 tigers were subsequently captured by authorities and placed in temporary holding centers. “Currently, we need to spend around 1.5 million rupees [about $10,000] annually for each captive tiger even if we feed it minimally,” said Hari Bhadra Acharya, a senior ecologist with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation under the Ministry of Forests and Environment, who chairs the committee that’s exploring the plan. According to Acharya, the proposed park would be self-financed, using tourism revenue from ticket sales to the park to fund food and veterinary care. This would allow the tigers to live in environments where they can roam and hide in tall grass rather than being confined to “cramped cages,” he added. Research indicates that only a small fraction of Nepal’s tiger population come into conflict with people. A 2017 study led by Babu Ram Lamichhane found that fewer than&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/nepal-proposes-park-for-problem-tigers-amid-rising-conflicts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Thai island community rallies to protect beloved dugongs, revive declining seagrass</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/thai-island-community-rallies-to-protect-beloved-dugongs-revive-declining-seagrass/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/thai-island-community-rallies-to-protect-beloved-dugongs-revive-declining-seagrass/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 01:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20144955/9.-IMG_9401_Tipusa-Sansawang-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319813</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Dugong, Fisheries, Marine Animals, Marine Ecosystems, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Restoration, Seagrass, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KOH LIBONG, Thailand — Growing up on the island of Koh Libong, Tipusa Sangsawang remembers fondly how vast numbers of dugongs used to feed on local seagrass meadows teaming with fish, crabs and mollusks. “Out there, it was like a football field,” Tipusa says, as she watches waves lap across a seemingly barren sandflat that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KOH LIBONG, Thailand — Growing up on the island of Koh Libong, Tipusa Sangsawang remembers fondly how vast numbers of dugongs used to feed on local seagrass meadows teaming with fish, crabs and mollusks. “Out there, it was like a football field,” Tipusa says, as she watches waves lap across a seemingly barren sandflat that fringes this stretch of shoreline. “It used to be green all around this area. Now, it’s only sand.” Fascinated by dugongs (Dugong dugon) since childhood, Tipusa remembers forming a special bond with one particular individual. Marium was an infant dugong brought into the care of marine officials in mid-2019 after fishers discovered her stranded ashore in Krabi province. With no mother or herd, she was moved to a semiwild enclosure farther south in Trang province, near Koh Libong, where authorities hoped to rehabilitate her. Tipusa was a member of the recovery team. She devoted all her time to Marium, swimming alongside her and monitoring her progress daily. The chubby and charismatic youngster quickly became a national sweetheart through social media. “She was like an angel who came to us with a message from the ocean,” Tipusa says. Despite the team’s efforts, Marium died 114 days after her initial rescue, having contracted a blood infection that autopsies indicated was likely linked to plastic ingestion. Her death sparked a rise in public awareness of marine plastic pollution in Thailand. The loss also strengthened Tipusa’s resolve to protect ocean life. “I told Marium she would be the last&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/thai-island-community-rallies-to-protect-beloved-dugongs-revive-declining-seagrass/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Bangladesh salt farmers struggle as climate shifts disrupt harvests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 14:59:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sifayet Ullah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20144909/farmer-collects-mature-salt-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319814</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change And Food, Climate Justice, Environment, Food, Food Crisis, Food Industry, food security, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bent over a salt bed, a 55-year-old farmer, Nasir Uddin, was scooping up and throwing out water with a hand-made pot from his field was flooded by a few hours of heavy overnight rain. On his 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) of salt plot located in southeastern Bangladesh, nearly 18 maunds of salt (each maund is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bent over a salt bed, a 55-year-old farmer, Nasir Uddin, was scooping up and throwing out water with a hand-made pot from his field was flooded by a few hours of heavy overnight rain. On his 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) of salt plot located in southeastern Bangladesh, nearly 18 maunds of salt (each maund is equal to 40 kilograms, or 88 pounds) had been washed away just a day before harvesting. “I was expecting to collect salt today [April 16]. But the rain has damaged all the salt,” said Nasir, a farmer from Moulabir Gona village of Kutubdia subdistrict in Cox’s Bazar district. The farmer said the rainfall on April 15 happened when production is usually at its peak. “We didn’t experience rainfall in March-April in the past. But over the last 8-10 years, rain has started occurring during this time, even in December and January, during winters,” said Nasir, who has been cultivating salt for around 28 years. Like Nasir, thousands of salt farmers across the coastal belt are now facing similar losses from unseasonal rain, as erratic weather increasingly disrupts production. A salt farmer carries harvested salt from the field, transporting it for storage in nearby pits. Image by Sifayet Ullah. Climate variability emerges as a growing threat Salt farming is one of the largest seasonal livelihoods in the country. In the ongoing season, farming has taken place on more than 27,520 hectares (68,000 acres) of land across Cox’s Bazar’s Sadar, Kutubdia, Maheshkhali, Chakaria, Pekua, Eidgaon and Teknaf&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Communities say sacred groves are shrinking in India’s eastern ghats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/communities-say-sacred-groves-are-shrinking-in-indias-eastern-ghats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/communities-say-sacred-groves-are-shrinking-in-indias-eastern-ghats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 11:44:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20113951/Sacred_grove_surrounded_by_paddyfields_Coorg-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319807</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Research, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sacred groves in the Indian state of Odisha continue to be protected now, as they have for hundreds of years because of cultural and spiritual values associated with them, a recent study has found. However, the forests are decreasing in size, nearly all residents interviewed by researchers said. India is estimated to have roughly 100,000 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sacred groves in the Indian state of Odisha continue to be protected now, as they have for hundreds of years because of cultural and spiritual values associated with them, a recent study has found. However, the forests are decreasing in size, nearly all residents interviewed by researchers said. India is estimated to have roughly 100,000 sacred groves, the most of any country. The state of Odisha in the Eastern Ghats, a mountain range in India’s eastern coast, has more than 2,000 such groves, but they are poorly understood, the authors wrote. So, the research team interviewed 148 people living around 10 sacred groves in the state’s Mayurbhanj district to understand how they perceive the customs, uses, rules and traditions associated with those forests. Although the Santals, one of the largest tribal groups in India, dominate Mayurbhanj, the interviewees represented a diverse mix of “tribal or caste groups, including Santals, Gonds, Kolhas, Bhuyans, Gauda, Bathudi, Bhumij and Ho Munda,” the authors wrote. This suggests “that the sacred grove is a cultural concept that transcends not only ethnic groups but also other general communities in the district,” they added. The interviews revealed that the villages maintain and preserve the sacred groves as a form of worship for the forest god. Rules include no cutting trees in the groves or extracting natural resources for commercial sale, the respondents said. At the same time, the interviewees said they use 28 different species of plants from the sacred groves “for medicinal and religious purposes.” They&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/communities-say-sacred-groves-are-shrinking-in-indias-eastern-ghats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>New animals discovered in Cambodian caves</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-animals-discovered-in-cambodian-caves/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-animals-discovered-in-cambodian-caves/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 08:58:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanburry]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20090458/Pit-viper-trimeresurus-lii-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319793</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Caves, Ecosystems, New Species, Science, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have discovered at least 11 new species in Cambodia&#8217;s karst ecosystems — dramatic landscapes of caves and rocks that create isolated habitats. These new species, as well as other endangered animals in the region highlight the importance of protecting these rare ecosystems.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have discovered at least 11 new species in Cambodia&#8217;s karst ecosystems — dramatic landscapes of caves and rocks that create isolated habitats. These new species, as well as other endangered animals in the region highlight the importance of protecting these rare ecosystems.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-animals-discovered-in-cambodian-caves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In Malaysia, a bridge helps endangered langurs and humans coexist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/05/in-malaysia-a-bridge-helps-endangered-langurs-and-humans-coexist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/05/in-malaysia-a-bridge-helps-endangered-langurs-and-humans-coexist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 03:46:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Isabelle LeongPhilip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/19093450/A7KH3XT-langur-crosses-bridge-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=custom-story&#038;p=319692</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Development, Endangered Species, Environment, Featured, Forestry, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human-wildlife Conflict, Innovation In Conservation, Mammals, Monkeys, Primates, Rainforests, urban ecology, Urban Planning, Urbanization, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Malaysia’s Penang state, conservationists and residents are collaborating to reduce conflict between humans and endangered dusky langurs displaced by urban development and habitat loss. The Langur Project Penang built a canopy bridge to help langurs safely cross a busy road and access more habitat, reducing time spent in residential areas and lowering complaints from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Malaysia’s Penang state, conservationists and residents are collaborating to reduce conflict between humans and endangered dusky langurs displaced by urban development and habitat loss. The Langur Project Penang built a canopy bridge to help langurs safely cross a busy road and access more habitat, reducing time spent in residential areas and lowering complaints from residents. Malaysia’s wildlife agency receives thousands of wildlife complaints annually, and often responds with trapping, relocation or culling; but conservationists argue education and coexistence measures can be more sustainable responses to increasing human-wildlife encounters. The project’s success has depended heavily on local support and citizen scientists, with some residents gradually shifting from frustration toward compassion and acceptance of living alongside wildlife. TANJUNG BUNGAH, Malaysia — The 50-year-old mango tree growing through Tan Soo Siah’s second-story terrace is a favorite stopping place for the family of endangered monkeys that has taken up residence in a small park near his home in Malaysia’s Penang state. “Since everybody chases them away, I try to let them have a rest here,” says Tan, 64, who likes to watch the dusky langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus) from his bedroom window, peeking up at them playing in the foliage. Not everyone in Taman Concord, a residential community home mostly to retirees like Tan, is as taken with the langurs&nbsp;as he is. Around three years ago, the monkeys were inciting complaints from seniors who were fed up with langurs leaping across their houses, damaging their rooftops and denuding their gardens. Tan Soo Siah, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/05/in-malaysia-a-bridge-helps-endangered-langurs-and-humans-coexist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Smallholders are not the weak link in forest protection (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/smallholders-are-not-the-weak-link-in-forest-protection-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/smallholders-are-not-the-weak-link-in-forest-protection-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 02:24:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aida Greenbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20021450/kalbar_drone_190243-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319771</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Commentary, Deforestation, Editorials, Environment, Forests, Green, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In general, plantation companies view local communities and smallholders as obstacles to expanding operations and to securing social licenses. In deforestation-free supply chains, smallholders are also often treated as a risk. In my experience, this is one reason forest protection efforts fail: we don’t want to understand why smallholders are perceived as a risk. Yet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In general, plantation companies view local communities and smallholders as obstacles to expanding operations and to securing social licenses. In deforestation-free supply chains, smallholders are also often treated as a risk. In my experience, this is one reason forest protection efforts fail: we don’t want to understand why smallholders are perceived as a risk. Yet many of the people closest to the forest are also the ones with the strongest reason to keep it standing. That was not how I saw things at the start of my career. Years inside corporate sustainability changed my view, as did many difficult conversations with communities. Customary forest behind smallholders oil palm plantation in Sanggau, West Kalimantan. Photo by Aida Greenbury. People often asked me, “How did someone like you, a corporate slave, end up working for smallholders?” It’s a long story. I worked for corporations for many years. Some people might remember me as Managing Director of Sustainability at one of the largest integrated forestry, pulp and paper companies headquartered in Indonesia. A forest-based company of that size in Indonesia is frequently criticized for deforestation. More than a decade ago, before I left the company, that work led me to help develop the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), a multistakeholder initiative to develop a deforestation-free methodology for extractive companies operating in humid tropical regions. With many existing deforestation standards unclear and rife with loopholes, adopting a clear, science-based deforestation-free methodology, supported by companies, NGOs, and other global stakeholders, was what I needed to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/smallholders-are-not-the-weak-link-in-forest-protection-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>On Southeast Asia’s largest lake, locals wield tech to defend the flooded forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 18:04:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Turrell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/19170820/20231116_Local-guide-was-training-CFi-committees-on-camera-trap-set-up_Photo_Dong-Tangkor-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319745</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Communities and conservation, Community Forestry, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, fire, Fire Management, Fires, Forest Fires, Lakes, Landscape Restoration, Nature-based climate solutions, Restoration, Solutions, Technology, Technology And Conservation, Wetlands, and wildfires]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“When the forest [is] healthy, fish can breed and grow. But if the forest burns, the fish disappear — and that affects the livelihoods of our whole community,” says Luon Chanleng, a fisher from Tonle Sap. “I can’t imagine our life without the forest.” Tonle Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“When the forest [is] healthy, fish can breed and grow. But if the forest burns, the fish disappear — and that affects the livelihoods of our whole community,” says Luon Chanleng, a fisher from Tonle Sap. “I can’t imagine our life without the forest.” Tonle Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Each year, when the dry season sets in from around January to June, the waters of the flooded forest recede, the mangrove roots poke out through the mud, and the flooded forest turns into a tinder box. More than a million people live around the lake and depend on it for their livelihoods, homes and nutrition. Yet, the freshwater mangroves or “flooded forest” that surround the lake are shrinking. A study by the Wonders of the Mekong project, led by the University of Nevada in the U.S., found that nearly a third of forests in flood plains like the Tonle Sap area were lost between 1993 and 2017. “It primarily seems to be driven by two activities: One is conversion of flooded forest for agriculture, and then the second is forest fires,” says Zeb Hogan, director of the Wonders of the Mekong project. Now, the Tonle Sap community is fighting back. Seventy-eight people, including Luon, have trained as community firefighters, and are now using satellite wildfire alerts to help them curb the devastation. According to records kept by U.S.-based NGO Conservation International, which receives the satellite alerts and forwards them to the patrol team,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Indonesia’s nickel boom linked to rising illness and worker harm, reports find</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 07:47:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rabul SawalYulia Adiningsih]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18163514/PT-IWIP-worker-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319647</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Environment, Governance, Health, Human Rights, Industry, Mining, Pollution, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HALMAHERA, Indonesia — New research examining Indonesia’s vast nickel-processing regions has documented rising rates of ill health and workplace harm linked to a key industry supplying the global energy transition. A report published in April by Indonesia’s human rights commission, known as Komnas HAM, cited Central Sulawesi provincial health data showing respiratory infections reached 305,191 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HALMAHERA, Indonesia — New research examining Indonesia’s vast nickel-processing regions has documented rising rates of ill health and workplace harm linked to a key industry supplying the global energy transition. A report published in April by Indonesia’s human rights commission, known as Komnas HAM, cited Central Sulawesi provincial health data showing respiratory infections reached 305,191 diagnoses in 2024, a 26% increase over the 262,160 cases recorded in 2023. In the Central Sulawesi district of Morowali, home to Southeast Asia’s largest nickel processing estate, the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), the number of respiratory infections diagnosed in 2024 was 57,190. The IWIP industrial area, which has been tied to mercury and arsenic exposure. Image by Garry Latulung. A civil society coalition protests in front of the PT IWIP office in Jakarta. Image by Christ Belseran/Mongabay Indonesia. “Communities living near mining and smelter areas are at higher risk due to exposure to dust and emissions from production processes,” said Uli Parulian Sihombing, a coordinator at Komnas HAM. The rights commission called for greater state intervention to uphold rights in and around Central Sulawesi’s nickel processing estates. “Based on these findings, this study concludes that the state has failed to guarantee protection of human rights in the nickel mining and processing sector,” the Komnas HAM report concluded. The report also noted the increase in deforestation recorded on Central Sulawesi tied to the booming mining sector. “This situation is exacerbated by massive ecological damage that has led to a health crisis for communities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Timor green pigeon could go extinct without immediate action, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/timor-green-pigeon-could-go-extinct-without-immediate-action-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/timor-green-pigeon-could-go-extinct-without-immediate-action-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 05:15:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/19051318/timor-green-pigon.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319685</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Forests, Hunting, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Culture, Iucn, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The extremely rare Timor green pigeon has fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild, according to a recent study. Researchers say its extinction risk must be revised from endangered to critically endangered.  The fruit-eating Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus), known for its distinctive mango-green plumage, is “endemic to Timor, Rote and adjacent satellite islands” [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The extremely rare Timor green pigeon has fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild, according to a recent study. Researchers say its extinction risk must be revised from endangered to critically endangered.  The fruit-eating Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus), known for its distinctive mango-green plumage, is “endemic to Timor, Rote and adjacent satellite islands” in eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Once numbering in the tens of thousands, the bird’s population has suffered  over recent decades. The species is currently classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated global population of 660-2,000 mature individuals. However, by compiling published observations and data from field surveys conducted from 2002-2025, researchers now conservatively estimate that only 100 to 500 individuals remain globally. The species is now considered nearly extinct in Indonesia, with no records in West Timor since 2005  and none in Rote since 2009. “While there has been loss of forest habitat on Timor and Rote islands over the past 100 years or so, hunting over recent decades is responsible for the catastrophic collapse of Timor green pigeon populations,” lead author Colin Trainor of Charles Darwin University, Australia, told Mongabay. The bird is particularly vulnerable due to its lack of a flight response. Hunters in Lautem district in eastern Timor-Leste call the bird tule (meaning deaf) because the flock often continues to feed even after rifles are fired, allowing several birds to be shot in a single session , the authors wrote. Jafet Potenzo Lopes, study co-author from Conservation International, told&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/timor-green-pigeon-could-go-extinct-without-immediate-action-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/timor-green-pigeon-could-go-extinct-without-immediate-action-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Philippine fishing and Indigenous communities wary of clean energy boom in Marcos stronghold</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 23:28:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael Beltran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13110218/Ed-Singson-shows-off-the-seaweed-in-his-bucket-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319296</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and The Philippines]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Clean Energy, Conservation, Energy, Featured, Fishing, Green Energy, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Islands, Just Transition, Marine, Marine Conservation, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PASUQUIN, Philippines — Crouched on the beach under the hot noon sun, a fisherman flattens a black sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat rolled out on the sand. Wearing a straw hat wide enough to shade his entire body, he tucks his legs in to avoid getting burned. Gamet, a rare and coveted variety [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PASUQUIN, Philippines — Crouched on the beach under the hot noon sun, a fisherman flattens a black sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat rolled out on the sand. Wearing a straw hat wide enough to shade his entire body, he tucks his legs in to avoid getting burned. Gamet, a rare and coveted variety of seaweed local to the coasts of the Philippines’ Ilocos Norte province, is both a staple to fishing communities and a popular souvenir for travelers. But harvesting the highly sought-after seaweed can be a dangerous task. Like the better-known nori, it belongs to the Bangiaceae family of red algae and grows exclusively on the sharp, pointed rocks along the cooler waters of the northern Philippine coast. At the other end of the beach, Ed Singson, leader of the local fishing association, has just come ashore with a bucket of fresh gamet. Taking a handful of seaweed from his bucket, he says, “We will protest on the seas for this if we have to.” Singson, 55, and his fellow fisherfolk have learned from local authorities about plans by a foreign company to build a vast stretch of offshore wind turbines on traditional fishing grounds. They say they fear the construction, vibrations and, eventually, the completed structures could disrupt their fishing routes and local marine life. A fisher in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, flattens a sheet of Gamet to dry on the beach. Image by Michael Beltran for Mongabay. ‘Renewable energy capital’ Ilocos Norte, the northwestern tip of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>19,000 Great Pyramids a year: Report flags unsustainable rate of sand mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 17:33:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18095047/WWF-Viet-Nam_Sand-Extraction-Mekong-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319631</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Coastal Ecosystems, Dredging, Environment, Erosion, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater Ecosystems, Governance, Infrastructure, Mining, Rivers, Supply Chain, and Tropical Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sand is the most widely extracted solid material on Earth. The global sand mining industry removes roughly 50 billion metric tons of it a year, a pace that far outstrips the planet’s natural replenishment rates, according to a new report from the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). Excessive sand extraction from landscapes, rivers and coastal zones [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sand is the most widely extracted solid material on Earth. The global sand mining industry removes roughly 50 billion metric tons of it a year, a pace that far outstrips the planet’s natural replenishment rates, according to a new report from the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). Excessive sand extraction from landscapes, rivers and coastal zones threatens ecosystems, livelihoods and many processes on which life depends, the report says. Yet the current pace of removal — enough to build more than 19,000 Great Pyramids of Giza — is only set to grow, with demand for buildings alone expected to rise 45% by 2060. Without coordinated governance, stronger monitoring and long-term planning to mitigate the risks of surging global demand, the industry will continue operating at an unsustainable level, the authors say. The report, published by UNEP’s Global Resource Information Database Geneva (GRID-Geneva) team, calls on industry stakeholders to improve extraction practices to use sand more wisely by balancing meeting demand with environmental protection. Sand is used to make concrete to build everything from homes and offices to roads and seawalls. It’s also used to manufacture glass and silicon-based components like electronic chips and solar panels. “Sand is sometimes referred as the unrecognized hero of development,” Pascal Peduzzi, director of UNEP’s GRID-Geneva program, said in a press release. However, its role in sustaining biodiversity and coastal communities already vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change is too often overlooked, he added. “Sand is our first line of defence against sea level rise,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s plan to release blackbucks into tiger country raises red flags</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 12:58:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bibek Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18120817/Blackbuck_in_Tal_Chhapar_Sanctuary_November_2025_by_Tisha_Mukherjee_07-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319637</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Predators, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal is preparing to relocate blackbucks from protected areas in the country’s west to the south-central lowlands, in an effort to expand the species’ population beyond its current range. But conservationists have raised questions about the suitability of the new site, including the increased risk of predation. Under the plan, the Department of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal is preparing to relocate blackbucks from protected areas in the country’s west to the south-central lowlands, in an effort to expand the species’ population beyond its current range. But conservationists have raised questions about the suitability of the new site, including the increased risk of predation. Under the plan, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) will release 18 blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) in Tikauli, a corridor forest area near Chitwan National Park. The animals, six males and 12 females, will be translocated from Shuklaphanta National Park and Blackbuck Conservation Area, located in Nepal’s far-western and southwestern regions, respectively. “We will be translocating them as soon as possible,” said Haribhadra Acharya, senior ecologist at DNPWC who has planned the translocation for nearly five years now. “It will be a mix of young and subadult individuals. The main objective of this translocation is to revive the blackbuck population in a different geographic location and habitat area, so if they’re impacted by disease or disaster in one area, there will be an alternate secure population.” Blackbucks are an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent, and were once widely distributed across the region. Today, India has the largest population of blackbucks, while the species occurs in small, fragmented pockets in Nepal, considered the northernmost extent of its range. Although the species as a whole isn’t considered in danger of extinction on the IUCN Red List, within Nepal it’s classified as critically endangered, and in Bangladesh and Pakistan has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>War on Iran may threaten conservation of the world&#8217;s rarest big cat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/war-on-iran-may-threaten-conservation-of-the-worlds-rarest-big-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/war-on-iran-may-threaten-conservation-of-the-worlds-rarest-big-cat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 08:54:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18085249/Picture1-e1779094418521.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319628</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, War, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Asiatic cheetah, the world’s most endangered big cat, faces an increasingly precarious future as ongoing conflict in Iran disrupts critical conservation efforts, reports Mongabay contributor Kayleigh Long. Once ranging from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the cheetah subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is now confined to just 16% of its former territory, with fewer than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Asiatic cheetah, the world’s most endangered big cat, faces an increasingly precarious future as ongoing conflict in Iran disrupts critical conservation efforts, reports Mongabay contributor Kayleigh Long. Once ranging from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the cheetah subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is now confined to just 16% of its former territory, with fewer than 30 individuals estimated to remain in the wild in Iran. Before the war began in February 2026, conservationists observed a rare sign of hope: a female cheetah named Helia was filmed in North Khorasan province with five cubs, the largest litter ever recorded for the subspecies. Bagher Nezami, national director of the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, told Iranian media that these were &#8220;ID-carded&#8221; individuals being monitored by researchers. However,  access to protected areas for nongovernmental groups has now &#8220;slowed down considerably,&#8221; interrupting long-term monitoring and camera trapping, a local conservationist told Mongabay, speaking on condition of anonymity. There are also fears that conservation vehicles could be misidentified as military targets in the remote desert landscapes where the cheetahs live. Sarah Durant, a research scientist at the Zoological Society of London, emphasized the protection of field scientists, park rangers, and Indigenous peoples during armed conflict is “a matter of urgent international concern.” Beyond the direct impact of combat, Western sanctions on Iran have also taken a toll. “Critical activities such as monitoring, law enforcement and the development of wildlife-friendly infrastructure have declined,” the authors of a 2025 study wrote. “These limitations have contributed to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/war-on-iran-may-threaten-conservation-of-the-worlds-rarest-big-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>More than a million live birds imported to Asia in 15 years, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/more-than-a-million-live-birds-imported-to-asia-in-15-years-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/more-than-a-million-live-birds-imported-to-asia-in-15-years-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 05:16:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/18051500/Canary-e1779081343300-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319620</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Hong Kong, and Singapore]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Health, Infectious Wildlife Disease, Invasive Species, Nature And Health, Parrots, Pet Trade, Public Health, Regulations, Wildlife, Wildlife Crime, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hong Kong and Singapore imported more than 1 million live wild birds between 2006 and 2020, according to a new analysis of customs data published in Conservation Biology. Nearly two-thirds of the birds were from Africa. The study highlights a massive, often under-regulated trade that threatens wild populations and poses significant risks for the spread [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hong Kong and Singapore imported more than 1 million live wild birds between 2006 and 2020, according to a new analysis of customs data published in Conservation Biology. Nearly two-thirds of the birds were from Africa. The study highlights a massive, often under-regulated trade that threatens wild populations and poses significant risks for the spread of invasive species and deadly diseases, Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman reports. Rowan Martin, director of bird trade at the World Parrot Trust, and his colleagues used U.N. Comtrade data to track the trade of wild birds. They found that Singapore accounted for nearly three-quarters of the imports, and Hong Kong was a second hub. Canaries (Crithagra spp.) topped the list of birds entering Hong Kong, with the yellow-fronted canary (C. mozambica) and white-rumped seedeater (C. leucopygia) making up 84% of African imports between 2015 and 2020. Martin’s team found that about 65% of the birds came from Africa. Mali, Guinea, Tanzania, and Mozambique were the primary exporters. “African birds are prominent because there’s been very little regulation of the exports,” Martin told Mongabay. “There are relatively few large-scale exporters operating in West Africa, and often these family businesses have big holding facilities where they aggregate birds prior to export.” Martin and his colleagues found bird imports to Hong Kong and Singapore increased after 2006. He credits this to rising middle-class wealth in Asia, more flight connectivity, and social media, which facilitates connections between exporters and buyers. Simon Bruslund, a bird trade researcher from the Copenhagen Zoo&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/more-than-a-million-live-birds-imported-to-asia-in-15-years-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In Thailand, burned sugarcane plantations become traps for leopard cat cubs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 19:43:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15134718/rescued-leopard-cat-6-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319496</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Farming, Fires, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Plantations, Regulations, Small Cats, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nuntita Ruksachat, head veterinarian at the Khon Kaen wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand, holds up a feline cub no larger than her hand. Part of a litter rescued just days ago, the cub’s fur is patchy, revealing blistered skin underneath. Its whiskers, clearly singed, are short and stubby. “They were rescued from a burned [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Nuntita Ruksachat, head veterinarian at the Khon Kaen wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand, holds up a feline cub no larger than her hand. Part of a litter rescued just days ago, the cub’s fur is patchy, revealing blistered skin underneath. Its whiskers, clearly singed, are short and stubby. “They were rescued from a burned sugarcane plantation,” she says. Behind her, cats pace inside rows of cages. More than 50 leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) cubs are currently housed at the rescue center, which is run by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s (DNP). The youngest are kept in cages, while older ones have been moved to larger enclosures. Leopard cats are small wild felines found across much of Asia, from Afghanistan to South Korea. Roughly the size of domestic cats, their bodies are slightly leaner, and their fur is marked with black spots and stripes. The leopard cat is a highly adaptable species, and as forests have shrunk across its range, it has learnt to live in human-dominated landscapes. In Thailand&#8217;s northeast, sugarcane plantations provide leopard cat mothers and their litters with shelter and prey. But every crop burning season — the period between December and April, when farmers in Thailand typically burn their fields — those same plantations can turn lethal. The rescue center receives a steady influx of leopard cat cubs from across the northeast. Most are found alone and weak on plantations or in nearby forests, some with scorched fur and whiskers. Rows of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-thailand-burned-sugarcane-plantations-become-traps-for-leopard-cat-cubs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Endangered Persian leopards persist across borders, despite hunters and landmines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 16:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15145758/captive-leopard-cat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319523</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Asia, and Georgia (Country)]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Leopards, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, War, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Corridors, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to &#8220;just watch.&#8221; For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but told his friend to &#8220;just watch.&#8221; For several moments, Lortkipanidze saw nothing remarkable — just nighttime footage of a high fence topped with razor wire. Then a leopard entered the frame. Lortkipanidze, who heads the Georgian conservation NGO NACRES, was stunned: It was just the third sighting of a Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) in the south Caucasus nation in 20 years. The footage wasn&#8217;t from a wildlife camera trap. It came from a standard CCTV camera that surveilled the perimeter of a new breeding enclosure for endangered Caucasian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral) in Algeti National Park, situated an hour west of Tbilisi. The video quickly circulated around the conservation community. Vazha Kochiashvili, a biologist with WWF Caucasus, saw it: It was sent to him by the man tasked with checking the deer enclosure footage for Georgia&#8217;s National Agency of Wildlife, Sergo Tabagari, who called him immediately after he saw the cat while reviewing footage. Kochiashvili said he had a hunch and asked his friend: &#8220;Does the leopard have three legs?&#8221; It did. The male leopard’s name is Aren and, over the last few years, he’s roamed across at least two international borders. Persian leopards once traversed a vast territory that lies between Russia, the Middle East and the Caspian and Black seas. They’re wide-ranging animals, and Aren’s journey underscores the myriad&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/endangered-persian-leopards-persist-across-borders-despite-hunters-and-landmines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Illegal wildlife trade in Himalayan countries threaten mountain ecosystem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 05:34:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15053405/Pangolin_scale_and_claw_worn_as_talisman_-_oo_246940_cropped_to_D-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Endangered Species, and Environmental Crime]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Illegal wildlife trade across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region has more than doubled since 2019, according to a January 2026 study. This surge in trafficking, which targets species of carnivores, elephants, and pangolins, poses a significant threat to the fragile mountain ecosystem and the 1.8 billion people who depend on its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Illegal wildlife trade across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region has more than doubled since 2019, according to a January 2026 study. This surge in trafficking, which targets species of carnivores, elephants, and pangolins, poses a significant threat to the fragile mountain ecosystem and the 1.8 billion people who depend on its biodiversity, reports contributor Vandana K. for Mongabay India. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), which hosts four global biodiversity hotspots, spans roughly 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) across eight countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. For this region, the researchers analyzed wildlife trade and seizure data from 2001-2020 and found that India and China recorded thousands of seizure incidents, with animals trafficked for live trade, body parts, and traditional medicine. The volume of illegal wildlife trade more than doubled from 2019, compared to previous years. The study noted researchers linked the increase in wildlife trade between 2019 and 2021 to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns led to reduced surveillance and law enforcement, while economic hardships and disrupted food chains pushed low-income communities toward poaching. India reported a 151% increase in poaching during the pandemic, with rises also noted in Nepal and Bangladesh. The illegal trade is driven by consumer demand for exotic pets and wildlife products for luxury fashion and traditional medicine. To meet this demand, a large variety of species and their parts became part of cross-border trade, the study said. “The illegal goods were taken through porous borders and also high mountain&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/illegal-wildlife-trade-in-himalayan-countries-threaten-mountain-ecosystem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Solar brings power to women entrepreneurs in Borneo, but rural energy inequality remains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 10:36:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yuda Almerio]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14100334/solar-panels-and-cacti-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319421</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Policy, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Gender and Conservation, Governance, Government, Green Energy, Just Transition, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KUTAI KARTANEGARA, Indonesia — Asniah recalls nights lying in darkness listening to cicadas and the passing hum of outboard motors after her family moved to Muara Enggelam in the 1990s, an over-the-water village in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, cut off from basic services. Around the turn of the century, a handful of homes in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KUTAI KARTANEGARA, Indonesia — Asniah recalls nights lying in darkness listening to cicadas and the passing hum of outboard motors after her family moved to Muara Enggelam in the 1990s, an over-the-water village in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, cut off from basic services. Around the turn of the century, a handful of homes in Muara Enggelam acquired diesel generators, bringing electric lighting for the first time to the timber stilt houses that still line the last mile of the river where the Enggelam meets Borneo’s Lake Melintang. The Kutai Kartanegara district government here later expanded this basic electrification program, but residents paid several times more for power than a grid-connected urban household. Moreover, the generators ran only from dusk to dawn and would frequently break down, plunging Muara Enggelam back into the void Asniah recalled on moving here three decades earlier as a child. “We were just grateful — things had been harder before,” Asniah, a mother of three now in her early 40s, told Mongabay Indonesia at her home. “Even though there was 24-hour electricity in the city at the time,” she added. Stable energy access provides greater scope for women to develop businesses and contribute to the family economy. Image by Yuda Almerio/Mongabay Indonesia Remote work Uneven access to electricity has abetted inequality in what is now Indonesia ever since Dutch colonialists introduced captive coal plants in the 19th century to power their plantation operations. Indonesia’s Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, records the wealth gap between&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In Nepal&#8217;s capital, invasive flora crowd out native species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-nepals-capital-invasive-flora-crowd-out-native-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-nepals-capital-invasive-flora-crowd-out-native-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 10:02:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14100119/lantana-in-kathmandu-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319424</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Crisis, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Habitat Degradation, Invasive Species, Plants, Research, urban ecology, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Native plants are rapidly declining in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, replaced by invasive species historically introduced for ornamental and urban greening purposes, reports Mongabay contributor Bibek Bhandari. Botanist Bharat Babu Shrestha said he has observed traditional medicinal plants like the Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica) slowly vanish from Kathmandu over the past decades, displaced by dense, flowering [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Native plants are rapidly declining in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, replaced by invasive species historically introduced for ornamental and urban greening purposes, reports Mongabay contributor Bibek Bhandari. Botanist Bharat Babu Shrestha said he has observed traditional medicinal plants like the Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica) slowly vanish from Kathmandu over the past decades, displaced by dense, flowering shrubs of Crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora), native to Central and South America. “There has been no qualitative assessment in Kathmandu, but our observations show that our native vegetation has been dominated and displaced by many invasive species,” said Shrestha, a botany professor at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He added that research in Nepal’s national parks suggests these invasive species can reduce native species by nearly half, a trend being mirrored in the country’s capital. According to experts, dominant invasive species in the city include Crofton weed, common lantana (Lantana camara), Santa Maria feverfew (parthenium weed, Parthenium hysterophorus) and blue billy goat weed (Ageratum houstonianum). A 2024 study found that 48% of observed plant species in the Sanobharyang region, close to protected areas and community forests, were non-native. Similarly, researcher Ronish Pandey, who submitted his master’s thesis on Kathmandu’s plant species composition to Tribhuvan University last year, found that more than half of the 437 species he surveyed in the capital&#8217;s green spaces were exotic; 21% of those naturalized species categorized as invasive. Krishna Prasad Sharma, the 2024 study’s co-author and an assistant professor at Tribhuvan University, said that some non-native species are less harmful, such as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/in-nepals-capital-invasive-flora-crowd-out-native-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>In eastern Indonesia, communities revive customary systems to protect the seas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-eastern-indonesia-communities-revive-customary-systems-to-protect-the-seas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-eastern-indonesia-communities-revive-customary-systems-to-protect-the-seas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 11:19:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13111549/Memanen-kepiting-di-hutan-mangrove-Desa-Ambelang-Banggai-Kepulauankredit_-Arise-IndonesiaJPG-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319302</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, South Sulawesi, Southeast Asia, Southeast Sulawesi, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecological Restoration, Ecosystem Restoration, Fish, Fish Farming, Indigenous Communities, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Landscape Restoration, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Conservation, Marine Ecosystems, Rehabilitation, and Restoration]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — On small islands across eastern Indonesia, coastal communities are reviving customary rules, seasonal fishing closures, turtle protection and mangrove stewardship to protect marine ecosystems threatened by blast fishing, turtle hunting and habitat loss. Their efforts are the focus of Jejak Wallacea, a new documentary produced by Burung Indonesia and Arise! Indonesia as part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — On small islands across eastern Indonesia, coastal communities are reviving customary rules, seasonal fishing closures, turtle protection and mangrove stewardship to protect marine ecosystems threatened by blast fishing, turtle hunting and habitat loss. Their efforts are the focus of Jejak Wallacea, a new documentary produced by Burung Indonesia and Arise! Indonesia as part of the Wallacea Partnership Program II, a conservation initiative supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The film follows communities in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi that use locally rooted systems to manage coastal ecosystems. These include customary sanctions, community patrols, octopus fishing closures, coral reef restoration, turtle hatcheries and mangrove-based livelihoods. For Burung Indonesia, the local affiliate of BirdLife International, the film is also an attempt to show that conservation in the eastern Indonesian islands that make up the Wallacea region, one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity regions, cannot depend only on formal protected areas or top-down enforcement. “The Wallacea Partnership Program is essentially aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society in site-level conservation,” said Angga Yoga, a terrestrial program specialist at Burung Indonesia. “That’s why the NGOs are not very visible in the film, because the communities themselves are the ones we empower.” Angga contrasted the approach with more exclusionary conservation models, saying the initiatives featured in the film were designed by communities themselves through customary systems rather than imposed mainly through prohibitions. “Instead, it works through customary systems, meaning the communities themselves&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/in-eastern-indonesia-communities-revive-customary-systems-to-protect-the-seas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Sawfish in Sri Lanka may be &#8216;functionally extinct,&#8217; but refuges remain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/sawfish-in-sri-lanka-may-be-functionally-extinct-but-refuges-remain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/sawfish-in-sri-lanka-may-be-functionally-extinct-but-refuges-remain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 10:24:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13102411/Pristis_pristis_-_Georgia_Aquarium_Jan_2006-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319301</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bioacoustics and conservation, Biodiversity, Environment, Green, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Destruction, Habitat Loss, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Research, Sharks And Rays, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The sawfish, recognizable by its distinctive saw-shaped snout or rostrum, is now thought to be “functionally extinct” in Sri Lankan waters. This, researchers say, means that while a few individuals may still exist, their numbers are likely too low to maintain a viable breeding population, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. In a 2021 study, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The sawfish, recognizable by its distinctive saw-shaped snout or rostrum, is now thought to be “functionally extinct” in Sri Lankan waters. This, researchers say, means that while a few individuals may still exist, their numbers are likely too low to maintain a viable breeding population, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. In a 2021 study, researchers from the Colombo-based nonprofit Blue Resources Trust (BRT), interviewed 300 fishers across 21 harbors to assess the status of the species. The results showed a stark generational gap. While fishers over the age of 50 remembered sawfish as once abundant, none of the fishers under the age of 30 could even identify the animal from photographs, Akshay Tanna with the BRT told Mongabay. He added that roughly half of the older fishers who had seen one had not encountered a sawfish since 1992. The last confirmed record of a sawfish in Sri Lanka, the researchers found, was a chance encounter in 2017 off the eastern coast, when a fisher had photographed the animal and framed its picture. Marine biologist and study co-author Sahan Thilakaratna said three of five species of sawfish have historically been recorded in Sri Lankan waters: the narrow sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata), the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) and the green sawfish (P. zijsron). All are currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Globally, their decline is driven by overfishing, habitat loss and bycatch. The sawfish&#8217;s rostrum, which it uses as a sensory organ and weapon to hunt, easily becomes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/sawfish-in-sri-lanka-may-be-functionally-extinct-but-refuges-remain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Wetland destruction blamed for rise in croc attacks on Indonesia’s Bangka Island</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wetland-destruction-blamed-for-rise-in-croc-attacks-on-indonesias-bangka-island/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wetland-destruction-blamed-for-rise-in-croc-attacks-on-indonesias-bangka-island/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 02:46:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13024557/Hampir-semua-wilayah-lahan-basah-di-Kepulauan-Bangka-Belitung-terjadi-konflik-manusia-dengan-buaya-muara.--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=319293</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Illegal Mining, Mining, Plantations, Pollution, Reptiles, Wetlands, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The destruction of coastal wetlands for illegal tin mining and oil palm plantations is to blame for a surge in crocodile attacks on people on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, residents say. Mongabay Indonesia contributor Taufik Wijaya reported that in February this year, a 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Menduk [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The destruction of coastal wetlands for illegal tin mining and oil palm plantations is to blame for a surge in crocodile attacks on people on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, residents say. Mongabay Indonesia contributor Taufik Wijaya reported that in February this year, a 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Menduk River. He was possibly the 21st victim of a crocodile attack in the last five years on Bangka Island, according to local wildlife charity the Alobi Foundation. The attacks have also resulted in 12 crocodiles being killed and dozens of humans and crocs injured during the same period. People have lived in the wetlands of the Menduk River estuary since the 7th century, but the recent rise in crocodile attacks has been attributed to the region’s changing landscape. Approximately 1,000 hectares (around 2,500 acres) of oil palm plantations and 250 illegal tin mining sites have taken over the Menduk wetlands, according to Suhadi, a resident of Menduk village and the manager of a community group established by Indonesia’s largest environmental NGO, Walhi. Bangka and neighboring Belitung Island were once responsible for more than a quarter of global tin production. Much of the environmental degradation is a legacy of that tin mining, researchers say, including possible illegal mining that became the focus of a massive recent corruption scandal. As the wetlands are destroyed, crocodiles are forced to migrate to new territories, leading to increased aggression and territorial disputes, said Endi R. Yusuf, manager of the Alobi&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wetland-destruction-blamed-for-rise-in-croc-attacks-on-indonesias-bangka-island/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/wetland-destruction-blamed-for-rise-in-croc-attacks-on-indonesias-bangka-island/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>New study explores how reforestation could help Java&#8217;s leopards survive</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 01:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/19054541/Foto-CI-Perhutani-YOJ-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319188</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Java, East Java, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Development, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Infrastructure, Leopards, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reforestation done right could be key to helping rebuild habitat connectivity for Javan leopards on an island with one of the highest human densities on Earth, a new study says. It frames strategic forest restoration — linking up fragmented patches of forest to create contiguous corridors — as offering a rare pathway to balance rapid [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Reforestation done right could be key to helping rebuild habitat connectivity for Javan leopards on an island with one of the highest human densities on Earth, a new study says. It frames strategic forest restoration — linking up fragmented patches of forest to create contiguous corridors — as offering a rare pathway to balance rapid infrastructure expansion with the conservation of the endangered big cat. “And to implement this, strong commitment from various stakeholders is needed, given Java’s highly fragmented landscape; this will undoubtedly be a significant challenge,” study lead author Andhika C. Ariyanto, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, told Mongabay by email. Camera-trap image of a Javan leopard on Mount Sanggabuana, West Java province. Image courtesy of Sanggabuana Wildlife Ranger. The study is the first to produce an islandwide model of habitat connectivity for the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas), offering conservationists a new tool to identify which forest corridors should be protected and restored as infrastructure development expands across Java, Andhika said. By comparing the impact of new roads and railways with a scenario in which degraded forests were restored, Andhika and his colleagues found that replanting trees in key areas could help reconnect fragmented habitats throughout Java and give wildlife, including leopards, more room to move and survive. They looked at key forest areas used by leopards across Java, an island half the size of the U.S. state of Texas with five times its population. This high human population density has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/new-study-explores-how-reforestation-could-help-javas-leopards-survive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>How grape farmers are restoring Armenia’s wine heritage while safeguarding ecosystems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2026 20:29:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kushane Chobanyan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/08140224/ZET_3113-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319015</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Armenia and Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Climate Change, Climate Change And Food, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Food, Food Industry, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[AGHAVNADZOR, Armenia — It’s 6 a.m. as the rising sun illuminates apricot-colored cliffs in central Armenia. It’s so still that even the distant buzz of a bee can be heard. Coca-Cola bottles filled with homemade wine for sale line the narrow road leading to acres of grapes growing quietly in an unusual vineyard. At 1,300 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[AGHAVNADZOR, Armenia — It’s 6 a.m. as the rising sun illuminates apricot-colored cliffs in central Armenia. It’s so still that even the distant buzz of a bee can be heard. Coca-Cola bottles filled with homemade wine for sale line the narrow road leading to acres of grapes growing quietly in an unusual vineyard. At 1,300 meters (about 4,300 feet) above sea level, Trinity Canyon Vineyards seems like it’s flirting with the sun. Located in Vayots Dzor province, where winters are bitterly cold and summers hot, Trinity Canyon and other vineyards use “vertical viticulture” to grow grapes among the mountains. Unlike many other wine-producing countries, where vineyards are cultivated horizontally on more level ground, in Armenia vineyards rise from 1,100-1,600 m (3,600-5,250 feet), with elevation affecting climate, soil and harvest timing. With the country’s rocky terrain, even terracing is difficult. “As a result, most Armenian vineyards, including those in Vayots Dzor, are planted on [natural] plateaus — flat elevated areas that allow the vines to thrive despite the challenging terrain,” Artem Parseghyan, the head winemaker at Trinity Canyon, tells Mongabay. Parseghyan spends his life on the road, driving between Yerevan, the capital, and Vayots Dzor. Born and raised in Russia, Parseghyan studied viticulture and enology (the science of winemaking) in France and Germany. In 2013, when Trinity Canyon was established, Parseghyan came to Armenia to work at what was then one of the country’s few vineyards. Vineyards in Vayots Dzor, the heartland of Armenian wine. Image courtesy of the Vine and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-grape-farmers-are-restoring-armenias-wine-heritage-while-safeguarding-ecosystems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Can Bangladesh’s new law save its natural wetlands?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2026 12:27:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/12122216/fishing-in-haor-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319221</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Freshwater Ecosystems, Governance, Government, Lakes, Law, Regulations, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On April 7, the Bangladesh Parliament unanimously passed the Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act, 2026, which strictly prohibits encroachment of, unauthorized mining of minerals from, poisoning of, and electrocuting aquatic life in natural wetlands such as haors, baors and beels. It also prohibits construction of structures that could obstruct natural water flow to the wetlands. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[On April 7, the Bangladesh Parliament unanimously passed the Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act, 2026, which strictly prohibits encroachment of, unauthorized mining of minerals from, poisoning of, and electrocuting aquatic life in natural wetlands such as haors, baors and beels. It also prohibits construction of structures that could obstruct natural water flow to the wetlands. According to the new law, these acts will be considered cognizable and non-bailable offences. The Bangladesh Water Act of 2013 defines a haor as any large saucer-shaped shallow natural depression between two separate rivers, a baor as an oxbow-shaped natural lake, and a beel as a natural low-lying land that gets inundated in the monsoon and either remains submerged year-round or dries up for a certain period of the year. Bangladesh has an estimated 373 haors and some 6,300 beels in the northeastern and eastern districts of Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Netrokona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria, covering 1.99 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of area. The five central-western districts have 23 baors of varying sizes ranging between 4 and 89 hectares (10 and 220 acres). The new law strictly prohibits mining minerals from and destruction of haors and wetlands. Image by Sadiqur Rahman for Mongabay. To conserve the biodiversity of the natural wetlands across the country, the government had formed the Haor Development Board (HDB) in 1977. The board was mandated to bring the wetlands under integrated management with the development of infrastructures, irrigation and flood control systems for fisheries and agriculture. Later, in 2016, the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/can-bangladeshs-new-law-save-its-natural-wetlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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