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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?location=ghana&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/ghana/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:55:47 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Ghana environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/ghana/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Ghana&#8217;s High Court sentences politician to 20 years in illegal mining case</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ghanas-high-court-sentences-politician-to-20-years-in-illegal-mining-case/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ghanas-high-court-sentences-politician-to-20-years-in-illegal-mining-case/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 09:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mabel Adorkor Annang]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/24115325/Mining_SamreboiGhana_ErastusDonkor-1000774021-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324461</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Law, forest degradation, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Law, Mining, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ACCRA — In a landmark ruling, the Accra High Court has sentenced Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a regional chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party, to 20 years in prison for facilitating unlicensed mining in the Samreboi concession. The concession is in Ghana’s Western Region, in the Upper Guinean Forest Belt that extends across the subregion [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ACCRA — In a landmark ruling, the Accra High Court has sentenced Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a regional chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party, to 20 years in prison for facilitating unlicensed mining in the Samreboi concession. The concession is in Ghana’s Western Region, in the Upper Guinean Forest Belt that extends across the subregion from Togo and Ghana in the east to Guinea in the west. The concession is set in the remains of the belt’s tropical rainforest. While large parts of the landscape at Samreboi have been logged and converted to cocoa plantations or other farmland in recent decades, significant tracts of natural forest remain, including the nearby Tano Nimiri and Aboi forest reserves. In recent years, the area has been massively degraded by illegal mining, known locally as &#8220;galamsey,&#8221; damaging remaining wildlife habitat, destroying farmland, and altering natural drainage patterns. This has left a landscape deeply scarred by abandoned pits. During heavy rainfall in June, the Tano River burst its banks and submerged more than 200 houses in Samreboi and neighboring communities, with some buildings collapsing entirely. While illegal mining dominates headlines, industrial mining is the leading cause of forest loss in Ghana — Africa’s biggest gold producer. This damage was exacerbated by legislation passed in 2022, allowing mining concessions to be granted even inside forest reserves, opening previously protected forests to exploitation. That legislation was repealed in 2025. Graphic by Mongabay. The NPP official’s conviction and sentencing, handed down on July 20, has prompted energetic public&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ghanas-high-court-sentences-politician-to-20-years-in-illegal-mining-case/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/ghanas-high-court-sentences-politician-to-20-years-in-illegal-mining-case/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324461</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>One scientist’s mission to save Ghana’s disappearing guitarfish</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/one-scientists-mission-to-save-ghanas-disappearing-guitarfish/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/one-scientists-mission-to-save-ghanas-disappearing-guitarfish/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 08:34:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/24082518/Blackchin-guitarfish-02-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324489</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Economics, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine Animals, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fishers from western and central Ghana are renowned in the region, traveling the length of the West African coastline to cast their nets in the richest fishing grounds. These migrant fishers, relying on beach and purse seining, dry their catch to preserve them for transport to distant markets. Fish is an important dietary component for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fishers from western and central Ghana are renowned in the region, traveling the length of the West African coastline to cast their nets in the richest fishing grounds. These migrant fishers, relying on beach and purse seining, dry their catch to preserve them for transport to distant markets. Fish is an important dietary component for West Africans, according to Ghanaian marine biologist Issah Seidu, but its availability is under threat. “There has been a tremendous decline in fish like the tunas, anchovies, mackerel,” he told Mongabay. “And in response, the fishermen have switched gears from the traditional fishing tools to now using gillnet to target these species as their last safety net to support their livelihood.” Issah Seidu with two colleagues from his NGO, Aqualife. Image courtesy of Issah Seidu. As well as bony fish, elasmobranches — like sharks and rays, whose skeletons are made of cartilage — are much sought after. Fifty years ago, sawfish and wedgefish were widely found in shallow water along Ghana’s coast; today, both groups of elasmobranches have been fished to local extinction. Seidu, the founder of a marine conservation NGO called AquaLife, said fishers he’s interviewed for his research say sawfish haven’t been seen in Ghanaian waters since the 1980s, and it’s now been more than eight years since wedgefish were last caught. He said guitarfish, a group of rays, could be next. “Guitarfish are at a tipping point,” Seidu told Mongabay in an interview in March, “owing to their lucrative and high-value white&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/one-scientists-mission-to-save-ghanas-disappearing-guitarfish/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/one-scientists-mission-to-save-ghanas-disappearing-guitarfish/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324489</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/with-its-first-marine-reserve-ghana-protects-its-ocean-to-secure-its-future-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/with-its-first-marine-reserve-ghana-protects-its-ocean-to-secure-its-future-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 May 2026 13:20:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Emelia Arthur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/01204718/OceanImageBank_LiamMcGuire_03-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318614</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Food, food security, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How we feed the future is a critical challenge of our time. Yet too often, the focus remains on land, forgetting that the ocean is already a vital source of nutrition for billions of people. That oversight is costly. The ocean is under growing pressure, with an estimated 60% of the world’s marine ecosystems already [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How we feed the future is a critical challenge of our time. Yet too often, the focus remains on land, forgetting that the ocean is already a vital source of nutrition for billions of people. That oversight is costly. The ocean is under growing pressure, with an estimated 60% of the world’s marine ecosystems already degraded or used unsustainably. This cannot continue. On April 14, Ghana put ocean protection on the map when the government officially declared the Greater Cape Three Points Marine Protected Area, our country’s first formally designated marine protected area (MPA). Covering 703.86 square kilometers (nearly 272 square miles) of coastal waters in the Western region, this landmark step will help restore precious marine ecosystems and protect the livelihoods of 21 coastal communities. It is a core element of Ghana’s vision for a “blue future” in which the ocean supports a diversified, sustainable economy. This is also a milestone in Ghana’s contribution to the global goal of protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30&#215;30). With just 10% of the ocean currently designated for protection — and far less being effectively protected — scaling up action worldwide has never been more urgent. Ghana is proud to be stepping forward, and we urge other countries to do the same. The Greater Cape Three Points area is one of Ghana’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments. Its nutrient-rich upwelling waters host critical breeding and nursery grounds for fish species including sardinella, anchovy and mackerel, making the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/with-its-first-marine-reserve-ghana-protects-its-ocean-to-secure-its-future-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/with-its-first-marine-reserve-ghana-protects-its-ocean-to-secure-its-future-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318614</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Ghana eyes lithium future, affected communities face uncertainty</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-ghana-eyes-lithium-future-affected-communities-face-uncertainty/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-ghana-eyes-lithium-future-affected-communities-face-uncertainty/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2026 06:55:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxine Betteridge-Moes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/28150512/Image-banniere-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318275</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Governance, Land Conflict, Law, Mining, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[EWOYAA, Ghana — In March, the Ghanaian parliament approved what could become the West African nation’s first lithium mine. Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa project sets the stage for Ghana to become a key supplier in the critical minerals supply chain, but some experts say the rights of communities impacted by the project are at risk. Ghana’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[EWOYAA, Ghana — In March, the Ghanaian parliament approved what could become the West African nation’s first lithium mine. Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa project sets the stage for Ghana to become a key supplier in the critical minerals supply chain, but some experts say the rights of communities impacted by the project are at risk. Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources granted the mining lease to Barari DV Ghana, a subsidiary of Australia’s Atlantic Lithium, in October 2023, following the discovery of lithium deposits in and around the village of Ewoyaa in Ghana’s Central region. The lease, situated about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the capital, Accra, provides the company with exclusive rights to mine lithium for an initial period of 15 years. In Ghana, like many countries across the world, mineral rights rest with the state, and deals granting foreign companies access to these resources must be ratified by parliament. The Ewoyaa mine is expected to produce an estimated 3.6 million metric tons of spodumene concentrate, a mineral rich in lithium, over 12 years. The lithium will then be exported to the U.S. and further refined for use in electric vehicle batteries. At least 50% of the spodumene concentrate has already been committed to North American producer Elevra Lithium, which supplies Tesla. According to Ghanaian NGO Friends of the Nation (FON), only 1% of the project’s gross revenues are earmarked for local development initiatives. A water treatment plant donated by Atlantic Lithium. The company has already made some&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-ghana-eyes-lithium-future-affected-communities-face-uncertainty/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-ghana-eyes-lithium-future-affected-communities-face-uncertainty/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318275</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Successful campaign proves Ghana’s forests are worth more than gold (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/successful-campaign-proves-ghanas-forests-are-worth-more-than-gold-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/successful-campaign-proves-ghanas-forests-are-worth-more-than-gold-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Feb 2026 16:19:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Daryl Bosu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/28075346/2_destoyed-trees-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313794</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mining, Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On Dec. 10, 2025, Ghana’s government revoked one of the worst pieces of environmental legislation in our country’s history. The Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations passed in 2022 opened up nearly 90% of Ghana’s forest reserves, including globally significant biodiversity areas, to mining. These forests, which cover more than 9 million hectares (22 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On Dec. 10, 2025, Ghana’s government revoked one of the worst pieces of environmental legislation in our country’s history. The Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations passed in 2022 opened up nearly 90% of Ghana’s forest reserves, including globally significant biodiversity areas, to mining. These forests, which cover more than 9 million hectares (22 million acres), are crucial for providing water, managing microclimates and supporting forest-dependent communities. Ghana’s leading cause of forest loss is industrial mining, and the country — Africa’s biggest gold producer — is among the top three in the world for direct mining-related deforestation. The 2022 legislation compounded the problem, with the government doling out mining permits at a record pace and watching on as forests were besieged by illegal miners. The decision to therefore ban mining in Ghana’s forest reserves marked a significant achievement. This success was built on a campaign that galvanized a remarkably broad coalition, including civil society, faith institutions, trade unions and the general public. Together, we rallied behind the idea that our forests are more important to us than gold. But as momentous as repealing the legislation is, it’s only a staging post in a longer journey to end the devastation that mining is inflicting in Ghana. Unprecedented attack Much of this destruction is associated with galamsey, the illegal small-scale mining that has long blighted our country, but that takes place mostly outside forest reserves. Before 2022, these reserves were largely protected by the law, although incursions by illegal operators were&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/successful-campaign-proves-ghanas-forests-are-worth-more-than-gold-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/successful-campaign-proves-ghanas-forests-are-worth-more-than-gold-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313794</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A &#8216;new baseline&#8217;: Study captures accelerating sea-level rise in Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2026 20:35:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/30190306/5-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313548</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, data, El Nino, Environment, Erosion, Flooding, Freshwater, Global Warming, Ice Shelves, Oceans, Sea Levels, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study. The study, published Dec. 15 in the journal Communications Earth &#38; Environment, found that sea levels across the continent have risen four times faster since 2010, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study. The study, published Dec. 15 in the journal Communications Earth &amp; Environment, found that sea levels across the continent have risen four times faster since 2010, on average, than they had in the 1990s. The primary reason was additional water mass from polar melt, rather than other phenomena that can cause sea-level rise, the authors found. “When you have ice-free summer [at high latitudes], it means that the water went somewhere,” Franck Ghomsi, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Manitoba in Canada and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. “The glacier moved from ice to water, and it [water] started migrating. And it is the tropics [that] are now … getting this outflow of water.” The impacts include flooding, erosion of coastal land, displacement of coastal communities and intrusion of salty seawater into freshwater drinking sources. People in Africa are responsible for only a tiny proportion of human-caused global warming and yet face severe effects from the resulting sea-level rise, said Ghomsi, who is from Cameroon, calling this a “climate injustice.” He said that emissions from countries in the Global North are having a “huge impact” on countries in the Global South, including in Africa. Monthly sea level for Africa from 1993-2023. Annual means are shown in red. Sea-level rise accelerated over the 31-year period, with the rate during&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/a-new-baseline-study-captures-accelerating-sea-level-rise-in-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313548</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ghana repeals legislation that opened forest reserves to mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/ghana-repeals-legislation-that-opened-forest-reserves-to-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/ghana-repeals-legislation-that-opened-forest-reserves-to-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jan 2026 17:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/08124729/AtewaFoothills_Ghana_Ahtziri--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312706</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Mining, Pollution, Protected Areas, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After facing sustained pushback from environmental groups, Ghana revoked a 2022 law that had empowered the president to allow mining in the country’s forest reserves. In December, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, introduced in Parliament the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Revocation Instrument, which nullified the powers vested in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After facing sustained pushback from environmental groups, Ghana revoked a 2022 law that had empowered the president to allow mining in the country’s forest reserves. In December, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, introduced in Parliament the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Revocation Instrument, which nullified the powers vested in the president by Legislative Instrument 2462, also known as L.I. 2462. L.I. 2462 amended earlier mining regulations, allowing mining activities in forest reserves. Environmental groups argued that the regulation undermined decades of forest protection policies and contradicted Ghana’s Forest Development Master Plan (2016-2036), which seeks to phase out mining in forest reserves by 2036. Speaking to the press, Minister Buah said the public outcry led the government to amend L.I. 2462. During his electoral campaign for Ghana’s 2024 general elections, then-opposition leader John Dramani Mahama promised to repeal L.I. 2462 if elected. He won and assumed office Jan. 7, 2025. “This clearly must send a message that this government is committed to basically ensuring that we continue to protect our pristine forest reserves and our environment,” Buah said. Destroyed trees inside the Apamprama reserve. Image by Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda. A coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) and public interest groups commended the government and Parliament for the rollback of L.I. 2462, describing the move as a major victory for forest protection and environmental governance. In a statement, the coalition noted that L.I. 2462 exposed Ghana’s forest reserves, including globally significant biodiversity areas, to serious&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/ghana-repeals-legislation-that-opened-forest-reserves-to-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312706</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The vanishing pharmacy: How climate change is reshaping traditional medicine</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/natures-vanishing-pharmacy-how-climate-change-is-reshaping-traditional-medicine/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/natures-vanishing-pharmacy-how-climate-change-is-reshaping-traditional-medicine/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Dec 2025 05:39:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/19060634/Yarsa-gunbu-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311312</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Ghana, Global, Himalayas, Panama, Philippines, Samoa, and Tibetan Plateau]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Green, Indigenous Peoples, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gyatso Bista remembers the sacks of kutki. As a child learning to become a healer in Nepal&#8217;s kingdom of Lo Manthang, Bista would watch as heaps of the bitter-tasting herb, prized for treating fever, coughs and liver problems, arrived on horseback from the surrounding mountains. Bista is one of the few remaining practitioners of Sowa [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gyatso Bista remembers the sacks of kutki. As a child learning to become a healer in Nepal&#8217;s kingdom of Lo Manthang, Bista would watch as heaps of the bitter-tasting herb, prized for treating fever, coughs and liver problems, arrived on horseback from the surrounding mountains. Bista is one of the few remaining practitioners of Sowa Rigpa, an ancient Tibetan healing system used for more than 2,500 years. He remembers harvests of up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of the high-altitude herb. But now, the kutki (Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora) has all but vanished. &#8220;Now you barely find 5 kilograms [11 pounds],&#8221; Bista said. What Bista has witnessed in his village reflects a global crisis. More than 80% of the world&#8217;s population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care. Yet across every inhabited continent, plants that form the backbone of traditional healing are in decline, pushed out by rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, deforestation and overharvesting. Meconopsis grandis, also known as the Himalayan blue poppy, is among many other species are gradually on the verge of extinction. Image by Conall via Flickr(CC BY 2.0). &#8220;For many common illnesses, these traditional remedies are really our first aid,&#8221; Mingay Dakias, a member of the Manobo-Dulangan Indigenous community in the southern Philippines, told Mongabay. &#8220;We usually rely on these treatments first.&#8221; A recent global review published in Frontiers in Pharmacology found that of 367 medicinal plant species studied over the past two decades, climate change has reduced suitable habitats for 106 species. Another 94 species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/natures-vanishing-pharmacy-how-climate-change-is-reshaping-traditional-medicine/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311312</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can two Amazons survive? Invisible e-waste is poisoning the world</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 21:18:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03083255/10-Abogbloshie-dump-in-Ghana-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310477</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Ghana, Global, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Consumption, E-waste, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Globalization, Health, Industry, Mining, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Pollution, Public Health, Recycling, Research, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“I live in Accra, Ghana,” says Isaac Dinwe, who works for Closing the Loop, a Dutch company that works with the electronics industry to increase global recycling. “The e-waste problem in my country is so huge we are unable to manage it. Most of our e-waste ends up in city centres. Informal workers extract what [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“I live in Accra, Ghana,” says Isaac Dinwe, who works for Closing the Loop, a Dutch company that works with the electronics industry to increase global recycling. “The e-waste problem in my country is so huge we are unable to manage it. Most of our e-waste ends up in city centres. Informal workers extract what they can sell and burn the rest. It causes a lot of pollution,” Dinwe writes in an email to Mongabay from the group. Dinwe is one of a handful of Ghanaians tackling a public health and environmental crisis brought on by the global consumer economy and a lack of legislation and infrastructure around the globe. Dinwe heads a team trained to properly handle e-waste and travels to repair shops, villages and churches to buy “dead” phones that would otherwise end up landfilled or burned. “We are careful not to pay too much, as we want the phones to be used right up to the end of their life,” explains Closing the Loop CEO Joost de Kluijver. Isaac Dinwe, a Ghanaian, heads a team of 16 people who buy &#8216;dead&#8217; phones cheaply from repair shops and elsewhere in Accra, Ghana, to prevent them from being tossed into landfills. But, despite the team&#8217;s work, a lot of e-waste ends up in waste dumps where scavengers extract salvageable bits, then burn the rest, causing pollution that threatens public health. Image courtesy of Closing the Loop. Closing the Loop has joined with phone makers and sellers in Europe to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/can-two-amazons-survive-invisible-e-waste-is-poisoning-the-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310477</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Ghana ships first ‘gold standard’ timber to EU, questions about FLEGT&#8217;s future remain (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-ghana-ships-first-gold-standard-timber-to-eu-questions-about-flegts-future-remain-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-ghana-ships-first-gold-standard-timber-to-eu-questions-about-flegts-future-remain-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2025 17:17:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fred Pearce]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/03154304/IMG_6803-Ghana-e1762189069257-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308741</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Europe, European Union, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Commentary, Forests, Governance, International Trade, Rainforests, Timber, Timber Laws, timber trade, Trade, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ghana has become the first African country to win fast-lane access to European Union markets for its timber. A trading license negotiated with the European Commission over 16 years means all logging in the West African country is now recognized as being untainted by illegality, and is carried out with the consent of nearby forest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ghana has become the first African country to win fast-lane access to European Union markets for its timber. A trading license negotiated with the European Commission over 16 years means all logging in the West African country is now recognized as being untainted by illegality, and is carried out with the consent of nearby forest communities, who are compensated in cash or in kind. Armed with the license, traders can sell Ghanaian timber into Europe without further checks on its legality, a landmark that will be recognized by a gathering of Ghanaian and European politicians, timber industry officials and others on Nov. 4 in Brussels. The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license — among a series of measures introduced by the EU more than 20 years ago to tackle the root causes of illegal logging — has widespread support from industry and civil society in Ghana, as do the national rules on forestry and timber tracking and trading that underpin it. Richard Nsenkyire, managing director of Samartex Timber and Plywood, one of Ghana’s leading timber exporters, says the license marks “the beginning of a new era in compliant international trade” for Ghana, which “will guarantee access to the EU market.” Yet there are fears that Ghana’s FLEGT license, the first in Africa and only the second in the world (after Indonesia), could also turn out to be the last — a victim, in part, of a political climate in which the EU appears to be retreating from many&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-ghana-ships-first-gold-standard-timber-to-eu-questions-about-flegts-future-remain-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-ghana-ships-first-gold-standard-timber-to-eu-questions-about-flegts-future-remain-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308741</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A fisheries observer disappeared at sea. His family still waits for answers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-fisheries-observer-disappeared-at-sea-his-family-still-waits-for-answers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-fisheries-observer-disappeared-at-sea-his-family-still-waits-for-answers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2025 12:35:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/31032406/Wife-looking-at-deceased-photo-scaled-1-2048x1366bw-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308626</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Fishing, and Green]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[He was sent to sea to watch others. To count the fish, record their fate, and make sure no one took more than they should. The job was meant to be routine: clipboard, samples, and a small bunk on a ship. Instead, it was perilous. Two years ago, somewhere off Ghana’s coast, the watcher disappeared. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[He was sent to sea to watch others. To count the fish, record their fate, and make sure no one took more than they should. The job was meant to be routine: clipboard, samples, and a small bunk on a ship. Instead, it was perilous. Two years ago, somewhere off Ghana’s coast, the watcher disappeared. He was last seen aboard the Marine 707, a Ghana-flagged tuna vessel owned by World Marine Company Ltd. The crew said he had been there the night before, sleeping upright in a chair. In the morning he was gone. Six weeks later, a body missing its head, forearms, and feet washed ashore near Anyamam, his home village. The family recognized the shirt and a scar on the chest. The police took the body and promised a DNA test. Since then, they have said nothing. The watcher’s name was Samuel Abayateye, 38, a father of two. He was a fisheries observer, one of a small group of civilians assigned by Ghana’s Fisheries Commission to monitor industrial vessels at sea. They are meant to serve as the state’s eyes. The work is isolated and often tense. Observers live among the crews they are meant to report on, sometimes for weeks. The greater danger is not the sea itself, but what happens when an observer witnesses something he should not ignore. His brother, Yohane Abayateye, told Mongabay contributor Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda that the family has received no formal updates from the police or any other agency. The results&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-fisheries-observer-disappeared-at-sea-his-family-still-waits-for-answers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-fisheries-observer-disappeared-at-sea-his-family-still-waits-for-answers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308626</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two years later, no closure for family of missing Ghanaian fisheries observer</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/two-years-later-no-closure-for-family-of-missing-ghanaian-fisheries-observer/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/two-years-later-no-closure-for-family-of-missing-ghanaian-fisheries-observer/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2025 08:11:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/28092855/samuel-a-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308358</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Law Enforcement, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two years after Samuel Abayateye went missing from a fishing boat he was tasked with monitoring, Ghanaian authorities are no closer to announcing what happened to him. They also still haven’t shared with his family the results of a DNA test from a body that washed up near the family home shortly after his disappearance. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two years after Samuel Abayateye went missing from a fishing boat he was tasked with monitoring, Ghanaian authorities are no closer to announcing what happened to him. They also still haven’t shared with his family the results of a DNA test from a body that washed up near the family home shortly after his disappearance. Abayateye’s family, along with Ghanaian NGO the Fisheries Alliance and other international organizations, have repeatedly asked the Ghanaian government for answers about Abayateye’s fate, to no avail. Mongabay reached out to the Ghanaian police for details about the case but didn’t receive a response. Abayateye, a father of two, was assigned to the Marine 707, a Ghana-flagged pole-and-line tuna-fishing vessel owned and operated by World Marine Company Ltd. The company, based in the fishing port of Tema, reported Abayateye missing from the boat on Oct. 30, 2023. &nbsp; A body missing its head, forearms and feet, which the family said closely resembled Abayateye, washed ashore close to the coastal settlement of Anyamam around six weeks later, according to Yohane Abayateye, a brother of the missing observer. The family hails from Anyamam. This led the police to open an investigation. A week after the body was found, the police asked Abayateye’s mother to provide a DNA sample to confirm the identity of the corpse, which she did. But the family’s attempts to get the DNA test results from the Ghana Police Service have proven futile, Yohane told Mongabay in an interview. With the help of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/two-years-later-no-closure-for-family-of-missing-ghanaian-fisheries-observer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/two-years-later-no-closure-for-family-of-missing-ghanaian-fisheries-observer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308358</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>EUDR implementation comes laden with potential unintended consequences</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/eudr-implementation-comes-laden-with-potential-unintended-consequences/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/eudr-implementation-comes-laden-with-potential-unintended-consequences/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2025 19:05:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/04150701/Image_7-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305415</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Brazil, Cerrado, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Global, Indonesia, South America, Southeast Asia, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroforestry, Cacao, Coffee, Conservation, Crops, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Farming, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Globalization, International Trade, Land Use Change, Palm Oil, Pasture, Politics, Regulations, Supply Chain, Timber, Timber Laws, timber trade, Trade, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Set to enter into force Dec. 30, 2025, the European Union’s deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR) aims to halt the bloc’s contribution to global forest loss. Experts Mongabay spoke to agree the EUDR promises to become a landmark legislative tool for curbing commodities supply chain-related deforestation at the international level. But those analysts also warn of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Set to enter into force Dec. 30, 2025, the European Union’s deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR) aims to halt the bloc’s contribution to global forest loss. Experts Mongabay spoke to agree the EUDR promises to become a landmark legislative tool for curbing commodities supply chain-related deforestation at the international level. But those analysts also warn of “unintended consequences” built into the law that could imperil the initiative’s objectives and effectiveness and in some cases raise the risk of further deforestation or land use change spreading to other ecosystems. Once it is implemented, the EUDR requires producers of a wide range of commodities — including cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood — prove their products are not being sourced from land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020. EUDR implementation was delayed in 2024 when transnational companies and commodity producing nations complained to the EU of being unprepared for the law. That hiatus raised widespread concerns the delay might be used for “watering down” the statute. But the postponement could also allow time for potential EUDR defects to be addressed. The Rainforest Alliance, for example, which has supported the law from its inception, “definitely saw the unintended consequences from the start,” says Fanny Gauttier, the NGO’s European public affairs lead. Prime among those unintended consequences, she says, is the possibility of the EUDR accidentally excluding many of the world’s smallholder farmers. Other experts point to the potential “leakage” of commodities once destined for EUDR nations being shipped to unregulated markets. Add&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/eudr-implementation-comes-laden-with-potential-unintended-consequences/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305415</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ghana passes landmark legislation to protect artisanal fisheries</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/ghana-passes-landmark-legislation-to-protect-artisanal-fisheries/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/ghana-passes-landmark-legislation-to-protect-artisanal-fisheries/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2025 16:02:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/22155235/e4b8a130-36d1-43db-b912-d0bfe225c51a-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304815</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Law Enforcement, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ghana has adopted a new fisheries act that introduces a series of regulations aimed at restoring severely depleted pelagic fish stocks and tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. “The new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act introduces bold reforms aimed at ensuring sustainability, compliance, and improved livelihood, especially among small-scale fishers,” Eric Baah, the spokesperson for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ghana has adopted a new fisheries act that introduces a series of regulations aimed at restoring severely depleted pelagic fish stocks and tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. “The new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act introduces bold reforms aimed at ensuring sustainability, compliance, and improved livelihood, especially among small-scale fishers,” Eric Baah, the spokesperson for the Ghanaian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, said in an official statement. The new act, signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama on Aug. 19, expands the country’s inshore exclusion zone (IEZ), strengthens enforcement mechanisms like mandatory electronic monitoring systems on industrial fishing vessels, and imposes higher penalties for those caught fishing illegally. The expansion of the IEZ from 6 to 12 nautical miles (11 to 22 kilometers) off the coast is the change most anticipated by people who are part of the small scale fisheries value chain; the government says it expects the exclusion of industrial fishing vessels from waters within the newly expanded IEZ will protect breeding grounds and reverse the near-collapse of pelagic fisheries and the livelihoods of about 120,000 artisanal fishers and food security. A fish vendor in Accra in 2017. Ghana’s fisheries minister, Emillia Arthur, says the country’s new fisheries act will protect people’s access to the affordable animal protein provided by artisanal fishers working close to shore. Image by Carsten Ten Brink via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Fish makes up more than 60 % of animal protein in Ghanaians’ diets, and dwindling stocks of small fish like sardinella,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/ghana-passes-landmark-legislation-to-protect-artisanal-fisheries/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/ghana-passes-landmark-legislation-to-protect-artisanal-fisheries/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304815</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Open burning of plastic is an escalating public health threat, say experts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/open-burning-of-plastic-is-an-escalating-public-health-threat-say-experts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/open-burning-of-plastic-is-an-escalating-public-health-threat-say-experts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2025 16:19:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/16132324/Image_9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302653</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Central America, Ghana, Guatemala, Malawi, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Fires, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Microplastics, Planetary Health, Plastic, Pollution, Public Health, Recycling, Toxicology, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa was a child, her mother sent her to market with a basket woven from grasses. “But now we don&#8217;t do that,” she says, because plastic has taken over most utilitarian purposes in today’s Malawi. “You go and you get a plastic carrier, and they&#8217;re usually not reusable plastics.” In many Malawi communities, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa was a child, her mother sent her to market with a basket woven from grasses. “But now we don&#8217;t do that,” she says, because plastic has taken over most utilitarian purposes in today’s Malawi. “You go and you get a plastic carrier, and they&#8217;re usually not reusable plastics.” In many Malawi communities, and across poorer nations worldwide, there is no waste collection or proper disposal. Instead, families faced with an onslaught of cheap plastic products — including single-use bags, bottles and diapers — commonly burn the waste in pits beside their homes. With a growing number of developing-world communities living beneath a pall of toxic petrochemical plastic smoke, Mzumara-Gawa is sounding the alarm. Now an ecologist at the Malawi University of Science and Technology and an environmental advocate with the NGO Tearfund, she says the widespread open burning of plastics is taking an increasingly heavy public health and environmental toll that is largely being ignored. Experts warn that many communities are resorting to the burning of plastic waste in households as fuel, while burning by industry to make energy is also becoming common. Add to this the vast volume of plastic waste dumped by the Global North on the Global South — waste that often ends up being incinerated without pollution controls. A dump site in Malaysia, a nation that recently blocked U.S. plastic waste exports. Shipments of plastic products and plastic waste from the Global North to the Global South are creating a flood of plastics&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/open-burning-of-plastic-is-an-escalating-public-health-threat-say-experts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/open-burning-of-plastic-is-an-escalating-public-health-threat-say-experts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302653</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After controversy, Plant-for-the-Planet focuses on the trees</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-controversy-plant-for-the-planet-focuses-on-the-trees/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-controversy-plant-for-the-planet-focuses-on-the-trees/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jun 2025 16:50:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/13065918/54569783250_24e8f68a07_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300730</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Europe, Ghana, Latin America, Mexico, North America, Spain, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agroforestry, Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Controversial, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Reforestation, Restoration, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CONSTITUCIÓN, Mexico — At an empty outpost deep in a forest in Mexico, biologists were checking whether the windows had been broken or the furniture stolen, or if any animals had made a home inside. The outpost had been built in 2015 for a tree-planting and forest restoration project, but it was paused in 2023. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CONSTITUCIÓN, Mexico — At an empty outpost deep in a forest in Mexico, biologists were checking whether the windows had been broken or the furniture stolen, or if any animals had made a home inside. The outpost had been built in 2015 for a tree-planting and forest restoration project, but it was paused in 2023. The land had been degraded by decades of farming; massive flooding every few years made restoration work too difficult and expensive for Plant-for-the-Planet, the organization that had purchased it. Researchers with Plant-for-the-Planet know they’ve fallen victim to overambition before, attempting to restore complex ecosystems they didn’t fully understand, and often with a very tight budget. At this idle site, they still hoped to get some support through a government wildlife program. But until that happened, the outpost would remain empty. “For it to make sense to restore a forest, we really need to be thinking in terms of decades and centuries,” Anna Gee, the group’s forest restoration and conservation project manager, told Mongabay. “How do you create a forest that’s going to be able to sustain itself and self-perpetuate into the future and isn’t just going to get cut down again in 20 years?” Reforestation is hard. For decades, it’s been touted as a catch-all solution to climate change and biodiversity loss, with corporations buying up carbon offsets and governments launching tree-planting campaigns, despite many of the trees dying before they reach maturity. In some instances, programs prioritize the number of trees planted over how&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-controversy-plant-for-the-planet-focuses-on-the-trees/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-controversy-plant-for-the-planet-focuses-on-the-trees/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300730</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cape vulture conservation offers hope, but challenges remain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/cape-vulture-conservation-offers-hope-but-challenges-remain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/cape-vulture-conservation-offers-hope-but-challenges-remain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2025 07:26:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/13102051/CapeVulture.Gyps_.coprotheres_JanRoseFlickrBYNCSA2.0-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298994</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Poaching, Poisoning, Predators, Raptors, Scavengers, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this year, the vulture conservation organization Vulpro hailed the return of Cape vultures to a farm in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, near Mountain Zebra National Park. That marked the first time this species has been seen in the area for 30 years, according to the organization. “There&#8217;s more and more movement and foraging [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this year, the vulture conservation organization Vulpro hailed the return of Cape vultures to a farm in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, near Mountain Zebra National Park. That marked the first time this species has been seen in the area for 30 years, according to the organization. “There&#8217;s more and more movement and foraging of the birds, and they are now finding these historical areas that they used to occur in and that it&#8217;s now safe again, which I think is incredibly exciting,” says Kerri Wolter, CEO of Vulpro. The Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is Southern Africa’s largest and only endemic vulture species. Beginning in the 1970s, Cape vulture colonies across the region shrank and many disappeared. It’s estimated that between 1992 and 2007, the species’ population in South Africa dropped by as much as 70%. But in 2021, the Cape vulture’s conservation status improved from endangered to vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. An assessment that finds a vulture species is at decreased risk of extinction is “borderline unheard of,” says John Davies, senior field officer in the birds of prey program at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a South African conservation NGO. Seven of the nine vulture species found across Southern Africa, included the Cape vulture, fall into one of the threatened categories in the IUCN; three of them — the white-backed (Gyps africanus), white-headed (Trigonoceps occipitalis) and hooded (Necrosyrtes monachus) vultures — are considered critically endangered by the IUCN. Against this general decline, the story of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/cape-vulture-conservation-offers-hope-but-challenges-remain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/cape-vulture-conservation-offers-hope-but-challenges-remain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298994</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Farmers turn to living ‘yam sticks’ to grow their crop and spare the forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/farmers-turn-to-living-yam-sticks-to-grow-their-crop-and-spare-the-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/farmers-turn-to-living-yam-sticks-to-grow-their-crop-and-spare-the-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Apr 2025 22:27:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark Hillsdon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/03210813/Q1dJK-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297055</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Caribbean, Ghana, Jamaica, and Nigeria]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Agroforestry, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Crops, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Global Warming, Green, Habitat Loss, Rainforests, Solutions, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Yams are considered one of the world’s most important crops. A starchy, nutrient-rich root vegetable of the genus Dioscorea, the yam thrives in a tropical belt across West Africa, with outliers in the Caribbean and some Asian countries such as Japan. In 2023, nearly 90 million metric tons of yam were produced globally, according to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Yams are considered one of the world’s most important crops. A starchy, nutrient-rich root vegetable of the genus Dioscorea, the yam thrives in a tropical belt across West Africa, with outliers in the Caribbean and some Asian countries such as Japan. In 2023, nearly 90 million metric tons of yam were produced globally, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. But the way in which they’re grown, using traditional “yam sticks,” is now seen as a major cause of deforestation. “The yam is a climber,” says Eric Owusu Danquah, a research scientist at Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), “it has to climb to expose its leaves to the sunlight.” To do this, it depends on “yam sticks,” staves around 2 meters (6.5 feet) long that are often cut from the nearby forests — a practice that conservationists such as Danquah say prevents trees from developing and forests from regenerating. Each stick only lasts two growing seasons at most. As a result, yam breeders, scientists and local forestry groups are looking at alternatives for the vines to climb. A yam farm in northern Ghana, with wooden stakes used to support the yam plants as they grow. These &#8220;yam sticks&#8221; are often harvested from surrounding forest. Image by Attah Mohammed via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The yam grows as a tuber, with Ghana and Nigeria producing more than 80% of the world’s output, according to Danquah. It’s a demanding crop. As well&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/farmers-turn-to-living-yam-sticks-to-grow-their-crop-and-spare-the-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/farmers-turn-to-living-yam-sticks-to-grow-their-crop-and-spare-the-forest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297055</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Fatal Watch’: Interview with documentary makers on fisheries observer deaths</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fatal-watch-interview-with-documentary-makers-on-fisheries-observer-deaths/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fatal-watch-interview-with-documentary-makers-on-fisheries-observer-deaths/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2025 20:47:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/20155919/7-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296195</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond the screen: DCEFF]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China, Fiji, Ghana, Global, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean, Panama, Papua New Guinea, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[data, Environment, Fisheries, Illegal Fishing, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fisheries observers hold a job little known by the general public but essential to the health of the oceans: monitoring the work on industrial fishing vessels. The sector has its share of illegal fishing and even other illicit activity, so the job comes with risks. A new documentary shows just how dangerous it is. Fatal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fisheries observers hold a job little known by the general public but essential to the health of the oceans: monitoring the work on industrial fishing vessels. The sector has its share of illegal fishing and even other illicit activity, so the job comes with risks. A new documentary shows just how dangerous it is. Fatal Watch, co-directed by Katie Carpenter and Mark Benjamin, focuses on four unsolved cases in which fisheries observers died or disappeared during the last decade. There have been at least a dozen more worldwide since 2009. The film also casts a critical eye on the industry as a whole, touching on management and transparency issues that the filmmakers see as intertwined with the observer safety problem. The heroes of Fatal Watch are investigators and campaigners seeking justice for harmed observers and fighting for marine conservation more broadly. Elizabeth Mitchell-Rachin, a board member of the Association for Professional Observers, a nonprofit based in the U.S. state of Oregon, is featured as a leading advocate for observer rights. Mitchell-Rachin herself worked as an observer from 1983 until 2008 and knows the dangers firsthand: A captain once threatened to throw her overboard. Fisheries observers are biological technicians who collect scientific data and report on vessels’ compliance with a range of rules, including, for example, those dealing with protected species. They are subject to many of the same dangers and discomforts that fishers face at sea, and then some. As a fisheries observer, “you’re living with the people that you’re reporting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fatal-watch-interview-with-documentary-makers-on-fisheries-observer-deaths/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/fatal-watch-interview-with-documentary-makers-on-fisheries-observer-deaths/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296195</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>USAID funding cuts jeopardize creation of Ghana’s first Marine Protected Area</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/usaid-funding-cuts-jeopardize-creation-of-ghanas-first-marine-protected-area/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/usaid-funding-cuts-jeopardize-creation-of-ghanas-first-marine-protected-area/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2025 16:46:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/13150052/2-fishers-ghana-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295770</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Foreign Aid, Funding, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For more than 10 years, researchers, civil society and community members and government officials in Ghana worked to create the West African nation’s first marine protected area (MPA). In January, the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly froze foreign aid, including to Ghana, jeopardizing the MPA’s establishment and dealing a blow to Ghana’s fisheries [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For more than 10 years, researchers, civil society and community members and government officials in Ghana worked to create the West African nation’s first marine protected area (MPA). In January, the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly froze foreign aid, including to Ghana, jeopardizing the MPA’s establishment and dealing a blow to Ghana’s fisheries sector. Creating the MPA was a flagship initiative under the Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA) program, which was fully funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “The USAID freeze sent shock waves around the world — and Ghana has also felt the impact,” Evans Kwasi Arizi, chairperson of the MPA technical committee, told Mongabay. He explained that Ghanaians rely heavily on small pelagic fisheries like sardinellas, anchovies and mackerel, and Ghana’s fisheries sector has, till now, benefited greatly from U.S. foreign aid. Without alternative funding, the sudden termination of the GFRA could create a lot of hardship for Ghanaians, Arizi, who is a fisheries scientist at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, told Mongabay. &#8220;If the fisheries collapse, it is going to inflict an economic crisis on the local people.&#8221; The funding contract between USAID and Tetra Tech, the U.S.-based engineering consultancy implementing the GFRA, was canceled in the last week of February, Tetra Tech employees, who were not authorized to speak to the media, told Mongabay. USAID had provided $750,000 in technical assistance to the MPA project, which Tetra Tech implemented in collaboration with local contractors and the Ghanaian government. The funding&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/usaid-funding-cuts-jeopardize-creation-of-ghanas-first-marine-protected-area/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/usaid-funding-cuts-jeopardize-creation-of-ghanas-first-marine-protected-area/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295770</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Breast milk contamination exposes Africa&#8217;s ‘forever chemicals’ problem</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/breast-milk-contamination-exposes-africas-forever-chemicals-problem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/breast-milk-contamination-exposes-africas-forever-chemicals-problem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2025 15:34:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ochieng' Ogodo]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/15114404/Southern-Africa-drought-Mozambique-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295548</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Health, Planetary Health, Pollution, Public Health, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Synthetic chemicals found in a wide range of products, from textiles to food packaging, and now even breast milk, are endangering infants&#8217; lives in Africa, researchers say. Scientists are still investigating exactly how these “forever chemicals” affect babies, but there’s reason to worry, according to David Koli Essumang, co-author of a study conducted in Ghana. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Synthetic chemicals found in a wide range of products, from textiles to food packaging, and now even breast milk, are endangering infants&#8217; lives in Africa, researchers say. Scientists are still investigating exactly how these “forever chemicals” affect babies, but there’s reason to worry, according to David Koli Essumang, co-author of a study conducted in Ghana. “These chemicals accumulate [in the body]. So, if newborns are exposed to them right from birth, as they grow up, the impacts can manifest,” says Essumang, a professor of environmental chemistry at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The chemicals, also known as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are notoriously resistant to degradation, hence their reputation for persisting “forever.” They’ve shown up on every continent on Earth, including the Antarctica, and pose a serious threat to humans and wildlife. The world over, new mothers are advised to breastfeed because mother’s milk is hailed as the best baby food. But research from African countries shows that even breastfed babies can’t escape the forever chemicals. A team of researchers found these synthetic chemicals in breast milk samples from women in Ghana. Breast milk is made up of water and nutrients extracted from the bloodstream. PFAS compounds present in the mother’s bloodstream can pass into her breast milk. Pick up truck carrying plastic bottles in Lagos, Nigeria. Image courtesy of Koutchika Lihouenou Gaspard via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). PFAS exposure has been linked to liver damage, thyroid diseases and even cancer. These compounds can interfere with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/breast-milk-contamination-exposes-africas-forever-chemicals-problem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/breast-milk-contamination-exposes-africas-forever-chemicals-problem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295548</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Women in Ghana plant ‘diversion’ trees to protect shea trees and their livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/women-in-ghana-plant-diversion-trees-to-protect-shea-trees-and-their-livelihoods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/women-in-ghana-plant-diversion-trees-to-protect-shea-trees-and-their-livelihoods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Mar 2025 07:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/07215755/40132068671_aea784cf4a_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295494</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Development, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Economics, Forestry, Landscape Restoration, Reforestation, Trees, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the growing demand for charcoal and firewood hastens the decline of shea trees in Ghana, communities living on the fringes of the country’s Mole National Park are planting fast-growing trees of other species as a buffer. The logic of the effort is for communities to instead cut down the fast-growing tree species for their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the growing demand for charcoal and firewood hastens the decline of shea trees in Ghana, communities living on the fringes of the country’s Mole National Park are planting fast-growing trees of other species as a buffer. The logic of the effort is for communities to instead cut down the fast-growing tree species for their energy needs, leaving the native shea species behind for sustainable harvesting of key commodities for trade, like shea nuts and butter. So far, the trees have many benefits over shea species, like growing faster and being more resistant to fires, but shea trees also produce more efficient charcoal. Around 300 community members in the towns of Mognori and Yazori are engaged in the effort by planting the seedlings of two species, the Gum Arabic tree (Vachellia nilotica) and Paperback Thorn (Vachellia sieberiana) (both formally known as acacia) and occasionally selling the firewood. The majority, about 60%, are women, who typically take dominant roles in the country&#8217;s shea harvesting and trade. They have so far planted 53,434 seedlings on 158.11 hectares (390 acres) of land as part of a forest landscape restoration and sustainable wood energy project by the IUCN and A Rocha Ghana. As the seedlings grow into trees, women told Mongabay they are one of the best firewood substitutes for indigenous tree species of shea. Taking part in this effort, they said, helps protect their livelihoods and makes them travel shorter distances for firewood. “Women can now depend on acacia trees [former name] for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/women-in-ghana-plant-diversion-trees-to-protect-shea-trees-and-their-livelihoods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/women-in-ghana-plant-diversion-trees-to-protect-shea-trees-and-their-livelihoods/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295494</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Uncertainty’ amid EUDR delay poses challenges for cocoa companies, farmers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/uncertainty-amid-eudr-delay-poses-challenges-for-cocoa-companies-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/uncertainty-amid-eudr-delay-poses-challenges-for-cocoa-companies-farmers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Dec 2024 15:58:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/01142517/5-cocoa-farmer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292232</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Cacao, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Logging, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It might not come as much of a surprise that Tony’s Chocolonely has expressed its support for the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR). The Dutch chocolate maker is known as much for its emphasis on sustainable business practices as for the cartoonish labels that have enveloped its products since 2005. Tony’s even came out [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It might not come as much of a surprise that Tony’s Chocolonely has expressed its support for the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR). The Dutch chocolate maker is known as much for its emphasis on sustainable business practices as for the cartoonish labels that have enveloped its products since 2005. Tony’s even came out strongly against a delay in the EUDR rules designed to ensure that cocoa and six other commodities entering the European Union don’t come at the cost of forests elsewhere. What may be more surprising is that mainstream companies have also been pushing for the EUDR, which, whenever it becomes enforceable, will require an unprecedented level of monitoring and due diligence on supply chains for products entering the EU. “Tony’s has been a very key part of this, but it wasn’t just the social enterprises,” Antonie Fountain, co-founder and managing director of the Voice of Organisations In Cocoa (VOICE), said in an interview. “The world&#8217;s largest food and beverage company is Nestlé, and they&#8217;ve been doing a lot of very publicly visible, proactive outreach on behalf of these regulations.” VOICE is a cocoa watchdog group based in the Netherlands focused on advocacy and research. It’s the group behind the publication of the Cocoa Barometer, which aims to provide a “state of sustainability” in the sector every two years. “This is the thing that really excites me about the cocoa sector,” Fountain said. And it’s among the most prepared to comply of all the commodities the EUDR&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/uncertainty-amid-eudr-delay-poses-challenges-for-cocoa-companies-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/uncertainty-amid-eudr-delay-poses-challenges-for-cocoa-companies-farmers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292232</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Agroecology offers blueprint for resilient farming in northern Ghana</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/agroecology-offers-blueprint-for-resilient-farming-in-northern-ghana/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/agroecology-offers-blueprint-for-resilient-farming-in-northern-ghana/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2024 13:49:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Caleb Ahinakwah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/04140642/40099205142_33faee2270_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291163</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Desertification, Environment, Forests, Reforestation, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Farmers in Ghana’s Upper East region traditionally decided when to plant and harvest their crops in rhythm with regular rainfall cycles. But the rains now come at increasingly odd times, farmland is turning into desert, and farmers have been forced to endure temperatures high enough to melt tarmac. Amid these impacts, agroforestry is offering a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Farmers in Ghana’s Upper East region traditionally decided when to plant and harvest their crops in rhythm with regular rainfall cycles. But the rains now come at increasingly odd times, farmland is turning into desert, and farmers have been forced to endure temperatures high enough to melt tarmac. Amid these impacts, agroforestry is offering a glimmer of hope: by integrating trees, crops and livestock on their fields, farmers are finding ways to restore their land and secure livelihoods. Climate change is increasingly visible in the Upper East, a savanna landscape in northern Ghana that usually experiences five months of rain between July and August, tapering off by October. Isaac Papanko grows millet near the small town of Bongo. “When I was a child, the rains came when they were supposed to, and the land could hold water. Now, the soil cracks under the sun, and crops wither before they can even grow,” he told Mongabay by phone. His story is reiterated by many others, highlighting the uncertainty that’s replacing once reliable cycles. In the fields that spread beyond the mud-walled compounds of Bolgatanga, the regional capital, Ibrahim Tuzee acknowledged the ways that residents have exacerbated the impacts of changing weather. Like many others, his family supplements its harvest of millet, sorghum and maize with income from selling firewood. “We cut trees down to make space for farming, but we didn’t know it would bring this kind of hardship. The winds are harsher without the trees, and the soil gets blown&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/agroecology-offers-blueprint-for-resilient-farming-in-northern-ghana/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/agroecology-offers-blueprint-for-resilient-farming-in-northern-ghana/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291163</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From landfill to limelight, Ghana waste entrepreneurs win Earthshot Prize</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/from-landfill-to-limelight-ghana-waste-entrepreneurs-win-earthshot-prize/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/from-landfill-to-limelight-ghana-waste-entrepreneurs-win-earthshot-prize/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2024 07:14:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Petro Kotzé]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/14065524/DesmondAlugnoa.JacobAttakpah_GreenAfricaYouthOrganization_CapeTown7Nov2024_EarthshotPrize-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290089</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Desmond Alugnoa and Jacob Attakpah stepped onto a celebrity-studded green carpet at the Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town last week, they had a good feeling. “Not if we win,” said Attakpah, a project manager for the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), which is working to change waste management practices in Ghana, “when we [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Desmond Alugnoa and Jacob Attakpah stepped onto a celebrity-studded green carpet at the Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town last week, they had a good feeling. “Not if we win,” said Attakpah, a project manager for the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), which is working to change waste management practices in Ghana, “when we win.” Soon after, he and GAYO co-founder Alugnoa walked onto the stage as one of five winners to receive 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) to accelerate and scale up the impact of their work. The Earthshot Prize supports selected people and organisations that work to improve environmental problems. From thousands of nominated applicants, 1 million- pound prizes are awarded to five winners in five categories: protecting and restoring nature, cleaning air, reviving oceans, reducing waste, fixing the climate. Fifty winners will be awarded over 10 years. Over and above the prize money, an additional $90 million to protect African landscapes was also announced. This year, 15 finalists — from Kazakhstan, Cost Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, Australia, France, Kenya, the U.K., Indonesia, Uganda and the United States — traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, for the award ceremony Nov. 7. It was the culmination of a week of events that saw Table Mountain lit up in green and the city’s mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, symbolically reintroducing the locally extinct Cape water lily (Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea) to the False Bay Nature Reserve, a Ramsar site and wetland of international importance that is threatened by contamination from the city’s sewage&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/from-landfill-to-limelight-ghana-waste-entrepreneurs-win-earthshot-prize/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/from-landfill-to-limelight-ghana-waste-entrepreneurs-win-earthshot-prize/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290089</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Local NGO RAINS brings relief to Ghana’s semiarid north with regenerative farming</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/local-ngo-rains-brings-relief-to-ghanas-semiarid-north-with-regenerative-farming/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/local-ngo-rains-brings-relief-to-ghanas-semiarid-north-with-regenerative-farming/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2024 13:35:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/16123119/40132068671_aea784cf4a_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288824</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Deforestation, Desertification, Environment, Forests, Fuelwood, NGOs, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In northern Ghana, communities are facing food insecurity and declining livelihoods due to erratic weather, degraded soils and loss of forests. Among those working on ways to unpick this complicated knot of challenges in the Northern Savannah Zone is an NGO called the Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems, or RAINS. The NSZ stretches 97,000 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In northern Ghana, communities are facing food insecurity and declining livelihoods due to erratic weather, degraded soils and loss of forests. Among those working on ways to unpick this complicated knot of challenges in the Northern Savannah Zone is an NGO called the Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems, or RAINS. The NSZ stretches 97,000 square kilometers (37,500 square miles) across northern Ghana, where people have long grown maize, millet, yam, groundnuts and soybeans in a landscape dominated by shea nut, baobab and acacia trees. Home to more than 5 million people today, the ecological balance of this semiarid ecosystem is in danger: forest cover here declined by 77% between 2001 and 2015, according to the United Nations Development Programme. “Evidence abounds in Ghana that temperatures in all the ecological zones including the Northern Region are rising, whereas rainfall levels and patterns have been generally reducing and increasingly becoming erratic,” Hardi Tijani, executive director of RAINS, told Mongabay via email. “Soil degradation and erosion caused by alternating floods and droughts are leading to creeping desertification.” He said these changes have affected residents&#8217; harvests, prompting many to turn to felling trees for timber and charcoal to earn additional income, further aggravating damage to the landscape. Charcoal production near Chiana, Kassena Nankana District &#8211; Ghana. Image by Axel Fassio/CIFOR via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). To counter the threats and break this cycle, RAINS is explaining and supporting regenerative agricultural practices to farmers across the region, including intercropping, the planting of cover crops,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/local-ngo-rains-brings-relief-to-ghanas-semiarid-north-with-regenerative-farming/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/local-ngo-rains-brings-relief-to-ghanas-semiarid-north-with-regenerative-farming/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288824</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Hooded vultures in Ghana and South Africa on the brink, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/hooded-vultures-in-ghana-and-south-africa-on-the-brink-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/hooded-vultures-in-ghana-and-south-africa-on-the-brink-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2024 09:49:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ashoka]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/13095546/Image-2-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287401</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, South Africa, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Poaching, Poisoning, Predators, Raptors, Scavengers, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[High rates of inbreeding among hooded vultures in Ghana and South Africa spell trouble for their future, according to a newly published study. The study found that despite wide differences in the population size of the birds in the two countries, both face similar risks associated with low genetic diversity. It underlined the need to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[High rates of inbreeding among hooded vultures in Ghana and South Africa spell trouble for their future, according to a newly published study. The study found that despite wide differences in the population size of the birds in the two countries, both face similar risks associated with low genetic diversity. It underlined the need to protect hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus) in both countries from hunting and habitat loss. Researchers gathered molted feathers from vulture nests in Ghana, where this species is considered highly endangered due to rapid population declines but remains abundant for now, and in South Africa, where it’s estimated that only 100-200 mature adults remain, mostly in Kruger National Park. Despite the variance in their overall population size, the birds in both countries showed high levels of inbreeding and low genetic diversity — a “troubling” finding, according to the authors. The study showed that while the number of hooded vultures in South Africa is dwindling, there’s still a basis for their population to recover. “It still does have some unique genetic components which are important to conserve,” said study co-author Sandi Willows-Munro, an associate professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Hooded vultures play a critical ecosystem role in both countries, scavenging on carcasses and thus removing disease and potentially harmful bacteria. Low rates of genetic diversity would mean that these populations are vulnerable to threats, such as disease outbreaks, and less adaptable to environmental change. Researchers had initially thought that Ghana’s relatively large population of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/hooded-vultures-in-ghana-and-south-africa-on-the-brink-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287401</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Ghana pushes mining in forests, a cautionary tale from a fading forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-ghana-pushes-mining-in-forests-a-cautionary-tale-from-a-fading-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-ghana-pushes-mining-in-forests-a-cautionary-tale-from-a-fading-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2024 13:41:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Awudu Salami Sulemana Yoda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/28132021/Tree_OdaRiverGhana_aripeskoe2FlickrBYSNCA2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286594</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Forest Trackers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Gold Mining, Illegal Mining, Mining, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[APAMPRAMA, Ghana — Since 2017, the Ghanaian government has aggressively pursued small-scale miners operating in forest reserves across the country, blaming them for the destruction of the country’s forests. But at the same time the government is promoting industrial-scale gold extraction by granting a flurry of mining licenses, many of them overlapping with those same [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[APAMPRAMA, Ghana — Since 2017, the Ghanaian government has aggressively pursued small-scale miners operating in forest reserves across the country, blaming them for the destruction of the country’s forests. But at the same time the government is promoting industrial-scale gold extraction by granting a flurry of mining licenses, many of them overlapping with those same forest reserves. Environmental campaigners are chronicling the toll of both legal and illegal mineral extraction on the country’s woodlands. What they’ve found in the Apamprama reserve, which covers 3,630 hectares (8,970 acres) in the Ashanti region of the country illustrates the threat miners — big and small — pose to forested areas. A third of the Apamprama forest disappeared in little more than 20 years. The moist evergreen forest of Apamprama lies in the catchment of the Oda and Offin rivers, tributaries of the mighty Pra that traverses southern Ghana before entering the Gulf of Guinea. Gold sediments carried by these rivers have over the years attracted miners of all kinds, from local residents eking out a living with basic tools, to big industrial operators. “Illegal mining has been happening in the forest since 2015, but on a very small scale,” Asante Richard, a local representative of Abuakwaa, one of the administrative regions where Apamprama lies, told Mongabay. But, he said, a concession given to the Heritage Imperial Company Limited in 2018 sharply changed the fate of the forest, leading to massive destruction. Satellite data from Global Forest Watch show that forest loss has accelerated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-ghana-pushes-mining-in-forests-a-cautionary-tale-from-a-fading-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-ghana-pushes-mining-in-forests-a-cautionary-tale-from-a-fading-forest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286594</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ghana hollows out forests and green protections to advance mining interests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/ghana-hollows-out-forests-and-green-protections-to-advance-mining-interests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/ghana-hollows-out-forests-and-green-protections-to-advance-mining-interests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2024 12:33:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/28114307/IllegalMinersHose_KumasiGhana_ElodieToto-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286587</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Ghana, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Gold Mining, Illegal Mining, Mining, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, the West African nation of Ghana lost 18,000 hectares, or 44,500 acres, of forests — an area the size of 30,000 football fields. But instead of strengthening restrictions, that November, the Ghanaian government decided to further expose the country’s protected woodlands to the corrosive effects of mineral extraction. The legislative changes allowed mining [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, the West African nation of Ghana lost 18,000 hectares, or 44,500 acres, of forests — an area the size of 30,000 football fields. But instead of strengthening restrictions, that November, the Ghanaian government decided to further expose the country’s protected woodlands to the corrosive effects of mineral extraction. The legislative changes allowed mining in critical biodiversity areas, relaxed rules for obtaining exploitation permits, and opened the door to more mining in forest reserves. Even before the measure was passed, many of Ghana’s protected forests were exposed. Environmental campaigners had been advocating for curbing mining in these reserves altogether. The country has fought a highly publicized battle against small-scale artisanal miners, known as galamsey, yet the effects of industrial-scale mineral extraction have gone largely ignored. Between 2000 and 2019, industrial mining was the leading cause of forest loss in Ghana, putting it in the same category as countries like Indonesia and Brazil, which have vastly larger forest areas. According to a Mongabay analysis of data from Ghana’s Mineral Commission, 200 active mining licenses already overlap with forest reserves in Ghana, three-quarters of which are industrial permits. These impact more than a third of the country’s 266 reserves. Since passing the legislative order LI 2462 in November 2022, Ghana has doled out mining permits at a record pace. Environmentalists say they fear forests are at greater risk than ever. “It is very retrogressive,” Daryl Bosu, deputy director of the NGO A Rocha Ghana, told Mongabay. “This is not in alignment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/ghana-hollows-out-forests-and-green-protections-to-advance-mining-interests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/ghana-hollows-out-forests-and-green-protections-to-advance-mining-interests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286587</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can nations ever get artisanal gold mining right?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/can-nations-ever-get-artisanal-gold-mining-right/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/can-nations-ever-get-artisanal-gold-mining-right/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2024 17:38:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/13114258/8-Small-scale-miner-using-mercury-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286036</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Colombia, Ghana, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Law, Gold Mining, Health, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Mercury, Mining, Poisoning, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a pillar of stability and opportunity for at least 16 million people worldwide, particularly in rural, impoverished communities. But with these pros also come cons. Given the serious contamination and environmental degradation associated with it, nations around the world are pushing for more sustainable laws and regulations. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a pillar of stability and opportunity for at least 16 million people worldwide, particularly in rural, impoverished communities. But with these pros also come cons. Given the serious contamination and environmental degradation associated with it, nations around the world are pushing for more sustainable laws and regulations. The question remains for policymakers, however: Can policymakers ever get it right? Several studies have demonstrated the harmful effects of ASGM on communities and the environment. One of the greatest problems is the use of mercury to separate gold from the ore, with the waste then released into the environment, leading to air, soil and water pollution that threatens biodiversity and human health. Another issue is deforestation without a rehabilitation process, which legal mines are often required to have. “There are a lot of illegal mining activities in the small-scale mining space that are creating a lot of environmental issues, such as pollution of river bodies,” Philip Bawah, a member of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), told Mongabay. The challenge, he said, is proper regulation and government assistance to turn these operations into legal businesses that follow environmental protocols. “There are a lot of lapses from the authorities concerned,” Bawah told Mongabay. Small-scale gold mining in Ghana. Image by Mirko Winkler / planetGOLD. Nations around the world are keen to find ways to make mining more sustainable, given that so many people depend on it for income and security. In fragile and conflict-affected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/can-nations-ever-get-artisanal-gold-mining-right/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/can-nations-ever-get-artisanal-gold-mining-right/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286036</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As chocolate prices skyrocket from decades of deforestation, adopting agroforestry is key (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/as-chocolate-prices-skyrocket-from-decades-of-deforestation-adopting-agroforestry-is-key-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/as-chocolate-prices-skyrocket-from-decades-of-deforestation-adopting-agroforestry-is-key-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2024 18:46:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Etelle Higonnet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/16173104/chris-hardy-xyh9fuuSHOo-unsplash-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283715</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Global, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Business, Cacao, Commentary, Deforestation, Food, Forests, Trade, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you’re a chocoholic, you may have noticed that the price of cocoa recently went through the roof. Cocoa prices on the world market—which averaged around $2,500 over the past decade—reached $10,000 per ton. It’s the highest in history. Experts think it’s likely to remain above $5,000/ton for the next 16 months at least. You [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you’re a chocoholic, you may have noticed that the price of cocoa recently went through the roof. Cocoa prices on the world market—which averaged around $2,500 over the past decade—reached $10,000 per ton. It’s the highest in history. Experts think it’s likely to remain above $5,000/ton for the next 16 months at least. You may have also read that global warming is to blame for recent sky-high prices, with wild weather anomalies hitting cocoa farms hard. What’s received less attention is the root cause of the problem. While the weather anomalies are worsened by global warming, what’s actually causing them is largely local deforestation—more specifically, the clearing of forests to make way for cocoa plantations. Map of deforestation in Ivory Coast. Cocoa is a “cannibal commodity.” Its production has killed the forests that have helped it thrive. Now, standing in the wreckage of once-spectacular tropical jungles, cocoa farms struggle. While working for the NGO Mighty Earth, I broke open a shocking scandal: the Ivory Coast—the world’s top cocoa-producing country—lost 94% of its forests since 1990. The Ivory Coast is not a rinky-dink footnote for the chocolate industry: it’s the top global cocoa producing country in the world. In Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, 80% to 90% of forests were destroyed in that same time. Roughly a third of the deforestation in both countries was for cocoa. Declining rainfall in Ivory Coast in the latter half of the 20th century. Forests are essentially rain machines: kill forests, and the rains go haywire.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/as-chocolate-prices-skyrocket-from-decades-of-deforestation-adopting-agroforestry-is-key-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/as-chocolate-prices-skyrocket-from-decades-of-deforestation-adopting-agroforestry-is-key-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283715</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Action plan to save West African vultures targets threat from belief-based use</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/action-plan-to-save-west-african-vultures-targets-threat-from-belief-based-use/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/action-plan-to-save-west-african-vultures-targets-threat-from-belief-based-use/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jun 2024 11:41:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/13115356/White-headedVulture.TrigonocepsOccipitalis_MoleNPGhana_NikBorrowFlickrBYNC2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283192</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Poaching, Poisoning, Raptors, Scavengers, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Conservation organizations and international bodies have launched a 20-year action plan to save vultures in West Africa, specifically targeting the threat of belief-based use. The West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan (WAVCAP) spans 16 countries, with the aim to bring trade of the scavengers, identified as the primary driver of a rapid decline, to a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Conservation organizations and international bodies have launched a 20-year action plan to save vultures in West Africa, specifically targeting the threat of belief-based use. The West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan (WAVCAP) spans 16 countries, with the aim to bring trade of the scavengers, identified as the primary driver of a rapid decline, to a halt. Raptors and vultures are in decline across the whole continent due to habitat loss, electrocution, loss of food sources, intentional and unintentional poisoning, human-wildlife conflict, and more. A paper published earlier this year underlined a precipitous collapse in vulture numbers, finding that most vulture species are increasingly holed up in protected areas. The decline is particularly severe in West Africa, says study co-author Umberto Gallo-Orsi, who coordinates raptor conservation for the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). In 2020, more than 2,000 critically endangered hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus) were found poisoned at several sites in Guinea-Bissau over a two-week period. “Because birds were found without their heads and other parts, it is obvious that the reason behind the incident was the trade, and probably international trade, of vulture parts for belief-based use,” Gallo-Orsi says. The mass killings prompted conservationists to investigate the threat and laid the groundwork for the multiyear action plan for West Africa to save dwindling vulture populations, he adds. “Belief-based use” is a catchall term that includes demand for a wide range of traditional medicine practices, “fetish” beliefs, and cultural practices. Raptor experts have long been aware of the hunting of vultures&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/action-plan-to-save-west-african-vultures-targets-threat-from-belief-based-use/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283192</doi>				</item>
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